Night fell over the border of the Land of Snow.
The campfire crackled against the wind, sparks leaping into the dark before the cold swallowed them whole.
Makoto Nishikado and his group were in no rush to travel. Dotou was dead. The princess who'd spent years in hiding could wait one more night.
He had something more important to do: test the loyalty of his Pokémon.
Ran Mouri crouched by the fire, preparing ingredients with practiced hands. She was the best cook among the three of them, so the role had fallen to her without discussion.
The crisp sound of a kunai slicing through wild greens mixed with the bubbling of the pot, lending the frozen night a warm, lived-in quality.
Utaha Kasumigaoka sat hugging her knees, firelight dancing across her face. She tilted her head, eyes bright with curiosity. "Makoto-sensei, that Mangekyou Sharingan you mentioned earlier..."
"What's its connection to the Uchiha Sharingan?" Megumi picked up the thread naturally.
She'd been in this world long enough to hear plenty about Kekkei Genkai, let alone the most famous dojutsu in existence.
Ran's knife paused mid-cut. Her ear turned ever so slightly toward the conversation.
Makoto's lips curved. "Among the Uchiha, only those who push their Sharingan to its absolute limit can awaken the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan." His voice was unhurried, measured. "Across the entire history of the clan, fewer than ten people have ever awakened it."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across three attentive faces. "Once it awakens, each eye develops a different ability. My left eye is Shinatsuhiko. My right is Amaterasu."
"Shinatsuhiko?" Utaha tilted her head. "That sounds like a name from Japanese mythology."
"It is." Makoto nodded. "Shinatsuhiko lets me teleport to a target's side. The effect is similar to Sasuke's Rinnegan ability, Amenotejikara, except Amenotejikara swaps the user's position with whatever they're looking at. In Pokémon terms, Amenotejikara would be Ally Switch, while Shinatsuhiko is Teleport."
"As for Amaterasu... it's called the Undying Flame."
Though in canon, he added silently, it barely ever killed anyone.
Utaha nodded thoughtfully, then froze as if a switch had flipped.
"Wait." Her voice climbed half an octave. "I remember... the Uchiha clan, four years ago, was wiped out by someone named Uchiha Itachi..."
She trailed off, but the implication landed like a brick.
Megumi's gaze settled on Makoto's face, her usually placid eyes rippling with something deeper.
Even Ran stopped what she was doing, lips parting slightly.
Three pairs of eyes locked onto him.
Makoto met their stares and gave a frank nod. "You guessed it. I infiltrated the Uchiha compound that night and took these eyes."
The campfire popped, sending a spark arcing through the darkness.
Silence.
Ran held out the bowl of food she'd just finished preparing. Her fingers trembled. "Is... is this something you should be telling us?"
Makoto took the bowl, spooned some meat porridge into his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed. "Of course not."
He took another sip, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather. "The Sharingan is one of the most coveted Kekkei Genkai in the entire shinobi world. After the Uchiha were wiped out, the eyes in the compound were supposed to be 'safeguarded' by Konoha's leadership. What I did was snatch them right from the jaws of the beast, and I took the most valuable pair of all."
"If Konoha's higher-ups ever found out..." He looked up at the three of them, his expression caught between amusement and warning. "They wouldn't let me live."
Another stretch of silence. The fire's crackling sounded deafening.
After a long moment, Megumi asked softly, "Then... why are you telling us?"
Makoto set down his bowl and looked at them. A gentle smile spread slowly across his face.
"Because you're my people."
A handful of words, dropping like a stone into still water.
Megumi's eyes went wide.
Utaha froze.
Ran's lashes trembled.
Makoto reached out, his fingertips brushing lightly against Megumi's cheek. She was the closest.
"Would any of you tell someone about this?" He smiled. "Because if you did, I'd be a dead man. My teacher would send a full jonin squad after me."
"Never!" The word left Megumi's mouth before she could think.
