*Click*

 

-Danzo’s POV-

 

I couldn’t get a good night's sleep, so I spent the morning reviewing my plans. All I have to do is start putting more pressure on the Uchiha and they’ll explode. Oh, and when that happens!

 

We had a setback, a minor setback but a setback, nonetheless.

 

 I’d love to say that it wasn’t bothering me however the potential threat someone could bring with that body in their possession.

 

 ‘Shit!’

 

For Yamanaka to return empty-handed. No signs of a fight, no blood, nothing! My ANBU was certain of the location, but someone got to it before me. I could only drop it for now and keep moving on.

 

‘Now, how to escalate things…’

 

***

-Hibiki’s POV-

 

With a light breeze flowing through my hair, I laid down on the roof of the Fuma compound in a t-shirt that went down to my ankles. The tiles I was sprawled against when they were chill to the touch were losing that aspect the longer, I gazed at the clouds slowly drifting past.

 

Bird chirps could be heard in the distance while the cicadas produced a high-pitched buzz. 

 

Kids were arguing over some game, and an old lady was yelling at some cats but that was all off in the distance.

 

Truly a fine morning. 

 

At least, it would’ve been.

 

It was unfortunate I had to listen to the maniacal laughter of someone else this time…

 

B: (AHAHAHAHA!) (???)

 

I couldn’t fucking think over the hollering hyena having the time of his life in my psyche.

 

As much as I wanted to throw myself off the building, I didn’t really want anyone else to catch me like this.

 

I had no choice but to bear with his obnoxious cackling. It wasn’t even like I had the help of that flamboyant narcissist, I wasn’t too concerned about another incident like the last one happening any time soon. 

 

Turns out that he After a long… long talk, neither of us regretted what happened. It was probably for the best, 0so I came to an agreement with him… as strange as his demand was…

 

That’s what led up to my current predicament.

 

When I tell you he wasn’t joking about the blood having some effect, he WASN’T!

 

I had to follow his part of the bargain and without much issue bodily, I managed to adjust to the blood just fine. I could take much deeper breaths, my body was in a much better state than it was before. At least, according to Riku.

 

The only problem was something I, Jules, and the fool. Hell, even Riku was unprepared for

 

B: (AHAHAHAHA!) (???)

 

(Shut… up!) (Hibiki)

 

B: (BWAHAHAHAHA!) (???)

 

I woke up…

 

Going from 45.5’’ (3’7 feet) and weighing 40.5 pounds, I grew to 50.4" (4’1) overnight. I could probably pull off looking like an 8-year-old. That goes to say that I no longer fit in any of my clothes. 

 

… any of my remaining clothes….

 

So, there I was, in one of Arashi’s old shirts since Riku’s clothes was also part of the crossfire. It was oversized but I was making do. 

 

B: (Pants, AHAHAHAHA!) (???)

 

… Don’t even think about it, you three.

 

***

 

“So, it started back then, huh?” (Hotaru)

 

“You really did like being free” (Kohaku)

 

“Just…” (Makoto)

 

“Please.” (Hibiki)

 

“Dangling…” (Makoto)

 

***

 

….

 

Haaaaaa….

 

I need a drink.

 

Um, yeah.

 

On this bright sunny day, I laid down on the roof of the Fūma compound in an oversized shirt while Riku and Arashi went out to help me. 

 

The thing was that Sasame was quite excited to have me be her friend. I could hear her hollering about playing some game together, the rapid paces of her footsteps going up and down each corner of this place was something I found admirable, I could never.

 

It was as if she managed to convince herself that we were playing hide and go seek. 

 

It’s been 30 minutes since they left with the new measurements I took. I wanted to dig a hole and hide in it but no, if not for the shirt my sausage would’ve been out in the sun.

 

Anyways, I got Riku’s explanation which wasn’t so different from what I’ve been told. The daimyo was trying to take over neighboring lands thanks to Orochimaru and is too stubborn to give it up since he has the power of a Sannin behind him. 

 

Who isn’t participating, mind you?

 

With the whole idea of the village of sound serving as his secret force, his head has gotten full of air to take the words of a snake without some form of reassurance. 

 

‘He could snitch, but I think he’d be dead before he gets the chance…’

 

Oh, and Orochimaru decided to go back on his word with the deal since there’s a growing dumpster fire in the form of Kirigakure to loot from. Which was a bummer but that gave me a month to see what I could get done before we make the trip over. 

 

Lastly, to ensure nobody interfere with our work, Orochimaru was going to have one of his ‘trusted’ people act as our guardian. We’re supposed to meet them in the evening today.

 

Riku didn’t seem to mind it, but I couldn’t think of anyone who he’d associate with as a missing-nin unless it was the Akatsuki. Who would want to associate with him?

 

‘I’m here with Riku, who am I kidding…’

 

After another 15 minutes of contemplating my misery. I heard the sliding door open and tried to hide from their sight. When I heard two sets of footsteps make their approach to the guest room, we were in.

 

“Hibiki? Are you here?” I praised the heavens when I heard the familiar monotone of my brother.

