Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Her first memory, sopping wet and freezing cold on the floor of a sterile laboratory, was of being named ‘failure forty-something’ and unceremoniously thrown into a room with several very similar redheads. They huddled for warmth as a splash was heard from behind the door, the voice from earlier mumbling something again. Soon after, another appeared among them, also red-haired and shivering. Several more followed until voices rose in the other room, sounding triumphant. Later, she learned that was the day Orochimaru finally succeeded in creating a fully functional Uzumaki. It just wasn’t her. 

Over the next few months, a few of them started showing signs of skills, and those who did were given names and got taught chakra control. She did not gain a name. She could sense she had a skill, but she’d seen named ones be taken away, only for them to lie lifeless in the morgue later. She stayed silent, and named herself Red. A name just for her. 

The ones who got to learn things had started it, after Kabuto carelessly mentioned sealing jutsu they started collecting any sign they could find and sharing them with the group.

Red quietly helped out, as a ‘useless’ one she worked under Kabuto as a cleaning assistant. He taught her how to make soaps, but more importantly his distracted dismissal of her presence gave her access to areas the others could not enter. Bringing back memories and writing them out gave the group of almost-Uzumaki all the symbols they needed to eventually figure out a system; there were edge-symbols that set ‘if x condition is met, do y’ and a central command that was y. Sealing jutsu was simple! It didn’t even need ink, blood worked just fine, on any material.

A few of the named even taught chakra control to all who wanted to try, Red found she enjoyed sitting in the ceiling. 

As all good things, that too came to an end.

After an Orochimaru loyalist told her master what had been transpiring after dark, they were split into small groups. To her dismay, Red’s group had the snitch, and no other named ones.

At least it meant moments of privacy in the smaller group cell’s bathroom, and she could finally figure out her skill- she glowed. Like a dim lantern. That seemed to be all? Great. Probably wouldn’t have earned her a name even if she’d revealed it, for better or worse.

According to a log she’d stealthily read, they were all cloned from different dead bodies found after some place called Uzushio was destroyed, she was probably the clone of some nobody who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Kabuto grew irritated after stumbling in a bucket one day, and taught his best ( quietest, same thing to him) cleaner a simple jutsu to lift and move globules of water. Not exactly combat-usable, but of course, there was no way a disposable like her would be taught self-defense.

Cleaning got more frequent in the lab as one of the henchmen, Kimimaro, kept hacking up blood. Red found it inconsiderate, and once when they were alone in there, she even told him as much. He just kept wheezing, not the best conversation partner.

Kabuto mumbled to himself a lot, but she knew he hated it when the others made noise, so she just listened and learned while feigning disinterest. Ninja nations, Orochimaru was apparently an independent actor. Informants sounded useful, as did the ‘love letter’ system, but he did not go into detail on that. Just ranted about badly written, too-obvious notes, really.

Oookay, clearly dumb informants might become a liability. Hopefully, if she ever got out of this place, she’d manage to snag a somewhat clever one. 

A breakthrough! Swirling back into the cell’s pitch blackness at the opposite wall one night meant the tags did work! Teleportation was fully possible, if somewhat limited. The tags, two for each jump, were single-use. One had to be at the destination as an anchor, so it was not very useful while locked in a lab.

But it was hope.

It would have to be scribbled on the spot, for chakra coordinates, as would the secondary tag later for the starting location. No way to conveniently bring them along as far as she could tell so far, there must be symbols she was missing. The more seals she tried, the more obvious it became that she was working with only roughly half of an alphabet of sorts. Red could seal blood in a pattern to be stamped on fabric later under her skin, but it was itchy! Better simply scribble them when needed, she was getting fast at it.

Sealing items away would be useful, if Kabuto wasn’t so vigilant about his tools. As it was, her best shot at gaining an actual weapon would be seals for elemental jutsu, of which she only knew scraps. Earth, probably from one of the many seals reinforcing the tunnels, and round shield? Dome? It would leave obvious traces, best not try it in here, but in theory it should make a shelter. 

There was no warning, no time to prepare.

Awoken, given a new plain dress, Red and two of her cellmates were taken to the lab and had their hair shorn off entirely. Kabuto grumbled about having to deal with the cleanup on his own, and her stomach sank. Was this it, were they to be used as materials or test subjects or simply disposed of?

She dared raise her eyes to send her reluctant mentor of sorts a questioning glance, he sighed. “Orochimaru-sama, can’t I get to keep the cleaner?”

“What’ss thiss, getting attached?”

“No, it’s practical”

“Train another, thiss one iss to be part of the ressearch for Kimimaro’ss cure”

“Yes, Orochimaru-sama” the white-haired medic said without much enthusiasm.

That had been as much of an argument as her life was worth, then. Used as part of research? Lovely. At least she wouldn’t be used as breeding stock, like some of the near-perfect Uzumaki. Apparently having one ‘good vessel’ was not enough. 

The world Outside was a shock. The air moved, light from the sun was hotter than lantern light and way brighter. Hearing about something was different from actually witnessing it.

Red and her two fellow clones were not allowed time to gather their bearings before being commanded to run by a Kimimaro who was in a somewhat better state than usual. Red stumbled a lot, as did her unnamed comrade, but the named traitor (Red refused to acknowledge her, and never used her name on principle) fared somewhat better since she’d been let out to train before.

Running was new, and very tiring. Luckily, Kimimaro also needed frequent breaks, and around mid-day he signalled for a longer one. Time to scrawl out the base of the first teleport seal! Sneakily ripping a hangnail for blood as she’d done before, Red carefully sketched an outline, only occasionally glancing down to check on it.

‘Snitch’ bragged that she had a mission, she was to infiltrate a village as a street musician and get some pieces of information before they headed for the next base? That sounded like a distraction, would it let her fully draw a tag unnoticed?

It did, barely.

They had stayed out of sight behind a dune, Kimimaro keeping an eye on a distant village and ignoring his other two supposed ‘charges’. Couldn’t he at least have given them water? It was hot! Tearing the fabric piece off in haste and covering it with sand had to be enough for now, hopefully there would be no sandstorms before she could make the second tag because they were on the run again as soon as the smug menace returned from her trip.

Tag one, check.

By the time they stopped for the night, Red was gasping for breath. Her throat felt parched, tongue dry in her mouth. ‘Snitch’ made the mistake of showing off that she was in better shape, and got ordered to dig a hole. Ha, that’s what you get. The sand was darker further down, her fingers leaving clear lines? Moisture?

“You. Water jutsu”.

Ah. That was why they chose her? Red let her hands glide through the signs she’d been using for her daily cleaning tasks, and indeed water rose from the little dip in the desert. Convenient for her later survival, her plan had been to sneak into the village the way ‘Snitch’ had for all her food and water needs but having a plan B was a relief.

Water, check. 

The next day, Red managed to secure a ration; ‘Snitch’ put her portion down, unattended, while going for a pee. Sealing something under your skin was itchy as all heck, but it was worth it for her enraged screeches and their ‘leader’ telling her to be quiet.

Enough food to survive a day after escaping, check.

And as they reached vegetation the next day, Red began the final preparation; sketching the outlines for the secondary teleport tag under the hem of her skirt, next to where she tore off the first tag. It was finicky, couldn’t be done while running, and there was no true ‘alone’ time since either Kimimaro or ‘Snitch’ was always on guard.

She almost got caught when their ‘leader’ sent her hand a sharp glance, but she smoothly pretended to just be tugging at the torn hem and he simply said “leave it”.

Whew, good thing he’d always thought them beneath him, because at that point it was very clearly the square base of a classic seal if he’d bothered to have a look. 

The sparse vegetation turned from tufts and shrubs to actual thickets, and eventually they were fighting their way through dense underbrush at nightfall.

Kimimaro was looking pale, well, paler than the last days. Was whatever temporary drug he was on finally wearing off? The other unnamed was also faltering, she had always needed a special medicine from Orochimaru’s personal chambers and being without it had her looking worse each day.

Surely they must be there soon, taking her just to have her die on the way seemed unnecessarily cruel… unless it was to stop her and her ‘friends’ from running? Had they expected them to have become close just because they were forced to sleep in the same cell? It, uh, hadn’t worked.

No, surely she’d be fine until they reached the next base, the medicine might just need to be stored cool. Which meant they were close, which meant it was time to speed up the process on that tag! Carefully, no smudges, her freedom was riding on this piece of bloodied fabric. 

The next day, blessedly, a distraction appeared in the form of a rather bulky ninja and three children around her own size. Huh, those came in other hair colours than red? It made sense, but Red had never really considered that until now.

The awkward standoff let her scribble the signs specifying ‘from this destination’ while imbuing the chakra coordinate of the spot as the starting point, now all she needed was time to mold chakra into the shape needed to activate it.

Kimimaro and the larger ‘enemy’ (the way she saw it, both sides were hostiles to her) threw themselves at each other in a flurry she did not care to follow, if she ended up as collateral then so be it. This was her chance! Focusing, she tore the tag off in perfect straight lines, good. Now send the chakra into- oh no, strange shadows were coming for her from the black-haired kid, come on, hurry!

The seal activated, the world whirling, and she landed in warm sand. Yes! 

…uh, he was also there. Heck. Now what, she did not have weapons and he was armed. Her only jutsu was for cleaning!

Best act superior, hold the now useless tag like it’s a threat somehow. A steady glare, powerful stance-

“I give” he said after glancing around, right, she held the advantage of knowing where they were. Best get him away from the well-hidden little village in the sand dunes right nearby before he realised there was help to be had.

Red commended the ninja kid for the level-headed choice, added a misdirection about wanting to get out of the sun so he’d think she’d lead him to shelter, and had him walk ahead, further into the nothingness of the desert as far as she knew. This was the direction they’d come from, right? It all kinda looked sameish.

He dared glance back, she did her best to look threatening instead of lost. “Keep walking” she commanded in a voice that was hopefully intimidating. He did.

Hmm, she did need an informant, this one might be as good as any? A bit of a coward, maybe, but sensible enough. Eventually far enough away that no scream should carry to human ears on the wind, she had him dig down for water. The wind was starting to feel unfriendly, sand blowing like little blades and stinging her already sunburned skin. Was a storm coming? They both drank their fill, he filled a water bottle, and she released the jutsu.

Having him form a base hole was easy enough, time to test her theoretical first ever chakra nature transforming jutsu seal! Drawing it was a challenge, the wind kept threatening to smudge her lines with sand that now came in waves. Finally done, she kept an ‘intimidating’ glare on her ‘captive’ while activating it in the nice little hole he’d made.

The earth dome did form properly, but it was slow, and this tag too was single-use only. Disappointing. At least in the dark he shouldn’t be able to tell she was finally taking a moment to relax, silently congratulating herself on getting away. Sure, she’d be chased, she had seen Kabuto’s bingo book and the various bounties on Orochimaru from the elemental nations. The large ninja had declared himself to be from the Leaf, that was one of those, and she had ‘kidnapped’ one of theirs. She was going in the book for sure. But for now? She was free as a bird. 

His teeth chattered? This was nowhere near as cold as the laboratories and cells she was used to.

“Augh, seriously? For being a ninja, you sure are needy” she pretended to complain, but if he bought her bluff earlier, would it work to just…

under the pretense of simply heating him, she got the now-useless earth dome seal onto his back. There, false threat applied! He had some more of those weird knives he’d held for battle, she stole one plus a bit of his loose, long leg bandage for writing an address on. Kabuto had mentioned cutting off that bathhouse from his network, she had seen the address on notes he receive- wh- where was this kid touching her?!

“Hey, no touching me weird!” It came out squeakier than she would have liked, but that was private thank you very much! Threatening to remove his hands for good had him shift, full-on groping her other breast, and she reflexively gave him a good slap.

“Can’t see”

ah, right, she was so used to not seeing and writing with blood in complete darkness that she hadn’t realised he might need light. No lantern in her group’s cell… which was no longer her home. Strange thought. She glowed up, at least her power could be used for something. A reminder that prying wasn’t nice was enough to have him not ask about it, so he still thought her to be stronger than him and in charge.

Good, that made one of them… no! She had to appear superior!

Despite being from an enemy, out of necessity, the hug felt nice somehow as she let him warm himself. It reminded her of those early times, huddling with the other clones. She stuck the address slip into his pocket while snuggling in tight, if all went well she could be all cool later and tell him to deliver it to the address he already held! For now, she needed to establish a bond of sorts, to make sure he’d remember.

Oh, he’d start? His whisper was comfortable in the tight embrace. He asked about Kimimaro, she couldn’t help the shudder. Hopefully their paths would never cross again, because she knew how that Orochimaru-fanatic felt about deserters.

Her captive reacted strongly to the mention of that snake, oho~ fear, she could use that, just like it had always been used on her. Best applied calmly, with a smile, she had learned that from the best as far as she knew. Making small talk, letting him know exactly who raised her didn’t seem that effective at first, until he paused and checked his back.

There we go, success, heartbeat thrumming where she was checking his pulse unnoticed. Good- 

She blinked. Instead of the expected ‘I will call you my master’ or some such, as a sensible blackmail target would respond to her offer of serving her or dying, he had replied by proposing to her? Uh.

A laugh to cover uncertainty, like Kabuto did in arguments with other underlings. Scrambling for a quick reply so she wouldn’t appear flustered, right, love letters. That fit. “Oh my, what a smooth talker. I will consider it, but we have a lot to discuss”

“I will say you escaped while I was confused at the teleport, I never saw you after that” he tried squirming out of it, thinking her naive?

She stomped that out before he could consider more ways out, because clearly, he was a bright one and her impromptu ‘plan’ was surely riddled with loopholes. “As my future husband, you should send letters sometimes, don’t you think?” It worked, to her relief he asked for the address, already in his pocket. Keep him off balance, don’t let him think.

He handed the address back, claiming he’d memorised it, she made sure to threaten him properly. While her actual arsenal at the moment was one stolen knife and the ability to draw water and glow. Well, being a ninja was all about appearances, right?

Keep him off balance. “Yay! I got a boyfriend!” she giggled, deliberately girlishly, and gave him a good squeeze.

“Did you-”

huh, ah, if she plotted this whole kidnapping? No, sadly, she didn’t know enough about her new underling to claim that. Best never let him catch her in a lie, appear absolute. “No, I was going to grab somebody from Sand, but you kidnapped yourself so that worked out. Don’t worry! I only need one, so I will stay faithful to you, my Shadow” she promised in a smooth lie while petting his hair, somehow satisfying to touch.

She truly would only need one solid informant, this kid was unlikely to be it though. He was more of a backup, a lucky extra? Not likely for someone that young to get the info she needed. He added conditions in a shaky voice, sure, she had no need for clan secrets unless they were likely to be after her. Him as a tool was worth more than his information, she informed him as much. Oh, oops, he’d taken that as a threat she could have chosen to extract that information by force? Eh, whatever, him being stiff with fear was a good thing. She gave his arms a rub, knowing full well it wasn’t cold that had him shaking, and held his eyes until he broke eye contact.

Easily intimidated, clever enough, and kinda cute? ‘Shadow’ might not be the most useful, but for now, she was happy to have the first two major steps down; get free and snatch an informant to stay free. 

Falling asleep in his arms had been a mistake, but he didn’t seem to have realised because he was still properly scared in the morning. Lucky.

Directing him back where she thought they might have come from was clearly a bad move, when they hadn’t reached the village after a day she had him make another ditch for sleep while she silently panicked. Were they lost? Definitely. But how big even was this desert? She had never seen a map of the region. How populated was it? There had to be other villages, right?

Giving him half the now unsealed ration in silence and raising some water, she acted as if all was going to plan.

His fear seemed to have abated somewhat, can’t have that, but he didn’t seem to understand seals and treated them with distrust so how about- yeah, that should do it. Sketching out a storage seal on a piece of dress, she had him open his jacket and lift the silly yet intriguing fishnet shirt for her. Storing the blood under his skin should itch a bit. “To keep you loyal, surely you understand” she bluffed smoothly, and he shuddered as he watched it seep in and vanish.

Yeah, terrified once more, that should keep him in line until he learned sealing jutsu at least. 

The next day, thankfully, brought buildings to the horizon. Thank fuck, because they were out of food and her sunburn was bad.

Red skedaddled around the side of a red boulder, and watched as he noticed the buildings and looked back to find himself alone. Didn’t notice the footprint-sized divots forming a line to her, gah she should have erased those! Wanted him to think her powerful and able to teleport at will, after all.

He kept walking. Victory! 

She sketched out another earth dome tag, and made herself a shelter. By nightfall, he would surely be out of there, and she could sneak in for supplies and more covering clothes. 

Chapter Text

The training of being the quietest cleaner for a very irritable master was finally coming in handy.

Red held her dress, now the shades of the desert thanks to all the fine dust, tight to her body so the fabric flapping couldn’t give her away. She had one tag, ‘Shadow’ had called them hiraishin, hidden behind the boulder a safe distance away. Sketching out the second one right inside the village, she marked the spot with an ‘x’ in the sand. That would be the spot it was usable from, if she had to flee fast. This time, there was no stupid line of footprints to follow, she’d made sure of that.

Now, where would- huh, convenient, there was a pile of fabric near a doorway. She snagged it, whatever it was it was certainly big enough for her. Dirty tho, laundry then. Smelled sweaty. Augh, but thieves can’t be choosers.

Finding food was trickier, having to actually enter a building had her shaven scalp rise in goosebumps. The kitchen held round, large breads of some sort, they felt dry but at this point whatever edible was fine. She snuck some, and hurried back to her teleport point.

Only when she twirled back out behind the boulder did she feel able to breathe deeply once more, heck that had been scary. 

The clothes, although stinky, were local and gave her full sun protection. Red appreciated it as she wandered the next day, following what looked to be a trader from a distance.

She had no ill intentions, she was just relying on him knowing the way to another settlement, and as they walked on through the afternoon the sand felt more solid. Was he leaving the desert? Lucky.

He eventually settled for the night, campfire a red dot on a distant hill-like dune dotted with twigs, so she also made herself a dome for the night. 

But as she got up in the morning, something thudded against her dome? Ah, knocking? It didn’t sound like an attack, at least.

“Who’s there?” she asked carefully, and a muffled male voice replied; “Saboten Senninshou, the trader you have been following. If we are going the same direction, why not walk together?”

He… did not seem dangerous? But neither did Orochimaru, or Kabuto. Not seeming dangerous was what all well trained ninja should aim for.

“Thank you, but I would prefer some space”

“Alright, but you are welcome at my campfire tomorrow night” he offered, sand rustling as he trudged away.

On the one hand, he might have information. But on the other, her being seen at all was sellable intel for him. Still, knowledge was power, and she was pretty much powerless so far. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! 

First, she would need a cover story. By her clothes, clearly, she was from here. But someone from here wouldn’t be sunburnt! Ah, her parents had kept her inside to protect her? But then she’d need to make up parents, hmm.

Recently orphaned? Yeah, that worked. Both parents dying at once would be suspicious, right? Better go with one overprotective parent… having a mom appealed to her. Alright, now, how did names get made? She knew ‘Red’ was no proper, real name but it was hers nonetheless. -maru seemed like a common end of a name? Like Orochimaru and Shikamaru -Shadow- had. Sunamaru? Surely that was acceptable for a mom from sand.

She would be… Poppy? It was an ingredient in some of Kabuto’s medicines, the picture on the label had been a red flower she found pretty. If that was odd, children often had so-called ‘nicknames’, right?

Next, place of birth… somewhere in the desert, a small settlement. She found her mom dead in bed, Poppy was too distraught to search the body for cause of death, and wandered off. Found footsteps, and followed the trader? But how did one feign grief?

Augh, this was all so tricky! And he knew she could make earth domes, she would have to bring a tag over to show him it wasn’t a jutsu. Poppy was no ninja, she was a pathetic sheltered grieving child who had a few of her mom’s tags. No, but blood tags wasn’t standard, but she had no ink… augh! Best write tags now, so the blood would be properly dry by the time she showed it to him in the evening. She scribbled three up fast, and cracked the dome open to get out-

heck, he had waited nearby despite what she said! Stuffing the bloody tags into a baggy sleeve in a hurry, she hoped they didn’t smudge. “Mr. Senninshou, I thought I told you I would prefer some space?” 

“Sorry, little miss, but an adult cannot very well leave a child on her own out here. Say, how’d you make your shelter?”

So he was a bit of a liar, and nosy. Lovely. The tags were too fresh to be shown, better not answer that question too clearly for now. “I can show you this evening, only have a few tags left and I don’t want to waste them. They- they are all I have left from my mom” she mumbled quietly, studying her feet. Hopefully that was convincing?

“Are you travelling to live with relatives?” he asked, and yeah, that worked.

“Mom had an auntie at a hot spring, she said to go there if anything happened. But we didn’t have a map and all I know is the address?”

He listened and nodded as she gave him the address, then opened one of his bags? Some rummaging, and a scroll came out. A map! A proper, full one, with the countries labeled. Red did her best to memorise it all.

“We are hereish” he tapped the yellow, “Sand country, near the border to River country” his finger moved a bit. “I am going here, Fire country, but your auntie should be just a bit off the path in River. Don’t worry! I can take you to the nearby village”. He smiled, and rolled up the scroll. “You seem like a clever girl, not trusting strangers is good, but let this oldtimer help you out? Did you even bring food and water?”

She nodded, and slid a round bread out of a sleeve to show him.

“Traditional sand girlie all the way through, I see, won’t get those elsewhere. Treasure the flavour of home while you have it!” he laughed, so those rock-like awful breads must be a local thing. “Alright, we’re wasting daylight, you good to go?”

she gave him another nod, and they trudged in silence, him in the lead. Seems running was something ninja did, not civilians? A relief. Running in desert sand had been hell. “So” oh no, he was gonna keep jabbering wasn’t he “Your mom made seals? Can you maybe do some simple ones, storage seals?”

“No” she could honestly say “mine are wrong somehow, they are one time use and feel itchy?”

“How can a seal feel- no, never mind that. I could show you one that I use, if you promise to be gentle with it?”

Oh yes, that would be great! She didn’t have the chance to answer, he laughed at her obvious enthusiasm and fished out a small scroll. There were new, unknown symbols! Fresh knowledge! “What does this symbol do?”

“Uh, the wiggles mean something? Isn’t it ninja magic?”

oh right. “Mom never drew that wiggle”

“Oh, I see, so the pattern looks different. Think you could make me a copy?”

“I don’t have ink or paper”

“Ah, I have some. Tell you what, you draw me a scroll this evening, and I make us dinner. Deal?”

“Sure, but it might not work?” It sounded nice, getting to try making one the proper way.

“That is fine, it’s worth an attempt. A trader can never have enough storage”. He reached out, so she handed the scroll back. That symbol must be what made it reusable? Making it on paper, not on your skin, made sense with the itching. Red just wasn’t used to having items, belongings, things that were hers outside of her own body. It would take some getting used to, but with the sand robes she no longer had other uses for her old dress so maybe it could become her own storage? 

Saboten eventually did ask about her mother, she kept it short to avoid any lies that might trip her up later. Poppy’s mom, Sunamaru, had recently passed. Not knowing what else to do, she had gone looking for a way to her auntie in River Country.

“Your mom… was Sunamaru?” He asked, shit, was that a famous person?

“Probably not the one you are thinking of? My mom just wanted to live quietly”.

“... I… see.”

right, not using that backstory again. Something about it seemed to appear suspicious to the trader. “It makes sense that… she… would want to live in a remote place. My condolences” he eventually offered, she just nodded. What was with all the hesitation? Well, he dropped it at least. 

Evening came, and the trader picked a campsite. Sandy, but shrubby too, they must be getting close to the border Red thought as she settled and stacked some twigs.

“Right missy, I see you are terrible at that. Here, you do this instead” he said, and handed over a scroll and an ink bottle with a brush in a holder. She unpacked it, but kept an eye on his nimble hands building a campfire. There was a system to it, huh, for airflow? Neat. Wait, did that mean fire jutsu tags required air signs to-

“gonna try drawing it?”

Right. She dipped the brush and tested it on her hand, it was easy to use when she didn’t press too hard but it didn’t give the crackle of potency that blood did? “Are you sure this ink conducts chakra?”

“What’s that mean?”

Ah. “Wait, I’ll try something”

“Sure, have fun. I gotta find a good cactus for water, stay here.” He groaned as he got up with a crackle of old-people joints and left.

Time to see if this really was all it took to make sealing ink; pulling a hangnail had blood dripping down her nail, Red added it to the inkwell and stirred. Another test, success! It really was that simple all along, huh. Now then, sealing scrolls for storage. The additional symbol was the only new part, the rest was familiar, and it was quick work.

Saboten still wasn’t back, so she pulled out her dress and gave it the seal too. Her very own storage. Sealing one half of her last stone bread in each, she wrapped his up nicely, ink already dry. The dress fabric took longer, but finally dried too. Her stomach rumbled. Where was he? Maybe she’d just eat her half of the bread-

“RUN, POPPY!” came a distant yell from the next hill over. She snatched up the finished storages and ink set, surely he couldn’t fault her for that, and legged it out of there. Hey, he asked her to, okay? Not like she was capable of combat!

And yet, her stupid traitorous legs took her in a wide circle around the area, back toward where the yell had come from. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Somehow, despite barely knowing the guy, she felt indebted to him. He’d taught her an invaluable thing about seals just by letting her see one, and gave her a mental image of the world with his map too. For the first time since the friendly named clones, somebody had offered her help for her sake. She was no traitor like ‘Snitch’. Red repaid her debts.

Voices from ahead, she slowed and crept up behind a thick shrub.

“-any wares, he gotta have a camp nearby”

“Heard him shout, think there’s an assistant too”

“His footprints came from- ah, I see the campfire glow. Follow when you’ve disposed of him”

“Can’t we just let him go? Feels bad man”

“He might snitch, do it”

“... *sigh* fine”.

Saboten was on the ground, a shadowy figure looming over him while his partner walked away. Teleporting with him would have been an option… if she had planted a hiraishin primary tag anywhere. Stupid! Again! She was astoundingly bad at planning ahead, and it was becoming apparent. As it was, all she had were three earth dome tags that may or may not work after her shoddy storage of them, storage scrolls, ink, a brush, Shadow's knife, hm. It looked made for throwing? But she’d never thrown a weapon in her life, best not test that now.

Hurriedly unfurling her dress-seal, she ripped off a piece outside of the seal area and uncorked the ink once more. This better work! 

“Sorry ‘bout this, oldtimer, it ain’t personal-”

“HALT! Sand investigations unit, cease your actions- STOP! Come back here, ah, ninja! Release the tracking dogs!”

The would-be murderer skedaddled the moment Red turned on her brightest glow, both hands and head probably looking like three bobbing searchlights in the dark to him because her robes were made to stop the rays of the desert sun itself. Hopefully he alerted his buddy, and there would be something left of the trader’s bags? He had been carrying a lot.

For now, though, best sneak over and get the man who owed her dinner.

“Wh-”

“Shh! Come here, let’s hide for a bit?”

“But we should report to the sand ninja-”

“That was me, nobody else is here. Come on, can’t you crouch lower? You are sticking out of the bush”

“How-”

“Later?”

He fell silent, finally, and they waited for quite a while. A cricket played its melody, an owl hooted.

“Think it’s safe?” he whispered, somehow she had become the one in charge. 

“Hope so? I made a tag that can shoot fire just in case, but it’s theoretical, don’t really want to test it in actual battle?”

“Lassie, I’m grateful, but you shoulda ran”

Yeah, she knew that. “Couldn’t.”

“We’ll talk ‘bout it later, and your light trick” crap.

Sneaking back to camp, they found wares strewn about, but Saboten appeared to take it in stride. “Happens. We both lived, that’s the important part, but let’s keep moving just in case”.

She agreed. At least opening his new sealing scroll and getting half a dry bread cheered him up. 

A long and exhausting trek through near-complete darkness later, the landscape finally became more visible as the moon peeked out from behind the clouds. Seemingly more at ease in the relative brightness, the trader suggested setting up camp again.

Red instead led him to a dip in the terrain between some shrubs, and brought out a tag. “One of mom’s, it feels safer to be kind of indoors?”

“Honoured to be allowed in your abode” he replied, cracking his back before sitting down with his pack. The dome rose smoothly, not smudged then. Maybe it was fine, so long as the line drawn first was correct? Experiments for another day.

Red ate the rest of her crunchy bread in as much silence as such a meal allowed, and decided the trader was safe enough company to snooze a bit. 

The following day was uneventful, until Red spotted something odd at the bottom of a cliff. A reflection of the sky, in the ground? “What is that reflective line?”

“Ohoho, you truly never saw the world outside the desert, ey lassie? That is a river, it’s water, but don’t drink it. Need to boil it first”.

That was all water? With all the blue on the map, she’d thought only the oceans would amaze her, but water in the wild truly was an odd sight. “How is it reflecting the sky like that?”

“Still water just does that”

Saboten, she was finding, wasn’t the best teacher.

That evening, she finally tested her fire-shooting tag, it lit the campfire at least?

“Lassie, if that happens again, run.” he commented drily.

“Hey! I’ll improve it, just you wait and see” she huffed, settling to unroll the leftover dress fabric for seal tags. Might as well use it. “You owe me dinner” she reminded him, he snorted with humor and shook his head but did leave to fill the kettle at least. Thankfully, he still had dry ingredients. 

Hmm? The symbol she’d thought was ‘air’ was actually two halves, more noticeable when using a brush. What if she only used half? Activating that seal gave her a singular spark, then nothing, and even the cookfire dimmed for a bit. Uh, alright, no.

The other half, then- whoah! A fireball erupted skywards, good think she hadn’t aimed it at ground level. Success! …still one time use? Come on! The storage seal multi-use symbol wasn’t working on jutsu tags for some reason. But hey, making another (plus a few extras) was quick enough.

“Was that fire you, Poppy?” the trader was jogging back, breath huffing.

“Yeah! It works, see?” Using another was not a waste, it was important to be able to replicate findings! Kabuto had said nothing was science unless it worked the second time too. And okay, maybe she just wanted to make Saboten eat his doubt.

“Alright, now THAT’s impressive! You could do street shows, lassie!” he clapped her back, she almost toppled over.

“I can protect us now!”

“dangerous thought there, no, if there’s trouble you run an’ keep running. But it should be pretty safe from here, by this time tomorrow you’ll be in your auntie’s hot spring!”

She pouted, could he not see how awesome her attack tag was? But well, okay, in a battle between adult ninja like she’d seen Kimimaro and the Leaf guy do, she’d stand no chance. For now.

Hm? Something moved in the kettle! “What is that?”

“Dinner? Ah right, child of the sand and all, never seen a fish. Figures. Hope you’re no picky eater”. 

Fish, as it turned out, was AMAZING. As was rice. And the dried seaweed topping.

“Can you teach me to catch a fish? Please? Pretty please, Senninshou-sama, could you? They are so tasty!”

He laughed, yes! Victory! “Alright, alright, can’t say no to that. Owe you my life, lassie, least I can do is teach ya how to feed yerself. Come along” but she was already ahead of him, skipping toward the river, home of delicious~ fishies! “Slow down, or you’ll scare ‘em” he cautioned, and she froze. Can’t risk that!

“Now, what you want to look for is holes like that. Stick your hand in, you’ll feel if there’s a fish. They are slippery bast- erm, try to grab the mouth or the sides of the head with ‘em flappy bits” he instructed as she stuck her arm right into a hole.

Something moved! Getting a firm grip was tough, it felt like the whole creature became slippery muscle when panicked, but she got a good grip on something and held on tight! Pulling it out, yes! It was bigger than his had been, more tastiness! Grabbing it by the other end apparently worked, too. Her stomach growled, she could absolutely go for seconds.

“Quick learner, let’s get that grilled up. If we have leftovers, tomorrow’s breakfast is fish congee”.

Whatever that was, she made a note to leave at least one portion of the tastiness for another fish dish. 

Saying goodbye the next day was unexpectedly tough. Sure, Saboten was just a random old guy she met a short while ago, but he had taught her many important things. Like how to get tasty food. And other things, sure, but fish. Best thing in existence, as far as she knew.

“Thinking about fish again?”

“Maybe?”

he laughed, and ruffled the hood of her sand robes. “Take care o’yerself, lassie, your auntie’s that-a-way”

“safe travels”

he waved her goodbye in reply, and then Red was on her own once more.

Right, time to see if her Shadow had sent a note. And to finally leave a sensible hiraishin getaway tag, seriously, she should always have a primary one ready to go! The hot spring thankfully still existed, according to the sign it did all sorts of wondrous things.

Red believed none of it, this spring wasn’t actually even naturally hot, the bath was wood-fire heated. It was using the name to attract customers, but it was just a bathhouse. 

Saboten had insisted on giving her the ink and brush set, and a pouch of coins. They were heavy and clinked, those might come in handy here. She had heard most people valued money, which made sense when it was the legal way of attaining goods and services.

Maybe she could at least get her robes cleaned here, the smell was getting unbearable. Not ideal for hiding. 

Chapter Text

Sitting in a tree outside the bathhouse for a while, Red observed it carefully. The smoke rising from behind it indicated it was not abandoned, at least, but it was quiet and the area seemed deserted.

Something splashed, hidden by the building, and soft rustling in the bushes to the side drew her eye.

Ah, she’d heard of those; a so-called ‘pervert’, her named friends who’d been outside called them the scum of the earth. The impressive mane of white hair gave him away as he clearly peeked on whoever was in there. Reporting him to the owner would be as good of an introduction as any, and so she hid her storage ‘scroll’ dress with the sealing equipment and most of her money under a thorny bush and headed in. Bells tinkled as she brushed aside the door curtain. “Hello?”

There was some shuffling in a back room, and then an older but pretty woman appeared. “How can I help- right, augh, a bath and laundry I take it?” Her voice sort of creaked, like old floorboards. 

Red blushed, yeah, the sweat stench was intense. “Sorry, yes. But there is a pervert outside, he is peeking on the bath” 

“AGAIN? Aaargh, give me a moment” she grumbled, and brought a stack of wooden pails with her outside? A series of thunks followed.

“I was just doing research-”

“Get out of here before I go hire guards!” Out of curiosity, Red peeked out to see the defeated pervert leaving, next to the spring owner he looked massive and yet as she raised another wooden bucket he cowered and left. She had a powerful presence, better look and learn. “Damn loose hound, hope his balls shrivel up and fall- oh, right, let’s get you a robe and soap” and she was back to businesswoman, just like that.

“I told my betrothed I would be visiting here, did he leave me a note?”

“Aren’t you a bit young- ah, whatever, here’s the letterbox. Read through, maybe one is yours”.

Probably why Kabuto decided to no longer use this place, wow, she was really allowed to read them all? Some were clearly meant for less-than-innocent couples, and were very raunchy, but there were things to be learned there too. Others seemed like information, but encoded, useless to her. And there, to her relief, a note addressed to ‘the light of my life, my future wife’, clearly her Shadow really was a clever one.

Skimming through the rest of the box, she learned a few bits and pieces. Long hair was considered desirable, sweets were commonly seen as a go-to gift, flirting involved a good amount of comparing people or parts of them to flowers and landscapes? She should probably take most of this ‘intel’ with a grain of salt. One longer letter mentioned unrest in a place hidden in the mist? Gonna avoid that. “I found my letter, madame…?”

“Yuge Suchimu. You can call me whatever. But if he’s flirtin’ with one your age, via anonymous notes? That one’s no good, get yourself a better man. Or better yet, avoid ‘em altogether if you can, miss..?”

Nobody else knew what she called herself, and she’d be returning here, best go with her name so she couldn’t mess up and use the wrong one in the future. “Red”.

“That’s not a name. But alright, sure, fine. Call yourself what you want. Here, stop fouling the air, do you know how to use an outdoors bath?”

“Scrub first, rinse, then go in?”

“Good. And no swimming, splashing, or screaming. Unless you see the pervert again.”

“Understood, Suchimu-sama!” she said with motivation, super ready to be clean.

The owner cracked a smile, the wrinkles around her eyes somehow making it more genuine. “Good girl, now go. Shoo. Smelly thing”

Red giggled, and brought her rental basin with soap, towels, and a robe to the girls’ changing room. It was old and worn, but smelled like pine needles and sandalwood. 

Sparkling clean, Red later went to check how her laundry was doing. Huh, it was redder than expected? Either it had been impressively dirty and dusty, or the detergent they used had changed the colour somehow. The under-layer was still dark brown.

It needed time to dry, and the coins she’d brought with her in was enough for a snack and tea, so Red enjoyed a peaceful tea time on a bench under a pine tree. Ahh, Shikamaru had been right, living peacefully and uneventfully was the best. Hopefully there’d be more of this, time to laze about was precious.

Now, what had he written? Huh, he must have gotten the impression she cared about the fates of her former ‘teammates’, well, the unnamed sick one surviving wasn’t bad. He was still buying the bluff-seal on his chest, neat. Might get a few more letters out of him. ‘You are missed here’ meant she had gotten on the Leaf’s bad side, as expected. Best avoid the huuuge country of Fire, just in case. The ‘yours forever and always’ was a cute touch, Kabuto would have loved to have an informant this subtle and smooth. But Shadow was aallll hers!

Red giggled, and clutched it to her chest, aware of the owner’s gaze. Best act like a silly girlie in love. 

“Make sure to tell your friends about my bath, and be back, you hear? Good customers are too rare these days”

Yuge grumbled in farewell, and here, Red could properly promise “I’ll be back for sure!”

“Bring less sand next time, or we’ll have a beach with a sign, ‘donated by Red’” she grumped good-naturedly, yeah, there had been a pile of it where she’d dumped the laundry water.

Red smiled, waved, and pretended to leave. After walking for a bit, she snuck into the forest by the roadside and doubled back for her stuff, luckily still where she left it.

Making a hiraishin tag close to the entrance was maybe a bit risky, but there was a hollow tree with plenty of dry hiding spaces that seemed perfect, so her teleport point was set. Making the framework for the secondary tag without the from-location yet was easy enough, less for her to have to scribble on the fly when she needed it someday.

Being able to seal stuff away for travel was the best! The storage went under her upper clothing layer, and she was ready to go! …where? Err, there was that. Couldn’t stay here, it would drain her money. Best figure out how to make more? But first, while she probably wasn’t wanted in this region yet, time to go see a real village from up close! There was one nearby, she hadn’t wanted to be seen while grimy so she’d avoided it but now there was no reason to. 

Gold, both the colour and material, was apparently a big trend in the area. The village seemed generally well-off, sturdy wooden buildings similar to the ‘hot spring’ bathhouse were more common here but there were also a few desert-style smooth facades around.

Red found she enjoyed crowds; they let her study everything without really being seen herself, just one sand robe among the many. Jewelry stands were frequent along the busy roads, as were fabric sellers and trinket vendors. The fabrics appealed to her, while tags and scrolls were traditionally paper she much preferred the sturdiness of cloth. Any colour would be fine, could she get pre-cut squares maybe?

Comparing prices and materials taught her a few things about the world as the eager salespeople babbled; silk apparently came from the Land of Silk, which hadn’t been on the map. Incomplete, or just tiny, or off to one of the sides not shown maybe? Linen came from Grass Country, meaning there were safe trade routes going there, so she probably could too. Red eventually settled on some linen, cut into tag size as she claimed to need patches that size for replacing several shirt collars and pockets for her dad. ‘Such a dutiful daughter’ the seller, a wide woman, cooed at her and gave her a discount. Neat!

Stack of tags stuck up her sleeve, Red explored a few streets less trafficked, and bought dried foods similar to those Saboten had used for cooking. That, at least, was cheap.

The familiar scent of lye brought her to a chemist, an actual indoors store with crates of reagents and herbs. Picking out the tools and ingredients for making her own wares to sell was paused as a rude hand grabbed hers.

“This is not for children to play with!” a bearded man snarled, trying to put her shopping back on the shelf.

“Hey, I was buying that, for soap making!”

That made him pause, and he seemed to scan through her picks. “Hm. Apologies, an apprentice, I see. Tell your master to get you a visible wood tag, for next time.”

A wood tag? Apprentice, yeah, that worked with her age. In this area, that’d be her story; soapmaker’s apprentice, left in charge of restocking and selling products. “I will. Could you grab that tray for me, wait, make that two?”

“too high up for pipsqueaks, huh. Alright, will that be all?”

“Do you have scented oils, or extracts of other sorts, for soap scents? And skin safe dye powders?”

“Mmm, hold on, we got a few of those… orange or lavender, it seems, no idea if our dye is safe”

“How much are the scents?” 

Scented oils, as it turned out, were expensive. Red decided plain was fine, for now, she could add finely chopped pine needles for a mild scent for free. Paying left her money pouch noticeably lighter, but the tools were necessary for her future. Especially the mortar and pestle, so she could make her own dyes, scents, spices… for fish…

her stomach rumbled. Sealing it all made her storage ‘scroll’ feel nearly full somehow? Like putting more in would be tricky? Huh. Explained why Saboten had needed more than one. Last things she needed to buy was cooking equipment, that would have to get its own storage scroll, so she needed a big piece of fabric and a belt to hold them both. Shopping was tiring and expensive! 

Eventually geared up, Red sought out a river and unceremoniously grabbed a big fish that was just chilling under a bridge. Easy prey. It was different-looking, white with orange splotches? But it was also tasty enough.

Having eaten the first one after grilling it on a stick, she went back to catch a second one while her rice bubbled in the pot. The fish… came to her? Practical! The second one was orange and black, before she skinned and gutted it and threw away the bones she could get out. Adding the fish meat to the rice, she sprinkled in a bit of her new dried seaweed, and stirred well.

Fish congee had been tastier when the trader made it, but then again, that fish had been tastier than these ones. Maybe there were species of fish, like how desert hares and forest bunnies were different. Hm, she should try eating those sometime. 

Stuffed, with enough left in the pot for another meal, Red decided she might as well use the remaining heat in her campfire's embers for soap making. The finished product would be a foggy-clear white with pine needle bits of green for now, but around this time tomorrow it would be ready to cut, after which she could already sell a few with instructions to let them cure for at least four weeks before use.

Getting to do it for herself, not for the underground labs, was soothing. From now on, Red’s skills were for her own sake, and hers alone.

The scents of a good meal, freshly cut pine needles from the stubby trees, and soap were making her comfortably drowsy, so she doused the last embers and brought out an earth dome seal. Maybe when she’d sold off some soaps, she could buy some comfort items, like a bedroll and blanket? Thoughts for then. For now, sleep was all that mattered. 

She was being chased by angry people, and had no idea why.

Red hadn’t asked about their reasons when they came after her right as she packed up after breakfast, and she certainly wasn’t stopping to have them clarify now. One had yelled something about ‘park’ and ‘ornamental’, strange words she had not encountered before. ‘Bonsai’, too.

Well, she was faster, they were finally falling behind.

Alright, lesson learned, camp further away from settlements. There were strange folks in those. 

Circling back around in a wide arch after (hopefully) losing them for good, Red approached the town from the other side, and found a spot by the busy road to offer her tray of freshly cut soap slabs.

“How much?” a man asked in a very heavy accent, materials had cost three so she held up nine fingers. He bought half the tray without haggling, lucky!

The rest also sold out fast, people apparently did not mind having to cure them at home if it meant cheaper soaps than the ready-to-use cured ones sold in shops.

Money pouch almost as heavy as it had been when she got it, just with more small change, it was shopping time again. Red got a thick wool blanket and splurged on the orange scented oil.

“Your master sent you back for it, huh, make sure to tell them we got lavender too”

“I told him, he picked the orange” because it was stronger-smelling, she could get more batches out of it, Red thought. A few would-be customers had lost interest when she’d had no scent options to choose from. 

An enticingly spicy scent pulled Red away from the town, to a small shop in the outskirts. A sign out front held words she didn’t know, but she did get that it was affordable meals. She’d had a good breakfast, but a lunch before hitting the road to search for a campsite would be nice.

A loud jingle startled her as she opened the door, ah, it had smacked a large metal bell.

“Welcome to the Curry of Life shop! Are you here for a portion of our famed specialty, or- oh, a little girlie, huh? Better order something milder, potato curry maybe?”

Being babied and underestimated in situations where it wasn’t useful was irksome. How spicy could it be? “One curry of life, please”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, but lookie, we have a kid’s menu”

“Not interested. If you aren’t selling your specialty, I’m leaving”

“Alright, but don’t try to claim we didn’t warn you” the old cook said, Red rolled her eyes. 

Her eyes were watering, mouth on fire, tongue feeling swollen. Swallowing each bite was a challenge, her throat hurt, but it was tasty! And completely new!

“Well, I’ll be. A tiny thing like you, chowing down on a dish that makes grown men cry, you’re really something. I’m Sansho, can I have your name for the wall of fame?”

“No.”

“Alright, alright, enjoy your meal. Here’s your change”

“Thank you”.

“A shame, I would have loved to rub it in the faces of some of the thugs coming through here, that a kid ate my cooking just fine”.

“It’s almost as good as fish!”

Sansho laughed, and brought another ladleful over. “Here, refill free of charge. You need to grow”

“Thank you, Sansho-sama!”

“No -sama needed, eat up”.

This, Red decided, would be one of the places she’d return to when checking her mail. “Do you know if there is a place to gain knowledge nearby? A place with scrolls or books maybe?”

“A hunger for learning, too, you really are an unusual little one. The local library of the next town over, Artisans’ village, should do it. It isn’t the best, or the most up to date, but you should find some history at least”

“Where would I need to go for newer information?”

“Your best bet would be the hidden villages of the larger nations, but that is a far way to go and the roads are treacherous. Better stay within the country” The cook left Red to her planning as a group of customers entered.

Yeah no, the big countries seemed scary. They had ninja. A village of artisans should appreciate her handmade soaps, best get some started tonight! 

The afternoon was uneventful, being able to walk up vertical walls gave her a safe campsite on a cliff overlooking a forest.

It also gave her a chance to find out what a rabbit tasted like, there were plenty at the base of the cliff, but they were fast! Especially when she was close and thought she had one, it’d suddenly change directions and bolt away. One even jumped AT her, startling her and giving it a chance to escape, but that one had not counted on her reflexes. She got it by a hind leg, it struggled fiercely until her knife ended it. Finally!

Trudging back up the cliff was tiring, but the grilled meat later was worth it. A good third place, after the first type of fish and curry. She needed to get her hands on some of those spices, a quest for tomorrow if she reached the village of artisans.

Making soaps to trade or sell took a while, both her trays got filled this time. Pine, and orange. Good scents. A bit of leftover orange soap in the metal beaker could become her own bar, she’d knead it into a clump in the morning when it had cooled. 

She still had no idea why a colour had a scent tho. There was no colouring from the oil, no dye, yet it smelled orange? Strange thing to name a smell. It almost seemed like it should be tasty somehow, but she knew better than to try. 

The village of artisans, it turned out, was more stuck-up and snobbish than expected of a place that seemed to mostly sell weapons. Most ‘customers’ only made comments about it being an ‘unfinished product’, and scoffed at the prospect of curing soap themselves.

Some asked if she had coloured, shaped, or even styled soaps with landscapes or other imagery? You could do that? But a few, mostly elders, hummed and bought several pieces each, commending the simplicity and her focus on practicality. They insisted on paying more, so she raised her asking price, and they sold better after that? Odd people.

One lady exclaimed at the ‘novelty’ of getting to cure her very own soap.

Red found she liked the previous village better, even if this one did pay well each sale took forever. They babbled a lot. It was just soap, why try to make it special? Everyone needed soap. It was for using, not for looking at.

By the time she was out, it was getting dark. Spices shopping would be a mission for tomorrow, then. 

The library was open, even at night! Nice. Red snuck in, thankful there was no bell on this door. She wanted to read everything, not socialise! There was a person at a desk, they did not notice her creeping by overhead. Chakra was convenient, she ought to find more tricks like that.

Starting at the very back, as far from the person as possible, she pulled a scroll from the top of the first rack. ‘Weight Loss through Meditation’? She skimmed through, yeah no, she knew lies when she saw them. This scammer hadn’t even believed his own drivel. But it taught her that some wide people did not wish to be wide, it could apparently be uncomfortable.

Putting it back, she pulled the next scroll. ‘Records of the Cultivation of Purely Orange Carrots’. It wasn’t lies, at least, and she learned that vegetables were bred from wild plants and meticulously selected for desirable traits. Fascinating…

Lying down to nap a bit later, after reading through one shelf, Red summarised her more important findings so far: Two new, promising symbols for sealing jutsu that had been on a scrap of paper stuffed in a journal as a bookmark. Knowledge about the school system, where children apparently learnt the things needed to become proper adults. But the book had not included said learnings, just statistics and lots of words she didn't know. The history of this village, which despite the author’s fervent dismissal of facts, was definitely in decline. The existence of a disguising jutsu to appear as another person, but there had been no instructions. Still, knowing people might not look how they appear was important intel in itself.

Other than that, she now knew what an ‘ornamental garden’ was, and bonsai, and pet fish… oops. Ah well, those two koi were eaten and gone, nothing she could do about it. The puny trees should be fine, she just gave them a haircut. Speaking of which, her scalp was finally covered once more, hair fine as silk thread barely long enough to start laying down. 

Oh, and she had learned one more very important thing: Apparently this was close to the Land of Waves, home to tasty tasty ocean fish? The scroll had been on cooking recipes, apparently saltwater fish were even tastier than what she had so far. It would be her next stop for sure.

She even knew how to get there! A scroll had mentioned ninja walking on water, surely it couldn’t be harder than walking upside-down on the ceiling. Right? 

Red squeaked as she lost balance yet again, her already soaked robes getting another good dunking as she fell in. Good thing she had put her belt with the scrolls aside, because water walking was much harder than expected.

But she had gotten to the point where she could take a step, that was progress. Shifting her weight and chakra at the same time would take some getting used to, surely ninja learned this in a more proper way. Maybe there was a trick to it, but try as she might, Red could see none. Only repetition, repetition, repetition.

At least the heat of the day couldn’t bother her in icy wet robes. Cautiously stepping back onto the surface, she pulled her other leg back out, and stood for a bit while shifting her weight from side to side. It made the surface ripple prettily- a fish!

She fell in again, possible dinner escaping at speed. Drat, so distracting!

Deciding she’d had enough for now, Red spread her robes on a smooth rock, and let the sun bake them. And herself, for a moment, before retreating to the shade of a nearby tree. While the feeling of sun on her skin was growing on her, the memory of that first sunburn still had Red cautious of it. All things in moderation. 

Tying her wool blanket on as robes and securing it with her scroll belt looked a bit odd, but she wasn’t planning on being seen. Red had decided she might as well spend her break in the library, there had been a dictionary and some other books and scrolls she hadn’t been through yet.

And she was plotting a crime; sneaking a few of the more useless scrolls to be used as paper for experimenting with her two new symbols! She was SO not wasting fabric tags on that. Slipping in unnoticed was easy enough, there seemed to be nobody on duty today. The back was as quiet as the rest, her little pilfered pile ready to be sealed away, and with a poof they became hers. Rejoice, paper rolls, for you are no longer doomed to eternally stay useless!

Settling with a book, Red did not feel guilty in the slightest. 

Returning unseen from a successful break, Red dreaded getting back on the water. She was warm now! It would feel even icier! She sealed up the blanket, turned her still-damp robes, and securely hung her belt in the tree. Doing it naked would let her put on dryish warm clothes after, at least.

But to her surprise, it was easier now? Her legs felt steadier, oh right, being tired might have just made it harder earlie- fish! She wobbled, but didn’t fall in, could she maybe? Sneaking up on it, her shadow behind her on the bottom, Red pounced- and got it! The icy water didn’t matter, because dinner! Fish dinner! She climbed back out, and happily skipped across the surface- huh. It really was that easy. She had been making it harder than it needed to be all along.

That grilled fish tasted like victory. 

A final shopping trip had to be done, one of the stolen scrolls became a third storage and she sorted her stuff so it made more sense. Tools for cooking and cooking ingredients in one, soapmaking tools and reagents in another, and her blanket plus ink set and tags in the last.

Finding a place that sold spices was easy enough, there was a food market and it had a starter set. Getting a second set of clothing was more challenging, there were lots of armor shops but those were expensive. Not now, then.

Her final essential was a float, for taking breaks on, a river fisherman told her to ask the dockmaster 'Amibune' further downstream so she ran for a while. Running for your life was no fun, but running just for the sake of it felt freeing. Especially downhill. 

Wow, seeing it from the last hill of the coast, the ocean truly did span the horizon! All that, and the whole thing held fish. Amazing. It sparkled in the evening sun, pretty too. Red thought she might love the ocean already.

The breeze smelled exciting, pretty white birds swooped by barely moving their wings. Sure, those were inland too, but here they felt at home. In their element. Somehow, despite never having been to the ocean before, she too felt more at ease here. It felt right?

Alright, then, she’d hide another primary hiraishin tag here. Under the rafters of a boathouse seemed good. Adding a criteria, if z is specified, she pulled one of her prepared secondary tag and designated it z. There, paired! Now she could select a destination by picking a tag to complete. 

Setting out so late in the evening seemed risky, and there was nobody around to get her a float, so Red settled on the beach and tested a few combinations with her new symbols.

Yes! Her fire shooting one was multi-use now, as was the earth dome. She immediately made fabric versions, for longevity.

The other new symbol made the dome swirly-shaped and uncomfortably narrow, but otherwise didn’t do much, she would keep it in mind for shape-changing earth jutsu in the future. On a short-range hiraishin, beach to other side of beach, using both symbols removed the swirling sensation and made the tags reusable… from set positions, not all that useful. She’d just keep those single-use, for now. She would have to find some way to specify herself, no matter where she was, as the starting coordinate. Well, progress was good!

After a practice jog on the water, she gathered some dry wood and lit it- whoah, green-blue flames! The world was full of unexpected wonders. Enjoying the sight, Red settled to cook herself a leftovers soup. Tomorrow’s meals would come from the ocean! 

Waking to salty sea air felt great!

Red snuck onto the mirror-still surface before dawn, and scouted out her options. There were strange star-shapes, balls of needles, oddly shapen colourful lumps and fleshy tentacle things. But the fish were there, too, big and small. Some were round like balls, some flat like doormats, but she eventually settled on a largeish brown one swimming lazily in a deeper underwater bowl of sorts. It came near the surface, and she pounced, but it got away!

Fish hunting while naked had been the correct choice, she had only meant for her arms to go through but lost balance and toppled in entirely. Crawling back onto the surface, she sought another prey, huh, there was a scarily huge fish. It was coming towards her, like the koi..?

Something told her to sidestep that, and as she did, the fish launched itself out of the water and passed her! As if in slow motion, she saw a maw full of very pointy teeth fly past, wow. Good thing she had stopped using Saboten’s fishing method of sticking her arm in where she couldn’t see.

Walking back to shore while keeping an eye on the scary fish, she got her knife from the clothes and headed back out. It might be tasty. 

It was! Red happily chowed down on her plentiful prey, she had grilled pieces and boiled some for later too and yet she still had leftovers! But this sort of fish could pose a threat during her upcoming ocean journey, if she failed to notice one or there were several they might not be so easily dodged. How expensive would a small boat be? Could she pull one, on water?

No, right? That would make no sense, her footing was water. Not gonna let her- but wait, she did get friction on it somehow? She could jump and run. Huh.

Best to test it first. Hauling a big, exposure-whitened log from the shore, Red easily skipped over the water with it in tow. Err, she might need to read up on physics. Okay, pulling a little boat would pose no problem! Getting one might be the challenging part. 

Chapter Text

As she was packing up her little camp, dressed and ready for the day, movement on the hilltop she’d come from yesterday caught Red’s eyes. People, carrying a lot of luggage. 

She decided to hide and observe them for a bit, they entered a boathouse near the dock and made lots of noise in there. Curious, she snuck closer. 

“Sure you want to go? The state Wave’s in right now…” a deep voice rumbled, sounding worried. 

“A contract’s a contract, they surely still need the tools and I need those crabs and purpur shells for another client. Can’t stop trading over rumors! Plus, my ship handles best solo, you know that” 

A trader, travelling to Wave? Nice! Red walked up confidently, shell sand rustling at her feet, and knocked politely on the open door. They turned to her- and froze? 

Uh oh, had her debut in the bingo book made it here already? Or were they just not expecting another person here so early in the day? 

“If you are going to Wave, could I pay for passage?” she tried, testing the waters. 

“... Uzumaki?” the tall, bald one asked, heck, that was the material she was cloned from. Had that somehow been added to her entry? 

“No, I am from sand, my name is Poppy.” 

“Sweetheart…” one of the men said, the owner of the deeper voice, a beardy stockier fellow. He was stepping closer. She took a step back. “We know an Uzumaki when we see one, even if it has been decades. Can’t deny you on our ships, but I wouldn’t recommend going there now” he had stepped back, too, seemingly afraid to scare her off? 

