🎐

Shinobi no Sekai, Sunagakure, Mt. Myōboku
(Shinobi World, Village Hidden in the Sand: Sunagakure)

"The meeting shall now commence."

Pain looked around the meeting room. Some members were physically present, while others were only holograms. The leader of the Akatsuki's stopped, seeing a certain Uchiha's seat noticeably empty.

"Where is Kazumi?" He asked, no one replied, it seems everyone was asking themselves the same question. Kazumi was not only a huge asset to the Akatsuki's plans, he was also one of the members that everyone seemed to get along with.

"The last time I saw him was the morning before he left for his mission..." Itachi said quietly, he was never really one to speak first. But if Kazumi was involved, Itachi couldn't just sit by idly.

"Hn. His mission was to capture an Jinjuriki right? Did anyone see him come back to base?" Deidara snapped, other than Itachi, Deidara was Kazumi's friend. He and Kazumi were fast friends, he liked the blondie's sculptures, and was the only one who thought the mouths on his hands were cool. 'Dei' as Kazumi called him, was already anxious. The two would send little letters and trinkets to each other by Kazumi's ravens and Deidara's clay bird. It had already been over a week since he'd sent his last letter.

"The 8 Tails Jinchūriki host was never delivered. So Kazumi has failed his mission—"

"Sasori, shut the fuck up. Kazumi has never failed a mission. He always completes every single one," Deidara interjected, angry at Sasori's accusation.

"Tobi...Tobi misses Kazumiiiiiiii!" He cried crocodile tears as he whined like a child.

"Deidara is right. Kazumi is perfectly capable of defeating the 8 tails," Konan's even voice cut through the chatter and arguments, everyone went quiet. She rarely spoke.

"Maybe he died somewhere. Or he's a traitor and he sold us out to the Leaf—"

"Kisame. Do not cross the line," Kisame's eyes widened with his partner's tone of voice. He'd never seen Itachi make such a terrifying face before. His sharingan was activated, even through a hologram, it gave him the creeps.

"If I may, I believe I know where Kazumi is," Zetsu interjected.

"...?"

"I...happened to be in the area. I witnessed something peculiar happen to Kazumi. He was fighting the eight tas with ease, he was just about to finish up when Uchiha Sasuke showed up. Kazumi was careless and sustained a few injuries, but it became a three-way battle between the Uchihas and the Jinchūriki."

"But all of a sudden there was this...black mist that enveloped around him and he disappeared into thin air."

Everyone was silent.

Except Deidara, he was seething.

Lunging at him, Deidara and Zetsu happened to be one of the few who were actually present in the meeting room. He grabbed Zetsu's collar with surprising force.

"Deidara—"

"And you didn't even think to report this back to us?"

"Deidara, stand down."

He slunk back to his seat, still shaking with anger.

"Apologies, I didn't think you'd all be so...affected by his absence," Zetsu merely shrugged, unaffected. "And I just thought it was some new ability that he awakened."

"When was this?"

"Two weeks or so ago. Haven't seen him since he fell through."

"What, hold on a second. Did you just say he "fell through?" Tobi asked, he seemed serious for once. Zetsu nodded, once again nonchalant.

"This is truly...troubling. Although it is unfortunate, we cannot halt our plans right now. Continue with your missions, but keep an eye out for any signs of Kazumi."

There were a lot of responses from the various members. Their moods were all dampened with the news of their missing member.

"For Jashin's sake, why'd Kaz have to go missing? We promised we were gonna sacrifice some jerks together today," Hidan whined, stomping his feet with his scythe in his hand.

"...He still has my lucky puppet..."

"I still owe him a shopping spree and half my limbs..."

It was safe to say that, they all missed Kazumi, in their own unique ways, that is. As the meeting ended and their holograms faded, Itachi still sat on the rock, a ways away from his partner, Kisame.

He coughed into his hand wetly, the taste of blood lingered on his tongue when he pulls his hand back, filled with dark, red crimson.

I'm running out of time.

Please be safe. Kazumi.

🎐

Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen

"Ah, Naruto. The usual?" Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku's greets the bright-eyes blonde with his usual grin, already preparing the noodles for the next batch.

"The usual! Guys, order already!" He whined, motioning for the others to sit down at the small stall. His little entourage was the original Ninja Academy group, with the exception of Sai, of course.

Shikamaru sighed, he'd just wanted to stay home, but of course, Ino had wanted this little reunion (it wasn't, they saw each other around nearly everyday). Choji and the Hyugas were visibly missing, probably busy with clan duties. Kiba was playing with his dog, as usual. Sakura was...well bickering with Ino-pig. Their mentors had all gone somewhere else, probably to smoke and drink or both.

