Hey, I'm back. Sorry for the long hiatus, how embarrassing;; This chapter just has so many character voices I have to keep track of, that I have to reset my thought process every time I switch character POVs; not to mention my school workload and depression period where I hated everything I once loved doing D: So I decided to split (again;;;) this chapter

Also, I appreciate the second person POV format more, now that I realize that it gets confusing when referring to two male characters in third person POV. I can only stand so much repetitive he/him pronouns before my stupid ass gets confused lmfao

As compensation for my late update, you get snippets of bonus Kama content for each character ^^... which, looking back at it, further delayed the chapter oops. Note that each flashback event is not in order.

Btw share ko lng, but Young!Aki from Chainsaw Man is the headcanon voice I have for Kama haha

Lastly, it may not seem like it since I don't reply to every comment, but I DO read all your comments and kudos, and I appreciate all of them! I honestly didn't expect you guys would like the fic this much! So for those who comment and support constantly, idk who you are irl but I love you with all my heart! Thank you!

P.S. I promise I'll never abandon this story unless I'm dead. I promised myself to complete this, both for the sake of satisfaction and a closure to my trauma lol

~*~*~

You are (the one who understands) me.

~*~*~

A Demon who thinks he knows best.

Another Mangekyou ability, Shimura Danzo seethes both bitterly and frantically as he stands frozen, his body and chakra unresponsive to his inner struggle. He already suspected Kagami's descendant not being the only Uchiha with an evolved sharingan, but he didn't expect another user to wield it against him so soon.

To think that the Mangekyou sharingan is not just limited to brainwashing; that it can do this with just mere eye contact.

He's getting too lax with age.

"Sasuke and Itachi are off-limits," the Uchiha menace says, his demon eyes crinkling with his sharp smile. "Cross me and each Great Village Kage will have Konoha's dirty secrets on their office tables, accompanied by maps of the village's underground tunnels, evacuation protocols and safehouses, and a list of your top shinobi, their specialties and their weaknesses."

Danzo wants to spit at the audacious boy and wipe the smug grin off his face. He can't believe Hiruzen actually invited Uchiha Kama to ANBU, even made him captain— basically handed over Konoha's underbelly on a silver platter.

The other twin would've been the more preferable candidate; the better soldier.

At least then, Itachi would have remained predictable as long as his little brother was involved.

"If you try to hold them as hostages, I'll have no qualms on letting them die, as I'll reunite with them in the Pure Lands shortly afterwards anyway. However, I'll make sure to take the village with me; so," the little devil pauses, dropping his smile, face grim with red, lotus-patterned eyes wildly spinning in a way that Danzo associates with the madness his former teacher forewarned about.

Danzo doesn't know what Kama actually wants.

"Please don't test my grief."

In this clash of wills, Danzo can only resentfully concede.

Tobirama-sensei taught him a long time ago that there will be no reasoning with an Uchiha who has nothing left to lose.

...

Barely an hour had passed when clan heads all over Konoha were called into the Hokage tower for an emergency meeting. It didn't take much for everyone in attendance to know what it would be about.

An explosion destroyed the Uchiha Compound, eliminated every Uchiha, everyone's made aware of; only two survivors.

Three, Danzo corrected to himself, counting the perpetrator. Though, whether the others would acknowledge the potential of Uchiha Kama being alive or not was still up for debate.

Admittedly, he didn't expect the boy to carry out the massacre immediately— within the same night the menace confronted him in ROOT's base, no less. And an explosion? Certainly not the kind of extermination Danzo had in mind, but he supposed there was poetic justice to the Uchiha dying in flames.

Although, he had to lament the loss of potential assets.

Because of the overall destruction of the Uchiha clan compound and its residents, none of his soldiers could harvest any intact sharingan eyes.

He couldn't ignore that it was probably done on purpose.

Resisting the urge to soothe a hand on his bandaged eye, he remembered the ghost of Kama's hand plucking back Shisui's Mangekyou from his socket. It added to his list of what to be cautious for in the future. Gods know what use Kama had in mind for Kotoamatsukami.

Danzo knew a plan long brewed when he saw one, and this was an example of clean work, cementing both his distaste and respect for the boy's ruthlessness.

How else could Kama possibly have the time to strategically place bombs around and within the compound to ensure no survivors right after meeting with him? Evidently, Kama had always intended to eliminate the Uchiha a long time ago; he just took the opportunity to exploit a bargain with him in the process.

Whatever grudge Kama held against his clan, Danzo couldn't care less.

