The Land of Tea. A backwater with so little going for it that the myriad tea-houses—mostly empty at this time of year—that dotted its two islands had bequeathed the land its name. An economic curiosity, the land’s business strategy revolved around catering to passersby who docked in the country’s singular port. At the very least, the land’s position at a relatively important trade nexus kept them supplied with a variety of teas that probably played into their reputation.
On another day, under different circumstances, the Skillful Star may have visited with leisurely intentions and a mood to indulge. However, she’d arrived on the heels of a rumor—the whispers of a tragedy weeks, if not months, gone. A rumor that chilled hearts, even the one belonging to the usually unflappable Sagisō. A rumor she intended to confirm first-hand. A rumor she’d traced to the tea-house ahead of her…
The Skillful Star swept into the teashop, the wind at her back. Her gaze fell onto a once familiar silhouette, now unrecognizable. “Aren’t you a little too relaxed for a wanted man?” Her voice was teasing as she slid into the adjacent seat to lounge against the table.
“Matron! A cup of Sweet Honey Tea, please.”
The wanted man in question seemed to recognize her voice without even having to look and responded with an amused huff. “Pretty sure I’ve been wanted for almost as long as you’ve known me, Sagisō. I need a break sometimes too, you know?”
While her inquisitive gaze rested on him, his sight lingered briefly on the nearly colorless, but somewhat light apricot liquid in his own sipping cup. The Uchiha thought he would have some more time, but with her presence here, it seemed even that luxury was no longer on his side.
After swallowing the rest of the silver needle tea, Kiro savored the sweet aftertaste on his tongue while Sagisō placed her order of sweet honey tea. Normally, he’d be quick to call her out for having such basic taste, but her choice only made it clear that she was not here to indulge. Ironically, the reason why Kiro was here in the first place was for that exact reason. A brief reprieve during the spring and the time of harvest for his favorite tea.
Silver Needles from different regions can have completely different tastes and it was rare for a rogue like him to get access to a place that provided premium options. There was even a debate to be had over which region has the best harvest, but that was not one he could have with the magenta-eyed Hyūga currently next to him. Now it seemed Kiro was gonna have to start carrying a gaiwan with him if it was going to be so much trouble to visit this village every so often just for tea.
At first glance, Sagisō’s assessment of him was fairly accurate. On the outside, he was sitting comfortably near the land of fire, sipping on his favorite tea. Physically, he was still well off and hopefully appeared fresh with no blemishes to be seen besides some old scarring. After all, Kiro wasn’t going to show up at his favorite tea spot covered in blood.
While there was no shortage of those with bounties attempting to come after him everywhere he went, dealing with the increased rate of official shinobi and Anbu who appeared in his path was troublesome. The bodies of those that were worth something had been sealed away. However, the issue was trying to avoid killing those who didn’t need to die. After all, he himself was playing the role of the criminal they were supposed to be after. Kiro had learned to show restraint in killing, but Sagisō would be disappointed to know that it was getting more tiresome by the day.
This was the freedom his power could buy him and now his time seemed to be up. Sighing, Kiro knew he would have to face her soon, but to think she would actually track him down here.
“So did she send you here or are you here on your own?”
Looking at Sagisō, the Uchiha simply questioned if her mother, the Hyūga Head, Lady Hinagiku, had given her the task of eliminating him for his unforgivable sin. She was either here for one of two reasons, and he chose the more logical guess first. At the same time, Kiro summoned a hefty amount of ryō, worth in the range of around 50,000, for the matron to collect for their expenses… and any potential damages that may occur.
“Hehe… if you didn’t see her on your last visit to the Leaf, do you think she’d say something now? Knowing her… she’s probably using you as a pretense for something else.” The Skillful Star had her thoughts. Regardless, “That’s not important.”
Sagisō paused as the matron delivered a cup of sweet gold. She wet her lips on the beverage, savoring the honey—it wasn’t as good as what they produced in Hasa—before she steeled her expression. “I shouldn’t have to explain this to you; but, do you understand that there's a difference between being wanted for what you are as opposed to who you are or what you’ve done?”
