32

Becoming Hokage 101

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Section Six

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Chapter Thirty One

.

The notion that an animal summons had been waiting for me sounds odd and kind of mystical. A part of me argues that this kind of thing just doesn't happen, that they couldn't have premeditated our encounter, but another, bigger part of me, retorts that I live in a world where people regularly walk on water and breathe fire like it's the most normal thing.

And, honestly, it kind of is.

"You have?" I ask, trying to wrap my head around the entire thing. Considering the amount of times I've seen butterflies brush past me in the last few years, it is very much possible.

"Yes." The queen mother paddles slowly towards me, dragging behind her colorful, beautiful wings like a huge dress. "We have been patiently waiting for thirteen years for you. We are immensely glad to see the wait was well worth it."

"Thirteen years? But I'm twelve." I tilt my head, confused. The giant peacock butterfly says nothing for a few seconds, watching me intently with her compound eyes, translucent like the flowers that surround the lake.

"You are not actually twelve years old, are you?" The forest falls into a hush as I try very hard not to show any emotion at that sentence.

'Do they know? How?' Slight panic overcomes me, and I force my breath to remain unhurried. The act, however, does not fool the butterflies. The queen mother's antennae seem to move almost sluggishly in my direction, and a hysterical part of me wonders just what kind of things they learn through their antennae.

"Child, there is nothing we do not see or know - in this reality or the others. Our eyes see all and know all." The huge insect claims, raising one black, skinny leg to caress my forehead. "You know things you should not, and that is why the humans put this seal."

There is something that lurks just short of dissatisfaction in the queen mother's voice, still seemingly coming from everywhere around me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she either doesn't like humans, or-

"What do you mean?" I question, stalling for time. The butterfly, however, continues to answer me in that placid tone, as if reassuring me I'm completely safe.

"There is no need to be suspicious of us, for we are meant to be yours, and you are meant to be ours."

"I- how?" It's difficult to wrap my head around the fact that these insects have been waiting years for me, and apparently know that I have memories of a life that's far behind me. How much do they know? How do they know?

"We see it all and know it all." The peacock butterfly repeats, colorful wings fluttering behind her lithe body. "Each one of us has two pairs of eyes on our wings. You are a smart one; you can figure the rest out."

"Wait, so they're not just to seem bigger to predators?" I ask, baffled. How is it that the two pairs of eyes on their wings connect to their brain? How do they process all that information? Just how far out can they fly? Can the butterflies in other realities share information amongst themselves?

"Your tendency to overthink is astounding." The insect in front of me murmurs, slightly shaking her head. "All in due time. For now, what you need to know is that there is nothing we do not see or know, including your circumstances."

She seems to tilt her head, assessing me for a second, then-

"Is that not right, Aria?"

My very heart seems to stop beating, everything becoming white noise for a short while. A shrill, constant hum pumps in my ears, drowning the world around me in different shades of blue, yellow, and orange.

"That… is not my name." I manage to rasp out, heart pounding loudly.

"Is it not?"

I furrow my eyebrows, wondering when was the last time I'd heard that name. It'd been a long, long time ago, before I became Chiyuki, before the pain and the hunger, before realizing I was in a deadly, deadly world that waged war every other year, and that was not merciful to children.

"Not anymore." I mumble, and tiny little butterflies fly around my face, fluttering and murmuring soothingly. "Aria is dead."

"How can she be dead if she is right in front of me?" The queen mother questions, an endlessly patient tone in her voice.

"The one in front of you is Chiyuki." I say, without much conviction.

"Chiyuki is also in front of me, yes." The giant insect agrees with me, murmuring softly along with the smaller butterflies. It's a wild but tranquilizing sound, one that settles in my bones and makes me see things a bit more clearly. I breathe in deeply, the crips and fresh smell of morning invading my nose, and exhale loudly.

"How… how can that be?" I question, breathlessly. The queen mother raises one of her black legs once again and rubs my cheek softly, the pad of her 'hand' (foot?) tickling my skin.

"The one you claim to be 'Chiyuki' has heavy influences of 'Aria', would you not think so? The memories of 'Aria' helped shape 'Chiyuki' into who she is today, and rather than thinking one or the other is dead, would it not be better to accept 'you' are a mix of the two?" The colorful butterfly sighs, still making that calming sound.

