To forget the name of someone who had made as big of an impression on me as Tengen Uzui, was damn near literally impossible. Think about the most embarrassing distressing thing you've ever witnessed. Once you've got it, multiply the confusion by about 10 and then you've got how I've felt.

Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit but, you get the point. There was no forgetting my first interaction with the white-haired shinobi, Tengen.

And it's not like I minded his attitude much. I have a feeling there's more to him than that. And I was determined to find out what more there was. What can I say? For a 12-year-old who has no place to go, nearly anything can become interesting. Tengen and his family were quite interesting to me and very much different from my own. Besides, I was living in his house, courtesy of the fact that Tengan-Sensei still couldn't figure out how to:

1. Recapture his old house from the demons

Or

2. Find a new one

Thankfully, Sensei had a good relationship with Tengen's old man. Not to mention, his father also deemed Sensei as respectable enough for him to allow the addition of four more mischievous children, that weren't even Tengan-sensei's, to his already quite large litter of his own. But Sensei had made it clear that it wasn't out of the kindness of the old man's heart that we could still all stay here. So I made sure to stay out of his way and not be too much of a burden. If I needed anything, I'd ask Tengan-sensei.

Other than that, I had gotten into a habit of walking every day with my brothers to get me back on my feet and keep my health up. There were a couple of times when I would invite Tengen to come along with us, to take a break. Sometimes it would work other times it wouldn't. For example, when I came back this time, Tengen was sitting on the porch steps with the same bored facial expression. Just a few feet away, a few of his siblings were cleaning up after seemingly having finished with another day of rigorous and relentless training with their father who at the moment, was scowling with such reproach there was no way I could've possibly met eyes with him. Now I understand what people meant when they say "if looks could kill."

I'm being serious, if looks could kill I'd be dead by now.

I redirected my attention to Uzui. With his hands behind him, palms flush against the steps for support, Uzui tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. There was an oddly depressing cloud surrounding him this time. So I stayed at a safe distance. Namely, to avoid his ridicule.

I looked over at my brothers and my sister Kaida. They only shrugged, while Ryuichi crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Even still, I took the opportunity to smile and greet him joyously, "Hey there Tengen!—"

 He cut me off, "For how long do you plan on being a leech and living off my father's home?"

Given the amount of time that we had to live here, we were used to his attitude.

Ryuichi took a step forward. "Excuse you?!"

Well, everyone except Ryu.

Tengen scoffed, and I gently placed a hand on Ryuichi's arm before he could have taken any further steps to destroy the boy.

"Sheesh Ryu, relax," They both turned and looked at me then at each other. For a moment, there was a tingle of anger between them. Then, slowly, the animosity died.

I sighed in relief.

"... Whatever." Tengen looked away and scoffed again, "What do you wish to bother me with now Saito-san?"

It was only now that I came to recognize the reason for the dark cloud around him. It was in his tone. His voice lacked the same energy, the same strength, and cockiness, and I immediately figured out what happened. I think Yuu and Ryuichi could tell as well because it was clear in the boy's tone that he was acting a bit strange. So when Ryuichi noticed that, I could feel that he lost all his anger and stepped back.

Another one of Tengen's siblings had died in training today.

I was sure that was it. I had seen the impact it had on him before and he reacted in the same way. I had seen for myself the way his face would turn sour. The way his father would force them to continue with training regardless of how they would drop like flies one after the other. And now that I was looking at him directly in his eyes, there was no denying that what I thought was true.

Now, I wouldn't bring it up. I would simply do what I could to cheer him up. And even though I had to work on understanding him, I did make friends with him. Even though he teases the heck out of me. Strangely enough, I'd much rather his cocky condescending self be happy. And I like making people happy. And quite frankly I'm pretty good at it.

I sat next to Tengen and was still somewhat shocked when he didn't move away from me. I took this as a sign that he was willing to listen and wouldn't be mean or cut me off. I was overjoyed and also relieved by his apparent cooperation with me. With this confirmation, I decided to tell him a story... Don't judge me.

