chapter 109

Eiji walked, barely managing to keep his mood between calm and absolutely furious. At least then and there he was alone, thankfully. There was no escort, and he could move at his own pace through the streets of Konoha.

He'd sent a clone to his team with instructions to train and talk with Temari. There was new information to process that would affect some of their plans and ideas regarding the Sand, after all. It was basically keeping them busy though. In the meantime, his mind swung between what he wanted to do and what he'd soon need to do. It certainly kept his mood from being good, even in his own village with its cheery and full of life sights.

Slowly, as he walked, that perception changed. There were less people around as he continued moving, which made sense. He was getting closer to his destination, after all.

Soon, there was nobody in the streets but him.

Eiji approached a specific house then, but as he reached the door, he looked around. 'That one doesn't look that bad,' He mused when one of the buildings got his attention, setting the twins on a debate on if that was actually a good house or not. He let out the smallest of smiles as he heard them discuss the topic with utmost seriousness. He knew at least half of that was just to humor and distract him, but he appreciated it.

Eventually, his knuckles hit the wood in front of him.

It didn't take long for the door to open.

"Eiji, welcome back," Sasuke said, slightly surprised but still managing to say that without sounding so. To say the boy was grinning would be an exaggeration, but his eyes told Eiji everything he needed to know. As far as he was concerned, this was the warmest of greetings. "Everyone's here already. Did something happen?" He asked then, showing a hint of concern in his voice as he made space for Eiji to walk in.

Giving him a reassuring smile, he looked around the Uchiha house, doing his best to avoid looking at owner for a long moment. Then he sighed, there was no point avoiding the issue, was there. Although, he'd much prefer to only have to say things once.

"Let's go so I can tell everyone, yeah?" Eiji said, getting a stiff nod back and pursed lips from Sasuke. Obviously, the Uchiha had picked up that this wouldn't be precisely a happy meeting.

"Eiji!" Naruto all but shouted as soon as he walked into the dinning room, where everyone was already sitting around a big table. It wasn't a happy greeting, that was for sure. He could see it on the blonde's face and on everyone else's. They were worried. He wondered if that was because of him calling all of them to Sasuke's place or because of how he looked.

"Or both," Kage pointed out.

"Get it over with, ok?" Shikamaru said, resting his head on his palm. He almost looked like usual, if not for the frown that marred his features. "We know you have something to say, so… out with it."

"I'll be leaving soon," He said, watching as everyone's expressions fell. "I probably won't be here even for a week. Things… got crazy really quick."

"Iwa, huh?" The Nara asked, and Eiji nodded. "We know. My father said, some of us are likely to get a mission over there, or in the Land of Earth, at least. They've been telling Naruto that he probably will be sent to Suna."

That was news to Eiji. Not the first part, since that had been part of the file he'd been given. But the Jinchuriki being sent to the Land of Wind wasn't included there. It didn't take him long to figure out though. The blonde would be perfect to work with Gaara, probably, and he could hold his ground if anything happened. It was also probably so that Eiji himself would be even more likely to get involved in case of emergencies.

It was probably a silent threat to everyone else too, since it was probable that the world knew of their sibling relationship.

Konoha had kept the Uzumaki within the village for a while already. They couldn't do that forever. Both because it'd drive the blonde crazy and because it'd look bad in the eyes of the world. Things were already shaky at best, especially with the new problems that came up. The last thing they needed was to look even weaker, afraid to let their Jinchuuriki out of their walls.

"I see," Eiji said before humming. "We might see each other over there if you go, then," He added. Although by their expression, they believed that about as much as he did. "I have to prepare for this mission and I won't have that much time. I called everyone here because…"

"Because you wanted to see everyone, talk to everyone," Ino finished for him when he struggled to come up with the words. There were understanding expressions around, like they knew him better than he knew himself.

"Not very surprising," Hachi said softly in his mind. "You are not quite all there, I gotta say."

He hated that she was right.

"Yeah, basically," Eiji admitted with a bitter smile.

"Well, I definitely have a lot to tell you," The Yamanaka said enthusiastically, although he could tell that it was mostly for show. "Like, you have no idea how cute Naruto and Hinata have been," She commented, making the two sputter embarrassedly. "Or Karin and Sasuke, that's new stuff, but they are not quite there yet," She added, making the Uchiha next to Eiji look away when he turned towards him and the girl turned as red as her hair.

