Age 10/Year 10 [Part Two]

Yue, my little fairy, was surprisingly mischievous at times. Oh, she mostly kept to herself, acting all shy, but the way she played with my little sister showed a different side.

"Poke!" The fairy giggled, tapping Saeko's nose. As expected, your younger sister could not see Yue at all. Her eyes were locked onto mines.

With a small smile, I joined Yue and poked at Saeko's cute button nose. She let loose a gaggling baby laugh and reached out, suckling on my finger. No longer was she just a ball of soft fat, now, she could crawl around like a little snake. Still, my little sister was a cute one indeed.

"She's so cute." Yue cooed, eyes trailing along the baby's cheeks. "Were you like this too?"

I recall the insanity that was my first few years of life. The memories have me recoiling.

"No."

Picking up on my distress, Yue wilts slightly and flutters onto my shoulder.

"So, it's a nice day. Do you want to go out?"

An interesting proposition. As I contemplate about her question, I first decided to ask her if she could grant a certain wish.

"Umm... I don't know what 'Furies are, but I'm sure I could make myself transform into a magical weapon." She said confidently. "Though, depending on how strong it's supposed to be, it'll take a lot more power."

"So you don't mind it?"

A grin splits her face.

"Of course not! I want to help you fight!" She proclaims." Right now, all I can really do is fly around and gather info." Yue blows a sigh. "If I could somehow help you fight better, then I'm all for it!"

I smiled and gently gave the small fairy a hug. Well, a finger hug, I suppose.

Anyways the day was young, and there was so much to do. With Yue by my side, we set out looking for something very specific, namely, quests. The odd phenomena was rather rare and I've only seen one or two so far. What causes them to appear? How could I get more of them? It was honestly something I wanted to learn, but none of my previous attempts really got me anywhere. What I knew suggested that they just showed up if I went looking for them, but not all the time. Sometimes they would pop up if I paid close attention to my friend's needs and such.

"T-The cities so peaceful." Yue hummed as we walked down Konoha's busy streets. The towns people carried on with their daily lives, watching the skies and enjoying the warm sun. I was prety sure some of them were actually ninja in disguise, as the best ninja were the one you didn't suspect. If there weren't some hidden amongst the civilians, then the Hokage was definitely doing something wrong.

Kind, trustful eyes gazed down at me. I could feel the cunning and experience burning deep within.

A sigh slipped from my lips as I remembered my meeting with the Hokage. The man scares me, even though he's done nothing to warrant that fear. A part of me feels a bit bad about that, but the more rational and frankly terrified part of me is screaming that he'll lock me away.

...

This world is incredibly unfair. It's not wrong to feel a bit of fear or be paranoid. That's what I think. I have to...

"Huh? Oh! Hey, Sasuke, what are you up to?" A familiar voice splits my thoughts. I turn, finding a somewhat chubby boy, a bag of chips in his hand.

"Ah... hey." Beside him, Shikamaru releases a sigh and gives me a friendly wave. He always looks so tired that it's a wonder he doesn't spend half of his day asleep. Though, is that for a lack of trying, I wonder? If my memories! is still somewhat reliable, wasn't his mother very pushy? To be fair, any parent would be annoyed if their child was as lazy as Shikamaru.

"Hey Choji, Shikamaru." I greeted the pair with a smile. Yue flutters closer, finding a nice perch on my shoulder. Her tiny head swerves around our surroundings, taking in the passing crowd.

The tubbier boy holds a bag of chips in his hand. Salt and vinegar, along with some kind of green pepper. The flavour is a strange choice, but my tongue sings out, drawn by the aroma clinging to the air.

"Huh? You want some?" Choji asks, eyes blinking. I stare at the offered bag of chips, curious as to what kind of texture and taste they might possess.

"Don't," Shikamaru suggests, head shaking left and right. "They're really spicy, sour, and salty."

I couldn't help it. Shikamaru might find all of that a bit too much, but I just had to try them out.

"Alright, I'll take some." I answered, sheepishly reaching in for a few chips.

Choji laughs and tosses me the whole bag. "Nah, take it all." He reaches into his mighty pockets and pulls out another bag. "I've got loads!"

...

Should I really be surprised? It seems like he's always eating something. Maybe the Akimichi clan has a technique to make their pockets bigger on the inside? Who knew they could control space along with their size and mass.

"Thanks." I say, placing one of the bigger chips on my tongue. The small, fried potato slice brittlely cracks under my teeth. Its tiny shards pepper the inside of my mouth, covering it with delicious goodness.

