~~~ Kaien Iburi ~~~
Kaien woke up screaming.
He jolted upright, breath ragged, eyes darting, pupils blown wide. Smoke blasted outward in an uncontrolled burst, roiling off him in thick waves, slamming against the walls and ceiling, filling his room with a dense, suffocating haze.
He could hear it, taunting him.
The wind.
Soft, crawling fingers. A whisper against his skin.
Not yet. Not you.
It had taken everything. His entire family, stolen in quiet breaths, swept away like scattered ash.
But not him.
Why not him?
Why did it leave him behind, only for something worse to claim him?
To be taken. Put in a jar.
To be played with by a sadist.
Taken apart and put back together.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Kaien forced himself to his feet, battling every step to his window, and threw it open, leaning out to feel the early morning breeze.
Gentle. Natural. Real.
The dense smoke began to play on the wind as it streamed from his room. Beautiful arcs and twirls as it playfully danced through the air, curling and stretching like something alive.
Kaien exhaled slowly, the thundering in his chest calming. He watched how the wind caught the smoke, lifted it and let it fly. Free. No walls. No glass. No restraints.
His grip on the windowsill loosened. Shoulders eased.
Kaien reached for his pipe with steadying fingers, flicking his thumb along the rim. The rough, cool stone pressed against his palm. Real. This is what's real.
A spark of chakra and an ember flared to life.
The first inhale burned, warm and familiar, chasing away the last ghosts of the nightmare. He let the swirling smoke linger in his lungs, then released it in a slow, steady stream, watching as it mixed with the morning air.
He leaned forward on the windowsill, forearms resting against the worn wood. Below, the village stirred to life.
The market stalls were already being set up, shopkeepers arranging produce, flipping signs, preparing for the day. A few early risers walked the streets, civilians shuffling the sleep from their bones.
Soft voices carried up to him. Snippets of conversation, a laugh here, a yawn there. A child, still groggy, clinging to their mother's sleeve as she led them down the road.
Normal.
Ordinary.
Kaien took another slow drag from his pipe, letting the village breathe with him.
Beautiful.
~~~ Mikoto Uchiha ~~~
The sound of chopsticks tapping against bowls filled the quiet of the Uchiha home. The scent of miso, grilled fish, and simmering vegetables settled into the warm air. A family of four sat around the low table.
A scene very familiar to these wooden walls.
Mikoto set down the last dish and took her seat, eyes sweeping across the table, making sure everything was in place.
Sasuke was sitting straighter than necessary, trying too hard not to look eager. Izumi was already sneaking a second helping of rice. Kaien, despite technically being a guest, had slouched into his usual spot, chopsticks in one hand, an air of entitled laziness settling over him like his well-worn haori.
Mikoto sighed, reaching for the teapot.
"Sit up properly, Kaien."
Kaien, without looking up, lazily straightened his back for exactly two seconds before melting back into his natural state. "I tried. Can't. Don't have that Uchiha stick up my—"
A familiar, dangerous glint sparkled in her eye. "You are not lying down at my dinner table, Kaien-kun."
"You're right," he said, popping a piece of fish into his mouth. "Reclining is technically sitting."
Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You're like a stray cat."
Kaien smirked. "And you're such a good boy. Izumi, have you taught him to shake a paw?"
Izumi choked on her tea.
Sasuke bristled, Uchiha glare on full display. "What was that?"
"I said—"
Mikoto calmly reached for the serving spoon and smacked Kaien's hand before he could swipe more rice. He pulled back with a theatrical wince.
"Ow. Is this the vaunted Uchiha hospitality?" Kaien muttered, rubbing his wrist.
"Eat like a normal person, and maybe I won't have to correct you," Mikoto said, scooping another portion onto Sasuke's plate instead.
Sasuke didn't gloat, but he definitely ate with more satisfaction than was necessary.
Never seen someone look so smug while eating before…
Izumi finally recovered from her choking fit, wiping her mouth. "You really never change, do you?"
Kaien tilted his head, considering. "No, still as amazing as usual."
"The word you are looking for is 'tolerable,' dear. And you're almost there."
Mikoto poured herself a cup of tea and let the conversation wash over her, familiar and warm.
For a moment, it really did feel like before.
…
Mikoto refilled her tea, letting the warmth of the cup settle into her hands.
The conversation drifted in and out, weaving between teasing and idle chatter, the same easy rhythm it always found when Kaien was here. No one said anything about why he was here, why he regularly found his way back to this table, but it was understood.
