BEHOLD THE BIRTH OF THE
GODS OF FIRE, PART ONE

TATARA RUNS AWAY THE VERY MOMENT DINNER ENDS. She excuses herself with simple words and a flighty demeanor Shisui does not notice but Mikoto nods sparingly at, and makes her way to where she remembers Tsujirou's quaint apartment room is, in the complex by the edges of the compound, nearer to the exit because he is an active shinobi and active shinobi with active Sharingan are on the beck and call of the Hokage. She knows he is asleep at this time, even though seven in the evening has just come. Tsujirou barely has any rest and he is so awake in the morning that he cannot spare to be the same in the evening.

They say shinobi have difficulty sleeping, that they never feel safe enough to surrender to exhaustion, that they are plagued with so many nightmares they may as well be in the war. But Tsujirou sleeps and sleeps as if he has nothing else to do. Nightmares are a foreign concept to he who has never dreamed. His colleagues say he is lucky, a bit odd but all the best shinobi are, and some say he is missing out. Dreams can give the worst imagery and the best.

Tatara knocks once, then twice, and for a third time. When she reaches for a fourth, the door clicks open to reveal an annoyed Tsujirou; his eyebrows are furrowed and his eyes seem darker than the onyx it already is. "Tatara? What? Why?" He hisses in frustration.

"Is Shisui a ward of the Clan Head?"

Tsujirou raises an eyebrow before he sighs. He opens the door welcomingly as if he has no choice of the matter. Tatara trudges inside, doing the same thing as she does to all houses she enters; take off her shoes, murmur quietly about excusing herself as she entere the home, and then sits on the couch. "You came all this way to ask me about a kid?" Tsujirou complains. "Tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

From the corner of her eyes, Tatara watches Tsujirou move seamlessly through his kitchen. She knows he was never the best host but as Tsujirou presents her a poorly-brewed tea, she huffs, and mumbles a word of gratitude anyway. "Shisui," Tatara says simply.

Tsujirou rolls his eyes and Tatara resists the urge to scold him for that. The lack of manners, elegance, and the etiquette drilled to every Uchiha seems to be lost to the likes of Tsujirou, Shisui, and Obito. Two are orphans, and the other under the care of a father too weak to take care of a child. "I heard what the Elders call him. Prodigy, is it?" He mocks.

"The second coming of Hatake Kakashi," Tatara corrects because being compared to the son of the White Fang is an even greater honor than being called 'prodigies' for they dull as time passes. People like Hatake Kakashi are not just prodigies. They are gods of shinobi. She chuckles under her breath. "The second coming of Hatake Kakashi is two years my junior. Can you believe that?"

The sneer on Tsujirou's lips is unfamiliar. So unlike the Tsujirou she knows but so similar to the Uchiha he is. "What good is that skill if it won't be used for The Clan?" He grumbles angrily. The storm is present in his gaze, wild and unsuffocated.

Tsujirou may be comparable to Obito and his rebellious personality but Tsujirou is an Uchiha first and foremost. He knows his blood and he knows that the flesh of an Uchiha will always belong to the Uchiha Clan. Who are you without your family? Who will you be without the skies we built for you and the ground we paved for you? Tatara will never admit it but the happiness Tsujirou exudes comforts her in the same way the storms in his eyes do. The perfect blend of the calm before the storm.

"Shisui is five. I doubt he knows where his loyalty lies," Tatara mimics his annoyed expression.

"It's in his blood," Tsujirou laughs.

Tatara's eyes sharpen distastefully. "That's just a rumor."

"Is it?"

"Tsujirou."

The chuunin raises his hands in mock surrender but his actions do not reflect how his eyes glow with the Sharingan, a sudden glare of anger. Tatara does not flinch and instead, she shares the image of her own Sharingan, spinning and maddening red. Tsujirou laughs again and leans back to the couch opposite to Tatara. "I really don't know what you want me to say, Tatara," he confesses, "I'm sure you know that rumors aren't just rumors. You're the child of a long-standing Elder. I'm sure you've learned from Takobu-sama."

Tatara scowls. "Uchiha Kagami was a powerful and great member of The Clan," she insists.

"Being powerful and great does not he was loyal," Tsujirou says immediately, "there are too many rumors about him, too many stories! Following around some Senju like a dog━━"

"Do not speak of the Nidaime like that, Tsujirou!"

Tsujirou looks startled at her interruption. "What? That bastard teammate of yours makes you forget that you shouldn't interrupt your seniors, Tatara?" He snorts. "I don't know why you chose to ask me about that boy when I just woke up. I have the worst temper when I do. You know that."

Tatara remembers being five and receiving a fist fight when her tongue slips at the newly-awakened Tsujirou. He had been so furious that Tatara feared him for a moment. "I was invited for dinner and━━" She purses her lips. "Mikoto-san's relationship with Shisui-kun is suspiciously close."