Even without answering him, she still answered him in a satisfactory way and had he taken a peek earlier, Kiro would’ve noticed the lax posture that went with her casual entrance. Sagisō was able to appear so nonchalant even now. Or was she just trying to be? After all, there was another matter of importance she was here for, but Kiro had to watch as her lips tested the sweet beverage first. The Uchiha glanced away briefly, watching the matron gleefully take their earnings, while he resisted the temptation to order another warm beverage with the lingering taste on his own lips. Perhaps he shouldn’t have finished so fast.
With her taste test over, her indifference was replaced as she questioned him. He was wanted for as long as he could remember. Even as a child. Back then, it was for one thing alone, but Kiro was free of that curse now. He was sure of it and was still able to remain unruffled while facing Sagisō.
“Well, these days I am wanted for quite a few things. No longer just cuz of these eyes you’d prefer to avoid.” He pointed to his dark black eyes, referring to the highly coveted sharingan that could once take out most shinobi with just a single glance. A rare commodity these days, which he chose not to use as he met her eye level.
“Honestly though, you know I don’t mind going back and forth with you like this. We can do that or just skip straight to the point.”
Sagisō threw her head backward; swift golden swills vanished away what remained of her tea and she set the teacup firmly down. Vermillion eyes followed the baked ceramics, watching those dregs which betrayed the subpar skills of the teamaster or the crudeness of the mixture. “There isn’t really a point. I just want to know…why? Did it feel good? Do you feel justified? Can you look at yourself in the mirror and see anything but a psychopath?”
Her accusations were clear as day. A demand for an account for his actions. The rumors she’d heard were grim, even for him. But they were also just that—rumors. In part, the uncertainty of rumors were why Sagisō’s approach had, thus far, been diplomatic.
His eyes narrowed when saw her enraged like never before. It seemed his leisurely mannerisms gave her the wrong impression.
“Did it feel good? No, not really. I-“ Kiro opened his mouth to try to answer immediately, but paused suddenly before he could say more. Not that he didn’t want to say more, but he couldn’t. The Uchiha bit his tongue, knowing full well he had already accepted his choice and the consequences that came with it. Yet, it annoyed him to see that venomous look in her eyes. The same eyes that could once read his mind and see through deception. Kiro didn’t fear them, but knew to choose his next words carefully and honestly.
“It’s up to you to believe me. Even if I could tell you the reason…” Kiro took a breath and brushed a hand through his hair. His expression turned somber, but only briefly, as if a bittersweet memory passed through his head. “No, it’s so stupid, you might even laugh, but it wouldn’t be right for me to say it. I don’t know if it’s justified, but I do believe I did my best in that situation.”
Kiro knew he was being vague, but there were multiple reasons why he had to be so careful with his words, which he was rushing out to calm her down at least.
“Try me,” she offered. “If I didn’t have my doubts do you think I’d be sitting here like this?”
“And I don’t wanna hear that ‘it’s complicated’, ‘you wouldn’t understand’ type of bullshit. Don’t make me have to kick your ass, I wouldn’t want to have to make Kai cry…any more than my continued existence already does.”
“Yeah, alright.” Kiro almost rolled his eyes after hearing her favorite threat in the book. As expected, arguments with her normally led to one of two things and most of the time, it was a scuffle. Sagisō also knew how to test his nerves with her words, like bringing up Kai the way she did. He would usually bite back harder, but also knew this was actually a serious matter compared to their usual squabbles.
“I figure you’d know better than to try me in the middle of a village even as small as this, but honestly, you should already know I don’t hide important shit like this from you unless I physically can’t say anything. Which is partially the case.”
Kiro took a breath, but quickly continued knowing that Sagisō would probably just tell him to say what he could anyways.
“Before you even ask, I’ll tell you what I can first. Two lies and one truth. Not even joking. First one is that I alone killed all of them for revenge. Second, I left no survivors besides one and lastly, I believed they deserved to die.”
“The Literature Star is a nice girl, I can introduce you some time but I’m not her. They? Do I look like a book-girl to you—don’t answer that. Didn’t you want to cut to the point, what’s with all the leads?” Lips curled with only the faintest amusement. Lie. Lie. Misleading truth. But she wasn’t here to play games, especially not two truths, one lie. Leave it to an Uchiha to come up with something so…
“Go on then, I think I spotted Leaf Anbu a few kilometers back. You should really wrap things up before they get here.”
“You’re literally the one who wanted to cut to the point, but okay, whatever. Thanks for the warning too, I guess.”