"You look tired, Eiji," Shino pointed out, as subtle as a sledgehammer, pushing his shades up.

"... I feel tired," He admitted. He wanted to lie, he really did, but for some reason he couldn't muster the energy to do even that. He smiled wearily at his friends when they fell silent at his words. "But it is what it is. There'll be peace and quiet soon. I'm sure… It's just a matter of time."

"... So, back to cheery topics," Ino announced after a long, solemn pause, and gave Shino the side-eye. Eiji just gave her a grateful smile even as her expression said nothing good for someone. "You wouldn't believe what Kiba's sister told me!"

"Wh-Wait, what?" The Inuzuka of the group asked, clearly caught off guard by that line of conversation.

"I'm listening," Eiji said, smiling contently as he took a seat on the table.

Maybe the moment would be short, but he wanted to make the most of it.

[}-o-{]

"Thanks for everything," Temari said, giving him a slight smile. "You've helped me improve a lot."

"Thank you, Temari," He shot back with a grin. "Trying to keep this bunch under control by myself would have been a nightmare. Honestly, I don't know what I'm gonna do now," He joked, drawing a snort from the girl.

"Take care, everyone," The blonde said, letting her eyes move to look at the rest of the squad behind him. "I think I might miss you. Even Tayuya."

"Bitch, please. You'll miss me the most," The redhead scoffed, drawing a chuckle from everyone else. "What you laughing about, bunch of idiots?"

"Good luck," Eiji told Temari then with a smile.

"You too," She replied with a nod. "Seems like you'll need it more than me," She added, giving him a look which he smiled wryly too. "See you around!" She said out loud.

A moment later, the group was already down a member.

"And counting," Hachi commented.

"So, our next mission will be sooner than we expected," Eiji announced, turning to regard the rest of his squad. "We are going to Iwa. But first," His red eyes locked onto one member of the team, something that didn't go unnoticed by anyone. "We gotta deal with a second traitor, it seems."

"Eiji? What are you-?" Yugito started, before wires wrapped around her. He didn't use anything other than Living Thread at the moment though. "Eiji?"

"You know, my threads, I can feel with them," Eiji commented, seemingly absently as he walked towards her. "You know that though. Did you know I can read with that too?" He asked then. She kept to her act though.

"Eiji, I don't know what you are talking about," She told him, not even trying to struggle against the wires.

"The messages you sent to Kumo. They were in code, we both know that," He told her with a tired smile. "Now, I'm no coder, I'll admit. But I don't need to be. I just needed to copy what you wrote and send that here for our Cryptanalysis team to look at," He explained, starting to slowly pace around the woman, who fell silent. "You know where that's going, right?" He asked then, stopping on her side, sticking his hands in his coat's pockets. He stood there, almost like he was next to a friend and not an enemy.

"I didn't know you could read with those," Yugito commented then, her confused and afraid tone fading into resignation. "You didn't tell us that."

"I didn't tell you a lot of things," Eiji replied, giving her a smile and a shrug. "Did you think I'd be that naive?"

"I guess we were wrong."

"Yeah, you were," He agreed with a nod as he turned to look back ahead. His sensing ability told him all he needed to know anyway. Looking was optional at that point, really. "So, now we'll have to go to Iwa and make sure Kumo knows that Konoha isn't weak and spread out enough for them to be idiots. Thanks for that, by the way."

"And me?"

"And you, well… Take a guess," Eiji told her with another shrug. "I'm not gonna have to do something drastic, right?" He asked Yugito, who gave him a bitter smile that he mirrored.

"It won't be necessary," She said, which he was grateful for. He was confident that he could take her down easily at that point, but he'd rather not have to fight.

"You are lucky Konoha is trying its hardest to keep peaceful and friendly relationships with the big Nations. Otherwise we'd probably extract the Two Tails from you and be done with it," He mused, looking at her tense up. "With the Nine Tails and now the Seven Tails," He said, nodding towards Fu who was looking from the side with an expression that said she didn't even know what to think of the situation. "Adding the Two Tails would basically make us unstoppable."

