Izumi and Ume eventually arrived at the Uchiha district, or rather the three adjoining houses that formed it. A blind black cat, absolutely massive, with its body full of scars, clawed on the railing of the porch. Izumi gave it a threatening look. The beast was damaging the wood! Without ceasing its action, the cat stared at her with a sort of grin of malicious challenge. It seemed to say: come see what happens if you want to get me out… And Izumi backed down. She went around to avoid the big cat and snuck into the house.

“Don’t tell me that you lost the psychological warfare against the cat!” Ume joked behind her.

“Nonsense,” Izumi replied. “And it's not just any cat, it's Yujiro. I'm sure it's half tiger. Did you see how big it is?”

Yujiro could almost look Sasuke in the eyes. The cat was a monster. It even terrified the Inuzuka’s dogs. Ume uttered an amused giggle. The house was empty, except for two white cats sleeping on the couch. Izumi scratched their ears, then began the preparation of a curry. Thanks to the storage seals that kept meat almost indefinitely, she had all the necessary ingredients, including fresh chicken.

Ume offered to help her, but Izumi brandished her spatula with a threatening air. Ume was delicate, kind, and everything you would expect from a perfect girl, but she was bad at cooking to the point of burning noodles. With a resigned sigh, Ume collapsed on a sofa in the living room and took one of the cats on her lap. Barely two minutes had passed, and the front door opened again. Izumi didn’t even lift her head to see the newcomer.

“If you want to eat, you have to set the table. Ume is invited but not you as far as I know.”

“Hey!” Her brother protested. “How did you know it was me?”

“Who else will come here at noon with all the subtlety of a horde of wild boars?” Izumi asked in a sarcastic tone.

Ume burst into laughter. Finally looking away from the pan, Izumi saw her brother rolling his eyes with a theatrical air, before politely greeting their guest. Jun was still polite to Ume. Which was almost strange because Jun was naturally quite abrupt. At first, Izumi said to herself that it was because he didn’t want to offend his little sister's teammates, but ... Jun always laughed out loud at Hana's jokes, and did not hesitate to pat her on the back when they were talking about tracking or fighting. It was just with Ume that Jun was so ... careful. Almost delicate. And he watched her a lot, but from a good distance, as if he didn't want to offend her ... Was it because Ume was so shy? However, Jun didn't usually show much consideration for these things.

“I’m not here to eat your delicious food,” Jun replied with dignity. “I came to tell you I'm going on a mission.”

“With your Genins?”

“No,” He replied shaking his head. “It’s a solo A-Rank mission, an important one. It is... With the exam approaching, and the political situation... For various secret reasons, I have to bring Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya-sensei back to Konoha.”

Izumi looked at her brother. Tsunade Senju was a legend among the Medic-nin. She was the heroine of all the little kunoichis. Izumi was no exception. But her interest was nothing compared to that of Ume, who joined her hands in a delighted gesture.

“Lady Tsunade will return to Konoha?! Oh, that's awesome!”

Izumi held an amused smile while feeling her heart swell with pride. Ume didn’t have a last name, but she wasn’t just anyone. She was a Senju. She came from the same clan as the First Hokage! Obviously, she was delighted to hear that Hashirama’s granddaughter may be coming back to the village.

It was a well-kept secret. Ume had only revealed it to Izumi five years earlier. Because Ume was the only person Izumi had talked to about her Sharingan, Ume thought that this proof of confidence was worth at least one equivalent secret in exchange.

“I'll try to bring her back,” Jun said, feigning a false modesty.

“I'm sure you will succeed,” Ume said with confidence.

Jun gave a vaguely embarrassed laugh and rubbed his neck, bright eyes and a big smile on his face. Izumi stopped herself, spatula in the air, and squinted her eyes suspiciously. Her brother was making a surprisingly delighted expression for such a small compliment. Moreover, Jun seemed to lose some of his confidence. He glanced at his little sister and said with a hesitant voice.

“Hmm, about the mission... To convince Lady Tsunade to return to Konoha, I was briefed on… her family. Because no one is named Senju, but…”

He left his sentence in suspense. Izumi felt a touch of irritation while understanding. Jun had been informed of Ume's kinship. It wasn’t a secret that had to be hidden in the village. It was information, and it was logical that the Division had access to it. But still, Izumi thought it would have been better if Ume had the choice to reveal it herself.

But the girl in question didn’t look bothered. She looked down briefly, but when she looked up, the smile she addressed to Jun was shy but sincere.

“So you know I'm a Senju. Tsunade is my… distant aunt, I think? Her father was my grandfather's brother.”

Jun cast an uncertain look at Izumi. Suddenly, Izumi relaxed. Jun wanted to make sure that Ume hadn’t been forced to reveal a secret in front of her friend. He cared about Ume, her comfort, her secrets. That was a good thing.

“I already knew about it,” Izumi said. “Ume told me when I told her about my Sharingan.”

“An exchange of secrets,” Ume added with a smile.” And it's funny, isn't it? Izumi didn't have the clan name before that, so... She told me she was a Uchiha the day I told her I was a Senju.”

Jun chuckled. Izumi narrowed her eyes again, attentive. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she had heard her brother giggle. Jun sneered or laughed, but he didn't chuckle like that. Except when he was in front of a pretty girl… He also tended to smile stupidly.

“Anyway… I was just stopping by to let you know, Izumi. Now, I have to organize the training of my Genins during my absence, so I'm heading out. See you later, Ume, Izumi!”

And he vanished into a cloud of smoke. Ume shook her head with amusement. The exuberance of the Uchiha clan leader must have seemed funny to her. Then the girl turned to Izumi and blinked as she saw her expression.

“Are you worried about your brother?”

No,” Izumi replied. “A weird idea just crossed my mind.”

Ume looked up at the ceiling, long accustomed to the cryptic side of her best friend. But Izumi was quite serious. Jun and Ume? Honestly, she would never have seen it coming. And it was going to require that she dug a little…