"Not bad." I reached for another, happily gobbling it down without a second thought.

"See! I told you the chips were fine." Choji bursts into laughter, gently pounding his knuckles against Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Bah. Both of your tastebuds are horrible." The young Nara groans weakly.

"I don't know." I replied, grabbing another chip and passing it to Yue. "Evidence suggests that you're the one with the faulty tastebuds." A chuckle slithers out of my mouth. On my shoulder, Yue happily grabs the large chip with both hands and starts eating it like a big cookie. It's odd; Shikamaru and Choji don't notice her at all, almost as if something was pulling their attention way.

It's not like Yue can do things without others noticing, as she's bumped into my mother once or twice. She definitely noticed and nearly took the little fairie's head off once or twice. Her particular brand of invisibility was weird. Maybe it applied to the things she held in her hands? But then again, my little sister definitely seems to notice when Yue's flying around with a sheet of paper.

"Ah! These are really good!" The small fairy proclaims. She gives me a hopeful look. I nod and watch as Yue dives into the bag. Loud crunching noises echo from within as it shakes in my hand. Not wanting to let her have all the chips, I grabbed a handful and start stuffing my mouth.

"See! He knows how to eat chips!" Choji jokes.

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru shakes his head and lets out a sigh.

"Right." He clears his throat and starts looking around. As a neutral silence settles, I turn my attention back to the two boys.

"So, what are you two up to?" It's a genuine question.

"Oh, we're going to look for some treasure." Choji leans in and speaks in a whisper.

"..."

"Treasure?" I asked.

Shikamaru grumbles and speaks a bit more clearly.

"He got this weird map from one of the old people in his clan." The prodigy starts. "Apperantly it leads to, and I quote, 'super interesting treasure'" The young Nara says with a groan.

...

Ok, that definitely sounds like a grandpa trying to let a young boy have some fun. Still, a bit of fun is never a bad idea. As I think this, a small bit of knowledge pings in my mind.

A quest...

[Quest: Treasure Hunt

Objective: Figure out the secret of Choji's treasure map!

Reward: 4 WP | Treasure? | ???]

Well, a quest is a quest! This was my intention from the beginning and it's not like I'll turn down the opportunity. As if agreeing, Yue flutters out of the bag of chips and lands on my shoulder. Tiny splinters of the delicious potatoes line her cheeks. She lets out a small, cute burp and sheepishly covers her cheeks.

"I-I think we should do it." The small fairy whispers meekly. "Y-You'll probably get a decent amount of energy for my wishes." She blushes. "I'm sure it'll help!"

I smile and hold back a chuckle. For someone so small and quiet, her words are quite heavy.

"Alright. I'll help you guys track down this treasure." I give my answer, watching the two boys' reactions. Choji raises his arms in triumph and gives a joyous "yes!"

"With your skill, Shikamaru's brains, and my, ugh, food, we'll get this done in no time!" The young Akamichi shouts, tugging me and the reluctant Nara closer. My heads nearly bounce off another. Surprisingly, the other boy doesn't seem to mind my presence much.

"Eh? Well, I'll definitely have to do less with you coming along." He lets loose a small sigh and slides himself out of Choji's grapple like some sort of eel. "Now, let's go before we catch any other tagalongs," Shikamaru says with a yawn. He looks at the crowd, eyes narrowed as if searching for something.

"The more people with us, the easier to be seen, after all." Indeed. The inverse laws of ninjas are a great weakness indeed.

"Right! Then let's go!" Choji announces and starts walking, but not before pulling out a bag of pretzels from god knows where.

"Want some?" He offers.

"I'm good," Shikamaru answers with a yawn, motioning for the boy's bag my way. When Choji turns to me hopefully, I looked at my own supply of snacks. A peek inside the bag of chips reveals that only tiny crumbs remain. Yue does her best to hide behind my head, wiping away the small bits on her cheek.

"Yeah, I'll have some." I chuckle and thrust my hand into the opened bag. The delicious, salty treats crunch as I pull away and stuff them into my own bag.

"Have some more!" Choji grabs my bag and shives the opening of his own into its mouth. Pretzels flow like water, filling my bag within a few moments.

"I've got lots!" If Choji is one thing, it's definitely not greedy or selfish.

"Thanks." I throw a smile his way and nab a pretzel. The brittle, tasty salted snack snaps in my mouth. I savour the taste and offer a few over to my nervous little companion. With hunger in her eyes, Yue nabs the pretzel and begins chomping down on it like a woodchipper. Then she grabs the net, and then the next.