All Danzo was concerned about was the inference that Kama already had Konoha on the palm of his hand that's waiting to close and crush if Danzo made the wrong move. Kama was unpredictable and insane, but he was also unfortunately very thorough and efficient.

Danzo had to acknowledge that this was the same Uchiha who distracted his best trackers with a ghost; who tricked his guards with a bunch of shadow clones heading towards restricted areas as a red herring; who plotted and committed the perfect massacre.

Danzo had no doubt that the now-missing-nin could follow through with his threats, even if Danzo were to threaten his brothers' lives.

Yes, Danzo knew that Kama values his brothers, that the boy had painstakingly done his best to keep them protected and content. Danzo knew of the political games Kama played and placed himself in, the sacrifices he had made. The demon can love; it's just that Danzo did not know what that twisted love entailed.

(After all, Kama loved Shisui too, didn't he?)

"-- and the clan forced Shisui to assassinate Kama, which backfired as Shisui killed himself before—"

Danzo watched Uchiha Itachi further reinforce his brother's cover-ups as he knelt before the council and the clan heads, methodically reporting what he knew that led to what he witnessed. The boy's voice remained assured and unwavering, the kind of conviction that stemmed from the confidence of telling the truth. Although, Danzo can already pinpoint where the lies were weaved within the truth, only because he already knew what really happened.

The half-truths Kama told his twin were convincing, well-thought; enough to keep Itachi from asking further questions. Convenient. If Danzo didn't know better, he would've thought that Itachi was partaking in Kama's schemes and lying for him.

However, he did know better, and if there's one thing he's confident about his knowledge regarding Kama, it's that the boy would not trust Itachi to keep the truth under wraps.

Itachi still has faith within the system. Unlike Kama, he'd fail to account for the Hokage's human weakness, of Hiruzen's soft heart.

It can end up worse for the naive boy, and it's no surprise that Kama knew of this possibility.

"Do you think there's a chance he could still be alive?" Inoichi spoke up, his voice deceptively neutral but Danzo was well-aware of the man's attachment to his former genin charge. "That he could've faked his death?"

Itachi looked pensieve, thinking.

"I don't know," he said after a short pause, his eyes staring on the floor.

"Did he say anything worth mentioning?" Inoichi persisted, and this time, Danzo paid attention to how Itachi's gaze briefly flickered at him before looking back in Inoichi's direction.

"... He only apologized."

Liar, Danzo passively observed, and thought nothing more of it. It's not like he didn't expect any untruths within the story of half-truths. There's not much he could do about it anyway unless he wanted to shift the suspicion on himself; so instead, he just said, "We should consider the possibility, and label him as a missing-nin if he were to still be alive; S-rank."

There were no objections to his suggestion, and the topic moved on shortly afterwards.

Living arrangements and temporary security were discussed regarding the remaining two Uchiha survivors. Their security was not just for their possibly (definitely) alive brother who could come after them, but also for opportunistic foreign spies who could take both Uchiha when they're at their most vulnerable.

It wouldn't be so far-fetched as the Uchiha's destruction was no secret.

In the village rumor mill, the Uchiha Compound's Explosion was an act of suicide of a grieving boy who had snapped from the clan's pressure.

In the Hokage's S-ranked report, the Uchiha Compound's Explosion was Uchiha Kama's revenge for having the Uchiha clan elders pressure Uchiha Shisui with an impossible choice between the clan and the village that led to his demise. The present clan heads were not directly informed of the Uchiha's potential rebellion, but the subtle implication was there.

In Shimura Danzo's mind, this was a demon's compromise to the village-clan tension and a barter to ROOT's leader.

The emergency meeting ended without fanfare, and neither Itachi nor Danzo shared a glance when the former left.

Just when Danzo was about to exit the room, his cane stopped with an audible 'clack' when he heard Hiruzen hesitantly call out for him.

For a moment, Danzo thought that perhaps Kama confronted Hiruzen too and gave him his fair share of blackmail. It wouldn't be above Kama to approach the Hokage just to have a safety net if things were to go wrong; a guarantee to keep Danzo in check. But, when Danzo turned—

"I don't mean to make fun of you or..." Hiruzen made a deliberate move of coughing on his fist, hiding a smile. "There's a paper on your back."

Danzo's visible eye widened, as he dropped his cane just to use his abled arm to reach behind. Feeling the familiar crinkle of paper, he snatched it from his back and immediately read its content.

'Kick me :D'

Danzo felt his blood freeze, already deducing who the possible (definite) culprit was.