"But of course, Tatara-chan," Tatara surpresses the reflex of correcting Tsujirou, "what do you do when you have a potential traitor? You keep them close, of course. Give them connections. Give them a reason to make them stay. And who did you notice Shisui was worshipping the ground to?"

"Itachi," she admits.

"See!" Tsujirou throws his head back in amusement. "Mikoto-san was rejected to become the next Clan Head but she was thought over for so many years for a reason, Tatara. Shisui has the potential of being more loyal to the village? Make him stay then. Chain him to The Clan."

"And if Itachi is influenced by him?" Tatara's stomach churns at the thought; Itachi, the son of the Clan Head, becoming more infatuated to the village more than The Clan? She hates the audacity, the lack of gratitude, the betrayal. The gods will mourn and will rage.

Tsujirou bares his teeth. "Then he never becomes the Clan Head. He will be isolated, mocked, and everyone will be betrayed by his mere presence." He shrugs eventually. "The day that will happen though is the day the skies fall! A traitorous Clan Head? Or an heir? That sounds like a fairy tale!"

As if Uchiha Madara is a fairy tale, Tatara thinks.

"Shisui is a whole different story though," Tsujirou sighs in anticipation, "The Clan cannot afford to lose him unlike those village-worshipping sons of a bitch━━"

"Tsujirou."

"Uchiha Kagami was powerful, yes, but he had his loyalties to the different side. The rumors are laughable, really! No one can know the truth; they say Kagami rushed to be married to make it not look like he was so head-over-heels in love for that prejudiced Hokage. Some say Kagami was only being like that to Tobirama because he was infatuated by a Senju so he wanted to impress the Hokage. There are too many rumors that made him and all end the same way," Tsujirou glances at the pictures framing the table behind him, "Uchiha Kagami's wife, the beautiful and kind Nakaha, died lonely and pitied by The Clan, left with an untalented and unmotivated son, left widowed when Kagami dies at twenty-five. The stories about her son not being hers does not make it better, don't you think?"

Tsujirou smiles, all fangs and mockery. "And you wonder why they keep Shisui so close."

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THOSE WHO WILL BE SENT TO THE FRONTLINES ARE PUT IN A ROTATION. Many shinobi are still in the village and if Tatara's assumptions that they are not the only Genin Team that will be fighting against Kumo, then there will be more shinobi in the rotation. Team Fugaku is part of the third rotation and much to their displeasure, their own Jounin Instructor will not be joining them in the frontlines. Instead, they receive an Jōnin from the Aburame Clan who looks like every other Aburame Tatara has seen. And they say all Uchiha look alike? Those civilians surely have never seen the members of the Aburame Clan who even she has a hard time differentiating.

Aburame Shishiro is tall and his build is nearly indecipherable with how his thick clothes hover his stature but Tatara considers that he is a Jounin, not just a Tokujō, and decides that maybe, he will fit well in a team like theirs. That does not mean she is not annoyed with how Fugaku will not be joining them. She understands that Clan Heads rarely fight in the frontlines given that they have other more pressing things to deal with but suddenly putting an Aburame who they know nothing of in their team as a replacement? If she does not know better, she would have had thought the Hokage really wanted them all dead.

With a single sweep of the crowd, her Sharingan flashing for a moment, she recognizes a few familiar faces ━━ Akimichi Chouza, the recently-elected Head of the Akimichi Clan after his grandfather finally succumbed to his illness (Tatara rolls her eyes; everybody had been waiting impatiently for that old man to die), is not part of the Third Batch despite his Genin Team being in the vicinity. Tatara has no idea what their names are but she does recognize the green-clad boy older than her by a few years. The son of the Eternal Genin, even Tatara has heard of him.

Koichi snickers from beside her, as if reading her thoughts. "He looks exactly like his father," he comments.

Tatara debates whether or not to ignore Koichi. He, after all, is keeping secrets from their team even though they have given them everything they did not offer to any other outsider ━━ does he even trust them? Tatara is tempted to throttle Koichi then and there but arguments before battles are highly discouraged. Nobody knows who will die in the battlefield and it is better to remain in good terms with your teammates for as long as possible. With a huff, Tatara surpresses her annoyance: "You are acquainted with them?" She asks.

"Nope," Koichi shrugs.

"Who would not know Maito Dai and his son?" Tekka scoffs and crosses his arms. "They scream first thing in the morning about ... youth."

For the first time since he introduced himself, Aburame Shishiro speaks. "And yet that man you call the Eternal Genin and his son can individually beat you to the ground before you can lift a finger," he adds.