"But the Nations wouldn't just let that be. Even those that are friendly with the Leaf," Yugito commented.

"Indeed," Eiji agreed easily. "Which is why we'll just stick you into a cell until the Cloud has been slapped back into place."

"No one in Konoha can beat B-sama," Yugito pointed out, to which he gave a positively bloodthirsty grin, not unlike the one he'd given Kakuzu during their fight.

"Are you absolutely sure about that? Would you bet your village on that?" Eiji asked, stepping closer to the woman. "Because I like my chances a lot more than I did back during the Invasion," He commented, seeing the doubt creeping behind the woman's eyes. "That's what I thought," He added with a smirk. "Now, be good and follow me to the prison, yeah?" Eiji told her, moving her wires aside.

"Eiji?" Kabuto called, looking nervously between the Two Tails Jinchuriki and him.

"Kabuto, you are my second in command now," Eiji announced, still staring directly into Yugito's eyes. "We've just come back from a mission. Take Fu somewhere nice and get yourselves something to eat, okay? I was told there's some things to be resolved about her, so we have to keep an eye on her for the time being."

"I can do that," The med nin replied.

"Good, and Fu," Eiji called, making the poor girl stand straight and still. "Relax, if you see something that catches your attention, go wild. We are your escorts right now, nothing else. Just don't do anything stupid. Otherwise, do whatever you want."

"Oh, um… Ok?" She said, although it sounded more like a question than an affirmation though. Eiji gave Kabuto a look, to which the other boy nodded, understanding.

"Well, with that out of the way, let's go, yeah?" He told Yugito, who gave him a defeated grin.

[}-o-{]

[Ino Yamanaka]

"Are you sure you want to do this? I'm sure we could convince mom to let us go out and do something else," Ino asked, for once not actually trying to avoid working at the flower shop. She just wanted to help Eiji rest, honestly. He looked absolutely awful.

"I'm fine doing this," The boy said, his voice coming off low, like he lacked the energy to even speak. She'd believe that if it were the case. Ever since he came back, the general word that she used in her mind to describe Eiji was "tired". Sometimes, he'd look like he would fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Sometimes, he looked like his mind was barely there.

It was unnerving and concerning.

"There's no rush," The boy continued talking then and she listened intently from behind the counter. "It's quiet and the plants are just… beautiful," He commented.

It gave Ino pause, as she considered his words and the context they were said in. She knew his missions were far from easy. So, she guessed she could see how the boring work could be seen as calming. It also made her wonder if that was why her family had the shop in the first place. Was it merely something to help them relax?

She gulped, remembering all the times she'd complained and outright insulted the shop.

"I guess I can see that," She mumbled, suddenly embarrassed.

"We can do something else, if you are bored though," He told her, giving her a smile that was nothing like the cheery one she remembered from before. Before his missions, before the invasion, before graduating. It looked awful, if she was honest. The way it barely pulled at the corners of his mouth, making it look like a weary grimace more than anything else. The way it twisted the scar over his eye making it even more prominent.

"I'm good. At least we can gossip," She commented, trying to bring a little more levity to the situation. Ino expected a grumble or at least a grimace at her words. Instead, he just chuckled. "I've told you a whole lot about everyone over here, but what about you, Eiji? Something we should know? Have you been keeping a girlfriend hidden somewhere?"

"Because I would tell you if I did?" He asked, sounding more amused than anything else. She scoffed.

"Of course you would. Like you can say no to this face," She boasted exaggeratedly as she put on the innocent-pretty face that she'd often used to get other boys to do as she liked. It didn't quite work with the ones in the group, but that was a given. They knew better already, as did Eiji.

"Oh no, whatever shall I do?" He said with a deadpan before he let out another chuckle.

"But seriously, there must be something," Ino complained, resting her elbows on the counter and her face on her palms.

"Nothing at all," Eiji replied with a shrug, his eyes moving to a potted plant to his side. "I've been busy, I guess. The most I could tell you is that we spent some time sightseeing around Taki."

"Sounds fun," Ino told him honestly. "Did you draw any of it?"

His response was a grin that told her all she needed to know. Of course he did. Eiji liked to draw anything that caught his attention if he had the time for it and he certainly did by the way he'd said that. She'd have to remember to ask about that later.

