let's enjoy the calm
breeze, before the storm attacks
and ruins it all.

— ○ —

03 | t h r e e.

"Sorry, dear. We're all sold out." The old lady spoke with a sad smile on her lips.

The young brunette replied, "Really? That's a shame.. I should've come sooner."

"You can come tomorrow, dear. I can ensure you that we'll have some special offers as well!" She beamed a grin at the younger. It was so pure that Izumi couldn't help but return it.

"That's great! Thank you, I'll come tomorrow!"

Izumi walked away from the dumpling shop after saying her goodbyes to the shopkeeper. She knew the old lady since she was a kid. Meeting her would always light up her mood, even just by a bit. And today, Izumi's mood was very bright.

"Good work today, Izumi. You didn't only manage to put up a fight when you were at your worst, but also immobilized the main threat. You all get rewarded with a day off tomorrow."

The Third Hokage's words kept ringing into her ears, making her happier by the second. She was quite proud of herself.

"Mother! I'm home!" Izumi chirped as she walked through the front door. Her mother was in the kitchen. To hear Izumi's cheerful voice, she wondered what happened.

Lately, Izumi would come home with a frown on her face and a heavy heart. She was growing strong, but the slow pace made her very sad. She felt like she was falling behind. But today was different. Hazuki wondered what had actually happened, but she couldn't get too happy as her mind was involuntarily getting occupied with something else.

"Welcome back, dear." Hazuki walked into the foyer.

Izumi was taking off her shoes. She said, "Mother, do you know what happened today? The Hokage was so proud of me because of my performance in the mission today that he gave me a day off!" She laughed lightly.

"Ah, I see. That's great. I'm glad for you." The older replied.

Izumi stood up and turned around to face her mother. When she saw the woman's face, she knew something was wrong. She had a sad smile plastered on her lips. Izumi could tell that Hazuki was proud of her, but she could also tell that something else was bothering the latter.

"Mother... Is something wrong?" The brunette asked.

"Freshen up, Izumi. We have to talk. Dinner is almost ready." She spoke and walked back into the kitchen. Izumi was curious, so she was quick with whatever she had to do before dinner.

After dinner, Izumi decided to bring up the topic.
"Mother, you said you wanted to talk?"

"Ah, yes." The raven nodded. "Well, you know there was a clan meeting today, right?"

"Yes." Izumi replied shortly.

"When I went there, I saw that there were only a few of us. Lord Fugaku told us that he purposefully called some chosen people. I noticed that they were all either high ranked in the police force, like me, or they were Jounins."

"That means the matter is important, but shouldn't be disclosed to everyone in the clan?" Izumi asked.

Hazuki said, "Yes, that's right. The thing we all talked about was the clan launching a coup d'etat."

"Coup d'etat...?" Izumi sounded very confused. "Against whom?"

"Against the village, of course. I was confused at first, too. But after I heard everbody else, I realized that the idea wasn't bad."

"But why?" The younger couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Think about it, Izumi. After the Nine Tails attacked, the only clan the Village Council suspected was the Uchiha. They confined all of us into this small corner of the village, when the Uchiha clearly had nothing to do with the attack. Instead, so many Uchiha men and women sacrificed their lives for the village that night. Think about your father, Izumi...!"

The said girl stared her mother with wide eyes. Everything that she said made sense. There truly was no logic behind what happened with the Uchiha, but Izumi tried to think of a way other than launching a couple d'etat.

"Even before the Nine Tails' attack, the Village council always put us down. Lord Fugaku was, and still is fully capable of becoming the Hokage. And yet, they didn't even consider him as a candidate for the Fourth Hokage."

"Mother..." Izumi wanted to say something to stop her mother, but she found no words.

"Now, Izumi, what would you say about us being the police force? If the village's protection is being held back at this small corner, how will they rush to emergencies? Lord Danzo said that they have the Anbu for that. If that is so, then what was the meaning of the police force in the first place?"

"Mother, I... I don't know.."

"I think the coup d'etat is the best way to fight for the clan. We're going to establish the Uchiha's might again, that we were stripped from on that night." Hazuki spoke with a foreign kind of determination and harshness in her voice. Izumi was genuinely scared. She wondered why the Uchiha thought of this in the first place.

"I hope you will keep this a secret from all of your friends, dear. But do remember this, when the clan needs you, you will have to fight for them." She said, then stood up and walked away.

Izumi sat alone at the table, confused, scared and frustrated. There had do be another way out of this situation. Couldn't the clan's council first talk to the Hokage and the others?

Izumi sat alone and thought about a lot of ways to avoid chaos. Their plan would never establish the clan's might the right way. Rather, it would render fear into every villager's heart. Negotiation would help a lot at this point, so she trusted the Hokage for that. Izumi didn't try to do anything on her own. Because she knew, she could never go against her mother.

A lot was about to happen, and Izumi wouldn't be able to do anything about it at all.

— ○ —

"I guess she's still asleep..." Izumi thought to herself. She was peeking into her mother's room, only to find her sound asleep.

The brunette Uchiha made herself some breakfast. She quickly ate it and headed out to the training grounds she always went to. She thought all night about the coup d'etat and her part in it, but found no answer. But she knew that either way, she'd have to fight and survive on her own when it actually occurs. So she decided to train herself for now. It would help to distract herself, too.

After training for ninjutsu and taijutsu for a bit, Izumi decided to take a break. She would train her Sharingan next. Just when she started thinking about how nice it would be if she had someone to train with, she heard a familiar voice call her name.

She looked up, and saw her two best friends.

"Izumi! Good morning!" Yukiko's warm voice rang in Izumi's and Tenma's ears.

"Guys, hey!" Izumi greeted back.

"We figured you'd be here. Since the three of us have a day off today, let's train together!" Tenma suggested. The girls agreed with him and they started training, giving it their all to improve.

After training for the entire day, when it was finally sundown, Izumi said, "Guys.. I think we should call it a day."

"Wow... Even Izumi is tired of training today." Yukiko giggled. They all knew how serious and strict the Uchiha girl was about her training.

"Oh, shut up." Izumi replied, chuckling. "Should we all go and have dinner together today?"

"Yes!" Yukiko threw her hands in the air. "Tenma's treat!"

"Wait, what?!" The said boy objected. "When did I say I was okay with that—"

"Let's go!" The girls chirped and dragged their other best friend with them.

They ended up not only eating dinner, but also having tea and snacks at other shops. This left Tenma completely broke. However, he didn't mind. It's been a while since the three had fun together.

Izumi knew something bad would be happening very soon. So she wanted to enjoy the time she had left before that, before her best friends became her enemies.