Koichi raises an eyebrow with a placating smile. Tatara has never seen that kind of look on Koichi when addressing someone far more superior than them. She surrenders to her instincts and elbows the blond Yamanaka sharply. "Ow!" He whines and Tatara hides her triumphant smile. "But Shishiro-san, we weren't really mocking them, you know ━━ I heard Maito Gai is on par with Hatake Kakashi in terms of Taijutsu."

Shishiro nods. "Perhaps, even more."

An indignant expression flashes in Koichi's face, eyes wide in both disbelief and amusement. "Are we talking about the same Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi? Kakashi-senpai, is, well, the genius of all geniuses! Maito Gai is a second generation shinobi, and not to mention, I heard he flunked the Academy entrance exam, of all things," he counters.

"And Namikaze Minato is a first generation shinobi who entered the Academy at nine years old and graduated at twelve," Shishiro turns his head to meet Koichi's determined gaze but Tekka and Tatara doubt Koichi can see what is happening beyond those dark glasses, "the Sannin Jiraiya was known as the dead last back when he was in the Academy. Failure does not mean defeat."

"Oh?" Koichi's grin widens. "That sounds catchy. Who said that?"

"I don't know."

Tatara scowls. Aburame Shishiro. Not in the Bingo Books but a relatively known Jounin within the Village. He appears to be the first or second cousin of the Clan Head and has an older brother who Tatara does not see or hear much of. He specializes in the same field as them; infiltration, illusionary techniques, and such. He can hold well on his own in the frontlines considering that he is a Jounin but not in the flashy way Uchiha Fugaku ━━ known throughout the Shinobi Nations as 'Wicked Eye Fugaku' because of not only his prowess with Fire Ninjutsu but also with the nasty Sharingan he has; as if he's reading your mind, they say ━━ but Tatara supposes Shishiro has his own strengths.

She knows little to nothing about kikaichū as the clans are very secretive about their techniques but her grandfather spoke of an Aburame he was new and described his kikaichū as 'irritating and pesky bugs' which Tatara takes as a compliment to the Aburame Clan. Not many can ruffle Takobu's feathers so much.

She feels a hand on her shoulder and she almost grabs the owner by the arm but relaxes when she realizes it is just Tekka. Relax, he seems to tell her before looking back to their instructor. "Shishiro-san, how many batches will be deployed?" He asks.

"Six," Shishiro answers.

Tekka frowns. "Excuse me if I am wrong but there are no for the battle to take place in. I highly doubt we will be fighting in the Land of Frost because if so, we will be in a disadvantage, Shishiro-san. Are we going to fight in..." He trails off, his furrowed eyebrows obviously not liking the insuation.

"The Land of Hot Water," Tatara grumbles, "we will be trampling over a country with a Hidden Village... or, have we already?"

Before Shishiro can answer their question, an awfully familiar laugh interrupts them. "Sorry about my little cousins, Shishiro! They're kinda nosy, aren't they?" Tatara sees Tekka's frown deepen at the arrival of an Uchiha ━━ complete with the high-collared black shirt, dark features and porcelein skin. The only thing out of place about his appearance is the wide grin that resembles Koichi's, or anyone born from a civilian family. "I've always wanted to meet Takobu-sama's golden child. Oh, we also have Gorosa-san's pride and joy over here. How's your four younger siblings, Tekka-kun?"

"They're doing great, Makio-san," Tekka manages to say despite the annoyance radiating off of him.

Koichi leans towards Tatara, green eyes looking curiously at Tekka and the newly-arrived Uchiha Makio. "Is he some big time Uchiha, or something?"

The look Tatara sends Koichi conveys enough disgust for him to shut his mouth. "Makio-san is in a complex situation with the Elders. He has an Inuzuka lover, if the rumors are true," she says.

"What."

"I said, he has━━"

"No, no, I know! But ━━ but Uchihas actually marry out of The Clan?"

"Are you that mentally handicapped, you absolute idiot?"

Koichi blushes. "Hey! It was an actual question!"

Tatara scoffs. "Of course we do," she hisses, "I'm sure you have seen the brown-eyed Uchihas when you visit the District."

"Oh ━━ so the ones with black eyes have Uchiha parents?"

"Sometimes. But ━━ but may we focus more at the task at hand, Koichi? We are about to fight Kumo," Tatara scolds in irritation.

Makio laughs openly at their banter. He slings an arm around Shishiro's shoulders and Tatara sees the obvious discomfort of their temporary Jounin Instructor. "Aren't they just so cute, Shiro-chan? Reminds you a bit of the team, doesn't it? There's the grumpy Shiro━━" He points at Tatara. "━━the stupid Makkun, which is me, by the way━━" Then to Koichi. "━━and there's Aga-chan whose the cool one! Is this how Genin Teams always work, Shiro? Reminds you of that Team Seven curse, don't you think?"

Koichi looks at Makio in curiosity. "Team Seven curse?" He gapes.

