Chapter 28: The Time They Spent

"You don't have to worry about anything Shin, I'll take care of the whole thing!" Ibuki said with a big reassuring smile. "I know, but I can't just leave you to do everything, I want to help out wherever I can." Shin smiled back while pouring over blueprints and costing details. The weapons shop was being uplifted into a two story building. Ibuki had gotten a contract from a mastersmith in the land of iron and gotten exclusive rights to sell his weapons.

These weapons were made with chakra metals using special techniques and each was worth a fortune, so naturally the shop had to match the weapons. The shop was being uplifted and Shin and Ibuki had entered a separate contract regarding the sale of these weapons and had entered a partnership.

Due to the fame and influx that would be brought to the shop due to mastersmiths works, they had even brought a few more shops in front of the weapons and the ones next to their's and Shin had invited the merchant group that had been renting his grandfather's shop to open a clothing branch here that catered to the shinobi exclusively. Shin had even given them a generous offer to make sure that they accepted, even at the cost of reducing his profits to almost 0 for the first 6 months.

The other shops that the duo had brought would soon be turned into food and entertainment. It was an ambitious plan where the two wanted to create their own commercial block that catered to the Shinobi exclusively. Shin had even convinced a senior medical ninja from the Konoha hospital to set up shop here. Shin wanted to create a one-stop shop for all Shinobi needs and had pulled no expense to make sure that it would be a success.

"Looks alright. We should still hold off on the purchase of land until the summer but make sure that the merchant companies sign on the contract as soon as possible." Shin suggested, handing back the papers to Ibuki. The man took the papers and asked with a confused expression, "Wait? But why? The investment is ready and the loan is already approved from the bank. If we wait till summer, we might not be able to finish all the construction and renovation before the Winter festival."

Shin simply got up and walked to the exit, "Just wait for a bit, you'll know when the time is right. Don't wait for my approval at that time and just start on the project…" Shin paused as he looked back at the man that had been taking care of him. Ibuki had been managing Shin's money since his mother died and had done so without a fault, where many would be tempted to steal the wealth of a heart-broken orphan, Ibuki had done none of that, Shin had checked. "Uncle…" Shin turned towards the door, his back facing Ibuki, he didn't wish to say goodbye. Shin knew what was coming and he had also made his decision about what to do.

"Take care…" Shin spoke lightly before leaving behind a confused blonde man, "O-Ok? You take care too Shin."

Shin walked the streets of Konoha, his eyes looking down at the paved roads of the village. His ears listened to every laughter of the passing children, the hackling of the merchants and the customers and the jesterings of friends as they made plans for the day. Shin didn't look up, there was no one here he would want to look at. His thoughts ran a mile a minute as he made plan after plan, trying to find some solution or miracle to avoid what was coming and whenever he thought he had found one, he always seemed to fall short of achieving it.

Shin eventually sighed and spoke, "Status."

 [Name: The Overlord of Chaos (Shin Hirano)

Level: 70

Title: Chunin of Konoha

Age: 11

Stats:

Strength: 56

Vitality: 50

Agility: 62

Sense: 75

Chakra: 90

Control: 87]

'Weak…' Shin commented with distaste but eventually sighed in resignation. Shin had often thought about what would have happened if he had come to this world just a few decades earlier, he could have prevented so many tragedies. But his life would not have changed as he would have had to live through just as many. Such was the truth of this world, there will always be wars and conflict, no matter how many tragedies you avoid, there will always be more to take their place.

Shin unknowingly walked to the Konoha hospital, he had been going there for years so it was a habit now. Shin didn't enter the hospital, instead he stopped some distance away, looking at a spiky black haired girl as she played with a black cat, making her do tricks like jumping on the girl's shoulder, rolling and dropping dead suddenly when the girl poked the cat on the forehead.

Shin smiled seeing this, and watched for a bit until the girl ran out of treats to give and the cat ran towards Shin instead, jumping onto his shoulder and snuggling against his face while purring. The girl walked to Shin and waved, "How long have you been standing there?" Shin flicked her forehead and scolded with a smile, "Long enough to see you bribing my cat to do tricks, Pineapple is not a pet you know." The girl pouted while holding her forehead, "I wasn't bribing! And why do you always hit me!?" she protested to which Shin laughed, "Hahaha, oh man, you have to stop doing that! They might think you escaped from the zoo or something!" Yukia's pout deepened as she tried to punch Shin while fuming, "I'm not a red panda!"