“My name is not Uzumaki” she tried feebly. 

“Your father might have been?” The third man thoughtfully ventured, willowy in a way that reminded her of Orochimaru but softer-looking somehow, and she shrugged. 

They weren’t trying to grab her, for now. Not bounty hunters. “What’s wrong with Wave?” 

“Their ships have stopped visiting, there are rumors of rogue ninja being seen entering harbors and stealing along the shores. Those don’t seem unrelated” Beardy rumbled. 

“But you are still going?” 

The bald trader who had been preparing to leave sighed and replied. “Somebody has to check on them, see what’s going on, and it’s not like we know anything has actually happened?” but he hurriedly added “that doesn’t mean someone like you should go. Leave it to the adults.” 

Agh, this again. Sure, Red had no idea what her age was, not like she was truly ‘born’ in the first place and there had been no way to know if their day cycle her makers had set underground matched that on the surface. But she couldn’t be that young! Kids looking her age were already ninja! 

“I can handle myself! Look!” She whipped out the reusable fire tag she’d first made on paper, and fired several shots away from the building. Somebody whistled behind her at the display. 

“Never thought I’d get to see that again, an Uzumaki sealmaster blazin’ it up” ‘Beardy’ rumbled, sounding awed. 

The only correct reaction, Red agreed. Still. “Not an Uzumaki” 

“So she says. I’m okay with this one joining my ship” the trader commented, nice! 

“Oi, can’t risk her out there, augh, fine. I’m coming with” the bearded man reluctantly said. 

“Hell, you know what? Count me in” the third man smiled, shifting like a dancer to lift a hatch in the wall and retrieve a crate. 

“All of you? My ship would sink!” the trader protested. 

“We’re taking mine. Come on, chop chop, move the cargo. With the honour of an Uzumaki on board, we gotta go with style”. 

“I’m not-” 

“We get it. Your kind gets hunted down, right? Your hands are too fragile-lookin’ and light-coloured to hail from the desert of Sand, and you are wearing your robes all wrong missy. Not the most convincing disguise. Plus, none but those of your lineage have hair that shade” the apparent leader, the bearded shorter one commented drily. 

Crap, she had been twisting her robes around a lot lately since they got wet so often, had she put them back together wrong? And the red hair was… uncommon? Come to think of it, had she seen any since escaping? 

“I can teach you how to wear ‘em correctly during the journey, but for now, my ship has some deck boys’ yukata that should fit. I’m Fune” 

“Wasen” 

“Amibune, at your service” 

“We grew up near Uzushio, we know to respect the sealmasters of the sea.” Fune said proudly. 

“Err, don’t expect too much?” Sure, Red was happy to have transport, but she wouldn’t be able to protect three civilians on her own! Even if her fire seal was awesome. 

“We’re, well, we have our tricks too. Let’s discuss it off shore” 

The ship they would be using was more worn-looking than the first one had been, but in a reliable sort of way. Sturdy, if kinda ugly. Fune, captain of the ship, directed them out of the shallows with sure, smooth motions while the other two moved ropes and did things with ship parts she had no understanding of. 

They didn’t seem to need to speak in order to communicate? Ah, their hands, she knew some of those signs! 

Signing ‘question. Action’ had the captain sign several things back that she didn’t get. “Sorry, I only know a few ones” 

“we all start somewhere. Let’s start with the directions” 

“Fune?” 

“Amibune, you’re in charge of gettin' us off the coast. Our guest wants to learn” 

“I could teach her-” 

“She asked ME, shoo, steer ‘er well” 

You’d think they’d leave it at that, but a surprising amount of bickering followed, old debts and favours got pulled into the light and suddenly Wasen -the trader- was in charge of teaching her the signs. 

“I am teaching her the trick ‘o the light later” Amibune seemed to sulk as he got the ship moving once more, and Fune added “I swear, no respect for the captain in this crew. Water walking’s on me, then” 

“Ah, I can walk on water” 

“ocean fishing, then?” 

“Why would she need to learn-” Amibune’s brow wrinkled, but Red wasn’t missing out on such an opportunity. 

“YES please! Fish is awesome!” 

“Uzumaki hunger’s why” Fune clarified. 

“Ah”. 

Suddenly, Red had not only transport but also teachers? Getting all the hand signs down pat was easy enough, Wasen was a patient tutor and gave plenty of examples. When she pulled out her leftovers for lunch, he even went downstairs with it to fry the pieces up for her! 

The scary fish was apparently called ‘shark’, and had its own sign. Exploring the ship’s interior while he cooked, Red found a room with three wide fabric blankets attached with ropes to hang horizontally in the air? 

“Ah, there you are, those are for sleeping in. That room over there is the cargo hold, this wall here is the other side of the fish bin you saw on deck. Over here’s the stove, but best leave that to me, fire’s dangerous on a ship. This is where we eat when we’re at rest, we anchored off the coast just now so we’ll have a bite too.” 

Wasen had prepared the shark with some dark green, shiny stuff? There were breads, too, thankfully not the desert variety. 

“What’s that?” 

“Never had fresh seaweed before? Think you’ll like it, scallops too” Amibune said happily, he was coming down the stairs with an armful of large seashells? 

Fune trudged down after him, rubbing his beard with a towel. His dark blue yukata was sopping wet. “Gonna get changed, I’ll find you a yukata while I’m at it. Let’s see, ‘bout the height of my elbow eh?” 

“Am not!” She stretched, they laughed but she was definitely closer to shoulder height. She was not that small! 

Sharing a meal with near-strangers felt odd, would parting with them later make her feel like something was missing for days, like it had after Saboten left? 

They bickered even while eating, despite looking serene and reasonable Amibune had apparently pushed his captain in to fetch the scallops for her to try them since Fune was the best diver. She was glad he had, who knew seashells could have tasty parts? The ocean was amazing. Seaweed was good fresh too, but harder to chew than the dried variety. Red tried to make sure not to take more than her fair share, but all three of them kept piling her plate until she was stuffed! 

“Full already? We’ll just have to have meals more often, then, Uzumaki metabolism is no joke” Amibune said, sounding concerned despite her eating more than him, a grown man. 

“Need to get some meat on ‘em bones” Fune agreed. 

So first they called her small, and now they were saying she was scrawny too? Red huffed in annoyance. 

“They mean it well” Wasen assured her, but still! It was, well, it was maybe not all bad to be pampered like this. But she was big enough! And capable! She was no little child to be fussed over! 

“Feeling ready to try learning a jutsu?” Amibune offered, oh, definitely! Fine, she’d forgive them. For now. 

“You’re ninja?” 

He laughed at that. “No, we are fishermen through and through. But those who fished Uzushio waters needed to know a few tricks to stay safe. What I will be teaching you is a way to be less noticeable, to non-ninja at least. It works for animals, too, but not summons. In ninja terms, I think it is genjutsu?” 

“Awesome! How do I start?” 

“You release cha- wait, heck, Uzumaki chakra. We are not doing this inside” he sounded panicked, but she didn’t even know how to ‘release’ it… wait, wasn’t that what she did when walking on walls and water? 

“I can see those gears turnin’, out, now. Shoo” Fune said, also nervous. Alright, alright, but why were they being so skittish about it? 

Amibune led her off the boat and walked some distance on the water with her, then vanished? 

No, he was still standing right there, but focusing on him was tricky somehow. The air around him wavered like heat-haze in the desert. 

“Start by trying to release just a tiny bit of chakra, all over your body?” he suggested, and stepped back. 

Sure, just like when she was clambering back on the surface after ‘fishing’, she could release it evenly- huh, the water rippled around her, circular waves sloshing away. 

“Even less!” he implored, ship in the distance now bobbing on the ripple waves. 

Reducing it was tricky, it already felt like she was using so little, but gradually the ripples calmed and the sea was smooth once more. 

Hmm? There was no wind, yet they had sailed earlier? “How did the sail make us move so fast, in this weather?” She had realised how that should have worked, in theory. 

“A seal, I’ll show you after this. For now, try to ripple your chakra like you can see I am doing?” 

Unknown seals? This trip was getting better and better. Making her chakra shaky on purpose was new, and Red almost fell through the surface trying. 

“Not under your feet!” 

“I noticed” this was hard! 

“You are doing it!” 

Wait, she was? 

“Now, this weird haze was to show you, it should not actually look like that. Try pulling it close to your shape, like this” he explained, and very nearly vanished entirely. Only looking right at where she knew he was made him fully visible. 

Rippling her chakra all over, not releasing too much, keeping her footing on the water, AND shaping her chakra all at once was super tricky! She tried her best, but- Fish! 

Clambering back on board to change out of the now sopping wet Sand robes, Red ignored the humor on the fishermen’s faces. Seeing the tasty meals right below her feet was distracting, okay?

The yukata was light and comfortable, at least, and it let her move much more easily. 

Jogging back across the water, she steeled her resolve to learn this jutsu fast and show them her capable side! 

By evening, it still wasn’t perfect. Amibune assured her that would come with time, but Red did not feel like she HAD much time. 

She knew how highly ‘sought after’ Orochimaru was by his bounties and prominent placement in the books, her ‘relation’ to Kimimaro who was surely known to be one of his closest confidantes was sure to get her chased once news spread. How long had it been since she escaped now? 

Hopefully Wave really was as cut off from the mainland right now as the fishermen thought, then she might be able to live in peace for a while. 

Fune grinned wide as she asked him to show her the seals on board, why were they so eager to share their knowledge? Just because of her ‘lineage’? Red felt like a fraud, she wasn’t a real anything, but she’d take it. 

Still, while they were all on deck, she felt like she could share a piece of herself too. If they betrayed her and it ended up as intel on the list, well, she could use fake names forever. “My name’s Red.” 

“Suits you. Alright, first one’s the big one, on the mast here see? We’re still anchored, but tomorrow you can use it if you’d like. It drives us forwards, you steer by turning this”. 

Fune took her on a guided tour, it was informational. There were seals along the sides, reducing friction and dampening impacts. A row at the railing, too, breaking waves apart and reducing the amount of water that would slosh onto the deck in a storm. 

For bad weather, all three of them needed to be on board in order to operate them all, but in fair weather a single person could take the vessel from port to port. 

It was elegantly made, seals first carved and then filled in with ink, finally coated in clear lacquer for longevity. 

Of Uzumaki origin, the boat was older than them, but its name changed with the owners. Apparently that was an unusual tradition, and most ships kept one name throughout their lifetimes? 

It was currently named Gullchick, for being on the small side and roundish and gray. Wasen added ‘and slow’, which Fune protested hotly. Red agreed it felt fast enough. 

“Finally my turn now, right? Let’s try to get a good evening meal on the table” Fune said after the tour, bringing out two strange long sticks. “Usually, we use a net, but this is safer if you fish alone. First things first, bait. Kept some of the shark guts you had, here, see the hook? That is sharp, poke a piece of this on, good. Now, if fishing from land, you’d need to whip the stick back and throw the hook out far” 

he demonstrated, the thread whirred as his weighted hook disappeared into the darkening dusk. 

“But we’re on a ship in deep water, no risk of getting your hook stuck in the pier or the bottom here, you can just drop it in and let the line go for a while”. 

She still tried to make it fly like his had, but it whipped back around. He caught it before it could smack her in the face. “Whoops, but you felt it, right?” 

“Mhm, I need to let go sooner” 

“Right on.” He released it and stepped back, letting her try again. It flew a fair distance and landed with a satisfying ‘plop’. 

“And now we wait, is what I would say if we couldn’t cheat a bit and speed it up” 

intrigued, she watched him attach his rod to the railing and bring out a chunky lantern. 

“Don’t let it blind ya” he warned, so she looked away. A brilliantly bright light flashed, and then the ocean glowed; he had turned it downwards. 

“Some fish are attracted to light,” he explained as she dared look back, the lantern now safely attached to the ship’s side. “Uzumaki had their own ways, they went in there and hunted the fish down with jutsu, but we ordinary folks copied some aspects in our own ways.” 

So her ability to glow had its uses, huh. Her rod vibrated? She was about to ask about it when the tip of her rod bent and she felt a sharp tug. 

“Already? Alright, now you have a fish hooked, darn, I have one too, just follow my lead?” 

Fune was less of a teacher than the others, but fishing wasn’t hard to understand once Red realised he paused reeling whenever his line went taut. 

Hers came up first, Amibune brought out a handheld net and raised it from the water for her. It was a beautiful blue with black stripes on the back, its belly shiny white. Could a fish that pretty be eaten? 

She must have wondered out loud, Amibune laughed and told her mackerel were perfectly edible. He then got busy netting the thrashing brown thing Fune was fighting, it had a wide maw full of needle-like teeth and was overall very ugly. 

“Is that also a fish?” 

Wasen replied, back up on deck to survey what he would be cooking: “Ugly, isn’t it? But monkfish are also very tasty. We’ll bake this one, it takes a while so we can fry up yours in the pan first as an appetizer. Mackerel are only good when either so fresh they’re still moving in the pan, or smoked and dried with pepper. No in-between.” 

Red handed it over in a hurry, couldn’t risk it losing its flavour! 

“That’s hyperbole, a few hours old is perfectly fine” Amibune assured her, and stuck the monkfish on a sturdy metal hook on the cabin wall? 

“They are slippery, and have thicker skin. This makes it easier to flay, want to try?” Fune offered her a sharp-looking knife, and directed her to remove the fins first. It was fun, getting to learn useful things with such enthusiastic teachers. 

Full and drowsy, Red considered the seals she had seen around the ship while settling in the hanging mat she had been offered. 

Fune had claimed they didn’t all sleep at the same time anyways, that somebody had to keep watch at night, but she suspected he was just saying that to stop any protests over him giving up his sleep space for the night. It was comfortable. 

The others were already asleep, they had conked out pretty much instantly. Apparently, using chakra was tiring for them? 

Tomorrow, she would be the one feeling the drain of using the sailing seal. It did not have any new symbols for her, but it introduced a whole new format; you could stack them! 

The lower border around the waterline held a new symbol, probably ‘protect’ or ‘repel’ in some form; she should test it on her earth dome. It might become sturdy enough to be usable as a shield during combat, or it might trap her… 

Testing ‘stacking’ with her fire seal appealed more. 

The railing held a symbol Amibune called ‘disrupt’, it was the only one he knew and could apparently be used on its own to sabotage the seals of others? Good to know. Pure sealing jutsu battles sounded thrilling, she thought while dozing off. She should cook up a few innovative ones in the morning, with her new abilities in mind… 

Sailing, Red decided as she sent the ship hurtling towards the horizon at breakneck speed, was the second best mode of transportation in the whole wide world! Nothing beat the convenience of a pre-placed Hiraishin, obviously, but the thrill of going this fast was also good. 

Gullchick, a slow ship? Nonsense! Just blaze bright with power, and off she goes! Red wanted to tell Wasen he’d been wrong, but he was hanging onto the railing, looking pale? Huh, so were the other two, oh. Oops. 

Slowing, she gave them a moment to gather themselves. “Was that… too much?” 

Fune recovered first, stroking his beard back down from where it had blown over his entire face. “Gullchick should be fine with it, she was built by and for your kin, but let’s go slow so I can scout out shallows? Before we hit one. We aren’t used to… this.” 

While reaching the land of Wave would have been fast and easy at the speed Red could safely apply, the three men wanted an evening to prepare and a full night of sleep before getting within view of the mangrove islands. 

They seemed nervous, and Amibune had her cover up her hair and even her eyebrows already with a white headscarf. Well, it went nicely with her new blue-and-white yukata, her reflection in the still surface of the freshwater barrel looked like a true member of the crew. 

Would that be an option? Forgetting about ninja and bounties, staying out of sight as a fisherwoman off the coast? 

But she couldn’t trouble her new allies, they had no idea Orochimaru themself might come looking to remove the loose end they likely saw her as, or Kimimaro might make an example out of her to other would-be deserters. No, she couldn’t expose the friendly sailors to danger, it would be beyond ungrateful. 

Her own lil boat, maybe? She could start small, sell fresh fish and dried seaweed and soaps, and someday buy her own sailboat- 

“If that daydream isn’t urgent, want to go stretch your legs?” Amibune suggested, pointing. “There’s a shallow right over there, laying on the surface and looking down can be nice on sunny days”. 

That did sound nice, actually. They’d been anchored for a while now, her meager belongings had never been unpacked. She was ready for tomorrow. 

He went with her, probably to avoid some menial task. Amibune was the youngest of the three, and his serene face hid a playful side. While he was supposedly in charge of cleaning and maintenance, well, the Gullchick was somewhat crusty. 

He wasn’t going out of his way to make anything sparkle, but eh, there was no actual damage either. 

Red found his negligence to be acceptable, it was all cosmetic, but Wasen teased Fune about the state of his ship on the daily. His own little trading boat was apparently polished and sleek, but Fune retorted by calling it fragile and gaudy. 

Amibune did not have a boat of his own, but their dock was his domain, as was selling their fish at the local market. He had settled where Red could now see sand below, she took a spot across from him and had a look. 

Huh. Laying on the surface was cool and comfortable, sunlight rippled prettily across the wavy-patterned sand of the bottom. 

“If things are strange in Wave, hide the way I taught you and do your best to stay silent until we are out of there” he whispered, with no other sound but the breeze ruffling their clothes and distant seabirds’ calls, there was no need to be louder. 

She nodded, but didn’t think much of it. 

Oh, there was one of the strange star-shapes again! “Is that an animal, is it tasty?” 

Amibune smiled, but shook his head, and started explaining all the little lifeforms they could see from there. It was a slow and peaceful afternoon.

Chapter Text

Getting up before dawn warmed the horizon, the crew of three silently manoeuvred into the mangroves, hand-signs to Red in the driver’s position the only communication allowed. 

She concentrated on keeping the speed at a minimum, barely a ripple disturbed the surface at their passing. No lanterns, no flags to flutter and give them away. In the gray ocean fog of early morning, the Gullchick would be a phantom ship. 

Honestly, Red could barely see the islands and trees. She trusted Fune, Wasen, and Amibune to keep her out of the sandbanks and coral outcrops they’d warned her made these waters treacherous. 

The only reason she was at the helm in Fune’s stead was her chakra reserves; if Wave really was full of rogue ninja now, she could speed away at the first sign of danger. 

Wasen waved a flat hand to the left behind his back, so she corrected her course. 

Amibune got on top of the crate he’d placed at the very front, and drew his binocular from a sleeve. Even with the weather, lanterns should be visible from a distance, so unless the whole harbour ahead had gone dark they would find it. 

A hand, palm out, slowly flattening to horizontal. Red brought the vessel to a complete stop, and crept up to the others gathering at the middle of the deck. 

“Harbour’s ahead, but something is off. Too many ships at anchor, people sitting still on deck. Nobody is talking” Amibune whispered. 

They were close enough that voices would carry? Red could still not see a single true island, only the nearest mangrove tree stood out as a dark shadow in the fog to her untrained eyes. 

Fune signalled ‘go around’, probably not trusting his rumbly ‘whispering’ voice to be silent enough. 

Red took her station anew, Wasen signalled right thrice so she got them moving in a slow sharp turn. At Fune’s raised hand, she eased into a steady forwards, and they passed the mangrove up closer than earlier-

Something had moved. A human-shaped blur disappeared. Red made an executive decision and sped up, signalling ‘spotted, ninja’ when the others turned to her in surprise. 

Fune rumbled something silently, probably the kind of words he’d said were ‘not for young ears’, and leaned over the railing to spot shallows ahead at speed. Amibune, the best versed in chakra usage of the three, took his position at the defensive seal array and smoothly reduced the friction of the bow. 

Wasen walked past her? A quick glimpse, he was facing backwards, ah. To spot pursuers? But he was awfully close to her, almost back-to-back, arms a bit out. Maybe he had skills she had not yet been privy to. 

Having him there made Red feel safe to put all her focus into driving, just in time to see Fune wave a whole arm frantically right, then left. Ooops, the zig-zag part they had passed on their way in, she cut her chakra and felt the tug as Amibune increased friction to brake? 

The array could DO that? She would need to have another look later. 

Nudging the ship right, then left, there was some shaking from touching the sandy bottom but thankfully no noises. 

A few more twists and turns, and they were back in open waters, Fune raising his arm all the way. Step on it. Red did, after remembering to grab Wasen’s hand and getting him to grab the mast. He had admitted to never mastering water walking, best not put that to the test, Amibune had claimed their cook was no swimmer either. 

Full speed with somebody reducing friction was beyond fast, they practically flew. 

The fog was thinning as Red brought them to a halt, and Amibune sagged with exhaustion. 

Fune took a moment to regain his bearings, then rumbled “Right, no, not the D sector. We can try the harbor at the new bridge project tomorrow, before dawn, when we’re all rested.” With humor in his eyes, he turned to Red.  “Who’s in charge of fishing?” 

Grinning, she took the offer, getting the rods. Having three attached to the railing and checking them often was the best way for daytime, she was learning the important stuff! 

“Gonna sleep” Amibune mumbled, going for the stairs while Wasen stretched out on deck. 

“Don’t mind me, need a moment to destress” he said, and put his forehead band over his eyes. Yeah, no, that was clearly a nap too. 

Fune rumbled something about ‘lazy crew’, and brought the sail down on his own. Red knew how, in theory, but she wasn’t allowed to touch the ropes. ‘Too light’ they had joked, saying she’d be pulled right up the mast. Rude, she was not that small! 

Next, he released the anchor, and they watched the rope swirl down in silence. Not that deep here, huh. 

“Good reaction, earlier” Fune complimented her. “Could use another set of hands on this vessel, and Amibune has a cabin near our harbor. If you’d consider staying, I mean. Not exactly sparklin’ conditions, but…” 

Oh. Red wanted that, badly. Her chest ached for it, a place to call home, to belong. But it would not be fair to them, she was on the run, a target. She had to decline, come on mouth, move! 

“Sleep on it. Think you got one”. 

A stick was shaking, fish! Red hurried to reel it in, but another rod vibrated, clattering against the railing. 

“I got it” the captain joined her in securing dinner, in the end they got a whole lot of mackerel. 

“You can see them, there’s a whole school that-a-way. Run along! I’ll gut these” Wasen mumbled groggily, awoken from his ‘destressing’ for cooking duty. 

Hmm? Now that she was looking for it, Red did see sparkling blue lights move in the sea. Skipping over the waves, rougher than the last days, she enjoyed the display. There were so many! Their glittering bodies moved in a hypnotic circle, drawing her in, almost making her lose balance on the surface. 

Why were they doing that? Well, it was very pretty. 

A sudden ripple moved through the fish, changing the shape of the school- ah, a shark! This one did not seem to care that she was there, gulping down a few unlucky fish that had fallen to its bite. 

Sharks seemed to lead pretty good lives. 

The school moved further from the Gullchick, so Red decided she’d seen enough. On board, it was starting to smell promising, fish and miso soup as a late breakfast. A ring of the kitchen bell had her cut in front of the captain down the stairs, he laughed at her eagerness. 

She’d had miso soup before, a common meal in Orochimaru’s lair, so it was probably easy to make in bulk. Having it with mackerel and rice was absolutely an upgrade from the boiled barley she’d gotten there tho! Fish made everything better. 

“Lunch is fried rice, then?” Amibune asked during the meal, Wasen had his mouth full so he just nodded. 

“Was thinkin’ of teaching Red to dive, we’ll need you on deck after this” Fune told Amibune, he sighed but agreed. 

“There’s a shark, but it was busy with the mackerel” she informed them, Fune ruffled her hair. 

“The ones out here don’t go hungry, they won’t do a thing to us. The one that snapped at you back then musta gotten stuck at low tide.” 

Being stuck and hungry was terrible, Red could sympathise, but she was still glad it had been there so she could eat it. 

“Starting to get some good colour in your cheeks” Wasen commented, and huh, yeah. Her arms were more beige than white on the overside now, neat. 

“Think I can wear the sand robes more convincingly now?” 

“About that, I had a look. Whole thing’s twisted weird, I can try to stretch it out when we’re back on land? Too much salt in the fabric for it to hang correctly” Amibune said apologetically. 

“Would say our fishing yukata are the best for blendin’ in here” Fune mumbled around a mouthful, earning him an obvious kick under the table. Wasen was strict about table manners since, as he reminded his captain sometimes, while Wasen was on board the kitchen was HIS domain. 

“Old couples tend to bicker,” Amibune informed Red under his breath. 

“Now, when divin’, ninja tend to try all sorts of funny tricks. Havin’ a bubble ‘round their head, or kickin’ off hard from the bottom to get up fast. Bad ideas, all of ‘em. Bringin’ that little air down, two lungfuls at best, ain’t worth the trouble. And goin’ up in a hurry could mess ya up on the inside unless no air’s left in you. Got it?” 

Red nodded, best listen to the expert. 

“Better to breathe deep ‘n fast a few times first, gives you more time under. I’ll go down ‘n up once, stay with Amibune and watch’. Fune still was no teacher, but learning by example wasn’t bad either. 

He breathed for a bit, let himself sink suddenly, and gasped one last breath before disappearing down the anchor line. Soon, he was out of sight, and for what felt like an eternity nothing happened. 

Red looked to Amibune, nervous, but he was looking down unconcernedly. “Look, there’s his bubbles” he pointed, silver glinting as they burst at the surface. “It hasn’t been two minutes, relax. He’s eight meters down, in winter the ocean’s clear enough that you’d see him just fine, but in spring it gets all murky like this. When you go, you can get back up easy-peasy, just remember to breathe out first” 

“What is he doing down there, getting scallops?” 

“Those live in sand, but you see how the ocean is darker here? This is rocky bottom, he might get something with big claws or some purpur shells if we are lucky. Don’t stick your hands or legs between the rocks” he cautioned “We can teach you to catch things that bite back after you get used to diving”. 

And then, after a pause, he tipped his head, and sighed. “He forgot to tell you how to save your ears, the oaf. He’s too used to it, doesn’t realise he does it. Now, once you put your head under water, you will feel a strange sensation in your ears. If you go deeper, it becomes painful. What you do to fix it is- ah, there he is- you hold your nose and blow a bit, that fixes it. If you go up too fast, it can hurt too, so remember to move your jaw like you’re yawning” 

Amibune stepped onto the surface, and had a seat next to his dripping wet captain. “Anything worth picking? Shells?” 

“No, the ones I could fumble out were still small. Best wait, let them have offspring, there aren’t that many spots left”. 

“Are purpur shells tasty?” 

“They’re okay, like snails. We need the shells themselves for a client who grinds them into dye powder” Amibune explained, right, that was one of the products he’d needed from Wave. 

“Now,” Fune said to get her attention, “Breathe”. 

Right, her turn. They went down together, hand in hand, the beardy man sank faster so she was pulled in tow. It was dark, but you know what? 

She trusted these people. 

No point keeping it a secret, so she glowed up a bit, surprising Fune as he pulled her the last bit of the way to the rocky bottom. 

‘Good?’ was all he eventually signed, she gave an ‘okay’ and looked around. He swam ahead a bit, horizontal over the bottom, legs kicking while his arms laid relaxed by his head, elbows out. 

Red followed right by his side, lighting a path, and every time she looked he was smiling. He’d picked a good armful of snails, so there were big ones! She was helping, her glow was good for something and it felt right. 

Eventually, holding her breath got uncomfortable. Red breathed out a few bubbles, but that only made the need for a fresh breath more apparent. Fune bumped her throat lightly, then pointed up? Right, breathe out first, she did and they kicked off together, chasing bubbles toward the bright surface. 

Red stopped her glow and focused on kicking her legs, lungs burning, and then she was gasping in the salty air. A wave sloshed her face and she coughed, feeling tired and slow. 

A warm, sure arm grabbed her around the middle and hoisted her to the surface, Amibune, already nagging Fune over keeping her down too long on her first try. 

She gained her footing with a hand on his elbow, a few breaths and she could finally speak. “I wanna go again!” 

Fune laughed, but Amibune shook his head no. 

Wasen, legs dangling from his perch on the railing, added his vote; “that is enough for now, come on, your time to have a nap” 

“I am not a baby!” 

“Diving is taxing when you are not used to it, listen to Wasen” Amibune chided, then pointedly ignored Wasen as he said ‘wish you would take your own advice sometimes’. 

Defeated, Fune grumbled he could use her power, she glowed up bright to explain what he meant. 

“Haven’t seen that light in a while, you have all the Uzumaki tricks up your sleeves huh” Wasen commented, looking awed as she dimmed back to normal. 

“Not the chains” she admitted, that seemed to have been the big one for Orochimaru. “And not the healing either” she added, the ones who’d had that skill had all been taken away. 

“Don’t worry, for fishin’ you got the one that counts” Fune slapped her back, she expected it this time and kept her balance. 

“Bedtime. Shoo” Wasen reminded her, the hand gesture for ‘serious’ probably added without thinking the way he sometimes did. Amibune got her a dry towel and her sand robes as a change of clothes to sleep in. 

She was too old for naps, she had read the dictionary in the library, ‘napping’ was something babies and old people did! And yet, after she obediently toweled off and hopped in the hanging mat, sleep claimed her easily. 

“Right, no. There were hostile ninjas in pursuit until she sped us out of there, vetoing anything that brings us near the D sector of Wave” Wasen said firmly. “Honestly wishing we didn’t depend on those contracts, but that’s on me for making them. Let’s go home, I’ll take my boat like we first planned. Alone.” 

“And you think letting our most defenseless one -you know it’s true, shush- be the one to go is our best move?” Amibune asked with a raised eyebrow. “I will go, just drop me off near the mangroves at night. Of the three of us, I am the only option really. Won’t make my presence known, a quick lil run through the place and I’ll be back to report”. 

“I could-” Fune tried, but his crewmen signed ‘no’ in unison. ‘Insubordinate’ didn’t even begin to cover those two. 

“I might not be able to walk on water, but I can at least lie with a straight face,” Wasen said drily. 

“Might as well send a neon sign, saying ‘our Uzumaki-made vessel is nearby, free for the taking, no captain on board’, you are too well known” Amibune added. 

Fune sighed. “I don’t like it, but alright. Amibune, go to bed now, I’ll wake you when we get there. No need to let our youngest know, better be back before she wakes”

“Of course, alright, good night”

“‘night”

It was bright outside, yet nobody had come to wake her! Miffed, Red changed back into her now-dry yukata and head scarf. After wearing it for a while, the sand robes now felt overly bulky. 

Wasen and Fune were both at the kitchen table, talking silently, so they must be at anchor? Wasen’s long thumb was rubbing a slow circle on Fune’s scarred hand. 

“Weren’t we supposed to get an early start, go around Wave to the bridge?” 

“We’re not in a hurry, one more day can’t hurt, right? But we’ll go near the mangrove for a bit, they are full of fish and look great in the sun”. Wasen offered, huh, the plan had seemed set in stone yesterday. 

Oh well. “Where’s Amibune?” 

Wasen answered again; “Fell asleep in the storage room where he was dodging cleaning duty, let him sleep”. 

But something was off with Fune today, he kept looking to the side as Wasen spoke? “Slept badly?” she asked him, he swallowed and looked to Wasen? 

“Don’t mind him, he overdid it diving alone after you went to bed. Shouldn’t do that. For now, let’s go to the mangrove? Nice and slow, let’s keep vigilant” Wasen urged, handing her a plate of rice balls. “Saved you breakfast!” 

They could barely see the mangroves in the distance as Red finally woke up fully. 

No, something was definitely wrong here. She knew they never let Amibune’s naps be an excuse, yet he was not on deck while they might need more eyes. They were going near where it could be dangerous, during daylight? 

Red stopped powering the sail, and before they could stop her, she slipped down the stairs and opened the storage door. No Amibune. 

He was over there somewhere, wasn’t he, scouting. And they hid it from her. 

“Err, he musta gone off on the railing behind the cabin-” 

“You are a terrible liar. THAT was why you let Wasen talk for you! Amibune is in Wave, then, and we are going to pick him up?” 

A sigh, Wasen had shown up. “Thought it might make you nervous. You know he’s near invisible when he wants to be” he reasoned, but being kept out of the loop like that still irked her. 

“We’ll pick him up first” she growled with a glare that promised there’d be words later. 

By evening, Amibune still wasn’t back. 

They stayed at the pickup spot, quiet and tense, eating cold rice balls because risking smoke or cooking smell would be silly. 

Sure, there were life-forms new to her in the water under the trees on their stilt-roots, but Red didn’t care. What if he had been captured, or worse? Nothing else mattered right now. 

Fune went below deck to sleep at some point, they’d be taking turns, two on deck at all times. 

Wasen eventually signed ‘sorry’, Red chose to ignore it. 

Fune was back on deck by nightfall, Red signed she was not tired so Wasen was about to go below deck when something clattered onto the deck. Tense, Red stared into the trees, trying her best to find the source- 

“Ah, relax, that’s a friend. Look, the twig is shaped like a T, that is Tomin, he lives here” Wasen explained, holding the symbol where she could see it. “There are armed folks on some ships that think attack’s the best defense, that’s his way of announcing himself” 

Fune waved with both arms, and far FAR away an arm waved back from a treetop. Must have shot his wooden peace symbol out to them with the bow Red could now see on his back, he had clambered down and was leaping from root to root. Fune nudged the Gullchick closer to let him on board. 

“Amib- who’s that?” 

“Don’t mind our kid. Where is he?” Fune rumbled, brow wrinkled with worry. 

“Captured, by the damned mercenaries Gato brought. Wasn’t even on that bastard’s orders, they’re doing whatever they want” Tomin seemed angry, but exhausted. He took the rice ball Wasen offered. 

“Where is he held?” the trader asked, and Red got a feeling she’d be at the helm again soon. 

“Don’t know, but they got some others too. Gato ordered for Tsunami to be brought in, you know, Tazuna’s daughter. Maybe they’re together”

“You coming along? It could be dangerous” Fune warned

“I can watch your kid” Tomin offered instead, what kid- hey! 

“I am going with them,” Red said decisively. 

There was silence for quite a while, Wasen and Fune seemed to be having a staring contest? Eventually, Fune sighed. “I don’t like it”

“Neither do I, but they have mercenaries. You know my battle skill is nil” Wasen admitted “And she is strong, able to hide, clever”

“Fragile” Fune added. 

“What seals will be useful?” Red asked, she had gotten her ink and paper while they were arguing. Not their choice, hers. She was getting Amibune back. 

“We need to be silent, could you dampen sound somehow?” 

“I don’t know the symbol for sound” she said, concentrating hard. Surely there’d be a workaround. “Let me try some combinations of air, protect, disrupt…” she mumbled, drawing out nine frameworks before ripping the paper at the lines. 

While she was working, she heard Tomin mutter something, Fune’s rumble carrying better in the still night air as he answered “no mentionin’ her ‘round town, but yeah. If you got old seals, bring ‘em her way once things are safer”. Neat, he was trying to get her more symbols! 

For now, she put a seal on each foot and stomped. ‘Air, disrupt’ worked! As expected, ‘protect’ dampened the impact by reducing her foot’s speed, that wouldn’t work. 

Pasting a seal under each of the men’s sandals as well as her own with fish glue reduced their walking sound, but Fune was still audible even walking normally. He was not very sneaky. “Takin’ this off until we get there, or I’ll run out early” he rumbled, right, their chakra reserves. All the shoes ended up in a pile on deck.

Tomin apparently decided to join the rescue effort, emboldened by the presence of a seal user.

“Think you could make a seal that picks locks, in case?” Fune asked.

That sounded tricky, Red had never picked a lock so she had no clue what symbols she’d even need. “I could heat it until it can be bent?” she offered instead, he nodded. One seal with ‘heat’ combined with ‘surface’ from the friction reduction array, they sacrificed an old ladle from the kitchen to test it and the metal glowed bright.

“Wonder how that’d work, on a person” Tomin mumbled, earning him a nasty glare from the captain.

“Child present! What sorta mental image is that, huh? Tryin’a give her nightmares?” 

The newcomer backed up, hands held up in surrender at the unexpected outrage. “Sorry, sorry! But you are kinda taking her into battle?” 

Wasen replied, steady but tense; “No battle, if we can help it. A quick run in, get Amibune and Tsunami, and we’re back out of Wave in a hurry. If she still works with cloth, we have some mending jobs for her while we wait things out, but we’d best send ol’ Tazuna and his grandkid a message so I’m writing that now”. Unlike her own ink kit, he was using a wrapped graphite stick, scribbling on a scrap of her paper. Turning it after finishing, he raised an eyebrow. “Carrot farming?”

“I needed paper, that scroll seemed pointless”

“Ah.” 

Arming the others with fire tags wouldn’t be possible, too wasteful with chakra for them, but they each got a heating tag in case they were split up. Fune strapped a blade Red hadn’t seen before on his hip, Wasen brought the sharp knife she’d used for flaying monkfish.

“For ropes” he said when she asked, Fune’s shifty eyes next to him told Red that was at least partially a lie.

Any self defense was better than none, she supposed. 

Chapter Text

Tomin guided Red silently, his hand-signs somewhat different from missing a finger but still understandable.

Fune and Wasen were standing still as statues, tension practically rolling off them. She was feeling it too, and re-checked the positions of the seals up her sleeves. On the left, easiest to reach fast was a stacked wind seal she had dubbed ‘knockback’. At her right hand, ready to grab, was her best fire tag so far. 

Further up her left sleeve was a theoretical stronger earth dome, untested since they were on a ship. The right sleeve held a whole slew of possibly useful things; the ‘heat surface’ was joined by ‘cool surface’, because she knew alternating temperatures should make metal brittle, and she also brought a ‘disrupt’ tag for the off chance Amibune was held with sealing jutsu. 

The last three tags there were ‘reduce friction’, ‘increase friction’, and a half-finished hiraishin. Its counterpiece was also half done, on the deck of Gullchick. She would complete that one once they were anchored. 

The walk into town felt tense, too, Tomin and Wasen walking visible while Red and Fune followed. His ‘trick ‘o the light’ as they called it was flickery, but it was dark, hopefully nobody noticed the disruptions in the air. 

Somebody approached, but they were walking openly, probably not suspicious. Yet. 

“Hey! There’s a curfew, get back inside!” a grey-haired man with a black beanie snapped, sounding annoyed. 

A voice in the distance made a questioning noise.

“Nothing, just more losers who can’t tell it’s nighttime!” the first man yelled, shooing the two fisher-garbed men he could see past. “Lock yourselves in, you know where you live, shoo shoo.” he left, and by the footsteps, his comrade had joined him. Mercenaries, but luckily not the most observant.

Red followed Fune at a distance after the others, as they turned onto a wider street Fune took her behind the row of houses instead. It became sparser, trees taking over, only occasional buildings. Something moved in a backyard, and her captain stiffened before creeping around it. Something orange- no, wait, two young ninja were clumsily climbing trees. Best not be seen. 

Meeting back up with Wasen after Tomin went home, Fune became visible but signed for Red to stay hidden.

“Not in holding, and Tsunami is safely at home. Seems she’s having Leaf ninja over, the mercenaries must have been told not to be seen,” Wasen reported.

“Saw two, whelps, but surely they came with an adult”

“According to Tomin’s cousin, one with a bloodline eye apparently. Said he saw him use it from a distance, bright red, but then fog sprang out of thin air and he heard metal hitting metal so he fled”.

Understandable, Red would have done the same.

“Anyone else seen Amibune?”

“They didn’t see who it was, but some girls fixing a net saw some of Gato’s thugs steal a ship and flee yesterday, they were carrying somebody in a blue yukata” Wasen said, looking uncomfortable. “If he’s not on the islands…”

it felt hopeless, couldn’t track over water, but “Which direction?” Red asked, making Wasen jump. Right, he couldn’t see her at all in this light.

“They could not remember, but it was from the south side”.

The ocean was vast, they could have gone anywhere. Still, they had to try! “I can speed back and forth?” Red suggested, but Fune shook his head.

“Ships from here tend to have engines, they could have reached several ports by now just as surely as you could. Hopefully it was some other poor sap, blue’s common for fishermen ‘round these parts. We’d better check Gato’s camp, Tomin won’t go there since he has a family. Red, go back to the ship with Wasen and wait” the captain tried to command, it wasn’t all that convincing with his hands shaking.

“Would you even know if I went with you or Wasen?” Red sighed, she was the stealthiest of them by miles.

“Alright, but stay hidden and quiet, no matter what happens” Fune implored, she agreed and gave Wasen’s elbow a squeeze.

“We’ll be back”.

“I could cause a distraction-”

“Remember Tsunami’s husband? Don’t be a fool, keep Gullchick ready to leave” Fune rumbled

“... alright. Stay safe”.

Fune flickered back to invisible-ish, Wasen’s arms moved strangely, ah. A hug. Had the captain been embarrassed? Camouflaging first seemed silly. 

They walked together for a while, back toward where the ship was hidden between mangroves, but then Fune tapped Wasen’s elbow and so did Red. He would know they were headed out. 

Gato had taken over a whole pier, his large ship flanked by a smaller houseboat that Red thought must belong to the mercenaries and an open storage barge of lumber. Red took back calling the Gullchick crusty; compared to those things, she was pristine. Several smaller vessels were moored there, but they were empty, bobbing lightly on the waves.

“I’ll have a look on deck”

“Vetoed, you are visible and loud” Red said curtly

“You can’t veto the captain alone, my crew’s a bad influence already ey? We’ll go together”.

Walking down the pier poles, over the water, and up the large ship’s hull did not get them spotted, but Fune’s chakra wavered and flickered while climbing the railing. Running low already? The spot seemed hidden enough.

Red whispered “wait here, or I won’t find you and I will be lost and scared” before escaping, she knew her captain’s weaknesses. Now he was stuck until she returned. 

Getting inside was super easy, the doors weren’t locked. There were stairs up as well as down, she chose down first. A vast hull, it smelled weird.

Lots of crates, she checked one and found packs of flour? Huh. Must be the supplies storage. Red sealed a bag in the storage scroll she had emptied beforehand, it was tied to her belt and only contained her cooking pot and Shadow’s knife. Having something powdery to throw might make for a good distraction, if she was discovered.

Huh, one crate held lots of high-value coins? She did need money. Pouch refilled, Red continued searching for containers large enough to hold one Amibune hostage, but he was not to be found. She even checked the barrels. 

Up the stairs it was, then. A steering station, with lots of levers and buttons. It reminded her more of Kabuto’s laboratory equipment than of the Gullchick’s wooden helm.

A door, there was another room? Red opened it cautiously, and heard snoring. Oh, just the bedroom. She looked around cautiously, several hanging mats and a screened-off large bed. No Amibune here either.

Sneaking back down to deck, the adrenaline finally caught up with her, heart hammering with fear. They should get out of here! Fune was fully visible now, looking exhausted. Red finished her hiraishin tag in blood, not daring to fiddle with ink, and grabbed him by the hand. They swirled back onto their own deck, and she could finally relax.

Visible once more, Red drew a deep breath, and shook her head. No sign of their harbormaster and friend. Wasen’s shoulders slumped.

He had been busy, the anchor was up, sail unfurled and catching gusts despite being turned out of the wind. The trader was holding the ship off of the roots with a long pole, but now that she was there, he raised it. Turning in the tight space was made tricky by the waves and wind, and Fune’s grumbling about her leaving his side somewhere dangerous earlier, but she got them out of there without scraping the bottom. 

Even way out in deep water, closer to River country than Wave, Red wasn’t feeling safe. Something about that area had given her goosebumps at the end, her skin was still crawling.

Fune went to sleep, Wasen insisted he’d make her something to eat before bedtime so he was up with her despite looking tired. Oh, right, she had no use for that extra flour. Might as well let him use it for his kitchen magic! But as she handed over the bag, he frowned?

“Are you sure this is flour?”

“What else would it be?”

“Right, no, we are not using this. Go wash your hands”.

Huh, alright? Must have gone bad, probably why it smelled so weird. When she returned, he headed out to wash his hands, and the bag was nowhere to be seen.

“Tomorrow, I will be going to see the Leaf ninja. No protests, they shouldn’t attack a harmless fisherman. I think the flour you found will interest them”.

“Do you think they could look for Amibune, too?”

“I hope so.” He pulled actual, good flour out of the cupboard, and sacrificed the last eggs to make golden-crusted fish fillets that crunched satisfyingly, delicious! Amibune would have enjoyed it, too. “We’ll keep trying,” Wasen attempted to comfort her while heaping her plate with cut, pickled seaweed and cooked purpur snails as a side dish. She nodded, but felt defeated. Good food couldn’t fill the void that Amibune had occupied alongside her other new friends.

Missing somebody hurt. 

She went with him, the next day, but stayed hidden.

Wasen was apparently familiar with the island, he got many greetings and greeted people back as they made their way to the house hosting leaf ninja. Red hid behind a tree stem nearby as he went to the door with the little storage scroll that held what she was starting to suspect might not be flour.

“Why are you hiding?” a dark-haired teenager asked from behind her, and Red couldn’t help her reflective squeak of fright. Where had they come from? How could they see her? “You practiced on water, I would assume? The underside of your shoes is fully visible when you walk, and there’s bright white seal tags under them” they said with obvious humour despite their carefully neutral expression.

Drat! But at least this seemed to be no enemy? “Dad said there were real ninja here, so I came to look!” she said in a disarmingly childish voice, hopefully it would work on this person too.

“Hmm, who is your father?”

Heck, think fast, they might know all the locals- “Wasen, he just went in there to say hi to his friend Tsunami! He’s not actually my real dad, but he became my dad?” There, sounding like a dumb child with a tragic past should make most sensible people stop digging. Hopefully. She still had no idea how to fake tears.

“The parent who chose you is always better than the one who left you alone,” they muttered, face no longer so mask-like. “Your father is back out, take care”

“You too!” and Red was jogging away, making sure to also cover the soles of her feet with wavy chakra. Stupid oversight, that.

Aaaa, that had been scary! Self-assured and poised, that person had felt like more of a threat than the mercenary they’d met last night.

Red stealthily tugged at Wasen’s sleeve, and his face became more relaxed. 

Back on the ship, then back out to sea. 

Fune wasn’t feeling well, he mostly stayed in the sleep cabin.

Wasen seemed to be making himself busy to avoid thinking, avoid feeling the absence of their lost crewmate. He scrubbed the deck, Red got told there was nothing to be helped with and yet he kept going until Red went downstairs hours later. Apparently, cooking her own meals still was not an option on board. Fune joined them for dinner, eyes red.

“Leaf nin had a dog” Wasen offered as a rope to hold on to, but they had all realised there was no way Amibune still hadn’t been seen if he was on the islands. He was gone. No tracking dog, ninja or not, could find a ship after days of wind. 

The unnatural, heavy silence between them only got worse as the day stretched on, until Wasen finally gave in. Red could hear him sobbing, Fune’s voice also rumbled in the sleep cabin. She went on deck and spent some time sealing up her unused tags to give them space.

Sure, she was also grieving, but he’d been their friend since childhood. Fune had been his babysitter, Amibune had told him he’d pulled a lot of pranks back then. Although it felt like her chest was ripping apart from inside, surely it felt worse for them.

She got out a rod, and settled to fish the slow way, more to do something useful at least than with food in mind. 

Think. Why would somebody go out of their mind to steal a fisherman? Unless it was for organs, Orochimaru had brought in corpses for that, could he be more useful alive?

Amibune’s skills were impressive for a fisherman, but he was no ninja. Graceful, good with chakra control, decent reserves but still a civilian. Forcible recruitment by some organization? But there were enough rogue ninja around, why not take those? He was not physically strong, or a good diver, and he had no attack skills that Red knew of. 

Worst case scenario; he was already dead, or would be soon. But if they just needed a corpse, why take a tricky one who would have done his best to flee?

No, she was quite certain he was still alive somewhere. What they were lacking was the information needed to figure out who’d kidnap him, and what for. For that, she would need up-to-date information, and for that… oh, oh no. She was going to have to visit the hidden village of a major nation.

The one closest to here would be the country of Water, the map had marked their hidden village as- right, no, she remembered that serious-sounding note from the bathhouse. No entering the hidden mist.

The country of Fire was out of the question, wasn't it? She had been seen by a team from Leaf, even 'kidnapped' one for a bit.

A hand on her shoulder made Red jump where she sat.

“Fish on the hook, I’ll take over” Fune rumbled. Right, she had been fishing. “Don’t wake Wasen. I’ll cook. Now let’s see what you got” he tried to appear cheerful, but his face was honest to a fault. 

“Dead bodies aren’t worth much, so I think he is alive” she offered, it wasn’t much of a consolation really.

“Let’s hope so” he mumbled, unconvinced, pulling a large flat thing on land. “Ah, sorry in advance, evening meal’s gonna be full of bones. I can’t flay flounder right”

“I could try to help?”

“Sure”. 

Red had a few things planned out for her future, things she wanted to try, goals. But they all seemed pointless, shallow compared to the very real here and now, pain and sorrow. Trying to find Amibune would come first, it was her fault he’d been in Wave in the first place.

Red continued her list from earlier as she laid wide awake in their missing person’s hammock. Sand seemed unlikely to be carrying records of seaside towns, ports, ship records. Fire or Water were her best bets, and Fire was the closest mainland coastline. Amibune might very well be there. Sure, the ship had headed south for a bit, but that might have been to get around the dangerous shallows before setting a course.

Fire was also the most central country, likely to be well informed as information flowed through it. Alright, wanted in the village hidden in the leaves or not, she would be going. Finding out who might want him, and where they would have him, was the top priority. Red would be going, even if it might end up costing her freedom. Amibune was worth more. 

Still, no need to be stupid about it. Red had learned. Best discuss it with Wasen, Fune should probably be there too but she was counting on the trader’s intellect and experience for this. She would need a better backstory, solid credentials, a believable name. She had coins, now, but what sort of clothes would make her stand out the least in the country of Fire? Would she need to practice a dialect? 

The next morning, she told them her plan at the breakfast table, and-

“Absolutely not”

“We’re not losing you too!”

“I will be going, with or without your cooperation, help me plan this out so I don’t die?”

Wasen's brow was wrinkled with concern. “We all miss him terribly, but Red, you are an Uzumaki. If anyone notices, do you think that military state is going to let you leave? You would be nothing but an asset to them!” 

“I know! But, it’s the best place to start looking” no need for them to know she was already wanted there.

“I’m going with” Fune rumbled.

“Obviously we’ll both be going, if we can’t stop her” Wasen rolled his eyes.

Wait, what? No! Endangering them was not part of the plan, that was a horrible idea! “I’ll go alone, and bring him back”

“Not happening.” Wasen said sternly, and Fune made an agreeing noise

Sigh, so stubborn. Red decided that pretending they’d won would be more likely to get her the information she needed. “Fine, but we need backstories, a good reason for wanting to enter the Leaf, paperwork of some sort for identification-”

“Isn’t it easiest to just go as a family? We’d be your two uncles?”

Wasen sighed at Fune’s rather naive idea. “We look nothing alike. At all. No, we’ll be the captain and cook and deckgirl of the Gullchick, going to the Leaf to inquire about our missing crewman. Why lie?”

Oh. That, uh, made sense. The truth was an option. Red was glad she had asked.

“I take it you’re an orphan?”

Huh. Come to think of it, they had never asked her a single thing about her background. “I escaped from a lab” she admitted, and it changed nothing. The eyes that met hers still saw her as Red, a person.

“Then yes, we do need a lie. We found you in the water, you don’t remember your life before that. Sounds good?”

It… did. She kind of wished it was the truth, actually. Not that she’d want to forget the others she met since gaining her freedom, but only knowing the ocean and them would have been a very carefree existence. She just nodded.

“I have the ship’s papers, as captain. Me saying who my crew is should be 'nough for any who asks. But ‘Red’ stands out… how about Akane?

Red blinked. Did Fune just… name her? But no, her name was hers, this was just another fake. Right? She nodded again, feeling off balance. 

They’d be getting clothes for the journey together, Red had found it a harmless enough lie to tell them her heavy money pouch had been a gift from Saboten, her first friend outside of the lab. Technically, it wasn’t even a lie, she just hadn’t mentioned the origin of the extra coins.

Fune whistled as it all clinked out into a glittering heap. “Mighty generous”

“Well, I DID save his life”.

She recounted the desert encounter, and Wasen’s brow wrinkled. “That was a dangerous thing to do”.

Oh come on, the world was dangerous. He could be such a mother hen.

“Glad he was a decent man” Fune rumbled “But these coins are all yours, you earned them. We have a stash, could use a change of clothes anyways.”

But she felt bad! Because after they used of their funds to get Leaf-style clothing, she would sneak off in the night. Being near her wasn’t safe, she would not risk them too. Maybe she could repay them, hide coins somewhere they’d find them later. With a note? Sounded like a plan. The nights ahead would be busy, she should copy the ship’s paperwork just in case she needed ‘proof that her captain sent her’. 

“See the white shining on the horizon?” Fune asked the next day, as he had Red take a break. They had been crossing a vast, empty stretch of ocean at speed, heading for a port in Fire that the Gullchick had been to for maintenance before according to Wasen. The faraway blur of white had unnatural angles to it, a cliff covered in white buildings? “That’s a castle, forgot the name. Bit of a tourist attraction, meanin’ lotsa traffic.”

“But first, lunch” Wasen reminded them, still intent on making her grow. Not like she’d ever reach his height, but Red indulged him by indulging herself. His cooking was the best! Fish stew, this time, creamy and thick with ingredients that would go bad if left on board. Practical and tasty.

“We’ll have them lift the Gullchick into dry storage on the dock for a while, she’ll get a good scrubbing too. They know about her ‘features’ here, safest place to leave her really.”

Fune explained, and Wasen added: “Dry storage is cheaper than a mooring spot, and honestly, it’s overdue. She’s got a barnacle problem.”

Heck. She could no longer hide coins for them on board, they’d probably just end up in a cleaner’s pocket. They had emptied out the pantry in preparation for a long journey, if she escaped they were more likely to go search for her in Leaf than they were to give up and return. Like it or not, Red had travel companions now.

She would have to tell them it was risky; “I was seen by leaf ninja, once.”

“Sounds like you’ll be wearing a nice pair of sunglasses to go with your hat or headscarf,” Wasen said, unbothered. “It doesn’t take much of a change to be unrecognisable. What were you wearing?”

“A white dress”.

“We’ll go with dark or strong colours and trousers for you, then.”

Was it really that easy?

“I see the doubt, but covering up too much like with your desert robes is what’s suspicious - when you’re not in Sand, that is.” 

Chapter Text

Watching two grown men get chewed out by a tiny woman for dressing a ‘sweet thing’ like her in ‘boy’s clothes! The disgrace!’ would have been funny, but Fune and Wasen actually looked apologetic? The yukata was perfectly fine!

“I like it, it’s comfy and dries fast”

“Oh darling, shush, the adults are talking” the woman said, voice dismissive.

Wasen’s face hardened. “The clothes are for Akane, she should be heard”

“Silly men, no, children don’t know what’s good for them at her age-” the saleswoman sputtered off into confusion as Fune grabbed his crew and fled.

“Wasen, temper. Get that look off of your face, you know we babied her for her looks at first too.” the captain rumbled, pulling them into an alleyway. Wow, yeah, Wasen actually looked angry until he managed to smooth his expression.

“Let’s try a less frilly shop next?” Red suggested.

“Yeah. Sorry” the trader mumbled. He kept Fune’s hand in his as they walked, already this on edge? The outer ports of Fire felt pretty safe, the crowds sweeping them along a colourful mix. Red felt safe, well hidden, a mackerel in a school.

Fune kept a tight hold on her, too, so they walked in a silly line at times. A shop deeper in the hubbub seemed to sell clothing, and there were no bows or lace ruffles to be seen. Red steered them all inside, and the thud of the door dampened the din. It did not seem to be popular? Only one other customer was browsing, at the sandal shelf.

“Welcome, are you here for clothes? If you came to browse our other wares, I must see an active ninja ID”.

Oh. Heck. A ninja shop, just their luck. Red would have left, but Wasen was already asking if they had normal clothing for her size, and Fune was browsing a rack of knitted sweaters. How were they so uneasy out there, yet so at ease here of all places?

“My suggestion would be a qipao-style top, it is unrestrictive, and shorts. Unless you prefer yukata?”

She was being addressed. Red accepted the shopkeep’s suggestions, and tried on a few to figure out what her ‘clothes size’ was. It turned out to be ‘age ten’. Come on! She was definitely older than that. Wasen seemed to pick the colours he brought over at random, she ended up with an orange top and yellow shorts.

He also brought her hat options, but the restricted field of view that a brim caused did not appeal to her, so Red got a thin bright read scarf instead. It matched her hair pretty well, surely nobody would notice if a strand or two fell out. Wasen fussed until there was no risk of that, and brought over a pair of sunglasses. Not her thing, but she’d wear those once they got close to the ninja village.