It does make sense… kind of. 'Chiyuki', by all means and purposes, should not have memories of a past life, because that just doesn't happen.

'Does it not? Are you not living proof that it is possible?'

I shake my head, trying to focus on one thing at a time.

"Then… who am I?" I ask helplessly. The butterflies continue to swirl and flutter around me, some blurring past my hair or flying over my eyelashes.

"That is for you to determine." The queen mother gently replies. "We are aware this might be too much to understand all at once, but you are not just 'Chiyuki' or 'Aria' - and of that, we are certain. They both co-exist inside of you, and that is why so much has changed in this reality, hm?"

"What do you mean? I thought 'Chiyuki' only existed here…" I bite my lip, suddenly rethinking my entire knowledge, wondering if I've missed a piece of information somewhere. Chiyuki didn't appear in the original story from Before, so there's no way she actually exists, right?

"'Chiyuki' exists in most of the realities, but the impact she has on this one is far greater than the others." The peacock butterfly answers, translucent compound eyes pinning me to the ground.

I continue to bite my lip, cursing my curiosity. "What is 'Chiyuki' like in these other realities?"

The queen mother somehow gives me a heavy stare, letting the silence hang over us for a few seconds. "In most realities, she dies in the Third Shinobi War, living as her mother's plastic doll until the very end."

I feel as if someone drops a bucket of icy water over me, and for a brief second, I'm full of resentment for my mother. If it weren't for 'Aria', perhaps this reality's 'Chiyuki' would have ended up like that as well, born and raised to be everything Biwako wanted her daughter to be.

A shiver runs down my spine, ominous in all the ways things could have gone wrong.

"So what made 'Aria' come here, in this reality? Why 'Chiyuki'? Why not any other person?" I question, mind running a mile a minute.

The insect in front of me seems to raise her wings in an adapted version of a shrug. "Sometimes the realities mix and blur in together, and no one is able to foresee the consequences. The fact of the matter is that 'you' are here, in this 'reality', and must decide what to do next."

"What do you mean?"

The peacock butterfly flutters its wings open, the two pairs of eyes on it hypnotizing and drawing me in. The other smaller butterflies swirl around the queen mother, millions of insects hovering and flickering in a blur of orange and blue.

"We are Chou; we are millions in one, and one in millions. We see it all and know it all. We are yours, just as you are ours." The voice echoes, and the small clearing actually gets dark with how many butterflies are flying around. "We do not engage in battle, for our wind ninjutsu is only effective if there are a few hundred of us. If, however, what you seek is information, then…"

The smaller insects disappear in a haze of colors, swooshing to observe me behind the trees and bushes and the flowers. The queen mother stands tall and proud, with the other butterflies standing guard behind her, and even though they aren't flying around anymore, the clearing hasn't brightened up again.

"We would be willing to do that. Summon us with your chakra as you will. Contrary to other summons, however, we require something other than chakra and blood to acquiesce to you."

I keep quiet as the entire place seems to fall down into a hush. If I look behind me, I'm sure I'll see millions of thousands of curious pairs of eyes, each belonging to different sized bodies with multicolored wings.

It might be a trick of the eye, or it might be on purpose. Chou's wings have started to swirl, like a deadly kaleidoscope, dangerous and wild in its pull.

"How good is your memory, child?"

"My memory?" I question, confused. Why do they care about it?

"Everytime you give us a task, a memory of yours must be given in return."

"Oh. That's… fine, I think? I mean, I got plenty of memories that aren't really useful to me." I murmur, thinking about all the memories I still have from Before - Aria's memories.

"You will have to decide carefully which one you will give to us, so that 'Aria' does not get lost within 'Chiyuki'. Remember, you two co-exist in this reality." The queen mother lightly chides me, voice gentle and kind.

I gulp, nodding. It's going to be a tricky thing, deciding which memory will be more useful than the others, but I suppose that's a fair price to pay to summon an insect that has the ability to see pretty much everything.

"Chou?" I ask tentatively, and the peacock butterfly hums. "You can only see things that have happened and things that are happening in this moment, right? You can't see the future?"