"I don't wanna bother you with anything"

He raised an eyebrow at me, "You sure about that?"

"Yes I'm sure," he rolled his eyes at me, "I just want to tell you a story."

Then he groaned. "Is this one of your elaborate yet unsurprisingly plain make-me-wanna-fall asleep stories?"

I gasped, "My stories are sooo not boring!"

"Are you kidding me... they are so very boring," he replied dryly.

"Fine then, would you rather Ryu tell the story?" I teased and Ryu frowned, feeling a bit insulted.

"Oh, Gods no... "

"Good. Then I will tell the story. And Yuu?" my brother turned his head in the direction he heard me speak. "If you wanna pitch in you can." Yuu nodded.

Tengen placed his chin in his hand and looked at me expectedly. I took that as the cue to start telling the story.

"Okay..." I started, "Once upon a time... "

"There were 4 pestilent children," a voice interjected.

Jerking at the sound, I went stiff for a brief moment before my brain registered the familiar tone. I promptly shot up to my feet and turned around, stumbling a few steps away after the sharp surge of shock. My hands dropped to my sides and my mouth shut. I would hear the slight creaking of wood under the weight of the man as he walked along the porch long before I would look up.

"Tengen." a man's voice spoke, "Why are you not with your brothers?"

Now, Tengen was still and sat across from me on the porch. He too refused to move, speak, or lookup. Holding my breath I listened intently to his every move. The moments of brief pause. The creak of the floor and a shadow from a cloud abruptly rushed in to block the sunlight. The question was rhetorical and it was clear he wasn't expecting an answer from him.

As long as I remained calm, he wouldn't bother me. I hoped. I had done everything that I needed to do and was expected to do when I stayed here. My brothers did the same. Either way, I just needed to stay calm and be quiet.

The abrupt creak of another floorboard rang in my ears, and I sharply looked up. The man glared down at me and my siblings. His white hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and looked relatively tight. I honestly wondered if that was a reason why he was always so cruel and cold. Maybe he'd be nicer if his ponytail wasn't in so tight.

I almost snickered at the thought, but I quickly stopped myself for fear of being caught.

"I seriously wonder if you're more demon that you are human." I managed to hear Tengen mumble under his breath.

"What did you just say boy?" his father asked.

"Nothing father."

I felt a laugh bubble up in my throat because I was quite sure that the elder shinobi had heard very well what his son said. He had just chosen not to let it bother him. Or if it did, he had made a mental note to punish him thoroughly later. Even still, Tengen didn't seem to care much.

"You four still don't seem to understand." he stepped down the stairs and slowly made his way over to us, "You are dependant on me. You're lucky I let you stay here for so long."

I looked down and from the corner of my eye watched Ryuichi ball his hands into fists.

"It's utterly frustrating that I have to keep reminding you insolent brats of the rules while you are to be under my roof."

"Man he's an ass," Ryuichi muttered causing the attention to be shifted directly over to him. To be honest I wasn't very shocked at all Ryu was moved to say something. I still froze, waiting for the response.

"Would you like to repeat that?" the way he said the question sounded more like a command that he was expecting a response to. However, Ryuichi kept his mouth shut and he just watched the man. I watched the calculating rage that burned in his eyes. In the back of his mind, he was probably thinking of all the ways that he could make Ryuichi regret what he said. Somehow I found comfort in the fact that Ryuichi could take whatever the old man would give him.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get a rise out of my hot-headed brother he turned away and dropped it. Or so I thought.

A second later he turned around and reeled his hand back. He backhand slapped Ryuichi and my brother stumbled backward but didn't fall.

"Ryu!" Kaida cried and Uzui shot up to his feet in shock.

I whipped my head over to look at the man, "What did you do that for?!"

He only looked at me. I felt myself shaking in anger.

That was the last time that he would abuse anyone like this.

"You know what?!" he turned his back on me, "You're a real jerk! A real piece of work." I yelled In anger.

"Who do you think you're talki—"

"You, asshole!" Ryuichi interjected.