Fune eventually brought over a belt with pouches, Red added it to her heap while they tried their picks. Fune and cozy knits was an odd combination, in the sleeveless one his arms looked ridiculously buff and in the sweater he just looked wide. He still got the cutely sky-blue sweater, and some baggy gray-green trousers. Wasen went with a black skin-tight suit at first, but it made him look even taller somehow so he gave up on that. In the end, he went with a dark blue cotton kimono and a white obi, opting to simply keep his usual headband since it now matched.

The three of them did not match, at all, but apparently that was normal in big towns. Clothes, it turned out, were a lot cheaper than the armor in artisan village had been. 

Their plan of ‘simply leaving the town to make camp’ was foiled by said town being seemingly endless, apparently they’d never actually left the harbour when stopping here before because Red wasn’t the only one baffled.

“Sun’s setting, I vote we rent a room and lend a map” Wasen offered tiredly, and nobody protested. Places with rooms for rent were plentiful, at least. The trader’s expert eyes found them a cheap one, best save even if they had plenty right now. “Akane, do you want your own room?”

“No.” She’d given up on the idea of ditching them here, and they’d shared the room on Gullchick for as long as they’d known each other. There were zero reasons not to share, the way she saw it. Amibune would have joked about giving Wasen and Fune a couple’s room because of their usual bickering…

“We will go get something to eat, so rest for a bit. Bringing you back a selection” Fune decided. They hadn’t let go of each other at all in the streets, still nervous? Did the two of them not like populated places?

Red watched them go from the tiny window, then let her eyes glide to the dusk sky over the rooftops. Not a star to be seen, strange after the vast and detailed night sky of the ocean. Red had found she enjoyed watching the ever-changing sky. 

The promised food arrived much later with an exhausted-looking Wasen, his other arm occupied by a wobbly Fune. He smelled like… the lab disinfection liquid? She had smelled something similar in the crowd, earlier.

He got put to bed in his new clothes, beard unbrushed, entirely unlike his usual routine.

“Is he ill?” Red asked as Wasen wrapped their captain in a blanket.

“Just drunk” the clearly most responsible adult replied with a sigh, then added; “Try the barbecue sticks”.

She did, the spicing was new but it was tasty. “Thank you” she mumbled between bites, earning her now uncovered hair a ruffle.

“Manners” he reminded her, but he was smiling. 

When she woke up in the early morning, Red found her companions hugging each other in sleep. Alright, next time they asked, she’d accept a separate room to give them some privacy.

After getting dressed and tucking her short hair perfectly into the scarf-thing, she decided to go get them all breakfast as thanks for getting her all sorts of little dishes for yesterday’s late-night snack. There had been crunchy potato things, a box of fried rice with lots of vegetables she didn’t know and an omelette, even a raw crunchy-fresh salad with herbs. But the barbecue was definitely the best part. Juicy, harder to eat than fish but worth it.

Skipping down the street, she found most shops closed? Huh, but the sun was almost up! A cultural thing, perhaps? One street vendor was already out, and had a line of tired-looking customers, but all he was selling was a black tea that smelled weird. Hard pass.

She eventually found an actual inn, they had a breakfast menu and all but when she asked they did not do packaging to go. Alright, she’d fetch her group and bring them here then. 

Wasen was… not amused. “Wake me next time, none of us go anywhere alone when on land, it’s a Gullchick crew rule and you know it!”

alright, they might have mentioned it… a few times… okay more like a few times every hour yesterday but still! “Somebody had to find breakfast, right? Also, here, a map. And a strange hot drink” which got handed to a groaning Fune, headache by the way he was squinting. It seemed to be a perfect peace offering for him, at least, good thing she got a cup out of curiosity on her way back.

“That is coffee, you should not drink it” Wasen informed her “It is something adults in large towns sometimes have to wake up in the mornings”.

No need to tell him she already tried some, and regretted it. She’d take spicy over bitter any day.

The map, a regional one, had a drawing of the castle on the side and stylized sea serpents and dragons in the ocean. It was a bit silly, the ‘we were here!’ as a title marking it as tourist merch. But it did show they were almost out of what had been a super long settlement. Forest paths ahead, then the map cut off. “Got us a souvenir, eh?” Fune rumbled, looking it over.

“Sleep quarters wall, I’d say, if we get it all the way to Leaf and back without ruining it” Wasen mumbled, wrapping his obi for the day. They were going to hang this cheesy thing? Red sealed it away for safekeeping, but if she needed paper in a pinch, well. They could get another when fetching the Gullchick. 

“Excuse us” Wasen said as he held the door for Red, Fune was already picking a table. She had decided what she wanted earlier, so when the innkeeper came to ask, she made her order of pan-fried mackerel straight away. Wasen added a pot of miso soup for the three of them plus rice to the order, Fune just wanted another coffee.

“Is your head still hurting?”

“I’ll be fine”

“What he means is, he learnt his lesson and won’t be drunk in front of you again” Wasen grumbled, giving their captain a glare. He looked down, then aside, unable to meet his cook’s eyes.

“Here’s your order! And a complimentary red bean pancake for your daughter!”

Wasen, freshly assigned dad by a waitress, blinked but said nothing. Breakfast was quiet. Fune eventually ate the pancake, at least he’d have something in his stomach. 

Even after they got out of the town (which was probably a city at this point, but nobody had bothered to change the name), there were houses dotting the hillsides and the roads were well maintained. Occasional settlements, farmland, it was all very civilized. Nothing like the green, empty forest the map had lied about. How would they set up camp here?

The trio walked throughout the afternoon, by evening they finally found a small thicket between fields and unpacked their equipment.

Red focused on building a fire, the blanket and such could wait. She was hungry! Which was odd, she definitely did not get to eat this much or often back in the lab yet she hadn’t noticed it much? Was she actually growing now? Back then, she’d been a bit of a runt compared to the others.

“Well done!” Fune complimented her for the campfire, stacked to let the air flow.

“Saboten taught me”

“Hoping we’ll get to meet him someday” Wasen said while unsealing his cooking gear- uh, how would that pot work over a campfire? He seemed to realise as well, looking a bit lost. His stuff was for stovetops, they really had not been on land much in their lives huh.

“Here” she threw over her own cooking equipment scroll.

He looked over the unsealed tools with a ‘thinking’ wrinkle on his forehead. “That’s small, but hang on, I think we can salvage this” he hung her pot over the fire on its rods, and put rocks around the fire? “We’ll make a spicy curry using dried fish for stock in your little pot, and once the rocks heat up I’ll add them to the big pot to boil the rice. Then we can take the rocks out and mix them. Gotta get water”. 

The fire crackled as Red fed it sticks from her stack.

“Sorry about… yesterday” Fune rumbled. “I don’t usually, it’s just, losin’ a member is- still, no excuse for lettin’ you see me like that. Wasen’s right”

she really hadn’t minded that much, but she didn’t want him to do it again since it only seemed to hurt him more, so Red just nodded. Wasen returned, and they got busy chopping ingredients for him while he boiled up a base for the sauce. Just the scent had her stomach rumbling, the breakfast had been fine and their lunch breads on the way were also okay but Wasen’s cooking was the best! 

The next day, they found out why the area was in such extreme growth; this was apparently the road to the Fire Temple, another attraction that drew civilians from all over.

The couple they’d asked did not know of a way around it, and recommended several ‘must-see spots’ around town. They let them see a map of Fire, and there was one other road, it lead through a place called Tanzaku… poem card quarter?

“Right, I see, no other roads indeed. Thank you, we will be seeing the Fire Temple then” Wasen smiled at them, and waved as they left.

“There was another road”

“The city it goes through is not a nice place, this is safer. Just-”

“I know, don’t go anywhere alone.”

“And?”

“Hold hands in crowds” that one honestly felt like it was more for their sake than for hers; as it turned out, Fune was the one bad with crowds, but Wasen got tense when his captain was so obviously on edge which made him snappy. 

After the last time, they were wise enough to camp outside the outer wall for the night, and start trekking through the tourist magnet in the early morning hours.

It was actually rather pleasant? Fune allowed Red to run about freely to check out the strange buildings since there weren’t many people out yet.

Somebody mistook Wasen for a monk, even bowed, and Fune kept teasing him about it throughout the morning.

But then, the streets congested as the town woke up for the day, and Red’s hand got captured by Fune’s once more. As expected, they did not make it through to the other side of town by evening, but they did get to see the Fire Temple.

Fune wanted another souvenir, making the most of an otherwise depressing journey, and there were camera operators near the big tower of the monastery-looking structure so they got a group photo. The captain kept trying to put Wasen’s hands into a ‘prayer’ pose for the monk joke so the end result was a kinda blurry picture of them holding hands and bickering while Red grinned.

That one, she decided while sealing it away afterwards, would definitely go on the wall. 

Chapter Text

The Country of Fire was huge, and walking half-way across it was no fast journey.

After about a month of trudging, Red’s sandals -still from the laboratory, she’d never replaced those since they were fine- were beyond saving. Fune’s pair had also seen better days, so they stopped by a settlement to get new ones.

Their backstory had changed a bit, because apparently, Wasen looked like he could plausibly be her dad? So ‘Akane’ was now the child he had raised after the death of his girlfriend (who she took after), he never had her registered since they were hardly ever on land. Fune grumbled it was unfair, but accepted it.

The two men sometimes held hands even when there were no crowds, possibly just for comfort but Red wasn’t gonna risk ruining anything by asking.

“Shoes? Not in this town, but in the next one over, ask for Kutsuya. Oh dear, I see, wait here. I can get her my daughter’s old ones” the lady they’d asked hurried inside, and came back out with a battered pink pair. “She grew out of them, eleven already. They grow so fast, don’t they?”

“Oh, I wish. My Akane doesn’t seem to like growing” Wasen joked, stroking her forehead.

Had a lock of red hair made its way out again? That, at least, was growing just fine. She should probably shave it all off, but as long as she kept it covered it was fine, right? Red liked her hair.

The sandals fit, they were softer than she was used to. Red handed the lady some coins, she gave one back but accepted the rest with a smile.

“Enjoy having a little one while you can, someday it will feel like those moments just flew by. She’ll have a family of her own before you know it! My eldest…”

oh no, one of those. They stood around for a bit, making polite ‘mhm’ noises while the woman gushed about her three children until her youngest saved them by yelling from inside. Red mentally thanked the kid as they hurried to escape, Fune’s social battery looked well and truly flattened.

They did not stop in the next town over, new shoes could wait. The pink ones were good enough. 

“Why did we buy clothes on the coast, not inland?” Red asked while helping Wasen with the laundry in a river that evening. Her orange top had faded a bit.

“Because worn clothes are less remarkable” he replied easily, stretching Fune’s sweater so it wouldn’t dry shriveled up like knit stuff apparently could. “If you want to blend in, buying fresh local stuff isn’t enough, you need to wear it enough that it looks well and truly yours. Sure, locals can wear new things, but they are unremarkable because they are recognisable to other locals. We have the faces of strangers, so we have to try harder”.

Their goal was to not give anyone reason to have a closer look at her, so Red decided to be brave and do as recommended; “I’ll try without the sunglasses, in Leaf”. She knew Wasen had only suggested those to make her feel safer, they weren’t going to make her less conspicuous.

“Good choice. We are getting close”.

She had noticed, too. They’d passed trading caravans, and ninja in uniform were a more and more common sight in the villages and at the roadside snack shops.

Speaking of which, she was definitely enjoying the snacking culture here! Over the last month, Red had gotten to try a few, usually bought by Fune to share but she sometimes got them snacks too. Fune liked traditional sweets, Wasen chided them for eating between meals but had a weakness for grilled meat. After one experimental bite from one of Fune’s picks, Red found her absolute food nemesis; you could chase her with dango, bland and sticky. Ew.

Red preferred spicy rice crackers, the ‘seafood’ this far inland mostly tasted a bit off. Leaf apparently had it delivered by ninja, it should be fresh there, but the roadside stands out here had no such luxury.

“If you hang these, I’ll get the soup started” Wasen said, straightening with a crack of his back. “Gah! Fune’s doing the laundry next time”

“still captain” came a mumble from camp, which went ignored. Knowing them, captain or not, there would be some bickering but their beardy 'superior' would be washing clothes again soon. 

“Alright, today’s the day we need to find a backpack. Most civilians do not own storage scrolls, it is less remarkable to lug our stuff for entering Leaf.” Wasen informed Red as they left Fune to pack up their camp for the morning. He’d have enough stress in the evening, when they reached the ninja town, no point pulling him through an avoidable crowd now. “Eyes peeled for second-hand, or the kinds you’ve seen on the roads before.” 

They got a large, ugly one in brown, a pull-closed top with a rope they attached her little cookpot to. Fune volunteered to carry it when they brought it back.

They stuffed it with their ship uniform yukatas and ingredient packs, in case it got controlled at the gate that was what would be expected. It rustled and jingled while walking, Wasen assured her that, too, would get them less attention from ninja. He’d gotten new sandals, wooden ones that clacked, for the same reason. Red got a pretty red armband with a little golden bell that dangled, apparently trendy among ‘girls her age’ in Leaf, whatever the seller had meant by that. Better have meant teens. 

They arrived lateish at the gates, in the final rush of people who were ‘just in time!’ Red could see Wasen had been right; the gate guards looked tired and annoyed, and barely spared them a glance as Wasen pointed out the nearby shops to her.

Fune, however, did draw attention… oh no, for looking nervous. “Welcome to the village hidden in the leaves” a ninja mumbled around a toothpick, he had appeared in front of their captain out of thin air. “If you would like to come over here…”

“Ah, we’re with him, come here Akane. Ninja villages have inspections before we go in”

“Okaaay!” she giggled brightly, bouncing over. Akane, she had decided on the way, was ditzy. “Woow~ a real ninja, do you think he’ll help us find Amibune?”

“Akane, let him be. So sorry. We will be requesting assistance finding a missing person-”

“Right, I get it, registration first. There’s an office for requests, I will point it out to you afterward” the ninja was no longer looking so bored, looking Wasen up and down in a way Red wasn’t sure she liked.

“Dad, is it going to take long?” There, interest faded off Mr. Toothpick’s face.

“Longer if we keep standing around, come on, let’s get our luggage to the desk”.

After that, it went smoothly, and they got directions to a building they would have easily found on their own. It was huge, there were signs. Yes! It had worked, the gate guard had definitely thought them to be unobservant and kinda dense. Perfect!

Red stayed in character, hopping to make her bell jingle cheerfully. “Dad, there’s a store, can we go after we ask for help? Pretty please? They have sandals!” her pink ones looked ready to kick the bucket, and were no longer so comfy.

“Sweetheart, we need to get a room first,” Wasen reminded his ‘daughter’, looking appropriately tired. She wasn’t sure he was faking that part.

“Aw, no fun”.

On the off chance the ninja had hung around a bit, better keep up the act. And hope she did not run into her Shadow, Shikamaru Nara, or anyone from his team. 

The request was cheap enough, Amibune’s name and picture from Fune’s documents (wow, he looked so young) went on the ‘to be recovered peacefully’ list. There was not enough information for an actual retrieval mission. Hopefully he was found soon, but the receptionist told them not to have high hopes.

Red realised she was on one of the lists in that room, cold sweat stuck the top to her back while the adults talked, but nobody paid any attention to her.

“Can we try to find logs for ships in the area ourselves?” Wasen asked. 

“The public logs are in the library down the road. Stay in the civilian section”

“Of course. Thank you for your help” Amibune gave the receptionist a nod, and Fune practically pulled them both to the library’s information ledgers. He’d claimed he had given up hope, but as with all things, he was honest to a fault. They all knew he was going to do all he could, because he obviously still had hope too.

The librarian helped them with pulling out the correct rows of ledgers, oh wow, that was a lot. Wasen coughed. “Right, we will need a system, a notebook of our own, and I would assume these are not for rent?”

The librarian shook their head “But you can keep them stacked on the table until you are done with them.”

“Right. Akane, Fune, could you two find a stationery shop? A thick notebook, a pack of graphite-”

“NO graphite sticks in the library!” the librarian hissed.

“Sorry, no, pencils?” That seemed to be allowed. “Rent us a room somewhere before you get back, it is getting late”. 

Leaf strangely wasn’t all that crowded? Maybe it was the area, or the late hour. Either way, it let Fune calm down as they walked.

Getting a lined noteblock and pencils was easy enough, and a kid with makeup triangles on his cheeks and a cute puppy directed them to a place that rented out apartments for ‘super cheap!’. Apparently, a friend of his lived in one of them. The owner showed them one, it was cramped and the walls had worrying cracks and discoloured spots but for the little time it was here that should be fine. Cheaper than renting two rooms at an inn, and it had a functioning stove and bathroom. Good enough, they took it. There wasn’t even a deposit, whatever that was, but it seemed to be fine with Fune.

Wasen was already deep in sorting the ledgers when they got back, from ‘likely’ to ‘unlikeliest’ he explained. He jotted down a few things, but the library was closing for the night.

Sleeping in a bed had been strange, too soft and warm. 

A hiraishin tag was set to her room, another paired to it and ready to be filled in. Preparations done, Red got ready for the day thinking she’d mostly be sitting bored.

She had thought the next days would be all paperwork, but apparently, Wasen and Fune were fine with her being on her own here? They had packed her a separate lunch. 

“Long as you keep that hair well covered, this village should be a pretty safe place. Run along, we’ve got this.” Wasen urged her silently.

“You’re clever enough to stay safe”. Fune reasoned, agreeing for once “and if you ask carefully, other kids around here might show you some cool tricks?”

Oh. This was a ninja village, there would absolutely be things to learn! “Will do! Good luck”

“You too. REMEMBER TO EAT YOUR LUNCH” Wasen yelled as she took off down the stairs, as if she'd forget when it smelled that good. 

The boy she'd met with Fune last night was in the stairs? Right, he’d said his friend lived there too. His puppy yawned sleepily.

“Good morning!”

“The girl from yesterday! So you got rooms here?”

“Yep! Hi, I’m Akane” because introducing yourself unprompted was unsuspicious, Wasen had said.

“My name’s Kiba, Inuzuka Kiba! My clan raises ninja dogs” he said proudly. Oh, he was obnoxiously loud with no adults around and sounded prideful but also useful.

“Is your friend a real ninja dog? Wow!” testing the waters, Red started with taking his obvious pride in the puppy seriously. Let's see how susceptible he'd be to admiration. 

“He’s the best! Akamaru is his name, he’s my partner”

the puppy barked happily, and sniffed her hand as she bent to greet him. “Hi, Akamaru!” another bark, he knew his name huh. Red wasn’t sure how clever dogs could be, but she had best consider him a person just to be on the safe side. “Is it okay to touch him?”

“Only since you asked first” Kiba said, rubbing his nose, sounding like he was doing her a favor somehow.

The puppy was very snuggly, but did snap his teeth randomly? Easily enough avoided, it seemed playful. “He’s so soft!”

“And strong! Wanna see? We can go to the park!”

“What about your friend?” she asked while getting up, puppy whining for more cuddles

“Wasn’t home. Probably checking on his teacher in the hospital”

“I hope his teacher gets well soon” no she didn’t, because this kid was like butter in her palms. He was going to show her ninja skills, already, just like that? If he showed up here in the mornings… “Let’s be friends?” she asked as he led her toward the trees.

He seemed surprised at her offer. “With me? Yeah, of course, I mean, why not?” he clumsily replied, trying to sound nonchalant at the end. He blushed easily, huh. “But I’m a ninja so I have missions and stuff, you know, important things”

by the sound of it, that was a bluff, whatever missions an approximately twelve-year-old got here probably wasn't all that critical. 

“Of course! Whoah, being a ninja must be so hard! When you have free time, and your other friend here is busy, we could hang out?”

“Eheh, sure!”

Red took a chance, and reached toward his cheek. He froze. “Are those clan markings? They look cool”

He blushed further? Easy indeed. Red hadn’t actually studied ‘seduction’ in a class like she'd read ninja did, but she had read the ‘icha icha’ book in the Gullchick’s storage room in secret. Surely it couldn’t be that hard.

She leaned back, let her hand fall, and he turned away sharply. “Mmh, err, yeah. I’ll be allowed to make them bigger once I pass the exam, which will be easy! ‘Cause Akamaru will be there with me!”

“bark!”

The blush wasn’t really fading, he kept glancing so she sent him the smile that made Wasen and Fune happy. He brightened further, so red! This was kinda fun? They had reached the park, Kiba had his puppy do jumps and she made sure to compliment both dog and trainer liberally.

Sharing her lunch hadn't been part of the plan, but it was kinda cute how much Kiba enjoyed it. Akamaru got a treat from his pocket. 

“Do you do ninja things, too? Or only Akamaru?” seemed to poke at his ego, Kiba puffed up his chest and claimed he could do all sorts of ‘ninja things’. “Whoah, so strong! Can I see a ninja trick? Pretty please?” she batted her lashes at him, and he grinned.

“Sure! Look and be amazed! Clone jutsu!”

“There’s two of you!”

“Guess who’s the real one!”

“Hmm…” one of the ‘Kiba’ had wobbled a bit, so she chose that one, obviously the clone. “This is the real one!”

he made it poof away, looking proud as can be “Nope!”

“Wah, I couldn’t tell at all! Are all ninja as good as you?”

“Nah, I might even become Hokage someday!” he boasted, looking very pleased at her attention.

“Wow! Wait, ninja can transform and stuff, right? You could try putting on the Kage hat, see if it suits you!”

“Yeah! Gimme a sec…” he was concentrating, score! Transformation jutsu was one she definitely needed. “Transformation jutsu!” And she got the hand signs needed, but there had to be more to it.

“Amazing!” she clapped enthusiastically, bell on her armband ringing. Akamaru barked in agreement… or just excitement, probably. “How do you DO that, it looks so real! It’s like the hat is really there” she reached through it, and ‘accidentally’ ruffled his hair. His eyes widened, blush making a comeback, and the disguise went ‘poof’. “Oh, sorry I broke it”

“no, ‘s fine” he mumbled.

“Your hair is really thick, it feels nice” she subjected him to a good petting, he didn’t protest. She put her hand back down, and tried again; “Seriously, you just went” she messed up the hand seals on purpose “and poof! Kage! It can’t be that easy, right?”

“No, it’s really tricky!” he boasted “I have to focus, and shape it and stuff, and then I apply the transformation!”

Ah. He was about as good of a teacher as Fune, all practical no theory. Not that he realised he was teaching. Better move on, then circle back once it’s been off his mind for a bit. Couldn’t raise suspicion. “And you do that in battle, clones and transform while Akamaru attacks?”

“No! We attack together, right Akamaru?”

“Bark!”

“Can’t show it here, but I’ll fetch you tomorrow, we can go to a training ground!”

“That sounds fun, I want to go! I’ll be at home, or at the library”

“Akamaru will find you, wherever you are!”

Right, dogs’ noses. “So reliable! It’s a date, then?” she said it with a joking tone and a giggle, yet the blush had one last encore while he floundered.

“S-sure! Ahaha, see you in the morning!” he blustered, followed by “Let’s go, Akamaru!” “Bark!” as the duo made an unnecessarily flashy exit from tree to tree. Time had really flown by, better go home. She could do the cooking for once! 

Before even opening the door, Red could tell her plan had been foiled; it smelled delicious! “I’m home!” felt odd to say. 

“Welcome back, Akane! Did you have fun today?” 

Akane, so there might be a listener huh. Or Wasen was just being overly cautious. 

“Lots! And I got a friend who has a cute puppy and I got to pet it! How was the library?” 

“We have a lot to read. Maybe you can also come tomorrow?” 

“I kind of made a plan with my friend, but sure, he knows I might be there” 

“Alright, you can help out until he gets- wait, your new friend is a boy?” Wasen’s smile faded a bit, Fune looked up from the scroll he was reading. 

“Yes?” Did that matter? 

“Boys are not to be trusted,” Fune said, “especially not ninja. Is he a ninja?”  

“Don’t let him touch you,” Wasen added, “tell us if he says anything weird, or tries to make you do something you don’t want.” 

“Dad! Fune! Seriously, he’s just a friend!” Well, she was planning to practice flirting using him, no need to tell them that. It seemed like a useful skill to know. 

“And we’ll meet this boy tomorrow, if he shows?” Wasen asked, did he have to sharpen a kitchen knife now? Really? 

“Don’t scare him away? He’s fun to play with.” 

“We’ll see,” Fune rumbled. 

Dinner was tasty, but the atmosphere was tense. Red went to her room early, to practice transformation, but she could hear the occasional low rumble of Fune’s voice so they were definitely talking. It was distracting! 

She did the hand seals flawlessly, but nothing happened. Did you really have to say it out loud? No, right? That was silly. 

Kiba had mentioned shaping it, he probably meant shaping chakra into the extra stuff he wore? 

Focusing hard, she tried to simply make her sandals look newer by coating them with chakra and keeping an image of new sandals in her mind, and did the hand seals. A poof followed, yes! 

… uh. Wobbly, see-through, and as she took a step her shoes poofed back to normal. Not exactly a great start, that. But something happened, visibly! She could do this!

Later, she tried it, out of frustration. She had struggled for hours. “Transformation Jutsu” she mumbled, ears burning because it sounded ridiculous. 

It worked! She was wearing solid, dark blue toeless sandals. But oh no, a verbal component, that was ridiculous and restrictive. How did it even work? 

Clearly, one did not need to yell it like Kiba did, so how silent could she make it? Another try, whispering did the same. Oh good. Miming it did not seem to work? Whatever the logic was behind this, Red couldn’t see it. 

Doing a full body transformation would come next, what would Wasen and Fune find funny? Opposite mermaid, she decided, a fish head! 

Red looked up from the ledger she’d been taking notes from. She knew that bark, they were outside!

Sneaking past Fune was easy enough, but even with his back turned Wasen still noticed. “That’s your friend calling you, then?”

“Yeah, see you later” she tried to hurry out, but he followed, intent on seeing Kiba. Hopefully he looked harmless- oh no, he looked well groomed today, and was holding a little bunch of flowers that looked like they might be missing from a flowerbed nearby. He had taken the ‘date’ thing seriously, hadn’t he.

Worst possible timing, Wasen’s eyes glinted dangerously. “You must be the new friend my daughter has been telling me about” he practically growled, standing tall and still. He actually felt kinda scary like this, even to her.

Kiba took a step back, eyes like those of a startled cat, but then caught himself and straightened to his full, not-very-impressive height. “Inuzuka Kiba”

“Bark!”

“And Akamaru.”

“Wasen.”

The air felt crackly with tension.

“Fune” the captain added, suddenly behind her, sleeves rolled up. Seriously? Ugh, men.

“And I’m Akane, you all know that. Introductions done? We’ll be going then, byeee!” She grabbed Kiba by the hand, and fled with a giggle. He dropped the flowers, good, she had no idea what to do with those. 

She was out of breath, yet he wasn’t. Ninja were unfairly well trained, Red thought as she gathered herself after their escape. “Sorry about my dad, and Fune. They are nice, they just don’t know you yet” she assured him, but he already seemed back to his usual faux-confident self.

“Let’s go to the training grounds! Me and Akamaru have a combination attack you wouldn’t believe!” He still hadn’t tried to pull his hand away, so she interlaced their fingers as he led her there. The blush was back, but he was less shy today, and more overexcited. 

What he wanted to show her turned out to be a loud and flashy move she would not be able to use, but it did let her stoke his ego further with praise after which he might be open to teaching her something..? Best make entirely sure she had him snared first. “Hey, I was thinking… you call me Akane, so can I call you Kiba? Or should I keep saying Inuzuka?”

He swallowed, and turned his head aside, scratching the back of his head. Still, his eyes flickered to hers to gauge her reaction as he said “Sure, I guess?”

First-name basis was a good step, or at least it had seemed significant in the book. “Yay! Then, Kiba” she leaned close “I got one of those strange knives like you have from a friend, for self defense, but I don’t know how to use it. Would you maybe be my teacher? Kiba-sensei?” Oh wow he could blush bright.

“C-can’t be helped, I guess, self defense is important!” He struck a pose, thumb pointing to his clan markings “I’ll be your teacher!” 

Dealing with him for a whole afternoon again was exhausting, Red decided that if she ever got a real boyfriend he’d need to be less loud. Maybe a bit slower-tempered, more willing to listen.

On the plus side, the ‘date’ had been fruitful. She now knew the poses for throwing, and for defending from various angles. She kept her throws terribly weak and intentionally off-center so he could show off and she could keep the praise going, and he kept teaching her different ways to hold her weapon.

Any time she was to ‘defend’ from his slow ‘attack’ with a stick, she’d clumsily do it badly or let his stick push her ‘weak’ arm aside. He seemed to really enjoy that, getting to be the strongest.

Tomorrow, she was planning to use that to take her flirting one step further, but for now she needed to face her possibly disappointed ‘dad’ and captain. A deep breath, and she put her hand on the door handle. Why was opening the door so hard? She hadn’t actually done anything! And yet, running like that had felt like a tiny betrayal. Another deep breath-

“Preparing for a dive?” Wasen asked drily, from right on the other side of that door by the sound of it. She couldn’t help the surprised squeak. He opened the door, and gave his ‘wayward daughter’ an exasperated look. “We can talk over dinner”. 

Red ended up telling them everything, her attempt at seduction so far, her new jutsu, learning to use a weapon. The fish head transformation did tease some smiles out of them.

“Alright, you seem to have that one on a tight leash” Wasen commented “But I am still not impressed with your communication skills.”

“Sorry, I’ll tell you next time”

“Next, how many are you planning to practice on?” Fune grumbled, still grumpy.

“The book said ‘a strong ninja should have many conquests’!”

Wasen’s brow wrinkled, then smoothed to his dangerously calm face. “Captain, I distinctly remember telling you to throw away any such material or to hide it where our youngest shouldn’t be able to find it.”

Uh oh, Wasen never used Fune’s actual job title, and it didn’t sound very respectful at all. “It was in the storage room?” she offered, sure he’d be more lenient with her than with their employer of sorts.

“If it was where you could find it, then finding it wasn’t your fault. You can go to bed.” Left unsaid was, ‘me and Fune will be discussing this’, which meant ‘I am going to nag at him now, at length’. Red sent their captain an apologetic look as she left. 

Chapter Text

The following two weeks were pleasant enough, and uneventful. Avoiding the corner of Leaf marked ‘Nara’ on the map had worked out, she never saw a single one of the team she’d met back then.

Red got into a routine of sorts; she’d help sort the shrinking stack of remaining documents, take notes of the plausible timeframes and ports and organizations, and then at some point a happy puppy’s bark would mean it was time to play!

She would have to end this little fling soon, they almost had all the information catalogued, so for the last few days she had been testing the waters a bit. Since she was leaving, how about learning a few more things? He’d gotten more comfortable touching her to guide her into the taijutsu he was now teaching.

Yesterday, she’d given him a hug, so today maybe she could try to figure out kissing? Icha Icha’s descriptions were hard to follow, better get some practice in. 

“Hey, Kiba-sensei” she whispered later, hugging his back. The day was hot, he was sweaty and kinda smelly, but she was determined. “Wanna take a break together, by the river?”

“Alright! Come on, Akamaru!”

“Bark!”

“Actually, could it just be the two of us for a bit? No offense to Akamaru”

“Arf”.

“Why?” he sounded confused, but did follow when she pulled him along by the hand.

A bit away from the training field, she faced him, and did her best impression of ‘shy’; shuffling her feet, fiddling the hem of her shirt, glancing up and back down. “Um, you’ve been teaching me so many important things” she took a careful step closer “so I wanted to thank you properly” and then, stretching up, she pressed her lips to his cheek. That was how it worked, right? It didn’t feel special, but as she leaned back, Kiba was so red his clan markings almost blended in. So, it did work. Huh, nice.

“I, uh, that, um, I mean, wha”

oh, he was a bit cuter like this, silent for once and stumbling, mouth wanting to say something but his brain clearly on timeout.

“Don’t tell my dad?” Red whispered, finger over her lips. He nodded. 

Kiba was pretty spaced out for the rest of the evening. She’d heard he had an exam of some sort coming up, hopefully he would snap out of it before then. Well, not her problem. He was a ninja, he might hunt her down for the bounty someday, the way she saw it he was little more than a possible enemy.

Flirting really was fun though, ought to find another target after this journey. A deck boy from River or Wave, maybe? Or a girl, just to try it? Red was pretty sure she found boys cuter, but the experience might be worth it. 

“Lots of foreign ninja in the library again today, apparently some promotion event tomorrow?” Fune rumbled at the dinner table while Wasen got busy cooking.

“Kiba told me, he’s participating”

“how much longer are you planning to keep that going?” her captain still found 'leading the kid on' to be cruel. 

“He might get annoying if I break up now, so right before we leave?”

“That’s soon, then. Sure you won’t miss him?”

“He’s not my type, so no. He is loud”.

They had warmed up to the Inuzuka over the weeks she’d hung out with him, not that Kiba would know by the way they still glared.

“Want to see if he gets through the exam? There’s a ticket stand, it’s apparently in the arena”

“Mmm, no thanks. But you can go without me if you want” there was no way she’d be able to learn anything useful from far away, and she was still concerned about crossing paths with Shadow or his team.

They weren’t interested in going, either? Sure, Fune and crowds, but Wasen usually enjoyed new experiences. Tickets were probably expensive, then, their collective funds were running low.

“At least you gained some muscle from all that ‘flirting’,” Wasen smiled, the rice was bubbling so he took a break with them. “We might be able to teach you how to throw the nets when we get back”.

While she hadn’t been sparring for real, had to keep the leaf ninja thinking she was fragile and harmless, the poses were still good training and she had repeated them in her room most evenings. Nowhere near the raw physical strength of Kiba, but she was stronger than before.

“Sounds like fun!” More ways to get fish!

The morning was noisy, Fune and Amibune had headed out to finish the last checks in the library while Red had been encouraged to seek out a souvenir.

Either the next day or the one after that would be their departure, depending on whether they could find the landlord to pay or if they’d have to leave his money with the Leaf bank for pickup. It was closed during the first two days of what was apparently called the chuunin exams? Probably because it was going to be chaotic, she’d already had to avoid a street where a staring contest between a fellow redhead -so there WERE others out there- and some locals was souring the air, and tensions seemed high all around.

Around mid-morning, the streets suddenly cleared up in a snap, as if by magic. Not a ninja, barely a civilian to be seen, it must have started then. Red drew a deep breath, enjoying the peace and quiet. Sure, she liked crowds, but of the civilian variety. All morning long, she had felt like a single mackerel in a school of sharks. 

A few shops were open, and as she snuck a glance into a weapons store, Red finally found luck to be on her side; the only person manning it was a bored-looking teen. Score!

She hopped on in, confident and bold mask on. Right now, for this encounter, she was a ninja who needed new throwing knives for her exam today.

“Welcome” the cashier muttered sadly.

Time to seem like a casual regular; “Anything new in stock?”

“Dunno”

oh yes, a fresh part-timer. This was doable. “Think you could get me another set of these? I’m running low” she asked in an I-could-barely-care-less voice, handing over Shadow’s throwing knife while studying a shelf behind him. Oh, a new symbol for sealing tags, neat. The price note said ‘explosive tags’.

“ID?”

“For knives? Come on. I’m already running late here” she tinged her voice with irritation, sparing him a glance. He considered it, shrugged, and got her a set. Neat! She paid up, it was cheap for the amount of metal used but knives were seen as ‘disposable’ by ninja so it made sense.

“Here is the expenses slip for the offices”

“Thank you”. She took her first knife with her, too, even though it was getting dull. And she was safely out, carrying tools civilians were not allowed to buy. Carrying them openly was probably not the best move, she missed the wide sleeves of the yukata and sand robes. For now, they got sealed in the storage scroll for ‘battle’ alongside her tags. A growing arsenal! The belt with pouches had been a good investment way back when they bought clothes in the port city, no carrying scrolls openly unless you wanted attention.

Testing the ‘explosive’ symbol would be a bit noticeable here, better wait until they were back on the road. If it worked how she suspected it might, well, she could be looking at a potential new favourite weapon. 

A muted sound in the distance, the onlookers cheering?

Wandering the main street, Red saw Fune exit the side street to the library, pulling Wasen along. By their trajectory, the red bean pancake stand. Lunch snack, lucky catch! This seemed to be a super lucky day. She joined them, and they made a small picnic out of it in a park.

“Gonna miss those” Fune mumbled.

“Pretty sure I can make them, we just need to stock fresh milk and eggs when we’re near land. The beans used seem to be preserves” Wasen commented, studying his.

“I got my souvenir” Red smiled, satisfied.

Wasen stroked her headcloth, tucking hair further in to be on the safe side as always. “That is good, so we are all ready to leave? Our landlord might be watching the exam, so let's search for him after it ends. Apparently there’s parts, and it goes for days, but I doubt he’ll be watching it all night”.

Wow, that promotion test sounded like a pain. “So the plan is, search this evening, sleep over one last night, pay either him or the bank, break up with Kiba, and leave?” Red listed, but then realised; “Oh, he might still be at the exam. Uh, is breaking up in a letter okay? I know where he lives”

“Normally, it would be bad manners, but you knew the kid for less than a month. I’d say it’s fine” Wasen assured her.

“Be nice about it? He seemed like a good kid” Fune added.

Sure, no need to kick her lapdog. It already felt like she was putting him outside, in the rain, with a note of ‘free to a good home’. Was this… guilt? Silly, she had acted correctly and gotten intel. Thanks to a bit of attention and flattery, she now knew how to handle knives, dodge attacks, and use disguises made of chakra. She hadn’t forced him into anything, it had been a trade of sorts. “I’ll write it tonight”. 

They’d been to the local tourist attraction, Hokage Mountain, just for the sake of it. Another silly piece for the Gullchick’s interior walls joined Red’s storage, an artist’s sketch of the three of them in front of the stone faces.

A short trip to the rental apartment that had been ‘home’ for a while, for dinner, and they were back out as the skies darkened. The streets were crowded again, but relaxed, onlookers on their way home.

Now, if you were a shifty landlord of a way-below-building-code apartment block, where would you be? Fune suggested the pubs, which earned him a Look from Wasen. “Just saying, it seems likely!” 

Things had not gone to plan, despite being mere genin the brats had inflicted heavy damage on the admittedly less-than-ideal grass ninja’s body Orochimaru had been using. Thankfully, Kabuto’s request for his minions to find a body double had netted them a good one. While male, his body was similar enough that it could be hidden with robes.

“That’ss… very thoughtful” Orochimaru mumbled, seeming positively surprised for once.

Yes! They enjoyed his gift! Kabuto happily assisted his master in changing bodies.

“Thiss one’ss good, the chakra flowss ssmoothly” they praised his choice, getting up elegantly.

The curse mark was set, the sound team would recover the Uchiha and Kabuto’s master would gain his future vessel. But until then, this was a very pretty substitute.

“I sshall return to our room, thiss body requires adjussting to be ussed to itss fullesst. I trusst you have thiss covered” they said dismissively, looking tired. Understandable.

“Of course, Orochimaru-sama!” 

It took some silent arguing, eyes communicating in ways Red still did not quite grasp, Wasen eventually signed ‘serious’ and Fune glanced her way with a nod. They all ended up going, looking through the pubs and bars as a group.

Fune got a small drink in one while Wasen’s back was turned, but Red reasoned that much was probably fine.

Almost through the so-called ‘party street’, Wasen suddenly grabbed them both, pulling them along with haste? “Might be nothing, but, blue yukata with a white rope” he whispered.

Eh? Couldn’t be. And yet, Red couldn’t help her hope surging. Fune sped up, actually jogging to the door where Wasen had seen it. It must be somebody else, the uniform wasn’t unique to their ship. It was impossible, even if he was safe he wouldn’t know where to find them.

And yet there, uncharacteristically glaring down the poor stuttering receptionist for some reason, stood Amibune.

Today really was the luckiest day, Red thought as she blinked away tears. Her crew, no, her family were all safe.

Chapter Text

“Amibune!” Fune yelled, overjoyed, and attempted to throw his arms around the friend they had all had been desperately searching for. 

He… dodged? 

A tense moment followed, Red blinked in confusion. Something was off, but maybe he was just on edge? 

“Amibune, it’s us. Relax” Wasen tried, but Red noticed his voice was uncertain. 

Amibune’s face shifted unnaturally for a second, and she got goosebumps, but then he smiled. Surely she had imagined that. Yeah, this tavern was dimly lit. Just a trick of the light- 

‘Amibune’ shifted his weight all wrong, setting her teeth on edge. “Dodge!” she yelled, more on instinct than anything. 

Wasen grabbed his captain by the collar and blurred with unexpected speed, she’d never seen him move that fast before, but whoever or whatever looked like Amibune for some reason was still able to get a hit in. 

Fune gasped for air while Wasen and Red drew their weapons; cooking knife from his sleeve, storage scroll from her belt. 

“That is NOT Amibune!” Wasen yelled to her, as if she needed the confirmation after he hit their captain. Red hurriedly put a tag between her fingers, ready if she got close enough, and- 

“What’ss thiss, my misssing lab rat” he hissed. Crap. 

“Fune, Wasen, RUN!” Red knew that hiss. The three of them would be no match for hecking Orochimaru! 

“Lab rat?” Wasen growled, circling the confident and relaxed-looking possessed, dead body of his friend to take a stance in front of her. 

Fune reached under his sweater for his own storage scroll, Orochimaru did not care as they kept talking; “you sseem to have gotten more usseful.” The three of them were not even a threat, huh. Yeah, she knew. “Return to where you belong, and I won’t have to kill your friendss” they offered, palm up, an obvious lie. 

People were fleeing the tavern, jumping through windows. Hopefully Leaf ninja would get there soon, Red would rather be taken by them than watch her two remaining friends die. 

Amibune was gone, forever. She knew whoever Orochimaru possessed was dead, had seen the corpses they left behind in the lab. But mourning would have to wait. 

“The only one she belongs to is herself,” Wasen growled. 

“No, run!” Red pleaded, trying to push him toward the door. “I-I will go with you if you spare them, please Orochimaru-sama!” she pleaded, more to buy time than out of hope. They were not a patient person, but she knew they enjoyed toying with their prey like a cat. People groveling and pleading appealed to them. 

“Not a chance” Fune rumbled, strange sword in hand. Unlike when she last saw it, the blade was thrumming with chakra. It glowed with a low hum as he charged at the monster in terribly familiar human form, but as expected Orochimaru was having none of it. 

One of Amibune’s arms stretched, deformed, turned scaly and thick as his hand transformed into a snake that coiled around Fune, lightning quick. 

“Draw your teleport” Wasen commanded in a low tone, hand sign for ‘serious’ drawing Orochimaru’s eyes even as Fune struggled in their grasp. 

Right, to get them all out of there. Red drew it from her storage, and scribbled coordinates even as Fune got bitten. Hopefully not a deadly one, please, she knew her ‘creator’ was twisted enough to have poisons for all sorts of effects. Please, let it be something harmless- 

“Ssneakily writing ssealss, it would sseem you weren’t a complete failure” 

their eyes drilled into her, and suddenly Red couldn’t move her fingers to complete the hiraishin. She couldn’t breathe, could barely think. An icy, bone-deep fear, primal and irresistible. Their ability, she’d been subject to it before. 

Not a thing moved in the tavern but for Orochimaru gliding toward her, eyes now a bright yellow. In a way, it was less painful at least, not having to see Amibune’s sweet dark eyes as they finished her off. 

Wasen twitched right next to her, right, no. She couldn’t give up! The terror had her heart hammering, but letting them die was not an option. Red gritted her teeth as the snake stepped closer, discarding Fune’s limp body on the tavern floor with a dull thud. 

Come on, move! Their ‘fear’ wasn’t actually physically holding her in place, she knew that! 

Managing to unclench her jaw was tough, but finally feeling the pain of biting her cheek gave Red a moment of free movement so she slapped the random tag she had prepared earlier -reduce friction, learned from Gullchick’s flanks, not what she had hoped she’d grabbed- on the snake’s stolen chest. 

Their eyes widened in astonishment- and they slipped to the floor with a ‘thunk’ she hadn’t expected. 

Their ‘fear’ evaporated for a second, she drew a breath and prepared- it SLAMMED back as Orochimaru ripped the seal from Amibune’s chest, looking absolutely livid and more than a little unhinged. 

“You DARE” he roared, chakra blasting the nearby furniture aside and cracking the walls. 

Couldn’t breathe! Red felt like the weight of their presence was crushing her, all she managed was a pained whimper- 

and Wasen was moving, ramming Orochimaru with his body. How had he broken through that?! “FLEE!” He yelled, and she struggled to move her fingertip, bead of blood at her nail rapidly becoming coordinates. 

She hadn’t looked to see which hiraishin tag she’d grabbed; anywhere but here. She tried not to look, not to process what she saw and heard, the terrible ripping noise and red as she drew the last lines.  It was complete, she dove for her companions now both on the floor even as Orochimaru formed a hand sign and her own chakra built. Please, let her be faster- 

the door slammed open behind her, and Red had no idea what happened after, because she twirled onto the rough shell sand of Amibune’s dock next to Wasen’s boathouse. 

Silence. 

Deafening, whooshing through her ears, the sound of nothing, no-one. 

No Orochimaru, but also no other life, for in his last move before dropping his body the snake had struck with a hand like a blade and taken Wasen’s head right off. 

She hadn’t gotten that, it rolled off. 

Fune’s chest wasn’t moving, either, and neither was his pulse. 

Red sat there for a while, no sound to be heard but the seagulls and waves on sand. 

She was alone. 

They had died because of her, protecting her. 

Orochimaru was using her friend Amibune’s corpse like some sick flesh suit because he was in Wave because she’d insisted on going. 

Sweet, careless Amibune, a bit teasing at times, a joker hidden behind a serene mask, elegant and skilled yet lazy. Friendly, loving, a great teacher. A great friend. 

Fune and Wasen had been murdered by a monster wearing their friend’s body because of her. 

Fune had lost his sword, she noticed, and numbly apologised to his body. That, too, had clattered aside somewhere as that horrifying snake-arm had let go. 

Her captain, a horrible teacher really, the world’s worst liar. Honest to a fault, warm, a man who’d do anything for those he saw as ‘his’ while grumbling all along. Fearful and flawed, yet he’d been their heart, the moral compass and centerpoint around which they’d all gravitated. 

Warmth rolled down her cheeks, and Red shivered, curling up next to their cooling bodies. 

Wasen’s blood soaked her clothes. 

Calling him her dad these last months had felt like more than a cover story, it had honestly been unnecessary yet she’d noticed he enjoyed it too. 

Protective to a fault, picky and nagging and overbearing at times, fussing and tucking her hair and telling her to eat her meals and pushy about manners. 

Red had never felt closer to anyone in her life, and he was gone. 

No more of his thoughtful, warm meals. 

No more gentle reminders to be careful, no more little smiles to show his genuine affection. 

Wasen and Fune would never be teaching her to throw nets. She would never again see them hold hands, or hear them bicker over every little thing. 

Red was shivering, icy cold despite the balmy summer night. 

She did not sleep, but when dawn broke she couldn’t really remember the time having passed either. 

She felt numb, hollow, getting up with limbs she could barely feel were her own. 

The bodies of her closest laid near, but what truly made them Wasen and Fune was no longer there. 

Red felt small, lonely in a way she had never even thought possible as she slowly started digging, but then she paused. 

They wouldn’t want to be on land. 

Pulling them to Wasen’s pretty little boat felt right somehow. They’d want her to have their storage scrolls, she knew that, but retrieving them felt painfully final. 

She would not be joining them; they had thrown themselves in danger’s path to keep her alive. Honouring that final wish was tough, it looked like it would be so comfortable to just lie next to them forever. 

Red took a deep breath, and unmoored the boat. 

No sail needed, no oars, she slowly pulled it by its rope and it came willingly. Out past the shallows, onto the deep blue ocean they all loved so much. 

Amibune’s body may be missing, held hostage out of her reach, but Red still held all three in mind as she undid the mast’s attachment in the bottom to let water flood the little vessel. It glinted beautifully even underwater, sinking slowly into the murky depths. 

Hopefully it was what they would have wanted. 

Lying in the surface for a while, Red watched clouds drift overhead as her tears joined the ocean. 

No more companions, Red decided, wiping her face. 

No more daydreaming about living peacefully, no more naive wishful thinking about family. No more getting good people killed. 

No giving people her true name- ah, that one bathhouse owner knew it, Yuge Suchimu. But she meant nothing, she was just useful to Red’s information gathering. 

Right, checking your mail is important, that would be her next stop. Unmotivated, but without any other place to go, Red started trudging. Sure, there was a hiraishin by the ‘hot’ spring, but she wasn’t ready to deal with people yet. Moving made it feel like she was doing something, at least. 

Leaving the ocean hurt. Leaving a fresh hiraishin tag in the empty boathouse hurt. They weren’t here, and yet, this heartbreakingly empty boathouse was what she’d call her ‘home’ from now on. 

Looking back one last time from the hill that would soon hide the bay from sight, Red couldn’t enjoy the sight as the waves sparkled in the sunset. 

Even after being awake for she-had-no-idea-how-many hours, Red couldn’t sleep. 

Suddenly, the rough dried blood was too much, she threw her clothes -that she bought with them- aside and scrubbed herself with her orange soap in the cold river until she was shivering again. Pulling the sand robes back out of storage and being cocooned in the cloth felt comfortable. 

The laundry could wait- 

no, wouldn’t want to put Wasen’s blood into storage, she dutifully washed the shirt and shorts to let it flow back where it belonged. 

Exhausted, numb with cold, Red curled up on the riverbank.

Chapter Text

Meeting her hadn’t been anything special, that first late evening when Kiba had recommended a cheap place to stay. Just a travelling group, even though the girl had been cute he had forgotten her name by the time they met again the very next morning. 

But oh, that fateful meeting in the stairwell played over and over in his mind. 

She had immediately seen Akamaru for the awesome ninja dog he was at heart, and never called him a 'runt' the way others did. He would grow, he just needed some time. 

She’d seen him for who he was, too, never a bad word or insult on her pretty lips. Only sunshine, affection, admiration and praise. He had soaked it up, basked in it. Where others only saw his flaws, Akane saw him. 

When he mis-stepped, fell out of trees, cut his finger throwing knives? She did not tease or jeer or mock. She ran to him, helped him up, and asked if he was okay. It was strange, at first, but once he realised it was out of concern not pity it made his heart swell with a strange new emotion that made the world brighter. 

And she more than just admired him; she truly liked him, maybe even romantically!? Kiba had never felt that way before, but her little gestures and bright smiles had his heart hammering. Other girls had never looked at him the way she did, and she kept inviting him in, closing the gap between them. 

With Akane, Kiba didn’t feel pushy or unwanted. He never had to push; she made it clear that she was his. Perfectly, completely. She never hung out with anyone other than him or her (scary) dads, she didn’t want to get close to his more popular friends or comrades. Not even the Uchiha all the other girls seemed to adore. Only him. 

If he wanted to hug her? He could. And she pulled him close, relaxed into it. Akane was small, and soft, and smelled faintly of oranges and soap and ink. Akamaru loved her scent, too. And her gentle cuddles, her respectful voice. Treating his partner like a person. 

And she had kissed Kiba. More than that; she had wanted to kiss him. 

A cute girl he liked had pulled him aside, shy and sweet and (probably?) in love with him, and she had pressed her soft lips to his cheek. 

The rest of that evening had been a blur. She had played with Akamaru in the river, he remembered her giggles and how prettily the sparkling water framed the scene. 

As he looked at her, that evening, Kiba felt he saw his future. Bright, warm, and saturated with her gentle touch. This, forever. 

And then he’d left her alone for days, for the messy exam he now wished he had never agreed to try so soon, and what he came back to was a report from his mom that had ice water run through his veins. 

Tsume had known, of course; nothing hid from an Inuzuka’s nose. She had obviously checked on his Akane at least once, early on, because she’d snickered and joked ‘that’s a lot of library visits in a week, for you’ and proudly told him he ‘could do worse’ in his choice. 

There was none of that smug humor in this report; Akane was gone, and the decapitated head of one of her civilian dads had been found in a pool of blood after a fight between ninjas. ‘Caught in the crossfire between unknowns’ was the unapologetic line, all the report mentioned about her family. Eyewitness reports were ‘inconclusive’, no locals were involved so it was dropped just like that?! Kiba had wanted to run out there, to yell and rage at whoever was in charge and get them to do it properly. But his mom had squeezed him tight, and all he could do was sob pathetically. 

He had been there with Akamaru, later. One of the blood samples from the ruined tavern’s floor was hers, just a drop yet he didn’t have much hope. Akamaru whined at the scent, and curled up sadly. 

Despite acting hostile towards Kiba at first, he doubted her dads would actually be the types to have enemies, this felt like a case of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ and Kiba hated it. His attempts at teaching her self defense hadn’t kept her safe at all, some random monster of a foreign ninja had extinguished her warm light just like that. 

‘Ninja must protect civilians’, the adults kept saying, but it was only now that Kiba truly got it. How precious they could be, how fragile they were. 

He had been blind to them, too wrapped up in his clan and teammates and other ninja, rivalries and childish squabbles wasn’t why he needed to get strong. 

Filled with determination, Kiba wiped his tears. “Come, Akamaru” “Fweeep”. He indulged and carried his partner for comfort, but they still got back on the training ground. 

From now on, they had neither a ‘goal’ nor a ‘dream’ but a duty, and they would do it damn well. 

For Akane. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Red sneezed, she felt shivery and feeble. 

Although she should be on her way to the bathhouse, still days away, she was instead curled around her cookfire waiting for the porridge to finally be done. She’d made it bland; no point wasting spices when she could barely taste anyways. Her senses felt dull, her movements clumsy as she stirred the pot.

Mealtimes felt extra lonely, she never had an appetite these days. But Wasen wanted her to eat her meals on time- she curled up in a tight ball.

Wasen was gone.

Decapitated, the scene ran on repeat in her dreams and waking mind alike. Dead, unmoving, his lifeblood spilling all over her as she could only bring their bodies away.

There was nobody left to protect, why did she even still carry tags and knives?

But no, they wanted her safe. She had to keep going, keep getting stronger… for what? Her life had no meaning, no purpose. Red wasn’t even born. She was not meant to exist, Orochimaru had done that. They had made her the Red who drove Amibune into their net, they had killed her family. It was all Orochimaru’s fault. She hadn’t blamed them for making her back then, but now? 

Red realised she did have a goal; to take Amibune’s body back.

If Orochimaru died in the process, that would be an unexpected bonus, but they were a slippery snake obsessed with eternal life. She would need information, a solid plan, and time; as she was now, she stood no chance. Years, techniques, knowledge, a stage prepared just to bring the snake to their knees and drop the body.

Determination flowed through her, silent like an undertow, unstoppable as the tidal cycle. At the very least, that snake would not get to keep one of hers. 

First, though, she’d have to beat this damn cold. Red ate her terrible porridge.

Chapter Text

Red opted to circle around the village of Artisans, it held nothing of interest to her. 

Camping on the cliff again, she added a hiraishin there too, under a cliff outcrop to keep it out of the elements. 

If only her teleports were faster, more convenient to use, she might have been able to save Wasen at least. Her incompetence- no, Orochimaru murdered them both. Feeling guilty was pointless. 

Amibune wouldn’t want his body to be used in such a manner, this was still a rescue mission of sorts, just less urgent. She couldn’t falter until he was laid to rest with the others, but rushing wasn’t gonna help anyone. 

They were all dead. 

Still feeling under the weather after days was pathetic, but Red had never had any noticeable degree of Uzumaki vitality. 

Traces, maybe, since her disposal back then had been set to be through medical experimentation. But she caught illnesses that the other clones didn’t, and her injuries from experiments back then had healed at normal civilian rates. 

She hadn’t really gotten hurt since fleeing… because they had looked out for her, guided her from the day they met- 

Red slapped her cheeks, hard. Sulking, grieving, and other moping about wouldn’t put dinner in her pot, there were animals to hunt and she needed to practice throwing knives like Kiba taught her. 

No point looking backwards, she wasn’t going that way. It hurt, but so did hunger. 

Red hopped from tree to tree, clumsily at first but Kiba had demonstrated it often enough. As she’d had to with Fune’s ‘teaching’, it was watch and learn, and she’d caught some tricks. 

What sort of branches to aim for, which trees he had avoided, how hard you could land and kick off. 

He had also (unwillingly) shown how to land safely when you fell out of a tree, several times. 

She ought to find another young ninja to seduce, it was a fast and easy way to gain access to skills and information. 

There was movement ahead, so she settled on a tree stem to have a better look. A deer, that was maybe a bit much for one person. Could she even eat it all before it went bad? Wasen had said never to touch old meat or old seafood. 

But she did need practice killing bigger things, so Red drew several knives and jumped straight at the animal. Throwing them from between her fingers was trickier than Kiba made it seem, but three found their target and dug in deep. 

