Today… there was no training.No sore muscles, no push-ups, no sadistic smiling tyrant barking out "Only ten more laps!" while the sun fried them alive.
Instead—"Today is a celebration."
The announcement from Kuroha that morning had sent shockwaves through the orphanage. Cheers erupted instantly, followed by a stampede of bare feet as the kids raced to get ready.
It was Everyone's Birthday — the one day of the year when they all celebrated together, because, well… no one really knew their actual birthdays. So they picked one date and made it the day.
The usual training field looked nothing like its stern self. Colorful paper streamers hung between the fence posts, paper lanterns bobbed gently in the breeze, and a mismatched collection of wooden tables had been dragged outside.The older kids hung decorations; the younger ones ran around with baskets of flowers, some more squashed than others.
Kazuki stood on a stool, trying to hang a paper banner that kept tilting sideways."Left side higher!" Azula shouted from below, holding the ladder steady.
"It's already higher," Kazuki muttered, tugging on the stubborn string. "Maybe your eyes are crooked."
Azula crossed her arms, narrowing her gaze. "Careful, or I'll cut the rope and let you fall."
"You wouldn't dare."
A sly smirk. "Test me."
Kuroha, who was passing by carrying a tray of unbaked sweet buns, stopped and beamed at them. Not the calculating Smiling Tyrant grin, but a warm, sunny smile. "No fighting today, you two. Kazuki, nice work. Azula, thank you for helping."
They both froze.It was almost unnerving seeing her like this.
Azula leaned close to Kazuki and whispered, "Do you think she's possessed?"
Kazuki glanced at Kuroha's bright smile and shuddered. "If she offers us extra dessert, I'm running."
Inside, the kitchen was a warzone of delicious smells and mild disasters.The older kids handled the baking — two small cakes, several trays of sweet buns, and a mountain of rice balls. The younger kids were in charge of "helping," which really meant sneaking bits of dough into their mouths.
"Don't eat all the raisins!" Kuroha scolded one of the littlest girls, plucking the stolen treat from her hand.
"I was… testing for poison!" the child protested.
Kazuki passed by carrying a basket of apples. "Sure, and I'm the Hokage."
By midday, everything was ready.Tables groaned under the weight of food — steaming rice balls, crispy dumplings, stir-fried vegetables, and the slightly lopsided but glorious cakes.
Kuroha clapped her hands together, her voice carrying over the chatter. "Today, we celebrate all of you. Another year older, stronger, and—" she paused with a sly twinkle, "—hopefully less lazy."
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
The games began — simple competitions like "balance an egg on a spoon," "tug of war," and "how many sweet buns can you eat in one minute."Azula dominated the balance game, smirking smugly. Kazuki took sweet bun eating… by exactly one bun. Their rivalry tally was now even for the day.
It happened during the music.Someone had found an old shamisen, and a few of the older kids played while others clapped along. The laughter and music blended into a warm haze, the smell of food hanging in the air.
Kazuki was mid-bite into a dumpling when it hit him.
A chakra.Faint, but so dense it felt like a drop of molten metal falling into a calm pond.
It didn't feel like anyone in the orphanage — too controlled, too heavy. And there was something wrong about it. Not malicious exactly, but strange. A pulse that seemed to hum in his bones.
Kazuki froze, dumpling halfway to his mouth, and let his senses sharpen.…Direction… east… no, northeast. Small. Stationary.
He glanced around. No one else noticed — not Azula, not Kuroha, not even the older kids who were decent at sensing.
His eyes narrowed. Either their senses are dull… or this chakra's hiding itself.
Then, just as suddenly as it came, it vanished. Like someone had snuffed out a candle.
Kazuki stayed still for a moment longer, scanning, waiting. Nothing.
Did I imagine it? he wondered, before shaking his head.It wasn't worth ruining the party over. If it came back, he'd deal with it.
He popped the dumpling into his mouth and turned back toward the music. Azula was waving him over to join the next game.
"Kazuki! Spoon race! You're going down!"
He smirked, the strange chakra already fading into the background. "Not a chance, princess."
And just like that, the celebration swept him back in — food, laughter, and the noisy warmth of a family that wasn't bound by blood, but by something stronger.
One Month Later
It wasn't nothing.
Over the month, it happened again. And again.
Sometimes near the orphanage.Sometimes at the training ground.Once, in the middle of the bustling market.
Each time, the same: a small, dense chakra signature, here for a few seconds, gone before he could trace it.
Sometimes it felt like it was watching him.Other times, it was simply… passing by.
No one else ever sensed it. Not Azula, not Kuroha. Only Kazuki — thanks to the razor-sharp sensory ability born from his Yin-heavy chakra.
But that was the frustrating part — he could only sense its direction, never its exact location. By the time he moved toward it, the presence would vanish like smoke on the wind.
The mystery gnawed at him. Who the hell are you?
Could it be ANBU?
Hiruzen was notoriously paranoid when it came to the Uchiha. Maybe the old man had assigned someone to watch him, just waiting for a slip-up.
Or maybe Root.
Danzo's creepy little black-ops club was basically the boogeyman for the orphanage kids. Everyone hated him, and Danzo hated the Uchiha even more. Wouldn't put it past the guy to be measuring my organs for "donation."
Or… Orochimaru.
That thought made his stomach turn.If that snake had caught wind of his unusual chakra, he'd definitely want to dissect him "purely for research." Which in Orochimaru-speak meant horrible death via weird science.
Kazuki sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.Great. My options are creepy masked stalkers, a perverted voyeur, a bandaged war hawk with a Sharingan fetish, or a snake man with a lab kink. Just perfect.
Still… whoever it was, they were fast. Too fast. And far too good at hiding.
You can't run forever, Kazuki thought after the seventh encounter, jaw tightening. One day, I'll catch you.
Somewhere, far out of sight, unseen eyes lingered on him again… and then disappeared.