Suguru started the 30th of December with a cold shower before wearing his mourning robes. Draped in black, he glanced at himself in the mirror.
Grey eyes.
Silver hair.
A deadpan expression.
Walking out of his house, the cold morning breeze caressed his face. It was a mild winter without snow and the trees had lost their leaves, waiting for next year's spring. Suguru walked to the ceremonial site where the mass funerals had been held the past weeks. On his way, a few people turned their heads.
"Are the funerals still ongoing?" Their whispers were carried by the winds.
"Yeah, I heard that a lot of shinobi died, and even more civilians were lost."
"I think the shinobi ceremonies were completed just last week. They're going through the list of civilians now." Out of the corner of his eye, Suguru watched as a storekeeper shook her head while opening up shop. "I've seen too many children walking this street all alone."
"Sigh, if not for that damn demon fox—!"
Their chatter continued while Suguru continued walking. Eventually, their voices faded into the distance and he approached the ceremonial site.
A long row of picture frames had been set up, and it didn't take long for Suguru to find the ones he was here for. A few people, similarly dressed in black, were trickling in. Each of them had mournful expressions. Barely anyone spoke aloud.
The sun barely peeked through the horizon. Coupled with the chilly air, Suguru's every breath let out a faint fog.
As he watched his parents' funeral, Suguru began planning for the future.
***
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even have a chance to settle on his chair when a voice called for his attention. With sunlight piercing through the windows and the lazy morning that Hiruzen hoped for, this voice came as an unpleasant tune.
"Lord Hokage," the voice came from a masked shinobi who had appeared in the office.
"What is it?" Hiruzen replied.
"Your orders to speak of Naruto as a hero who saved the village haven't progressed as desired. Many are open about their anger. I'm afraid that too many people had seen the Kyuubi wreaking havoc. Knowing that it's still alive inside Naruto makes them uneasy."
Hearing these words Hiruzen sighed.
"Then bar any mention of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Make an official announcement and spread the news. I do not want the next generation of shinobi to shatter Lord Fourth's final wishes. Is there anything else?"
The Anbu shinobi nodded.
"In our surveillance of the Uchiha clan, we have noticed an anomaly."
Hiruzen frowned. "Go on,"
"Several young Uchihas have unlocked their Sharingan out of nowhere over the past three days."
"Hm? Elaborate." Hiruzen's first thought was that something even more fishy was going on, especially given the requirements for an Uchiha to unlock their Sharingan.
The Anbu shinobi shook his head. "It has nothing to do with negative emotions, Lord Hokage. In fact, none of their situations make any sense. Some Uchiha kids even unlocked theirs while eating food or playing around."
Hiruzen raised a brow. "I see. Continue your surveillance. A pattern will appear eventually. Anything else?"
"That..." The Anbu paused, "This is just a hunch, but a few Hyuga seem to have been experiencing something similar. From asking around, I learned that some — mostly the younger ones — feel the urge to activate their Byakugan for no reason at all. Some people around the village have noticed that a few Hyuga shinobi suddenly stop and stare at the empty air for a few seconds."
The Anbu took a moment to breathe. "I even noticed this firsthand while walking through the village — they looked mesmerized."
Hearing this made Hiruzen frown. 'Is somebody targetting the Hyuga and Uchiha clans for their eyes?'
A few suspects came to mind, however, all of them seemed unlikely. Targeting the Uchiha's Sharingan was common, but the Hyuga clan had a little more spice to it. Therefore, Hiruzen wasn't sure.
Nonetheless, Hiruzen knew that he had to take note of this. "I see. Good work. Continue reporting on any strange occurrences similar to this."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." said the Anbu as he bowed and left.
With that, Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and exhaled a cloud of smoke. The papers on the desk were never-ending. Even more so, now that the village was still recuperating from the attack of the Kyuubi.
Furthermore, there were also reports of a few disappearances in the village.
'I can feel the headache that awaits me,'
***
For the most part, Suguru's day eventually grew boring. Aside from the initial melancholy that grasped his heart, any other emotions made him weary. He went home after a few hours of paying his respects.
'What was that weird feeling?' He thought.
For some reason, he no longer felt averse to casting aside the past that the old Kagami Suguru bore on his shoulders.
Suguru's stride had grown lighter.
Perhaps this moment was the original Suguru's final wish, bothering him until he completed the task. It was much like a subconscious desire — or an emotion that begged to be sated.
'How peculiar,' Upon shaking his head, Suguru returned home. He locked the door behind him and ran up to his room.
There were still a few hours before sunset. With this newfound lightness, he felt that it was time to act upon his knowledge of the ninja world.
"First—" Suguru cackled, "Let's borrow a Byakugan."
—Crack!
Irises were cleaved into pieces. Blood began to flow.
Suguru's gaze fluttered towards the Hyuga children residing in their compound, mirroring the first activated Byakugan he came across.
His shattered irises slowly mended themselves, mimicking the form of those eyes that were not his. Soon, only the pure white eyes of the Hyuga could be seen. Furthermore, his body began pumping a large amount of blood into his eyes.
"With that done, let's set up our basics."
Suguru could feel the mild strain that this action had put on both his body and his chakra reserves.
Taking out a piece of chakra paper, Suguru admired its color and texture for a moment. Amused by his thoughts, he rolled his eyes.
Being in a different world was truly a wonderful feeling.
"Now, given that the Byakugan was quite underrated, let's analyze the truth of its prowess."
Exhaling a long gust of air, Sugura began to observe the flow of chakra within his body. From there, controlling that mysterious energy of the body became much simpler. Having a visual representation of the effect of every intention, every movement, and every foreign influence, was like a catalyst in his comprehension.
"Hmmmm," Suguru rolled his shoulders.
It was a magical experience.
"Now, let's have a look at my affinity..."