The poor animal screamed, a surprisingly high-pitched and unpleasant noise, and tried to flee but stumbled. By sheer luck, she’d gotten a hind leg, and the heavy fall gave Red the chance to throw another knife. 

The deer fell, but was still alive, eye in her view wide with panic. She knew that feeling, but that was how this world worked. It hadn’t been observant enough, fast enough, or clever enough to evade her so it was dinner. 

Red made sure to find and clean her thrown knives, a full set plus one. She also had Wasen’s cooking knives, but those felt too special, so she used Shadow’s knife to cut the animal into manageable pieces. 

If she ever had her own kitchen, those beautifully worn and loved knives would have a home, but this was neither the time nor place. 

Ah, oops. Using the knives reminded Red, she had technically never broken up with Kiba. 

Whatever, she wasn’t going back there. Her Konoha hiraishin tag was inside an apartment for rent, not ideal, and she was nowhere near ready to face Orochimaru yet. 

It’s not like her ‘boyfriend’ had actually been serious about it, he’d never taken her to meet his family or asked any questions about her, it had been superficial and selfish on both ends. 

Red decided she was in the clear. 

Settling after dinner, still unwell but full and warm, Red listed every symbol she knew so far. 

Again, Air (two parts), Cause (or Trigger?), Coordinate, Disrupt, Dome, Earth, Explosion, Fire, Friction, If, Increase, Move, Protect, Reduce, Surface, Spiral, Store, Temperature?, Water. 

Her vocabulary had grown, and so should her arsenal. 

In the one-sided slaughter Orochimaru had done, she had grabbed the wrong tag from her storage when it counted the most. That, too, would need a better system. ‘Reduce Friction’ had done more than expected, but she had hoped for ‘Knockback’ or the attack one she felt silly for naming ‘Firepower’. 

Different colours could give repeat enemies a warning, it would have to be some way she could tell them apart blind. Different fabric textures, or hard material tags with carved patterns, she would make a selection to be tested. Alright, the materials went on the shopping list. 

And she had a better system planned for hiraishin, not for battle use but long-distance ones so she only had to trudge all over the map once. Wood tags, carved like on Gullchick, inked then lacquered all over and permanent. 

Meaning each one would only work on its location, with her chakra shaped as the key. Pairing and placing them all would be annoying, but worth it. 

For example, take Leaf. She had a temporary tag there now, if it hadn’t been removed by the new tenants, but a buried wood tag in the unpopular park (or better yet, outside the walls) and paired to a tag at her home boathouse would let her go back and forth reliably. Only from those exact spots, they had to be carved on location and it would be slow, but still. 

It would, with a lot of effort, become her greatest asset. 

And, if it was discovered, a weakness as enemies could place deadly traps at her landing sites. The wooden tags could never be seen or even suspected, she would always have to have a fabric one visible in case there was an unseen observer. 

She made a new tag that reduced friction, and dubbed it ‘snakeslip’, to commemorate Orochimaru at least hitting the floor. 

Other than that, what would be needed? 

Traps would be good, but she had no symbols for ‘time’ or ‘delay’, and no way to trigger them from afar either… 

wait. What if she was not the one to trigger it, but the enemy? She would need paper for a legitimate-looking storage scroll, in two layers, multiple ‘explosion’ tags stacked between the layers so the chakra drained would feel the same as pulling items from storage. The visible layer would be an almost correct storage scroll layout which couldn’t actually do anything. If somebody tried to use it, well. 

Paper scrolls went on the shopping list. 

Now, for the experiment she had been looking forward to: Explosions. Red wanted to try combining it with several symbols; increase, fire, air, earth, temperature. ‘Stacking’ seemed like a good way to go, but how would she test them? 

Couldn’t hold it while triggering it, Red enjoyed having intact limbs. 

A line of ink, as a fuse? She added string to the shopping list, could dip it and try that. If it worked that would open a lot of options for the future. 

More ink went on the list, too, hers was almost purely blood at this point since she had kept refilling it. Kinda morbid, honestly, ink definitely made it look more civilised and kept it fresh too. 

What else would she need? One of the soap ingredients was running low, she’d made one batch for fun in Leaf that was almost fully cured. 

Although she had avoided Artisan town out of dislike, she would get more for her wares there… sighing, Red made another batch of both orange and plain soap. She did need the coins. 

---------------------------------------------------

Throughout the summer Red let herself get lost in a rhythm, making and selling and restocking and testing her tags. It was only once the leaves started turning and nights grew chilly that she realised autumn was upon her, late in the warm country of Rivers. 

According to a repeat customer she’d started to recognise by his love of speckless white clothing, it was already late September. 

She had wasted months! Well, not ‘wasted’ maybe, she’d built herself an identity in this village as Rose, a reliable young craftswoman known for her ‘no-frills approach’ to the ‘art’ of soapmaking. 

She had a boy, too, not quite a boyfriend since she kept him at arm’s length but enough to become ‘one of the locals’ through their ‘connection’. He was a weapon smith’s apprentice, but she really had no good use of him other than as camouflage. 

Red also had a good array of tags ready for use now, and two permanent hiraishin to the boathouse and mining town from her cliff camp. 

She’d kept practicing her defensive taijutsu moves and knife handling, and her transformation jutsu was more reliable now, but the clone thing Kiba had shown her just plain refused to work. Best she got was a few seconds of a paper-white wobbly caricature of herself before it went poof. 

The existence of a savings cache, well buried on her clifftop, was another achievement worthy of pride. 

Her clingy ‘friend’ was there again today, as she packed up her unsold wares for the day in her ugly brown backpack. Rose couldn’t use scrolls. 

“Hi, uh, mom asked if you would be over for dinner today?” 

Red had only accepted the offer one time before, his parents had been much too hopeful that what their son and his obvious crush had would bloom into more. 

“I’d love to, tell her I’ll be right over?” 

“We can go together, I’ll carry this for you” he snatched her luggage without asking, pushy as always. Red could hardly wait to be rid of him, it was time to move on. 

She used the dinner as a chance to inform his family that she would be ‘going on a journey to learn more about soapmaking in different regions to further her craft’, it was the sort of thing craftspeople did all the time here. 

His mom was saddened, as was Rose’s supposed partner when his dad gave a curt ‘no’ to him coming along, but said dad commended her for her ‘dedication to her craft’ and called it a ‘rare trait, these days’ sending his son a Look. 

The kid wasn’t that hopeless, but clearly ‘decent if rough’ blacksmithing wasn’t enough in this household. 

Despite her refusal, they’d packed her a lunch to eat for the walk to the next town over. Red sealed it up with the backpack. 

Her travel gear, a local variant of sand robes with less baggy fabric plus woven grass sandals and a farmer’s woven hat, was so plain it didn’t need the bag to be convincing. Her belt of pouches made enough sense for local travel, the road she would be walking was infamous for its thieves so no civilian in their right mind would bring luggage and make themselves a target. 

Actually, you know what? 

She unsealed the experimental trap scroll, hung it visible on her belt, and got out the food pack too so she could seem distracted. 

Trick ‘o the light should let her confound them long enough to finish a hiraishin and escape if there were actual ninja. If she ended up in battle with somebody who seemed untrained, there were tricks up her literal sleeves. 

Couldn’t stay scared of conflict forever, she was planning to go after Orochimaru! Combat experience was a must. 

The area was seemingly peaceful, terrain rough yet somehow charming with all the little late-blooming wildflowers and migratory bird flocks practicing their flying for winter. Little trees, steep cliffs, clear air and blue skies. 

The path led into the shadows of the sandstone hills, crooked pines and large boulders dotted the roadside. 

Almost done with her meal, leftovers from the dinner in bread rolls, Red noticed footfalls behind her on the path. Time for theatrics! 

Turning like an unconcerned, dull bumpkin who had never faced danger in her short life, she greeted her ‘fellow traveller’ with a wave and a bright smile. 

“If we are going the same way, let’s walk together!” Red offered, pretending to be packing her lunch wrap cloth aside while actually palming a tag for safety. 

By the state of his sandals, a tripping hazard at that point, definitely no ninja. 

“Missy, haven’ yer parens waught ya wa avoid shwrangers?” His jaw moved weirdly sideways as he talked, an old injury that healed badly perhaps? The blade now in his hand looked as unkempt as its holder, chipped and rusty. 

“Han’ over whe scroll” he growled, and grinned gleefully at her ‘panicked hurry’ to get it off of her belt. 

She threw it at his face and ‘fled’, running where he’d lose sight of her between the rocks. Creeping back around, always a boulder between them, Red hoped the robber would attempt to use her trapped scroll but he didn’t? Drat. 

He pocketed it with a pleased chuckle, and started shuffling off on a smaller path between rough stone walls. She followed, creeping silently on the vertical rock higher above. 

The pillar of smoke was the first sign she got of his camp, then voices appeared in the distance. Red didn’t dare go where they could see her, so she lost sight of her robber as he rounded a bend. 

There was louder chatter-

An explosion like thunder rattled Red almost off the cliff, and loud clattering and cracking followed. Crap! 

Scrambling up the cliffside as it fell apart around her, Red noted her trap both as a success and as a hazard. Better make a weaker version! 

Somehow in a safe spot at last, she surveyed the hazy scene; the rockslide had mashed what must have been the camp into colourful bits of fabric between the still-moving stones. It smelled of dust and rust, smoke and blood, and the particles made her cough and pull her robe up to cover her nose. 

It took a while for the landscape to decide it was done crumbling, little stones clattering and bounding down into the valley now filled with jagged rock slabs. 

Cautiously sliding her way to the bottom, Red found the freshly fallen rocks to be wobbly and treacherous. 

Right, no, she was getting out of there. With how loud that had been, surely somebody must have heard. Best get far away from her first kills. 

Because while the bandit’s group had triggered it all on their own, Red wasn’t gonna kid herself; their lives had been ended by her hand as she applied the explosion tags’ ink in steady brushstrokes way back then. 

She was never planning to keep it hypothetical; for the sake of survival and her continued freedom, she had planned to kill and would kill again. That was just how the world worked. 

It had been too easy. She didn’t even feel bad, and Red was pretty sure you were supposed to. There could have been innocents, she hadn’t checked. 

All she really felt as she walked away was relief that it had worked, and a slight tinge of regret that she’d dropped the last bite of her sandwich. 

Maybe she simply wasn’t a nice person. 

The bathhouse stood unchanged, it had felt like an eternity away but she had been there just a bit over half a year ago. 

So much had happened since, joy and adventure and terrible, horrible grief that still gnawed and tore at Red. 

Did she appear changed? Red had a look in the scratched-up mirror of the changing room as she got dry after her long soak. Her skin was noticeably more golden-tan where her usual top and shorts didn’t cover, she had a tan line from her headscarf too. Muscular where she had been thin and fragile, hair now tickling her earlobes when she let it hang. 

She could see why she hadn’t been recognised as the girl from the wanted list. 

Tiny darker dots spread across the bridge of her nose and followed her cheekbones, huh, so her freckles had gotten more prominent too. 

“Done in there? I am closing” the owner, Yuge Suchimu, creaked loudly. 

“One moment!” 

Shadow had sent two letters, Red berated herself for not checking earlier but it really wasn’t all that critical. 

Orochimaru seemed to have recruited a Leaf kid, knowing that snake it was probably to become yet another backup body. 

A recommendation to change hair colours, but also a reassurance her eyes were not recognisable from the intel that was out about her. 

So despite being her age, Shikamaru was trusted to see the bingo book? Had he gone out of his way to get this information for her? It did not feel like him falsifying things to get her captured was likely, but why was he doing this? 

Confused, Red checked the paper for hidden text with her ‘heat surface’ tag (Kabuto had used a candle), but there was nothing. Her blackmail victim, that cutely terrified kid, wanted her to stay free? For what purpose? 

Red would seal the letters away when she got back to where she’d hidden her luggage. More paper was always good, just in case. She really ought to sort her scrolls, but memories of her friends still lay inside. Red did not feel ready for that. 

“Still reading those, silly girl, take this old woman’s advice and rid yourself of that pest. All sweet words, yet someday he’ll get you with child while his wife surely waits at home. He writes like an adult, that is no partner for a wisp of a girl!” 

Yuge actually sounded upset? And yeah, of course she would have read it, like she probably did with every note that passed through this place. 

“He’s twelve.” Red revealed to placate her, and Yuge blinked. 

“He is… and you have met him? Grown men can pretend-” 

“We met, he proposed to me in person” she sighed, had to keep her information ‘network’ operator happy or she might hide Shadow’s letters in the future to ‘save a little girl’. 

“... I see. He is well-spoken enough, I suppose,” she muttered. “He seemed to wish to meet up?” 

“Mhm, I’ll go see him now!” No she wouldn’t. 

Yuge’s laugh creaked like an old staircase “Ah, young love! I see, I see, have fun”. Apparently, she now approved? Red made a mental note that age seemed to matter in relationships.

Chapter Text

A whittling session while sitting under the dead tree near the bathhouse later, Red was waiting for the ink to dry in the wooden grooves so she could lacquer the fresh, permanent hiraishin tags. 

The new ones were two-way, a proud innovation for her which cut the tag-carving in half, but it still needed another tag for every connection. 

She hadn’t noticed anyone else using tags for transport, but with the vulnerabilities it came with, sealmasters probably just kept hush about them. She should, too. 

Shadow knew, but he was the only- no, Orochimaru and Kimimaro had seen her escape before, too. If they ever found one of her tags… 

shuddering, Red dug down a bit deeper, her hole for burying the tags to be filled with gravel for drainage and topped with a local rock. 

Her only permanent ones were in River so far, but today she would be doing something risky that she had been dreading; replace the one-time use one in Leaf, if it was still usable. She had two half-carved tags ready, the bathhouse already set as location one, but the other half of both needed to be done in location two so she set a one-time use tag here too. 

Best case scenario; the tag was fine, she arrived in an empty apartment, made her way to a deserted area outside the walls and finished the tags, buried one, teleported back using the temporary one, buried the second one with no incidents. 

No being spotted, no going where a certain dog and his owner might find her scent. 

Certainly no checking up on Shadow, even if his letters intrigued her. This would be fast, efficient, stealthy!

The tag had been underneath ‘her’ bed in the rental apartment she had called home back then, so that was where Red found herself. The problem was just, well. 

Said bed was occupied. 

Hopefully not by ninja, but judging by the fact that they didn’t notice, probably not. Red scouted out her options; the window was too high up to not be noticeable, but the door was ajar. 

Trick ‘o the Light on, creeping like a raccoon during daytime, Red ninjaed her way- “Eeek!” a man squeaked. “Who’s there?” his partner asked, confused. Heck, okay, maybe she wasn’t the best at this ‘ninjaing’ thing yet. 

Red fled, slamming the entrance door open and jumping from the stairwell railing to the building wall across. Loud voices, better get out of sight fast! Ninja could see through her weak genjutsu trick, this was a ninja village. 

A tree! Red swooped onto a branch from the wall, and hid in the dense foliage. If you don’t know where to run, staying still and silent is the best way to shake pursuers. Hopefully? She wasn’t even sure where she’d read that. 

Heart hammering, Red focused on keeping herself perfectly still, only her eyes moving as she strained to see or hear dangers. But none came? 

The door slammed shut, but there was no couple running to get the ninja or taking matters into their own hands. Lucky! Well, them not being there would have been ideal, but this was still within bounds of ‘good outcome’. Red looked down from the tree- 

her Shadow, Shikamaru Nara, was laying right below it. Eyes thankfully closed, but really? Wow. WOW. Okay, fine, maybe her luck wasn’t that great either. 

Stiffly, gingerly, Red tiptoed down the other side of the tree. He was breathing deeply, looking comfortable as he napped. She snuck away silently, ran across a park, and joined a street walking normally like every other civilian. 

Her Leaf clothes still seemed to be good camouflage, nobody spared her a glance. Yes, inconspicuous, smooth- 

the bulky Leaf ninja that had been leading Shadow’s team back then was walking towards her, remaining two teammates on his heels, the boy begging loudly for a dinner break. Of all the places to flee to, she’d chosen the worst one. Sweat trickled down Red’s back as she pretended to study a wall decoration that turned out to be an artful restaurant sign. Uh, sure, anywhere but here right now. 

The door slid open smoothly, but the interior was dimly lit. “Ah-ah, you are clearly too young, shoo” the person who was very obviously a barkeeper told her with humor in his voice. 

Stall for time until the ninja pass, come on brain, think! “Oh, the sign looked like this was a restaurant, can’t I buy a side dish or two here? I want a snack” 

“Hmm, I suppose that’d be fine, any favourites?” 

“Cucumber salad, radish, and do you have any fish? Dried is fine” 

“Adult tastes for such a little thing, alright. Barley tea’s on the house” 

“Thank you!” Red hadn’t been in the mood for anything but getting out of there, but it was afternoon and lunch had been light. A snack, and then she would find a good spot for her seal. 

“Look, none of my business, but you looked scared to go back out there and you keep glancing to the door” 

Oh. Red chided herself for being so obvious about her feelings, being unreadable like Amibune and Wasen had been her aim! Too late now, excuse time. “I was in a relationship with an older boy, I broke up with him but he’s still following me”. 

“That’s not nice. Leave through the back door later, it leads through an apartment hallway so be quiet and all’s good”. 

The hallway was tiled, and echoed loudly as Red closed the door. 

She’d had a surprisingly pleasant meal, even if being a child alone at a bar had earned her more attention than she would have liked. A blonde lady with ginormous breasts had come barging in at one point, obviously already tipsy, and ordered a round on the house so Red got a fruit juice too. 

Now, stealthily getting out of the town was her top priority. The streets were emptying, a child exiting the gates alone would stand out. Tagging along right behind a group would be best… 

there! Four people, a grown man and three kids around her age, wearing strange green full-body suits with belts and bright orange leg warmers. A sports team, maybe? Jogging group? 

But as she got too close to abort mission, a Leaf forehead protector glinted. Crap, they were ninja? But they were so flashy! 

“Oh, did the sight of our Youthful matching outfits draw you in?” 

Yikes, when and how had that big guy gotten right beside her? Red squeaked in shock. 

“Gai-sensei, can we get this over with? It is… unpleasant to wear” the long haired boy asked, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there. 

“Eager to get going? That’s the spirit! If our teamwork doesn’t improve from wearing these ultimate suits together, I will do squats up and down the main street fifty times!” 

The leader’s promise seemed to light a fire of motivation in the boy wearing the same exact bowlcut. “Whooooah, Gai-sensei, so cool!” 

There was a girl, too, looking entirely done with her group. “I’ll walk ahead. Our usual training ground, right?” 

“Let us all race there!” the teacher yelled, and they were off. Yeah, no, finding a different group to follow. 

Red tagged along behind some fabric vendors who seemed to be headed for the markets out of town, and they did not seem to notice or care. 

Deep in a forest near Leaf, Red finally felt it would be safe to set her coordinates. It was nighttime, but the darkness didn’t bother her as she slowly whittled the grooves for the ink. That part dried fast enough, but the lacquer had to harden for hours so she raised an earth dome to sleep. 

A few uncomfortable, cold hours later (autumn was really starting to bite), she buried the finished seal and finally teleported back to the temporary seal near the bathhouse. Whew, being near Leaf had made her tense. After burying the second tag with her stash and putting the rock back, Red teleported back to her boathouse for some hours of good sleep. 

The sound of waves on wood was soothing. 

------------------------------------------------------

Very nearly back to Leaf after a long week spent weeding fields for a D-rank mission, Akamaru started acting weird, sniffing the air and whining. Kiba wouldn’t admit it out loud, but his partner wasn’t all that well trained yet, and his communication skills were lacking. They were working on it! But for now, it meant he’d have to guess why Akamaru suddenly dashed off into the trees. “Akamaru found something?” 

Kurenai smiled and led them into following, but Kiba knew that was her tired and uninterested smile. She was kind enough not to say anything, but if it turned out to be nothing this wouldn’t be the first time. Akamaru still got distracted. 

He was young! It was to be expected, nobody started out perfect! 

First, he’d led them to a crumbled earth dome. It must have been days old, there was no sign of combat so it had probably been made as practice. Then he whirred around the underbrush, whining, before shooting off toward Leaf. At least it was homewards. 

Maybe his mom had taken her Kuromaru out here, and that was what had Akamaru so excited? But back in the village, his puppy veered off between the small side streets as if tracking a person. 

“I will be delivering our report. Dismissed” Kurenai said, leaving the dog hunt to her team. 

“Kiba?” Hinata asked, but kept up. 

“Akamaru has a scent” was all he knew. 

“I will be going home. Why is that? Because I am tired” Shino mumbled, and ditched them. 

Hey! Ah whatever, they didn’t need the ‘superior’ Aburame. Kiba and Hinata could take care of this just fine without bug- 

“Oooooy! Hiiinaaataaa!” Naruto yelled in the distance, and Kiba’s supposed backup turned into a red flustered mess hiding behind a lightpole. So much for teammates. 

Kiba and Akamaru were on their own as the ninja dog entered a private apartment complex? Uh oh. Kiba followed, hurrying as silently as he could. Hopefully his puppy wasn’t stealing somebody’s dinner again! 

Ah, lucky, he was pawing ineffectually at a closed door at the end of the hallway. Right, time for communication. 

“Akamaru, what are we tracking?” Because with a trail that was clearly days old, even Inuzuka had to leave the scent tracking to their dogs. 

Akamaru whined sadly, and rolled over, snapping and wiggling like he had with- 

“Akane” Kiba barely managed to whisper, feeling like the air had been knocked out of him. Akamaru yapped a confirmation, wagging his tail happily. She was alive! 

Kiba opened the door, oh, a pub? Cool, it felt very adult. The place smelled like his mom’s ‘special juice’, but there were scents of fruits and savoury foods too. 

“This is not a place for children.” a man in a black-and-white vest outfit said dismissively. Kiba poked his leaf symbol. “Ah, my apologies, how can I help this young ninja?” 

“Have you seen a girl, a bit younger than me, she might have worn a red headscarf and orange top?” 

“May I ask why you seek this person, out of curiosity?” the bartender suddenly seemed less willing to help? 

“She’s my girlfriend! Come on, was she here?” 

“... no, I do not believe I remember such a person. Children are not allowed here”. 

But Akamaru had found a table, and barked at a chair. Then, he turned and ran, nose to the carpet floor. Another door. 

Maybe another barkeeper had been working that day? She was definitely here! Kiba opened the door, and Akamaru led him to the park where they’d hung out, had she been looking for him? 

He barked at a tree and jumped into it, then onto the facade of an apartment block, wait. 

Akane could not have done that, she was no ninja and her physical skills were adorably civilian-level. 

Somebody must have grabbed her down here, and carried her up! But for what purpose? Why would the ninja who kidnapped her bring her back here? Did she escape, come back here to find him for help, and get recaptured? 

They ended up in front of the apartment she had lived in for a bit with her dads, Kiba tried not to hope as he knocked. That earth dome had been old, whoever took Akane was probably long gone. Nobody answered. They went in and checked everywhere, but the place was empty. 

Akamaru whined, long and thin, and Kiba shared the sentiment. She was alive, yes. But she wasn’t here. 

-------------------------------------------

Red had made herself a map, looking how she remembered it. Probably not accurate, but eh, it did give her an easier way to plan her teleport network in her head. 

In the week after getting back from Leaf, she had trudged to the edge of Sand’s desert and dug a tag deep into the sandy soil. That one would be a destination only, there was no way she’d be able to remember where the unmarked spot was. Gotta have some of those, escape routes that cannot be predicted. 

Another further north, marked with rocks in a ‘natural’ pattern for her to find, and she was considering entering Rain country but decided to learn more about it first. 

Time to become ‘Rose’ once more! 

Red got her backpack on and hung her traveller’s hat on it, using a brown scarf for her hair instead, which was more common in a village setting. The red strands were long enough that she had to tie her hair back in two little poofs on the sides of her head to make sure it wouldn’t escape, but a stubborn streak in her refused to dye or cut it. It was part of who she was. 

Rose’s current ‘boyfriend’ of sorts had given her a seashell filled with a balm that tinted her lips a deeper red, she applied some. Red wouldn’t wear it, but Rose cared more about her appearance, and it did look attractive. She might get kohl for dark eye lines someday, too, and possibly some blush. 

Actually, with the amount of funds she had accumulated, a shopping trip was as good of a reason as any to be in a new town. Rose had a side quest! Which coincidentally gave her good reason to chatter with any young lady she saw, flattering and complimenting and asking where they got their makeup was a great icebreaker. 

Asking a few extra questions as part of the chatter was unsuspicious, what the trends were like in the Country of Rain, was it a nice destination this time of year, had they ever been and so on. 

Conclusion; yeah no, fuck that, she wasn’t going. The ‘country’ was basically one big ninja village, and they were famed for short tempers and shitty weather. One lady claimed their rain coats were fashionable and they had waterproof mascara, which wasn’t much of a pro compared to the cons. 

Red ended up shopping with a local friend group, and got to experience real ‘girl talk’! Thank goodness she’d had two ‘boyfriends’ already, telling boy stories seemed to be an entrance pass of sorts after which they lowered their guard and answered her questions willingly. 

She got plenty of intel! Sandals were still the most popular footwear, but her woven ones were much too rustic for her age. They helped her, the ‘country bumpkin’, pick out some new brown sheepskin ones with ties almost up to her knees. 

She also got herself an ‘oversized-style’ or as one called it, ‘boyfriend style’ knit sweater in warm-coloured stripes, and her very first skirt. Pretty underwear, too. Apparently, so-called ‘periods’ would be a factor in some years, she bought a pack of supplies to deal with that after leaving the group. 

They had helped her pick out hair clips, she claimed to have a terrible skin condition under her scarf when they wanted to help her put them on and after that they’d given her more personal space. Now looking fashionable for the area, she drew noticeably less strange looks from the women in the streets. 

One final shop, a head scarf to match her skirt, and Red retreated to make a camp in the forest for the night. The knee-length skirt felt breezy in the cool autumn air, she changed back to shorts for now but she had to admit it; it had looked good. 

Red found she enjoyed amassing outfits, maybe not only for disguising herself. 

The ‘country’ of Rain was out of the question, but the girls had told her of a trade route around it to the Country of Stone, a mostly unclaimed swathe of land that had religious context both to Sand and Earth Country and was thus protected. 

It was sparsely populated by priests and berry farmers, their trade items were dye powders and scents and dried berry goods. It sounded very peaceful, Red was planning to find a good spot and add it to her hiraishin network. 

Of the local wares over there, she would need soapmaking supplies but also winter survival gear; Stone was located high on a mountain plateau, they would have cold-weather clothes and bedrolls. 

Getting there was unpleasant. Red wore her old Sand robes for the desert crossing, it was windy and terrible and nights were freezing, even for her. Every morning, frost from the night mist covered the sand, and every day as it partially unfroze it stuck to her feet. She had gone with her old sandals, no need to ruin the new pretty ones with moist, gritty sand. 

With no people around, she would usually run to cover distances faster, but this trade route was patrolled by ninja so she didn’t dare use chakra or move like a non-civilian at all. Which meant no earth domes, which meant multiple days and nights exposed to that never-ending howling wind. 

When a settlement appeared on the horizon after a week of slow discomfort, Red could have jumped with joy if she wasn’t numb with tiredness and entirely done with this whole biome. Her headscarf was full of sand, she felt itchy all over, her lips got chapped even with the lip balm. 

This town better have a good inn, because she had plans to treat herself well tonight. Hot food, a good scrub, a warm bed. 

Chapter Text

“A room fer one? Darlin’, where yer parents at? Ya cannae hav’ come all this way on yer lonesome!” The innkeeper seemed suspicious, unusual ice-blue eyes studying her critically. 

“I am a soapmaker’s apprentice, sent to pick up supplies in Stone” 

“One so young? Nasty master ya got, sorry ta hear” The older lady groaned, shoulder popping as his arm stretched, and handed her the key to a room. “Do ya even got a map?” 

Red showed her her handmade one, and the woman slammed her fist down angrily. “Cannae let ya get yerself killed! One sec” she bent under her desk, grumbling while rummaging through wooden crates of scrolls. “Damn hardheaded fool craftsmen sendin’ children through tha biggest desert on th’ continent without gear- there!” 

Red got the scroll thrust at her, and unfurled it to find an actual, detailed map! “How much-” 

“Stay safe out there, an’ we’re even” 

“Thank you!” 

She waved her off, still grumbling about apprentice abuse. Red decided she would leave the innkeeper a bar of the orange-scented soap when she left. 

The outpost town was… pleasant? The locals were hospitable, in stark contrast to the inhospitable environment. 

A seamstress fixed Red’s sand robes for a small fee while she waited, and they ended up having tea together in comfortable silence. Red ate the offered ‘sand dumpling’, apparently a local snack, to be polite. Another food she now knew to avoid, ew, so sweet! 

She later stopped by the only place that sold warm meals for something more filling, and by the crowd, at least half the town ate together at mealtimes? There was a sense of community here, bonds possibly made stronger by the need to stick together to survive out here. It felt warm, inviting, and despite Red’s feelings about the desert she ended up making a hiraishin point in an abandoned mineshaft nearby with the intention to visit often. 

It got connected with the fashionable town near Rain, for now, she would have to do more connections some other time. Another temporary teleport was set, she had a good system for it by now. 

Wandering back towards town to get one last warm meal before continuing on her journey, Red noticed a crowd in the town square? Was there a travelling entertainer?

“And so Yashin-sama said, kill thy neighbour! For you will be doing them the ultimate service, save them from the fear of death!” 

Oh great, religious babble, and it sounded unhinged. Some cultist in a black-and-red cloak with a rather worrying two-bladed scythe was holding what must be a recruitment speech, the villagers did not appear convinced. 

“We don’t want your kind here!” a person yelled, cutting off the madman’s ramble about suffering and whatnot. 

He looked up, gaze surprisingly clear, and yelled “Can’t you freakin’ wait a bit?” The crowd went silent at the unexpected change in tone. “I was just getting to the good part - seriously!” 

Was he just a really weird actor, doing a tasteless play? 

He flicked his grey hair back, and got into his role once more; “Carnage is the key precept of the faith of Jashin-” 

“No, cut it out. No bein’ creepy in th’ middle o’town!” another townsperson yelled, and the crowd sounded in agreement- 

which is when it happened. The creepy stranger flicked his scythe around, throwing it by the chain, and it blurred with speed. A seemingly random villager fell victim, and the crowd scattered, people screaming and running in fear. 

“Tch, died instantaneously huh. My aim still sucks!” he yelled, throwing it again. 

It… missed? But the blades nicked a lady bent over the now lifeless body on its way back as he yanked the chain, she grabbed her arm but it wasn’t much of an injury. The death of her companion seemed to bother her much more. 

What to do. Fleeing was absolutely an option, but these people seemed pretty defenseless. And really, did Red have all that much to live for? No. 

Wasen would have yelled at her for it, but Red felt like this battle was winnable. The murderer was clearly in no sound state of mind, drugs? He was licking the bloodied scythe now, ew. 

Red unsealed her attack tags and knives while the lunatic drew a circle in the sandy soil. If she wanted to survive in this world, she would need actual combat experience, not just letting thieves blow themselves up on her seals but physical confrontation. She could do this. Kiba taught her how to move, Amibune taught her to make herself harder to see clearly. Her seals were good. 

Red took a deep breath, and held a knife ready while approaching- eh? He was changing colours! A genjutsu? Amibune had said simply flickering her chakra sharply should end that, but it kept going, the man was turning heavily tattooed in front of her eyes. 

“Everything is prepared! Get ready, this is gonna hurt!” he yelled, raised a short spear and, huh? Stabbed himself in the foot. 

The woman’s sudden scream startled Red, anguish over her lost one? But she seemed to be in pain, clutching her foot? 

Red had stopped in her tracks, the situation no longer so easy to follow. That must be a ninja technique of some sort, there was no way it was unrelated. Was the drawing he stood in a seal? No, it was too simple and geometric. Only the woman he’d hit was screaming, and as he pulled the blade he didn’t appear wounded at all. 

“Finally, you taste that pain… the pain that will kill you!” he said, and stabbed himself again. Side of his stomach, this time. The woman doubled over, right, they were clearly connected somehow. But how? Would other attacks on him harm the woman instead, or only the injuries he himself made? 

Red didn’t really want to test that, but a frying pan came flying and hit the enemy on the head and the lady winced. Alright, tested. Ouch. 

“Leave Misa ‘lone, ya sick bastard!” the innkeeper yelled, another pot in hand. 

He ignored her, and raised his spear again. “Attacking the vitals is such a waste, this pain is what is best” he moved the spear around, tracing over his torso. “Where do you want it next? Or should I just end it now?” 

For all his theatrical poses, he had never once left the circle, Red noted that as a possible limitation. Or it could be that his weapons had power, like Fune’s sword, and that was what tied them together? 

“Only thing endin’ here is yer damn yapperin’ an’ whatever ya did ta her!” 

The pot flew at him, and he took it to the head without flinching. A sickening laughter erupted as he seemed to enjoy the lady’s yelp of pain. “Yashin, watch me do your bidding!” he yelled, pointing the spear to his own chest. 

Red made a decision, and charged, knockback seal out. It wasn’t what Wasen would tell her to do, but it is what he would choose to do himself. 

The cult-crazy man noticed her just as she stepped into his circle and aimed her tag, his face had a pattern like a skull. He was smiling, but then her blast of wind hit him, and he stumbled back. His markings stayed, was the circle just theatrics? 

His arm swished down, spear no longer pointed to himself but to her, the scythe raised as a shield even though her wind did no damage. Switching to knives, Red did her best to deflect the barrage that followed, luckily his weapons were not the best for such close range. 

She got him in a finger, and no sound came from his victim? Red swapped to her fire seal, and got him with a blast point-blank as he very nearly ran her through with a spear she dodged in the last moment. Not used to such a small target, or really bad at aiming? 

He yelled and retreated, covering his burnt face with a hand, and no other voice reacted. It WAS the circle! 

The lady was being tended to, people were watching cautiously from doorways and windows. 

“YOU LITTLE SHIT, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THIS FREAKIN’ HURTS?!?” 

Uh yeah, that was the point of shooting fire. No mercy, she fired again, but he seemed to have given up on getting back in the circle and jumped away with chakra-powered haste. 

“Since you want to meet Yashin-sama so badly, you will become the sacrifice!” he yelled, and the chain whistled as his scythe came hurtling. 

Red almost got away in time, but he’d thrown a spear right where she had moved, and it got her through the side. First, all she felt was the impact making her stagger to a halt, but terrible pain bloomed right after. Shit, that was bad, she tried to breathe but couldn’t stop herself from screaming instead. Searing agony, the world dimmed a bit but she forced herself to stay upright. 

Falling here meant certain death. 

Not that she knew if this wound would be something she could live through in the first place, she had seen more anatomy than she ever wished to in Kabuto’s lab and she was pretty sure lots of important bits had laid in the path of what was now a pillar of suffering through her body. 

The scythe got tugged, but was lodged in the ground beside her, so Red focused her blurry mind into unsealing and slapping ‘Increase Friction’ on it. Her opponent swore, yanking hard at the chain. 

A villager threw something at her enemy? Another, she heard it thunk and the murderer yelled profanities but her conscious was feeling tenuous at best. 

Then, several shadowy figures rushed past faster than any civilian could and Red focused on breathing. In, out. 

Those were ninja, and judging by the fact that he fled, not on his side. 

In, out. Her left lung gurgled, not a good sign. In, out. 

Red wasn’t getting that spear out and surviving without some serious medical aid, fleeing was out of the question, but the ninja would realise she was Uzumaki if they saw her seals. She sealed them up in the combat storage, moving was difficult, her fingers felt numb and fuzzy. 

In, out. Blood came up, she spat it out. 

Her hair, gotta fix that. Concentrating, Red did the seals with uncooperative hands and shaped her chakra from Trick ‘o the Light into covering just her hair and eyebrows and lashes, and whispered ‘Transformation Jutsu’. It felt like it poofed into place? She should be a brunette now. 

Breathing in felt exhausting, breathing out brought more blood bubbling up her windpipe. 

Gotta hide the storage scrolls- 

Red blacked out, and the transformation went poof. 

“-child saved Misa’s life! Ya cannae hav’ ‘er, poor thing’s at death’s door!” 

Augh, Red's head was pounding and people were being loud

“We have a medical ninja. Hoki.” 

“Yes” 

“See to her” 

“Sir, this is not something to be treated in the field” 

“Then stabilize her for transport” 

The voices, a deep male one and a huskily feminine one, were close by. 

“Ya can use a room here, c’mon, get ‘er inside” 

That was definitely the innkeeper- seriously, must everything hurt all at once?!

“Look, woman, we got this. Go be a nuisance elsewhere!” 

the voices above Red cut off as she let out an involuntary whimper. 

“Betta nae be hurtin’ ‘er more” 

“fixing the spear in place and cutting what’s outside so it won’t be jostled” a softer voice spoke close to Red, and the pain dulled somewhat. 

“An’ tha glowey stuff?” 

“Medical- lady, just go home?” the commanding, male voice sounded irritated. 

Red blinked her eyes open, but her sight was dim and blurry. 

“A! Lil’one, can ya hear me?” 

“Step back! Seriously, I will tie you to a cactus if you test my patience any further-” 

“Shush. Both of you. I need to concentrate” the nearby voice was no longer so soft and mild, and silence followed. 

Red felt awful, her whole upper body one big injury by the feeling of it, head throbbing. Speaking of her head though, somebody was touching it, oh no. Moving felt out of the question, she could do nothing to stop them from untying her head scarf. 

Somebody whistled, long and low. “And she used a seal that released fire?” 

“Don’ ya be thinkin’ o’takin’ ‘er! Girl’s a hero, she coulda ran but went at it, stoppin’ that awful killer from claimin’ another! Ya were late ‘n she did yer job, fixin’ ‘er up ‘n leavin ‘er ‘lone ‘s th’ least ya can do!” 

“Don’t worry, where we are bringing her she will be kept safe forever” 

“Ya ain’t ‘bringin’’ ‘er anywhere!” 

“Remove this pest” 

“yes, sir”. 

There was a fair amount of profanities as the innkeeper’s voice grew more distant. 

“Is it safe to undress her? Sealmasters are slippery bastards” 

“No, any more jostling might undo my work, and I tied the robe to staunch the bleeding since somebody did not wish to bring ‘luggage’.” 

“Any scrolls you can get off of her should minimize the risk” 

“She is not going to be moving for a week, at least!” 

“You do not know the horror of Uzumaki, the recovery rate of beasts.” 

Uh no, sorry to disappoint, Red thought fuzzily. So she was being captured, and would lose her stuff, her freedom, and probably end up as a village’s ‘source’ of a new clan. Lovely. 

There was quite a bit of unrest around, angry voices rising, but the ninja in charge sounded unconcerned as he ordered the medic to have her wrapped up for transport. A pinpoint of fresh pain pricked Red, and the blurry world faded out once more. 

Chapter Text

It was cold. 

She was used to that, from Orochimaru’s hideout. 

It was dark. 

She was used to that, too. 

What Red wasn’t used to was being in constant agony. 

During her brief, floaty recollections, the spear had been in her, but now it was gone and she was strapped to a table. 

Just like the dead bodies in Kabuto’s lab had been. 

She wanted to curl up, but couldn’t. 

Her wrists were shackled where her searching fingers could only find air, no way to scribble a hiraishin back to the safety of her boathouse or the cliff by Artisan village or the mineshaft she left a third one-time use tag in last. 

Footsteps echoed somewhere, and Red did her best to feign sleep. 

“... of recovering, it’s healing at civilian rates. Are we sure this specimen is Uzumaki?” 

“With that hair, and the illogical seals we cannot seem to activate? It has to be, at least partially. How long until it is ready to be used?” 

“Two years, at the very least. It’s too young.” 

Blindingly bright light flashed on, Red did her utmost to keep her face relaxed even as her eyes wanted to pinch closed harder. A door, it sounded heavy. Metal grated on metal as it opened. 

“Any way to speed it up? The village is weak, we need bloodlines.” 

“This one grew up malnourished, so no. The injury is also a factor.” 

“Get it conscious. We need the seal knowledge it carries” 

“Not advisable, it might die.” 

“When?” 

“Three days, probably. We will keep it on a drip.” 

The door closed, sounding very secure, and the light turned back off so she was probably alone. 

Three days was her time limit, then. Three days, tied down tight? Hopefully they would free her wrists at some point, but she doubted it. 

Wiggling as much as the restraints allowed, Red could feel the wiggle of a needle in her arm, that was the drip then. She also found out that wiggling was a bad idea, pain making her feel sick. She was definitely having a fever, so the drip might have an antibiotic in it? Labs were her area of expertise, or well, cleaning one used to be. She had never wanted to enter one ever again. 

That first bit of wakefulness, whenever it might have been, was not very productive. 

Red had ended up thinking about her storage scrolls, Wasen and Fune’s scrolls, the drawing of all three of them from Hokage Mountain and the silly photo from the Fire Temple. Gone, probably forever. Fune’s kitchen knives, too. 

She had never opened their scrolls properly, and now she never would. 

When she woke again, she almost got herself busted by groggily blinking at the light. Thank goodness the light switch was on the outside, giving her an advance warning. 

Judging by the smell of coffee, it was probably morning? Maybe? A clack, around her height but further away, there was another table to her left then. 

Rustling, her needle got jostled, a fresh bag probably. Fingers touched her wrists near the restraints for a bit, she did her best to relax. Scribbling noises, a page turned. Her middle got tugged at, felt fabric-y, a bandage? Got moved, cool air greeting previously covered skin. Fingers prodded, there was an antiseptic smell and some discomfort but mostly she felt numb today. 

The same bandage got wrapped back on, so either they were on a tight budget or she’d been closed up well enough that it hadn’t needed changing. Come to think of it, there was no scent of blood, and the bandage didn’t seem to have any cotton under it for absorption. If she had no open wounds, escape might not mean instant death at least. 

The person left the room, darkness fell once more, and Red scratched her index finger’s fragile topside skin roughly with her middle finger nail. She saw no other way out. Her palm was in reach for her fingertip, a tiny canvas but she’d do her darndest. 

Time to test if a hiraishin written on human skin worked the same as on fabric. Not an experiment she had ever wanted to do, for if blood conducts chakra, well. She kinda contained a lot of the stuff. 

As it turned out, it worked just fine, which was good! She had escaped! 

What was not so good was that things attached to her, be it through shadow jutsu or restraints, clearly tagged along. 

Red was in a familiar abandoned mineshaft, still tied down tight on a lab table that looked very out of place, drip still attached at least. 

Heck. 

At least her life wouldn’t be spent how those scientists had painted it for her, but this was also no happy ending. She was close to the entrance, since she’d worried it might cave in and get her trapped in the future. The permanent teleport to the next town was out of reach, she was too high up, needed to touch the ground near it to activate. 

The silence stretched on, the angle of light on the walls the only indication of hours passing by. The drip bag was emptying, dehydration sounded like an awful way to go… 

a noise, clattering rocks. Human, or wild dogs? The desert had those, she’d seen a few. Eaten alive also sounded pretty gruesome, but she still dared to say “Hello? Anyone there?” 

“Wh- no kids in the mines, which of you rascals is it this time… oh.” An older woman, carrying a bag of something lumpy, appeared around the bend. 

“Please help me?” 

“Who would do such a thing! Let’s get you free, what’s this thingamajig?” 

the IV got pulled, Red wasn’t gonna protest. The lady struggled a bit with the buckles, but got them all loose and wanted to help her up next which might be bad. “Wait, I’m injured, don’t know how badly.” She sat up slowly, sickening pain feeling intensifying, a weird pressure throbbing in her chest. 

Red was wearing… bandages, and that was it. Great. Getting off of the table would have sent her tumbling to the ground if the woman hadn’t steadied her. 

“Where’s your family at, sweetheart? We’ll get you home first”. 

Red was without funds and belongings and clothes, but still directed the nice lady to please support her to the inn. The innkeeper might get her a meal and a cloak, as thanks for saving her friend back then. Hopefully? 

After that, teleporting back to her old haunts and digging up her savings at the cliff would be the next stop, but her stomach was rumbling and demanded food before that could happen. 

The hug was unexpected, and honestly hurt. “Ow” 

“Ah, SO sorry, come sit” the innkeeper insisted, guiding Red to a bench. She stiffly laid down instead. Was the bench cool, or was she hot? A blanket arrived, warming her from chin till toes. 

“She was in the old mineshaft, buckled to a table! The hell is wrong with people.” 

Right, this might take some explaining. Because -with some careful wording- these ladies, Red thought, might not tell the Sand ninja about her presence. “Got taken to Sand, I think. Escaped… with the table they tied me to, hard to explain, I know a bit of ninja magic” 

“Huh, ninja, magic?” 

“Ya shoulda seen it” the innkeeper took over, thank fuck because Red felt beyond exhausted already. “Wee lil’ thing took on a rogue ninja as he was ‘bout ta end Misa, he al’redy took ‘er husband. Pushed back a grown man ‘n shot fire outta paper! He threw a spear right thru her, poor thing, yet she stood strong. But then patrol came, late as we know ‘em ta be, and wouldn’ ya know it. Stead a chasin’ that monster proper, they steal th’ lil girl!” 

“A disgrace!” 

“‘parently rare or somethin’, well, lookin’ at ‘em Sand ninja we know talent ain’t commonplace” 

there was quite a bit of humorless laughter in agreement, when had so many people gathered? 

“Okami, they might come looking for her. Keeping her around is-” 

“Savin’ Misa’s worth nothin’ to ya? Shame! Ungrateful bastards, the lot ‘o ya! We’re keepin’ ‘er till she’s fit ta go home” the innkeeper, apparently named Okami, seemed to have a lot of authority. Either that, or people were just too scared to speak up against her. 

“If I can have a meal, and this blanket to wear, I’ll be on my way” Red managed to pant out, tired and in pain. 

“Nonsense! How old are ya even, ten?” 

Red tried to protest that, but all that came out was a pained wheeze. 

“If any ‘o ya curs tell th’Sand, we ain’t servin a drop o’ drink no more” the innkeeper threatened, and then, directing people Red couldn’t see in the strange haze, “Carry ‘er ta my room, c’mon, ye’r a strong lad. An’ you better bring tha herbs, all of ‘em. C’mon, chop chop”. 

The room tilted, and a sharp pain as she got jostled made Red black out again. 

The next few days were a messy blur. Red got a heavy fever, and threw up a lot, and there was blood. But the innkeeper, Okami Teishu, as she introduced herself, patiently cared for her and fed her and kept her clean and warm. 

Red wasn’t sure if the seemingly random plants she got fed did much good, but the pain was lessening by the day and she was finally able to go to the bathroom on her own. No more blood there, a relief. Maybe she could go get her money pouch, soon, and go back to her boathouse for winter. Would need to get new blankets, clothes, soap making tools for an income. If anyone there asked, ‘Rose’ got robbed blind on her journey. 

“Dinner, think ya can go? Or wouldya rather stay in bed?” 

“I’m in here, one moment, coming" Red yelled out to Okami, and got herself presentable. A flowery dress she had been given, apparently forgotten in a room by a guest who never came back for it. A hooded jacket, too, the warmth of the leather was nice but it was stiff and much too big. 

Bending to get the slippers on still felt uncomfortable, something wasn’t quite healed in there. 

Somehow, yet another week passed before Red got back on the road. 

The villagers, distrustful at first because of her display of sealing jutsu, warmed up to her once they realised she wasn’t gonna go crazy like that cultist had. Apparently, he wasn’t the first rogue ninja who had shown up just to murder people at random, and they did not put their own nation’s supposed protectors on much of a pedestal either. Lucky, because if they had trusted them, Red had no doubt at least a few would have sold her out. 

As it was, no ninja came looking that she was aware of. 

Okami hugged her goodbye, and Red accepted it. Misa, the woman the madman had tortured, apparently moved back to her family so she didn’t see her but the innkeeper handed Red a new pair of sandals that were supposedly from Misa as thanks. Red suspected Okami just bought them herself, but sure, she accepted the probable lie with a smile. 

“Be back someday, ya hear?” 

“Of course, thank you for taking care of me, take care of yourselves!” 

And with a few waves, Red was back on a road she had no intention of following, and concealed her presence with Trick ‘o the Light to circle back to the mine. 

Sure, she would trust the innkeeper with her life, but Red wouldn’t trust anyone but herself with the lifeline that was her teleport network. That was different, somehow. Intimate, like her name. She hadn’t even given a fake one, this time, and they had accepted that. 

Red now knew the mine wasn’t all that abandoned, locals still mined it for coal both to use and to sell in secret to evade taxes, but her corner was safe. 

The table had been removed, it was probably in somebody’s home by now. 

The return trip, two quick teleports thanks to her prepared route, took Red to the cliff without incident. The buried ‘treasure’, her savings, was still there. 

Back to the half-way point she went, the town near Rain with good shops. She grumpily rebought her essentials. A new big knit sweater, short skirt, knee-high tie sandals set (because she had felt pretty in that dammit! Stupid Sand thieving ninja), a new set of soap-making tools including a pretty shaping set to make them flower-shaped, ingredients and strawberry scent for a change. 

She also got new carving tools, a bolt of linen and some cotton and silk fabric scraps, ink and a brush, a thick winter bedroll, and a head scarf to match her sweater ensemble because keeping the hood of the leather jacket up got her a lot of odd stares. 

Her hair was long enough to be tied into a tiny poof of ponytail now. 

Finally back home at the boathouse after lugging her oversized bundle of shopping, Red settled to make her new linen storage scrolls and relax for a bit. 

Being near the ocean felt good. 

Alright, time to plan. Sand was an absolute no-go, even River might be too close now that the ninja knew she existed. 

One trip to the curry shop the next day, because Red felt she deserved some comfort food after recent events, and then she was going to her Leaf teleport and running straight towards the Country of Hotsprings which would be her new base. Risky, going through Fire, but it was the fastest route for getting away from the desert nation and she was SO not getting herself strapped to a lab table again. Red shuddered, and got a campfire started for soapmaking. 

She didn’t even have the funds for a cookpot at the moment, time to grill fish on sticks. Not a bad meal, because fish, but she was still gonna allow herself to be grumpy about losing all her hard-earned amenities and memorabilia. Some day, she might have to pay somebody to steal that back for her. 

Chapter Text

Red was pretty sure, now, that there was more to the ‘Curry of Life’ dish than just its name and amazing (super duper spicy!) flavour. 

She felt fine! The odd, pressure-like pain that had lingered after her injury was gone entirely, breathing deeply caused no discomfort, she could bend and stretch and run like before! 

Sansho had laughed and claimed her cooking cured all, and Red was starting to believe it. 

“But how did a young thing like you even get injured?” 

right, civilian children don’t generally get speared through by rogue ninja. “I fell out of a tree and landed badly” Red lied, and the old woman’s brows smoothed back into an unconcerned smile. 

“Did you learn anything from it?” 

Yeah, she had learned that so-called ‘combat experience’ wasn’t worth it. “I won’t do it again until I’m older and stronger.” Better avoid battle entirely, or trap, maim from a distance, flee when an opportunity presented itself. Taking on Orochimaru was a distant goal if even a random religious nutcase could wipe the floor with her, she had much to learn. 

“Good choice” the cook muttered, and waved as Red left with her takeaway second portion. 

Best to start what could become a long and scary journey with provisions! Hopefully this trip would be uneventful, but Red was starting to suspect her luck might actually suck for such things. 

No, that was superstitious. She would be fine. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, surely her random spot in the middle of a forest wasn’t under guard. 

‘Princess’ Tsunade, the new Hokage, was a pain to be around. Izumo wouldn’t say it out loud, of course, she was his and Kotetsu’s employer after all. But tracking down an escaped ostrich felt like more of a mission for fresh genin, why send two grown men? 

They had paperwork waiting for her signatures, without them there Izumo was pretty sure the irresponsible woman was slacking off again. Which, yeah, was probably why she’d sent them. 

The tracks disappeared into a clump of trees, great, of course it wouldn’t stay on the path and make things easy. Kotatsu signalled he’d circle around, Izumo went right on the tracks. Whoever decided an ostrich was the ninja animal for them, he wanted to have a not so friendly chat. 

Ah, there it was, a fluffy black and white mop of feathers on ridiculously muscular pink fleshy legs. A long, featherless neck rose, decorated with bows as if that’d make it less ugly. This wasn’t its first time escaping, ‘Condor’ as the thing was named wouldn’t ever come peacefully. 

Izumo prepared the rope, but then, a child appeared out of thin air?! Astride the ostrich, who took off at speed!

Red couldn’t help it, she squeaked. Her teleport point hadn’t been safe at all! 

She was somehow holding onto the bizarre animal that had stood right over her buried tag, but it was running recklessly through dense underbrush and she kept getting whacked by branches. 

Two ninjas were in pursuit, yelling something, but he wasn’t planning on letting them catch her! Red got her feet on the fluffy back of the animal and hopped into a tree as it passed, hopefully they followed the animal? Yeah, they did, whew- 

“Are you alright?” a man asked, from right heckin’ next to her in the tree, a bandage across his nose bridge. Fine, she might have squeaked again. Not Red’s most dignified moment. 

So only one of them had gone after the huge bird. 

“I’m fine! What was that animal? I fell out of a tree and it was suddenly there!” The falling out of a tree story had seemed believable to the curry cook, hopefully it worked again. Don’t give reason to suspect chakra or dangerously wanted red hair. 

“That’s an ostrich. Should I walk you back? We chased it for quite a distance, are you from Leaf or the next village over?” 

“I’m fine, I know where we are and I live nearby! But, uh, I think your partner just got kicked?” 

“He’ll be fine. Alright, take care of yourself” the ninja gave her a silly salute, and jumped a few trees over to where his partner now had the bird in a net at the trunk. 

Right, noted, no place near a ninja village could ever be ‘safe’ for teleports. 

Red climbed down like a civilian would, and slunk away between the shrubs. Judging by the frustrated noises, the ostrich was really putting up a fight. Good, she hoped they forgot all about the stranger they had seen before they next looked in the bingo book. 

Would Sand share their updated intel on her? Probably not willingly, but it might have already been leaked for all she knew. Gotta keep building distance! 

Red ran without chakra until she was gasping for breath, and the forest was silent around her. A clean getaway? Red was scared to hope, but it did actually seem to be the case. 

Cautiously, she climbed a tree to scout out her location. Leaf’s massive walls were far away, her destination would be far FAR east of there. Setting her sights on the horizon, Red noticed smoke. A campfire or settlement, best avoid that. 

Alright, step one was a success of sorts, she had left Leaf! Now it was days of slow trudging through seemingly endless, cold forest. The leaves didn’t actually change colours in the Country of Fire, but the frosty nip of early winter was still noticeable. 

The next day, Red finally dared speed her travel by tree-jumping with chakra. She was headed for a peaceful country with few important exports, ninja were unlikely on the route. 

She had done her research; the Country of Hot Water, or Hotsprings as her map had called it back when she had one, had a ninja village yet prided itself in being pacifist. They did not pursue missions outside their own borders, and seemed blessedly uninterested in bloodlines and bounties in general. 

Their main industry was natural hot spring tourism, and the sale of mineral water. Other exports were potato products, and bamboo. Their main imports were promising; cotton and rice, sure, but they also bought a lot of soap and similar ‘everyday luxury’ wares from Fire! 

Red would be just one foreign soapmaker among the many, and find herself a cushy hot spring village to relax in. That dream of leading a peaceful life might be attainable, after all! 

Travelling like this, cozy in her new sweater and keeping warm from exertion, wasn’t that bad. 

Red resented the simple grilled rabbit meals a bit, and at one point in the following week she actually used setting a permanent hiraishin point as an excuse to go back to the risky Country of Rivers for another round of that addictively spicy curry, but she did fine even without a cooking kit. A weather-worn ninja knife she found lodged in a tree had become her new hunting companion. 

Surviving without belongings, Red found, was doable but unpleasant. She vowed to herself that she’d get a real base someday, maybe even a ‘home’, and fill it with things that nobody could take from her. Soft, comfortable, specklessly clean things that would never touch the outside world. 

Pillows, and she had seen ‘plushies’, cute stuffed toys from the girlier shops in River. She would get some, someday. And a wardrobe full of pretty outfits. A makeup kit? Scents, too, and dyes in all the colours of the rainbow for pretty shaped soaps to sell from a cutely decorated little shop in a quiet village. 

But before she could indulge in such silly dreams, Red would be retrieving her friend’s corpse from probably one of the world’s deadliest people. And for that, she had some serious training to do. 

Her new country of choice would give her time, it was up to her to use it wisely. 

She needed more sealing jutsu symbols, and she would have to find ways to trigger seals from a distance. 

Historical records, geography, all things that could help her find a suitable stage to set for Orochimaru. The traps would need to be flawless, all eventualities covered. 