How long had this paper been behind his back?

The suffocating grip of paranoia and unease latched on his mind, as he only stared at the seemingly innocent note while Hiruzen looked at him, amused and ignorant of the silent warning Kama drove in with a simple mischief.

(In another time, in another life, Hiruzen would've learned of ROOT's involvement and had demanded it be disbanded.

In this one, ROOT was not accused of anything.)

~*~*~

A Harbinger of death who's not afraid to die.

There is no smell that bodes death, and there is no smell immediately after it.

And yet, it reeks.

Death has a certain scent to it that's not related to blood and decay and ashes. It's the kind of smell that lingers, long after a corpse is buried and the foul odor of rot can no longer be traced in the air. Perhaps, the closest description one could make is that it's the scent of memories; of 'once upon a time's, of 'could-have-been's, of what is no longer there.

Death smells like missing.

Hatake Kakashi knows he stinks of it. It permeates from his clothes, pollutes his apartment, follows his trail, and he wonders if it's pungent enough for an ordinary shinobi to pick it up, and that's why this stubborn, nosey academy teacher—

"Something you need?" Kakashi asks, as he pushes his resting elbows off the railing to face the Hokage mountain's new arrival. Admittedly, he didn't mask the apprehension in his voice well, considering that the last time his not-so-cute subordinate approached him, the little psycho had his Inuzuka teammate cleanly break his arm just to move a mission date by a day.

"Can't I greet my former captain on a whim?" Uchiha Kama innocently asks, hands behind his back as if he isn't suspicious enough.

Kakashi doesn't hesitate, his tone remaining as a matter of fact.

"No."

"Mou," Kama whines childishly. "Do you really think I do everything I do with a purpose in mind?"

"Yes." Kakashi actually means that, and his bane of existence thinks it's funny if his amused hum was any indication.

Then, Kama asks, "What happens if, say, I do something just because?"

"I think you would be lying." Kakashi stares at his fellow ANBU captain— his replacement within Team Ro, now that the Hokage assigned him to Team Takibi ever since ... a slot unexpectedly opened— and observes.

Kama looks the same as he usually does, with his braided pale blonde hair and unorthodox white Uchiha getup, lightly tinted orange by the setting sun. No greasy strands, no unkempt clothes, no dark bags under the eyes— none of any features that Kakashi associates with his old self that's burdened with grief.

Still, despite Kama's pristine appearance, he somehow exudes exhaustion. Not even his taunting smile and veneer of playful mockery could effectively mask it.

"Hmm, maybe you're right," Kama says whimsically, pretending to be distracted, as he closes one eye to peer through his fingers that's framing the sun. "Maybe I'm here to see the sunset, and you just happened to be here."

Kakashi half-heartedly huffs, unimpressed with the boy's stalling. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, his feet slowly drag on the rocky terrain, away from the mountain's railings, trying to bait Kama to quickly tell him his business lest Kakashi actually leaves.

It's when Kakashi is just about to reach the descending stairs, when Kama finally speaks up.

"I plan to quit ANBU soon."

Kakashi pauses his steps, hands fidgeting within his pants' pockets.

"Okay," is all Kakashi says, and he doesn't need to ask why, when he turns to see how resigned Kama's smile is.

Don't be like me, Kakashi always thinks about telling Kama, but never once said. It's quite uncanny to see how similar he and the former Uchiha heir are, with white hair, gray eyes, fair skin and if the recent rumors about Kama were right, a dojutsu to match. Once upon a time, Kakashi thought Kama fortunate that that's where the similarities between them stop.

It's not his first time to be proven wrong.

But at this moment, he thinks Kama could be different— better. He could give himself time to heal from his loss; could diverge from Kakashi's path; could leave his slow but certain self-destruction in the form of quitting ANBU.

This is supposed to be good news.

And yet...

The orange sky bleeds to purple as the remaining sunlight leaves Konoha's grounds, replaced with shadows of the upcoming night. For a moment, before the village lights could start up, the asymmetrical silhouette of trees and buildings below gives an amalgamated illusion of jagged teeth on a wide maw— and there, by the railings, Kakashi sees Kama at the center, about to be devoured.

Something in Kakashi's gut tightens forebodingly and he blinks the illusion's implication away, but he doesn't say anything. He walks away.

Their last conversation for a long while ends there.

Looking back at this memory, Kakashi should've asked what made Kama decide to quit the black-ops weeks after Shisui's death.