"We cannot, for the future does not exist. It is ever changing. The slightest change in someone's behavior might cause an enormous ripple in any reality, and because of that, many futures exist in one single reality." The insect replies cryptidly, and I nod, thoughtful. "There is also one last thing."

'Well, doesn't that sound ominous.'

"Yes?" I question, half-afraid of the other shoe drop.

"We see it all and know it all. Therefore, we find lies repulsive. That means you must not tell a lie, under any circumstances." The summons tilts its head. "Though, we suppose that will not be an issue for you."

I hesitate, struggling to process this piece of information. While it's true that I also don't like lies and avoid telling one whenever possible, I'm a shinobi. Lying is basically in the job description.

"That might be a bit of an issue, actually. What if I'm on a mission and I need to lie?"

The queen mother seems to shrug again, slightly jolsting her huge wings. "You are allowed to hide part of the truth, if needed, but lies are absolutely forbidden. We do not tolerate falsehood."

The ground shakes and a high whistle descends upon me as the sky gets darker and darker. Chou's translucent compound eyes swirl and flash dangerously, and the millions of eyes behind her seem to get brighter against the dark setting.

I nod, exhaling heavily. "Alright, I get it. No lies."

Everything stills and goes back to the way it was before. The sky is bright again, tiny stars twinkling against clear blue and orange. The wind hustles quietly, the air smells fresh and sweet, and the queen mother is looking at me with dark compound eyes once again.

Despite it being something of a dark promise should I ever lie, I hadn't felt the slightest bit threatened. Intimidated? Hell yeah. Scared? Not really.

"You are ours and we are yours. We would never hurt you." Chou murmurs, voice low and soothing. "These, however, are our terms, and it is up to you if you desire to sign the contract or not."

I shrug, thinking I might just be getting the better deal out of it. "I appreciate how upfront you are about it, honestly. I think we'll get along wonderfully."

The peacock butterfly nods and hums, a comforting sound that feels almost like a hug. "Wise choice."

Not a second later, the millions of butterflies that had been hiding burst out from the bushes and fly around me, titteting and chattering amongst themselves. They flutter around my hair and my clothes, giggling and celebrating the positive response.

They're honestly adorable; all more or less the size of the palm of my hand, but I can tell each and every one of them has a different personality. They whisper to me, welcoming me in, saying they could barely wait for me, and that they're so happy that I'm finally here. It warms up my heart, and it's where they make their nest, hidden from the outside world but never stopping in their murmuring inside my head.

"Are you ready, child?" Chou asks, something that might be considered excitement in her soothing voice. I nod once, determined to make the most out of this partnership, and the boss summons produces a small butterfly seemingly out of thin air. It's much smaller than the others and completely white, from the body to its wings, and despite its size, it flies towards me with purpose.

Suddenly, the ground starts to shake again, but this time it's much more violent than before. The sky suddenly darkens, shades of orange turning to red, bleeding into the darkest shade of blue possible. Chou's translucent eyes swirl and swim around like a kaleidoscope, pulling me in and luring me in its beautiful spiral of shapes and colors.

"Open wide."

"What-?"

I gasp, and the action is enough for the tiny white butterfly to fly right into my mouth, diving down into my throat. Tears gather in my eyes as I choke and scratch at my neck, wanting it out out out-

"This one is free."

Just as the darkness takes over me, I can't help but think it's the sweetest it's ever been.

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.

As I wake up, I immediately notice two things; one, I'm still in the Senju compound, but Tsunade and I are no longer the only people in here; two, there's an inexplicable pounding in my head, something so vile and so strong it drowns out all the other sounds in the vicinity.

I try to get up, but groan and flop back down when the action makes me wanna puke all my insides out. A straw touches my lips, and when I recognize Tenzo - Yamato's - jittery hum of iron I immediately open my mouth and greedily drink the water that's been offered to me.

I close my eyes when I'm finished, and bask in the quiet for a few seconds. My head continues to throb violently, making me feel as if I've been run over by a truck, but through the thick fog of pain and nausea I see images that stop me from going back to the sweet embrace of darkness.