She needed to get better at hiding her emotions, too, it was currently a weakness she could not afford. She was too weak to be predictable; if she wanted to live, then deceit was the way to go. 

By the time Red reached the first hot spring town, around midwinter, she had made and partially cured as many soaps as she’d had ingredients for. All strawberry, which she was discovering wasn’t her favourite scent. 

For the very first time in her life, she was experiencing snowfall, pretty little flakes of white softly covering the world in a fluffy blanket. It was nice, dulling the sounds of the world and making the traditional town look magical somehow. 

Keeping her soap tray out and obvious, dressed in her flowery dress and utilitarian sandals despite the temperatures for pity points, got them sold pretty quickly despite the steep price she’d set. 

According to one grateful customer, this was still Fire country, so this village got passed by many of the traders headed for Hotsprings, and finding nice giftable products was a struggle during the busy winter months. 

Ingredients were plentiful enough, Red had stocked up and gotten another batch started at her little campfire by the village entrance when somebody passed her on the road- and stopped? 

“Poppy?” 

Red looked up in surprise. “Saboten?” 

There, wrapped in a thick winter parka, stood the trader she had followed to escape the desert what felt like a lifetime ago. “What are you doing all the way out here, and in summer clothes?” 

She had put the leather jacket on, but the campfire gave enough warmth that she hadn’t bothered with the sweater. “My auntie wasn’t at the hot spring in River, but look! I learned soapmaking there, and soaps supposedly sell better on this side of Fire Country, so I went on a journey. I am a craftswoman now!” 

Even a civilian teen should have been able to walk that distance in the months since their roads split, it was believable… right? 

“All on your own, that is amazing, but aren’t you cold?” 

Well, he knew she could use seals, and nobody else was around. Red unsealed her sweater. “Made my own storage scroll!” 

He chuckled. “Right, you did have that bit of ninja magic to ya. C’mon, lassie, dinner’s on me when you’re good to go” 

woo, free dinner! And probably not grilled bunny! She’d had enough of those for a lifetime. Rabbits along her route might be telling their future generations about her as a cautionary tale, with how she’d had them for very nearly every meal lately. 

“This needs to cool before I can store it” she said, but her stomach growled in protest. 

“We can place it at the pavers out front, takin’ you to the local tavern, the food’s decent.” 

“Do they have fish?” 

“Haven’t changed a bit, ey? Yeah, they do have fish.” 

Saboten had been to Leaf, too, before moving on to the neighbouring Country of Rice carrying Fire fabrics, and finally travelling here with a large cartload of rice bales that he brought every year as part of a long-term contract. 

His plan was to slowly cross the country of Hotsprings during winter, then cross Frost country when the mountain pass thawed in spring to reach Lightning country. Like Wasen, he had contracts to keep, a schedule and deadlines. 

In return, it netted him enough profit that he usually travelled in the safety of ninja-guarded caravans and spent every night at an inn where those were available. 

“But when we met, you were alone?” 

“That route’s one I always thought safe, good thing you were there to save my skin!” 

“What’s this, cactus man, this little kitten saved you?” A girl practically purred, sidling up to the table. Oh no, Saboten had been much too loud and a teenaged couple had overheard. 

“From what, a spider?” the boy on her arm teased, flicking Red on the nose. 

The trader opened his mouth, clearly about to defend her honor and spill dangerous information, so Red kicked him under the table and answered before he could; “Two wild dogs, remember?” 

Thankfully, he was fast on the uptake. “That’s right, the curs ran off with some of my bags but we survived!” 

The gathered teens laughed, great, there were more of them now. “That’d explain why you wanted to hire an escort, for Hotsprings country of all places!” the girl giggled “Lost to dogs!” 

“Care to explain what that was about?” Saboten grumped later, as Red packed her now cool soap tray away. 

“Being able to make seals is rare, so the ninja nations put a bounty on me” seemed like the safest explanation. 

He groaned. “Sorry, I mighta mentioned it to other traders, shown off my new scroll an’ told a sand girlie made it for me” 

well, she wasn’t actually a ‘sand girlie’ the way she saw it. “Did you tell them my name, or describe me?” 

“Maybe?” 

Right, there goes Poppy. Unusable from now on, like Akane. A few last red maple leaves sprinkled the white snow under an ornamental tree, eh, good enough. 

“Kaede sounds like a nice name?” Red offered, kicking at a leaf. 

“You can’t just drop the name your mom gave ya!” 

“She’d want me to be safe first and foremost” Red bristled, honestly with Wasen in mind and not whoever she’d made up as her backstory parent. 

“Alright, Kaede it is then, until you feel safe.” 

“No more advertising my skills” 

“‘course not. And here, not much of an apology but it’d make some nice soaps?” He had unsealed a hefty wooden box, there were several molds inside. “This one’s for mooncakes, really, and that’s for fish-shaped pancakes, but…” 

Red gave him a quick hug, and hopped up and down to burn off some of the sudden, unexpected energy that tickled under her skin at the sight. This! This was the sort of thing she wanted to collect! “They are perfect, thank you!” 

There was a board of half-spheres, neat, she could make little hand soaps! And a stamp, it was of a frog but who cared. It was better than plain! “Gonna reheat that soap so I can pour it in these!” 

Saboten laughed at the enthusiasm, and unsealed a blanket of some sort? It was lumpy. “Glad you’ve got a use for it. Here, take this too, it’d be a tragedy for a survivor like you to die from cold. Stay safe, lassie, may we meet again someday!” He waved, and trudged off to where he’d said his guard would be meeting him. 

The ‘blanket’ turned out to be a ridiculously oversized coat, it dragged on the ground and the sleeves were much too long but it was warm. 

The meeting had been short, but Red had a new name now, and soon she would have prettier soaps to sell! 

She might have gotten slightly sidetracked last night, but Red promised herself today would be more serious. 

She sold her (Pretty! New!) soaps for good money, and finally had enough for a well-used but still whole camping cookpot and cooking tool set. Replacing everything that was stolen would be impossible, but now she could at least boil rice again. 

“I plan to travel around Hotsprings country for a while, are there any libraries there that you know of?” Red asked the used goods seller, and apparently the Hot Water village (formerly the Village Hidden in Hot Water, a ninja village) was both safe to visit and had two public archives! 

‘But beware of the street vendors there, the most legal and slippery thievery you’ll ever meet’ they had warned her, so Red would be stocking up before she went there. Apparently, food in tourist towns here was expensive. 

Red had been perusing wares at a market, but there was a book stand, and while browsing a very exciting one caught her eye. “How much for this one?” 

“Oh sweetie, the cover is pretty, but that one is on poisonous plants and terrible critters! Here, this one’s better, flower arrangement for beginners” the heavily painted woman tried to swap the books. 

“No, I have that one already, I need to know which plants never to touch” Red lied smoothly. 

“Ah, safety first, did your teacher maybe tell you to get it?” 

there were teachers, for arranging flowers? Red just nodded. 

“Alright, but don’t go looking for them, even if the pictures are beautiful” she cautioned, but did sell the book. 

Now, poisons would do little to Orochimaru, but he was a poison user and she would need to know what precautions to take when confronting him. Antidotes, protective clothing. And there were others out there who might someday hunt her down, more tricks up her sleeves was always gonna be a good thing. 

Opting to walk, as there were more people around, Red took note of the change in clothing as she approached the Country of Hot Water. Kimonos, yukatas despite the season, lots of traditional robes. Less brown, bright red was delightfully common, as was blue and orange. 

Hopefully there were second-hand ones to be had, because her available clothes would all stick out like a sore thumb. 

A few teens wore wrap tops with plunging necklines, and Red noted it drew eyes downward for a lot of people? Huh, practical, less likely to be recognised if they didn’t look at your face. Noted, on the shopping list when she had the funds. Makeup, too, because that book seller would have been unrecognizable if she took it off. Great mask, socially accepted even. 

An old lady was walking the same direction as her, lucky! Red hurried over, and made an offer; “I’ll help you carry your luggage, if you could tell me about the Country of Hot Water in return? It’s my first time going” 

because a girl, alone, dressed in strange clothes was more likely to draw attention than a grandma with her oddly dressed ‘grandchild’. 

“Oh, how sweet of you!” she croaked, sounding ill? 

Heck, Red hoped she wouldn’t catch it, colds sucked. 

“You’re gonna love it, everybody does. Such a peaceful place, it is where I learned to walk on water in my youth!” 

Of all people, Red thought tiredly, of-hecking-course she’d found the one retired ninja in the crowd. Hopefully retired. Ninja did retire, right? Sending a sideways glance to the hunch-backed woman, Red decided Kaede looked up to ninja. Gonna risk it, might learn something. “Wow, you can walk on water?” 

“As can you. No foolin’ me, kid. Freezing up like that is gonna get people looking, come on” 

a sensory ninja? But civilians could have chakra, too, there was no reason to suspect- 

“Wear marks on your sandals say you’ve jumped a lot from tree to tree, come on now, civilians don’t do that”. 

Crap. Red looked down, and indeed, the tips were scuffed in a very distinctive way now that she knew what to look for. 

“Relax, relax, I am from here and retired on top. You don’t seem like you’re here to cause trouble.” 

“I just want to live peacefully” Red mumbled, daring to walk next to the ninja pensioner again. 

“Defected your village already, at your age?” 

“Never had one” 

“Then what, ya kill someone important? Steal a technique? An eye?” 

“Ew, who would steal an eye?” 

The old woman laughed at that, which ended in a nasty cough. “Trust me, kid, you don’t wanna know. What, then, who’s on your little heels and why” 

Red didn’t trust her, best lie. “My mom killed someone, killing her wasn’t enough so they put a bounty on me too”. 

“Ah, that whole cycle again. People ne’er learn.” 

it seemed to have been believable enough. 

“You chose the right place to be safe, but how’re you planning to live here?” 

“I make soaps, look!” Red pulled one from a storage scroll up her jacket sleeve. This one was strawberry-scented and round, foggy-clear but still pretty neat. 

“Well, I’ll be! You will be right as rain here, then” the ex-ninja assured her. “We get lotsa guests here, from all over, for events. Ask any hot spring owner if you can sell at their entrance, most will happily allow it once you look the part.” 

A hint that her clothes were out of place. 

“Kimono, yukata, or those wrap tops like that girl-” 

“Too early for that, no, better go with yukata. It’s cool here, so you might not believe it, but hot springs warm the air a great deal in the towns”. 

“Which town would you recommend?” 

“Mmm, definitely not Bamboo village, their spring is no longer in use. There’s a few unnamed settlements near the country of Rice, popular for honeymoons, beware of the red light ones and all’s good.” 

Ah, Red knew those from that book, Icha Icha. Maybe the author was local. The woman was looking her up and down? 

“Can you defend yourself?” 

“I have one knife, but it’s kinda worn, found it in the forest” because downplaying her skills might earn Red a lesson. 

Showing the weapon made the elder click her tongue, and a fresh blade appeared in her hand as if by magic. “Trade ya for it, that one’s tetanus waitin’ to happen” 

“What is tetanus?” 

“Nasty disease, you get it from rust” 

Red handed it over with haste, vowing to never touch rust again. Being ill was no fun. The new knife was lighter, thinner, but still felt sturdy. 

“Is that what you have, tetanus?” 

“Oh no, this is a professional hazard, poison gas damage. Stay a soapmaker, it’s safer.”

Chapter Text

The town of Jade had started out as a mine for its namesake semi-precious gemstone, but hit an underground hot spring. While catastrophic at the time, it had become a very pretty gemstone-themed venue for destination weddings and anniversaries, tragedies of the past swept under the rug as a ‘lucky discovery’ but Red had read the history of the place well. 

She had gotten a lot of reading done, actually, in the year since she arrived in her new home country. 

Her first base of operations had been in the ninja village of Hot Water itself, and it was actually as peaceful as advertised. She had learned the bloody world history, thanks in most part to the libraries but also the museum. Truly a nice place for vacation and learning! 

Selling soap was lucrative there, especially after she started making ‘gift sets’. 

Red also learned something that changed everything; the way to represent her ‘self’ in a seal. With that one symbol, a spiral that had to be purely out of blood, she could make what she now knew was NOT the hiraishin but something else entirely into a fast mode of escape. 

She had read about Leaf’s Yellow Flash, whatever he had done might not even be sealing jutsu. Red still decided to keep thinking of hers as the hiraishin, because well, good name. Dude was dead, he wouldn’t protest it. 

With her new tags, she could ignore the need of a ‘from’ coordinate because she WAS the coordinate! Red wore several ‘hiraishin’ tags under her pretty yukata’s middle tie, ready anytime. 

After getting everything she could out of the books and scrolls available, Red had moved on to Jade town because it seemed like the best choice. 

Busy with tourism, yet peaceful in the ways that mattered. And, more importantly, its hot spring’s supposed ‘health benefits’ lured sick people from all over, meaning the town was full of chemists and apothecaries. 

Soap ingredients? Plentiful! Poison reagents? Easily attained! Red had read up on poisons, and had a few on hand even though she currently had no use for them. The extra safety felt good. 

Today was a rare free day; Red had worked hard recently, and yesterday’s physical training to keep herself agile had left her muscles sore, so she was indulging in a hot spring dip for once. 

The local rabbits, her catch-and-release game, were terrified of her and now fled at the slightest rustle. In a way, she was also training bunnies, Red thought with a smile as she lowered herself into the almost-too-hot water. 

Might be making life difficult for local foxes… she should ‘hunt’ those next. 

“I heard there’s a pervert going around town, peeking in the women’s baths” somebody murmured to their friend, and Red could feel every lady present stiffen and turn to the speaker. 

In this town, strangers or not, they were a united front against the scum who dare ruin the freedom of outdoor baths. 

“Was seen at the ‘eternal health’ bathhouse, apparently a total creep who giggled and scribbled while watching. Who knows, he might even have a camera!” 

Disgusted, angry noises from the audience meant the town was getting patrolled tonight. That was nice here, anyone could walk up to the local ninja office and they took care of it. 

“He has warts in his face like a toad, they say!” “Disgusting both inside and out, how fitting” “It’s the one with long white hair again, isn’t it? He’s a repeat offender, I wish they wouldn’t let him be here at all!” the women shared their intel with furrowed brows. 

Red was reminded of the pervert she’d seen at Yuge’s bathhouse when she was first there, but it couldn’t possibly be the same guy. River country was far, far away. 

“May his cucumber wither away” a lady silently cursed him, somebody corrected her with “probably a pickle” and the mood improved once more. 

A new hobby Red had enjoyed recently was following the local ninja on their patrols. 

She was pretty sure the more experienced ones were just humoring her, but some young ones might actually never have noticed her sneaking along. 

She’d left a fruit basket at their office, with a note of ‘from your secret admirer’, and hung in the ceiling wearing her Trick ‘o the Light as they found it. The veteran of the group had smiled straight at her. 

If these were ninjas the way the big nations’ scary ones were, there’s no way she’d dare. But ‘ninja’ here were more of a policing and odd jobs force, they were friendly, and the one who felt like he could be scary knew she wasn’t a threat. It was good fun. 

Tonight, every ninja in their little force had assembled to do their monthly sweep; everyone they met out at this hour would be asked to identify themselves, that was pretty much it. 

“Showing presence is important” the veteran continued, monthly speech the same as always “it reassures our guests, and deters those who might consider misdeeds. Go out there knowing you are representing our town!” 

And they were off, not sprinting like ninja might in Leaf but walking leisurely in pairs. 

Red decided to follow the veteran for once, she knew it’d lead to a conversation but she trusted him enough for that by now. Also, there was information she needed that it’d be hard to get elsewhere. 

“So, Kaede the soapmaker, have you decided to join our forces? Academy’s open” he offered as if they’d talked before, his background check was no surprise. 

His trainee made a confused noise. 

“Walk with your friends for this one, I have a guest” the older ninja explained, the kid looked around but eventually left without noticing her. 

Red cancelled her technique, and they walked in silence for a bit. 

It was a nice offer, but “I don’t think I want to be a ninja, not really. I just need practice so I can do one thing I have to do, and after that I’ll be just a soapmaker” 

“Hoping this isn’t a murder you’re plotting, not on my turf at least?” 

There seemed to be no reason not to tell him what her plan was, really. “A ninja killed my friends, and they still have one of the bodies. I want to get it back so I can bury him”. 

“Shame, you’d make a fine ninja. Is this murderer in my jurisdiction, or..?” 

Red shuddered. Hopefully not! 

“I don’t know. I need information, but for all I know you could be on their side, so I hope you understand it’s nothing personal” Red said, and held out her hand “So, uh, this is sort of a temporary robbery? Can I see your bingo book, please? If anyone finds out I saw, then I definitely took it by force! You’ll have it back by morning?” 

He snickered, giggled, then roared with laughter, wiping tears as he threw an unused-looking book at her. 

Was it really that funny? It was the logical way! 

“We don’t have rules like that here, I won’t get court-martialed, relax. You can keep it.” 

Oh. Red could feel her cheeks heating, she had overthought it and planned a trap on the path ahead in case he said ‘no’ and everything. Best go remove that. “Thank you, I have some reading to do, have a safe patrol!” 

And she was over a rooftop in a single jump, and scrambled to disarm the wires out of sight. Safe! 

“Mmm, bit of a nasty plan B, that” he commented, right next to her. 

Heck. 

“Look, I am gonna have to make sure you don’t do somethin’ rash. I get it, you worry I might be on some rogue’s payroll, right? So how about we go through that book together, from the top, and I tell you what I know about each one. No way for me to know which one you’re after.” he settled on the roof without waiting for a reply, and held out a hand. 

He got his bingo book back. 

“Alright, gonna hope you’re not after anyone in the top hundred but we’ll take it from number one; Orochimaru-” 

his gaze snapped to hers sharply. “That reaction better not mean you’re after the snake?!” 

“What reaction? I don’t know what you mean, who is Orochimaru?” 

“Kaede, you’re trembling” 

She was? 

“That would explain the body snatching part. And you being a paranoid mess, infiltrating under a false name and learning our routines as if this was a high-profile ninja village.” he sighed, and rubbed the scars over his cheeks. 

“I get it. You are serious about this. I am not trying to belittle your efforts, but no. That thing is no human, it’s an immortal monster with underlings and a network and bases. How old are you?” 

“Thirteen?” 

“Why was that a question, anyways, the point is no one person would stand a chance! Our orders, if that is sighted? Evacuate! I am not helping a barely-teen throw their life away.” 

He put the book away, Red sighed and took a stance. 

“Hey, now, you realise fighting me isn’t going to end in your victory, right?” 

“And you realise I set more than one trap, right?” 

He paled, and looked around. There was no second trap, no need for him to know that. Clearly, he couldn’t read all her cues. 

“Come on, tell me about Orochimaru. I am going after them either way, the more intel I have the more likely I will succeed. No need to get this innocent roof blown to bits”. 

“... you are a real piece of work. The trap was a bluff?” 

“No.” 

“Oh thank goodness, yes it is” he breathed a sigh of relief, and stretched out on his back, much too relaxed to be taking her seriously. 

“How?” no need to specify. Red knew that lie should have been convincing, and he caught her so easily earlier too. 

“Heartbeat. Don’t ask, it’s a clan thing” 

She sighed, and sat down next to him, defeated. “Not fair”. 

“So, Orochimaru. The snake sage. Unethical experiments, bloodline user theft, killing intent that freezes even experienced ninja on the spot. And snake fuckery, all the limbs moving all wrong-” 

“Oh, you’ve met them” 

the pale man nodded, clearly the encounter had left an impression. “Two months ago, in- better not tell you where” 

Red was fiddling with a vial of poison that should be able to knock him out if he inhaled the fumes, but she didn’t really want to interrogate him that way. Saving it as a last resort. 

“The book doesn’t do it justice, the creepiness. He pulled a full length sword from his throat!” 

Yeah, her creator didn’t believe in scabbards. 

“And like a thousand little snakes came flooding out, and, and he summoned a giant one” 

“Manda?” 

“The thing has a name?” 

“Doesn’t the book have that? Lemme see” and, oh, that was disappointing. There was this little information on Orochimaru? Nothing new either. Why not add some, to trouble the snake? “Can I give you some information to add?” 

“Every little bit would surely help”. 

“Hmm, then, Manda is his favourite but he has other snake summons too. The three-headed one is big, too. It wears scarves for some reason? And Manda mentioned a ‘Hakuja’, but I never saw her.” 

“May I ask how you know this?” 

“No.” she said, and kept going. “Orochimaru really likes eggs, particularly boiled ones. They hate cold foods like ice cream, and chilled drinks” 

“Kaede, you sound like you lived with that thing?” 

“Of course not” 

he got up and backed off? Right, the heartbeat thing. 

“Okay, yes I did. Keep taking note, their favourite words are ‘Destruction’ and ‘Chaos’-” 

“You… lived…. With Orochimaru.” 

“Yes, do try to keep up. While they try to adapt to various bodies, they never succeeded with those shorter than 170cm or taller than 180cm. That’s the ‘Orochimaru size’, so to say.” 

“...” 

the veteran ninja was speechless, but seemed to have a question? 

“... you keep saying they, not he” 

“Ah, they used to be a ‘he’, but with all the body swapping they decided it was confusing” 

“I… see. And the freaky head on a long neck thing he does when fleeing?” 

“That is their true form”. 

He looked horrified. ‘Also, their tongue is as long as a human arm’ seemed to be too much, the ninja hurled. 

Right, no, there was no way somebody reacting to Orochimaru’s body like that was one of their underlings, at least not knowingly. He hadn’t known about Kabuto, either. 

“I am going to trust you won’t connect me to this intel in any way?” 

“No, I have no reason to suspect you’d go back to his side” 

“I was never truly on their side, long story. Willing to tell me what you know, now?” 

“Still worried you will get yourself killed, but alright, you seem to have a better idea of what you’re up against than I thought. Orochimaru was last seen in Rice Country, about two hours’ run from here. Concerning amount of sightings lately, but we cornered him pretty good and he hasn’t been seen since.” 

He had been that close by, while she was there? Something Red had been too busy thinking to consider earlier tickled at her mind. Right, this man saw Orochimaru leave a body! 

“Who were they wearing?” 

“‘wearing’, hell that thing’s grim. The corpse left behind had rotten arms, but the face was intact, pale with black hair”. 

Amibune had sun-bleached brown, and he had a good tan, it wasn’t him. 

“Alright, thank you. Point out the direction? I am just going to scout, for now” Red had to hurry out before the obvious protest on his face made it out. 

“Northwest, in a forest between two hills. But hang on, don’t-” 

Red ran northwest, because it didn’t seem like the older man had anything else useful to add. It was the darkest right before dawn, that’d be in roughly two hours. Perfect arrival time in case there was a base hidden in the forest. 

“Slow down!” somebody yelled from far behind, wait, seriously? 

Ninja from Hot Water country weren’t supposed to leave their towns unless pursuing a criminal, and yet, the veteran caught up as Red stared incredulously. He was breathing heavily. 

“Two hours *huff* at MY speed *huff* not yours!” he panted, bent over and clutching his knees while trying to recover. 

Oh, so it was really close by, she had barely run for half an hour. 

“Why did you follow me?” 

“‘cause it’s *huff* dangerous?” 

“I know that, but you have no reason to be here?” 

“Kaede, what do you take ninja for?” 

“Generally? Scary bounty hunters with dubious morals.” 

“C’mon, you know I mean our country’s ninja, not those foreign brutes”. 

“Mostly unobservant and kinda slow, but nice? I mean it in a good way? Big fan.” 

“Ouch. But alright, fair. Missing a point though, we’re in this job to help and protect.” 

“Outside your jurisdiction?” 

“Not by job description,” he admitted, “but in my personal opinion, simply standing by idly and ignoring the troubles of others isn’t something ninja should do”. 

Red was pretty sure ‘ignore problems and do nothing’ was his country’s motto, but having backup didn’t seem like a bad idea. 

“Can you make yourself less obvious, like this?” she turned on Trick ‘o the Light, he looked surprised. 

“No hand seals, so it gotta be genjutsu? Sorry, no can do. But don’t underestimate the stealth that comes with experience!” he boasted. 

“You are tall, wide, and literally wearing an orange uniform,” Red reminded him, unimpressed. “Just release chakra evenly all over yourself, then flicker it rapidly-” 

“Whoa, whoa Kaede, not everyone can do that! Best I can do is cover my hands and feet” 

eh? “But a fisherman taught me that, and another fisherman used it too? They weren’t ninja” 

“Yeah no, that would have to have been rogue ninja. Genjutsu is difficult, and chakra control all over your body is rare even among jounin.” 

No, ninja around here just sucked at it, Red decided. Her captain and crewmates wouldn’t have lied to her. Sighing at her incompetent companion, Red opted to simply have him lead the way. If anyone saw him, she could grab him and teleport back to a safe spot. She was wearing three hiraishin, all permanent, all leading to other hiraishin in her network so she could flee and keep fleeing. 

Fine, creeping through the underbrush he was actually surprisingly silent. Red learned how to shift her weight to avoid noises by walking in his footsteps and observing. He’d packed his uniform jacket under his black vest, so he wasn’t all that visible either, maybe the veteran was more skilled than she’d given him credit for. 

He slowed, and looked back, so she signalled ‘I go around, stay keep watch’. His head tipped in confusion, uh oh. 

Red tried again, but pointed obviously at herself, then had her fingers ‘walk’ a circle in the air and pointed to him and then at the ground and mimed looking glasses. He nodded. Alright, noted, Country of Hot Water ninja probably did not use the hand symbols both the Country of Fire and Uzushio fishermen knew. 

Red opted to climb a stem and creep silently on branches to circle the area from high above. It was noticeably colder this far from the hot springs, night frost coated the leaves. A trail through the frost below caught her eye, but it was probably from a deer. No obvious footprints flattened the grass, no broken twigs revealed a human’s passing. 

The night was still… eerily so. Not an owl, not a shift of early herbivores, no mouse stirred on the ground, no birds took flight as she changed trees. Not a single moth fluttered in the moonlight. 

The air was quivering with tension, like the world itself was holding its breath. 

Red gave the deer trail another suspicious glance, judging by the angle of the straws bent it should have gone that-a-way. She decided to follow it for a bit, but it entered an area with rocky ground and she could no longer track it. 

Right, better turn back. But there was a faint noise? 

The rocky patch of ground melted to the side like a desert mirage, and Red went perfectly still. A familiar gray head of hair in a neat ponytail, her former master stepped out of the hidden lair while adjusting his round glasses. 

Crap, why now! Kabuto luckily wasn’t a sensory ninja, but he might still notice the man sitting in a bush not even a hundred paces away. Not Red’s fault, she never asked for him to follow her, but she still didn’t want to get him killed! 

Kabuto hopped into a nearby tree, which was a relief, yes please get further away from him- 

his head snapped around, and his eyes widened as he saw her. Red only now noticed the small white snake coiled around his neck, shit, Orochimaru had seen her too then. 

Red wanted to teleport right there and then, but her companion was still nearby! She would have to get to him first, she thought in a panic as Kabuto straightened from his crouch on the branch and stood with a smile. 

“My cleaner! Glad you came back, come on, let’s get you inside where you belong. Running wasn’t nice, but I’m sure Orochimaru-sama will allow me to keep you now that Kimimaro is dead.” 

He died? Red could hardly care less about that. She pretended to meekly walk toward him on her branch, he looked relaxed. Relieved, actually. Just how much of a mess was the lab in? 

Almost where he could grab her, Red drew and activated her fire tag at him while also throwing a vial of paralyzing poison. As expected, he easily sidestepped the flashy fire and got hit by the second attack while she dove for the direction her backup was in. The fool was out in the open! 

“What the- come back here, if you run again I can’t protect you!” 

As if he ever would, Kabuto had given her up for use in medical experiments the last time she’d sought his help. 

The paralytic seemed to have an effect, he was slowed enough to not get her immediately as she dashed toward the Hot Water ninja who was now throwing sharp-looking metal over Red’s head. Hardly an issue to dodge, but probably a nuisance to Kabuto in his current state. 

A few paces more, and Red could have teleported out of there with her companion, but a terribly familiar fear snapped over the landscape and froze all movement. Heart hammering, body locked facing away, she could only hear the grass whisper as a person passed through it silently. 

“Orochimaru-sama, can I get to keep my cleaner this time?” 

“Not asss a cleaner, I told you to train another” the snake sage sounded annoyed, snappy. 

“But this one never made noise, or a mess, and it worked faster” was Kabuto… whining? Just how bad were Red’s replacements? 

“Thisss one’sss dangerousss” Orochimaru hissed, now right behind her. Red’s neck hairs stood on end as a tongue flicked over her shoulder. “Poisssons too, now? Ssshe takess after me.” The dry voice, the joking line, it did nothing to lighten the steel grip their paralytic fear had on her. 

A choked noise, and all eyes turned to her companion, wide-eyed and pale. Shit, he was so dead. 

“Disssposse of that” the snake said with distaste, but Kabuto didn’t make a move? Red could sense Orochimaru’s confused head tilt behind her as the dedicated henchman didn’t hurry to do their bidding. 

“I can’t move, she got me with something numbing and my muscles are shaking, truly fascinating” Kabuto actually sounded shaky, huh. Red had expected an immunity to most things from the snake’s henchmen, interesting. 

“Huh.” Even Orochimaru sounded baffled. 

A slender, elegant hand started poking through Red’s pockets, and she shuddered at the sight. They were wearing Amibune’s body again. 

Several vials got picked out, including one they pried from her hand with cold fingers. 

“Unlabeled, clever” they sounded… approving? “Bumpsss on the corkss to tell them apart, very good.” 

she could hear a ‘plop’ as one got opened, and some light sniffing. Hopefully they got the one that burnt out tracker noses. 

“Floral, ah, belladonna? But for combat, that isss- oh! For daylight use, to widen pupilsss to blind purssuerss! Assstounding. And thisss, hmm, ssmelss neutral…” 

was that the sound of them taking a sip? 

Sadly, the scentless one was an antidote, but not for the paralytic. Without a poison to neutralize, the most it could do was cause cramps. 

“Refressshing, new. What iss thisss?” 

They were asking her? Red was still held tight in terror, only allowed shallow breaths. Orochimaru seemed to realise, and lightened their killing intent, allowing her to take a breath- and dash the last meters, grabbing the poor guy she’d dragged along, and teleport. 

Curiosity, a burning need to learn all there was to know, had always been Orochimaru’s greatest weakness. 

The veteran ninja gasped a deep breath, and sank to his knees while shaking. Red also needed a moment. 

Wow, her luck continued to be abysmal. They’d found the den in record time, sure. Sun wasn’t even up yet. But they just HAD to find it exactly as Kabuto stepped out while wearing a sensory snake, which had gotten them busted immediately. 

At least now Red knew where to find Amibune’s body, but they would be expecting her and now also knew her new tricks. Surprise poison or giving her time to teleport wouldn’t work a second time. 

“How, where?” he mumbled numbly, right, yet another one who now knew of her teleports. 

Misdirection, couldn’t let him know this spot was significant in any way. “We should be close to Jade Town, I took us as far as I could”. 

“Thank- thank you”. 

Oh, the stutter was new. “My fault we were there in the first place. Let’s go back to the office?” Red led the way, he stumbled after her. Not so stealthy now, probably in shock, poor guy. 

Next time, she wasn’t bringing anyone.

Chapter Text

The brewing of new poisons would take a while, Red spent some time the following days planning and reading in her little rented attic room while her concoctions bubbled and fumed in a forest clearing far, far away. 

Traps would be her best chance, but setting them around the den without being noticed too early would be tricky. 

She now knew how to trigger explosive tags from a distance, vocal commands somehow transmitted chakra? Not understanding it, and not finding an explanation anywhere, irked Red. 

Clearly, there was some underlying logic to the hand signs and vocal components and seal writing symbols. A set of rules to chakra itself? But the very idea of such a thing seemed to barely have been studied, only ancient crackly scrolls mentioned similar thoughts. 

Tired of thinking in circles, planning barely making progress, Red decided to go sell a few soaps despite having plenty of funds for now. ‘Kaede’ missing from the town for too long might raise alarm, she’d been a constant presence there for over a year now. 

Her trusty soap display tray strapped neatly over her pretty red yukata, brown headscarf to continue the warm colours theme, loud wooden sandals clacking and a bell jingling from her belt. Harmless civilian, foreign ninja who came here to recuperate in the springs never gave her so much as a second glance. 

And why would they? The bingo book seemed not to have been updated, or at least Shadow hadn’t sent another letter when she last checked. Red’s bounty probably wasn’t all that high, ninja who could afford to come here on break were not likely to keep all the minor targets memorized. 

Red had been wandering randomly for a bit, greeting locals and selling a few pretty soaps (now herbal, as those were in fashion) when she heard a commotion. 

If she was Red right now, she would get lost, but she was out as ‘Kaede’, who would do the civilian thing and go see. Staying in character was important, shying away would be suspicious. 

There was a crowd outside the ninja office? An announcement, or- oh. Red could smell blood, even from outside the mass of people mumbling in concerned tones. 

There was a familiar wide hair bun with a characteristic hair stick ahead, so ‘Kaede’ called out “Landlady, what is going on?” 

“Oh, Kaede, this is not for young eyes to see. Come on, let’s go”. 

Red followed obediently, Kaede was a good girl. 

“The chief of ninja here, the nice older guy, someone, oh, it was horrible! I don’t get who would do such a thing, but he was murdered! In the office! And none of the other ninja realised until the murderer had made a mess of the place, it even looked like the poor man was tortured!” 

Oh. Oh no, it was time to get out of this place. 

The veteran had known her as Kaede. She WAS currently Kaede. And if this was done by who she suspected, then leaving a mess was on purpose to make her panic, so she had to stay calm and act naturally. Best walk homewards slowly with the landlady, pack the luggage quietly, and disappear without a trace. 

“That’s scary, and you saw that?! Let’s go back, I could brew you a tea” Red offered her landlady. 

“Oh, you are such a sweet girl” she smiled, and thankfully started walking. 

Somebody yelled a greeting, Red waved and smiled but clearly that wasn’t enough. “Kaede, wait up! I wanted one of your mint soap-” 

They had yelled her name, and even as they talked Red could hear somebody kick off from the pebble-lined path with force. She spun, and saw Kabuto shed a wig as he cleared the crowd and dashed for her. 

No chance to gather her belongings, Red teleported to her forest clearing on the eastern edge of Fire country. 

A few birds took off in fright. Heart hammering, Red drew a shuddering breath. 

Heck. He had hunted her down in days, she would need to flee further. Soapmaker was compromised, Kaede was yet another name made unusable. 

Akako, then. She would trade her storage of soaps for some other goods, pretending they were simply bought for resale. Akako was a trader, yeah, that worked. 

Losing stuff again burned, but there was no way Red was returning to Jade Town while Orochimaru and Kabuto were on her tail. Being actively hunted down, getting others killed, it wasn’t a nice feeling. 

Red decided to add another layer to her new self, Akako would have black hair. Black eyebrows and lashes, too, and a yellow yukata with gingko leaves. The transformation jutsu settled into place easily, just changing colours and patterns was child’s play now. 

Taking the headscarf off outside felt good! Red freed her hair entirely, wearing the same ponytail as Kabuto didn’t feel pleasant right now. 

Some reordering of her storage scrolls was due, and while she was there anyways she checked on her poisons. 

One had bubbled down into a burnt mess at the bottom, good, she needed to powder it for smoke bombs. Another had almost finished distilling for the third time, and was tinting the glass tubes yellow. Volatile, yet useful, it should let her cause painful and lasting burns. A fresh batch of the tracker nose-killer was done, she filled it into several tiny vials and sealed away most of them. Handling the stuff always made her eyes water, it was strong! 

Finally, she wrapped up most of the equipment for transport, and sealed it in the storage scroll designated as ‘contaminated items’. The solid row of storage scrolls on her back under the yukata made her look somewhat wide, but it was the most inconspicuous solution she’d found so far. 

Situations like this were exactly why Red never left much of her stuff in the place she had rented, and wore it all instead; nowhere could ever be truly safe. 

Slowly, the numbness faded as she got ready to move on yet again. 

Dread pooled in Red’s stomach as she considered the implications of being hunted by Orochimaru; they could be anyone. 

The baker who sold her bread in the street in any new town she visited could be a corpse puppeteered by the snake for all she knew, because surely they could track her down. Orochimaru also used seals, there was no way they didn’t have a more widespread ‘hiraishin’ network than her, and Red knew they had more informants than the few she knew about. 

Any item she bought from now on could contain a hidden seal or poison, better spend more time foraging out of sight, less time in settlements. Gotta keep moving, keep setting teleport points, keep building herself into somebody not so easily taken down. 

Ideally, she’d learn a real ninjutsu, those seemed useful but only the hidden villages and ninja would have those. Risky. No, better work on her seals, figure out some utility ones that could help. If only she could find the symbol for ‘area’, or even just ‘other than’ or ‘not’, there would be endless possibilities… wishful thinking wasn’t gonna help. 

Akako the trader bundled up her goods to be sold, and headed in the direction of a village Red had yet to visit, on foot. The map had shown a path nearby, being seen with her luggage when entering a new place was the least likely to draw eyes. 

She could do this, yet another setback but she would pull through. 

That night, Red could barely sleep, and when she did manage to get a few hours it was plagued by nightmares. 

The friendly veteran ninja who’d wanted to keep her safe, being slowly torn to bits by Kabuto’s skilled hands as he was tortured to give up her name. 

Fune and Wasen’s lifeless bodies on the floor. 

Amibune’s serene face split by Orochimaru’s fanged grin. 

And new horrors, brought on by her fears; Saboten Sanninshou’s eyes turning yellow and slitted as she hugged him for giving her the soap molds, Yuge Suchimu laying bloodied and lifeless as she returned to the bathhouse to look for letters. 

Sansho’s curry shop being empty, only a crumpled body on the floor where there once was warmth. 

Kiba and Akamaru being slowly killed by Orochimaru as she watched, helpless, frozen with fear. Shadow, coiled tight in a snake, its maw opening wide- 

Red awoke with a gasp, covered in sweat despite the numbing cold. When had all these strangers started mattering so much to her? Why was she crying and shaking at the thought of causing their deaths? 

She wasn’t sure why, but it hurt, and she suddenly felt very lonely. 

There was no way she’d form any more real bonds, no matter how meaningless or one-sided, with Orochimaru on her trail. 

Getting attached only ever ended badly. 

Chapter Text

This year, Red had decided, was her 16th.

Probably… maybe?

Eh, numbers didn’t matter that much. It was January, and why not start the year with a birthday? There was only one present she wanted, and she had been gearing up to get it for a while now; her old storage scrolls, and what of their contents (probably spread all over, by now) she could find and recover.

Which meant infiltrating the Village Hidden in the Sand, a ninja village where she was both known and wanted, but she was stronger than she used to be. Confident in her disguises, too, after years spent honing her transformations. No further people had learned her true name, nor had her cover as Akako been blown, but from today onward she would be known as Carmine.

She had teleported to one of her newer hiraishin in Stone country, where she would trade her old wares for local ones, because Carmine was born and raised in a small village on the border to Sand and would be expected to carry spices and scented oils given her background. The choice was mostly to conceal her original scent, just in case, but Red also enjoyed the fact that making soaps with her scents as samples would be expected. She’d never sold soaps in this country, it should be safe, and with her new stock of strong dyes and geometric ‘gemstone’ molds these looked nothing like her previous wares.

She wasn’t a soap maker though! Carmine was a spice merchant who just happened to stock soaps when buying scented oils. 

Carmine’s hair was red-ish, but not Red red. She had realised freckled skin usually meant a lighter hair tone in warm colours, so orangey light brown seemed to be the best option. Green-brown eyes, this time, since that apparently went with non-Uzumaki red hair.

Looking back at her previous disguises, Red grimaced at the uninformed mess she had been back then. She now knew how to wear her sand robes properly, and also what jewelry would allow her to blend in seamlessly with the crowd leaving Stone after their pilgrimage. Other merchants also joined the procession, a yearly trek that would take her to Sand as one of the many. She was a gaudy, decorative sort of merchant… and here, that made her invisible. Her old robes would have stood out like a sore thumb, utilitarian and ninja-style since she’d stolen them from an outpost. Her younger self had actually been lucky, to not get chased for wearing that in River. 

Just a bit over two weeks later, thanks to the civilian caravan’s camel-drawn carts, Red arrived at the gates of Sand where her papers barely got glanced at.

The gate guard pocketed one of her prettier soap samples, Carmine smiled and said nothing. This was apparently common, here, other merchants had grumbled about it on the journey.

Securing a place to stay came first, Red made a choice her younger self would have balked at; a securely guarded hotel, in an area heavily patrolled by ninja. A wealthy merchant’s choice, and she did have a considerable amount saved up just for this extra layer of safety. Money was power, among Sand merchants, so even if she was caught snooping where she shouldn’t she was unlikely to receive more than a fine and a slap on the wrist where others might get thrown in a jail cell and interrogated.

Apparently the class divide used to be even more extreme, but with its new (young, from what she’d heard) Kage, the Sand was slowly changing its ways. 

The hotel room was luxurious, thick cotton bedsheets and patterned silk pillows and plenty of storage opportunities. Red hid the scrolls she wouldn’t be wearing well, behind the bed’s headboard, and unpacked what was to be expected if a suspicious ninja had a look; bathroom essentials on their designated shelf, several changes of gaudy and richly dyed robes in the wardrobe, jewelry in Earth and Stone country fashions plus travel documents neatly kept in her bedside drawer. A portion of her wares, unpacked on a table as if she had been preparing them for sale. The rest would be in the bag, still, like she hadn’t quite unpacked yet. There, an unsuspicious room!

Next, an alibi! Red got a handbag on, and joined several merchants Carmine had gotten along with in the hotel lobby. As they knew it was her first time visiting Sand on her own (Carmine had overprotective parents, traders in Earth Country, the couple actually existed and did have a daughter by that name) they suggested places for her to go see. Several respected individuals heard Carmine say she would go sightseeing, good, because if she got caught in a restricted area then clearly the young, rich lady had simply lost her way. 

Carmine got shown to a dango shop, had a tea while her ‘colleagues’ chattered, and then left to explore once the group dissolved.

Walking slowly, looking around as a newcomer would, Red planned her search. Back then, her scrolls would have been in the evidence department or in the lab for analysis, but by now they were more likely to sit in storage somewhere. Empty or not, that was where she’d start. Hopefully they’d left Wasen and Fune’s stuff untouched, but Red doubted she could be that lucky. Best case, one of Wasen’s cooking knives was still findable in the village. Worst case, Sand destroys all its unused clutter every few years.

Soon she would know, because Red now knew most stuff was kept underground around here, and the Kage tower was likely to have an entrance. Carmine waltzed straight in, to the surprise of a receptionist. They looked her up and down, and their expression instantly became much more polite.

“Good evening, young miss, how may I be of assistance?”

“Oh, my friends told me I had to see this place while I was here, could you give me a tour? Here, a tip! What’s that door?”

Money did indeed talk here. As the generous ‘tip’ (bribe) pouch hit their hand, the receptionist swallowed any protest they might have had and happily became a tour guide. They wouldn’t show her the underground, obviously, and Carmine never pushed it. But she now knew which doors lead there, and who used which one when, the receptionist seemed intent on making her tip them again after the tour so not much was kept secret.

“This is the office of our new Kage-” they got cut off in their babble as the door opened, and said kage stepped inside.

Uh, oops. Not the plan. Red took a chance while the receptionist floundered, and bowed deeper than merchants usually would with a meek ‘Kazekage-sama’ to show respect.

He stopped, and turned to them. “The reception is empty. See to it.”

“After I show our guest around” the receptionist said without an ounce of respect, and Red could feel the hostility in the air.

Ah. The young Kage did not appear to have much sway yet.

“No need, I do not wish to be a bother. Please, feel free to return to your duties” Carmine offered smoothly, they sighed but left. Red dared glance up, and found the Kage studying her.

“You must not be from around here, I do not recognize you” he eventually commented, settling in his chair. Red took it as an invitation to look up, and he did not appear to mind. Lax about hierarchy, probably another reason he was not taken seriously around here.

“My name is Carmine Watanabe, and I am a spice vendor. I arrived from Stone country today but my family hails from Earth country. Pardon the intrusion, the receptionist must not have been made aware of your schedule as they showed me around”.

He waved off her apology, but still did not dismiss her? “Has word of me taking the hat reached Earth?”

Ah, new and nervous even if his face hid that well, unsure what neighbouring countries thought of him. Good thing she’d listened for rumors. “In Earth, all I heard was that you were young, and possessed great strength. In Stone country, opinions and rumors were more diverse” she asked permission to continue with a questioning glance, he nodded while putting his hat aside.

Oh, a fellow redhead, around her age.

“Stone merchants are grumbling that they get treated with less respect here these days, and I did notice the gate guards taking samples of wares at no payment”

his eyes twitched; he either had not known, or thought it resolved.

“But the general consensus is that the changes happening in Sand are for the good. There is talk that you aim to reduce class inequalities, which would lead to more demand for the products Stone produces.”

“Reduce? The class system must be abolished, and the ‘royalty’ ruling class with it” he grumbled.

Oh, more ambitious than he had seemed, but also exhausted.

“If I may ask, Kazekage-sama-”

“Gaara.”

“Gaara-sama, why is this not common knowledge on the street? If you are telling even me, a foreign merchant…”

“That is why I am telling this to you, you and anyone who will listen. Those are few here.”

Ah, it was an unpopular decision and there were likely others opposing him in positions of power. Still, he wasn’t powerless, and would be a good ally to have. “As for other rumors…” she asked, and he made a motion for her to go on. “Apparently, bandits have become a rare sight around Sand, but are wreaking havoc up north after relocating” his gaze turned sharp, mouth a thin line. Was nobody keeping him informed? Were Sand politicians aiming to make a puppet ruler out of him?

“If I may, I have a map?”

“Show me”.

She did, and relayed a bit of information from Yuge’s bathhouse letters as well. He looked deep in thought after she mentioned unrest and battles around the usually peaceful country of Waterfall, so even foreign politics interested him? Gaara seemed to make a fine Kage.

“Thank you, sorry to have taken up so much of your time. You may go”

“If I may be impolite for a moment, Gaara-sama?”

His head tipped a bit in curiosity, and he nodded.

“You are being much too polite. Apologising to a mere merchant should be beneath you, as Kage. Please speak with more authority, as a leader you are lowering your village’s standing by lowering your head. While I appreciate your humble, honest attitude, I can see there are those who think less of you for it.” Hopefully she’d read him correctly, because Red was absolutely being rude.

He blinked, taken aback. “You are… dismissed?” he tried, oh. He did want advice.

“Just ‘dismissed’ in an uninterested tone would suffice, and eye contact is not mandatory either. You do not owe a foreign merchant your attention”

“I… see. And if I wished for information that did not come up in conversation?”

Was he maybe a bit socially awkward, even before he ended up in this thankless position?

“You demand it, your position requires that you gain knowledge so there is no reason to hold back. Simply command me to tell you all I know on a subject.”

“The bandits, how long- no, tell me everything?” Halting, hesitant, but a good step.

“I first heard about it in Stone…” Red told the young Kage all she had on the bandit situation, then everything she knew about the increased sales of certain controlled substances once he asked for that. He got more confident, and took notes, yeah. He would be a good leader, as soon as his village let him.

By the time they realised they'd been talking for hours, it was pitch black outside, and with a surprisingly genuine smile he sent her off with a cheerful 'Dismissed!' Huh, he was actually kind of cute? She was SO not gonna try dating a Kage tho, that would be asking for trouble.

Carmine bowed deep, and backed out the door, ignoring the escort she noticed following her. That was to be expected, with her spending hours chatting with a kage who had not received a single report for as long as she was there. Right now, Gaara was not the real power behind this village. But soon, he would be, there was no way he’d become a puppet with the motivation in those pretty aqua eyes.

Huh, the escorting ninja followed her into the hotel? Well, no problem, she had a waterproof background and her room was arranged flawlessly.

Ignoring them hurrying through as she opened the door to her room was awkward, would a civilian really not notice? He was so obvious, dressed in all black and now standing behind the sheer curtain. No, right? A merchant wasn’t blind.

“Hello?” Red let her voice sound unsure as she stepped inside, she left the door open but it swung shut! She jumped at the sudden slam, and he emerged from the curtain.

“Sorry! Didn’t want to scare ya, relax, I am not a suspicious person!” Said the man in a ninja suit, in a young lady’s room, after dark.

Logically, Carmine should scream, so Red opened her mouth-

“I’m Gaara’s brother!” he hurried to add. Oh. “Name’s Kankurou”

“Carmine. This is improper, you are in my sleep quarters!”

“Sorry! Please hear me out?”

Red stayed by the door, she wasn’t feeling threatened but Carmine should still appear nervous.

“Thank you for talking to Gaara, he needed that. Won’t listen to me or our big sis, thinks we’re overestimating him ‘cause we’re family. Couldya maybe visit him again?”

Huh. That was unexpectedly sweet, he was trying to look out for his brother who wasn’t doing too well in his new position. Red let her body slump in relief. “Oh thank goodness, I thought you were here to rape, rob, and murder me!”

“Yikes, real sorry. Didn’t know how to approach ya ‘bout this”

oh wow, yeah, they were brothers alright. Did 'socially awkward' even cover it?

“Let me make it up to ya?”

Hmm? She tipped her head. “How?”

“Ah, dinner? Maybe?”

He was sort of cute too, and he was no Kage, why not. “You mean, a date? That is very forward, but I AM hungry” she said, and enjoyed how his eyes widened in surprise. Not giving him a chance to correct her ‘assumption’, Red motioned for the door. “Please allow me to freshen up first?”

“I, err, right, yea, but I didn’t mean, well-”

he had backed out, she cut him off by closing the door with a soft click. Time to get ready for a date! Sure, he hadn’t meant it that way, but Red was pretty confident she could create a spark at least. He had closed the door with a silent technique of some sort earlier, she NEEDED that. And, well, having a ninja as her boyfriend (if all went well) would be a great way to get out of trouble. If caught underground? She wanted to surprise him, and lost her way!

Alright, this was important! Red quickly got changed to a somewhat less covering outfit, and gave her face just a touch of makeup. Kohl, lip balm, ‘natural’ blush… there! He wore purple face paint, so she added a line of purple right above her kohl line to match before opening the door. “Sorry I kept you waiting! Where are we going? This is so exciting! My parents never let me go on any dates, but they won’t know!” Carmine chittered, bubbly with energy.

“There’s a diner I like, they have hamburg steak..?”

“Sounds great, lead the way? I never tried hamburg steak before! Is it a local thing?”

“Dunno, but it is tasty. About the date thing-”

“Hm?” she blinked up at him, face intentionally innocent and hopeful. C’mon, mister, can’t back out of it now or you’ll make your brother’s new conversation partner sad she did her best to convey.

“Err, I’ve never been on one before? What d’ya do, exactly?”

Oh right, that made sense.

“I haven’t been on one either” she lied smoothly “but I heard you talk about yourselves, to get to know each other, and if you like each other you go on more dates? And hold hands and stuff” because somehow, this teen seemed less knowledgeable about romance than twelve-year-old Kiba had been.

“There, the one with the round windows” he said awkwardly, using the appearance of the restaurant around the corner as a chance to clumsily change the subject.

Well, if he ended up rejecting her after tonight, that was fine too. But for now, she would keep trying! “Do you come here often?”

“Sometimes, when I end up working late, it’s nearby and open all night so it’s convenient”. He opened the door, but didn’t hold it, so Carmine barely caught it before it would have smacked her. “Oops, sorry”

“It’s fine” he hadn’t spent much time hanging out with friends, that was clear as he almost took the only free stool at the restaurant’s bar before realising there’d be nowhere for her to sit and taking her to an empty table instead. He seemed nervous, hmm, how to fix- ah!

Carmine fiddled with her hair, and giggled “I really shouldn’t be this nervous about going on a date, my friends did that back when we were in school! It’s silly, isn’t it?”

He smiled, and settled more comfortably on his seat. “Guess we’re both silly, then. Yeah, my sister does this all the time” he seemed to reassure himself.

A waiter walked by, Kankurou ordered two hamburg steaks without giving Red a chance to check the menu? Sure, fine, she would have picked that either way to be polite but- “Ah, sorry, are you okay with hamburg steak too? I could go, ask them to change the order” he looked panicked, so he just realised now huh.

“No worries, it’s what you recommended so I wanted to try it” she reassured him. In a way, his clumsiness was endearing? “You mentioned working late, but this village seems so peaceful?”

“Ah, um, that” he was blushing? “I, well, I spend time building my own equipment”

Oh, a craftsman? “Wow, you make ninja tools? That sounds difficult!”

“Thing is, my sis- uh, the tools I make, people often find them creepy” he mumbled.

So his sister told him not to talk about his creations, if Red guessed that correctly. “But they’re for keeping your village safe, right? Then, spending so much time on them is a good thing.”

He scratched his neck, and for a moment, Red was reminded of Kiba despite their differences.

“It’s- they’re puppets” he revealed, unprompted.

Huh, puppets, for battle? Ah, that actually made sense. “So you control a puppet to battle others? Clever, it keeps you out of the fray so you can keep an overview!”

He lit up, and after that their dinner night became more of an excited lecture about ninja puppetry than a date. Which… wasn’t bad, actually. Kankurou was willing to share his knowledge freely, so was seduction actually needed here? Could they just be friends, maybe?

The food was long gone by the time the restaurant shooed them out for closing time, and they both blinked at the unexpected sunlight. Oh. “What time is it?” Red sheepishly asked, and he rubbed his neck with a grin.

“Looks like six-ish, time to get to work?”

“Oh no, I am SO sorry I kept you up all night!” Carmine said, but Red didn’t actually feel sorry. This had been fun, a new experience.

“No, sorry, I kept rambling your ears off about my puppets-”

“But it was interesting!” Red assured him, and, oh. He stared at her, wide-eyed, and that was definitely a blush. So his weakness would be showing an interest in his hobby, huh. This relationship seemed kinda unnecessary, but why not, for fun? “Can I see your puppets, on our next date? Ah, if you want to see me again, sorry I’m getting ahead of myself, we don’t have to-”

“Yes. Definitely!”

“Oh,” Carmine shuffled her feet shyly. “Does that make you my boyfriend now?”

“I, uh, I’m not sure. I could ask my sister if that’s how it works? When she gets back from Leaf” he offered.

“Sure. I’ll see you around?”

“Yep, see ya!” he waved happily as he almost backed into a couple when leaving.

Clumsy, cute, Kankurou wasn’t a bad choice for a little cover story padding. But maybe it could be more… no. Orochimaru was still a threat, even if they had confusingly let her be since that one time Kabuto hunted her down. No getting attached for real. Whatever this turned into, it was fake, and her objective was to learn what he had revealed was strings of chakra that he could attach to things to move them with his fingers from a distance. Like her door, or a puppet’s limbs. It seemed beyond useful.

For now, though, Red needed sleep. She returned to her room, and crashed for a nap. Poor Kankurou, he was at work, no naptime for him. 

After sleeping away most of the day, and then having dinner in the restaurant downstairs to keep up appearances, Red realised she’d never set a day for their next date. Oops, well, their paths were sure to cross again if she visited Gaara sometimes. Red planned to get up early the next morning, and bring the young Kage the bits and pieces of intel she’d gotten from fellow traders at dinner; some strange organization seemed to be on the move. 

But morning came with a boom that thundered through the city, rattling Red out of bed, and rumors and dates would have to wait because what the hell? Looking out the window, all she could see was thick dust. Red got dressed as Carmine, but her combat storage scrolls went in their holders inside her long sleeves. For now, she would head to the lobby and probably get evacuated if ninja were fighting. Hopefully war hadn’t broken out.

The day was chaotic. Carmine was escorted to a very plush bunker alongside other wealthy traders and old people in traditional robes who were probably the village elders and politicians.

Once they had all settled and the murmurs turned to silence, Carmine made sure to tell a colleague -loudly- about her positive view of the new Kazekage’s plan to abolish monarchy and the class system. It led to quite a few discussions around the room, Red noted with satisfaction. She occasionally chimed in, putting Gaara in a positive light wasn’t hard. Most people seemed to simply know nothing about him, other than that he was a strong ninja? He ought to speak in public.

She could feel the politicians’ glares; the Kazekage had hostile opponents in positions of power and it showed.

Then, the bad news arrived; Gaara had been kidnapped. “And Kankurou?” Red had to ask, the three siblings were obviously close.

“Who?” somebody behind her asked, she ignored them.

The messenger hesitated, an old man waved for him to continue. “Injured in battle”.

“Where is he?”

Sure, they’d only met the day before yesterday, but he was kind-of-sort-of her boyfriend now, right? Carmine should care, it was what would be expected.

“The hospital”. Yeah, that made sense.