“Anyways, since you can’t even read a book, I’ll try to explain this nice and clearly for you to understand, okay?” The Uchiha said in a tone almost like he was speaking to a toddler.
“You know the seal put on my tongue by that… elephant? Like you see? I can’t even say their fucking name anymore let alone give you specific hints of the truth. That’s why I have to tell you lies for certain things, which are the reverse of the truth. No matter what I tried, it seems the only way to get rid of it is to kill that animal, which I tried, but I did not expect that… thing to be with him. That’s almost half your answer right there. I figure you can comprehend at least that much, yeah?”
Believing in Sagisō’s ability to comprehend what he was saying, Kiro then moved on.
“What I can tell you is that I did go to the Leaf and what you’ve heard about me probably isn’t all wrong. I was there and I did kill those that I felt deserved to die that day. I was also unable to prevent the deaths of many that did not deserve to die. I’m sure the Leaf anbu or root said they managed to save some young children too, like I failed to kill them or something. With all that said though, my true intentions were to follow the final request of the Uchiha clan head, something I promised to let die with me. Which is part of the reason I have accepted being named as the sole shinobi behind that bloody tragedy. I alone should bear responsibility for all the death and despair of that night and everything that follows.”
The Uchiha paused for a moment, giving her some time to process what he had said, but then chuckled slightly. “I know you said not to say it’s complicated… but it is actually pretty complicated.”
Elephant? Pet? What the fuck was he on about?
“Despite the rumors, the Byakugan can’t actually read your mind.” Sagisō huffed, but nevertheless had gleaned enough information to come to a conclusion. Kiro had let a weird man put another seal on his body—he obviously didn’t learn from his mistake with Orochimaru—and now it had come back to bite him in the butt because…obviously.
He had thus found himself embroiled in some covert conflict in the Leaf and was being used as a scape-goat for someone who wanted to undermine the Uchiha Clan. That made sense enough but, “Why didn’t you contact my mom?”
If Kiro had engaged the part of his brain responsible for critical thinking, he should’ve understood that the Hyuga Matriarch would have placed more than a foot on the scales and he likely wouldn’t have found himself in such a situation after her intervention. Why he hadn’t chosen that path was a mystery to Sagisō, the same way his desire to let freaky men brand him with freaky chakra seals. That was a trait he shared with Azumi and one Sagisō simply couldn’t understa—”Oh mah gawd.”
Epiphany. A sudden realization. As her memories of Kiro’s history and behaviour interfaced with her knowledge of his actions, a simple conclusion arose as Sagisō’s mental image of both Kiro and Azumi overlapped.
“You have Daddy Issues.”
It made perfect sense.
At that moment Sagisō knew what she had to do. Her posture straight, her breath deepened, a manly husk introduced to her voice. “Uchiha Kiro, I’ll be your daddy.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think it was that serious until… this stuff happened. Not even gonna lie.”
In hindsight, Kiro couldn’t deny his actions weren’t the brightest. His mind had been solely focused on the idea of freedom and to achieve the necessary power no matter the cost. By the time he realized what was brewing, it was too late. Had her mother been in the village at the time of the massacre, Kiro would’ve done his best to get to her first.
“You think if I asked your mom now, she’ll help me?” Kiro asked the daughter of the only remaining mother figure in his life now, wondering if Sagisō seriously believed Lady Hinagiku would take him in once more after what he did.
Actually, after learning the truth about his father and everything he did for the Uchiha clan, Kiro began to remember how much he actually missed him. With his biological father gone, the only male figures in his life all tried to kill or use him. His academy teacher had all his friends murder each other in a failed attempt to forcefully awaken his mangekyou sharingan. Kai’s father publicly humiliated and stepped on him multiple times in the Leaf village. In recent years, Orochimaru had his tongue wrapped around him, grooming the young Uchiha for his eyes. There was also Danzo, but fuck Danzo. The closest good father figure was probably Uncle Senshu, but Kiro beheaded him before slaughtering a good chunk of the Uchiha.
So when Sagisō suddenly became enlightened and revealed her newfound discovery to him, Kiro was beyond baffled at first only to realize that she was actually making sense. The byakugan could read minds after all. Furthermore, she was quick to take on the role without even asking.
“Daddy…”
