Sairai 再来

Chapter 16 - Some secrets are better left unsaid

First POV

The events that happened during the battle against Haku and Zabuza have been washed away from our minds as following week my team and I were showered in food and drinks for managing to stop Gato from killing Tazuna. Sasuke also celebrated finally awakening the three Tomoe Sharingan, nagging Naruto about it every time he got the chance. 

We said goodbye as soon as the bridge was finished, a construction which the old carpenter named after my loud teammate. A heavy stone lifted from my shoulders as the small village got further and further away from me. Our prolonged staying due to Sasuke and Kakashi's wounds made me really impatient to get back home, a feeling that intensified every time I remembered how we kinda failed our mission. It probably left all of us with a sour taste in our mouths.

As the gates of Konoha started appearing from behind the trees, our sensei came to a halt.

"You three... I will go report the mission to the Hokage, you go home and rest. Sasuke, if Shisui asks about the Sharingan, sugarcoat the story a bit," he said and turned away from us walking through the gate. Naruto also departed ways with Sasuke and me as we entered the village screaming something about ramen and Ichiraku.

"Let's go home, I'm tired," Sasuke said as we made our way through the crowded street. The thought of sleeping in my own bed was appealing, but right now I had something on my mind that I needed to figure out.

"You can go first, I want to find Shisui."

"Why?"

"I want to ask him something and also apologize."

"What do you w-," he kept pressing as I cut him off.

"Sasuke, go home, for now, I'll tell you later about everything," I lied as I started getting away from him, hearing an offended 'hn' behind me. 

My mind went over the things I wanted to say and ask Shisui as I was looking for him. I would first apologize for what happened last time and then ask if he knew something about Kakashi's Sharingan. Ever since I activated my Byakugan and got a glimpse of its chakra I get this weird feeling that I've seen it somewhere else. Apart from Kakashi's chakra, which kept the dojutsu alive, there was also another faint signature that wasn't strong enough for me to identify with my Byakugan alone. It was barely there, probably due to the many years that sensei had the eye, but just that speck of chakra was enough to give me goosebumps. 

I knew that Kakashi wasn't going to tell me up front, so my next best decision was Shisui. He's been somewhat friends with the silver-haired man for many years now so he probably knew something.

I was about to enter the training fields when my path intersected with Hinata and her team. I hadn't seen her since graduation, not that our relationship was great, to begin with. Whenever I wanted to talk to her, she would either run away from me or her father would materialize out of thin air and take her away. At least Hinata doesn't think that I am the scum of the Earth, unlike Neji, whom I've been ignoring for the past five years of my life. Hanabi on the other hand didn't look like she cared that much about my reputation in the Hyuga clan and would talk to me whenever she would get the chance. 

I saluted them respectfully before asking Kurenai-sensei about Shisui.

"Ah, you just missed him, he went on a mission with his team this morning, something about escorting a princess," she said as she waved me goodbye. I deadpanned thinking about Team 4 handling a princess, but it was probably better than Naruto.

I sighed as I turned around to leave the training grounds, not wanting to waste another second. I decided to take a different route home, one that passed the Uchiha compound. Ever since the massacre, no one has been around to enter those grounds, not even Shisui. The three of us weren't relocated that far from it, as I could still see the rooftops of the imposing buildings. I would lie if I said that I didn't miss the compound, but even if we begged the Hokage to open it again, it still wouldn't be the same as before.