“He’ll be fine, right? Ninja have healing magic” Carmine pleaded

“We have larger issues, have the office fetch the hawks” the old man grumped, and left in a hurry with several others on his heels.

Red followed them out, because surely this meant it was now safe. A quick trip to her hotel room, and by the time she was back down sans battle gear the reception staff had also returned. Couldn’t risk bringing anything suspicious in case the hospital searched visitors on entry. 

As it turned out, the precaution had been unnecessary. ‘No visitors’ was all they would tell her, Red hadn’t even been allowed to wait in the lobby. At least he was being kept safe?

Apparently, there were not many members left of Sand’s royal family line, meaning Kankurou or the sister he kept mentioning would be next in line as Kazekage if Gaara could not be retrieved. The tradition was outdated, no other ninja villages used such a system anymore.

Red had left a little note, hopefully it got delivered to Kankurou once the medical ninja were done treating him. In the meantime, Red would be busy, because the Kage going missing and most ninja probably deploying was a pretty darn good distraction…

There was no receptionist in the Kage tower today, but Red could hear voices from upstairs as she snuck through the door and slunk to the one she thought most likely to end in a storage of some sort; the tour guide’s note of that one had been ‘where we keep documents’, and the floor around that door was the most worn part. Much traffic, probably unlocked for convenience and unguarded.

A ‘snakeslip’ seal to reduce the chance of a loud creak, and it opened smoothly- into instant archive hell. Oh gods, was that heaps of unbound scrolls? Why were there so many loose pages everywhere? Dust had heaped up in the corners, and the ceiling appeared to be made of spiderwebs. Charming. Red closed the door, and gave it a seal to increase friction this time; she would definitely hear it open.

Starting at the back… meant wading through crates of stuff, loose items randomly on the floor. Old heavy armor on stands, a large stuffed rat-creature, a disturbing tablet scribbled with warnings that the moon was evil, cool decorative swords made out of flimsy lacquered wood. This place had it all, and yet, none of it seemed useful in the slightest.

Red drew a deep breath of dusty air, and got started on her search. 

Three days. Three whole, hellish days Red spent in that paper-and-clutter hell, eating and drinking her unsealed provisions and napping between boxes but mostly digging through the mountains of unsorted miscellaneous missions and reports and intel and evidence.

Rarely, the door creaked open, and Red turned on her Trick ‘o the Light and stood still. People never stayed long, most just tossed a scroll and closed the door again before it had landed. The system seemed to be as follows: When one box got so full it overflowed, they started filling the next box. That was it, that was the whole system.

Red hid a hiraishin in a collection of unrelated sealing tags, sadly nothing new there but at least now she could come back anytime. Hopefully, she would never have to. A few mission reports held dates, thank fuck, it allowed her to narrow her search area until she finally found the correct box. The mission report of a patrol that barely mentioned the murder and torture and escaped cultist before launching into how the person who wrote this had found the Uzumaki and deserved credit, blah blah.

Her storage scrolls ought to be nearby- there! Wasen’s scroll, it might be empty but she would be checking that later. After emptying out the contents of the box on the floor, she found Fune’s scroll too, and all her main storage scrolls. That still left the tags she’d had on hand, but those were nowhere to be seen, so Red decided she’d had enough dust for a lifetime and snuck to the door. Tag off, opposing tag on, and she tiptoed back out and stepped through the empty lobby onto the street. 

Red was dusty all over, the hotel receptionist looked shocked. Their face turned horrified as Carmine explained that she had gotten lost in the confusion after leaving the bunker, and hadn’t found her way back until now.

“Our sincerest apologies! We should have noticed a guest missing, oh no, are you hurt? Please, have a spa treatment on the house, and we will send a meal to your room once you are clean”. There was quite a bit of fuss.

Red made sure to put her scrolls away safely in her bag before handing the cleaners her laundry, and then she tried her darndest to enjoy the new experience of a ‘spa’ but it involved a disturbing amount of being touched by staff while very nearly naked so Red decided she was not a fan.

‘Massages’ apparently meant being kneaded like bread dough, a thoroughly unpleasant affair. Her favourite part was getting to laze about in hot water, but it was short lived, for dunking in both ice water and mud was apparently also part of the treatment, as was being placed in a small room and steamed like a pork bun. It felt more like bullying than relaxation, and at the end of it, Red was just relieved it was over.

The meal was fancy, grilled exotic fruits and a nice cut of meat, and there was even a spiced dark red drink she was pretty sure she was too young for. Overall pretty tasty. Red placed the empty tray outside her door, locked it for the night, and finally collapsed on the soft mattress with her bag of scrolls. 

Moment of truth, she started with her combat storage from back then- and her knives were still in it! No seals, she had expected that, but even Shadow’s worn knife had been stored away even though she was pretty sure she had dropped that one during the battle. They must have found it when clearing the scene.

Alright, not all was lost! Next, the- heck no, that was her cooking scroll, how old were those ingredients now? She would be checking that one outdoors, not here.

The miscellaneous bobs and bits one, then. A whole stack poofed onto the bed, her clothes! And the good blanket! Her first ink set, from Saboten! Red’s heart jumped with joy. Sure, she had rebought it, but getting her original things back felt fantastic! Her old soapmaking stuff was of less interest, but surely having two of some things could come in handy if she ever upped her production. 

That left two scrolls, older than Red’s own and worn soft around the edges. She had never opened them before, well, she had briefly opened Wasen’s to grab a knife but couldn’t and used her own. And she had sealed a few pictures in Fune’s scroll. But what if those things were gone, now?

Red cleared space in the clutter, and opened Wasen’s scroll entirely. A tidy stack of cookbooks took up most of the space, thankfully his knives were also there. An extra headband of white rope, he had always worn those. A box of pretty feathers? Huh. A stack of seashells with shiny, pearly insides. So he’d been a bit of a collector, Red hadn’t known that. A bottle of tiny shells, too, the sort you find on the beach, and a dried seastar. A rock, for some reason. She wasn’t throwing it away, but it did not appear special. A bound lock of hair? Odd but alright.

There were a few other small things, a ring, a swirly-shaped locket without a picture, and a bird skull. Not what she had expected, but then again, what would that be? Red wasn’t sure.

Fune was up next, but she sealed Wasen’s stuff back up neatly first so none of his little things would get lost. The captain’s scroll felt unstable somehow? Better move his stuff to a different one, couldn’t risk losing his stuff if it suddenly broke.

There was a bottle, but it was empty. Oh, another Icha Icha book! And a scroll on various sailing knots, as if he'd needed that. And a pair of thick knit socks? Odd thing to keep sealed. A whetstone, a small bottle of what seemed like oil, probably for his weapon. The pictures were there, too, but next to them there was a flat metal plate?

Curious, red turned it over, oh. It almost looked like a ninja forehead protector, but it just had a swirl on it, no ninja village symbol. Maybe it was commemorative of some place or event, Fune had seemed very enthusiastic about souvenirs so she was surprised there weren't more.

Red’s old combat scroll became Fune’s new storage scroll, and she packed everything back up neatly. 

Yes, Red decided as she curled up comfortably for sleep, this little raid had been the best birthday present she could have gotten herself. 

Chapter Text

Well rested and happy, ‘Carmine’ got dressed to go seek out her ‘boyfriend’. Surely Kankurou must be back to perfect health by now, healing techniques were a thing after all. 

Fune might not have approved when she’d planned to seduce the boy, but this felt like it might at the very least become a mutual friendship? Wasen would be happy if she made a friend. Their scrolls were well hidden, she checked one more time to go sure. 

Carmine decided on a purple wrap top, not local but also not all that exotic, with her darker sand robes over it for a pretty, layered look. Orangeish hair would clash horribly, so she covered it for once with a silky, patterned headscarf. 

Now, where would he be? She decided to simply ask at the tower, but the receptionist told her he was still in the hospital while pocketing their ‘tip’. 

That was worrying, Red hurried over in the hopes they’d let her see him this time but no dice. At least nobody said anything about her settling in the lobby to consider the ways in which she could sneak in- huh, voices, people are usually more silent in a hospital- 

Red forced herself to nod politely and act as if the sight of a Leaf forehead protector on the scary, silver-haired man who passed by with a pinkette teen didn’t bother her. Heck, he moved with the lazy grace of a large predator, humans could do that? Terrifying. 

Other people milled about, something appeared to be going on. Red considered it, but no, the chance of getting caught was high if there were even foreign ninja around. Best wait politely, maybe ask once in a while if they could tell her how Kankurou was doing. 

It was late evening by the time they finally let her see him. 

Red had spent most of the day reading a waiting room book, with snacks from the nearby street vendors as her meals. 

Kankurou was looking pale and tired, what happened to him? The nurse allowed Red to have a seat and hold his hand, which felt odd. Shouldn’t his family be doing this, surely his sister had returned by now? Was she out searching for their younger brother? 

“Hi” he wheezed, and Red jolted upright. He was awake! 

“Don’t talk, you look like you could keel over and die if I so much as breathe on you!” 

he chuckled at that, but it sounded weak. Red had questions, but they could wait until he felt better. “They wouldn’t let me see you at all, and when they finally relented I expected you to be feeling better than this. I think the ninja healing magic might be a scam” Red murmured just to make him smile. 

“Poison” he croaked in explanation, and, ouch. She could possibly have helped with that. Red felt bad, even though there was no way she could have known. 

“Hope they got it all out of your system, after all you still haven’t shown me your puppets” she teased, but he sighed? 

“Brok-” he coughed, it sounded concerningly gurgly. 

“Okay, I get it, they probably broke in battle. Please stop trying to talk”. 

He nodded slightly, and relaxed again. 

“Maybe I can try to help you fix them, I probably won’t be good at it but I could hold parts for you at least? Unless it’s secret and stuff, of course. But it could be fun.” Red suggested, more to cheer him than out of a need to learn about puppetry although that was admittedly also a factor. 

“Guessing your sister is out fetching your brother, you really ought to get out of bed before they get back or it’ll be awkward. Try to sleep?” 

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Red barely knew the guy, but she could tell the loss of his little brother hurt him more than being poisoned. 

She gave his hand a squeeze, and placed it at his side for sleep. The nurse stopped by again, and tucked him in properly, but didn’t tell her to leave? Alright, then, sleeping on a chair would be uncomfortable but she knew ill people supposedly got well faster with a person by their side. And, well, she would prefer if Kankurou recovered soon. 

Red had her stuff, goal achieved, but a few more days couldn’t hurt. Staying informed was important, what if Sand got a new Kage and stricter rules while she was away and it led to her arrest next time she visited? Staying was the logical choice. Kankurou just happened to be a convenient excuse. 

His wheezing worried her, he would survive right? The nurse claimed he would be fine, but Red couldn’t help worrying. He wasn’t a bad guy. 

The next day, Red made sure to inform the hotel staff that she would be at her friend’s side at the hospital while he slept so that they would not report her missing. 

He still wasn’t awake when she returned, but the nurse let her back in without comment. 

Red had a nap in the chair again, but when she woke up, she was lying weird. Her head was warm, oh. She had used his chest as a pillow- and he was awake. Red got off of him with a hurried apology. 

Her embarrassment aside, he was looking healthier today, less deathly pale at least. He wasn’t allowed to eat anything yet, so Red had her meals while he napped, which he did a lot. 

While he was awake, Carmine talked about her impressions of Sand so far, wild dogs she had seen, the street food, her wares and where she’d bought them. Random bobs and bits, whatever her trader persona could come up with. Fabric patterns she’d seen, a makeup stall she might need to buy a few things from, things she’d read in the ridiculous gossip magazines from the waiting room. 

He occasionally smiled, but she knew all he wanted to hear was that his siblings were safe. 

Several days passed, mostly in silence. 

Kankurou was finally allowed to sit up, and managed to talk enough to have somebody fetch him carving tools and a woodblock against the boredom. The nurses claimed he was recovering fast, yet it felt painfully slow. 

Red joined him in carving, making something else than a hiraishin tag out of wood was challenging and her first attempt looked more like a monster than the cat she had in mind as she made it. She blamed the little carving knife, entirely different from her usual tools. 

He just smiled, and showed off what was turning into a fully articulated wrist joint. 

“You are seriously skilled, you know that, right?” because he was. A little collection of finger joints had pooled in the blanket dip between his legs as he carved them, each one meticulously shaped and smoothed without any measuring. 

“Was a beginner once, too” he croaked, voice still rough from whatever that poison had done to him. 

Red no longer had to feel guilty, at least; it had been an inorganic one, made of metals, she didn’t know those so she wouldn’t have been able to help. 

“You’ll get there”. 

Aw, sweet. Red tried to carve interlocked loops into the creature’s behind to at least let the tail move, but the wood cracked. He handed over the glue. 

As he eventually snoozed off again, Red took a moment to study her kind-of-maybe boyfriend. Or just friend? They hadn’t talked about that, but whatever this was, it was comfortable. He looked healthier every day, but even in sleep he didn’t seem to relax properly. 

In the hope of hearing good news about his siblings, Red had gained a routine of sorts; while he slept, she first asked the nurse for news. Then, the receptionist, after that she had a walk to ask the gate guards, and finally she stopped by a street vendor on her way back and asked them too while getting herself (and him, if he was up for it) a meal. 

Her funds wouldn’t last forever, but Red wasn’t planning to actually pay her hotel stay here. She was in disguise, under a fake name, and she would teleport out. She would feel guilty about it, if it wasn’t a state owned hotel for the rich and powerful. Red figured they owed her that much, for Sand’s rude kidnapping and theft back then. 

The vendor handed over her portion of hot crunchy potato goodness, but did not have news for her, so Red hurried back. 

Kankurou hadn’t technically been cleared to eat anything but hospital porridge yet, so she had to smuggle it in. He was awake, and painting his face with steady strokes. It felt odd, the reminder that he was a ‘clan’ ninja after spending days with him bare-faced and vulnerable. 

“Ta-dah!” she revealed their sneaky snack, and he grinned, as excited for it as she was. Fried potato had slowly wormed its way onto her ‘favourite foods’ list during her stay in the country of Hot Water, it was best with breaded fish but that wasn’t an option here. 

They ate in silence, both poking sticks of potato at the little pool of sauce at the bottom until it was gone. 

Footsteps approached, Red hurried to stuff the sticky box up her sleeve and Kankurou checked for smears with his little makeup mirror. The shared, sly smile between them before the nurse stepped into the room made Red feel warm inside. 

“We just received word, your siblings are entering the gates of Sand now. They are headed straight here, so please, stay in bed” 

The nurse turned at the loud commotion in the hallway, wow that was fast! Had they sprinted here? 

Red went to a wall and did her best to look unremarkable. Sure, she and Gaara had had an understanding of sorts, but she’d never met their sister and the three of them should be allowed their reunion without near-strangers added to the mix. 

A loud, angry-sounding female voice snapped, and the hallway went quiet as the Kazekage and an older teen with an air of power to her stepped inside. Her eyes snapped to Red for a second, but thankfully she must have decided she was not a threat, because wow. Just like the grey-haired one from leaf Red had seen, this lady had an aura to her. Like meeting them in conflict would be the last thing she did in her life, Red shuddered at the thought. 

And then, switching gears so fast it gave Red emotional whiplash, the poised ninja became a mother hen. “Kankurou, I smell fries, you better not have been eating junk while recovering! How are you feeling? You’re still a bit pale, you don’t have a fever, right? Have you been taking your medicines?” 

Gaara was standing to the side a bit awkwardly, Red gave him a smile when he noticed her and signed ‘hug him’. 

His eyes widened, crap, civilians don’t generally use hand signs. 

A conversation for another time, because right now he seemed to be considering it. 

Their sister got out of the way to fuss over Kankuro’s back pillows, and Gaara used the chance, and bent into the stiffest and most forced-looking hug Red had ever seen. The older girl went silent and stared, Kankurou looked tearful. Just how rare was skinship between them? 

“Glad you’re okay” Kankurou managed to mumble, his face paint was getting on his brother’s cheek but nobody seemed to mind. 

Their sister hesitantly joined, embracing them both from the other side of the bed. “Glad we’re all okay,” she agreed, “But you should know, old lady Chiyo died reviving Gaara. Sorry, I know you were close”. 

“Reviving? Gaara, what happened to ya?” 

The group huddle of a hug dissolved as Gaara calmly summarized the last days, as if the poor guy hadn’t been victim to explosions and a kidnapping and what sounded like a very painful and ninja-y death by chakra extraction via giant statue? But friends from Leaf had saved his dead body, and this grandma named Chiyo gave her life to restore his? You could DO that? 

Red felt like she shouldn’t be here, this was private family time, but the bed was awkwardly close to the door so she would have to say something to get past- 

“So, are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?” the girl asked with a somewhat fake smile, probably an attempt to lighten the mood. 

So all three were socially awkward in their own ways, huh, must be genetic. 

“Girlfriend” Gaara asked, his voice was a tired monotone but the little head tip was clearly a question. 

“This is Carmine, she’s uh, hey, what are we?” Kankurou asked, and his sister snickered. 

“Smooth. Real smooth, like sandpaper.” 

“Uh, I’m not sure? Friends?” Red asked right back, because honestly? She had no clue, either. 

“I’m Temari, and whatever you are to my brother, I hope we can get along. I don’t see a forehead protector…” 

Gaara surprisingly spoke up, despite looking exhausted; “She’s a spice vendor”. He did not mention the hand signs he’d seen, Red had the feeling he was letting her off the hook. 

“You already knew her, it seems a lot happened while I was gone” Temari said, and picked up the ugly wooden cat-creature. Its tail fell off, she put it back as if nothing happened. 

“I will get going, then, you know where to find me” Red hurried to say, sneaking behind them to let the family have their alone time. 

“Somebody get our Kazekage a bed before he falls asleep standing” Temari commanded loudly as the door opened, and several nurses who had been idling outside jumped to do her bidding. 

That reminded Red; “Oh, Gaara-sama, I spread the word. Had a captive audience, so to say, in the bunker after the attack. Hope it helps”. The door clicked shut, and she was free to return to her hotel at last.

Kankurou spent two more days in the hospital, but any time Carmine visited he already had either his brother or sister or both at his side. 

Three times, Red lucked out and Temari was out, and Gaara was no snitch so the three of them shared sneaky snack meals. The Kage was mostly silent, but nobody enjoyed what the hospital had to offer, him included. The third and last time, Temari caught them in the act, but mercifully allowed it and stole a few fries. 

Kankurou got discharged that evening, Red walked with them part-way. Her friend was leaning on their sister for support, Gaara had taken his bag of new puppet parts. 

The three of them were close, yet also oddly distant at times in a way Red didn’t really get. Was that just how it was, to be real siblings? 

“See you around?” she asked, and Kankurou smiled 

“New puppet should be done tomorrow, come to the Kage tower in the evening” 

“Wh-how? You only made arm parts!” 

“I have spares, you’ll see soon” he winked. 

“Alright, enough flirting. And really, we have two puppet freaks now?” Temari teased, but it was friendly. 

“The Kage tower’s offices were not meant to be a puppet workshop” Gaara reminded his brother, but he was smiling too. 

Hanging out with the three of them was nice, Temari was less serious than she pretended to be and Gaara felt more relaxed with his siblings around. 

Red had been too busy to really snoop around much, finding her scrolls had been surprisingly straightforward, but something felt off in this village. Nobody had really done much about the Kage going missing, except the token message to their ally and Gaara’s sister. No large dispatch, no public announcement. 

And as they walked together, people seemed to shy away from Gaara? Not in a respectful way, either, but like he had some bad disease they didn’t want to catch. 

Sure, there were supporters and admirers, but they weren’t the most obvious in their actions. 

Time to ask around, but not in a hotel that mostly contained foreigners. What Red needed was locals, and so Carmine finally donned her saleswoman outfit once more and brought her collapsible stall to a busy corner. 

“Spices and Scented oils from Stone country!” she offered, and a steady stream of people came by to see (and smell) her wares. Asking any random person would be obvious, gotta wait for a bite- 

“What are these pretty gemstones? So big! And yet, it weighs so little?” a mystified elder asked, turning her handiwork against the light. 

“That is a soap, hand-crafted to appear gemlike. I believe that one carries the scent of sandalwood. I also have sandalwood trinket dishes in stock, if the scent pleases you” 

“Hm, yes I see, remarkable. My wife will be pleased. How much..?” 

“Usually, the set would be thirteen, but in celebration of the Kazekage’s safe return all my wares are reduced in price for the next few days so it is eleven” 

“Why, that is nice!” The customer beamed happily as he paid, so he was probably on the Kage’s side or just didn’t care about politics. 

Red went through a few more sales before she heard an old lady scoff at her mention of the occasion. 

“Excuse me?” Red asked, and that was all it took for the wrinkly woman to rant and call their sweet Kage a ‘monster’? “Pardon, but to me, he appears to be a fine young leader?” 

“You outsiders wouldn’t know, but that whelp has a demon inside him! Wretched thing went mad and harmed people, and now he’s supposedly ‘sane’ so all’s good? Bah!” 

“I see. Please return the spice jars, I will not be selling to you” Carmine said with a glare. 

She had chosen her side in this. After that unpleasant encounter, her sales more than doubled, so there would appear to be more people on the Kage’s side than not. 

The sun was low over the rooftops the next evening as Red paid the Kage tower a visit. 

She had dressed up for the occasion, orangey hair not hidden away but accentuated with pretty hair sticks that matched her finely crafted green jewelry. Earth country style, to support her claimed nationality. 

Kankurou was sitting not at but on the receptionist’s desk, waiting for her by how his face lit up when she peeked in. “This way!” he said, and jumped down with enthusiasm. 

Feeling that much better already? Red followed him for a bit, but then remembered “Wait, I should talk to your brother first, is he in?” 

Kankurou stopped to reply, but something in the movement was off, and Red jumped back, heart hammering wildly. 

Orochimaru? Here? 

No, it felt different- 

“Ah, couldn’t fool ya” his voice said from behind her as the ‘Kankurou’ fell to the floor with a clatter of wood. A puppet. 

“Oh gods you scared me” Red muttered, taking a few deep breaths while he posed the puppet into sitting. 

“How was it so lifelike? It looked just like you, sounded like you too, but now it’s wood”. 

“It’s a ninja technique called ‘genjutsu’” he explained for his civilian friend who of course wouldn’t know “It changes how things look. See, now it’s like me again” 

he demonstrated, the puppet straightened and became a second Kankurou once more. Oh, neat, so ninja would think it was a diversion with a harmless clone but it was actually solid and probably armed. Puppeteering was rather clever. 

“But if I do this, it will become a puppet again” he said as he touched her shoulder while muttering “Release”. 

The puppet was wooden again, but never mind that, Red’s transformation ended too. 

Bright red hair, purple eyes, she could see herself reflected in his widening eyes. 

Crap. 

“I didn’t want to lie to you!” Red hurried to say “But when ninja see my hair colour, they chase and capture me, and Sand captured me before so I had to hide it” 

“What.” Gaara asked from behind the puppet, oh goody, a Kage knew now. 

“I wasn’t lying about wanting to be friends?” Red tried feebly. 

“There’s a bounty on you” Temari said drily, how long had she been hanging from the ceiling? “You really think I wouldn’t notice, when all you changed was your colour scheme?” 

So she had known. 

“Figured I’d ignore it” she muttered, and landed gracefully in the now rather crowded hallway “‘cause my brothers don’t make friends easily. Found the report, our father’s twisted scheme to breed more bloodlines” Temari’s hand landed on Red’s shoulder, but it didn’t feel threatening. 

“I am not my father” Gaara muttered, seeming hurt? 

“I didn’t think you would lock me up, it was just a precaution since I was wanted here!” Red reassured him. 

“Then why… are you here?” Kankurou sounded confused. 

“I escaped back then, but my stuff was all in the scrolls the Sand ninja stole, so I came to get it back” Red admitted. 

“I could go-” Kankurou started to offer. 

“I, uh, already got it back. Sorry I broke in, but I didn’t actually break in, the storage was unlocked?” 

Temari covered her mouth to choke a giggle, and grinned at Gaara “An unaffiliated teen can just walk into your archives!” 

“... we might need to make some changes” he admitted. 

“If you already got your stuff, why stay?” Kankurou still sounded mystified. 

“Actually, I got it back before I was allowed to see you at the hospital?” 

“But that’s, like, a week ago!” 

“Yeah, I know, logically I should have left. But I haven’t had a chance to have a friend for years,” Red confessed, hoping he wouldn’t hate her for deceiving him. 

“And your bounty is really just for your clan, you’re not wanted for anything else?” Temari asked. 

“I think that’s all? Wait, uh, I didn’t know pet fish were a thing so I kinda ate two koi in River country a few years ago?” 

Temari couldn’t hold back her laugh this time. “Don’t think you’re wanted for that, no worries” 

“There’s more, I, well, I needed pine needles for something so I cut a few small trees, turns out those were bonsai?” 

Kankurou snickered. “Big time criminal, better ready a cell, brother”. 

Gaara just sighed, and stepped aside. “Best discuss this with your disguise back on, the puppet workshop has a window” he murmured. Clearly, Kankurou had won the office discussion if it was now officially a workshop. 

Red reapplied her transformation. 

“So, Carmine the spice vendor-” 

“Is a fake name and profession, sorry” 

“No, I get it, relax. Not like ya did it to fool just us” Kankurou assured her. “Now, whatcha think of my puppet?” 

“She busted you the moment she looked closer, remember?” Temari teased. 

“It was good! If I was a normal civilian, it would probably have passed as you!” 

“Meaning no ninja would fall for it” Gaara mumbled, he was smiling? So under the surface, even the Kage was not above needling his brother. 

“This is why I don’t hang out with my family much, they’re jerks,” Kankurou claimed with a fond grin. 

Gaara had admitted he did not have the power to have Red removed from the Bingo Book yet, so she’d still have to be Carmine while she was in Sand. 

Temari worried others might catch on, and oh, there was an actual photo of her in the book. Yikes, shouldn’t have done that beach town trip out of disguise, but last summer had been hot and it had felt super nice to have her red hair out for once. The villages near the ruins of Uzushio did not report redheads, they had told her, but clearly somebody there was still willing to sell information. 

Well, she’d still do it again. A stupid risk, but moments like those she spent in the seafood restaurants there were what made life worth living. 

Kankurou offered to help Red learn to change her facial structure with transformation jutsu… which was apparently not meant to be genjutsu at all? 

They were as confused by Red’s ‘transformation’ as she was by their explanations. Something was off here, her chakra wasn’t doing what theirs did no matter how hard they tried. 

“Any chance you got a bloodline thing limiting what chakra natures you can use?” Temari suggested. 

“Uh, I can use water at least?” 

“Right, of course you wouldn’t have had that tested, lemme go get a paper” the blonde jumped up and disappeared through a hidden ceiling hatch, the Kage tower seemed to be riddled with paths only the initiated would know. 

“You can use genjutsu, that’s Yin,” Kankurou mumbled, looking deep in thought. “How are ya with body reinforcing chakra, taijutsu stuff?” 

“Taijutsu uses chakra? Wait, you can reinforce your body?” Damn, Kiba had been crap at teaching. In his defense though, he’d taught her as you would a chakra-less civilian. 

“That’s… Sis! You gotta teach her basics!” He yelled, and an unenthused ‘yeah, yeah’ came from the ceiling as Temari returned. 

“Here, hold it and put some chakra into it- oh” the bit of paper instantly turned soggy. “Pure water. And Yin, yeah? How’s your regeneration speed?” 

“Nonexistent? I heal like a civilian” 

“So probably little Yang, honestly not ideal to become a ninja. Although… I met a Yin user in Leaf, they can be formidable. When they go down, they go down hard though.” 

Yeah, Red had noticed. A single hit connecting in battle had been devastating so far. 

“Best practice dodging, but let’s try and see if you could learn a tiny bit of chakra reinforcement at least. Cover yourself-whoah” Temari went silent as Red coated herself in chakra. 

“Heck” Kankurou commented. 

“Can you… see it somehow?” 

“Ah, right, noob teachey time” Temari smiled. “Try to focus your chakra- wait, a TINY bit of your chakra, in your eyeballs?” 

Red tried, there was a flash of light and then an instant headache. “Ouch”. 

“Less?” Kankurou helpfully suggested. 

“Less is tricky, I already used so little I could barely feel the chakra” 

“Never considered that side of it, so having too much is also a sorta handicap huh” he muttered. 

Red tried again, supplying the tiniest wisp of chakra to her eyes. “Oh, there’s threads to the puppet, neat, I can see it!” meaning Trick ‘o the Light would make her stand out brightly to anyone who used this trick once in a while, no wonder Amibune had told her it wouldn’t work on ninja. 

“And she learns fast, too. Kankurooou, what sort of a monster did you drag in?” Temari complained, but continued teaching; “Alright, now you can see it, so watch me” 

“Sis, quit showing off” Kankurou scoffed as his sister blazed bright blue. “She ain’t that strong, chakra-wise, she’s burnin’ through it fast to appear stronger-ouch!” 

Temari had smacked him on the back of his head with her palm. “I’m doing it to make it easier to see for the noob! Idiot brother. Now, when you want to wack some sucker, like Kankurou, real hard what you do is gather your chaka in your hand-” 

Kankurou jumped away. 

“I get it! One sec, I’ll try” Red said to save him, and released chakra in her hand. It looked nothing like Temari’s, softer somehow, less solid. 

“Getting the distinct feeling that will do nothing. Punch me” 

Temari offered a palm, like Kiba had when practicing taijutsu, and Red gave it a punch. It felt the same as usual, really. “Heck, I have no idea how to work with that. If you can’t reinforce yourself, that’s a definite no to close combat.” 

“Thank you for teaching me to see it, that’s already a great help!” Red assured her impromptu instructor. 

“Think she can do chakra threads?” Kankurou suggested. 

“Would guess not, if her chakra isn’t physical” Temari sighed “Go try it, or go be a lovey-dovey couple, I don’t care. Gotta go patrol” she said drily, and left in two bored-looking bounds. 

How she could move so fast while looking so demotivated was beyond Red. 

“She’s sulking ‘cause she can't help,” Kankurou explained. 

“But she did help?” 

“Not enough, in her eyes. She would have wanted to teach ya self defense, at least”. 

Temari was a bit of a worrywart when it came to others, huh. Appreciated. 

“Alright, if you put chakra in your hand again, can you stretch the tips of it in front of each finger? Yikes that’s blinding” 

“Sorry” Red dialed it down, concentrating both on that and her eyes was challenging so she gave up on the sight for now and went by feeling. 

“Keep stretchin’ it, and try to pick this up with it” he held up her cat carving, tail now attached. He’d had that in his pocket this whole time? 

Red did try, its tail twitched a bit at least so it wasn’t impossible. With more power, maybe? Its tail rose with her chakra fingers, but it was tricky, manipulating something not in her physical grasp was unintuitive and it slipped. 

“You can do it!” he cheered, looking genuinely excited despite her obvious lack of affinity for this. Red tried her best, and its tail wagged as she fumbled and slipped- 

arms grabbed her from behind, and not in a friendly way. 

Kankurou shouted something sharp she didn’t catch the meaning of, suddenly Gaara was there too, looking angry at whoever was behind Red, she tried to wiggle free but got both wrists grabbed. 

“Release her! That is an order!” 

“He does not take his orders from you” an old man stated in an unfriendly tone from behind Gaara, so he’d been in the Kage’s office with him. “And neither will anyone else who’s in the Tower at this time. Seize the puppeteer”. 

Mutiny? A grab for power? Whatever was happening here, Red didn’t catch any obvious killing intent at least. 

“You think me powerless, when all I lost was my tailed companion? You are forgetting that my mother’s sand protects me” Gaara said with more authority than Red had ever felt from him, and sand floated into the air around him from the large gourd on his back. 

“If you want your brother to live-” another previously hidden ninja pressed a knife to Kankuro’s throat. 

Even Red, who’d barely gotten to know the siblings, knew that was a terrible move. What were they thinking? 

Gaara’s eyes turned flinty, the air seemed to chill as his killing intent filled the air, wait! That WAS what they were thinking! 

“Gaara-sama, it’s a trap! They are TRYING to make you kill- mmph!” a hand had slapped over her mouth, but the message seemed to have had an effect. 

Gaara blinked, eyes clearing, his brow furrowed and then sand swooshed out with precision and speed. The three conspirators were wrapped up tight, the knife got forced away from Kankuro. Red was held by sand, too, but she felt safe. 

“Let go of them. Nobody will be getting harmed.” This time, they heeded Gaara’s command and the knife clattered to the ground. Red got freed from the arms, and the sand. 

“To test your Kage like this is not acceptable. You are suspended from your duty as advisor, indefinitely, and I will be taking the three of you to the prison for now” Gaara said, ice in his voice, and lifted the three men to float along with his sand as if they weighed nothing. 

Kankurou followed the odd procession, Red opted to stay behind. She felt a bit shaky, that had been sudden and she hadn’t sensed those men at all. 

Good thing she did; a bit after they left Temari slammed the tower door open. “Gaara! Kankurou!” 

“They are at the prison, locking up three men who-” 

“I get it, oh thank goodness. Something was off, slammed a dodgy guy into a wall and he confessed they’d planned something” 

“To make Gaara appear as an out-of-control monster who’d kill allies?” Temari glared, so Red hurried to add “He isn’t! I know that, but they went all out trying, threatening Kankurou” 

“I will be paying the prisoners a visit” Temari gritted out, by the look in her eyes death might have been a mercy compared to what she had in stock for them. 

There was probably a reason they’d waited with trying this traitorous trick until she was out, because otherwise, it might not have been Gaara snapping. All three of them were protective of each other, but Temari absolutely felt like the scariest one no matter how much ‘stronger’ Gaara was. 

Red was alone again, and tried lifting the fallen knife with chakra out of boredom. It kinda just clattered back and forth. 

“Apologies.  About… that” Gaara said as all three returned. 

Temari was being pulled along by Kankurou as they entered. “Come on, I won’t kill them, I promise” she was complaining. 

“After the proper legal process, once they are legally sentenced, I’ll leave you to it” Gaara placated her. 

“but, but” she whined, hugging Kankurou’s shoulders. 

“It was bound to happen,” Gaara mumbled, “and it might happen again, because of me.” 

“Actually, I wanted to talk with you about that, before the Kanurou-doll made me forget earlier. I think you have the majority on your side, in the general populace on the streets?” Red offered. 

Gaara blinked, his ‘surprised’ expression. “Explain?” 

“I did an undercover survey of sorts, met forty-two Kazekage supporters but only five who’d actually oppose you. The ‘lower’ class of the old system is on your side, and they are in the clear majority” 

she’d kept careful count, loud Gaara-haters seemed generally disliked and usually also wore richer garb. Those who only feared him did not seem to mind him ruling over them, generally mentioning some variation of ‘their Kazekage being strong meant safety’ when she asked how they found their new Kage. While only between a half and two thirds celebrated him as the good and friendly Kage he really was, at least four fifths would not want him dethroned. 

“The loud minority is simply that; loud. They mostly only fear for their positions and money with your plans to change Sand to be more equal, the ‘monster’ thing they dig up is to paint a narrative that suits them. Even your opposition no longer really think you’re somebody who’d kill indiscriminately”. 

“We know” Kankurou claimed “But Gaara won’t believe us” 

“it is true that I used to be a monster” the Kazekage mumbled. 

“And? You are definitely no monster now” Red countered. 

“If you hadn’t realised their plan earlier-” 

“Is it a monstrous thing, to protect your loved ones? Aren’t Kage supposed to protect? Even if you’d killed them, I doubt their plan would have been enough to turn public sentiment” Red said, hand-signing ‘serious’ before she could stop herself. Huh, that had never happened before, when and how had she caught Wasen’s tic? 

But then again, when had she last truly talked to people who mattered to her before the Sand siblings? 

Kankurou grinned, and Temari lightly ruffled their brother’s hair. “See? She agrees, too”. 

Gaara, hair sticking out at odd angles from his sister’s gesture, blinked. Confused? 

“You caught them real nice, too, not a scrape for them to claim ya got rough or anythin’” Kankurou sounded proud. 

“I’ve got paperwork,” Gaara claimed, looking… shy? Embarrassed? He walked calmly to his office, but despite his pace it felt like he was fleeing. 

“Adorable” Temari grinned, and the door slammed shut. “My baby brothers are the cutest” 

“Hey!” Kankurou was getting his hood messed with, Temari’s stress from earlier turning into aggressive affection. 

“C’mon, quit it!” Kankurou had gotten his doll from the floor up to intercept, it turned into a very playful mock battle. The hallway gained some scrapes on the walls, but eh, who would stop them? 

Gaara, it turned out, was who. Or rather, his sand seeped out under his office door and that appeared to be warning enough. 

Getting along well sadly wasn’t a good enough reason to stay long, Red had a proper talk with Temari later. She might not be the only ninja who had realised there was a bounty in town, and with his lack of political power for now, Gaara couldn’t protect her. 

Best move on, and keep moving, until she either learned a better way to disguise herself or got removed from the books. 

Carmine had quietly sealed up all her stuff from the hotel room, and visited the Kage tower one last time to say her goodbyes. They would meet again, because Red had a feeling even Orochimaru wouldn’t be a threat to the Sand trio. 

She had actual allies now, friends who wouldn’t die, and it felt wonderful. 

“Can’t she stay? I could make a puppet mask, armor, nobody would notice-” 

“That’s super suspicious,” Temari countered, unimpressed. 

“Thank you for everything” Red said, sad to be leaving but glad they understood. 

“Thank you for your support” Gaara said stiffly, hmm, social awkwardness shining through once more. He was bad at goodbyes. Red took a chance, and hugged the Kazekage. He froze up entirely, oops, that might have been too much. 

Kankurou was next, already reaching for a hug, and Temari gave Red a solid back slap. “Take care of yourself out there!” 

“Yes, Temari-sensei” Red grinned, the older teen rolled her eyes at the jab. She still took it personally, being unable to teach Red much.

Kankurou hugged her tightly, warm and comfortable. “I will be back, you know?” she patted his back. 

“I’ll miss you,” he whispered. 

“I’ll miss you too,” Red answered honestly. He let go, she gave him one last smile, and activated her tag to the bathhouse before she could change her mind.

Chapter Text

The empty mineshaft was cool and silent as Red rearranged her scrolls and clothing for inconspicuous travel. 

The bathhouse visit had been pleasant as always, and Yuge had a new letter from Shadow for her. A warning about the photo, he really was looking out for her. Too late, this time, but that was on her for not checking more often. 

The signature was new, why was he so personal about this? ‘Here’s to hoping you still remember me’? Red stretched, enjoying the feeling of freshly laundered clothes on scrubbed skin. Shadow was being odd, but he did indeed appear to be loyal to her. Confusingly so. 

Her informant’s strangeness aside, Red had some prepwork to do. ‘Carmine’ might soon be wanted in Sand for leaving a huge hotel bill unpaid, so Red did her best to alter her appearance. 

Kankurou had given her a makeup mirror, and she surveyed her work in its cutely woodcarving-framed surface. Apparently, transformation jutsu should be solid, but she couldn’t do that? Her facial structure stubbornly stayed the same, but texturing it with fake wrinkles and age spots worked just fine. Red made sure every hair was perfectly white, and unsealed a coat to pack it under her robe’s shoulders. There, a fake curved back applied, and with the extra fabric tied over the row of scrolls she appeared to have a bit of a belly. 

Ruby was a village elder from River, travelling to Stone for a late, off-season pilgrimage because she enjoyed the peace and quiet. Her hands weren’t all that old-looking even with wrinkles and spots, too firm and smooth, best to hide them up her sleeves while walking. Small, shuffling steps, getting to Stone would take a whole day at that pace so Red planned to stay the night at Okami’s inn. If the innkeeper recognised her, this disguise was a bust. 

Red spent some time practicing Ruby’s voice, modelled after the bathhouse owner Yuge in River. Creaky, it made her throat a bit rough but coughing added to the realism. 

“Welcome, room fer one?” 

“Ah yes, thank you” Red croaked 

“Feelin’ under tha weather? We got soup, I’ll get ya a bowlful” 

Okay, that was too much creak. Red coughed, and tried again; “Just travel dust. But soup does sound nice. One night, soup, and breakfast. Can I pay up front?” 

“Sure thing”. 

Alright, voice set. Okami was looking sturdy as always, good to see. 

The soup was nice and familiar, Red dropped by sometimes but still ended up missing it after a while. Not all that tasty, really, strongly herbal and kind of thin. Yet… homey? And it always left her feeling refreshed. The fancy hotel food in Sand had been an interesting experience, but Red didn’t think she would ever have a craving for it. 

“Say, ya look familiar” Okami stated, studying her guest. Oh no, was it too obvious? “Wouldn’t happen t’have a granddaughter with red hair, would ya?” 

Red let her transformation fall, earning her a shocked noise. “You got me” 

“Goodness! Ninja magic, again?” 

“Yes, I tried to make a disguise” 

“What’s up wit’ yer back?” 

“Tied a coat, look” Red lifted her robe’s hood part to let Okami peek down her neck. 

“Clever.” 

“Not good enough to fool you” Red sighed, but enjoyed the last spoonfuls of her meal. 

“Mmm, wouldn’t a guessed ‘twas you, just looked related” she said, gathering the bowl and some glasses from the tables. 

“Can I help?” 

“Nono, go rest, always tired when ya stop by right?” 

“Not this time, I’m preparing for a journey so I stopped here for a good night of sleep first.” Red got the sink filled, and they washed up together like they had when she’d lived there for a bit. 

“How’s it goin’, th’ whole livin’ quietly thing?” 

“Good enough?” Red lied, no need to worry her. At least she could honestly add “I got some friends around my age!” 

“That’s good t’hear, alright, shoo. Enough helpin’ out, yer a payin guest t’nite” 

“alright, alright” Red sighed, and fetched ‘her’ key from the pegboard behind the check-in desk. It was still a room anyone could rent, of course, but it had a nice familiarity to it. She always slept well in this bed. 

Morning found Red curled up entirely underneath the covers, blushing heavily. The dream had been confusing, but maybe the way she felt about Kankurou was a little bit different from how she felt about his siblings. 

But no, they were friends! Not- not anything more. Red decided whatever this strange ticklish feeling was, it was best ignored, and got ready for the day as Elder Ruby. She had a lot of slow shuffling to do, best to get an early start. 

Okami sat down with her for breakfast, she assured Red that the transformation looked convincing. Hopefully she was right, because short of using a mask as Kankurou suggested she hadn’t come up with any better ideas. 

“Leftovers gonna get dry by dinnertime, you can have ‘em for the road” the innkeeper said, as if she hadn’t made extra for the sake of packing Red a lunch wrap. 

“Thank you! I will be back” 

“counting on it.” Okami smiled as she walked her ‘elder’ customer to the road “Stay safe” 

“Gonna do my best” Ruby creaked. 

This was probably just from spending so much time around him lately, Red reasoned as she walked, unable to quite put it aside now that she had nothing better to do. Maybe this was just how best friendship felt? She knew best friends were a thing. Thinking of Kankurou’s happy smile made her feel warm inside, yeah, best friendship. Had to be. 

Okay, matter settled! Now, time to make a mental shopping list for things to restock in Stone before heading to Earth Country. Dried berries, definitely, and she could make a few batches of soaps that looked like solid grey and brown rocks. Traders that carried items of ‘national pride’ were more warmly welcomed. 

So she would need a black dye, and she should ask about popular scents for her trade route, and Cloud wares for the disguise she had planned…

By nightfall, Ruby had finally shuffled her way to an inn at the outskirts of the nearest Rock town. Walking that slowly was tiresome in its own way, and getting the humped back off for the night felt like a relief. Physical disguises were a pain! 

Red snuck out in the night to place a ‘hiraishin’, and added its counter-tag to the ones she wore. Connecting that one to her network could come later, what mattered most for now was to not raise suspicions so she snuck back to her room as soon as the wooden tag was carved and inked. She could lacquer it after a nap, it would dry by lunchtime tomorrow and then ‘Ruby’ would shuffle onward to the pilgrimage goal of the area. 

Religious folks spent days in the cave system, Red had heard, nobody would be suspicious of her entering and staying in there. Ruby would be useful for travel in the future, but she’d draw attention buying dye and scented oil in bulk as an old lady far from home. 

Red would exit in a different costume, her local garb and back to a simpler genjutsu of blonde hair and tanned skin, brown eyes. Unremarkable, for Cloud, her home country in this backstory. 

Where Ruby had no luggage but her large lunch box, this one was a trader who’d stopped by the caves quickly to wish for luck in business. She would use a lot of the currently sealed luggage to appear fully packed. Her name could be, let’s see, Scarlett? 

She would walk briskly to the next town over, and buy her wares pretending her usual supplier from Earth Country had never arrived in Cloud and left her short on certain supplies if anyone asked. 

That veteran she had known back in Hot Water would have called it paranoid to go through all these steps, but given that he’d then been killed by the group she worried about the most, Red felt that opinion could be disregarded. If anything, she wasn’t being cautious enough. 

Scarlett had restocked her inventory, and wore her wares proudly with a price list on her back as Cloud traders often did. Red had only seen a few, and being unusual in a way that did not connect to ‘bingo book’s unknown Uzumaki’ meant most people would only remember seeing a rare blonde or buying goods from a foreigner. 

Unlike her former sales methods, Scarlett hawked her wares even on the road, and made frequent stops to sell. It was a flashy and slow way to get anywhere, meaning ninja paid her no heed. Or, in theory, that should have been the case, but… 

“Hey, peasant! You there, you smell good, any food on sale?” An Earth country ninja, wait, two, actually heck make that a full team of thee. The group’s speaker, a confident-looking ravenette around Red’s age, strode over as she stopped. 

“My apologies, honoured ninja, I sell spices and scented products but nothing directly edible”. 

“Well then, make us something!” 

Red blinked. “I… am not a food vendor” she clarified. 

“And I don’t care, ‘cause I’m hungry and my team’s cooking sucks!” the entitled teen yelled. 

“Humor her?” one of her colleagues suggested, looking exhausted. 

“Humor- I am not some CHILD to be ‘humored’! I am Kurotsuchi Kamizuru, granddaughter of the Third, and great-granddaughter of the First Tsuchikage! I order you to to make us a meal!” Her stomach growled loudly in the silence that followed. 

Okay, not somebody Red would have wanted to meet on her journey but such was her luck. “Of course, Kamizuru-sama, please give me a moment”. 

Because pissing off this bratty girl might get her in hot water, Scarlett hurried to build a campfire, and Kurotsuchi’s …teammates? (subordinates? Lackeys?) helped make it quick. 

Red sacrificed a few fancier supplies from a scroll hidden in one of her large bags, roux cubes with a good bagful of dried vegetables and her second pot cooking fast-boiling rice, to make a filling meal for four quickly. She spiced it to create a faux chili, nowhere near as good as her favourite curry place made it, but decent enough. Wasen would have been proud. 

Or, as the Kage descendant so eloquently put it: “Mmfh, sho good! Gimme another portion!” 

Yeah, Red was a bit smug to have her cooking snarfed down this eagerly. 

Once well fed, Kurotsuchi was actually a pleasant enough person. Calm, collected, the aura of a leader. Just, well, the effect was somewhat spoiled by having seen the girl hangry not even an hour earlier. 

“Trader, are you headed for the Village Hidden by the Rocks?” 

“Yes, I have wares to sell and an order for restocking to bring back” and reading to do, they had a public library. And possibly, if she lucked out and found an easy target, maybe Red had some flirting to do as well. She needed ninja techniques. 

“You may walk with us, for safety, and in return your cooking should be adequate payment” 

“Pardon me for saying this, Kamizuru-sama, but I do not believe the path from here to the prestigious village of so many ninja will have a threat of bandits. I will be fine on my own” no heckin’ way she was letting them munch through her supplies for free! 

“Of course there wouldn’t be- o-oh, that makes sense, yeah” the ninja seemed unsure what to say, shuffling her feet. One of her teammates leaned in, and whispered something? “If we pay you, be our cook until we reach the village? We have a leg injury on our team, so your speed should be sufficient”. 

Ah, so they were returning from a mission. She was definitely the one who was wounded, her leg bandage was starting to bleed through, which explained why she had not helped out with gathering wood or fetching water. Hard to tell, some ninja wore bandages as a sort of fashion statement. 

“Of course, it would be an honour. You can call me Scarlett” Red agreed to it easily, because there’d be no better credential for getting into the village than arriving with a team of their ninjas as a travel group. 

Scarlett did not have papers, which wasn’t as critically needed in Earth as it was in Fire and Wind but it still meant more thorough controls. With her sheer number of storage scrolls, Red was sure as hell getting flagged as ‘suspicious’. Most traders had zero, a few had one or two. 

“Thank you” one of the rudely un-introduced ninja mumbled, Red just nodded. 

The two days to reach Stone Village (which was an awkward short-form of the name, with Earth Country bordering on the country of Stone) were mostly spent trudging, Kurotsuchi absolutely refused to be carried by her colleagues so it was even slower than Scarlett would have been on her own. 

It gave Red an uncomfortable amount of free time, and her thoughts kept wandering to Kankurou. Did he miss her, too? He had said he would. She hadn’t cooked for him, would it be weird to lend their kitchen the next time she visited? Friends did cook for each other, right? 

Speaking of cooking, her supplies ran low by the last meal, but the nicer of the two anonymous ninja caught them a rabbit to supplement it and complimented Scarlett on her fast and precise preparation of the creature. Well, yeah, she’d had a lot of practice grilling rabbits on her journeys. 

Kurotsuchi’s mood appeared to be a fuel gauge of sorts. 

First there’d be silent complaints, then there’d be whining about tiredness and pain, and feeding her before she reached ‘bitchy’ became priority number one on the journey. 

It was sort of cute, in a way, how her mood skyrocketed after a few bites. Come to think of it, she was around her age. And a ninja, she would have techniques… hmm. 

Red decided to test the waters, and walked next to Kurotsuchi as they approached the village gates. “I could cook for you again, if we happen to cross paths in the village?” she offered lightly, clearly not to the team but to the girl next to her only. Curious eyes turned to study hers intently, oh, Red had thought Kurotsuchi’s eyes to be pure black but they were actually edged in pink? Very pretty, might have to try giving herself eyes like that with genjutsu later. 

“I am a very busy person, normally,” the ninja said haughtily, “but I suppose, while my injury heals I might have the time”. There was a twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth, was she… happy? Why hide it, well, Red supposed all good ninja should strive to be unreadable. 

Best skip the ‘so it’s a date’ thing, Icha Icha had been wrong, it was not a ‘surefire strategy’. Hadn’t worked on Kankurou, at least. Scarlett just beamed her brightest smile at Kurotsuchi, and turned to the gate guards to explain the reason for her visit- 

“Oi, skip that, I’ll vouch for her” the girl said with authority, and the guards even bowed their heads as they backed off. 

“I should still be registered as visiting, you can just write ‘Scarlett, trader” Red offered, they looked grateful. 

So doing this was probably against regulation, meaning young Kurotsuchi already had the power to override their commands at a whim. Heck. She was the next Kage, wasn’t she, either being allowed to grow into her role or seizing it herself. Maybe dating her wasn’t the brightest move- 

“Tomorrow, outside the hospital.” It definitely wasn’t a question, yet the kageling looked nervous. 

“When would be best for you, Kamizuru-sama?” 

“I will allow you to call me Kurotsuchi. Sunset? I crave something meaty”. 

Red had to smile at the commanding tone combined with a face she now knew meant ‘thinking about food’. “I’ll look forward to it”. 

They had paid Red well for her time and ingredients, so restocking with higher-quality stuff than usual was fun. Red scouted out a butcher, best buy the meat fresh tomorrow since she had no cold storage- wait, she did have temperature control seals… thoughts for the next crafting session. she’d gotten most of what she needed, so Red wandered to the outskirts of the village in search of a cheap room for rent. There were insects buzzing about, spring noticeable at last. 

Lots of bridges, she noted, some spanning little streams while others connected buildings or crossed chasms in the ground. The local stone made most buildings the same natural tone, getting lost might be an issue here. There were a lot of bees around? Looking closer, there were actually a lot of flowering plants too, but they were tiny creeping things that rarely ventured out of the cracked rocks and crevices. From a distance, it had looked lifeless, but there were birds around as well. 

Ah, she had reached the end of the street, and there was a honey vendor. Beekeepers, that would explain the amount of insects in the air. Red bought a jar to be polite, the old salesman had seen her coming and probably got it out just for her. 

“Thank you. By the way, is there a place nearby for travellers to stay a few nights?” 

“How about, I'll rent you my attic for a bit? My bees don’t seem to mind your presence, just watch out for ‘em when you move and all’s good” 

“If it’s not too much trouble, that would be wonderful.” 

“Alright, one sec- Suzume! C’mere, my lil queen bee” 

“Grandpa! I am not a child” a petulant-looking and rather fashionable teen showed up from behind a large hive. “What?” 

“Be a dear and show our guest the attic?” 

Red got scanned up and down, and Suzume’s eyes narrowed. “The bees say you smell strange” 

“Suzu, that’s rude” 

“Stop using nicknames in front of strangers! My name is Suzumebachi, who are you?” 

“My name is Scarlett. Your bees might be smelling my wares, scented oils and spices and soaps” Red offered. 

“Hmm, got any from Cloud?” 

Red had been prepared for that question when she’d made her new backstory, and hauled out several little pouches. “I am here mainly to buy, since my supplier didn’t show up, but I did bring samples along.” No, she’d had to buy them expensively from an actual Cloud-wares shop in Stone, but it made her persona much more believable. 

“Magnetite is always a fun one, got any iron on you?” 

Suzumebachi nonchalantly flipped a handful of sharp blades out of nowhere into a lazy arch, and caught them between her fingers. Heck, a ninja household, couldn’t she ever luck out in life? Better act convincingly civilian. 

“Oh wow!” Scarlett clapped at the display, and offered the girl a smooth pebble of magnetite. “Those knives aren’t sharp, right?” because to non-ninja, that was concerning. 

“Oh don’t you worry! Ohoho” the grandpa laughed, “she won’t hurt herself”. 

Several large bees were crawling on his face, it reminded Red of how Orochimaru’s younger summon snake hatchlings had always been all over everyone in his den. Red had worn them for fun, too, more than once. 

“Oh cool!” Suzumebachi had somehow gotten hold of the whole pouch of magnetite, and had strung her blades into a deadly chain. 

“The magnetic pull isn’t that strong, so I would not recommend them for combat use. Would you like to buy a few, to experiment with?” 

“Yeah! And, what’s the other stuff?” 

“I brought this along for a restaurant owner I know, but you can have a look. It’s recipes for native dishes-” 

“Yeah no, HARD pass. Next!” 

Demanding, but it was out of excitement not malice. Was that maybe a Stone Village trait? 

“These scents are currently popular in Cloud, I would recommend the bidens?” 

She stretched out a finger, but rather than picking up the bottle she waited for a bee to land and sniff it for her. “She likes it, so I’ll buy that too, but not the other ones” 

the bee was in the pouch now, Red patiently waited for it to climb back out. It looked more like a hornet, they must be keeping several species. “Would she sting, or-” 

“Nah, you can pick her up.” The teen was busy applying her new scent, surrounded by a growing swarm. 

Red let the hornet-like one climb her finger, and closed the pouch. “Other than that, the spices are a bit more fiery than the ones you get here” 

“Mmm, no, I think that’s enough. How much?” 

Red got her money from buying the items back, no profit but a lot of believability gained. 

The bee was a lazy thing, it still hadn’t flown off, so Red held it up to one of the impressive yellow flowers that towered over her in the yard. It slowly crawled on. “I’ve never gotten to see bees up close before, these ones are so big!” 

“Ours are special.” 

That sounded like what every pet owner ever would say, but sure. 

The little raccoon (or was it a fox?) that ‘Carmine’ had carved dangled from its tail as Kankurou held it up to the workshop light. It was amateurish, yet sort of cute? Which must be why he didn’t feel like putting it aside, and stuck it back in his pocket. 

Nobody else than Temari had sat by his bedside while he was ill before, had he ever thanked her for that? 

He’d gotten them dinner once, sure, but she’d kept saving him from the hospital mush by smuggling in street food. She had risked herself for days, a bingo book target in a ninja village, just for a guy she barely knew. Stayed by him even when it must have been boring, kept talking to make him feel less anxious about his siblings. 

He ought to thank her properly, the next time she dropped by. Maybe with dinner, again? She had mentioned liking seafood, he could make rice balls with canned tuna and dried seaweed at least? 

“Hey sis, if ya went on a date with- what’s his name, again?” 

She had been fixing her hair in the mirror set he’d put up to check his doll armor from all angles, now her favourite place in the tower. “Shikamaru, but no, we are so breaking up next time I go to Leaf. He’s lazy and condescending, don’t think he even likes me” 

“Yikes, right, dump his ass. What the hell, sis stop picking up trash. But if you went on a date with a decent guy for a change- stop, auhg!” 