Is she secretly part Akamichi? It certainly looks like it...

"So, where to first?" I asked the enigmatic boy. Walking in random directions sure won't get us to the treasure.

"Oh! Let me take a look!" Reaching into his pocket, Choji whips out an old, crumpled scroll. Within, ywe find a faded map and several words near the bottom.

Hmm.

"I'm guessing this is your clan home?" I pointed to the rudimentary drawing of houses near the top left. A nearly scratched out "Home" can be seen written just below the design.

"Yeah." Shikamaru nods as the three of us turn onto main street. "If we follow the path here, we should arrive at this forest."

But, there's no scale to the map. The only way to tell if we're even going the right way was by following the small markers written along the way.

"That looks like the Hokage's tower." I point to the center, right in the middle of the trail.

"Yeah- It's where we were headed before we met you," Choji says casually.

Well, maybe we'll find more clues after we get there?

At least, that's what I hoped...

--------------

The Hokage tower is just the same as always. Few people actually walk around this area, yet there's always someone going in and out every now and then. Whether they're genin or not doesn't make a difference; they all have to take the front door or risk being jumped by the highly trained and very stealthy elites probably hiding nearby. Seriously, it'd be stupid not to have guards around. Though, attacking the Hokage head-on is also pretty stupid.

"Right. so, it says we have to look for the spotted tree and then head east untill we reach the pond of a thousand sorrows." Choji recites.

Tree? There's not a damn tree in sight. And a pond? I knew a few, but none had such a crazy and edgy name. It's very anime-like, I suppose.

"The map is very old," Shikamaru says with a yawn. "Maby we should ask someone as old?"

No...

"Oh! You mean like the Hokage?" Choji suggests.

No. No.

The pudgy boy turns to me with a large, hopeful smile on his face.

"Hey, Sasuke, you're prety persuasive, right? Do you think you could convince the secretary to set up a meeting with him?"

Does he think I'm some damn silver-tongued devil? I'm just a kid!

"Normally I'd say that was a dumb plan, but Sasuke is the son of the Uchiha's leader." Shikamaru pauses. "With what happened a while ago, I'm sure he wouldn't mind trying to get on their good side."

If I didn't know any better, I'd think Shikamaru already figured out the truth. But no, he's just a child. Still, he makes a good point. It's very likely that the Hokage wouldn't mind meeting with me and helping out. As Choji said, all that needed to be done was to convince the secretary to let me through. Well, more specifically, to ask the Hokage if he's was fine with meeting you. If she just let me through, then she'd be out of a job sooner than I could say "fired." At least, I wouldn't want her as my secretary...

Hm...

honestly there were very few people who could really tell us about the past. Civilians might be our best bet, but I honestly had no idea where to start with them. As for ninja, yeah, well, it was really rare for them to live that long. War, schemes and paranoia would easilly lead even the strongest of ninja to an early grave. Thus, it's no small feat for the current Hokage to have lived to be a ripe, old man. Seriously, he's the only Hokage to retire after a long, eventful life. All the others died in battle, yet he stands above them all.

Sarutobi was called the God of ninja, and while that might not have to do with strength, it almost certainly has to do with experience. My fading memories could hardly recall anyone that's close to his age that's still alive, at least when it comes to his level of strength.

There's that old woman from Sand, the particle style user, and Sasori. I really can't remember anyone else, and Madara doesn't count, as he's an entirely different beast.

Taking a deep breath, I glance up at the Hokage tower. Its towering form is imposing and has my heart starting to race. No. I can't allow fear to grip my heart. Sarutobi is a terrifying man, but he's not moved against me yet. For all he and anyone else knows, I'm just a young, childish boy. If I allow this fear to guide my actions, then I'll never be able to grow, will I? Naruko treasures the man, and he was never a bad person in the original story. Still, this is the real world, not some fairy tale.

"Let's go up." I nod and head for the front doors.

"Nice!" Choji grins and stuffs his face, quickly matching my pace.

"You do all the talking." Shikamaru groans and joins his side. "It's really troublesome and exhausting talking to grown-ups."

I hold back a laugh. The three of us might not be the closest of friends, but we're friends. With them here, by my side, the fear within me didn't look all that big in comparison. Just like these two boys, I had a father and brother that would risk their lives for me. It might be a bit foolish of me, but would the Hokage really do something like kidnap me and have my mind scanned by the secret ninja interrogators?