 

I didn’t want to spiderman my way in as I couldn’t confirm where Sasame was in the house now, so I let five strings of chakra hang and rustled them outside the window to tap against the chime.

 

“Okay, I’m going to stick them outside the window, just latch onto them.” (Riku)

 

I lightly hit the chime again to signal my affirmation. Dreading what he was going to bring when I asked him for help to fulfill this narcissist’s wish. 

 

One by one I pulled up a pair of gray shorts, and a dark green top that I looked at for a while, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It felt like I was missing something about it…

 

‘Soft to the touch, probably cotton… can’t be pulled too far… What is it, what is it?’

 

Its name was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t remember it for the life of me.

 

“Hey Riku, what is this?” (Hibiki)

 

“...I-is it bad?” (Riku)

 

“No, I was just wondering what it’s called. I think I’ve seen something like it in passing...” (Hibiki)

 

Dead silence. Talking to Riku wasn’t hard but sometimes he’d have a thousand-yard stare that I could only wonder about but never asked.

 

“Um… Arashi? Riku?” (Hibiki)

 

“Uh huh.” (Arashi)

 

“Would the two of you mind looking for Sasame? She’s around somewhere and I don’t want to freak her out.” (Hibiki)

 

“Oh! I’ll look for her, you two stay here.” (Arashi)

 

“I’ll come down then.” (Hibiki)

 

“Could you stay up there?” Arashi spoke hastily.

 

Something odd was going on but I wasn’t going to push so I just agreed before hearing a set of steps trail off. 

 

After seeing nothing else come out of the window, I put on my shorts. They were so comfortable that I just had to complete the set. I took off the shirt that guarded all my secrets and put it on top. 

 

There was this small gap between the sleeves but that was threaded together so I thought that it was for the design of the string that held the pieces together. I noticed that the sleeves and shorts left more room than I first imagined. It was just what I needed!

 

“Hibiki?” (Riku)

 

“Uh huh?” (Hibiki)

 

“Could you come down?” (Riku)

 

“... I’m not liking these mixed messages…” (Hibiki)

 

“... You’re-” (Riku)

 

I came falling to the ground, the cardigan-like shirt barreling in the wind behind me, and saw the panic on Riku’s face before he realized that I was hanging on my chakra threads about 7 feet off the ground.

 

“Y-You’ve gotten really good at that…” (Riku)

 

“I know right?! I can’t believe people don’t use these more!” (Hibiki)

 

“...” (Riku)

 

I knew that wasn’t what he was looking for, but I hesitated to say anything when I saw that Riku was wearing the same thing as me with the opposite colors. 

 

“You were saying?” I motioned for him to come forward.

 

That was when I actually dropped the strings and watched as he caught me in his arms. I couldn’t help my laughter when a warm breeze blew across the two of us.

 

“A new start, right?” (Hibiki)

 

“...” He didn’t respond but the look of relief on our faces was our infamous tell. I’d never tell him that he’s not very good at hiding it though. 

 

“Hey, Riku?” (Hibiki)

 

“Yeah?” (Riku)

 

“I told you, a little color does look good on you!”  (Hibiki)

 

“I guess…” (Riku)

 

“I’m throwing all your clothes out!” I raised both my fists into the air ready for the anarchy!

 

“Didn’t you already do that?” (Riku)

 

I slowly turned back to him when I realized the meaning behind those words.

 

“... D-Don’t tell me…” My arms were slowly making their descent to my sides the more I thought about 

 

“We both needed some new ones.” (Riku)

 

“OH NO! I’M SO SORRY!” (Hibiki)

 

“It’s fine, new start!” (Riku)

 

“Then let’s-” (Hibiki)

 

“Jinbei.” (Riku)

 

“Hm?”  (Hibiki)

 

“That’s what it’s called. They suit you well.” If I looked at his smile any longer I was going to evaporate so kept my gaze around the room, the roof, and the walls.

 

“You too! … Riku.” Then the floor… At that moment, I remembered just who exactly I was dealing with.

 

“Yeah?” I thought my tricks needed a bit of an update and it looked like it had to be soon, I wasn’t letting this one slide

 

“What’s that on the floor?”  (Hibiki)

 

“...That’s!”  (Riku)

 

For our audience, what Riku was staring at while I stared at him was a pair of underwear and a mesh armor t-shirt, which someone would normally put on first.

 

“Forget it! New start!” (Hibiki)

 

“No, wait!” (Riku)

 

After a bit of arguing and questioning as to if Riku even remembers if underwear is a thing half the time, we came to an agreement that I’d wear the shirt and sandals he pulled out of a scroll, and he’d show me how to tie the Jinbei with the strings so I could do it myself next time.

 

As he, reluctantly informed me that it was a Friday. So, he had no problem with both of us going commando. Not when the Jinbei was enough to cover our packages, besides.

 

“It’s tradition!” (Riku)

 

With his whole chest, this was the one thing he sounded alive for. Our dad may have been laid back but I could swear to high heavens, buddha, Zeus, you name it! He, without a doubt, would be naked all the time if he wasn’t under the scrutinizing glare of our mother.

Not to say that she didn’t partake of it herself from time to time, she was a hypocrite.