Temari was ruffling his hood, he’d get weird hair for sure. 

“IF he made ya rice balls as a meal, is that a date?” He handed her a hairstring, and she fixed her fourth hair bundle into place. 

“Oh gods, this is still about your not-girlfriend, isn’t it. If you were going to pine for her this hard you should have at least made her yours! ‘What are we’, how lame can you get. Wasn’t your ninja way supposed to be ‘grab opportunities’ or something?” 

“I KNOW! I know, all right? I panicked!” 

“But to answer, yeah no, take her out to a nice restaurant if she ever comes here again. Not a diner. Maybe the pretty one with the outdoors deck and parasols, you know-” 

“Sandstone Salads?” 

“No, the other one, ah I’ll just show you. We both have patrol tomorrow” apparently her hair was finally acceptable. To Kankurou, it looked the same as it had before she’d undone and redone it. 

“and then what?” 

She sent him a flat stare. “You want a step-by-step?” 

“Er,” he was aware how lame he was being, but “Yes, please?” 

“Oh gods, alright” she said, unimpressed. “So, you get a menu, order something, and then you talk” 

“I got that part” he rolled his eyes “but what do I say?” 

“How about ‘sorry I am denser than concrete, if you’re still interested then let’s try being a couple’?” 

Kankurou blinked, confused. “But she’s not…”

Wait, she wasn’t. 

Right? 

“You are serious” Temari said, sounding entirely done with him. “She sat by your side for how many days? And you think she doesn’t- oh my GODS you are frustrating. What the hell did she see in you, seriously” 

“But she said we are friends?” 

“You asked her that in front of the sister she’d never met before AND the frickin’ Kazekage! Yeah, I know, just Gaara to us. But from her point of view, how’s that for pressure?” 

“... oh.” 

“Was there anything else, or would you like to wallow in self-pity while calling yourself an idiot a hundred times in peace” Temari said drily. 

“Think I still have a chance?” 

“Who knows. She might meet somebody else, or she might simply lose that romantic interest since you seemed so happy to just be friends”. 

Yeah, he couldn’t blame her if she did. His sister patted his shoulder gently on her way out, and Kankurou drew a deep breath before sighing a regretful ‘I am an idiot’. 

It was the first of many. 

Chapter Text

The old beekeeper who’d lent Scarlett a room offered for her to add an evening meal to her rent, it was cheap enough so why not.

Eating together was surprisingly noisy, there were so many people! Were they really all just one family? Nobody commented on her being there beyond Suzumebachi mentioning she was a trader as a sort of introduction, a blond man gave her a smile but that was about it. Having guests in the rooms upstairs must be a common occurrence, then. The food was plain, they did not appear to be fond of spices.

“South hives are getting mites again. Kurobachi, think you could clean them?” the blond man asked, and the bearded man across from him, who must be Kurobachi, sighed but nodded.

“At this point, I vote we try to tame mites” somebody jokingly suggested, but got smacked upon the head.

“Sounding like an Aburame” Kurobachi rumbled, and them were apparently fighting words, because the one who liked mites got up in a very aggressive manner.

“What is a mite?” Scarlett asked, deciding to at least try to calm things by distraction.

“Pest. Kills bees, messes up hives, eats beeswax. Nasty critters” the blond man explained.

“Now, now, no fighting at the table” the old man chided, but the two men who were now glaring daggers at one another ignored him.

“And an Aburame, is that a pest too?” she realised it was probably a family name of somebody they had serious beef with, but her naive-sounding question worked as intended; there was a general murmur of agreement around the table, Kurobachi chuckled, and even the insulted man smiled.

“Yes. Worst sort of pest there is” the blond man seemed to be the most willing to talk to the foreigner, Suzumebachi was busy with her food in a way that reminded Red of Kurotsuchi. “But in a fair fight, Kamizuru would always come out on top!” he claimed, wait.

“Kamizuru, are you related to Kurotsuchi-sama?” Scarlett asked, incredulous.

“She’s my cousin” Suzumebachi mumbled around a bite of a bread roll.

Wow, at least Red would have things to talk about with her when they grilled meat together. “I met her on my way here, she’s getting her leg treated at the hospital. We are meeting up again tomorrow evening, but I can’t believe I ended up staying at her family’s place!”

“Badly hurt?” the old man asked, a worried wrinkle between his eyebrows.

“No, she walked there”

“Kuro-nee is too strong to get badly hurt, ever” the cousin mumbled, back to eating in an unconcerned manner.

“Well, if she’s back, we could get started planning that trip” Kurobachi rumbled, and left the table.

A few others looked up, but seemed to wait for something? “Sure” Suzumebachi agreed, leaving her empty plate, and the others got up too. Despite her age, she appeared to be the leader of that group, much like her cousin the kageling. Red found it intriguing, girls her age wielding such obvious and absolute authority. Another thing she should try to learn from Kurotsuchi. 

Sleeping in an attic lined with beehives was a bit odd, but it smelled nice and the buzzing settled into occasional, comfortable little noises in the night. Spring was warming up, or the hives might have warmed the space somewhat?

Either way, Red slept super well and woke up to happy bug noises at dawn. Was bees’ buzzing usually this expressive? Maybe Suzumebachi’s claim that their bees were special had some truth to it.

The insects were flying in and out through the gaps between the roof slats, Scarlett got dressed carefully and slowly to avoid getting them inside her clothing. A few seemed to have slept in her hair, she gently extracted them before brushing. It had grown long, seeing it blonde was still a bit strange.

Now, this evening’s meetup wasn’t technically a date, but why not put in some extra effort? With Scarlett’s skin tone, the blush powder she owned looked off somehow, so Red wiped it away and went with just kohl- she stopped herself from also applying a line of purple, what would be the point in matching Kankurou here? She had done that so often while staying in Sand, it had become a habit. Best keep it plain and simple until she knew her target better. The daring neckline of her top made up for it, Red decided, surveying the final result. The Icha Icha book from Fune’s scroll had put a lot of emphasis on breasts being an attractive feature, and she did have those now.

Yeah, she looked good! The morning was still a bit cool outside, so she added a sweater to her skirt ensemble, still a cute combo. 

Okay, fine, maybe she just enjoyed getting to doll herself up for once, without heavy robes. Short skirts were comfy, leg-wrapping elegant sandals were fun. Would Kankurou think- no! Not this again, he hadn’t been interested and she was SO not risking making their friendship awkward over strange, half-baked, wishy-washy emotions. Flirting with Kurotsuchi might banish those thoughts, hopefully?

Red headed out to shop for meat, she had a dinner to prepare! The Cloud recipe for grilled skewers with honey glaze should be perfect, right? Spicy, meaty, and with honey from the Kamizuru hives-

there was a bee on her, large and hornet-like. Red paused her planning and walking to go back and park the little guy at its home. ‘Stay’ was probably not something a bee would understand, but it was worth a try. “You’re Suzumebachi’s, right? She would be sad if you went missing”

“Think you got it wrong there,” the old beekeeper told her, emerging from a cluster of huge flowers. “If she’s on you, Suzumebachi told her to go with you.”

Oh, huh, alright. So, she was sort of walking their pet? Why not? Red let it clamber back on. “Alright, I’ll bring her back soon, just have some shopping to do.” He waved with a smile, and Red raised the bee as a ‘wave’ in return.

Ninja were an odd bunch, but the lazy creature wasn’t bad company. The butcher didn’t comment on it, probably normal around here then. The vegetable grocer Red stopped by to get onions and bell peppers for the skewers actually nodded a greeting to the bee, and she got a discount. Huh, neat. 

The day passed fast, because upon her return, Scarlett got badgered by a Suzumebachi who was suddenly interested in soapmaking. She HAD to have gone through Red’s luggage upstairs, good thing it was a decoy and Red had brought her scrolls along in her handbag.

“I want one with black and yellow stripes, and a beeswax honeycomb patterned one, and-”

“Suzume! You are troubling a guest!” her grandpa chided, but honestly? Why not, it sounded fun. Making the ‘rock’ looking soaps had been boring, this sounded much prettier.

“Alright, we’ll need dyes and reagents, hold on while I get them. Can my groceries go in your fridge for a few hours? Do you have a honeycomb-textured thing we can use as a mold?”

“Yay! See gramps, it’s fine! Yeah, we have wax molds, I’ll get them!” She seemed to be in a good mood, like the bees.

Nobody protested the ingredient bundle getting stuffed in between the drinks in their fancy electrically cooled refrigerator. 

Red realised she was almost late, and excused herself while the soaps cooled. She hadn’t even made the skewers! Time had flown by unnoticed. At least the meat had definitely marinated long enough, Red opted to simply bring the box along and prepare it there.

Suzume was kneading a light yellow milky soap, to be sculpted into a big bee, she was used to handling wax and this was apparently similar. They’d made a few transparent ones, too, since the girl had a lot of dried flowers she wanted to use.

It tickled something in Red, to get to make pretty things for fun. Sure, she’d sell them, but most likely Suzu’s family would buy all of the ones they’d made together. They adored her, their youngest and probably also their future clan head.

Kurotsuchi was referred to in more distant terms by all but her cousin, apparently her position meant she must be less partial to her family to avoid other clans complaining about favoritism. Ah, ninja politics. Red supposed that was one plus in Sand’s old system, Gaara could keep his family near and nobody protested it. 

Kurotsuchi was sitting on the stone steps in front of the hospital, but it wasn’t quite sunset yet. Must have gotten discharged earlier than expected, her leg was free from the bloody bandage at last. She seemed a bit spaced out, pain medication maybe?

“Hope you didn’t wait long?”

The ninja’s eyes snapped to Red’s, and whatever spaciness there might have been was gone. “No, I just got he- wh- eep” the sentence turned to stutters, and ended in a squeak? “WHY is my cousin’s summon between your-”

Right, Red had forgotten about that, the bee dozing happily in her cleavage. “Ah, we made soaps, and it got hot in the kitchen so I got changed, apparently she likes sleeping like that?”

“You knew my family?”

“Not until yesterday, I bought honey from an elder and he had a room for rent, turns out they were related to you! I was really surprised, it’s a huge village, what are the odds?”

Kurotsuchi sighed? “Did you notice any bees, after our ways parted yesterday?”

“Lots, actually, figured it was because there’s beekeepers nearby”

“When did you start seeing them?”

“Hmm, right after restocking, I think?” Odd, it had been far to walk to the beekeeper from there.

“That’s no coincidence, augh Suzume, that little spy,” Kurotsuchi grumbled.

“What do you mean?”

“Her bees must have smelled that I was back in town, found traces of my scent on you, and she probably led you to her home with subtle gen- ninja magic. Made the right streets look nicer, hid the wrong ways with fake walls.”

Wow, you could do that, with genjutsu? Fancy! Red would have to learn it. “She can do that? With bees?”

“Her bees aren’t normal animals, she summons them. They understand human words, she can see through the eyes of the big one that is, uh, well, she’s having a view of your, um” Kurotsuchi’s cheeks had tinged with pink.

“No, I think it’s sleeping, insects don’t have eyelids right?”

“Bee summons don’t sleep” she said, and carefully picked the insect out of Scarlett’s plunging neckline. It tickled a bit. The bee buzzed in protest. “Just to provoke me, as always” she mumbled, but set the summon carefully on her head. “There is a campfire in the park, anyone can cook there so long as they clean up after themselves”

“Lead the way?” Red asked, clearly whatever rivalry the cousins had wasn’t an actual feud, which was a relief. 

It was a good thing Red had prepared a family-sized heap of meat and vegetable pieces, because the skewers turned out delicious! Spicy-sweet, fresh and new. Kurotsuchi hadn’t commented on the use of honey, but they’d both eaten a lot.

The fire had died down, the embers were keeping the last few skewers warm. Prepwork had gone super fast since they were both hungry, and after that they had been too busy chowing down to really talk much, but now seemed like a good time.

“Should I… find a different place to stay, while I am here?”

the ravenette swallowed a bite of onion, and nodded. She had not had any bellpepper pieces on her sticks, a picky eater. “Might be best, because I don’t think Suzu will give you a moment’s rest in her home. She will hunt you down, cling to you”

Talking from experience? “She seemed sweet?”

“Sickeningly, cloyingly sweet, like the venom she uses. Do not take her words or expressions at face value. That might sound harsh, coming from a relative, but we are ninja and she is a nasty one.” Kurotsuchi stretched, and got another skewer to nibble at.

Sitting together at the campfire, just the two of them in a pretty little park, felt special somehow. Would it be weird, to bring Kankurou away from Sand for a bit just to have a meal in the forest?

“Notice how our family looks to her for directions?” Kurotsuchi asked, feeding the summon on her head a scrap of meat.

“She appears to be the next head of the clan?”

“She IS the head of our clan, has been since the moment she was born. A queen bee of sorts, she affects those around her. If you stay near her, she will get to you too.”

Oh. Okay, goodbye comfy bee room. “Any recommendations?”

“If you were a ninja I would know some places”

in other words, no. “Would one more night hurt? It’s late, searching for a room to rent would be tiresome”

Kurotsuchi seemed to bristle at the idea. “You still think she’s harmless, that you’ll be fine? Suzumebachi will charm you, twirl you around her finger! Just” and she looked so forlorn Red almost reached out a hand “just like she gets everyone I get close to, even the tiniest bit.”

So that was the nature of their relationship, Suzumebachi who couldn’t help but attract people while only really wanting to be close to her cousin, and Kurotsuchi who had to push her clan aside for the sake of her future as Kage.

“She hasn’t tried to make me stay” Red offered.

“You’ve probably been wearing her bees since yesterday, and I would guess you spent hours playing with her without noticing the time passing?”

“Wait, beeS? Not just the one?”

“No, this one is just her eyes, you’ve got some small ones on your back. No point trying to get them off, we’ll go talk to her”.

And, ah. That was Suzume’s goal, wasn’t it, with getting someone close to her cousin. Getting to see her. “Alright, but be nice? I’m not being controlled, as far as I know, but this isn’t out of malice”.

“I know,” she sighed. 

Packing up was quick, they snacked the last skewers on the way.

Almost back, the big bee took off loudly from Kurotsuchi’s head, and a little swarm of tiny ones followed from behind Scarlett’s back. “Thank goodness I did not put on a backpack today” she murmured.

The ravenette waved the worry aside; “Oh, they would have gotten out of the way in time.”

“Kuuuroooo-neesama!” Suzumebachi flew from the house and threw herself at her cousin, who dodged like a dancer.

“Suzumebachi.” she replied icily.

“Aww, come ooon, call me Zuzu! Or Honeybee, like you used to!”

Huh, Red had thought she disliked nicknames.

“No messing with people close to me” Kurotsuchi hissed, uh-oh, this smelled of catfight.

Scarlett backed off with a lame ‘I’ll go pack my stuff’ and hurried inside. The soap-making tools had been cleaned and put aside, one soap tray filled with coins?

“Payment for the soaps, Suzume went ahead and sold them in the family,” the old beekeeper said with a smile.

“It feels too heavy?”

“Nono, they’re worth that much to us. Take it.”

Sure, money was always good to have. A clink of metal on metal was heard from the street, weapons had come out then. Red bounded up the stairs to get out of range fast, packing took a bit longer since there were bees on absolutely everything.

By the angry noises, the fight was still ongoing as Red cautiously got back on the street. The girls were sparring on the wall of the next house over, Suzumebachi wielding bees that shot stingers while Kurobachi must have caused the strange, still-wet concrete-like substance that had gotten pretty much everywhere.

“Alright, it was nice meeting the two of you” Scarlett said loudly and waved, they did not appear to notice and went at each other in a flurry of glinting blades so Red left.

No room to return to, and searching at this late hour really didn’t tempt, so Red decided to read through the night. The library here should be open at all hours, from what she’d heard. Tomorrow, she would seek a new room for rent before setting up her roadside stand and selling some wares.

Better drop the dating plan.

Chapter Text

‘Oh wow, the other countries’ ninja would be very unhappy if they knew’, Red thought as she leafed through the large shelf -in the public access section!- about foreign ninja clans.

There, Nara! Because she hadn’t forgotten Shadow’s actual name, somehow. It had been years, but that encounter had been very tense. Seeing him in Leaf later, sleeping peacefully, and getting his increasingly caring letters had made her curious. Who was he?

According to the scroll, a gathering of reports about sighted Nara, they were strategists. Planners, clever people who would wait out an encounter and strike when opportunity arose. Trappers, too. Never quick to anger, they did not respond to provocations or taunts. They would use the terrain, the weather, any advantage they could grasp. But the reports also stated they tended to be weak alone, and a single solid hit would usually take them down.

Red could relate. Actually, the Nara fighting style overall appealed to her? There seemed to be no mention of the shadow grabbing technique Shikamaru had used, his clan must be good at limiting information. Or it was a new thing, no way for her to know. Unless… no, seducing her informant was a terrible idea, his intel was good and she shouldn’t mess with a working system.

There didn’t seem to be much else of use in that scroll, the ‘conclusions’ line was simply ‘intelligent, dangerous in groups. Split off and kill separately’. Charming, Earth Country was very open about their hostility toward the other big nations.

Putting it back on the shelf, a nearby scroll caught her eyes; Inuzuka. Why did that sound familiar? Red pulled it out, and the first bit she unrolled explained it; a drawing of several familiar-looking puppies and bigger dogs. Akamaru, this was Kiba’s clan. Funnily enough, despite clearly being very different ninja to fight, the conclusion was also to ‘separate them from their group’. Pack oriented rather than the Nara’s need for pawns to use, but equally much weakened on their own.

Leaf ninja generally seemed to be stronger together?

The scroll of many, many dog sightings went back on the shelf, and Red noticed a label of sorts on the Nara scroll that matched up with two other scrolls? Ah why not, she pulled those out too.

Yamanaka… whoah, that was terrifying. Red concluded she never, ever wanted to fight one. They took over live bodies! With the original owner sitting useless as a passenger in their own head, watching as their body took out teammates. And they could read memories? Heck. Some reports called them ‘sensory’, too, which probably made them hard to escape from. ‘Separate from Nara, kill with superior numbers’ the end note said.

Ah, the marking was their usual team formation then, so the three families were connected. The third, Akimichi, seemed more normal… until Red got to the reports about gigantic transformations, yikes that was a scary thought too, having to fight a giant who could steamroll a forest. ‘Wear out from a distance, use poisons and fire, restrict movement’ the conclusion said, treating this one the same as their teammates appeared to have been a deadly mistake in the past.

Alright, reading about clans was fun and all, but what Red needed the most from this library was geological data. Knowledge about terrain, because in order to get Amibune back she’d need to set a stage. Teleporting orochimaru into a landslide she’d prepared and getting out of there appeared to be her best bet, really, and the mountains around here should be crumbly. She needed to find the crumbliest one.

Yeah, her chosen fighting style did have a bit of Nara to it, she thought with a smile. Maybe that was why both her and Shadow seemed to feel some sense of camaraderie. 

Reading geological surveys, it turned out, required a different vocabulary than Red’s own so she would have to start with the teaching materials…

there were ninja academy books, here, in the public section? Ah, not techniques and such, these were on the subjects unrelated to that. Ninja learned flower arrangement? Huh, odd. And poetry? Red had a quick look, and decided it wasn’t for her. She let a finger glide over the book spines; ‘Mathematics for Beginners’, ‘Grammar and Spelling’, ‘the History of Our Great Nation’ (surely a book with that title wouldn’t be biased, she thought sarcastically), and rather more usefully; ‘Seduction 101’. Yes!

It was a rather thin and light book, but it had to be better than Icha Icha’s advice. Oh, it held anatomy drawings, neat. Let’s see, wait, drugs? That seemed wrong. Red skipped that part, and found a section on how to draw attention.

There was an illustration on greetings! Aw, she had hugged Kankurou all wrong last time- wait, no, there was no point in seducing him. Friend. Best friend, would hate to mess that up. No, better imagine Kurotsuchi for the examples instead.

The shirt Red had used seemed to check the boxes, at least. If she ever got to hug her, arms around the shoulders and pull the taller girl down, understood. Oh, she’d done eye contact at the wrong angle, gotta work on that… The book got snatched away?

“This book should not be read by good girls” a librarian chided.

Hey! “It was on the shelf, and it says ages eight and up”

“That’s ninja age eight and up, not civilians. How old are you?"

“That is really none of your business, but I am a fully independent trader”.

“...”

Sigh. “I am sixteen. Can I read it now? My last date went badly and I want to know how to flirt”

“This book is no good guide, but I can show you our romance novels. Come along”.

Red ended up reading a ridiculous, frilly story about a useless girl getting rescued by a prince who did not respect her in the slightest, gag. No, she’d be reading Seduction 101 the moment that librarian stopped guarding it at her desk. 

By the time the sun peeked over the horizon, Red had read enough romance novels to develop a disdain for the genre yet the librarian still carried her target around. So frustrating!

The last book she’d picked out should have come with a cheesiness warning. Who would say such things to each other? How did nobody in the book laugh at those lines? ‘My maiden so fair, she outshines the sun, her eyes are like gemstones and her lips like roses’? The hell. Sounded horrifying, actually. Red stuffed it back in the general area it had come from, and went to find a room for rent. Tonight had been a waste of effort. 

Red got a weekly-pay rental one-room hut at the edge of the village, it seemed the best option. Private, quiet, it didn’t even have windows. A stone dome among many, apparently popular during events as a place to sleep safely. Spring seemed to be an off season, Red could take her pick and had chosen one where all the neighbouring huts were empty just for the feel of it, and carved a hiraishin to bury between the huts. While it was drying, why not teleport back to Sand, see if Kankurou wanted to-

no, she was doing it again! Probably from a lack of sleep, so Red checked out her rental’s bed. Seemed bug free, alright, nap time. 

Unbeknownst to Red, there was a bug, but it was a tiny bee that emerged from her bag and crawled out under the door. And once it had flown all the way home, it danced a little dance for its queen, to show her where to find her prey. 

Later that day, Red tried once more to get the book of her desire, and score! The librarian on shift was an old man, of Cloud heritage by the looks of him, who probably wouldn’t get out of his cushy armchair unless forced to. He had a blanket over his legs, propped up on a stool, and was refilling his coffee cup from a thermos. Very cozy.

Red let him be, and inconspicuously picked the confiscated book from the front desk in passing. There were doors, she went through one and found a tiny room with a desk, lamp, and bench. Checking another yielded the same result, oh, these must be meant as places to study in peace. Should have checked for that earlier. Now, where was she, ah. ‘Kisses and their Uses’ sounded promising! 

The book was educational, if somewhat disconcerting. Ninja generally altered their seduction targets’ state of mind first, with alcohol or drugs or even mild poisons. Fune would have disapproved, so she would do it the hard way, or ‘unassisted’ as the book called it.

The more physical aspect of it had also icked her out a bit, and it didn’t seem necessary since Red wasn’t planning to harm or blackmail her seduction target. But kissing seemed fun? She wanted to try it. And the ‘where to touch’ chart had been helpful, friends zones marked in green, flirting zones in yellow, intimacy zones in red. So gotta stay in the green with Kankurou, could enter yellow with Kurotsuchi. Got it. 

Speaking of, there she was! Scarlett waved to her friend of sorts as she exited the library, this village was huge so meeting Kurotsuchi unplanned was quite the coincidence! “Hey, Kurotsuchi!”

The black-haired ninja turned to her- and smiled, openly? Huh, that was new. And instead of walking slowly with the grace of a dancer, she came bounding over? Must be in a really good mood! “Scarlett! I missed you, want to go for a walk?” She sounded peppy, too, confusingly so-

a breeze blew from behind her, carrying the scent of bidens.

Ah.

Suzumebachi was at it again, but Scarlett was a civilian, she wouldn’t realise so Red got into step beside her. “Sure! Sorry I left last time, you and your cousin seemed busy practicing your ninja magic together”.

“No, I’m sorry, I just love my cousin so much and playing with her is so, so fun I forget everything else!” she chittered happily, voice losing its Kurotsuchi-ness rapidly.

She grabbed Scarlett’s hand as they walked, and intertwined their fingers. Uh, okay? Further than Red had gotten with the person she was disguised as, but hey, wouldn’t this be fair as practice? Scarlett’s thumb stroked the back of ‘Kurotsuchi’’s hand and slowed them to a halt as if this was perfectly normal for them. Suzumebachi grinned happily, it made her disguise hard to believe. Time to utilize new skills!

“You’ve got a hair on your lips..” Scarlett murmured, stroking the cheek and lip corner of ‘Kurotsuchi’, whose grin turned confused. Red tried to lean in for a kiss, but her target was taller, she would need some cooperation here.

In a tone of confusion, best use a nickname for intimacy. Go!

“Kuro?” Scarlett asked, eyebrows furrowing. “Is something wrong?” she asked, sounding concerned, looking up through her lashes, stroking her cheek seductively.

“I, err, no, that’s, eeep” she squeaked, and with a poof, ‘Kurotsuchi’ turned into a beet red Suzumebachi. “Ididnotrealizeitwasthatkindofrelationship!” she babbled in a panic, and zoomed away so fast she might as well have teleported.

No kissing practice. But at least the bee hazard might have been reduced? 

Time to seek out the actual Kurotsuchi! Red was pretty sure asking at the Kage tower would be the easiest way. Scarlett’s clothing of the day was plain, but she’d put on her reddest lip gloss on recommendation from the book. Drawing attention to your lips made them more likely to consider kissing you, it said.

“Next” the receptionist said, bored. Unlike the chronically empty Kage tower in Sand, Stone had crammed every ninja service into one building and it was busy.

“Hi, I’m Scarlett, Kurotsuchi-sama might have mentioned me? Could you tell me if she’s in?”

“I will not be sharing the location of one of our ninja. Next!”

Oh. That was… very professional, and made sense. Huh. Red obediently walked toward the exit-

“Wait.” One of the still un-introduced teammates of Kurotsuchi, the one who’d caught them dinner once.

“Ah, greetings, mr. ninja”

“She’s in, but busy. Should I take a message?”

That was very nice of him. “Could you just tell her I met her cousin again, and that I will be selling my wares near the gate we entered through while the sun’s up tomorrow in case she wants to find me?”

“I will tell her.” And he was gone before she could thank him, but Red’s eyes were able to follow his movements. Barely. Adult ninja tended to be crazy fast, she should practice her agility next time she was in an uninhabited area. 

The sun was half-way across the sky by the time Kurotsuchi sought her out the next day, it had been a profitable morning and Red could use a break. The ninja waited impatiently while the last customer counted their change, Scarlett gave her a bright smile. Yep, this was the real one, trying her best to hide her smile in return. Cute.

“Yes, thank you. Will you be here tomorrow, too? My daughter can never decide what scented oils she prefers, and my oldest grandchild has been wanting some spices for baking…” the elderly patron droned on while Scarlett nodded and kept a polite smile on, Kurotsuchi’s foot tap-tap-tapped increasingly fast in annoyance.

“I will be here for the next few days, as long as the sun is up, but I will be going for a mid-day break right now. I believe my friend is waiting”

Red’s trader persona nodded toward the now close to snapping future Kage, and the elder gave her a hurried bow. “Kurotsuchi-sama!” She really was well known, not even wearing the hat yet already in a better position than Gaara had been when Red was last in Sand.

“I hear my cousin bothered you again,” Kurotsuchi said coolly, ignoring the citizen.

“I think she was just lonely, we merely walked together for a bit,” Scarlett assured her mark as she packed up her stall. “Have you had lunch yet? I was thinking about making a stir-fry” she tempted her, and Kurotsuchi eagerly took the bait. Well, eagerly for her.

“I suppose I could join you for a bit” she said haughtily, while her twinkling eyes said ‘yes, please feed me’. It was maybe not a seduction technique from the book, but those could wait until their bellies were filled. No way she’d be approachable while hangry. 

“Your cooking is the best! My family’s not big on spices, and the tower’s kitchen is bland too, yours has so much more flavour” Kurotsuchi sighed happily, still snagging long green beans from the leftovers since the meat pieces were long gone.

“Happy it lets me spend time with you” Scarlett dared, an obvious flirty line.

Kurotsuchi glanced up, then away, oh. Her cheekbones had a tinge of pink, a cute little blush. She didn’t seem to hate it, at least.

“I was thinking of going hiking while I’m here in Stone, such beautiful mountains. But I heard some of them are dangerous, is there an area I should avoid?” Because with a local to ask, deciphering the geological data might not be necessary.

“The day after tomorrow, be ready before dawn, at the gate” she commanded, uh, okay? “It, um, it’s safer to go hiking with a local” Kurotsuchi said, facing away but her pink ear gave her deepening blush away.

Oh. Alright, not the information she had needed, but a date? “That sounds wonderful! I can’t wait” Scarlett grinned, and let her fingertips shift over to touch the hand of her maybe-soon-girlfriend. She didn’t pull away. Sitting side by side like this, by the campfire in the park, didn’t feel any less companionable this time.

With a sigh, Kurotsuchi bemoaned her packed schedule, and they packed up together before she had to go. 

Red spent the evening until sundown selling her wares again, occasionally asking talkative customers if they’d heard any news from her home country of Cloud since she’d been ‘gone for so long’ and ‘felt homesick’. Nothing from Cloud, really, not surprising given how far away it was. But it did bring them on the subject of foreign news, and a few rambled on enough to give Red snippets of interesting intel.

Two mentioned a strange terrorist organization that apparently had the ninja nations nervous, ‘Red Moon’? It sounded familiar, somebody in Sand might have mentioned it. Best avoid places where they’d been sighted.

Red occasionally practiced using chakra in her eyes, as Temari had taught her, and passing ninja occasionally had a telling glow to them. Strengthening an injured leg to not limp, that one was headed for the hospital for sure. One had scrolls all over their back, attached purely with chakra, maybe they just disliked wearing a harness for them? Two passed by, a glowing stream of chakra between their heads. Their mouths moved, but Red heard nothing, some sort of silencing technique?

She noticed another ninja just before he turned to her, and extinguished her eyes before his glowing ones could scan over her. She wasn’t the only one using chakra sight, gotta keep that in mind. He shook his head at her offered scent sample, and walked on. Probably on patrol. 

The next day passed at a snail’s pace, Red had already prepared her ingredients for nice hiking trip meals the next day so there wasn’t much else to do than go home and sleep early…

but what if she messed up, somehow? Had she ever been on a date that actually counted as such?

With Kiba, ‘dates’ had just been playdates, really, hanging out in the park or training grounds. As Rose, she had never actually gone on a date with her local boyfriend, and probably never would. The ‘date’ with Kankurou hadn’t really worked out, heck, she had a terrible track record. 

Wait, Kankurou! This was the sort of worry you’d discuss with a friend, right?

It was still early evening, if he wasn’t away on a mission she knew where to find him. Red decided it was worth the risk, she missed the puppeteer, and got her tag that connected to the one in Sand’s archives from her hiraishin storage scroll. If somebody was in there, she’d simply blip right back out to her usual ‘escape’ forest clearing. 

It was dark. Nobody seemed to be around, she checked with chakra eyes too and there was no glow. The storage was looking tidier, thankfully the box of tags hadn’t been moved. Red snuck to the door silently, and tried the door handle, oh. It was locked. Feeling a bit silly for it, she knocked, and got out of grabbing range.

“What the” and some mumbling came from the other side, then the clatter of keys, and a ‘clink’ before the door opened. “Hello?” It was a complete stranger, a girl of maybe twelve or thirteen. Genin, then.

“Hi, I came here to visit Kankurou, is he in the puppetry workshop? You don’t have to let me go up, just tell him the spice vendor is here.” The girl looked like she had questions, but the door clicked shut and got locked and there were running steps up the stairs without a shout for guards so it would probably be fine. After a bit, mumbling voices drew near, Red sneezed from the dusty air as the door was unlocked again.

“Carmine?”

“Kankurou!” She gleefully caught him in a hug, and he squeezed her right back. Warm, solid, safe. “But I’m Scarlett right now” she grinned as he pulled back to have a closer look.

“Let’s talk in the workshop, wait, want to grab a bite to eat?”

Hm? Sure, why not. “Lead the way?” she agreed, hooking her arm through his. Being near him again felt comfortable. The streets of Sand were familiar now, the cool desert evening refreshing. He led her to a fancy-looking restaurant… which was closed for a holiday. They ended up at the diner again, well, nothing wrong with that.

“Want to see the menu this time?” he offered.

“Depends, any other recommendations than hamburg steak?”

“No,” he whispered, “honestly the rest of it is kinda garbage,” and with that they ordered the same thing again.

“I missed you a lot” Red admitted “Like, annoyingly much, several times a day even! Pathetic, right? It’s barely been two weeks!”

He smiled, scratching his neck. “That makes two of us, couldn’t think of anything but you.”

The ticklish feeling inside Red was warm and happy, but she knew he didn’t feel that way. Friendship, not… anything else. Best not make it awkward! “Guess that makes us best friends, then! By the way, I might be going on a date tomorrow, but I’m super nervous. Only tried dating you before, and well, we know how that went. But it got me the best friend I could ask for, so in a way, I guess it went well?”

“Err, yeah, haha… who is it?” he seemed uncomfortable, best not mention the attempt to ‘date’ him again. They were friends, she was making it weird! Friends don’t date each other.

“Her name is Kurotsuchi Kamizuru-”

“BAD idea! Hell, Carmine, she’s dangerous! That whole family is!” He was wide-eyed and serious, but then again, they were from rival villages.

“Relax, I met her family, they have their quirks but they’re not bad people. Kurotsuchi’s only scary when she’s hungry”.

He did not look convinced.

“What I’m nervous about is less her and more me, honestly. We’re going hiking for the day, that’s a lot of time with just the two of us. What if she wants to kiss? I’ve only given one kiss in my life, and it was on the cheek! Or what if she wants to hold hands, but my palms are sweaty and gross? Or if I somehow blow my cover, augh that would suck.” 

He really, really shouldn’t.

It was a terrible idea, especially for his own emotions’ sake, but “You could practice with me, as friends” still slipped out, somehow.

Hell, ‘bad idea’ didn’t even begin to cover it.

She had given up on him, was over whatever feelings she’d had, and had moved on.

“Friends do that?” she blinked, surprised and oh so innocent.

This was wrong.

“We could?” he still offered. “Don’t think friends normally do that, but nobody has to know, right?”

she seemed to consider it.

His sister would flay him alive if she found out about this.

“Are you sure? I’m probably bad at it” she said shyly.

Being happy about something like this was terrible, gods he was a sick bastard to be lying to her like this. He should let her know how he felt, end things before it got weird, even if it lost him the one he pined for. Instead, he gave her a cheerful wink and promised; “Later, in the workshop?”

She blushed and nodded.

He barely tasted the dish that was usually his favourite after that, and caught himself glancing to her lips as they ate in what should have been comfortable silence.

All he could feel was tension, and creeping guilt.  

She needed the practice, and he’d offered it, as friends. There really was no reason to be this nervous about it, he was eating dinner without a single concern so it really couldn’t matter all that much to him. Red drew a deep breath, and focused on her portion, but she suddenly didn’t have much of an appetite. Still, waste not want not, she ate the meat and vegetables at least. It WAS tasty, she would just much rather already be in the workshop…

Red reminded herself again, there was nothing romantic about this. Just her best friend, helping her out. No making it awkward, definitely no mentioning feelings for him. 

Much, much later that night, after dazedly hugging Kankurou goodbye for now, Red teleported in behind the little huts unseen and entered her rental.

The makeup mirror laid where she’d left it, best remove the kohl before sleep- oh. Her cheeks were red, but her lips were purple. Right, the face paint, she hurriedly rubbed it off with her makeup handkerchief. There were purple smudges on her hands, too.

Wearing his paint felt wrong somehow, he wasn’t her boyfriend!

But it felt really nice while they were doing it. Kissing, Red had decided somewhere in the middle of their experiments, was wonderful. She threw herself at the bed, and got a pillow to hug while rolling with excess energy. It still felt tingly and nice! They would have to do this more often. 

Chapter Text

Red hadn’t gotten much sleep, yet early morning found her brimming with nervous energy as she waited by the gates. Scarlett’s outfit for the day was practical yet cute, only slightly ruined by her large trader’s backpack stuffed with ingredients and cooking utensils. Kurotsuchi hadn’t caught her using storage scrolls on their first journey together, but she had also been injured at the time. This time, there were no teammates to distract her either. Just the two of them-

“Did I keep you waiting?” the ninja asked while landing gracefully in front of Red.

“I just got here early, couldn’t sleep any more” Scarlett admitted shyly, twirling a lock of her hair while studying her target. She was wearing unfamiliar clothes, a short red dress with matching shorts peeking out. “The dress looks good on you”

“It’s practical. For hiking” Kurotsuchi explained, but she looked pleased at the compliment. “My favourite trail is this way, come on, we’ll get to see Stone Village in the light of dawn!” she said excitedly, that little blush high on her cheeks was there again as she passed Scarlett and broke into a jog.

Oh. This trip might be challenging in ways Red had not considered. 

By the time Kurotsuchi finally took a break, Red felt like she was dying. Her lungs ached, her legs felt like they were made of hot and very tired lead.

“Look, isn’t it pretty?” the ninja chirped, breathing hard but unfairly energetic. She had probably used chakra, Red hadn’t dared to try in case the ninja also used chakra sight sometimes. 

The view was majestic, actually. Red managed to straighten, and enjoyed the vast vista of earth tones and dramatic shadows. “It’s beautiful,” Scarlett murmured, awed.

“Maybe you’ll show me the mountains of Cloud, someday?” Kurotsuchi asked, and Red felt bad about lying but still managed a “Yeah!” with a grin. There were many reasons to seduce this ninja; seduction practice but more importantly techniques, as well as learning to copy the poise and authority that made others bow to her so naturally.

And the geological data, there was that. “What’s that tall mountain over there, have you been?”

“That’s The Houndstooth, you can’t climb it without gear but I’ve been” in other words, climbable with chakra. “The view is nice, but you get dizzy near the top. The air is thin so high up” air got thinner, higher up?

“And that one, the rounded one with three tops?”

Red did get intel, but there didn’t appear to be any good rockfall hazards to use this close to the village. All cleared and made safe, Kurotsuchi stated with great pride.

Drat. Orochimaru’s trap would have to be elsewhere, then.

They had a quick breakfast of nut muesli bars the local had brought along, and then it was jogging AGAIN? Red had hoped that was only to see the sunrise, but no, it seemed to be her companion’s usual pace. Keeping up felt hopeless, but wait, that reminded Red; she had used some sort of augmentation with chakra before, for travelling on foot. Yet, it hadn’t coated her with chakra the way Temari had shown? Would it be visible at all?

Behind Kurotsuchi’s back on a straight stretch, Red decided to risk trying it, chakra in her eyes as she let it flow through her limbs. She did not glow, safe! Eyes off, and Scarlett jogged much more comfortably. Whatever the chakra was doing, it was inside, her feet still got sore and the sandals gave her blisters before they finally stopped for dinner. The ground was firm and dry where they set up the campfire, so Red freed her hurting feet for a bit of relief-

“Oh no I am SO sorry! You are a civilian!” Kurotsuchi exclaimed, looking horrified.

She had… forgotten? “It’s fine, I’m in pretty good shape, right? Kept up with a ninja!”

“You should have said something!” she snapped, then mumbled a sad “I hurt you”.

“I hurt myself, could have just slowed down, you know? This is my own fault, and it’s fine. Being out here with you is fun” Red assured her, but got the bandages out.

The future Kage helped her cover the reddened areas, it wasn’t that bad really. Seeing the proud girl on her knees and gently wrapping a bandage, Red felt a genuine spark of affection for her. “You are good at that”

“Stone never had many medic ninjas, my team doesn’t have one either” she explained, ripping the tip of the bandage along its length to tie the sides around her leg with a little bow. “So we all learned some first aid, I could teach you if you’d like?”

That was… an unexpected bonus. “I would love that! The rice will need a moment anyways”. 

While informative and useful, the lecture that followed wasn’t exactly ‘romantic first date’ material. Red decided to try harder after serving their meals, a simple rice with egg and spring onion, soy sauce and spice sprinkle optional. She sat down right next to Kurotsuchi, arms touching, and she didn’t shift away. It felt exciting, until Red realised her target probably didn’t care about anything but her bowl of hot food at the moment. Right, well, she would keep trying after Kurotsuchi was refueled.

“Rice refill?” she asked, already through portion one.

“Sure, and there’s more egg too”.

Kurotsuchi’s eyes had a cute sparkle to them any time there was good food to be had. Red got her another heaped portion, and leaned into her side as she enjoyed her own bowl. It was comfortable. After a bit, Kurotsuchi’s chopsticks slowed, and she gave Scarlett a hesitant smile. Only noticed the closeness now, huh. Red smiled back, and gave her a quick side hug before getting up to scrape the pot for leftovers.

No point making her uncomfortable by overdoing it, Red was aiming to create a connection and that could take a while she thought while settling with more distance- Kurotsuchi scooted closer, and leaned right back. Maybe a bit more was fine? 

Walking back down from the mountains hand in hand was nice, but Scarlett’s maybe-girlfriend pulled her hand away the moment the main road got into view. Eh, it was still a good start, even without any kisses. Felt nice, too.

They parted ways at the gate, and Red went straight for the local bathhouse. Dusty, sweaty, she felt like a mess and her muscles already felt stiff. Tomorrow would not be fun, library day maybe? Still had to figure out a good place to set several layers of traps for Orochimaru. More knowledge on local poisons wouldn’t hurt either. She doubted there’d be sealing symbols, but she had lucked out before.

Also, a bit risky to be seen reading the scroll on Uzumaki that no doubt hid in there somewhere, but Red did need to know more about herself. Best wait until the old man slept on duty again. 

There would be no ‘next day at the library’, Red realised as she heard voices from outside the changing rooms -thankfully AFTER her bath- asking where somebody of her description had gone. There was nobody in the room but her, so Red applied Akako’s fair skin and black hair while getting dressed.

A lady wearing an Earth country forehead protector walked in, and ignored Red at first, but then walked towards her as she closed the last buttons. Crap, they were looking for somebody matching her height and facial structure, then. She couldn’t change those, was that information in the bingo book?

“Ah, can I help you?” Akako asked nervously.

“Found her!” The ninja yelled out to her colleagues outside, and tried to grab Red.

Yeah, no, she wasn’t staying. Having to move on so soon sucked, but so is life. Teleporting to the tag buried between the huts, the door to hers had been broken open but thankfully nobody had bothered with stealing her decoy luggage or found her scrolls under the chair cushion. Red grabbed everything in a hurry, and returned to her forest clearing in the middle of nowhere yet again. Another person had seen her teleport, not good.

From this day onward Akako was unusable. 

Great. All that effort, and now she’d have to start over. Should have at least gotten a local informant, stupid! Now she had no idea what had tipped them off, or if they were even after her knowing she was Uzumaki at all. It might have been a political thing, with Scarlett being close to the future Tsuchikage. Or even a bounty on Carmine, from Sand. Until she found out, Scarlett was unusable.

Red sighed, and became Rose once more, soap craftswoman from Rivers. A simple, physical costume. Rose might have been reported as a missing person by now, but that was still the best choice. Ruby, the elder, was not all that convincing up close.

Now, where to go… Red needed a library, or at least knowledge.

Couldn’t disturb Kankurou this often, he helped her out just last night. Red blushed at the memory, then shook it off. Kisses were wonderful and all, but what she needed was other knowledge, terrains and the sort of natural dangers that would be a threat even to her creator.

Maybe a day or two of rest were in order first though, that hike had been intense. Red repacked her stuff into just the scrolls, hid them under her clothes, and teleported to her boathouse. 

Arms grabbed her, and before Red had time to do more than squeak, her world went black. 

Chapter Text

There were dripping noises, Red noticed, mind fuzzy but getting clearer.

Dripping, it echoed, and the rustling of cloth, breathing. A person, nearby. Underground?

Definitely not Orochimaru’s lair, they would never allow a leak to drip like that. Smelled differently too, wet yet unwashed somehow. There was a sigh nearby, footsteps approached. They splashed, wet floor.

“Can’t we at least put her on a chair? This feels inhumane” the person close to her pleaded, and Red agreed wholeheartedly.

“That thing might have a bloodline, and it appeared out of thin air, no touching. It could have ways to escape”.

Yeah no, Red had tried to the moment she woke up. No dice, because she was tied to a wall by the feel of it. The lab table she had been strapped to once had been free-standing, this was not, and so she was stuck.

She had her scrolls, for some reason? And her tags. Nobody had searched her, odd.

And they did not appear to want her bloodline, either, which was a great relief. That did leave the question of why the fuck they’d knocked her out and tied her in what appeared to be a cell, with guard changes. For now, best lie still, pretend to be unconscious-

“Oi, she’s awake! Chojuro, why didn’t you say anything?”

Dammit, ninja were way too perceptive.

“She seemed scared”.

Red had decided Chojuro was her favourite guard until proven otherwise.

No point staying on the cold, damp ground now that she was busted, so Red gingerly tried to get up. Both her wrists were tied to walls so she couldn’t bring her hands together, well, not like she could use hand signs for much anyways. Her ankles were tied together, making it hard to stand properly, so Red opted to sit.

It was dim, but the guard who had approached held a lantern, and Red could make out her captors. Choujuro was maybe her age-ish? White haired, or a light gray, hard to say in this light. A thin boy, wearing ear protectors, she noted him as possibly a sensory ninja. He wore a shield covered in bandages, knowing ninja there was probably little reason for those except their dubious fashion sense. The lady was taller, broad-shouldered and menacing.

“Sorry about this,” Chojuro offered, but his colleague snorted.

“Apologizing to a bloodline clan ninja, they really did hand out that sword to whatever kid happened to be nearby huh” she said with disgust. He mumbled something about being a good fit with his sword, and she laughed mockingly. “You can barely wield the thing!” she claimed.

Red didn’t see a sword on him, but if it was a bad fit, it might be stored in a scroll or wait in a storage locker.

“I can use it when I have to!” he said with more conviction.

Whatever that was about, Red decided on a plan to get out of there; pity. She would look uncomfortable, sad, lonely, forlorn. Utterly miserable and helpless, and then soon they were sure to loosen her from the wall at least. Right? She shifted, trying to rub her sore ankles but her wrist tie didn’t reach.

“Come on, look, her feet were bandaged. Can’t we at least free those? Foot seals aren’t a thing.” Chojuro complained for her.

“Never underestimate an Uzumaki, kid, or it’s the last thing you do” she said, in a tone like she was quoting ancient wisdom.

“I am not an Uzumaki, I just have red hair” Red whispered, hoping she sounded appropriately scared.

“Right, no, it’s talking so I’m out. Turn on the sound cancellation on those earmuffs, yeah? We have no idea what it’s capable of. Shift change at dawn” the woman directed, and splish-splashed away.

Chojuro fiddled with his earmuffs, so Red thought that would be the end of conversation, but he whispered a question once the footsteps were out of hearing; “Do you have a bloodline thing?”

Red could honestly answer; “Not that I can tell, except I can glow a bit? That is all.” Because she had a feeling this kid was sharper than he chose to appear, and would absolutely catch her in concealment or lies. She needed him on her side.

“Show me?”

Red glowed up dimly, he never said ‘all of it’ and this felt nonthreatening.

“Thank you.”

She stopped glowing, he appeared less wary than before so maybe he would answer a question? “Um, mr. ninja, where are we?”

He sighed. “Country of Water, Village Hidden in the Mist, underwater holding cell. Sorry, you will be out of here once our Kage can convince some fanatics that bloodlines aren’t inherently evil, they saw your hair and had you brought in for a ritual killing” he must have noticed her panic at that, because he hurried to add; “We don’t do that anymore! The previous Mizukage was, well, Mei is much better. She’s doing all she can to change things! But old habits die hard?”

So Red just had to trust that this ‘Mei’ won out as the new Kage, and that nobody else took initiative and had her persecuted for her hair.

At this point, refusing to dye it was just plain stupid, but Red did not care. She would not give up her sense of ‘self’, and that included her hair. As a person without nationality, true family, or even a home, it was all she had. That, and her life. Was it too greedy, to not want to choose between those two?

“If she releases me, does that mean her ninja won’t chase me anymore?” Red asked, without much hope.

He sat down by the bars of her cell, head in his hands, and whispered “sorry.”

Yeah, hadn't expected anything really, ruling over ninja seemed to be like herding cats. “It’s not your fault! But, um, I really can’t do much. Can’t you untie my ankles? They are sore.” she tried cautiously.

“I am so, so, so sorry” he whispered, wait, was he crying? “This is wrong, but it was the most we managed to make them compromise”

Yep, he was definitely crying. Sympathy was great and all, but not all that useful, really. At least he, and probably his Kage, did not seem to be bad people. Red shifted uncomfortably, and tried to ignore his pitiful crying hiccups. Odd choice, for a prison guard. Did the pro-Mei-faction not have many members? Concerning. Or he volunteered out of guilt, that seemed likely. 

‘Shift change at dawn’, the woman had said, which was the only way Red knew it was now morning. ‘Underwater’, Chojuro had said, and if it was made to hold ninja then it was probably sturdy. A bored-looking ninja took over from Chojuro, and flicked a switch on his earmuffs. Probably not in a chatty mood. Her stomach rumbled, he did not appear to notice. Joy, what a stay this would be.

Mealtime seemed to be twice a day, as far as she could tell. There were other cells, she occasionally heard prisoners yell out, but only she appeared to be under constant guard. Red kept a growing list of guards in her head as shifts turned to days, then a week, then another.

Her feet finally got freed, she could stand up at least. A whole month ended up passing without much change, the only one who would talk was Chojuro and he mostly just apologised or cried. Often, it was both. The prison meals were grilled fish, at least, but eating them was awkward with her hands tied so far apart and it was always plain. 

Today was special, because the fish bones Red had been stuffing under her wrist ties were finally getting the ropes frayed. Nowhere near enough to actually break anything, but maybe enough to have the ninja take them off to get fresh ropes on her?

Some seemed confusingly scared of her, even with Red sitting meekly for over a month and only getting up to stretch. The ‘threat’ of her getting loose would definitely scare one person in particular, who Red had decided was her target for this attempt.

The woman from the first day, on edge from the moment her shift started until it ended. It was near ending now, and Red had been shifting and stretching more than usual to tire the woman from jumping.

Now, a final move she knew the observant ninja would catch; Red tugged, hard, and fishbones must have been visible in the gap as the rope stretched. By the shocked noise and panicked scramble, yes, that would do. Now, time to see how they would handle this. If nothing else, it was a break from the monotonous days.

“Guards!” she yelled, ooh, dramatic.

There was clanking as her reinforcements arrived, hey, she’d seen them before too.

“The Uzumaki has been cutting its ropes! Bring the chains” she commanded.

“Err, but, Uzumaki and chains is a thing, not sure if that’s a good idea?” one countered.

“That’s chakra chains, you dolt, not physical ones!” the other one groaned, and walked off. When he returned, it was with loud jingling of metal. Red’s wrists and ankles got cuffed and attached to holders in the walls before the ropes finally came off. 

Red waited until they were locking her cell door anew before teleporting to her forest clearing, whew.

Ropes were solid the whole way to the wall, chains weren’t solid at all. She had teleported with only the cuff and loop of each, the next piece of metal wasn’t physically part of it. If only the cuffs had been loose, but for some reason she couldn’t teleport out of things she was ‘wearing’.

Red took a moment to adjust, eyes hurting in the daylight, ears and nose assaulted by the forest’s sounds and scents.

For the first time in her life, Red decided she’d had enough fish for a while. 

It was summer. It felt sudden, after being in the damp cold of the cell for so long. Red stayed in her clearing for a bit, flat on her back, soaking up the sun’s rays until she got too hot.

Her body was aching all over, recovering from holding the awkward positions the ropes had made inevitable would take time. A few stretches, and she got into the first of her taijutsu stances. It would take time, but she would do her best. Because out here, in the bright daylight? Life, even as a fugitive, felt worth living. 

That evening, Red picked her first locks. The first one took hours, soapmaking tools were not ideal, but she learned from it. Keeping cuffs as a ‘souvenir’ was maybe a bit odd, but you never know when something might come in handy. 

The ‘stay’ couldn’t have been much more than a month, yet the dripping noise echoed in her nightmares for longer than that.

Red would need to be quicker, so she could never be grabbed like that again. She focused on agility training, and crafted a more well thought out costume; glasses to conceal her face shape a bit, tall geta both to make her stand out in a way that didn’t match her description and to make deliberate noise. Civilian, but it did draw connections either to nobility or to the local religions so Red would be a priestess-in-training for once.

Her name would be… Aki. Autumn. It was very nearly the season for it, now, after a summer spent recovering away from people. She had gone to the ocean, for a bit, but it hadn’t felt as homey after getting grabbed at her boathouse and being kept prisoner underwater. The forest felt safer.

Trips to small, rural villages for fabrics and tailoring made her skin crawl, being near humans felt scary even though she knew such places were unlikely to have any ninja around who would see through her disguises. Pressing Wasen and Fune’s scrolls to her side under the clothes helped a bit. It was silly and childish, but she imagined the two of them holding her hands when crowds no longer felt safe. It really shouldn’t make her relax, if she was caught they couldn’t help her. 

Red hadn’t been to see Kankurou, couldn’t make herself, because the thought of those other Sand ninja from back then finding her and strapping her to that table all over was now much scarier than it used to be.

She never wanted to be held captive ever again.

Hopefully he didn’t miss her too much. Red thought she might be a little bit broken, after that more-than-a-month of darkness and cold and hunger and endless dripping. She remembered everyone who had mattered to her; Saboten Sanninshou, Yuge Suchimu, Okami Teishu, Sansho, Kankurou, Temari, Gaara, Kurotsuchi.  Shadow. Amibune, Fune, and Wasen. People who meant something to her, and yet the bonds she used to feel were muted somehow, dulled.

All that mattered was never getting caught, hiding herself away so she could get to be out here and not tied up in a cell. 

Some nights, she woke up and still felt the ropes, the cold, and was sure she had only dreamt of getting out. 

Chapter Text

It had all started going south on that horrible, terrible day when Orochimaru had picked Kabuto’s only competent cleaner as one of the sacrifices to go with Kimimaro to the lair being prepared for his treatment. 

It escaped, clever thing, which made no difference from it dying honestly because the outcome was the same; having to pack up a whole lair with three laboratories, WITHOUT a good, silent cleaner. It was inefficient, it was messy. To Kabuto, it was hell on earth. 

The ones he had trained the exact same way as the good one never turned out even close to good enough; noisy, and they got the same things wrong over and over. 

Too much of a reagent in the soap or too little, rendering it worse than useless. 

Dropping fragile items, or knocking things out of order enough that he almost used the wrong ingredients at times. 

Wiping over labels with wet cloth, leaving illegible smears. 

Contaminating samples, oh gods there was so much lost to carelessness. 

And they were LOUD! Asking him things at the worst possible time, tearing him from important trains of thought. HIS cleaner had figured stuff out on their own! 

Then there was the issue of their sloppy handling of tools, leaving items in his path. Once, Kabuto stepped in a bucket, stumbled into a ladder, and another bucket of icy water fell over his head. 

His cleaner had no longer needed buckets, but the rest had a much harder time learning the water lifting technique and just made a mess with that too. Flooded equipment, water damage, he eventually gave up on trying. 

So it was buckets, and ladders, because without a technique they could not reach the ceiling and dangling equipment unaided. Useless. 

Getting equipment set up in the new lab took much longer than it should, without his little cleaner there to correctly label and catalogue and precisely unpack things to their designated spots. 

He’d had it do a deep clean before, everything out and back in, and it had worked flawlessly. 

The replacements, although more numerous, made a terrible mess of it. Jars in straight lines with the labels facing forward was a distant dream, the jars actually being on their shelves at all was a fifty-fifty bet at times. 

Things rolled underneath cabinets and stayed there. Corners turned grimy. Kabuto hated it. 

According to Orochimaru, the cleaner had shown up in Leaf of all places. Unused to his fresh body, Kabuto’s master had been unable to grab it before it took two corpses and fled? It even landed a hit on them, with a new and creative application of a known seal. 

Then, it had appeared in front of him in the forest, very nearly his once more! 

Kabuto could see it; blissfully sterile labs, every piece of equipment laid out and in order, stock and reagents tallied in a flawless ledger, perfect soap every time. Reliable, meticulous, precise. 

But it had tricked him, paralyzed him despite his many immunities. Ah, Kabuto thought, watching his master’s fascinated and ever-curious expression flare. His cleaner truly was perfect, a masterpiece. It had fled, twice, from Orochimaru. They had no idea how. 

But that man she’d saved for some reason, oh, they knew where to find that one. 