He belonged. Whether he admitted it or not.
Kaien twirled his chopsticks between his fingers, a slow, absent motion, like his hands were restless even when the rest of him pretended not to be.
Sasuke eyed the movement, brow furrowing. "You still do that."
Kaien flicked a grain of rice at him without looking up. "Do what?"
Sasuke brushed it off his sleeve. "Shisui used to do that."
Kaien paused just long enough for Mikoto to notice before he rolled his shoulders, tone light. "Tch. And here I thought I had my own style."
"You don't," Sasuke said flatly.
Izumi hid a smirk behind her teacup. "He's right."
Kaien sighed dramatically, setting his chopsticks down. "Hey! Maybe he got that from me!"
Izumi didn't even look up. "He didn't."
"Urck." Kaien dramatically made a dramatic face and clenched hist chest. "Will no one defend my integrity?"
A moment of silence passed.
"Anyone?"
Sasuke smiled.
Mikoto watched, letting the moment settle.
"You were inseparable for years," she said, pouring more tea. "It's only natural some things stuck."
Kaien didn't answer right away.
Then he exhaled through his nose and picked his chopsticks back up, twirling them once more before setting them properly against his bowl. "Guess so."
…
The meal wound down, bowls empty, stomachs full.
Kaien tried stacking his dishes into a leaning tower, but Mikoto plucked them from his hands before he could.
"Fine, fine," he muttered, stretching his arms over his head. "See if I ever help again."
"You never help," Izumi pointed out.
Kaien smirked. "I try, but auntie Mikoto won't let me. Probably because I'm her favorite." Someone snorted. "Anyway, It's the thought that counts."
"Maybe if you 'tried' before she was standing over you, it'd work better." Izumi observed, correctly.
Sasuke scoffed but took the dishes instead, bringing them to the kitchen without being asked. Mikoto passed him another bowl, letting the movement of routine settle between them all.
It was quiet. A kinder silence than the district was known for in recent years. Not the heavy kind, thick with absence and loss.
This was different.
The house was full. Alive. If only for the evening.
Mikoto reached for the teapot, glancing at Kaien. His gaze had drifted toward the window.
She didn't need to ask what he was thinking.
She had held Sasuke close that night, felt the rush of wind against her skin, smelled the blood in the air.
Footsteps. Fast. Urgent.
A voice, steady despite everything. "Mikoto, you need to move. Now."
Smoke curling in the dark. Not fire, not ruin. Him. The real Kaien.
And beyond him…
Red eyes, watching. A windmill spinning.
Mangekyo.
Itachi had stood at the threshold of their home, just beyond Kaien's reach. He had already decided. He had already acted.
They were too late.
But he hadn't finished.
And Kaien was there.
Shisui and Kaien had been the only ones who could match him. The only ones Itachi had ever hesitated against.
Mikoto never knew what passed between them in that moment. What Kaien saw, what Itachi saw in him. If Kaien had reached for what was left of her broken son or if Itachi simply knew that this was one fight he wouldn't win. Not in time.
But Kaien had been there.
And because of that, she, Sasuke, and Izumi were still here.
She blinked, grounding herself in the present.
Kaien was still at the table, but his gaze wasn't on her.
He was watching Sasuke.
She placed a hand lightly on his shoulder as she passed, a brief squeeze.
Kaien didn't react right away.fu
But he didn't pull away either.
~~~ Kaien Iburi ~~~
The evening was winding down.
Sasuke was still at the sink, finishing the last of the dishes, his movements precise, methodical. Wearing his miniature apron, he was an adorable mirror image of his mother.
Itachi did that too, Shisui used to give him so much shit…
Izumi sat back with the last of her tea, looking far too pleased with herself for someone who had wormed her way out of the cleaning while tarnishing his good name.
Kaien, of course, had contributed absolutely nothing, but that wasn't the point.
"…I'm just saying," he mused, stretching out lazily against the wall, "it's not right."
Izumi raised an eyebrow over her cup. "What's not?"
Kaien gestured toward Sasuke. "Him. Up this late. Growing boys need proper rest."
Sasuke scoffed without turning around. "It's barely past dinner."
Kaien exhaled in mock disappointment. "Bedtime sneaks up fast. You wouldn't want to stunt your growth."
Sasuke turned just enough to glare. "I'm already taller than you were at my age."
Izumi snorted. "Not that that's saying much."