It is only in the far future when he learns that there's rhyme and reason for everything Kama does, because Kakashi with his sharp eyes and sharper mind can see that Kama isn't random; he's just secretive.

...

Kakashi passively wondered if Kama knew that his moniker 'White Death of Konoha' did not originate from any rivaling villages but from Konoha's own rumor mills.

Interestingly enough, the name wasn't solely dependent on Kama's unique clothing preferences. It mainly had something to do with how he killed— clean and entirely bloodless, his white clothes remaining stainless. White easily became associated with the harbinger of death.

In hindsight, Kakashi should've gotten the hint back then that Kama dabbled in the healing arts when he killed using chakra scalpels. Not once did Kakashi witness Kama wield his ANBU-standard tanto beyond defending himself from another blade; not once did Kakashi see Kama cut and make someone bleed.

(Looking back at it, Kama wasn't fond of using elemental ninjutsu either.)

It would seem that Kama's reputation remained consistent to the end, considering how he massacred the Uchiha clan.

At the secluded edge of Konoha's cemetery, underneath the shade of old trees, Kakashi stared at Uchiha Kama's unmarked stone next to Sakumo's. There was no body, no funeral, not even a proper gravestone. Kakashi supposed that a kinslayer didn't deserve one, but...

Kama was surprisingly well-liked in his social circles, and that's how Kakashi knew that the large stone would eventually be replaced with a proper grave by Kama's genin teammates, with flowers to match. They're just waiting for the tension to die down enough for people to stop vandalizing Kama's grave continuously.

Those two were shameless with their solidarity, still showing how much a literal terrorist mattered to them.

(Kakashi wished he was the same, when the village turned their back on them, when his father was buried under freshly-dug soil.)

Yes, he expected as much from the Inuzuka, with how much their clan valued loyalty to their pack, but the other teammate... The civilian-born academy teacher...

A year ago, Umino Iruka decided to move next to Uzumaki Naruto's apartment and stayed after defying Hound's order to leave.

He had absolutely no idea how Kama had Kakashi's stubborn, uptight, overly-righteous neighbor wrapped around his finger. This same neighbor who overreacted at the slightest of 'bad habits'; who corrected every 'rude manners'; who verbally fought tooth and nail against ANBU Hound, just to be neighbors with the village pariah.

This same nameless chuunin that somehow had the Hokage's faith, even when Hound pointed out that the chuunin had an extensive background in studying fuuinjutsu, that he had no prior connections with the jinchuuriki before moving in, that this was an incident waiting to happen.

This same academy teacher who's mainly Kakashi's reason to move in as their new neighbor to keep a better eye on the Uzumaki.

A year had passed and nothing happened so far, but...

Something within Kakashi's instincts told him that nothing will ever happen.

In the past year, he found Umino Iruka to be an actually genuine guy. Fussy, maybe, and a bit bossy but overall, good for Naruto.

At first, he thought it was too good to be true; however, Kakashi saw how Iruka doted on the boy— walked him to the academy, cooked him his bento, ate dinners with him, and openly interacted with him in populated areas, easily disregarding the malicious whispers with a head held up high. Kakashi saw how Iruka looked at Naruto, and he's everything Kakashi wanted for his late teacher's son.

(He's everything Kakashi wanted to be for Naruto.)

And maybe, slowly, eventually, Kakashi learned to trust Iruka too... No matter how nosey and intrusive Iruka could be when it came to Kakashi's self-care.

(Now that he thought about it, Kakashi seemed to have a soft spot for people constantly harassing him for his well-being.)

Iruka was insistent to inviting (forcing) him to their dinners (it was awkward meeting Naruto that way), often offered leftovers when he missed one (Kakashi noticed that his food was no longer bland), and was open to inform Kakashi whenever he planned to leave the apartment with or without Naruto.

Kakashi suspected that Iruka probably recognized him to be Hound at some point, and that this was his form of an olive branch; to tell Kakashi that he had nothing to worry about.

Or maybe Iruka's just really a saint of a neighbor like that.

(Or maybe Kakashi reminded Iruka of someone; someone physically similar and secretly protective and reeked of death.)

Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee would've sung praises about the teenager.

"The people you've left behind could've been enough," Kakashi said to Kama's grave, voice hushed and dismal. At the memory of Iruka's subdued smiles and red-rimmed eyes, Naruto fretting over his brother-figure's grief, the names of Iruka's deceased former teammates, a bit of resentment boiled over when Kakashi continued, "You would've been alright."