"But seriously, you need to go out more. I never have anything about you, you know? You spend all your time with us or with your team," She pointed out, drawing a confused expression from the boy. Of course he didn't get it?

"As opposed to what? Being with strangers? I'm busy enough as is. I barely get enough time to spend with you, guys," He replied with a scoff.

"Eiji, you know what I'm talking about," Ino all but whined. "We are fourteen and I've never heard of you even noticing someone. And before you say it, you know perfectly well what I mean," She added quickly when he saw the response coming.

"What can I say," Eiji said instead after shrugging. "I've just not been interested. Besides, I haven't heard about you either, you know?" He shot back, to which Ino simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Besides Sasuke, that is."

"Well, I'll have you know that I went on a few dates myself," Ino revealed easily. If it'd get Eiji to open up, she'd gladly tell him. He was bound to be much less annoying than the others would be if they found out, at least. "It didn't work out, but I did."

"Huh… Well, good luck next time, I guess. If you have trouble finding someone to put up with you, I can think of a few people to introduce you to," He offered with a good natured grin. He even looked like he already had someone in mind, although Ino couldn't fathom who that could be. He barely interacted with anyone that was out of the group or his team.

Maybe that was it? She'd heard a few things about the med nin, Kabuto, and Kiba's sister, actually, so she ruled that out. Although, gossip could be inaccurate. Hmm, she'd leave it as a "probably not". Then there was the other boy, which… She didn't know much about, really. He didn't seem very sociable when the two groups had met, but then again, neither had Shino. A "maybe" for that one, she supposed. Was there anyone else?

"Wait," She paused, making him raise an eyebrow at her. "Don't distract me, Mister," She growled, threatening him with a finger, to which he grinned back at her. "We were talking about you!"

"Were we?" He asked, clearly amused. "Are you sure? Because I'm interested in these dates. I don't have to beat up anybody, do I?"

"No need," Ino replied with an unimpressed expression.

"Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it?" Eiji mumbled, looking to the side, although he was still grinning.

"It was a noble effort," She told him, raising an eyebrow as if telling him: 'I'm waiting.'

"I just… have had a lot in my mind," Eiji tried, which was just sad. Ino knew all about where he was going. "I just haven't had the time."

"Seriously?" She asked, shooting him an unimpressed look. "That's your excuse? No time?"

"What? It's the truth!" He protested, and it looked like he believed that, which only made things worse.

"Eiji," She started softly, and she could almost predict the roll of his eyes. "I'm serious here," She added, and she was glad that was all it took for him to pay attention. "My parents got together during the Third War, did you know?"

"I didn't," He admitted, and she could see it immediately, the way his mind took that and formed the picture Ino wanted to draw for him. "It's different. The last few months have been…"

"I know," She told him. "But even when you aren't in the middle of it all, you barely act like a person. Sometimes it's almost like you spend time with us because that's what you are supposed to do. Like being here and relaxing is just another mission, something that you have to do."

"There's so little time, I want to-"

"Use it as best you can," She finished for him, giving him a sad smile. "But that's not how it works and you know it, don't you?" She asked, hating the way he deflated. Then and there, he wasn't Eiji Satou, the boy that had already made Jounin and the Elemental Nations were whispering about, from what she'd picked from her parents. At that moment, he wasn't this legend in the making.

Instead, he was just a boy that wanted a second to breathe.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Do what you want," Ino told him simply, giving him a patient smile when he looked about to protest. "Spend time with whoever you want. No one is gonna hold it against you if you don't visit us equally. If you want to spend more time training Hinata and Hanabi and it means Shino gets less time, he'll be fine with that. If you want to spend all your days at the vet and that means you barely see the rest of us, we will understand."

"But-"

"But nothing," She interrupted, because she couldn't let him spiral away from what she was telling him. "We see you, Eiji, and we know. Maybe not the whole extent of it, but we know you are not fine. It won't make us happier to see you running yourself into the ground to please us."

"I get it, but… I just…" He struggled for a moment, before deflating even more. "What do I do?" He asked, as if she were to have the answers. As it was, she could only push him in the direction she thought was best and hope it'd be the right one.

