Chapter 377: The Star Nobody Remembers
Root had always been quiet, and that was very much part of the point.
Even after everything that had changed within the organization, after old practices had been stripped away, loyalties rearranged, and Shisui Uchiha had taken firm control of what remained, the headquarters still carried that strange silence that seemed to soak into everything from the walls to the people moving within them. People walked quietly because they were trained to. Doors opened without squeaking, conversations remained low, and information moved through the building faster than gossip ever could while still somehow, if possible, making considerably less noise.
Shisui liked it that way. And Most days she got her wish.
Today, however, she would have appreciated slightly less information.
Shisui sat behind the large wooden desk in her private office with several folders spread out in front of her, one hand holding a report while the other moved steadily across another page. There was already a completed pile to her left, an unfinished pile to her right, and several reports directly in front of her, reports that sadly slowly decided they were important enough to become their own separate problem. She had been sitting there for hours, although the straightness of her back and the sharp focus in her eyes gave little indication that she was getting tired.
Being the head of Root involved considerably more paperwork than Shisui had expected.
People never mentioned that part.
Everyone talked about the many secret operations, keeping up with intelligence networks, spies hidden across nations, classified missions, dangerous enemies, and all the other things that sounded impressive when somebody was describing the position from the outside. Nobody ever mentioned that every operation eventually became six pages of paperwork sitting on her desk.
Sometimes twelve, sometimes much more.
Shisui was beginning to suspect paperwork might actually be the strongest enemy Konoha had ever faced. And she had a good feeling that Lady Tsunade would strongly agree with her.
She signed another document, placed it on the finished pile, and immediately pulled another toward herself without wasting the motion. Across the desk from her stood several Root officers who had recently returned from the Land of Earth, each dressed in the organization's subdued clothing with masks either hanging at their sides or resting beneath their arms. They had been reporting for nearly twenty minutes, and although Shisui appeared to have most of her attention on the papers beneath her hands, every person in the room knew better than to assume she wasn't listening.
"The situation in Iwagakure continues to improve," one of the officers reported, his voice calm and professional. "Food production has increased again. The difference compared to the previous growing season is substantial enough that local officials have begun discussing permanent expansion of several farming districts."
Shisui gave a small nod as she continued reading, "How substantial?"
The officer had the numbers ready. Of course he did. Nobody survived very long reporting directly to Shisui by showing up with vague answers.
"Enough that several districts which previously depended heavily on imported grain are now producing a meaningful percentage of their own food. They're still importing, especially during the colder months, but dependence has fallen. Root's contacts believe the greatest improvement came from changing what they were trying to grow rather than simply increasing the amount of land being cultivated."
That made Shisui finally glance up for several seconds.
Iwagakure had always been a difficult place for large-scale agriculture. The Land of Earth's rocky terrain and mountain ranges made the village a natural fortress, something its people had been proud of for generations, but mountains didn't particularly care whether human beings wanted convenient farmland. Soil quality varied heavily, winters complicated growing seasons, and large portions of usable land required far more work than comparable farmland in the Land of Fire.
Money helped.
Unfortunately, money could not order the weather around.
Malik had probably tried anyway, although she knew that none of his abilities could truly affect the weather, or at least not yet.
The thought crossed Shisui's mind before she could stop it, and the faintest twitch touched the corner of her mouth.
One of the officers noticed, and He wisely said nothing.
"The funding provided through Malik's bakeries has allowed them to establish several experimental farming areas," another Root officer continued. There was the smallest hesitation around Malik's name, something Shisui caught immediately and chose to ignore. "They've focused heavily on crops that tolerate colder temperatures. Carrots, turnips, cabbage, onions, garlic, peas, several varieties of leafy vegetables, and some faster-growing crops that can be harvested quickly before conditions worsen."
Shisui returned her attention to her paperwork. "And the results?"
"Good. Better than their planners expected. The cooperation with agricultural workers from the Land of Snow has been especially useful. They're accustomed to protecting crops from cold conditions, so they've helped redesign several growing areas around insulation and soil protection."
Another officer picked up the explanation, apparently having handled that portion of the investigation personally. "They're using straw and dried vegetation around the base of plants to help retain heat in the soil. Snow cover is being deliberately left over some areas instead of being completely cleared because it protects the ground beneath it from deeper freezing. They've also started constructing raised planting beds in several locations where drainage was causing problems."