After a while, Kakashi sighed, bitterness fading to exhaustion the way the sunlight was currently setting at dusk.

He supposed he couldn't be hypocritical, when he had been the same not too long ago— so filled with anger and despair that the rest of the world went mute around him. Kama just happened to reach his limit sooner, and decided to bring the sources of his grief down with him, as opposed to Kakashi who would've preferred to go down quietly.

Now that Kakashi was seeing the aftermath of Kama's choice, it's a wake-up call for Kakashi to experience what his friends— the people who still care— probably felt when he was diving head-first to his suicidal missions.

Still, something didn't seem right.

Perhaps it would've sounded reasonable if Kama only took down the clan elders, but the civilians...? Kakashi knew that Kama was not of sound mind, but he's not the type to kill innocents; he's vindictive, not cold-blooded. Iruka kept pointing this out when he heard the news.

Underneath the underneath.

There's more to this, Kakashi knew. Kama wouldn't do something like this unless he wasn't given a choice or this was a necessity. After all, isn't it odd that the only survivors were his two prized brothers?

Kakashi didn't know where to start with that. His only clues were a clan compound's ruins and a dead perpetrator.

Perhaps, for his former subordinate (maybe friend?), he could try to unearth his reasons; to know what really happened, and if needed, bring it into light.

But for now, Kakashi looked up at the stars decorating the darkness that had once been a cloudy blue sky. He stayed the whole day at the cemetery again.

I have to go home.

To his home that no longer smelled of death, that now smelled of brewed coffees, instant ramens, and Iruka's cooking. A home in the shape of a cheap apartment room with its thin walls and loose floorboards, full of rambunctious laughter and loud half-hearted scoldings.

Kakashi reminded himself that he should renew his apartment lease soon, if he wanted to keep his free meals. He vaguely recalled that Iruka was preparing something called 'Mechado' for tonight.

During his walk home, after much contemplation, Kakashi decided that Iruka shouldn't have to go through something like this again.

Hound retired from ANBU the next week.

(Years later, there was something to be said about the feelings that come after proving an instinct solidly right when Kakashi heard what Iruka did to protect Naruto from Mizuki.

There's also another thing to be said when Kakashi heard that someone attempted to ruin the small family he finally allowed himself to.)

~*~*~

A Son who could only do his best.

Four-year-old Itachi stares down at the bottom of the rocky cliff, having just returned from the battlefield Father brought him to.

His eyes follow the river's current below, the stomach-dropping height not registering to his danger senses as he stands close to the edge. With a mind still young, but already constantly, excessively learning, he ponders. Assesses. Questions.

It goes back to that Iwa nin he killed.

Itachi wonders what it's like to be that man in his final moments: to throw his dignity away; to be desperate and self-sacrificing even if it only means minuscule progress for a cause— for his village. If the stranger were to succeed in killing Itachi, that Iwa nin would be depriving Konoha one less soldier, one less asset.

The man would die regardless.

Would that still be a victory?

(It felt awful taking that man's life. An enemy he may be, but human all the same. Itachi wishes he doesn't have to do it again.)

At the verge of death, would Itachi make the same gambit? To make the same irrational choice if it meant giving his village an upperhand no matter how small the contribution?

(What a meaningless existence.)

It's out of the question that Itachi will be nothing but a shinobi in his future. He will live his life as a shinobi, and he will die as one.

Is that what his life would only amount to? To contribute to death? To live and kill and further fuel inter-village conflicts and then die?

Yes, Itachi answers himself. Because I have no other choice.

(Because Uchiha is both his identity and his prison.)

But then his vision refocuses back on the view below, inspiring another option.

A lump forms in his throat, his tongue pressed on the roof of his mouth. He contemplates for a while, but eventually resolves to himself that if he's going to die, he doesn't want to die as a shinobi or an Uchiha.

He can just die as Itachi.

"My life has no meaning," he tells himself like it's a comfort and not a cowardly excuse, closing his eyes, exhaling a breath. His heart rapidly beats, as he tamps down his adrenaline's insistence of self-preservation, before taking a step forward and just letting go—

Someone grabs the back of his shirt and pulls him back.

"Oi, oi, let's not be hasty," a voice casually scolds, the tone blasé.

Thumpthumpthump—

Itachi's exterior is calm, but he could feel his heart trying to beat out of its ribcage; could barely make sense of his running thoughts when he saw that it's his older twin who caught him— who is now talking to him.