 

We pretty much left the guest room with ourselves, Riku’s scroll held the rest of our stuff. Mine was collateral damage.

 

‘I’m sure he has more, but I could understand him not giving me another one. That was a pretty fun display though… so pretty…’

 

We shared breakfast with the two of the ‘main’ family here and I had to excuse my sudden growth spurt as the power of eating your vegetables. I didn’t think she’d believe it but she started eating her carrots more avidly and we decided to continue our tour before Sasame and I could go play…

 

What we managed to see so far was the hospital that was only open in the afternoon unless it was an emergency since most of the medics were out, taking care of those fighting.

 

We skipped past the bar and kept going with a bathhouse, a couple of artisan shops, and restaurants including the clothing shop they just came from. I got to meet the nice old lady who was running the place with her nephews.

 

It had come to me that everyone I managed to see so far in the village was mainly children and the elderly along with a couple of teenagers like Arashi. What bothered me most was something Riku confirmed with me before we got here most of the population were regular civilians with the biggest force here being the Fūma clan.

 

 They were practically sent to slaughter.

 

Despite Arashi keeping up a positive attitude, I knew that behind that smile was an ever-growing pit of desperation turning into devotion to someone who throws people away like garbage.

 

(We’ll have to see what we can do about that…) (Hibiki)

 

S: (What happened to not wanting to get involved?) (Jules)

 

(I really don’t have much of a choice in the matter, might as well.) (Hibiki)

 

B: (I’ll put on a marvelous show!) (???)

 

(Ugh…) (Hibiki)

 

With the cracks in his door mending, Marcus had a freer reign of the place. He was just happy to be there even if we weren’t exactly on speaking terms.

 

Riku explained on our way back here yesterday that the Land of Rice fields only had two clans backing it currently, one being the Fūma, who influenced the village, and then there was the minor one.

 

The Shiin clan was a small but mighty group that Orochimaru convinced to work in allegiance to the village under some sort of promise or treaty.

 

He also told me that I should keep a good bond with its members if I wanted to develop my kekkai genkai further. 

 

Under Orochimaru, they didn’t have a choice in assisting us. The most we got was a stare here and there but nobody wanted to ruin the position they were in.

 

It was unavoidable, I was impressed at Orochimaru’s ability to have everyone under his thumb and start amassing a force of his own. The last thing Riku confirmed with me was that there was someone he wanted me to meet but they’re out doing something for Orochimaru right now.

 

Orochimaru was out here collecting kekkai genkais holding kids and kinjutsus like they were pokemon cards. Afterward, Sasame was interested in what we could do but Arashi was against that idea, so we said we’d show her another day if Arashi was up to it.

 

I was just having a rough time entertaining her without using chakra, it was like asking a magician to not use magic. I still complied, it was no trouble to tell her about Konoha, we’re neighbors.

 

She wasn’t in such a great mood after that stomping off in a huff. Arashi called it a day a little earlier and we agreed to try again later. 

 

I was thinking about it when Riku tapped my shoulder.

 

“Mhm?” (Hibiki)

 

“Does this bother you?” (Riku)

 

“Yeah…” (Hibiki)

 

“Really?” His tone of voice got more solemn and quiet as he mumbled the rest of his words.

 

“I can’t get piggyback rides anymore, this sucks!” (Hibiki)

 

“...That’s it?” (Riku)

 

“What else is there?” (Hibiki)

 

Look at me, ignoring the fact that we’re missing-nin out in a place where we're supposed to have allegiance but we don’t because the clan is wild as fuck for being here, and in Ame, heck, who knows who’s in Konoha, Kiri or anywhere?! THEY’RE MESSY!

 

Riku let out a sigh and had me follow him a little way. Near the outskirts of the village, we reached a stone building that wasn’t unlike the rest of them. He raised his fist and knocked on the door twice before taking a step back to be aligned with me.

 

“Mom! They’re here!”

 

“Hold on! I’ll be right there!”

 

*CRASH*

 

*BANG*

 

*TUK, TUK, Tuk, tuk*

 

We couldn’t make out the rest of the murmuring but side-glanced at each other with the same anxiousness written on our faces.

 

We looked back at the sound of the door handle jiggling. The door creaked open, but a rush of wind felt like it blew through my face and a screen popped up before my sight.

 

[Bloodline Unlocked: Fuma/ ----]

 

When I looked over it, I saw a woman with short hair, a brighter shade of red by miles than our own.

 

But that wasn’t what hit me.

 

Step by step, the closer she got, the more my head felt heavier and heavier.

 

My legs were shaking but I stood my ground until I got a good look at a young girl. She wore a brown shirt and a pair of black shorts…

 

B: (Hey, Hibiki?) (???)

 

S: (Hibiki?) (Jules)

 

“Hibi-” (Riku)

 

“Mother-” My words trailed off to the abyss when I stared at someone all too familiar to me and hundreds of questions spawned in my mind.

 

I was having the greatest time.

 

Collapsing and breathing heavily before blacking out, once again. With the only question on my mind remaining.

 

‘Why now?’

 

[4/4 Ley Lines Established]

 

*Click*