The food arrived quickly, Teuchi had whipped up each and everyone's meals in a flash. Stuffing his face, Naruto was nearly done with his first bowl.

"Its been...almost five years, huh?" Shikamaru pondered out loud. Everyone paused their slurping to look at him, silence hung in the air, they didn't need to ask or clarify to know what the Nara was talking about.

"Yeah. 5 years since...Kazumi," Naruto said, his voice barely a whisper.

Sai stopped. He'd heard of a Sasuke, but never a Kazumi. Just who was this guy anyway?

"Who's...Kazumi?" He asked. He would have to choose his words carefully. Sakura's eyes turned sad and Ino looked close to crying. Shikamaru and Kiba both looked away, avoiding the question like their life depended on it.

"He is...he was a friend. A friend of ours—"

"Stop it, Naruto. He's no longer our friend," Ino had started crying right there and then, hiding her face in the palm of her hands, she sputtered out, each syllable thick with emotions.

"H-He's the reason Sasuke left the village...he's the reason Kaoru's dead. He killed him!" She sobbed freely, her outburst growing by the second.

"Stop defending him already, he's a monster—!"

"Ino, stop it," Shikamaru's voice shook as he tried to maintain its stern tone.

"Shut up. You know it's true just as much as I do. You just won't admit it! None of you will!" She rushed away, Sakura hot on her heels as she called out to her friend.

Naruto only sighs.

"She really loved Kaoru, tte ne?" Naruto said, watching her run off sadly.

"We all did. Kazumi too."

"I used to think it was just a childhood crush. But I guess...she just can't let go of him," Shikamaru explained.

"Just like how Neji can't really let go of Kazumi either. I'm pretty sure he's still waiting for him to come back...You too, Shikamaru. You still believe in him, don't you?" Kiba said, petting Akamaru gently. It wasn't a secret that the Nara was close to Kazumi, they were always together, watching clouds, eating snacks, the two were almost inseparable, their personalities just clicked.

"No. I let go of him a long time ago, Kiba."

That was a lie. They both knew it was.

Sai, however, was deep in thought.

Kazumi...Kaoru. Weren't those the twin Uchihas that Lord Danzo was after? If I remember correctly...Lord Danzo was the one who ordered their parents, Uchiha Hae and Kagami assassinated. He also killed Kaoru and Shisui...and then staged their deaths to the Hokage.

Isn't Kazumi...innocent then?

But they don't seem to know that.

He watched as Naruto clenched his fists so hard, that he broke the skin, he looked at Shikamaru as he stared at the sky sadly, Sai watched as Kiba hung his head, burying his face into his dog's belly. He remembered Ino's sobs and Sakura's glossy eyes and trembling lips.

Isn't Kazumi just a scapegoat then? Isn't he...

...good?

🎐

Kazumi had no idea how Izuku was progressing. He would if the clone training the boy was dispelled, but he was pretty damn sure Izuku didn't have what it takes to do that. Not yet anyway.

After Touya had broken the news to him, Kazumi had gone home, he had to sneak into his window for god's sake.

He thought of what to do next.

Dabi had told him that the guy from his world was currently his boss, "All for One"'s right-hand man. He thought long and hard about who it could be.

From what Touya had told him, it was a man, someone no one's seen yet. So he'd have to sherlock holmes this shit.

Kazumi doubted it would be Naruto or his friends, why would they team up with a villain? Not only that, Touya had specifically said it was a grown man, not a boy.

So that ruled out any normal Shinobi.

Of course, there were the Akatsuki members, but he quickly ruled out that possibility. All of the members of the Akatsuki were prideful individuals, they would never just be "the right hand" of just any guy. It didn't matter how strong this All for One guy was, even though Pain was the leader of their organization, no one was his servant. Everyone was equal, that's what Kazumi liked about the Akatsuki.

So it wasn't the Akatsuki. Who would stoop so low? Who was sly enough and willing to swallow their pride just to follow their plans?

Only two men came to mind.

The heartless abomination, Danzo Shimura...

and that sly bastard Orochimaru.

🎐

His plans of "uncovering the bastard", what Kazumi had called it, were cut short when Aizawa dragged him to school. He didn't even have the chance to argue, because apparently, wherever Aizawa went, Kazumi went too. Scowling the entire way, Kazumi sulked. This was the last place he wanted to be at right now, he didn't have the time to babysit.

But here he was, sitting at the back of the bus, headed for this Summer Camp they talked so much about. Kazumi had taken more than enough pills to help with his motion sickness, but it just made him groggy and cranky. Next to him was Bakugou Katsuki, they were both donning a scowl on their faces, glaring at absolutely nothing. The others found it very amusing, snapping photos left and right.