Baffled and flustered, Itachi overthinks his first proper conversation with his brother who caught him in his attempt at his own life, barely forming coherent sentences in his thoughts. High in adrenaline, his mind and body not yet conditioned to withstand pressure, he doesn't have the discipline to stop his mouth from saying the first thing that comes to mind,

"I thought you hated me."

At this, Itachi clamps his mouth shut, embarrassed.

Still, Kama looks at him with his usual smile, but Itachi's sharp eyes catch a flicker of something different in his brother's expression. He doesn't know what it means.

"No...?" Kama pouts and tilts his head, feigning confusion, before following with a shrug, "I mean, not really. Just frustrated, I suppose, and I let it out on you. Sorry."

Before Itachi could ask his twin what he meant by that, Kama releases Itachi's shirt from his tight grip and continues talking, easily diverting the topic.

"Don't get rid of yourself just yet. You'll know your real meaning in life soon," he says assuredly, and Itachi openly stares with wonder at how Kama knew what he had been contemplating for the whole day without even communicating with him.

It's as if Kama just knows— always knows what's going on with Itachi. This is not the first time Kama can read him like an open book.

Small guilt lingers in his chest when Itachi can't say that he could do the same for Kama.

"Your meaning doesn't have to be big or grandiose to be worth something, y'know? It can just be a moment. If you're lucky, it may even be a person," Kama smiles, evidently sincere this time, his tone a bit wistful. "I think you're fortunate enough for the latter."

For some reason, Itachi believes him.

"What about you? Your meaning in life?" Itachi asks, and at this, Kama's smile falters. Only a little bit.

"I don't know yet," he simply says, before looking around, as if searching for something. "Don't waste your life over something like an existential crisis. Someone will want you to stay."

Kama then pats his shoulder twice, before turning and walking away, his hand raising a peace sign, and actually saying, "peace."

Itachi stares after his cryptic brother leaving, knowing he couldn't make Kama talk if he doesn't want to.

A resounding caw of a crow echoes in the background; Itachi will remember this for the rest of his life.

Two years later, Sasuke is born and Itachi has a revelation.

(Uchiha: his identity and prison; born to love and bounded by love. In the far future, Itachi will discover that he misunderstood.

His identity and prison were never 'Uchiha'.

It was always simply 'brother'.)

...

Itachi can't use his chakra.

With a seal mark behind his neck, he knew it had something to do with the sealing arts.

It's not the fact that he had been forced to retire from being a shinobi he was most bothered about; nor was it that he lied about his reason for retirement to the general public to avoid appearing vulnerable. Not even the fact that he could no longer utilize his chakra.

No, he was most bothered that his chakra-sensing was nullified.

Itachi was not certain why Kama did this, but he had a few ideas. Some he hoped for; the others, he dreaded, because—

Kama had to be alive.

He must be, if he made the effort to make it impossible for Itachi to detect his chakra; to track and trace it if he were alive. He probably didn't want Itachi to find him, because he had a plan for something because Kama was always scheming something, but it's with good intentions because it's Kama— or...

... Or maybe Kama gave Itachi the small mercy of not having to sense his twin's chakra extinguished by the flames; to not witness Kama's death in a more intimate manner.

It's with great shame for Itachi to acknowledge that he didn't know his twin brother well enough to be sure. Either option was as likely as the other.

Of course, he had thought of other possibilities, but they were... unsavory, cruel. Uncharacteristic. Those hypotheticals would go against what little Itachi absolutely knew about Kama.

But then why was the seal not temporary? It wouldn't make sense for Kama to warn him of a potential threat, strip him of his most valuable weapon, and then just—

Unless...

Itachi supposed that's one question answered.

That's right, Itachi thought confidently, as his body flowed with the practice of a familiar kata, when an owl flew above the underground cave's opening. Kama wouldn't leave me or Sasuke defenseless.

With some of his thoughts at peace, Itachi took this moment to take a glance at his younger brother, the boy focally, obsessively sketching on his sketchpad by a small boulder.

Sasuke always did so whenever they visited the cave he and Kama frequented in; the same place Sasuke last saw Kama even when it was just a shadow clone.

He insisted on constantly visiting despite the melancholic memories it brought, but Itachi easily gave in to his brother's request.

That's his third one in the past two weeks, Itachi's brows furrowed, concerned, as he eyed the almost-filled sketchbook on Sasuke's lap. It's a harmless hobby. He supposed that since Sasuke was currently on an indefinite break from the academy, he had every free time to draw.

Although, what worried Itachi was the fact that Sasuke never really expressed any desire to hone his artistic abilities before the Explosion. Perhaps it could simply be explained as a coping mechanism, but...