The Akatsuki officially taking over Ame and announcing their alliance with Konoha;

Orochimaru, laying low on a hideout in Rice Country, surrounded by rice fields that act as a perfect cover;

The newly constructed Kannabi Bridge, spanning across a river between Kusa and Iwa;

Yagura, the youngest Kage in history, wreaking havoc in an impoverished Kiri;

The Raikage, forming a shaky alliance with the Kazekage;

An old and white-haired but very much still alive Uchiha Madara, who's hiding somewhere between Iwa and Ame, connected to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

The mere thought of one of the story's original villains and all the troubles he carries with that title is enough to bring the headache to a whole other level, and bile once again threatens to spill out of my mouth. I take deep breaths to try to calm myself down, begging my mind to focus on one thing at a time, feeling so overstimulated and so helpless and desperate that it feels like I'm drowning on dry land.

'Gods, just how am I going to deal with Madara?'

Soothing, healing chakra eases the pounding in my head and eases my nausea, and breathing suddenly becomes a lot easier. When the sensation fades, I finally open my eyes to a wooden ceiling, blinking a few times to make sure it's really night time.

'Huh. So it's been a few hours since I was reverse summoned.'

"Would it kill for you to stop thinking so much for just one second?" Tsunade's snarl reaches my ears, and even though she sounds angry and frustrated, she also sounds like she's been worried, so I don't take her harsh tone to heart.

"Kind of." I rasp out, thinking of all the lives at stake here. The urge to curl up in a ball and cry tries to take over me for a second, but I shove it down and focus on the worried frown the Slug Sage is looking at me with. I also take note of the distressed furrow of Yamato's brows, and the slight pout he has on his lips. "Sorry for intruding."

The boy huffs and crosses his arms, not unlike Tsunade herself would do, and I wonder when exactly this happened, and just how long these two have been living together. I suppose it doesn't really matter, since I really should have expected the medic-nin to take matters into her own hands.

Nevertheless, seeing Yamato's rosy cheeks and his once skinny body finally fill in his clothes is a sight for sore eyes, and no matter how atrocious the Senju woman's bedside manners might be, at the end of the day she is a good person.

"That's not the issue here. We were worried." The brown haired boy grumbles, looking just like Tsunade when he does that, and it's one of the cutest sights I've ever seen in this short (long?) life of mine.

"Sorry." I say weakly.

"You've been asleep for a couple of days. Aside from the headache and the nausea, how are you feeling?" The blonde woman says in lieu of replying. Her eyes glance back to my forehead for a fraction of a second, and a whisper that sounds suspiciously like Chou's voice tells me she's glancing at the seal on my head.

"Other than that, I'm fine." I reply, flexing my hands and wiggling my toes to try and get sensation back into them. "My brothers?"

The Senju woman rolls her eyes, but answers me with a tint of regret in her voice. "Out."

That was to be expected. Tooru is an elite jounin, and he spends so much time outside the village it's rare to see him in our house. Asuma's team had been busy as well, as all chunin teams were, so no surprise there.

Didn't stop the pang of disappointment in my chest, though.

"We're lucky Minato's in the village. He's gonna have to take a look at those." Tsunade swiftly changes the subject, poking at my forehead, then at my neck, where only now I notice there's a tingly feeling. Like a barely there itch, something that you wouldn't even scratch at if you were too lazy to.

"Why?" I furrow my eyebrows, my hand flying to the seal on my forehead.

"The butterflies did something to it. Outwardly, nothing much has been done to it, but chakra-wise, I can't really tell." The medic-nin says and crosses her arms, a pensive look on her youthful face. "They also left a white outline on your neck. Possessive, much?"

I slap a hand to my neck, right where the tingly feeling grows stronger by the minute. Thoughts of Orochimaru and Madara thrown aside for a few seconds, I suddenly remember how I'd swallowed a tiny, white butterfly, and choke on my saliva.

Yamato gingerly pats my back, chakra slightly brushing against mine in a comforting gesture. The sensation of wood against iron is a bit raspy and dry, but somehow, it doesn't feel unpleasant.

"They left a what?" I manage to choke out, more grossed out than anything. If it was a one time thing to symbolize the contract being in effect from that moment onwards, gross, but okay. I could deal with that once in my life.