Shisui's pen paused, "Any evidence that the improvements are temporary?"
"No." That answer earned more of her attention.
The officer continued, "That's one reason we stayed longer than originally planned. We wanted to determine whether the numbers were being inflated because of Malik's involvement. They're not. The methods are simple enough that local farmers can continue using them without outside specialists."
"Good." Shisui wrote something in the margin of the report, and she nodded for them to keep giving the report.
Malik had a habit of solving problems with enough money, magic, food, affection, or sheer stubbornness that people occasionally forgot a solution needed to keep working after he left. Shisui had warned him about that more than once. Malik could create food himself if he wanted to, but feeding an entire nation forever because he felt sorry for them wasn't a functioning agricultural policy.
Teaching people how to produce more food themselves was considerably more useful.
"The Land of Snow specialists have also introduced more organized crop rotation," the officer continued. "Different crops are being cycled through the same plots instead of repeatedly planting whatever produced the largest harvest the previous year. Soil quality has already improved in some test areas. They're also experimenting with successive planting, particularly with crops that mature quickly."
"So they harvest and immediately plant again," Shisui said.
"Exactly."
She nodded. That was Simple, Efficient and Sustainable. Those were words Shisui liked.
The officer shifted to another report. "There has also been diversification into berries in areas where the soil allows it. Currants, raspberries, and strawberries are performing better than expected. The biggest obstacle remains unpredictable frost, but they're beginning to use covered growing spaces for seedlings and more vulnerable crops."
"And water?"
"Still a problem in some districts. Less than before."
Shisui finally set down her pen. "Explain."
The Root officer stepped slightly forward. "Several farming settlements were losing usable water because exposed irrigation channels froze during colder periods. Some channels have been redirected underground. Others are being insulated or placed where sunlight reaches them longer during the day. The Land of Snow workers apparently considered some of the original designs..." He paused.
Shisui raised an eyebrow.
"Stupid," he finished.
One of the other officers coughed suspiciously.
Shisui stared at them, "...Their word?"
"Repeatedly."
That earned the smallest smile from her. "Continue."
"The relationship between the two groups was somewhat tense initially. Iwa farmers didn't particularly enjoy foreigners arriving and explaining that they'd been farming incorrectly."
"I imagine not."
"Especially foreigners from a country covered in snow."
Shisui's smile grew by another fraction. "I can see how that conversation went."
The officer allowed himself a faint smile before continuing. "The tension declined once the first improved harvests came in. They're now establishing several permanent exchanges between farming communities. Some specialists from the Land of Snow will remain in the Land of Earth, while several younger farmers from Iwa have volunteered to travel north and learn directly from them."
That was considerably more interesting. Shisui leaned back slightly. "And politically?"
There it was.
The question everyone in the room had known was coming eventually.
Food was important. Agriculture was important. Malik's charity was important.
Shisui ran Root. She cared about what those things did to people.
"Iwagakure's attitude toward Konoha continues to improve," the first officer said carefully. "Slowly. There is still considerable distrust among older shinobi and several established families. That won't disappear because crops improved."
"It shouldn't," Shisui replied immediately. "Anyone whose opinion of another hidden village changes completely because somebody gave them money should never be allowed near intelligence work."
The officer nodded. "However, Malik's involvement has complicated the usual political response."
That sentence almost made Shisui sigh. Almost. "Of course it has."
The officers exchanged brief looks. They had learned something very important since Shisui had married Malik.
There were many ways to refer to him.
Malik.
Mage.
Benefactor.
Civilian representative.
Owner of the bakeries.
Independent political actor.
Occasionally, walking diplomatic incident.
All were acceptable.
"Your husband" was technically accurate, but Root personnel had slowly discovered that referring to Malik that way during official briefings created unnecessary complications. Not because Shisui became angry. She didn't.
The problem was that Malik had somehow become connected to so many people, businesses, agreements, marriages, charities, villages, nobles, shinobi, and personal arrangements that "your husband" occasionally required the person speaking to clarify which woman they were talking to.
Root had decided avoiding that entire subject was easier.
"The Tsuchikage's administration understands that Malik has strong ties to Konoha," the officer continued, "but they also don't consider the agricultural assistance to be a direct Konoha program. That has made accepting the support politically easier."