Shin dodged the incoming punches before grabbing the fists, he took her hands, pulled her closer and flicked her forehead again, "Of Course you're not, red panda is cuter~" Shin let go and started to walk towards the village when another fist just missed him as he dodged it last second, "So you're saying I'm not even as cute as an animal!?" Yukia yelled as the two fought over mundane things while walking and trying the newest food stalls in the village until nightfall.

When the sky had darkened and there was no other light than the radiant moon and the twinkling stars. Two shinobis hid in a clearing somewhere among the many forests of Konoha. They lay there, in the middle of the clearing as they looked up at the night sky. The moon was low so it was hidden behind the canopy of the surrounding tree, giving them an unfiltered view of the nightly jewels in the sky.

The two lay there mostly in silence, Yukia occasionally describing what she saw with her deep red eyes as Shin looked at her. "Oh, I think it's an asteroid! It looks so close yet so far at the sametime!" she exclaimed. Shin looked at the sky, failing to see any trails of frozen ice and rock so he just turned back to look at Yukia's eyes. Yukia sensing his gaze, turned and looked back at him.

Time passed between them as they lay still, the gentle spring breeze caressing the leaves as they produced the sweet melody of the night, along with the singing crickets and the bright fireflies dancing in the air. The world twisted and turned, the people laughed and cried, the stars exploded and died, the river of time kept on flowing, yet it seemed to come to a halt when it drew closer to them.

To the two of them, time and space held no meaning, the only meaning anything held was right there, in front of them. Shin looked at Yukia, trying to remember when he had failed in doing the one thing he had vowed to do; getting involved with the Uchiha, but for some reason, no matter how much he hated himself for it, at that moment, right there, he just didn't seem to care. The future seemed so far away and the worries of tomorrow so foreign that he thought they were someone else's.

Yukia looked at Shin, her red eyes looking at every twist and curve of his face, 'he has dry skin, he didn't use the moisturizer I got him.' She smiled, every imperfection seemed so irrelevant to her now, every flaw, every defect just seemed to fade away as her eyes looked over every bit and burned it into her mind.

Yukia could see the reflection of her eyes in his, she could see every shift in his pupil, every twitch of his muscle, she had memorized his every expresion and that was why she knew his feelings even before he did. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice a gentle whisper, afraid of breaking this timeless trance.

"Let's run away." Shin replied in the same whisper but his words startled her as she observed his face for any clue that this might be a joke but she failed to find it, in the end only a single word escaped her puzzled mind, "What?"

Shin kept his unblinking eyes at hers as he spoke, "We can take a mission, fake our deaths or just simply run away. We can go to the land of Iron, I know a few people there. Or maybe the land of tea. We can go anywhere, maybe sail the sea, goto another continent!" Shin suggested.

Yukia saw his changing expression finally realized his thoughts, they matched her own as she smiled and continued on his behalf, "And then what? Become farmers?" Shin smiled back and replied, "Yah, raise a few chickens and goats… maybe a few red pandas too, to keep you company." "Oh? How many?" Yukia inquired with a tease. "Oh just a few, 7 or 8… maybe 10?" Shin chuckled as he spoke after a thought, leaving Yukia flabbergasted as her mouth hung open. She struggled to speak as she stuttered, "10!?"

Shin shrugged as he smiled, "Fine we can do a few more if you want." Yukia punched him as the two laughed, "And then what?" she asked to which Shin scooched closer to her, holding her hand before replying, "Then we watch them grow, fall in love, get married, have kids for us to spoil rotten."

Yukia smiled as the two touched their foreheads, "And then?" she asked in a faltering whisper. "Then we grow old together, and after living a long happy life, I wait for you to join me on the other side." Shin whispered back, trying to make sure his voice doesn't break. The pair had closed their eyes, their hands clasped tightly together.

"And…what if I went away first?" Yukia asked as her voice started to break and tears threatened to follow. "Let me have just one will you? Just for once, I'd like to wait for someone, I have enough people waiting for me." Shin replied.