'If I have to do it every time I give them a task, it's gonna be a real problem…'

"The outline of a butterfly. I suppose there's meaning behind it?" Tsunade raises a blonde eyebrow, a bit of a threat in her voice. Her chakra, normally healing and soothing, cackles and whispers like a lightning storm about to begin.

"I- don't know?" I shrug, hand wrapping gently around my own throat, hearing Chou's distorted giggle in my head.

'Okay. Now this is going to become a Problem. Please stop doing that.'

The boss summon's whispers fade from my mind, although I can still feel her presence there. A peacock butterfly enters through the open window and gently dances in the wind before landing on my nose, and a horrifying thought crosses my mind.

'They're everywhere. That's why they see everything; they're fucking everywhere.'

There's a bit of panic and hysteria in that terrifying realization, because if they're always flying around innocently with barely any chakra in their bodies, no one would suspect anything. Unless they made themselves known, no ninja would ever think a small insect is actually able to see everything they do and share it with millions of other insects, creating the true spy network.

'Oh.'

Tsunade's eyes narrow suspiciously at me as the butterfly perched on my nose flaps its wings innocently, but I can't bring myself to prevent the surprise from showing in my face. In my head, I feel Chou's smugness and pride, and it's a very odd feeling to feel someone else's satisfaction so intimately.

'Is this how every jinchuriki feels? Ugh, it'll definitely take some getting used to.'

The colorful butterfly takes flight from my nose and dances away into the night, but somehow, the feeling of always being watched doesn't ever leave me. It's not a bad feeling, per se, just… odd.

"You're seeing Minato first thing in the morning." Tsunade suddenly declares, and it's as much of an order as it's a request. Her chakra buzzes against mine, cackling and fizzing in its worry, and I nod without much fuss.

"Hey, does that mean we're having a sleepover?" I ask Yamato cheekily, whose chakra suddenly bubbles, flustered.

He snaps his head to look at the Slug Sage with wide eyes. "Aunt?"

'Aunt? That's… fitting, I suppose. And cute'

"Do whatever you want, just don't make too much noise. It's two in the morning." The blonde woman shrugs half-heartedly, still looking at me with an unnerving amount of focus in those honey-brown eyes.

In the end, the brown-haired boy had grabbed his futon and put it next to mine, only slightly whining that Kakashi was going to have his head. He'd slept soundly afterwards, though, the Slug Sage's calm and reassuring hum of iron in the next room helping me to relax, if only slightly.

In between adjusting to Chou's silent presence in my mind and all the knowledge that'd been dumped on me, as well as panicking as I tried to plan ahead, the first light of dawn covers the room in an orange hue sooner than I'd expected.

I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, and received a scolding from Tsunade for that.

.

.

"So you signed a contract with the butterflies."

"Yes."

"That Nagato asked Tsunade-sama to pass on to you."

"Yes."

"And now they messed up with the seal on your forehead, and added another one on your neck."

"Yes. Ah, and they asked if you could take these off, but I said no."

Shikaku looks at me with Unimpressed™ eyes, arms crossed in front of his chest. His lower lip is slightly jutted out in an extremely uncharacteristic pout, and it takes an enormous amount of strength to prevent myself from laughing.

The Nara patriarch takes my wrists from the confines of my hoodie and carefully checks over the seals he'd placed in them, grumbling all the while.

"Why would you even have to take them off."

I shrug, trying my best to ignore my summon's sour mood in my head. "Apparently they have elements of the deer contract in them and Chou doesn't really like it."

The man narrows his dark eyes at me, then the seal on my forehead, then at my neck, and finally my wrists again. "I won't take them off."

I nod, biting my lip to prevent myself from giggling at this petulant Shikaku, a version of him I hadn't yet seen, but one I found myself enjoying very much.

"I won't ask you to." I reply, watching as his body relaxes a fraction. "I couldn't have used the knock-out seal on only one of the Ame shinobi, because that'd definitely piss them off and throw any negotiation possibility out of the window, but they're still very much useful and a present from you."

His dark eyes soften even as his jaw clenches, no doubt remembering the whole debriefing incident. His chakra brushes against mine softly, quietly, and it feels refreshing like the shade of a tree on a summer day.