Shisui nodded. "And the civilians?"
"Very favorable."
"Toward Malik?"
"Extremely."
That wasn't surprising, and it was less important than her next question. "Toward Konoha?"
A pause. "Improving."
There it was.
Shisui nodded and returned to her paperwork. "That's more believable."
The report continued for another several minutes. New storage buildings were being constructed closer to farming districts so less food spoiled during transport. Some communities were experimenting with smaller farming plots spread across multiple elevations instead of depending on one large area, protecting them against localized weather problems. Hunting remained important in the colder and more mountainous regions, although the increased vegetable supply meant some settlements no longer depended as heavily on meat during difficult months.
Shisui asked questions throughout the report, usually without looking up. She wanted production estimates, political reactions, potential sabotage risks, which Iwa officials had attached themselves publicly to the project, which had quietly opposed it, and whether any major clans were attempting to control the new farmland. Every answer disappeared somewhere behind those sharp eyes while her hand continued moving across completely unrelated documents.
Then she felt it. Shisui's pen slowed. Not stopped, but slowed. Her eyes remained on the page. Nobody else in the office noticed anything. He was closer.
She had actually sensed Malik moving in her direction almost an hour ago. Their connection had become familiar enough that she could usually tell when he entered a broad area around Konoha, especially when he wasn't bothering to hide his presence. Malik's magic felt completely different from chakra, something warm and strangely recognizable to her now.
At first she'd assumed he had returned to the village for some unrelated reason. Then he'd kept getting closer. And closer. And closer.
Shisui had stared at her paperwork approximately twenty minutes ago and accepted the terrible truth.
Her husband was coming to bother her. She had hoped to finish another stack first.
Apparently, the universe hated productivity. Another thing she knew that Lady Tsunade would agree with.
A knock sounded against the hidden door built into the office wall. Every Root operative stopped speaking instantly.
One officer turned toward the sound, crossed the room, and moved the disguised wooden panel aside. A masked Root member waited beyond it.
"Commander."
Shisui didn't look up. "Yes?"
"Malik is here to see you."
There was silence. Shisui closed her eyes. A long sigh escaped her. Of course he was. "Dismissed."
The officers didn't need clarification.
Reports were gathered immediately. Papers disappeared into folders, masks were replaced, and every operative in the room suddenly demonstrated the incredible efficiency of highly trained shinobi who had absolutely no desire to be trapped in their commander's office when her husband arrived.
Shisui watched them go. Cowards. Every single one of them.
She managed to organize several reports before voices became audible outside the office.
Malik's voice was immediately recognizable. "No, no, brother, I'm serious. You made a mistake."
Shisui stopped. There was a pause outside.
Then another man's confused voice. "Sir?"
"You married one of my maids."
Shisui slowly looked toward the door.
Malik continued with the solemn tone of a man delivering terrible news. "Wonderful woman. Very nice. Hardworking. Makes excellent tea and all that good stuff but . . . . . You, however, left home before sunrise without breakfast and didn't take the lunch she prepared."
The Root operative apparently tried to explain himself. "I was called in early."
"I know." A faint shimmer of pink-gold light slipped beneath the doorway. Malik's voice became unbearably cheerful. "She knows too."
Shisui pinched the bridge of her nose.
Outside, Malik flicked his wrist, and a small box appeared in his hand with the effortless smoothness of someone who had stopped respecting the basic concept of storage a long time ago. He handed it to the Root operative, who accepted it while rubbing the back of his head.
"Eat," Malik told him. "There's enough in there for your shift. And when you get home, your wife has more than a few words waiting for you."
"...Thank you, Malik. . . . .Sir."
"Don't thank me. I'm not the one you need to apologize to."
The Root member nodded with the defeated expression of a shinobi who had survived dangerous missions only to discover marriage had created enemies his training never prepared him for.
The door to her office slid open. Then Malik stepped inside. The door slid shut behind him.
Click.
The lock followed.
Shisui stared at him. Malik stared back. His smile appeared immediately.
Shisui's expression remained flat. "Do not interrupt my work."
Malik placed a hand over his heart. "I haven't even said hello, my love."
"You were speaking before you entered the room."
"That was to somebody else."
"You were still speaking. Loudly, too."
Malik considered this accusation for several seconds before nodding. "Fair."
Shisui returned to her paperwork.