"You think that you're raising strong shinobi like yourself? The boys you're raising" I thought about the body of one of the brothers that lay on the floor a few hours ago, "Or at least what's left of em, won't even be half the man that you think you are! Stop forcing them to do more than their bodies can handle! You're killing these boys! You think that they're just weak, but they're not! They're stronger than you'll ever be! And I'll support them in every way possible against demonic, inhumane people like you," Tengen's father stared at me in shock.

"You little..." he started towards me and it was only now that his hand was on his sword which was held at his waist.

My eyes widened in shock and I stepped back just in time for Yuu to step in and intercept the blow that would have done more than just trim my hair.

"You attack my family, I attack you..." said Yuu lightly. I slowly looked over at Yuu and I saw the gentle deadly flame that flickered in his eyes that dared the man to fight him.

"You know that if you kill us, Tengan-Sensei will be after you..." Yuu tilted his head to the side, "Do you want to risk that?"

"You've got mighty big balls to step up to me boy." the man replied lowly.

Ryuichi stood on the other side of the man entrapping him with our bodies,

"I know..." Ryuichi said, "And I don't mind standing up against any asshole who wants to underestimate me and my family."

"And treats their own family like animals."

I watched the man's eyes and the anger that he once held left him. He slowly dropped his hand from the grip of his sword. I heard the sound of footsteps and the rustling of grass in the wind. Before I could have turned to look at who it was Kaida said,

"Sensei!"

"Kids!" Masakage called with a hint of laughter in his voice. Even though Sensei didn't make it clear that he saw what happened between us and Tengen's father. There was no way that he didn't see it.

Tengan-sensei only walked towards us and clapped a hand to the man's shoulder. With a tender smile, he said,

"I got some news." the man frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me." 

Tengan-sensei grinned, "I got a house!"

My eyes widened in shock. Was he serious? Would Tengan-sensei be able to train us like he said he would? I grew extremely excited at the idea. Also at the thought of not having to deal with Tengen's father anymore. But then I thought for a moment. If we leave, how would I be able to spend time with Tengen and his brother's like I used to? I had managed to befriend several people in Tengen's ninja clan and I had grown quite comfortable. What would happen once we left?

"R-really?!" I said

"Sensei, that's great!" said Yuu.

The shinobi smiled wider, but it faded only when he turned to face Tengen's father saying, "Now," he began, "I need to talk to you a moment about it."

The two men turned and started walking, but before they could leave I ran up to Tengan-sensei and tugged his haori.

"Sensei... I'm glad you found a new house... but..." I looked over at my young shinobi friend, lowering my voice so only Tengan-sensei could hear. "What about Tengen-san and his brother's... We can't train and play as we used to if we leave..." 

Sensei paused and dropped his hands to his sides. Then he placed a hand on my head and offered me a smile. Tengen's father looked over at his son, then over at Tengan-sensei. He opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped when his son stepped up and said,

"Father, I want to request the opportunity to go over to their house from time to time."

Tengen's father groaned. He muttered something under his breath that I couldn't hear. But I dismissed it. It was probably something about how stupid his son could be for wanting to do that.

"You are going nowhere. You are to stay here and undergo your training. You think that just because a new set of kids your age strolls around suddenly life is different?!"

Sensei gave Tengen's father a sharp pat on the back. The man whipped his head around to look at the dark-haired former shinobi with a scathing glare, but he shocked me when he held his mouth shut. The two of them walked off, immediately after and entered the house leaving my brothers, my sister Kaida, Tengen, his siblings, and myself outside.

I dropped to the ground and let go of the breath that I didn't realize I was holding.

"Man, that was scary..." I said with a sigh of relief. Tengen had already begun walking towards me, but I had only looked up when I saw his shadow over me.

His expression when I looked back at him was unreadable, but after a moment of staring at each other he said, "Huh... you're something else aren't you..." I looked up at him and blinked my eyes twice.

"No one has ever stepped up to me father the way you have." Then he grinned a bit, turning his face away to look off to the side. His cheeks were dusted with a faint pink as he continued, "I think, I'll have to reconsider how I think of you." 