The bus was filled with quiet chatter, here and there. Lunch was passed out, it was a classy bento, made by yours truly, Lunchrush.

"Katsuki, can you pass me the chopsticks? Thanks."

"A FIRST NAME BASIS ALREADY? BAKUGOU, TELL ME YOUR TRICKS!"

"Yeah man...give your bro a chance with the manly guy, please..."

"Nah, give the Pikachu a chance bro."

"PINKY, SHITTY-HAIR, DUNCE-FACE, SHUT THE FU-"

As the four were bickering over who had the best chance with Kazumi, they didn't realize someone else had already beaten them to it.

"Oh, thank you, Shoto. Seems like you already know so much about me, especially after our first time—"

The class went silent, jaws dropping onto the floor.

"-training together."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Kazumi-san, you should really learn better timing..." Attempting to change the subject, Midoriya turned his attention back to Kazumi who was stuffing his cheeks with rice.

"So u-um....Kazumi-san! Me and some others, w-we just couldn't help but notice that you seem a little more...m-mature than us? So how old are you exactly?" The rest of the class perked up at this, it was true. They all thought he felt somehow a little older than all of them.

"I'm seventeen. So you thought correctly. I am older than you," Kazumi said, munching on his food happily. If there was one thing in the entire world that could calm him down, it would be good food.

"Seventeen? Shouldn't you at least be a sophomore or junior then? How come you're with us?" Jirou asked, twirling her earphone jacks out of habit.

"Well I mean, I'm not exactly a student. I'm only in your class so Aizawa can keep an eye on me."

Not that that's working well in his favor anyway.

"By the way, Kazumi! You're super manly, so I gotta ask who's your favorite in the class right now?" Kirishima asked, beaming happily. His teeth reminded Kazumi of Kisame's pointy shark teeth.

"Hn. Katsuki," He said, pointing to the male beside him who exploded into a tomato. The class watched, bewildered. People usually stayed away from the explosive ash-blonde, he was known for his temper and towering ego. Out of all the people, Kazumi liked him best?

"Mainly cuz he's strong. Where I'm from, strength means a lot. You can really judge someone easily by the way they fight. But Katsuki's just my favorite, in general. He's an all-rounder, not to mention Masaru and Mitsuki are pretty damn sweet. What's not to like?" Midoriya squeaked, he'd met Kacchan's parents already? It's almost like he's talking about his in-laws already.

"But my favorite quirk...it would be Yaoyorozu's quirk," He said, acknowledging the girl who was sitting near the back of the bus. She jumped at the mention of her name. Ever since the class battle with Kazumi, she'd been low in spirits. For some reason, making Kazumi disappointed felt like a punch to the gut for her. But hearing him compliment her quirk made her heart flutter.

"R-Really?"

"It's really versatile, you know. I know a few people who would love to have a power like yours," His head was instantly flashing with images of a girl known for her love for weapons and her cute buns. Ten Ten would've absolutely loved to have a creation quirk, she'd be able to summon any of her favorite, best-quality weapons.

Momo slumped back into her seat, a dark blush covering her features.

The chatter of the students slowly died down as everyone finished their meals. Mina, who was sitting in front of Katsuki and Kazumi, propped up on her knees and turned to talk to the mysterious hottie.

"Kazumi! What's your type—"

To her surprise, she was met with the sight of Kazumi, fast asleep, Katsuki's head resting on his shoulder. They seemed so comfortable, so at ease.

"You guys!" She whisper-shouted. "Look!"

Denki, who had no self-control whatsoever, reached out. He saw Kazumi's pale skin and his cheeks when he was eating earlier. They looked so soft he just wanted to reach over there and—

"Kaminari! What are you doing?" Kirishima hissed, trying to swat his arm away but to no avail.

"Just one pinch!"

Just as his hand inched closer and was about to reach Kazumi's cheek when his eyes flew open, Sharingan activated and all.

"CHIDORI!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

a/n, important!!

hey guys! as you guys may have already noticed, ive decided to change the ages of some naruto characters, just to clarify, im going to put down how old each character is/was:

kazumi - 17
itachi - 18
deidara - 17
kakashi - 21
obito - 23

shisui (deceased) - 19
kaoru (deceased) - 13

another thing im changing is that the massacre is being changed. it will happen when sasuke is 12, Itachi is 2 years older than sasuke here, so he's 14.

for maths sake, ill tell you that Shisui is 6 years older than Kazumi and Kaoru. Kazumi is 1-2 years older than Class 1A as well as Naruto's graduating year.

disclaimer!! just cuz i lowered their age DONT MEAN THEY A LOVE INTEREST it just makes more sense for the story.

remember to leave comments and questions!! ill be saving them to make a q & a whenever we got enough love you guys !!!

to be continued...