"Is it alright if I could see your works now?" Itachi tentatively asked, already anticipating the same response he received consistently for the last two weeks.

The sound of pencil scratching on paper stopped. Briefly, Sasuke looked up from his sketchpad, his dark eyebags greatly contrasting to his pale skin.

"... Not yet," Sasuke answered, voice almost a whisper. No, he's too nice to say.

Itachi expected that, but he didn't expect Sasuke to not immediately dismiss him as usual like he does recently. Instead, his brother fidgeted on his seat, hands clenching and unclenching on his pencil. He's hesitant about something.

"I..." Sasuke paused, swallowed a lump in his throat, then continued, "I'm u-upset and sad, because y-you're the o-only one with me. I'm also r-relieved and... glad that you're still with me."

The underground cave was silent, as Itachi processed what his brother just said. It was the most words Sasuke spoke, most he expressed beyond miserable eyes and monosyllabic answers, ever since the massacre.

As if sensing Itachi's shock and wordless question, Sasuke continued talking, explaining everything.

"This was K-Kama-niisan's last advice to me," he said, voice hitching at their brother's name. "I have to say what I feel out loud and say why I think I feel that way to the people I'm comfortable with... He said it's self therapy."

For a moment, Itachi just stared, unbelieving. Something in his chest fluttered, and finally, he smiled.

Yes, Itachi thought with an almost-hysterical, fond sigh, that's something what Kama would tell Sasuke.

He didn't have a solid theory as to why Kama would fake his death or why Kama sealed his chakra, but he still trusted his twin brother.

The same driven brother who constantly sacrificed pieces of himself for the pieces of Itachi's and Sasuke's happiness; the same dependable brother who always had the answer for every problem; the same loving brother who always tried his best.

(So blinded by love, Itachi refused to see and resent the situation in an angle where Kama took away his autonomy for what he believed to be his own good.

It's only years later that he will acknowledge that Kama had scarred him and Sasuke in ways that they will never recover.)

~*~*~

A Lover who places only second.

It's both odd and ironic that it's Kama who chooses to approach her this time.

(The first and last time.)

Natsu thought that their last confrontation involved a silent agreement to never voluntarily talk to each other again, choosing to just be civil enough around Hana, but—

"I apologize for trying to manipulate you," he abruptly starts, and Natsu unabashedly gapes. She hopes that the night is dark enough to hide her gobsmacked face.

What?

"I realized that I never gave you a proper apology," he continues, not breaking eye-contact, and only then does Natsu find her voice to reply.

"But you still hate me," Natsu tells Kama, remembering their exchanged barbs.

Both think that their relationship will never recover from that.

"Maybe." Kama gives her a rueful smile, tilting his head. "Or maybe I'm just selfish." At Natsu's skeptical look, he elaborates. "You may have known Hana earlier than I did, but she was mine first."

At this, Natsu opens her mouth to retaliate, affronted, but Kama continues, "However, you were hers long before I was, and I suppose I kinda envy that."

Natsu's temper cools, and she takes a moment to be contemplative.

What was there for him to be envious about?

With a softer and more considerate tone compared to the last time Natsu brought up Kama's partner, she asks, "Did Shisui not regard you the same?"

It's a sore topic, she knows, especially with his recent passing, but she thinks that Kama expected her to mention him.

"I have no doubt that he adored me," Kama's earlier rueful smile turns genuine and fond, but Natsu thinks that's not the right expression he should wear when he tells her, "But I also have no doubt that, to him, I'll always be second."

...

Kama was wrong.

Just because Hana knew her first didn't mean Hana valued her more.

Here was what Natsu knew with certainty: Hana loved Kama and Iruka more than she loved Natsu.

Platonic or romantic— both held the same value to Hana; they're relationships all the same regardless of nature.

It made sense, Natsu supposed with bitter acceptance.

Team 4 earned Hana's loyalty as family, before Natsu did. With a friendship forged from life-or-death scenarios, forced interactions, and exposed vulnerabilities, it was inevitable.

Natsu knew Hana loved Kama more than her, because Hana chose him.

After what Kama had done to his clan, Konoha was apprehensive and distrustful of anyone who chose to associate themselves with his name and grave. That's why when Hana insisted on continuing her ritual of visiting Kama's grave, when the villagers started scrutinizing the Inuzuka heiress, Natsu tried to stop her.