"Speaking of the seals, can you…?" I make a shushing motion, and with a flicker of his wrist, his study is effectively sound-proofed from the inside out. Nothing changes outwardly in his posture, but to me it's very clear by the hum of iron in his blood and the slither of his chakra against mine that he's very much suddenly serious.

"What is it?" Shikaku asks, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

I bite my lip, praying that the planning and fretting of one night is enough. "So the butterflies aren't fighting summons. They're an intel gathering, spy network summons." The man nods, but makes no move to interrupt me. "They're basically everywhere, and they have so little chakra in their bodies that they're pretty much undetectable."

The Jounin Commander nods again, as if encouraging me.

"Last night, they showed me… a lot of things." I feel the urge to wince, remembering the headache that had been, but focus on the task at hand. "Two of them in particular worry me: a newly constructed bridge that connects Kusa and Iwa, which I'm supposing will help Iwa out a lot in getting supplies, and… Uchiha Madara, very much alive, hiding somewhere between Iwa and Ame."

Shikaku looks at me in silence for a few seconds, intense gaze never wavering. His chakra doesn't still, and his iron continues to hum in a leisurely manner. I hold his gaze, absolutely sure of what I saw, of what I knew was completely true, and what the implications in telling him where.

There's no way in hell I can deal with Madara on my own. Even if he's old and weakened, that man is still very much dangerous and lethal, and in no way can I deal alone with him, especially knowing what I know. The knowledge of the White and Black Zetsu, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and the Eye of the Moon plan, however, would absolutely not be shared with anyone from Konoha - at least not now.

Chou can't see the future, and I can't lie. There's no plausible reason for me to know of Madara's plans. At this point, there's not a whole lot I can do by myself.

"Uchiha Madara." The Nara patriarch finally speaks, a low, deep rumble that comes from his chest with only a little bit of incredulity in his voice.

I nod, still keeping eye contact with him, letting him know I absolutely didn't make this up. "He's old and weak, connected to a strange statue, but he's 100% alive and kicking."

"He's supposed to be dead. Killed by the Shodaime decades ago." Shikaku states, but it doesn't sound like he's trying to refute me. It actually sounds like he's trying his hardest to believe me, and it warms my heart.

"Yes, but he's still alive. I wish I could show you what I saw, but I can't. I only know that he's hiding in a cave system in the outskirts of Iwa, close to Ame."

"And you think he needs to be killed."

I hesitate, wondering about the White Zetsu and how they're basically Madara's contingency plan. "I think so, yeah. He's too dangerous to be left alone."

The man sighs, loud and heavy, and I do feel slightly bad for dumping another bomb on his lap.

"Uchiha Madara." The Nara patriarch repeats, tired and weary. "We're in the middle of a war, though. We can't possibly spend a huge part of our resources and send shinobi to kill him, at least not now."

I nod, having already figured out as much. "Yeah. It would also be a risky move to fight so close to Iwa."

"It would. And if you've already figured all that out, then you also realize we'll need to tell Fugaku about it, as well." Shikaku remarks, tilting his head. "And probably Minato, since he'll become the Yondaime Hokage as soon as the war ends."

I bite my lip and nod again, not wanting a whole lot of people to know about Madara, but figuring it was useless worrying about it. Of course it would be kept strictly on a need-to-know basis, but still.

"And you do know you'll be sent on fewer missions as of now, don't you?" The Jounin Commander's face is carefully blank as he says this, keeping his chakra to himself instead of brushing it against mine like he's been doing.

I finally avert my eyes, feeling my lips form a pout. "...yeah."

This is the thing that had kept me awake last night, the one thought my mind kept going back to. As someone who has the potential to gather information like this and is not strong enough to defend herself against all sorts of enemies, Konoha would be stupid to continue to give me long-term, faraway missions like it has. It's likely they'll still send me on missions, because we're still at war and we lose people everyday, but they'll definitely be shorter, closer to home assignments.

I still haven't decided on how that makes me feel.

"Do you think the boys will mind it a lot?" I ask in a small voice, feeling terrible for some reason. Shikaku's whole body slumps down and his warm hand ruffles my hair, chakra brushing softly against mine. The tree-shade sensation is back.