Malik, with the pace of a well-loved man, walked around the desk anyway. She could hear and smell him as he got closer. She could feel him, the heat and warmth coming off his body.
She knew exactly what he was doing without looking.
Pink-gold magic shimmered beside her chair, and one of Malik's absurdly comfortable pillows appeared on the floor. He sat down beside her with a satisfied little noise, apparently having decided the office of Root's commander needed a designated husband section.
Shisui continued writing.
Another flick of his wrist. Another box appeared. She stopped writing.
Malik gave her a look. Shisui slowly turned her head toward him. "And I told you," Malik said, already opening the container, "to never forget your food at home, yet here we are. You need to eat too, my love."
The smell reached her immediately. Shisui's eyes dropped toward the box despite herself.
Of course he'd packed things she liked. "Of course he had." She repeated out loud.
There were foods selected specifically to keep her energy up without leaving her sluggish afterward, along with several smaller things she could eat while working. Nothing overly heavy. Nothing messy enough to threaten classified documents.
The irritating man had planned this. Shisui stared at the food. Then remembered this morning. She had, in fact, forgotten her lunch. "...I was busy."
Malik's expression became deeply smug. Shisui's eyes narrowed. He wisely said nothing.
"Thank you," she finally muttered. Malik's smile softened immediately. "You're welcome."
Shisui put the lid back on. Malik blinked. She moved the box away from her paperwork and placed it safely to the side. "I'll eat later."
Malik stared at the box. Then at her. Then at the box again.
Shisui could almost see the argument building behind his eyes. "Don't." His mouth closed.
"Good husband." Shisui folded her hands together and finally gave him her full attention. "What do you want?"
Malik looked offended. Actually offended. "Wow."
Shisui waited.
"Jokes on you, Maybe," Malik began, leaning toward her slightly, "I simply wanted to spend some time with my lovely, amazing wife."
Shisui continued staring.
Malik smiled.
His pink-and-gold eyes moved slowly over her face, lingering on the dark hair framing it before dropping briefly toward the sapphire earrings he had given her. His gaze continued down her familiar Uchiha clothing, taking in the athletic shape beneath it with enough appreciation that Shisui immediately knew exactly where his thoughts had gone.
"You look beautiful today."
She gave him Nothing.
"Very beautiful."
Shisui raised one eyebrow.
"Possibly the most beautiful woman currently running a secret intelligence organization."
"Malik."
"Yes, love?"
"What do you want?"
His shoulders dropped. "You never let me build up to anything."
"I know you."
"That's incredibly inconvenient."
Shisui almost smiled. Almost.
Malik's mock pout lasted several more seconds before disappearing. His expression became more thoughtful as he reached across the small distance between them and took one of her hands.
Shisui allowed it. That alone told him she had noticed the change. His thumb moved slowly across the back of her hand. "Do you know anything about a purple meteor?"
Shisui stared at him. "A what?"
He tilted his head, his gaze drifting to the roof of the room. "A purple meteor."
She waited for more.
Malik nodded thoughtfully as though she'd somehow answered part of the question already.
"Fell from the sky a long time ago. Many, many years ago. Hit a forest hard enough to destroy most, maybe all of it."
Shisui's eyebrow rose. Malik watched her carefully. That alone made her take the question seriously. "No."
He blinked. "No rumor?"
"No."
"Old mission?"
"No."
"Some old Clan story?"
"Malik."
"Right." He nodded. "Thank you."
Shisui didn't let go of his hand.
Her Sharingan wasn't active, but Malik sometimes felt like those dark eyes were more dangerous without it.
"Why?"
Malik's expression became innocent. Shisui squeezed his fingers. "Why are you asking me about a purple meteor that supposedly fell many years ago?"
Malik considered how much he wanted to explain. Shisui saw him considering it. Her eyes narrowed. He sighed. "I had a dream."
That wasn't what she expected, at least not the first thing that came to her mind. "A dream."
"Yep."
"You came all the way into Root headquarters because you had a dream."
He gave her a look. "Don't do that, and don't say it like that. That makes it sound silly."
"It currently sounds silly."
"That's hurtful."
She rolled her eyes. "Explain."
Malik leaned back slightly, still holding her hand. "It wasn't a normal dream for me. You know a lot of my magic touches dreams in one way or another. Normally when I'm dreaming, especially when magic is involved, I can feel it. I can change things. I can wake myself up if I want. I can usually tell when something is mine."