Then she registered the touch against her skin. Color flooded her face and she stumbled back two steps, flustered. "Makoto-sensei, you... stop being so hands-y!"
Makoto raised both hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help myself."
Utaha shook off the weight of the moment and sniffed. "Sensei-kun is really underestimating us. We might not be strong, but we'd never sell out a friend."
Makoto smiled.
Sensei-kun?
Utaha had a habit of giving pet names to people she felt close to.
Ran lowered her gaze, silent for two heartbeats.
When she raised her head, her eyes were clear and steady. "I won't tell anyone."
Makoto grinned, then threw his arms wide and pulled all three girls into a hug.
"That's my students." Warmth and laughter threaded through his voice. "Come here. Group hug."
Megumi's face went scarlet. She shoved against his chest, struggling.
Utaha pushed at him with one hand while glaring in open contempt. "Are all guys this gross? Any excuse to cop a feel!"
Ran said nothing, face flushed, head bowed like a startled fawn.
What none of them knew was that during those brief seconds, Makoto had already inscribed Flying Thunder God formula marks on each of them.
He let go. As the three girls smoothed out their rumpled clothes, something cold and calculating flickered deep in his eyes.
So which one of you is the snitch?
His suspicion, however, rested primarily on Ran.
He knew this little unicorn's childhood sweetheart, a detective named Kudou Shinichi, had been investigating him.
How did he know? The Sharingan, naturally.
A few nights ago, when Ran had gotten up in the middle of the night to relieve herself, he'd followed her.
Nothing inappropriate. He'd only asked questions.
He had no shortage of interest in pretty girls, but he wasn't about to stoop to the methods of someone like Sawanaga Taisuke. Too pathetic.
Mostly, he'd wanted to know what had been eating at her these past few days.
Now that he knew, he wanted to see what she'd do.
Would she go to Sarutobi Hiruzen and sell him out for the sake of that detective brat?
Her choice would decide whether she lived or died.
Two days later. The border of the Land of Snow.
When Dotou's severed head hit the ground, the entire film crew went silent.
The twisted face still wore its final expression: terror and defiance, frozen in place.
A beat passed, then Asama Sandayuu dropped to his knees, tears streaming into his beard. "Sousetsu-sama! Rest in peace! This monster... this monster has finally been punished!"
Koyuki Kazahana pressed her hands over her mouth as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Years of fear, of running, of suffocating every feeling she'd ever had, all of it broke loose at once.
Makoto stepped forward and rested a hand gently on her shoulder.
She spun around, threw her arms around his waist, buried her face against his stomach, and sobbed.
Megumi tilted her head toward Utaha and whispered, "By novel logic, this is where the princess falls for her bodyguard and they live happily ever after, right?"
Utaha's lip curled. "That cliché expired years ago."
Megumi blinked. "That's not what you said a few days ago."
Ran stayed quiet, her eyes drifting between Makoto and Koyuki for a single heartbeat before she lowered her gaze.
The next morning, Koyuki shed her actress persona and revealed her true identity to everyone. She invited the entire crew to the capital to witness her investiture as the new daimyo of the Land of Snow, adding that even as ruler, she had no intention of abandoning her acting career.
The crew erupted in cheers.
Makoto clapped along with them.
As the group prepared to move out, Koyuki crossed the snow in her wooden sandals toward the carriage. Passing Makoto, she stopped.
She leaned in, pressed a light kiss to his cheek, and pulled away in the same breath.
Then she gathered her skirts and practically flew into the carriage.
Makoto stood rooted to the spot.
He lifted a hand and touched the place where her lips had been.
Whoa... let's not get carried away here?
His whole plan was to avoid getting entangled with girls from other worlds.
A few paces away, Utaha turned to Megumi with a perfectly deadpan expression. "A cliché ending. Called it."
Megumi's mouth quirked into a rare, subtle smile. "That's not what you said a few days ago."
Ran said nothing. At her side, her fingers tightened around the hem of her coat without her realizing it.