"Don't underestimate a war. You'll all be kept busy."

I nod, and giving in to an impulsive, fleeting thought, I jump into the man's arms for an impromptu hug, who catches me without blinking. The Nara patriarch smells of leather and pine trees, of safety and respite, and I feel his arms tighten around me for a second.

"Thank you for believing me."

"We'll have to double-check that info, but I believe you're telling me the truth."

The sheer trust and confidence in his dark eyes is honestly astounding, humbling, and aweing, all at once. It's a tough pill to swallow, but Shikaku had been the first person I'd gone to for a reason.

"I don't lie." I say matter-of-factly, and the man raises an eyebrow.

"You don't, or you can't?" I shrug and keep silent, a grin threatening to break out. I'd let him figure that one out for himself.

"It's the butterflies, isn't it." He asks with a groan, looking at the outline on my neck with a suspicious glare.

"Yes and no. Does it even matter?" I bat my lashes innocently, but the Jounin Commander merely shoots me an unimpressed look.

"It does. You went to see Minato this morning, didn't you? What did he say?"

One of my hands goes to my forehead, where lies an eight-pointed star, with seven black limbs and a single white one - the downwards one. It stands out even more now, but the urge to cover it with a fringe isn't as strong as I'd thought it'd be.

"He said the butterflies added their own seal elements to it so that our chakras could connect, but that's about it. It doesn't interfere with the seal's original job or anything."

He nods at the one on my neck. "And that one?"

"A proof of the contract and a way to summon them easily. Chou says it's not time to teach me yet."

"Well, doesn't that sound fun." He drawls, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"I mean," I shrug, "that's an issue for future Chiyuki to deal with."

"Sure." Shikaku mumbles, an odd glint in his eyes. "I'll look forward to that."

.

.

"I can't believe you were kidnapped and kept hostage for two whole weeks!"

"To be fair, it wasn't that bad."

"Shush! It doesn't change the fact that you were under the whims of enemy shinobi for fourteen days!"

Rin is absolutely furious, pacing the length of Kakashi's living room in quick stomps. While I do appreciate the sentiment, realistically speaking, there isn't much the three of them could have done.

Rather, it's actually a good thing they weren't anywhere near that.

While my girl friend is fuming, Obito is suspiciously quiet, a slight pout on his lips. Kakashi, as expected, had not handled the news well, and had dragged me back to his apartment as soon as he saw me leaving the Nara compound. His teammates had easily jumped in on the wagon, and I now found myself staring at an angry Rin, an unusually silent Obito, and Kakashi, who's doing a great impression of an octopus.

His chakra brushes constantly against mine, frustrated and worried, cackles and wisps of lightning scraping against iron every now and then. As amazing as that sounds, we're still about the same height, which makes it easy for him to glue his shoulder to mine. His pack of ninken is around as well, following their leader's cues and being agitated as well. I had been thoroughly sniffed as soon as I stepped inside the apartment, cute little doggy noses huffing around me, as if asking just where I'd been.

It was very cute and heart-warming, though slightly overwhelming.

"Obi?" I ask during a lull in the conversation, when Rin's decided she was going to make tea for everyone. "Are you okay?"

The Uchiha boy looks at me with worry and affection in his eyes, chakra brushing softly against mine, warming my whole body up in a pleasant way. It clashes against lightning for a brief second, and then it recedes.

"I was worried." He mumbles, definitely not used to vocalizing his emotions, but I appreciate it nonetheless. The admittance makes my heart swell, full of affection for these people who I have met, got to know, and have formed bonds with.

I reach out to him with my hand and he meets me halfway, holding my hand tightly against his cold ones. "I'm sorry to have worried you. Thank you for caring about me."

"Group hug!" Is all the warning we get before Rin throws herself at us, a mess of limbs and emotionally-awkward children soon lying on a heap inside Kakashi's apartment. Their chakra brush against mine, full of concern and fondness and relief, and the whole situation brings a grin to my face.

"I'm going to assume the Hakate clan's seat in the village's Clan Council." My silver-haired friend suddenly blurts out, and my mind struggles to turn its gears around for a split second. A moment of silence, then-

"What?!"