Hana persisted, even when Konoha's eyes started lingering on Natsu for following after her, when Konoha started associating Natsu to Kama too, just by being with Hana. The Hyuuga clan were starting to show disapproval.

"You don't have to stay with me if it's hard for you," Hana kindly said to her one day, and she meant it without malice.

"Why?" Natsu asked, and Hana knew what she was specifically asking,

Tiredly, sadly, but confident all the same, Hana said, "Because Kama is a good person; I know he is."

And that's how Natsu saw first-hand at how Hana will go for someone she really cared about. To have such absolute faith in a friend— loyalty so fierce and genuine that it transcends professional obligation, not like her clan and Natsu thinks, I want that too.

It's what she admired in Hana in the first place. So, she stayed.

Regardless, Natsu knew Hana was mad at Kama, at his choice. It didn't stop her from making the effort to clean and maintain his grave in a consistent schedule with her other teammate, Iruka.

Now, looking at the proper grave that replaced Kama's unmarked stone, she thought that Kama may have lost Shisui, but he still had a lot of people who cared for him. He could've had his parents, his brothers, his friends. He didn't have nothing; he had

And yet, he gave it all away for a tribute to his sorrow that could've been done better, kinder. Something different that could've spared the people he left behind from the heartache he brought.

She looked down at his grave, and said,

"I really do hate selfish people like you."

~*~*~

BONUS:

Me (accidentally creating a domestic fluff found family subplot between Iruka, Kakashi and Naruto in a tragicomedy fic): Ain't no way...

...

Kakashi: Kama is the cleanest killer I've ever witnessed.

Kama (going ape shit at the ROOT agents targeting Shisui):

...

Kama: God really saw me struggling and sent me to the Narutoverse to finish me off. What the fuck are these plots??

...

(Danzo's twisted love for Konoha vs Kama's twisted love for his brothers)

Danzo: No, I don't see the similarities.

Kama: Maybe it's because I plucked one of your eyes out. Just a thought.

...

Kama: I kicked a pregnant woman once.

Hana: Literally what the fuck is wrong with you?!

Kama: When I was in the womb, chill mf.

...

Kama: Yeah having friends is cool but have you ever cut everyone off and disappeared for years?

...

Character reactions if Sasuke came out as bi:

Naruto (treating it as a competition): I'm gayer.

Itachi (the only normal response): I still love you.

Kama: Oh no... I owe Shisui a hundred ryo. I betted you were gay because it would've been funny if our bloodline ended that way.

...

Itachi: Caffeine doesn't work anymore. I need Kama to tell me one of his most unhinged "fun facts" to wake me up.

...

Kama (being intentionally vague): Fun fact: sharks have two dicks and I'll soon be partnered with one.

Itachi (staring at him, not knowing how to interpret that sentence): What do you mean? What do you mean by that?

...

Iruka (looking at Hana and Kama doing their usual shenanigans): Wish I lacked critical thinking skills. They all seem so happy...

...

Kama: Sometimes, when I'm laughing, I start to think about my life and suddenly, nothing's funny anymore... No, that's a lie. My traumas make me funnier, actually.

...

Kama: No meds, no therapy, no psych ward, just raw dogging this mental illness the way the gods intended.

Inoichi:

...

Kama: My life is a game but goddamn, who the fuck is winning??

...

Kakashi: I ask you to please stop flirting with death.

Kama: You think I'm just "flirting with death"?? That's some weak shit. I suck death's dick near Ichiraku Ramen's dumpster every 3am.

...

(Kama's deflections be like):

Hana: Hey Kama, I needed to– Why the hell are your eyes red?

Kama: ... I smoked a joint.

Hana: Nice try, I know what weed smells like and I smell nothin'. I know your bitchass was crying.

...

Interviewer: If being a shinobi is no longer a valid occupation, what job would you take?

Hana: A veterinarian!

Iruka: A teacher.

Kama: A boxer by day, a whore at night.

Itachi: Don't take it at face value. He means 'attention whore'.

...

Oof the heart of the story is finally making itself obvious. Love for duty vs love for friends vs love for family vs love for lovers vs love for self. It's a free for all fight lmfao sorry I just wanna see other kinds of love trumping over romantic love for a change.

Ngl, I had a difficult time voicing Danzo's thoughts within the balanced line of arrogance and paranoia.

I also had to double check a lot of things on which character knows what's actually going on, which character is in the dark, and which character is feeling their way in the dark. This secret shinobi shit is killing me ahdjskaka

Yes, Hound and Iruka verbally threw hands when they first met lmfao