I bit my lip, doing my best not to laugh. When I call them that, they don't seem all that scary, do they? And no, I don't think he'd risk angering my clan after the hell that nearly happened two years ago.

Two years. It seems so like it was just yesterday. Has it really been that long?

"Hello? Can I help you?" The secretary sitting at the front desk scans the three of us. Her eyes are honed, but friendly. Even someone as young as I can tell that she's no common secretary. My previous suspicions were false. Of course, the Hokage would have a ninja for a secretary.

"We'd like to see the Hokage." I step up, eyes confident and fear fading. There's nothing to be scared of. If the Hokage is as rational and logical as I assumed, then there's absolutely no reason that he'd take me, prisoner. Even if he did figure out my true past, how exactly would that make me an enemy? If anything, I'd be an asset. Still, I'd rather keep that knowledge a secret, least others knowing lead to... problems.

"The Hokage?" Her brow furrows. "He's a busy person, young man." She answers with a smile. "You better have a good reason to talk to him, or else I'll have to turn you three away."

Choji looks up to me hopefully, while Shikamaru shrugs. Confidence sparkles in his eyes. Man, this would be a whole lot easier if he didn't believe I'd succeed before even trying.

...

"We're students from Konoha's ninja academy." I start, motioning to Choji and Shikamaru.

"And?" The secretary asks, brow rising in question.

"Well, we thought it'd be a good idea to get a headstart on our careers by speaking to the Hokage."

She opens her mouth to interrupt, but I beat her to the chase.

"We're not looking to learn secret techniques or anything." And we're not. What we want is something much simpler. Answers. "We just want to know a bit more about history, and the Hokage's the person you want to talk to for that. Am I right or am I wrong?"

She curls her lip down and blows a sigh.

"Alright. You've got a good tongue on you, kid, but that doesn't mean you'll get your way." She stands. "I'll go talk to him, but in the end, it's up to him."

Yes!

And like that, she gets up and walks through the nearby doors.

"You're so good!" Choji chuckles. "Good job man!" His meaty hands bounce off my back.

"Told ya it'd be easy if you did the talking," Shikamaru says with a sigh. "Just don't get me involved."

It doesn't take very long for the woman to return, and she comes back with good news. That's how we find ourselves talking to the Hokage. Surprisingly, the oppressive fear that crippled me before is naught but a tiny whisper now.

"The pond of a thousand sorrows?" The Hokage chuckles. "That brings back a lot of memories."

He's helpful enough to actually point out exactly where this "pond" is.

"About two decades ago it got turned into a hot spring." He hums. Of course, to keep up the charade, we listen to a few war stories from the old, hardened ninja. By the time we leave, all I see is a frail, nostalgic, and tired old man.

Whatever the case, our next course of action is clear. Inspect the hotspring, though, there's one problem.

"Who's going to check out the girl's side?" Choji asks.

Truly, what horrible luck I had.

=========

Time was running short. The sun was already setting and soon; the three of us would have to split up and head back home. There were many things I feared, but Mikoto's disapproving gaze and sharp tongue were up there. She loved me and everyone dearly, but that didn't stop her from speaking her mind. If she said no, everyone had better open their ears wide and listen. God, I still remember how moody she'd been with Saeko's pregnancy. She'd snap at the smallest of things and read the "perpetrator" a scrip on how badly they messed up.

Being a woman is tough. I'm  extremely grateful that I was born as Sasuke, and not the fanfic favourite of Satsuki. Just thinking about that got my skin crawling.

"I'm going in." I turn to Choji and Shikamaru. The former grabs a fist full of pretzels and raises a brow in confusion. The latter, however...

"You're mad!" Shikamaru balks. "I've seen how my mom acted when dad snuck up on her in the bathroom. She nearly took his head off!" Is that fear I hear in his voice? The apathetic and tired groan he'd give in the future was lacking. Curious. What changed that, I wondered?

"Wait, you're going to snea-" I was at his side in an instant, hand gently pressing up against our friend's chubby lips.

"Yes, Choji." It wouldn't do for him to shout out my plan. This was a hot spring that ninja often visited, of course. The more I thought about it, the worse this plan seemed. Unfortunately, I really doubted my chances of convincing the owner to just let us into the woman's side. Even if he did agree, what says he's going to give us the treasure? He can easily claim it as his own, after all, it was in his hot spring.

"Can't you, like, get Naruko or another of your girlfriends to check it out?" Choji suggests, casually scratching his cheek.

...