At first, Kabuto had stalked the old ninja, but his cleaner did not show up in his presence. Had it shed him like a snake skin, and fled? 

Proud, Kabuto decided to… question… the man. He was stubborn, refused to give an address no matter what, impressive really. 

But he did give him a name. Kaede… maple, an odd name for one of his. Kabuto decided it did not suit it, but he supposed it deserved to become a person. Shiroe, maybe? Uroko was also a good name. 

He considered putting the man out of his misery, but his heart gave out right there and then. Convenient. Kabuto left the quaint little ninja office, and waited patiently for the inevitable crowd to form. Standing at the edge of it, let’s see, who turns on their heel and walks away? He followed a few, but they were not her. 

“Kaede!” some person yelled, there, while staring at, ah. There it was. Kabuto kicked off, and spread his arms to embrace his cleaner- and she vanished, yet again! How? 

He had dug through the area around the new Sound Village base, there had been nothing to explain it. Later, he would be back to tear through this place, but for now Kabuto fled. Like stray dogs, even the lazy and untrained Hot Water ninja could be annoying in groups. 

Kabuto had dedicated part of his information network to finding His Cleaner, yet nothing conclusive showed up. Reports of a Poppy who made seals in Sand, or the ever-elusive Akako who seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. No Kaede, clever, it had dropped that immediately. 

Pinning down a location seemed pointless, there was no other explanation; His cleaner had a teleporting technique. Orochimaru was beyond excited at the prospect. 

It was not the Hiraishin they had known of, that much was clear. There was no flash, and that made it even better. Surely there were limitations, but from what they could tell it left no trace. 

The belongings from the cleaner’s rented loft in the village gave no hints, just ratty old blankets and a dirty book Kabuto would rather not have his cleaner reading. A few pieces of clothing, but the snakes could not track her after she had blipped out right in front of Kabuto’s eyes. The little white snakes pooled in that spot, confused, so how would they proceed? 

It took years to get a solid lead, but finally, a sleeper agent in Sand who had a list of targets sent Kabuto a risky falcon message; Spiral Turret, surrounded by dots that meant… over ten sightings?! 

His cleaner was in touch with the new Kazekage, he informed his master, and was allowed an undercover expedition only to find Akatsuki had ruined his chances. Sure, the cleaner had reportedly hung around after the attack, but after it left it hadn’t been seen even once. Choosing to blame the Red Moon was maybe not justified here, but he did so anyways. 

Carmine, this time. No, a name like Hebikiba would suit his student much, much better. If he could catch it. 

Kabuto released a handful of snakes around Sand, just in case. They knew who to bite, and who to fetch. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning after ‘helping’ his ‘best friend’ found Kankurou curled up, hating himself. 

Sure, she had happily accepted it and seemed to enjoy it too, but he had kissed her with emotions she couldn’t know. Her first real kisses, too, not his to take and yet he had. How old was she even, had he ever asked? Sure, he was eighteen, but she was probably closer to his little brother’s age and those had not been chaste little pecks on the lips. 

He felt sick. 

No, he was sick, to have done what he did. The next time she showed up, he would apologize any way he could, explain why what he did was bad so she could hate him properly. 

Break things off with her entirely. 

He did not deserve to ever see her again, and yet, he hoped he did. 

But she never showed up. 

Days passed, and with heartburn up his throat he thought she might be happy with her new partner. It was for the best. 

Weeks passed, and he got worried. 

Gaara sent the Kazekage a missive, asking if a ‘Scarlett’ had gone missing and to please treat her well if she was there. When the reply came, Kankurou felt like he could breathe again, but it hurt: She’d been chased out by bounty hunters, yet another home denied. 

Kurotsuchi, the girl she had dated there, had added a plea for them to help find her to her grandfather’s missive. Maybe she really was a nicer person than rumors said, but a dark emotion deep inside wanted him to hate her for taking his- 

she was not his. Not ever, never was, never would be. 

Months passed. Summer had passed. Autumn turned, not that an outsider would notice in Sand. Gaara’s rule stabilized, as it had been sure to, and the Kage finally stood proudly as he should. 

Kankurou should be celebrating with his siblings, tonight was the symbolic reunion of the two political factions into a united front for Sand. Instead, there he was, unmotivated and lethargic, curled up around a little wooden fox. 

Stolen, just like those kisses. 

What if she never returned? She could be lying dead somewhere, and he would never know. Could have died months ago. 

Their last precious moments together had been twisted by his disgusting lust and greed, and now that was the memory he was left with. Deceiving his only real friend. 

The door to the workshop creaked open. 

“This again? Come ooonn, not today! Our baby brother needs us there so he has someone to stare down during his speech, you know he gets nervous, and the silly old guys takes his focused glare as a death threat and faint or make a fuss…” Temari was babbling while getting his face paint, trying to make him feel better. 

He didn’t deserve to. 

She made him take the antidepressant, it felt wasted on him. 

“Two hours, and then we’re home, I promise” she said, and started painting his face. 

It tickled, she was messing around way up on his forehead. Kankurou took the brush and mirror, yeah, of course she’d give him a ‘love’ symbol. He washed it off, and applied his formal occasion pattern as the new captain of the surprise attack division of Sand. 

Gaara did need them there. Even if all he wanted to do was curl up and disappear, doing so wouldn’t help Gaara’s Sand. It was becoming equal, uncorruptible, humane in a way Sand had never been before. In the hands of the one their father made a ‘monster’, no less. 

That was still worth striving for, so Kankurou took a deep breath and nodded. “Two hours.”

Chapter Text

Noises, smoke. There were people near her clearing. Sure, Red hadn’t actually unpacked anything, but this spot of untouched land had become her home of sorts after Wasen’s boathouse became unsafe. 

She considered teleporting out straight away, but decided to be brave and check who had come all the way out here first. Intel was important. 

Orochimaru’s underlings searching for her maybe, or other bounty hunters? 

As the unknown ninja without a forehead protector crept closer, silent and well hidden from the direction of the people she clearly sensed, she did not notice a squirrel watching her. Because why should she? Inojin got back in his head, and pointed out the direction. 

Chouza kept up the babble about cooking, and nodded. Shikaku got in position, hidden from her direction by a tree stem. They waited, Inojin fed the campfire. 

Their mission was over, but unmarked ninja in Fire Country had to be brought in for questioning. 

It took a while, she moved cautiously. Inojin got in a bird’s head, and checked on her progress. Close enough for shadows, he nodded to their commander, who grabbed her. “Shadow bind successful. Go see what we caught.” 

Chouza went and collected their prisoner, and disarmed her of many, MANY scrolls and tags and knives, tying her up gently before Shikaku let his shadows fall. 

Inoichi almost felt bad, she looked to be the age of their children and was clearly terrified. But she could be a dangerous missing-nin, a murderer. Looks could be deceiving. He had a seat in front of her, and studied her features. Brown hair, brown eyes, but high cheekbones for a Fire native. 

“Hold on, bingo book” Shikaku commented, as usual he had the faces memorized. This one was in there, then? Innocent looks could indeed be deceiving. 

A lot of page-turning later, ah, way in the back. But red hair, purple eyes, like a relative of Kushina’s. It explained the amount of scrolls. No crime, no warnings, just… wanted. Alive. And they knew why. 

Chouza's brow furrowed. “Morally speaking…” 

“Chouza, you know we can’t.” 

“I agree with Chouza” Inoichi threw his vote, despite knowing it would be rejected. 

“Vetoed. I don’t personally want to bring her in, either, but we are ninja. Orders must come first” Shikaku grumbled, hand over his face. 

“Do I have a vote?” 

their captive Uzumaki’s voice quivered as she asked, wow, Inoichi felt like the absolute scum of the earth right now. “Sorry.” 

Without the scrolls padding her stomach and back, she looked dangerously malnourished. No wonder; being an obvious Uzumaki without a village to protect you meant you were a target to every nation. The few who hadn’t been wiped out in the fall of Uzushio generally got snatched up by manhunts the moment their profile hit the bingo books, this one had apparently evaded capture for years. The poor girl must be exhausted. 

Shikaku sighed, and turned away with a grimace. “Quit it with the puppy eyes, Inoichi. She is coming with us, and that is final. And you, can we have a name? This is going to take some days.” 

“Names go in the bingo book, so no” she said, looking defeated. 

“Uzumaki, then. Dinner after questioning, and then we’ll get going”. By the look on his face, Shikaku was not happy about this either. 

None of them were, Inoichi honestly wished he hadn’t used his power to patrol with animals today. Knowing the elders in Leaf, whatever their Hokage decided would be twisted into keeping this girl in the village with no regard to her own feelings on the matter. 

Sealing the nine-tailed fox required a compatible body, so future generations of Uzumaki were crucial… didn’t mean they had to kidnap innocents, the way he saw it. 

“What do you like to eat?” Chouza tried lightening the mood. 

“Literally anything other than rabbit” she mumbled. That was how she’d gotten so stealthy then, hunting for survival. 

“Noodle soup or porridge?” Chouza limited the choices. 

“Noodle soup” she answered, surprisingly willing to talk despite their situation. 

“Hey, Shika, I know what usually comes next but she’s willing to talk. Can’t we just-” 

“You’d have to either way, it’s here or in a T&I cell. Which one’s less scary for her?” 

He… had a point. Inoichi sighed in defeat. 

The shadows that had grabbed her were Nara, meaning the other two Leaf ninja were Akimichi and (she shuddered) Yamanaka, mind readers who could take over your body. Hecking no thank you. But which one was which? 

They seemed confusingly nice, but she knew by now; good ninjas hid their emotions and intentions well. 

If only they could release the rope, she could teleport away, but the cook of the group had tied it around his wrist while preparing the ingredients. If she teleported now, he was coming with, and he had disarmed her. No way she could take him out unarmed, he looked seriously sturdy and had lifted her with one arm while tying her up. 

As she was considering her (nonexistent) escape options, the blond one crouched next to her. “Hey, sorry about this, but I will take a peek inside your mind? It won’t hurt!” he must have seen the fear on her face as she tried to wiggle away, because no, her mind was HERS thank you very much. 

“No” she said as he grabbed her and propped her back against a tree. 

“Sorry, I’ll be quick”. 

Sure, Inoichi had used his technique on unwilling subjects before, but they had been enemies in battle or imprisoned ninja. Doing this to a teen girl that cried tears of fear felt awful, she was struggling. 

“No,” she said, and he wanted to respect that, but Shikaku was right. This was inevitable, and this way she wouldn’t have to see the T&I dungeons. 

He used his technique, her mindscape felt bleak but he forced himself to ignore it. The last half a year or so should be enough, right? He made a jump backwards in her memories, and… cold and dark, she was tied up in a cell. 

Ah. It wasn’t that she had evaded capture all those years, she had escaped another nation. He went forward, not much happened, each day in monotone grey. 

Her mind at the time felt defeated, yet she kept painstakingly stuffing fish bones in between her rope on one wrist. There was no way that had worked, yet all he felt from her at the time was patient suffering. She’d had a plan. 

They barely fed her enough to keep her alive, trying to break her for some purpose? 

Fast-forwarding, it was a long imprisonment, and then suddenly the scenery changed. Confused, Inoichi went back a bit. Now in chains, and then forest. Huh. 

Back a bit more, oh, her fish bones’ purpose had been to scare a weak-minded opponent, and as the chains were mentioned she seemed satisfied? Getting chained up had her celebrating in her mind, and then, she appeared in the forest clearing he’d scouted not far from here. She must have stayed here since then. 

Good enough, he returned to his own mind. “She was able to teleport somehow, check her tags?” he suggested, and Chouza got on it. The soup smelled almost done. 

“Anything of interest?” Shikaku asked. 

“She was locked up before this, it looked like Water’s deep prison. They starved her, you know Uzumaki need a lot of food-” 

“I get it, anything else?” 

“She kept her thoughts on escape that whole time. She could not escape while bound with ropes.” Inoichi had to say it, that was the sort of thing he must report. She was a flight risk. Honestly, he wanted her to escape. 

“Guys? I don’t recognize those” Chouza said, mystified. 

Their Nara trudged over to have a look, and wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. “Right, we’ll need Jiraiya if you don’t find the information in her brain-” 

“NOT doing it twice in one day, the poor girl is exhausted!” Inoichi put his foot down. 

“Tomorrow.” Skikaku compromised. 

“Food’s ready, think she can eat?” Chouza asked. 

The Uzumaki was curled up and shaking. “Give her a moment?” At times, Inoichi wished he had never learned his family’s techniques. 

That had not been nice, at all. 

But seeing him in there had taught Red something; his mind-form was not untouchable, and even inside her mind, she had chakra. 

She’d never been IN her mind like that before, and seeing her power like that had been an eye-opener. 

He did not seem to realise she’d messed with his mind-avatar’s hair, and if he ever tried going through her mind again she was ready. 

That thing he had done, going back through her memories? She could scroll up for him, she could feel it, and she’d decided on a few choice scenes to show him. Next time he dared enter what was hers, and hers only, she would make him regret it. 

For now though, best not let her anger show. She removed her pointless genjutsu, and struggled herself upright. 

Hopefully that soup was as tasty as it smelled. 

It was his turn, but Chouza couldn’t sleep. He had known about the command, of course, they all had after the fall of their ‘allied’ ninja village. Leaf had stood by and watched instead of coming to their aid, and then assigned a mission to all its ninja, indefinitely: Uzumaki are to be captured. 

He had hoped they would never find one, yet here they were, a teen tied to his wrist for no crime of her own. 

It felt bad. Leaf was supposed to be the ‘good guys’, for ninja at least. Sure didn’t feel like it. 

She’d escaped one ninja village’s prison, only to end up in the hands of another. Tsunade wouldn’t keep her locked up, at least… right? 

Maybe a family could volunteer to keep her under watch, well, Chouji had always wanted a younger sibling and it just wasn’t happening naturally. Red hair would stick out less, in their family, since he’d chosen to wear a Uzumaki red headpiece for years to show how he felt about the Uzushio betrayal and some thought it to be his actual hair. With some good food and care, she might fit right in. 

Once back in Leaf, he would ask his wife what she thought. 

Shikaku was on prisoner guard duty. Had to be, because insubordination wasn’t beyond his soft-hearted teammates. 

Yes, it was amoral, but the one Uzumaki their village had was only a half, and not sure to have any compatible children before his death. If the nine-tails got loose again, many lives would be lost. They needed this ‘spare’. 

“Try to sleep?” he suggested. 

“It’s uncomfortable, can’t you untie me?” She whined. 

“Nice try, kid. No.” But he had the feeling that it had been a different attempt of sorts; she had asked obviously so he would underestimate her, this one was clever. 

He checked the wrist-tie, it was solid. Without her tags, there was no way she could escape like she had from the prison according to Inoichi, but he wasn’t taking chances with this. 

“Gonna go through your belongings, nothing personal” he said, and started with the scroll on top of the heap. She had a lot, but then again, Uzumaki. 

“Um.” she said, shifty-eyed. “The one marked with blue, uh, don’t open it near anyone? It explodes.” 

Wh- heck, he had opened one of the other ones already. 

Trapped scrolls, that was new and terrifying. 

How many had he opened in his lifetime, never even considering the possibility? 

“Thanks” because she could have let him be blown up, she was unwilling to hurt them then? “Why tell me?” 

“I’m in range,” she muttered. 

Oh. 

That would be one hell of a blast radius, nothing like exploding tags but then again she WAS Uzumaki. 

Not unwilling to hurt them, he amended, just not suicidal. “How do I disarm it?” 

“You can’t, it just explodes when you try to use it.” 

“So unfurling it is safe?” 

“Yes?” 

He had to see this. It felt like a storage scroll, LOOKED like a storage- wait. A bit on the corner was twisted. 

“So this makes it not be a storage scroll, would that part be different on any trapped scroll?” For his peace of mind in the future, he had to know. 

“No, any part could be flipped to make it not work” she said honestly, and, hell. 

From now on, he would be wasting time looking over every part of every storage seal he would be using.  

“Right, gonna detonate that once we’re all awake tomorrow” he put the dangerous scroll between them, she wasn’t suicidal so it was the safest spot. 

Now, the first storage he had (recklessly) opened contained a stack of clothes, her whole wardrobe by the look of it. Robes and scarves drew his eye. “Been to Sand?” 

She nodded. “Was captured there too. But the new Kazekage is a good person and let me go” ‘unlike your Kage’ remained unspoken, as she was in their custody now. Veiled hostility, understandable. 

The old Sand would never have let go of a bloodline, their ranks were weaker than ever yet Gaara had shown mercy? Not good for the Country of Wind, their feudal lord would be furious if they knew. 

“And Earth, too” he raised an eyebrow, lifting a shirt in the uneven cut they favored. 

“Kurotsuchi Kamizuru and her family can vouch for me” she murmured, that was their Kage’s family. So both Wind and Earth let her go, the ninja world was changing fast. 

“You sure travelled a lot, what country even is this from?” he asked, holding up a thinner sand robe with a strangely decorative border. 

“Rivers. I lived there, most elders from Artisan Village can tell you who I am.” 

A country without ninja, made sense. “And this? It looks too small for you” he held up a dark blue boy’s yukata with a white rope. 

“Grew out of it, but having cloth I can use is practical.” 

Well, he did suppose looking male was safer for a child on their own, speaking of; “My mind reader will be checking, to be sure, but do you have any living family?” 

“Depends on your definition” she said cryptically. 

“Other Uzumaki?” 

“Don’t know” she said, and he didn’t think she was lying now either. “I won’t tell you where they might be, for now, but I might tell you if Leaf is nicer than where they are now?” 

He sighed, yeah no, there was no way she’d get to keep that to herself once they got back. “And this?” It was almost Earth garb, but not quite, almost a short-sleeved sand robe. 

“Stone Country”. 

Ah, wait, if she was to River and Stone, “and Rain?” 

“Wh- no, I’m not crazy!” she exclaimed. 

“Was starting to think you’d been everywhere” he murmured, sorting the heap he’d made. “This is definitely Hot Springs, so flashy” 

“Lived there for a bit. Their ninja are nice, friendly, don’t hunt innocents” she needled him. 

Add them to the long list of countries that let her be, huh. “Any other places you’ve been? We’ll check, of course, but…” 

“Wave, Mangrove, Uzushio, and Rice” she listed. “And Water, although they caught me in River so I never saw the sights” 

she had some biting sarcasm to her, Shikaku was reminded of his son. “And the Country of Fire, which we are in. Doubt this is your first visit?” 

“... a fishing boat I was crew of visited a Fire port.” 

“And this spot, deep in the forest, you just teleported here?” 

“Why ask, when you are going to invade my mind and take whatever you want?” Oh, that was definitely anger, but she schooled her face into serenity. It still gave Shikaku chills, the reminder of Kushina’s ire. 

“The less time Inoichi spends in your mind, the better for both of you. I am trying to find points of interest for him to check.” 

“Yes, I teleported there. You’ll find out how tomorrow, I guess. Goodnight” she mumbled in defeat, and turned her tied self over with an acrobatic move. 

Fair, he WAS the one who had suggested she get some sleep. 

Without her help, the clothes heap was more cryptic. Why was there a huge men’s coat, with space for a pot belly? Quite the big and clunky disguise. And a set of cuffs, without a chain or key. 

A pouch of jewelry, all matching sets fitting her clothes, probably not stolen then. She seemed to have been treated well in Sand, it would be a nightmare and a half if she was personally favoured by the Kazekage AND the Tsuchikage’s successor but that did appear to have been the case because the finery was all Wind, Earth, and a bit of Rock. 

This could become a political issue. 

And at the bottom of it all… priestess robes?! What the actual hell. 

“Uh, Shika..?” Inoichi had turned, his position as second guard was by the book but kinda redundant here. “Except for one, her kunai are from Leaf”. 

He had gone through the things she’d had on hand. 

“A question for tomorrow. More concerned about this mirror from Sand with their royal crest on the back.” ‘Concerned’ was putting it lightly. 

Going through her scrolls took ages. There were tools, chemicals Shikaku was pretty sure were for making soaps. 

And then there were reagents that were absolutely NOT for such innocent applications, a poison user? She hadn’t seemed the type for it, but then again, she seemed too fragile for combat so it made sense for her to have other ways to defend herself. There were lots of vials, none marked in any discernible way. 

Inoichi almost picked one up, but if the girl was paranoid enough to create a trapped scroll, “Best not touch anything here, they could be coated with something.” 

“Do you think she made all of this?” Inoichi had picked up a soap from the tools scroll instead, looking like a pretty gemstone. 

“Probably. Considering how to best put her to use, actually, if we can get her on our side.” Clever, with a multitude of skills despite living on the run. Shikaku had never been interested in taking on a student before, but, well. Just the one couldn’t be that annoying. 

He sealed the scrolls back up, and Inoichi put the soap back too. The ink set had been less of a surprise. Another scroll, ah, cooking tools and a meagre storage of ingredients. 

Some meat, probably rabbit, definitely too old to use now. He chucked it into the bushes. A rural woven bag of flour, she hadn’t dared go into the bigger towns here then? 

A surprising amount of spice bags, well filled and in a cloth holder. That seemed to be something she cared about, then. Moving the holder, he saw straps, so it was an apron of sorts. 

One kunai in here too, looking worn down. Used for cooking? It, too, carried the Leaf swirl- and a Nara blacksmith’s crest. 

Shikaku froze, staring at the familiar mark. 

He used those. 

Well, but kunai were left in the forest all the time, it was probably a coincidence? To be sure, he checked his own set, which was silly. 

“Looking shaken,” Inoichi commented. 

Shikaku handed over the kunai, and Inoichi’s blond eyebrows rose. “Huh. That’s close to home” 

“Yeah”. 

Nothing else interesting in there, they sealed it back up. Confusingly, another scroll contained actual cooking knives? But also a lot of little nick-nacks. Was that her storage for ‘precious things’? Why were these knives kept so pristine? What was with the feathers?

Another scroll revealed, oh, she did have a forehead protector. Not hers in that way, if she was the age she looked then her village was gone before her birth. But… 

“Uzu” Inoichi breathed, seeing the swirl. 

“In a way, it’s rightfully hers.” Shikaku murmured, and sealed it back up. 

Her choice of books aside, she appeared to be what they had feared; innocent. No sign of stolen goods, she was a craftswoman and barely had funds. By the look of her food storage, she was scraping by and hunting her meals. They had no other grounds for bringing her in than her bloodline, an uncomfortable truth. 

Morning came, and they had no idea how ready Red was as she pretended to shrink away from Inoichi. Bring it, pretty man, she thought fiercely. 

“It will be over soon,” he said soothingly. 

No, it would not. It would take a while to be sure she’d gotten him out of the fight. 

He entered her mind, and Red pounced, her chakra covering him tightly. 

“What?” his mind-self asked faintly. 

“My mind, my rules” she growled. “You want to SEE things? Well then, I will take you on a tour.” 

And they flashed back to her, tied down as Orochimaru cut into her for his early experiments, back when she was a kid. Inoichi looked horrified, but just as a spectator won’t do; this was the start of her counter-attack, and HE was currently the only one holding her rope. Gotta make him drop it. So she linked his sense of physical feeling right to her pain and fear from back then, and he screamed so she muted him. 

This was her mind, her space, and in this place her chakra was solid and powerful. 

She had saved up lots of not-so-nice memories of Orochimaru’s lair, how about seeing her ‘siblings’ dead? 

Lots of that, she eventually grew numb to it. 

Or letting him feel the fear of Orochimaru’s ability, again and again. He had used his lab rats to test his own limits, making them try to break his hold or just seeing how little he could use. 

Let’s see, she’d give him a brief glimpse of her respite, her feelings when in the company of Wasen and Fune and Amibune. There were tears in his eyes as he breathed for a moment.

And then Orochimaru, in Amibune’s body, murdering the rest of her little family. That might have done the trick, actually? Inoichi was curled up, and looked to be sobbing, but she still fed him the nightmares she’d had. 

Alright, it was go time! She shoved him out of her head roughly. 

Getting back out of her own head and sensing the outside world once more was disorienting, Red kicked and rolled away, rope slipping from his hand- yes! 

She teleported to the tag whose counter-tag she had drawn in her hand overnight, in the nothingness that separated Sand and Rivers. An unremarkable spot of near-desert. 

Tied up like a rug, but alive and free in the most important way, Red started her wiggling search for a sharp rock. 

They’d gotten all her stuff, stupid thieving ninja. 

Chapter Text

Right, her stash, she’d refreshed that yet somehow couldn’t seem to think of it when planning her escape. This tag had seemed safest? Annoyed at herself, Red wiggled back and took the teleport route near Rain, and then emerged on her cliff. Ah. It was because this one was near a village, wasn’t it, it was giving her goosebumps now. 

Couldn’t stay scared of people forever, she was stronger than she used to be. Even without tools, that mind battle had been reassuring somehow? Her chakra wasn’t useless, it had protected what mattered; her self. Nobody would be touching that, ever again. 

The jagged cliff had plenty of sharp edges, and one was conveniently placed as she had used it to scrape a deer hide once. She’d given up on that pretty quickly, easier to just sell soaps and buy another blanket. Now, the rock was slowly fraying her rope, but wow she was SO mounting a knife here just in case this happened again. 

Knives. Heck. They had Wasen and Fune’s stuff. 

Was there any point in trying to get anything back? Ninja would always catch her easily, rob her of everything she owned, over and over. 

She had been dreading it, but Red would have to do the inevitable and finally use herself as the scroll. Itchy, but safe. The thought of what might happen if the seals got damaged had stopped her before. 

Ah, her wrists were free! Red got herself untangled, and spent a moment enjoying the feeling. 

Freedom. 

She flopped on her back, and let herself cloudgaze for a bit. She had almost nothing, but she was free. 

Hours later, Red got pulled from her daze by her stomach’s growling. Chouza’s soup had been good, but that was last night and it was almost evening again. She didn’t have a knife, but (she grimaced at the thought) she wouldn’t need that to hunt bunnies. Augh, rabbit meat. 

First thing first though, Red drew a storage in blood on her arm and got the buried money out. It sealed just fine, and, huh. She could grab into it, instead of having to unseal it on her arm? Looked kinda icky, but she wasn’t actually grabbing inside her arm, seals stored stuff inside the ink (or blood) itself. 

Practical, her other arm-seal would be weapons and tags then. Always on hand. 

But yeah, it was itchy. 

Making it invisible was easy, but it had to be visible when in use, alright. Red was her scroll now. Next, which hand would her fire seal go in… 

Silencing seals under her feet dampened Red’s footfalls as she stalked a bunny, and as she grabbed it with her right, ‘increase friction’ activated at her chakra’s nudge. No escape. 

Expertly snapping its neck was easy enough, but cutting into it with a sharp rock was messy. The first thing she was going to buy tomorrow was a good knife from Artisan town. Pricy, but their blades were supposedly the best, and she was sealing this one on her person. From now on, what was HERS was hers only, forever. 

Only the necessary; a knife, a decoy bag, lacquer for hiraishin anchor tags, a change of clothes for the upcoming winter, a blanket to survive the nights, and tools to make- no, she could sell bunnies. 

Sabita would be her new name, a huntress. Wait, no, Garnet maybe? The lands closer to Lightning used more unusual names. 

No frivolous hobbies from now on. 

Definitely no more attempts at ‘seduction’, a bad excuse for her childishly wanting to bond with others. 

No distractions. 

She would disappear into the mountains of Frost, from her old teleport in the Country of Hot Water, and live quietly as a huntress there. It was already autumn, so it would be harsh, but that also meant less chance of meeting people. 

Red shivered throughout the night, it was freezing! Must be… September-ish? She re-counted the days, yes, that was probably correct. Colder than usual, then. 

In the early morning hours, she put on a genjutsu: White hair, ice blue eyes, whiter skin than her own and without freckles. A Frost native. 

She couldn’t check the result without a- wait, did she need a mirror? Red pulled some water from the ground with her only ninjutsu, flattened and stilled it with her chakra, and held it against the dark cliff face. She would not be buying a mirror, then. Yeah, it looked fine, no spots or strands missed. Her face looked somewhat fake, too unmarred, so she added some distinctive birthmarks that she wouldn’t be using again. 

Come to think of it, how was she holding this water up? It had always felt so natural, Red hadn’t questioned it, but now… she let chakra enter her eyes, and, oh? The water itself had chakra? But both she and others drank it just fine. Fascinating. 

Red let it back into the ground, and the chakra dissipated. Lifting it again, ah, new chakra flowed into the water from her to let her lift it. 

Curiosity sated Red let it drop again, and made her way to town, coin pouch in hand since her current outfit -from Scarlett, way back then, a Cloud-style ripped arms top and buttoned shorts- didn’t have pockets or long sleeves. At least it wasn’t a strange style for a frost country hunter. 

“Oh, now there’s a rare sight so far west! Take it our shop’s renown has reached far, then?” the shopkeeper stroked his beard smugly. According to Rose’s ‘boyfriend’ back then, this had been the most arrogant but also the best blademaker in the area. 

“I need a new hunting knife,” Garnet said coolly, scanning over the wares on display. Definitely not one kept in reach; she knew bladesmiths around here guarded their best creations jealously and only sold to skilled wielders. Pieces kept under glass or high up, yet looking freshly polished… there! 

“Can I feel the grip of that one?” she asked, pointing to one kept out of reach behind the counter. A small handle, perfect. 

“You’ve got an eye for quality, I see. Very well, let’s test how well it suits you out back”. 

Ah, mock combat? Garnet accepted the knife from the smith, and gave it a swing, one of her taijutsu poses with a knife for self-defense. “It’s lying well in my hand, but sure, I will take your test. Or you won’t sell, right?” 

“I see you are not new to this.” 

He led her to a fenced-in little backyard, barely two strides across, and picked a sword and arm-shields off a wall holder. “Hopefully you understand, this old man can no longer jab fast enough to keep up with a young’un like you without some extra reach”. 

“I do not mind, but I am a hunter, not a fighter” 

“That is fine, hunt me as you would a wolf” he said, taking a stance. 

Red put chakra into binding the knife to her hand, and powered her body too, bounding at him and jumping his blade’s swing. It blasted past her with a rush of wind, the old man had serious power to his moves. 

Her agility training was paying off. Kicking off from the wall behind him let her catch him mid-turn, and his sword clattered to the ground as her new knife shaved his beard a bit. Wow, that was sharp. 

“I give! Splendid, she is yours.” 

“How much-” 

“Do not insult me! She is not for sale, so you better treat her well. Now, care products on the other hand, I will sell…” 

In the end, Red ended up paying what she would have for an average knife, but for oil and a specially shaped sharpener and a sheathe and care tools. Did a knife really need all that? He had bristled as she mentioned never once maintaining her previous hunting knife (Shadow’s) and sat her down to instruct her. Well, it couldn't hurt to do this when she was bored, without soapmaking to play with. Keeping her knife sharp longer would be good, that last one had gotten super dull. 

Sturdy winter leather armor took most of her remaining funds, but the silently moving fabric-padded design was perfect for her need with the surprisingly roomy butterfly sleeves. Apparently, it had been a custom order somebody hadn’t picked up. 

Buying her decoy bag and blanket would have to wait, so there were more uncomfortable nights ahead, lovely. Well, she could get those elsewhere. For now, she was armoured and armed with enough tricks up her sleeves to feel safe-ish. 

Back at her cliff, Red made the remaining seals she would wear; teleport tags, lots of them, permanent and all over her torso and upper legs. No need to uncover those for use, and all soaked in invisibly and perfectly. 

Itchy all over, it was hard to sleep, but Red gritted her teeth and ignored it. She would probably be feeling that itch for the rest of her life, so she would think of it as the feeling of being alive, safe, well prepared, able to escape anytime. 

Still hecking annoying tho. She might have scratched a bit. 

The next day, after a sad breakfast of cold bunny meat leftovers, Red went hunting for animals to sell. 

Teleporting like this was clumsy at first, she often got the wrong tag, but with practice she learned them pretty well. She would flash in, look and listen for animals fleeing in a panic, and if there was one she would effortlessly bound over and take it down. 

By evening, she had seven rabbits and two deer to sell; she had taken them to the cliff to pile them after each successful kill. She even knew the best place to sell them; Hot Springs had specialty restaurants for venison and small game, their price for fresh catches was high according to chatter she’d heard as the soapseller in the streets back then. 

Sealing dead animals inside her skin did not appeal, augh, not happening. Red teleported over without them first to prepare things. 

Her new facial markings pleased her, aesthetically; a dot under her left eye, another under the right side of her mouth. She made makeup part of her genjutsu, kohl and slightly pinker lips. No need for extra items, even if she had enjoyed them. 

The air smelled pleasantly of sulphur and damp earth as she got closer to her goal, kind of homey in a way. Red had missed the hot springs. Day-time traders, flower sellers and cloth merchants, were already packing up but for the other vendors the sales had just started; Jade town had nightlife. Red made her way down a side street to where carts and stalls were being returned or lent to those without their own, and got in line. 

“If you don’t like the price, go elsewhere!” the man on night duty said, annoyed. 

The potential customer did just that, so it was Red’s turn. He smiled as he saw her, that was a relief, dealing with unhappy people was tougher. 

“I am a hunter, the animals are clean and fresh but the cart would still need washing before it’s usable for produce again” 

“Give me four,” he said, studying her armor, “you can have a coin back if you return it tonight.” 

Wow, cheap. Hunters probably had a good track record in returning the carts here, and she did look very professional. “Thank you, I will be back soon,” Garnet assured him with a smile. 

She walked back out of the line, but didn’t hear the next customer order a cart, so she looked back in curiosity. The man was still staring at her, but as their eyes met he hurried to wave the next customer over. 

Huh. She knew that dazed look. But this armor didn’t show cleavage at all? Odd. Both ‘Seduction 101’ and ‘icha icha’ had agreed on that point being a necessity to catch a man’s attention. That appeared to be at least partially false. 

Getting the cartful of animals sold was easy, the bunnies were unmarred on the surface since she’d broken their necks so she got paid extra for the fur. 

The deer had sliced throats, and she’d left them to bleed out before cleaning off the blood with her water jutsu, the venison restaurant cook exclaimed at the perfectly undamaged meat and wanted to hire her as their exclusive hunter but Red had to decline. Deals would mean leaving a trail to follow, a schedule. 

Being a hunter paid super well! Staying in an area so near one of Orochimaru’s hideouts was a bad idea, but Red did allow herself a fancy venison dinner at the restaurant before her inevitable trudge up into the cold mountains. Wow, deer tasted much better prepared like this! Red excitedly asked the chef about it, apparently this was cooked quickly over high heat after soaking in spiced butter. 

Gotta buy a frying pan and butter, red decided while bringing the cart back. And spices- 

“My shift ends soon, maybe we could-” the carts guy started. 

“No thank you.” Garnet replied coolly. She did not get the promised coin back, but ah, whatever. Time to get a few essentials! Let’s see, what else, a blanket, a bag, lacquer… the man was out of the building, and following her. 

“I believe I declined?” 

“Come on, sexy huntress, give this nice uncle a chance? Pretty please?” 

“Why would I?” she practically growled. Ew. She was still walking, but he followed. 

“I know lots of fun places in town, you’ll have a good time, I promise! I can show you the ways adults have fun…” 

uh yeah no, hard pass. “My father is waiting for me, I have to go,” Garnet pressed, looking around. Too many potential witnesses, she did not want attention. 

He grabbed her arm, and Red found out she hated that, so she stomped on his foot. Hard. 

“Ow! Hey, I was only-” 

“I believe she said no” an authoritative voice overrode his, oh thank goodness, a local ninja. 

“She harmed me!” the dumb cart-man complained, an attempt to overturn this somehow. Shouldn’t he know, justice always prevailed around here? 

“I watched this since you hurried over to a girl who seemed to wish to leave. Will we be having any further problems here?” 

“...” the rude man clenched his fists, but apparently thought better of it and returned to his workplace with a slam of the door. 

“I hope you will not let this unpleasant encounter taint your visit here” the ninja murmured, hadn’t heard that phrase in a while. Yeah, this kind of ninja was her favourite. 

“No, but I’m a bit annoyed he didn’t give me the promised coin after I returned the cart.” 

“One moment” they said, and her coin got retrieved from the irate rental carts man. 

“Thank you! Hot Water’s ninja are the best!” she said with feeling, because they were. 

“Should I walk you home?” 

“No, thank you” and the ninja left her alone, never pushy. Yep, this was the only good kind of ninja there was. 

The trek into Frost Country was annoying. Red would probably need to add spikes under her armor’s high boots, for now she wrote ‘increase friction’ on pieces of the Cloud shirt she’d sacrificed and stuck them on with chakra. To think she had used fish glue for this, once, not realising somehow that if chakra could hold her to the ceiling then it could also stick tags. Silly. 

With the tags, she slipped less often, but the cold wind still stung her face. She had passed a settlement in the night, not wanting to leave a trail of sightings, morning went fine but by midday she was getting tired. 

Time to go set a hiraishin and cook… she had only bought spices and butter, wow, bad planning. 

Red settled in a cluster of frozen needle trees, and dug a ditch in the snow for her campfire. Carving a tag with her new knife was tough, gotta get a carving tool next time she went shopping. Inked (well, bloodied, she didn’t buy ink), it needed time to dry, so Red went on the hunt. 

Snow made walking heavy work, even with chakra coursing through her. But it also made the tracks of animals obvious, and soon she was following something that left large and clear paw prints. Hadn’t hunted a predator yet, this would be a fun challenge! 

Red didn’t think she would have much to fear from wildlife after having faced Orochimaru, and she was right, the chakraless cat fell to her blade having never so much as nicked her. Tufted ears, spotted fur that felt valuable. Best not let that get blood on it, she propped its body up a branched, naked tree’s white stem to drain. 

It hadn’t noticed her until her knife was at its throat, and she hadn’t let it suffer, no need to feel bad… even if it was really cute and fluffy. 

Red might not follow that kind of print in the future. 

Mealtime came around, and augh, it tasted bad! 

Yeah, cats were safe from her. Ew. 

Red still ate her fill, not wanting to waste it. She had pulled the skin off the side her meat came from, but it still wrapped up nicely for travel. No way she was sealing that in her skin. Alright fine, maybe she did need two external scrolls, one for things like this and one explosive decoy. 

And one for poisons, maybe? No, they hadn’t really been useful and they had drained her funds and time. Playing around with it had taught her a lot, but that would have to be enough. 

Her only plan, for the rest of her life, was to live quietly as a hunter in these mountains. 

Nighttime was uncomfortable, freezing, and itchy. 

Another settlement came into view as she crested a peak the next morning, quaint and wooden with many smoking chimneys. 

Hopefully somebody here would want to buy the fur. If not, well, before sleeping in the little campfire ditch yesterday Red had lacquered the hiraishin and it was now safely buried where her breakfast fire had thawed the ground. She could sell this elsewhere. 

Trudging into town, Red finally got back on the road and sagged with relief. Walking here felt so light! Effortless! Just in time, she remembered to remove the tags from her boots as an old lady stepped out of her house. 

“Oh my! A traveller, here, so late in the season. You’ll want the inn, it’s the big stone building.” She seemed nice. 

“Hello, my name is Garnet. Can I sell a pelt at the inn?” 

“So polite! You can call me Yukinee, everyone does! A hunter, I take it you are travelling with a group then?” 

Oh, that was to be expected? Sure, then of course Garnet did belong to a group. “They’ll be expecting me back at the camp soon” 

“An errand, oh I remember those days, being an adult but still the youngest and made to fetch and bring every little thing. Yes, a fur merchant is currently at the inn”. 

“Thank you! Should I help you? It’s slippery.” 

“Oh you are a sweet one, don’t worry about me!” she laughed, and in a conspiratory lower voice added; “I might not look it, but I used to be a ninja.” 

Heck. “Wow, a real ninja? Cool! I have to hurry, have a nice day!” 

“You too, little one!” 

Red skedaddled to the inn with her half-skinned cat. The door bell jingled as she entered. 

“Finally, Yukinee- you are not her” the lady behind the bar said. 

“She’s on her way, said I could sell a fur here? But it’s not properly skinned yet-” 

“And that is NOT happening in my inn! Keep it out there, I will get the merchant”. 

Red went back on the porch to wait. 

Yukinee eventually came shuffling. “Oh dear, of course, my friend can’t stand blood. Are you cold?” 

“I’m fine” Red assured her. 

“Here he is, oh, Yukinee! You are late, I almost went and fetched you!” 

The two ladies headed inside, and Red was left with a stocky man in a fur coat. “I see you are not a steady hand at skinning yet, let’s see what we can salvage” he sighed, settling next to her. 

Garnet unwrapped the cat. 

“Lynx, valuable, and it does not appear too damaged. I take it you fed the missing bits to your hunting hounds, surprised they left no damages” he mumbled, handling and turning the carcass. “Hunted yesterday, but well kept. I will take it for seventy”. 

Oh. That was a lot. Maybe cats were not safe from her, after all. Red needed to refill her emergency stash. 

“Can I order more furs, I will be in Jade town next month” he requested, bringing out a tool and scraping under the skin. 

For that price, well, was it really all that risky? Kabuto had seen her there one time, and her new disguise was pretty solid. 

“How long will you be staying there?” 

“Mmm, probably the rest of winter. I have a few locals bringing me trapped snow hares there.” 

Odd way to phrase it, ‘the rest of winter’, it was autumn. But, well, it did look like full winter up here. 

“Then I will drop by, if I get another lynx”. 

“Getting there would take days, here, have this scraper. See how I do it? Wiggle it under, then back and forth. There we go. I will give you that scraper, so skin them fresh. It will be worth more for us both, that way.” 

“I will do that, thank you!” 

“Here, a little one, for the small parts if you want to try. But the large surfaces are worth the most-” 

“Oh let the girl go already, we dealt your cards!” the innkeeper yelled from inside. 

“Alright, best of luck to us both” he said nervously, and gave Red seven whole big coins. 

“Here, your cat” 

“Thank you.” 

Red had gained a skill to practice, two new tools, and enough funds to keep her pampered for a year with ingredients and essentials. Being a hunter was great! She skipped off happily, following the path now. 

As long as she avoided the ninja village of Frost Country, it should be pretty risk-free to live here. 

Now all she needed was a place to sleep comfortably, but for tonight, it would be at a campfire again… no! She had forgotten to buy food, again! Red sighed, and looked for tracks near the path as she walked. Anything else than a cat would be fine… 

she groaned out loud as fresh bunny tracks appeared. Bigger, probably what the fur merchant called a snow hare, hopefully they tasted different. She was about to find out. 

Red had barely started her hunt as both she and the hare startled; it had been that close? Heck, it was fast, Garnet couldn’t be seen using chakra to run on the snow’s crust so Red just boosted herself internally and did her best. Snow flew, the infuriating creature she didn’t even really want zig-zagged like crazy to shake her until she finally got it and activated her grabbing hand’s friction seal. 

It died easily, at least, and was much heavier than a bunny. 

Red lucked out; snow hare tasted more like deer than like her behated rabbits. 

Chapter Text

It had been a while since she gave up on the world, and honestly? Living in hiding was comfortable. 

Red had found a little cottage way up in the mountains, abandoned but still intact. It was tentatively hers-ish, but Red still couldn’t get herself to leave anything she cared about unsealed. It felt like she would be snatched away and never see it again, so the itching persisted as her skin storages filled. 

She had taken a trip to Jade town, the fur trader had been amazed at her speed so she should wait longer next time. 

Having money, but not needing it for something, was a relief. A safety margin. She had brought the big coins to her new stash, the unmarked desert edge tag far from people. The cliff tag now had an old knife she had found in the cottage tied to a tree, in case she escaped while tied up once. 

Red had a safety net of funds and teleports. The thought of going into a populated town no longer had her heart thrumming like a trapped hare’s. 

Alright, pep thought session over, she was ready! 

Red was headed to Sand, because her fears would not rule her and Kankurou might miss his friend. Her awkward feelings for him had given up, finally, all she felt was friendship and loneliness to not have been near him. 

The teleport still worked, but the storage room was no longer dusty! Nice! Felt like a warm welcome, which was a bit silly. Red knocked on the door, oh, there were several voices who reacted. Oops, should have listened first. She scurried behind a well-organized shelf. 

“Carmine, Scarlett?” 

Oh thank goodness, “Kankurou!” She hopped into his arms, but he didn’t squeeze her? Wait, why was he so thin? Was he shaking? “Are you ill?” 

“Thought-thought ya were dead” Oh, he was crying. 

Red hugged him tighter. “I am really, really sorry. Got captured twice, and after that going near people was scary” 

“Is being here scarin’ ya now?” he leaned back to ask her seriously, paint smeared. 

“A bit. Can I take you away, and bring you back later?” 

“One moment- Sis!” he yelled into the hallway. 

“Go” she answered, so Red took them to her cottage. 

“Heck, that’s freezing! Where ARE we?!” 

Oh, right, his desert ‘winter’ clothes were not meant for this. “One moment, here, a blanket. I will light the fireplace. We are in Frost Country.” 

“Frost- isn’t that on the other side of the world?” 

“Not quite, but almost?” Red had taken her genjutsu off, felt odd after so long, and lit the fire fast with her left hand seal. “Here, warm up. Sorry, I didn’t think, of course this would be cold to you” 

“Just happy you are safe” he mumbled, wiping his eyes. “About, remember that time we kissed? I am sorry. Really, truly sorry-” 

Why? Did he not like it? “But it was nice?” 

“Yes, but I didn’t tell you I liked you back then, romantically. So kissin’ as friends was a lie. And-” 

“Wait, you liked me?” 

“Important part’s that I lied to ya, shouldn’t date a guy like that.” 

“I think I might be done with dating,” Red admitted. “Country of Water put me in a creepy underwater prison for a month, and it did something to me that I don’t understand, but after that I couldn’t feel how I used to?” 

“Still okay with hugs?” 

“From you? Definitely.” 

The blanket enveloped Red too, and they sat in silence by the fire for a bit. 

“You should be angry about me foolin’ ya” he mumbled.

“No? I liked it. Learning to kiss was fun, I probably won’t get to use it now but I’m still happy to have the memory” she whispered, leaning into his side. 

“I’m older, that makes it worse” he protested feebly. 

“Why are you insisting on feeling bad about it?” 

“...” 

“Look, I hope it won’t make you hate me, but when we first met I considered seducing you for your ninja techniques,” Red confessed. 

“Wh- really?” He seemed shocked, but didn’t lean away at least.

“Yep! I was being a horrible, terrible little spy after your secrets until we got to dinner and you started spilling everything. No need for seduction. So, I lied to you, do you hate me?” 

He hugged her to his side more tightly. “Could never hate ya.” 

“See? All good. Friends?” 

“Best friends.” 

“The fire should be hot enough, hang on, let me cook us dinner?” Red asked, and pulled a frying pan from her arm. She had decided not to keep secrets from Kankurou. 

“Wh- your arm- how-” 

“Hmm?” she hummed to tease, and stuck her hand in to rummage for spices. He made a strangled sound. Ah, there was the venison mix! “You DO know why Uzumaki are hunted all over the world, right?” 

“Some bloodline stuff?” 

She sent him an incredulous look. “Seriously?” 

“Lookin’ it up would feel like snoopin’ on a friend!” 

He… really hadn’t known. Red had been under the impression there wouldn’t be a ninja who didn’t. 

“That’s silly. And I don’t really have much of the ‘bloodline stuff’, I can only glow”. 

“What?” 

Red glowed up bright- and had to dim, because sheesh she had gotten way glowier with the years and it was blinding. 

“Wow. Does it do anything?” 

“Don’t think so? Lights my path, but at the same time it makes me a huge target so I can’t use it.” 

“Huh, feels warm, fuzzy?” he was holding her elbow, it felt odd. Like his chakra became part of her network in some way?

“Could you try using chakra? It kind of feels like we are connected like this?” 

He tipped his head (was that Gaara’s ‘curious’ gesture?), but did lift the frying pan with a thread. Red could feel it! 

“Wow that’s weird, like the warmth goes through me to my hand” 

“I feel it too, let’s experiment after dinner? I hunted a deer yesterday, got some unfrozen pieces ready!” 

“... in your arm?” He eyed it warily. 

“Hell no, ew. In the room I kinda sorta use as a storage, hang on” 

Red fetched the nice fillets, and got to work. She had been hoping to invite him, there had been more tears than expected but it had still worked out. Silly, to have worried about something like kisses and emotions! 

“Wishing I had dared to go visit you earlier” 

“Underwater prison sounds nasty, don’t worry, I get it. Can’t control fear like that”. 

“Still, you seem to have worried a lot” 

“Yeah. Don’t disappear again?” 

“Trust me, I am doing my best.” 

The spiced butter sizzled nicely as Red turned the meat. 

“Smells good” he said, sniffing appreciatively.

“Got the recipe from a fancy restaurant, so it has to. But yep, it’s a good one. Deer are surprisingly tasty.” 

“Never had deer before, but I saw them a few times on missions. Should hunt one, next time”. 

Eating together was a bit tricky, Red hadn’t thought about needing two sets of cutlery so they just took turns with her knife. 

Kankurou looked deep in thought for a while, then made an offer; “If it’s after dark, and you’re using genjutsu, could I invite ya out for a drink in Sand?” he hurried to add “As friends. And I mean that, this time”. 

“I… could try. If it gets scary, I will flee?” 

“Sounds good. After dinner, then?” and he had another bite, finally eating properly. 

“Sure. Once the fire isn’t so wonderfully toasty anymore” Red mumbled, snuggling closer. Being near him felt safe as always. 

He chuckled, and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. “You’re the one who chose the coldest place in the world to live”. 

Dinner was all gone by the time Red got gently nudged awake. 

“Sorry, didn’t want to wake ya, but…” the embers were low, right, getting cold for him. 

“‘S alright” she yawned, and applied her genjutsu again. 

“What’s the name of this one” he asked, and, right. 

Red dropped the genjutsu again. “My real name is Red. I know, kinda pathetic, but I named myself as a kid” 

“Suits you,” he mumbled, and Red had a feeling of deja vu she couldn’t quite place. But it made her happy. 

“Thank you!” And she reapplied her huntress. “This is Garnet, she hunts for meat and sells the pelts.” 

“Pretty. Should make my puppets look good, next time I make some.” 

“made any new ones?” 

“You bet! Got some inherited and fixed ‘em up, I’mma show you once we’re back in the worksh- ah, if you’re still okay with-” 

Sigh. “I still was not ever against those kisses, you know that, right?” 

“still wrong”. 

“If you insist. Well, stop bothering my best friend about it please. I’d love to see your puppets again, and I happen to have only nice memories in that room.” 

“Alright” he smiled. 

“Want to fix your paint, wait, I don’t have any. Maybe use transformation? It’s kinda everywhere”. 

He looked at his hands as if he just now realised they were purple, and did the hand signs for transformation, oh right. After those first times, she had totally forgotten to do that part, no wonder hers ended up becoming something else. She tried it as he did it, but no, nothing. Huh. 

“Maybe someday?” he said supportively. 

“No, that’s the odd part, it worked once. I gave myself a fish head. But later, I forgot to do hand signs, and it became genjutsu somehow? After that, the hand signs haven’t worked for that one.” 

“That’s really weird, yeah.” 

“Should we test out the chakra transferry thingie from earlier? You can take us to Sand, here, touch the side of my stomach- there! I’ll glow, put chakra in your fingertip-” “s yes, you did it!” Red completed the sentence in Sand’s storage room. 

Kankurou took his hand back, and looked at it in confusion. “... Uzumaki thing?” 

“Kind of? I don’t really get why others don’t do it, you just need to learn sealing jutsu and it’s simple enough.” 

“Sealing jutsu is hard, to me at least. So many little similar wiggles to copy, and gettin’ one wrong makes the whole thing useless.” 

“Wiggles? You mean words?” 

“No, the ones I’ve seen are all painted random-looking patterns” 

“Huh, weird. Show me one later. So, a drink?” Red asked, nervous but ready. 

“Yeah! … why the storage room, tho?” 

“Err, see that box there? My sealing tag is in it, but it only works in that one spot, so if it gets moved I can’t get here anymore.” 

“One sec, I gotta mark that” he walked to the door, and knocked. 

Some shuffling, and a bored-looking ninja Red didn’t know opened the door. “Tem-tems told me her brother was smoochin’ a girl in here and not to disturb, gotta say I didn’ believe a word. But wouldya lookit’ that.” 

“No ‘smooching’, she’s a friend. Give me a pencil, and red paper.” 

“Right, jus’ hangin’ in the storage for hours, as ya do. Got it” he drawled, unconvinced, but got the office supplies. 

Red stood by awkwardly as Kankurou scribbled a huge ‘DO NOT TOUCH, ORDER OF KANKUROU’ on the bright paper and hung it on the box. 

“Must say, ya got better taste than I woulda guessed for a puppetmaker. Can’t vouch for hers tho” the ninja slouched in the doorway with a lazy grin. 

“We’re FRIENDS” Kankurou growled at the other ninja, and offered Red his arm. 

“If ya say so” the receptionist mumbled, but left the doorway to let them pass. 

Red clung to her friend, heart beating hard as the ninja got behind them. Getting back on the street was a relief, but she could hear people in the restaurants and bars. 

“Oi, shivering, ya sure it ain’t too much?” 

“I’ll be fine, I can get out any time” she reassured herself out loud. 

“Alright. This way, a quiet place, they have fruit juices with spices. It’s interesting”. 

Red jumped as a person stepped onto the street from a covered food stall, but Kankurou got between her and them and then it felt less scary. 

“Thanks” she mumbled. 

Yeah, she wasn’t alone. Kankurou was strong. She would be fine. 

The drinks bar was actually nice? Nonalcoholic fruit stuffs, most of which she had encountered either one time in her life or not at all. And Kankurou was right, it was basically empty. Strange. Might be the ‘nonalcoholic’ part, given the late hour. 

Sipping a second helping of the unsweetened green tea apple thing she had decided was her favourite so far, Red studied her friend more closely. “Were you ill while I was away?” 

“Yeah, still am. But I think I will be better soon.” He drew a little stick-person in the condensation on his metal cup. 

“Was it from the poison, long term stuff?” 

“No, I’ve always had this, just usually not so bad. It comes and goes.” 

“Happy you’re starting to feel better again.” 

“Me too.” He gave her a little smile. 

There was some commotion outside, Kankurou got up and changed seats to keep Red out of sight from the entrance. 

‘Snake!’ somebody yelled, and he relaxed with a chuckle. “Tourists. Yeah, sand snakes are everywhere at night.” He still stayed put, just shifted his pomegranate juice closer. Too sweet for Red’s taste, but then again, he disliked her drink too. 

“Do you like snakes?” she asked. 

“Don’t mind ‘em, kinda cute really. Guess I do like snakes, yeah. You?” 

“I used to like them, but-” 

there was a scream, startlingly close, and Kankurou got to his feet at ninja speed. The barkeeper was pointing down? “Snake!” 

“Seriously?” Kankurou sighed out, and walked over, unmotivated. “Right, where, I’ll get the lil fella out-” 

a streak of white shot past him, and went straight toward Red, who squeaked and tried to dodge but suddenly had snake fangs in her lower leg. The surprise was worse than the bite, really.

It looked familiar in the worst sort of way. A white snake, no, that couldn’t be, not here! 

Terrified, Red considered teleporting out, but Kankurou might be in danger. Couldn't leave him!

“The hell? Garnet, sit still, I’ll get it off. We’re going to the hospital” Kankurou grabbed the snake by the head, and tried to detach it. 

“Orochimaru,” Red whispered. 

He stiffened. “No, that’s- Sand no longer deals with Orochimaru, this gotta be a natural albino-” it poofed out of his hands, as summons do. “Heck.” 

Red felt woozy, the world was tilting. She tried to teleport them both, but nothing happened. “Can’t escape” she mumbled, lips not cooperating. 

“Shit, alright, hospital. Lemme carry you?” 

She nodded, and he gathered her in his arms, after which things got seriously blurry. 

“Snake bite, but it was a summon, white snake” she felt the rumble as Kankurou talked more than she heard him, oh, they were at the hospital already? There were noises, she was placed on something, no! 

Being in his arms had felt safer, but then a warm hand was rubbing hers and all was well except for the sea sickness and burning and breathing was hard-

‘Without knowing the venom, there is little to be done, but our healers are on it. The greenhouse gardeners for antidotes are performing an analysis…” the nurse droned on. 

All Kankurou could really focus on was Red’s strained breathing, her pulse racing in the wrist he held. 

Her genjutsu had poofed out already as he had grabbed that snake, the venom appeared to suppress her chakra. 

She hadn’t been paranoid; she had been right to stay away from Sand. He had been right there, but his reaction had been too slow, useless. 

Running steps he recognized outside, and the door slammed open. 

“Brother!” 

“Sis, stay with Gaara. You got my report, white snake summon, last thing she managed to say was ‘Orochimaru’. C’mon, shoo”