"Bakakashi, did you hit your head?!"

"Boss?!"

Even Pakkun looks at his leader in confusion, brown eyes wide and lost. The other ninken are all staring at the scene with varying degrees of worry and suspicion, wondering exactly what that means for them.

"What for?" I finally ask, with a furrow in my eyebrows. Never once had Kakashi shown interest in clan dealings or politics, in this reality or the one Before, and it all just left us staring at him as if he'd grown a second head.

'Kinda came out of nowhere, too.'

The boy looks straight at me, hints of frustration and anger hidden in his dark eyes. I patiently wait until he's ready to speak.

"That Inuzuka woman." The last Hatake all but growls out, immediately putting all his ninken on edge. "She told us you couldn't be my Alpha."

I nod but keep silent, wondering just where the hell he's going with this.

"She was wrong."

I choke on my next breath, bewildered out of my mind. "Wrong?"

Kakashi nods and gets up to grab a scroll that had been sitting innocently on his book shelf. He hands it to me, a hard set to his mouth visible even through the mask, and motions for me to read it. I gingerly open it, half-wondering if it's okay to read clan stuff, while Rin and Obito watch on, silent as a grave.

I feel my brows furrowing more the further I read the scroll, mind going back to that time years ago, after Sakumo-oji died and people told us that I couldn't be Kakashi's pack leader.

'According to the Hatake clan, a pack is what you make of it, and though it isn't very common, you can add people who are not your ninken or clan members to your pack, and even have them become the pack's Alpha… wait. What?'

"So… the way the Hatake clan does things is very different from the Inuzuka, even if they're both canine clans?" I question, just to be sure. The masked boy nods, still clenching his jaw, clearly trying to reign in his anger. I reach out and stroke my chakra against his, painfully slow and patient so as to not spook him any further.

"Was that what it was? You became Kakashi's Alpha, and then someone told you that couldn't happen?" Obito asks, looking as if a light bulb had gone on inside his brain.

I glance at the silver-haired boy, who remains silent, and shrug. "That's the gist of it, yeah. They told us that since I wasn't part of a canine clan, I couldn't be part of its dynamic."

"That's wrong!" Kakashi all but roars, and the tiny apartment drowns in silence. His lithe body trembles all over from the sheer force of his frustration, pale fists clenched in tight fists. A dangerous, low growl rumbles from his chest, and I decide to get up and hug him.

I feel the vibrations from his chest rattle up my ribcage, and rub my hands across his back in what I hope is a soothing gesture. My chakra brushes more assertively against his, even though it struggles slightly to match the intensity of his feelings.

"It is wrong, isn't it? I'm sorry I didn't know better at the time." I mumble, trying to validate his emotions and keep calm at the same time. "It's no excuse, but I thought it was for the best."

"It's not your fault." He grumbles, finally wrapping his arms around me, growling lessening by the second.

"It kind of is. Maybe if I had researched more-"

"Stop. I only found the scroll because I cleared up my old man's study."

I pull back slightly, enough so that I can look into his eyes. Although he's still frustrated, he definitely knows what's going on, and I nod.

"Okay. So what now?"

He pulls back from the embrace and shrugs, but keeps flickering his chakra against mine. "It would be too emotionally draining to have you become the pack's leader now that I have the ninken, but that's why I'm going to take up the Hatake clan's seat."

"What do you even plan on achieving with that?" I ask again, still not connecting the dots.

"You want to be sure nothing like that happens again." Rin finally pipes up, brown eyes shining. Her face is pensive, calculating - and, worst of all, appreciative.

Kakashi nods, a hard set to his jaw. His ninken bark next to him, voicing their agreement, and Pakkun looks incredibly proud.

I nod back, kind of numbingly, though my brain tells me that's not all there's to it. Something niggles in the back of my mind, like a knowledge that's just barely out of reach.

"Is that all there is to it, though? You wouldn't do this for that reason only." Obito voices my thoughts, a cute tilt to his head. The last Hatake looks at him, then at Rin, and finally stares deep into my eyes.

"If you can't be my Alpha, I'll at least make sure you're the village's Alpha."