Shisui's expression became more serious. "And this wasn't?"
Malik slowly shook his head. "No control at all."
That bothered her. She didn't show much of it. Malik did.
"I watched this purple thing fall out of the sky," he continued. "Looked like a star at first. Then it came down fast and hit a forest. Big impact. Trees gone. Huge crater. Purple light coming from the middle."
"Where?"
"No idea."
"When?"
"No idea."
"Who was there?"
"No idea."
Shisui stared at him. Malik smiled weakly. "I know. Very useful dream."
"You're giving me nothing."
"Not fair, I gave you purple, old, and meteor."
"Congratulations."
"And trees."
"Malik."
"Alright, alright."
Shisui leaned back in her chair, thinking. If anyone else had entered her office with that story, she probably would have sent them away.
Malik was different.
She had seen enough of his magic to know that treating something as impossible simply because it didn't behave like chakra was a very good way to end up surprised. Malik himself seemed more excited than afraid, which was also concerning for completely different reasons.
"Have you asked Lady Tsunade?"
Malik immediately shook his head. "No."
"Why?"
"I honestly don't feel like talking to her right now."
Shisui stared at him. Malik shrugged. "Nothing personal."
"Malik."
"That woman has anger issues."
Shisui's stare became flatter. "You are married to me."
"Exactly."
Silence. Malik realized his mistake. Shisui's fingers tightened around his. "That came out wrong."
"It came out honestly."
"My beautiful wife, I would like to remind you that I came here willingly."
"You also locked the door."
"I thought you loved Privacy." He said, giving her a small smile.
She shook her head. "That was clearly just some type of Evidence containment."
Malik slowly removed his hand from hers. Shisui let him. He stood. For half a second she thought he might finally leave. Then Malik flicked his wrist. A large pillow appeared against the back wall.
Shisui stared at it. Malik placed another beside it. "What are you doing?"
"Thinking."
"You're making a bed."
"I think best horizontally. You know that."
"This is my office."
"I know. It's a very nice office, if not a little too simple for my tastes."
"Malik."
He lowered himself onto the pillows with a satisfied sigh, shifted twice until he found the perfect position, then tucked his hands beneath his head.
Shisui stared at her husband stretched out against the wall of Root headquarters.
He closed his eyes.
"You cannot be serious."
"I'm extremely serious."
"Go home."
"I am spending time with my wife."
"You're sleeping."
"Near my wife."
"That does not count."
"It counts to me."
Shisui's eyes narrowed. Malik cracked one eye open. "I love you."
She continued staring. He smiled. Then closed his eye again. Shisui waited. Surely he wasn't actually going to sleep. Five seconds passed. Ten.
His breathing slowed. Shisui looked down at her paperwork. Then toward Malik. Then back toward her paperwork.
She could throw him out. Very easily.
She could have a Root operative remove him, although the image of one of her subordinates attempting to physically remove Malik from her office was funny enough that she immediately discarded the idea. Half of them would refuse, and the other half would somehow leave carrying away food as bribes.
Shisui sighed. She picked up her pen.
Behind her, Malik shifted comfortably. "Shisui?"
Her pen stopped. "What."
His voice was already heavy with sleep. "I really do love you."
Her expression softened before she could stop it. "I know."
A few seconds passed. "Eat your lunch."
Her eye twitched. "Go to sleep."
"Yes, ma'am." Then he was quiet. Actually quiet.
Shisui waited another moment before returning to her work. Her pen began moving again, reports slowly disappearing from one pile and joining another while the head of Root worked beneath the low light of her hidden office.
Behind her, one of the strangest and most powerful men she had ever known slept peacefully on a pillow he'd pulled from nowhere after walking into the headquarters of Konoha's secret intelligence organization because he'd dreamed about a purple star.
Shisui shook her head. Then she glanced toward him one more time.
Purple meteor. Ancient forest. A dream Malik couldn't control. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She reached for a blank piece of paper. Maybe she'd have someone check the archives.
Just in case.
And, without looking behind her, Shisui finally reached for the lunch Malik had brought. She opened the box. Malik smiled in his sleep.
Shisui immediately looked over. His eyes were still closed. "...Annoying man."
The smile remained. Shisui eventually took a bite anyway.