Tatara would have thought that Makio is an Inuzuka with how fierce and wild his smile is. "Team Seven, you know? There's the Sandaime who's the happy-go-lucky one, Utatane Koharu the medic, and Mitokado Homura the stuck-up. Then Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, and Orochimaru-sama. Our dead last cousin, their medic, and Hatake Kakashi ━━ sounds familiar?"

"Woah," Koichi's eyes widen.

"And do you know what they say about them?"

"What?"

"Makio," Shishiro warns.

Said Uchiha raises his hands in surrender. "It's just a rumor, Shiro. No need to be so pissy," he pouts.

"Makio-san! Your language," Tatara unconsciously says.

Tekka sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Please, Makio-san, not now," his exhaustion is evident in his tone, "we are about to go to the frontlines and no one has time for petty rumors. You will only get in more trouble with the Elders if they find out about you fooling around."

Makio rolls his eyes and puts his hands behind his head. Tatara clicks her tongue at his brazen mannerisms. "Even the younger ones are stuck-up now? Whatever happened to the Will of Fire in the Uchiha Clan?" He dramatically asks to the wind. "Well, I don't really care. Clan loyalist or not, all of us end up the same, don't you think?"

Is he being serious right now? Tatara demands in her mind, catching his heavy insuation that he is everything but a 'clan loyalist' as he likes to put it, and in front of a close cousin to the Clan Head's Wife and the granddaughter of an Elder, no less.

Koichi is bristling beside her, his wonder towards Makio completely gone. "What?" He asks.

"Oh, Yamanaka-kun━━"

"I'm not━━"

"━━in The Clan, whether you love the treasure the woods more than the fire, you still end up burnt."

(The historical records hidden in the Naka Shrine [only accessible to members of the Uchiha Clan who are, if shinobi, Chuunin and above and if civilian, at least under an apprenticeship] say as follow; "The Fifth Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan since Konohagakure no Sato's birth, Uchiha Tatara of the Heat Haze, first encountered the 'Village Loyalists' in the form of Uchiha Makio [born on the Eleventh Year of the Sandaime's Reign, died on the Thirtieth Year of His Reign] and was verbally mocked in front of the Seventh Konoha Military Police Force Chief, Uchiha Tekka and their teammate, Jounin Yamanaka Koichi.

This stemmed the beginning of the Fifth Clan Head and the root of Her name that spread throughout the Shinobi Nations. Kagerou ━━ they will call her; second coming of Gouka no Takobu, they will fear. Thirty years of the Sandaime Hokage's reign and three years before the Yondaime's, the Fifth Clan Head [Uchiha Tatara, second of her name, daughter to Uchiha Tadoku of the Fire Tower and Daydreamer Uchiha Tatsume, granddaughter to Uchiha Takobu of the Hellfire, the Heat Haze, the Nightmare, the Red-Eyed, the Morning Glory] experiences her first official battle in the frontlines against Kumogakure no Sato.

We were not needed there, the Fifth Clan Head said, the Yellow Flash had debuted the same day I did. There was no need for mere Genin wishing to prove themselves when there was a man who would fight the soon-to-be Yondaime Raikage and the Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi and leave triumphant.

Regardless of her humble words and praise to the Yondaime Hokage, it was claimed by her peers that it was the battle against Kumogakure no Sato and witnessing the trampling of Yugakure no Sato, that the Fifth Clan Head was first taken note of by enemy-nin. The first among the many terrors she will be known for. In the same year did Uchiha Makio pass away, leaving the first offspring to be born of an Uchiha and an Inuzuka, another first accomplishment for the Honorable Clan Head as the Uchiha Clan won the custody for Uchiha Inuoka against the Inuzuka Clan with the help of her and more honorable members of The Clan.

All are as stated and recorded by the Acting Fifth Clan Head from the Second Year to the Tenth Year of the Yondaime's Reign, Uchiha Kuboshike.")

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━━ i like it when i mix numbers in my descriptions and i'm shit at math. lots of subtracting and adding happened in the last part and i personally like makio and what he represents. change. realization. i like making tatara suffer and constantly feel threatened by her clan members of all people. yes, i'm a bully. koichi is still going through things and won't tell a single thing to his teammates. tatara hates that. tekka hates that. fugaku tells them to be patient but what can he do about tatara's bitter reaction when he's suddenly replaced by temporary jounin instructor, aburama shishiro. the tidbit about shisui's background? well. tatara has no idea who to believe and which rumor to believe; was kagami just in love with tobirama? nobody knows. maybe the elders do. the last parts have many clues of what's to come and absolutely no typos or mistakes were made in the last part of kuboshike's entry. so, that's all. thank you. and what the fuck? we're on chapter 14 already? it's scary to think we're not even halfway into the plot and lots of things are still going to happen. the battle in kumo is probably going to last five more chapters at most and two more at least so oof. i should have warned that this is slow build as fuck.