"That sounds nice." Yukia opened her watery eyes, releasing the tears from their prison as the two looked at each other. "I'm sorry Shin." Yukia smiled, "Maybe… maybe if there is a next life, we could both just become panda's… then we could just spend our lives without worrying about anything." Shin wiped her tears and held her face in his hands, "Yah, that'd be nice."

"I should go." she got up to leave and Shin sat up, "When is it going to happen?" Yukia halted her steps at his question and after a moment of silence she replied, "Soon… Shin…" she turned towards him, "Maybe you should leave the village for a while, come back after it's all over." Shin shook his head, "I'm not leaving." "Shin!" Yukia pleaded, "Everyone in the village knows about your relationship with the Uchiha! Once the fighting starts, even if you stay neutral, they won't let you be! Please Shin!"

Shin got up, Yukia could see the resolution in his eyes as he spoke, "I am not going." In the end Yukia sighed and left with her parting words, "Take care Shin."

The fight was brewing, anyone worth their salt in Konoha knew that. The Uchiha were being denied not only medical care but also business. Shin had seen more than one shopkeeper refusing to sell to an Uchiha. The hatred was growing and the clan was on its last legs. Every shinobi was talking about this matter and being in the hospital meant that Shin was exposed to alot of information from his patients and the other hospital staff.

Everyone was simply maintaining an outwards act of civility but both sides were ready for a conflict at a moment's notice. Even Shin had faced some salty remarks. His friendship with the Uchiha was no secret and he was one of the few doctors in the village that were willing to treat the Uchiha clan members. This had earned him a lot of goodwill from the Uchiha but also a lot of scorn from the anti-Uchiha faction of the village.

Shisui had died a few weeks ago, the news of his death shook everyone and Shin knew the massacre would happen any time. Shin had tried to find Itachi, hoping to talk to him before the tragedy but it seemed that the man had all but disappeared.

Shin wanted to stop him, at any cost. He had already reached a high enough level that he would be able to have some level of influence over his next life so he didn't want to spend the rest of his life regretting not doing anything when he had the chance. In anticipation of any mishappenings, Shin had even written up a will, he had left everything to Atsuki except the weapons shop which he left to Ibuki.

Shin got up and looked down at his cat, "Let's go home Pineapple." he told the cat who looked up at him and said "Meow OwO". Shin smiled at the cat, his face froze as he watched the cat's ear suddenly twitch and turn.

*rustle*

Shin jumped aback as shurikens hit the ground where head had just been standing. Shin drew tagged kunai's from the pouch when he heard more rustling, 'he's fleeing!' "Pineapple, go get help!" he told the cat as he flickered into the forest, chasing after the attacker.

Shin pursued the attacker, trying to get a glimpse as he could identify him but the attacker always seemed to evade him by staying just beyond his range. As Shin followed him, he couldn't help but think that he was being led somewhere, 'Is it a trap?' he wondered but still kept pursuing, 'Doesn't matter, I just have to observe him, once I know how is attacking me, I'll be able to deal with them later on.'

The pursuit led them through the outskirts of the village and near one of the many mini forests near the academy. Shin knew this path, he had walked down it many times. Shin passed by a few ropes and strings that were used for traps and alarms, Shin recognised slash marks and dents on the trees, he had made some of them. Shin's apprehension grew as he solely realized the destination.

After a bit he landed in a big empty clearing with a giant tree in the middle. Ropes and broken targets lay about , marked with the efforts of aspiring students. Shin looked ahead, his gaze landing on his attacker as he stood next to the giant tree. It was a short figure, shrouded in black with a mask covering his face as he stood still, facing Shin with a silence.

Shin looked at this person with horror and grief, his system presenting information to Shin, information that Shin didn't wish to know, information that choked his words in his throat. In the end, only a single word escaped his lips, "Atsuki…"

 [Name: Atsuki Hirano

Level: 50 (+20)

Title: Chunin of Konoha (Root)

Age: 12

Stats:

Strength: 65(+15)

Vitality: 65(+30)

Agility: 50

Sense: 35(+15)

Chakra: 43(+34)

Control: 42(+26)

Notice: High level of Physical augmentation detected.

Notice: Brain activity is inconsistent with the target's regular patterns.]