"Girlfriend?" What is he talking about? They're like, ten! Goosebumps scurry up my spine just thinking about it. No, he's just a kid- they're all kids. They have no idea what they're talking about.

"Huh? She's your friend and she's a girl, right? Doesn't that make you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" Choji dumbly asks.

Shikamaru shudders.

"I hope not. If it was that easy to get a girlfriend, then I'd have to avoid all girls." The Nara said cautiously. Ah... that's right, they are kids.

"What's so funny?" Shikamaru asks, eyebrows rising with a spark of suspicion. Let it be known that the genius is smart, but that doesn't mean he knows everything.

"Nothing." I shoot back with a smile on my lips. "But no, I don't have a girlfriend. Just because I have a girl as my friend, doesn't mean we're like that." It's such a childish idea that it didn't even cross my mind. Kids are silly, but that lets them think outside the box, I suppose.

"That doesn't sound right." Choji huffs, stuffing another fist full of pretzels into his mouth. "But you and Shikaramu are the smart ones, so I'll take your word for it."

Floating around us, Yue partakes in more of the snacks Choji handed to me earlier in the day. At the new term, she pokes her head out, tiny chunks of pretzels sticking to her face and wings.

"Girlfriend?" She hums. "I-I don't think that's good for you." She stutters out before diving back into the bag. I see her little legs waggle as she digs through the pretzels. "T-They distract you from being a ninja."

....

Taking a deep breath, I turn back to my team.

"Alright. Time's short and I think I'm the best suited to be sneaky." Just to make sure of that, I dump the remaining two Skill Points I had into stealth. Honestly, the weird user interface of this ability is something I rarely use, so sometimes I forget it's even there. No matter how much I fiddle with it, nothing new seems pop up and I'm no closer to figuring out how or why it's there.

"You do look like a girl from a certain angle," Shikamaru notes.

"Exac-" I nearly bite my tongue. "What?" I do not!

"Oh, yeah, that's true!" Choji agrees. "I remember Kiba pointing that out. Couldn't believe it until he showed us." He chuckles, though that stops the instant our eyes meet. "N-Not that there's anything wrong with that!" He stutters out. "I mean, it's not as bad as the duck-butt hair joke some of the girls made up!"

I'm not even going to justify that with a response. Though, perhaps I do need another haircut.

"Well, that might be good then." I grumbled out. If I looked like a girl, then maybe I could disguise myself as one?

Choji and Shikamaru share a look. It's for the good of the mission. That's what I tell myself.

"Let's go." They nod and follow me inside.

For the good of the mission...

------------------------

The first step of my plan, sneaking inside, already started to fall apart the instant I tried. There were two people at the front, so distracting one of them was no good. It'd look really suspicious if Choji and Shikamaru tried to mess with both of them, after all. Thankfully, I had a solution.

"Can I get a little help!" The panicked voice said from the door leading to the men's side. It was one of the simplest of genjutsu, but I was using it masterfully... or so I thought. Either way, it worked, and with one of them busy investigating, my friends distracted the other.

My Sharingan blazed to life, spinning like a crimson pinwheel. Yue's alteration hid it from sigh; anyone who gazed upon my face would only see a pair of black eyes. While only a small change, it had tremendous effects. Finding the right moment, I silently sprinted across into the woman's change room, swiping a towel on the way in. Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing getting my clothes off, but the bulges from it would attract too much attention. To be safe, I wrapped my head in a towel and tried to look as feminine as possible. Considering everything but my face and feet were covered, and I had pretty soft skin, the plan seemed solid. Still, I now had to look for a treasure.

"Seek the old sigil. It bears the tree of life."

The map's strange instructions came to mind, and just like that, I was off. Thankfully, a bit of snooping around and eavesdropping gave me a hint. Admittedly, there were a lot of... distractions in the women's side, but I tried my best to be civil and not look. Try is the word of the day here.

"Did you know that weird altar has been in here for years? I hear the owner found it in the spring when he was constructing the place!"

Just as the woman said, there was a strange, disk-shaped altar near the wall. Engraved on its surface was the depiction of a blooming tree. I had found my mark.

Through sheer luck and determination, I managed to sneak behind the altar and examine it. Overlooked by the owner and probably everyone else, a small, nearly invisible gap could be seen on its edge. I carefully proper it open and found a small scroll hidden inside. Swiftly tucking it into my towel, I scurried out of the spring and into the change room. This was it! I was home free!

"Oh? What do we have here?" Those words chilled my bones and glued my feet to the floor. Oh shit. "Tell me, little boy, why are you here?"

I dared not turn around.