"Do whatever you want to do," She told him with a gentle smile. "It's that simple," She reassured, drawing a chuckle from him.

"I remember telling someone something along those lines, so it must be good advice," He commented with a slight grin. "How'd we go from dating and being interested in people to this?" He wondered out loud, looking like he was half-talking to himself.

"I'm not telling you that you have to start dating or anything, Eiji," Ino told him seriously. "I was just pointing out that it's weird that you've never shown interest of any kind on anyone. I was a little concerned that you were pushing that stuff to the side, which isn't good. But if you are fine, then that's that."

"...I guess I kind of was," He mused, turning around and leaning against the counter to the side, making Ino see mostly his back. "I've never been very normal."

"That's an established fact, yes," Ino agreed, drawing a snort from the boy.

"I just, it never felt right, to think about that stuff," Eiji said, looking more like was just thinking out loud, so she decided to keep her mouth shut for the moment. "Now… Now, I wonder if that was just me making excuses to myself. If I was doing as you say and pushing it to the side."

After that, neither of them said anything. Not long after that, Eiji started walking around the shop once more and Ino went back to focusing on the counter and some paperwork for the store. She kept her eyes on the boy though. He walked between the shelves, his eyes looked at the plants, his fingers would touch the leaves and petals… But his mind was elsewhere.

"You here, Fearless Leader?" The redhead of his squad called as she came through the door. Ino groaned out loud. "Something the matter, Bimbo Number Three?" She asked, and the Yamanaka for once was more bothered by something else than her stupid nickname for her.

Eiji was having a moment of introspection right then and there!

Couldn't she have picked another moment to barge in?

"Tayuya?" Eiji asked, as if he'd barely noticed the redhead's arrival.

"Yes, everything ok?" The girl asked, seemingly noticing that something was going on.

"No… No, it's fine," The boy answered, slightly subdued as he made his way to the entrance. "Kabuto sent you?"

"You were running a little late there, Fearless Leader," The girl answered instead, which seemed to work just as well for Eiji.

"I guess I got a little… distracted," He replied with a slight smile.

"Oh, did I interrupt a date?" The redhead asked then, looking amused between Eiji and Ino. The blonde scoffed, even if she knew Tayuya was only joking.

Granted, there was a time that such an assumption, even in jest, would have made her happy. A time in which she'd have longed to be with Eiji like that. She'd moved on though, just as she had moved on from Sasuke. It sucked, but it was what it was.

At that moment, her only worry was if Eiji would be alright. He still seemed more than a little out of it.

"Nothing like that," The boy waved off easily, before he looked at Ino. "Seems like I have to go."

"Good luck. And remember what we talked about, yeah?" She told him.

"Yeah, I will," Eiji said, absently as he turned away. Then he stopped, not quite frozen, but as if something had crossed his mind that gave him pause.

"Hello, everything alright in there?" Tayuya asked after a moment, waving her hand in front of Eiji. Ino almost wanted to smack her. Why the boy even put up with her, she'd never understand.

"Say, Tayuya," Eiji started then, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go on a date?" He asked directly, bluntly.

"Wh-You-I-Wh?" The girl immediately started sputtering and Ino could only watch from the side, unable to decide how to feel about what she was witnessing. For one, she was ecstatic that Eiji had taken her advice to heart and acted on it so fast. For another, she was confused because she was the one he picked? Tayuya, the foulmouthed idiot that seemed to piss off anyone and everyone? Really?

"Is that a no?" Eiji asked then, revealing nothing at all as he simply looked at the redhead. The only thing Ino could find in his expression was curiosity.

"I mean- I- But why-?..." Then, the sputtering ended, as the girl's face turned as red as her hair. She looked half-panicked and Ino probably was more amused than she should have been about that. "Um, sure?"

"Great, is tonight ok?" Eiji asked immediately after.

"I, yes?" The girl managed to reply, following without even thinking as the boy started making his way out of the store.

Once they were out, Ino felt a grin start forming on her face before laughing out loud. Of course Eiji couldn't go for a semi-decent somewhat normal date choice. No, the first girl he asked out just had to be a complete disaster.

Because really, when had Eiji Satou ever made any sense, she supposed.