Kaien blinked, slowly, as if offended on principle. "Excuse you. I am objectively tall."
Izumi tilted her head. "Lanky."
Mikoto hummed from the kitchen. "You do slouch a lot, dear."
Kaien scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. "A curse. Being blessed with this much height. I just lean a bit so I can hear what you all are saying down there."
Sasuke, unimpressed, turned back to his dishes. "Maybe if you stood up straight, people would take you seriously."
Izumi smirked, "Doubt it."
"Tch." Kaien cleaned his ear, sure he'd misheard.
Sasuke stifled a snort, stiffening, and pretending like nothing had happened.
Izumi set down her empty cup, stretching. "Alright, well, some of us have things to do tomorrow that aren't sleeping through half the morning."
Kaien placed a hand over his chest, deeply wounded. "A shinobi must be well-rested."
Mikoto wiped down the counter. "You're well-rested enough for a full team."
Kaien beamed. "Thanks!"
Sasuke dried the last plate, shaking his head. "She wasn't praising you."
Kaien grinned. "Don't be jealous, Sasuke-chan."
Mikoto poured herself another cup of tea, letting the warmth of the moment settle around them.
Then came the tapping at the window.
Kaien's gaze flicked to the side.
Tap. Tap.
A small, round face peered over the windowsill.
Kaien blinked.
The face disappeared.
A beat passed.
Then…
Peek.
Kaien exhaled through his nose, unimpressed. "…Give me a sec."
Mikoto arched an eyebrow but didn't question it as Kaien made his way to the window, sliding it open just a crack.
A familiar voice, dry and unimpressed, spoke up.
"Took you long enough, brat."
Kaien smirked. "Wan-chan, I was busy."
The pug's ears twitched in mild offense. "Don't call me that."
Kaien crouched, elbows resting lazily against the windowsill. "What, 'wan-chan'? It suits you."
"I will bite you."
Kaien placed a hand over his heart, feigning betrayal. "I don't like being tickled, Teddy Bear."
Pakkun gave him a long, tired look.
"I will bite you."
Kaien chuckled, reltenting. "Alright, alright. What's up?"
Pakkun's tail flicked once before his tone turned businesslike. "Got a message for you. From T&I."
Kaien's amusement didn't fade completely, but his smirk thinned just slightly. "Oh?"
Pakkun's eyes narrowed. "You remember that lab you raided?"
Kaien exhaled through his nose. "The fun one or the really fun one?"
"The one your psychotic mushroom turned into a smoking crater the other day."
Kaien beamed in pride. "Ah. That one. Some of Bella's finest work."
Pakkun didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, he continued.
"They found something."
Kaien tilted his head, intrigued.
Pakkun's voice was calm, measured. But his words carried weight.
"They figured out where the test subjects came from."
Kaien's fingers stilled against the window frame.
Pakkun met his gaze.
"It was someone from Konoha."
The air between them settled.
Kaien's smirk cracked.
"…Huh."
~~~ Kabuto Yakushi ~~~
The meeting place was unremarkable. A storage chamber beneath the barracks, empty except for a table, a single candle, and two men who spoke no more often than necessary.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. Danzo sat across from him, rolling a scroll closed with slow, deliberate movements.
"They've become an unacceptable liability," Danzo said.
Kabuto nodded. He had expected this.
"Then we should ensure they don't see another sunrise."
He sighed, pushing his glasses up with a finger, the light flaring off his lenses menacingly. "A shame. They were competent scientists pursuing some interesting research directions."
Danzo didn't react.
Kabuto tilted his head. "Orochimaru will inquire why he lost two valuable assets."
Danzo didn't blink. "Iburi brought them straight to Hiruzen, none of my agents were in place to intercept."
Ah, Orochimaru-sama's runaway experiment. He'll be pleased to hear how he's grown.
"The supply chain was meant to be unknown," Kabuto mused. "Yet Intelligence believes someone from Konoha was involved. Someone's operational security slipped up."
Danzo didn't answer. That was an answer in itself. Whomever was responsible was likely already buried beneath Konoha.
Anything for the village, heh.
Finally, he said, "This matter will be dealt with tonight."
"Quietly?" Kabuto asked.
Danzo stood, movements as precise as ever. "Permanently."
That was answer enough.
Kabuto exhaled, standing as well. "Understood."
He left without another word.
The candle flickered. Danzo didn't move as several shadows came to life, ready to receive their orders for the night.