"H-huh?"

Tengen looked at me and smiled. "You really are something else."

"Th-thanks..." my face flushed in embarrassment, "I... I only did what I thought was right. I... I don't like it when people aren't being treated like...well... people..."

Tengen only laughed, and I realized that it was the first time the whole day that I saw him smile.

"I've also noticed that I could say nearly anything about you or to you and you'd still not take me on. It's truly interesting." 

I thought for a moment about what he said and thought. Why is that? I refused to take it from his father. But from Tengen it's like it doesn't matter. I guess, regardless of his huge ego, it's almost like a guard to protect himself against the abuse of his father. Whatever it was. His attitude never bothered me. Actually, it was a bit charming.

So, Tengen just turned around and walked towards the steps of his house again. I didn't say anything. I just watched him. Suddenly, my brother, Ryuichi started to laugh, and I looked over at him in confusion. He looked over at Yuu and I then over at Tengen. He said,

"Hey... ya'll wanna do somethin fun?" I tilted my head in confusion and we looked at him.

"What's that?" Yuu asked.

"Let's eavesdrop on em." Ryuichi grinned.

Tengen looked over at me and my brother who was sure in his plan to spy on the two men's conversation. We had nothing else to do so we all looked at each other, smiled deviously, and devised a plan. We also pulled in the few of Tengen's siblings together that wanted to spy on them too. We waited till the sun went down and we all stood by the door where they often talked and waited to listen in to their conversation.

--No one's POV--

"You don't understand. This is the most time this boy has spend with a girl." Tengen's father was furious and not willing to hear a word of what his old friend was saying to him.

"Wait..." Masakage laughed nervously, "You think... y-you think he likes her? You worried that he'll..." Tengen's father put up his hand and Masakage paused.

"All I'm saying is that he spends too much time with her and I can't have that." he looked off to the side, lifted his cup, turned it in his hand and watched the water slosh around, "I need him to marry girls from his clan... respectable girls, who are skilled, raised in the culture, and know their place." He then scoffed, "And why should you care to the two of them? She's not even your daughter." 

Masakage opened his mouth to speak but was promptly talked over, "What's more is those boys of his who should be married off by now at their age. It's so sad how they don't even know the true culture of who they're..."

"Listen..." Masakage grabbed the man's arm and turned him. The act sharply forcing the man to face his friend dead on, "Ryuji and the Saito-Kazurai Clan is dead!"

"Please don't forget that. I took these kids in and I'm going to train them!"

There was silence, then, "I have to...I made a promise...To him...to them... and myself." he paused again and this time the man standing before Masakage said nothing and let him speak, "These kids aren't' who you think they are. You need to just give them a chance, and if you respect me then you will understand, and keep your mouth shut." 

Tengen's father crossed his arms leaning back in his chair, but the former shinobi did not stop talking,  "And if you won't you ain't got to. I got a home now and I'll get out your hair. Look, I'm just saying. I don't want to overstep. We've always been friends, and I don't mean to disregard what you're saying. I thank you greatly for letting us stay here for as long as we did and I'm sure the kids are too."

Tengen's father frowned at Masakage. For a moment he was silent, glaring at the man standing across from him as he pondered his options. There were a lot of things that he had on his mind. Most of which he chose not to say. Masakage expected the man to give him trouble, to say all kinds of unwarranted things about his long dead shinobi clan, the kids and their parents, but Tengen's father shocked him when he said through grit teeth,

"Fine. He can go... Just make sure that he returns here... Every night..." then he said lowly, "I don't need him courting unworthy wives..."

Masakage shook his head, "Whatever floats yer boat, man." he clenched his jaw so tight he could break teeth, "I don't know where yer going with this, but do whatever makes you happy. Not everything has to do with the survival of the clan okay? Sometimes you gotta learn to let things go. You worry about it so much you'll drive your own clan into the ground before you know it. So don't even try to begin to regret your decisions when these kids that you call leeches are the next Hashira and kickin' ass better than