The little pokes stop.

"I have no interest in returning to Konoha."

Occlus lets her breathe.

"I don't care where you put your political affliations. Stop trying to kill your family."

"...In his defense, I will in fact keep trying to kill him so long as he's not politically affiliated with Konoha."

"Has grandfather dearest not lifted my kill order, then?"

"Are you still a traitor?"

There's been a seething anger in him this entire conversation.

"I betrayed no one. I went AWOL at twelve! I never fucking agreed to be one of Konoha's fucking attack dogs, and I couldn't survive on my own so, yeah, I joined up with the only missing-nin group that could keep hunters off my back and didn't contain a fucking patricide - "

"You abandoned me!"

"Yeah! I did! I was a kid and all I'd ever done was fuck up, and that wasn't changing anytime soon, and your precious Konoha is the one that ditched us first." His voice cracks a little. "So I ran, because I'm a coward, and I had no idea how to take care of a little kid, and maybe if I wasn't around they'd give you to someone actually decent."

"Guess you have always been an idiot."

He flinches, then, with another well of anger: "Why are you always angrier at me than Jakkou? She - it's her fault we were - trapped, she killed everyone and - "

(He'd been training with Tobi that night, and Tobi had freaked out, a little child sensor with a world of death unfolding in her mind, and Jakuan had gotten her to safety then tried to stop Jakkou, to talk her down or - )

(She was chuunin, ANBU. He was newly a genin.)

(Jakuan has always been weak to genjutsu, and Jakkou's always been cruel.)

"Why," his voice cracks again, "Aren't you yelling at her?"

...She looks away.

Occlus is getting the feeling she will need to have a talk with Jaina when they get home.

"Anything to contribute?" she asks Jakkou.

"Oh, just the answer to Jakuan's question."

"The execution of the clan was authorized by the Hokage himself. I haven't committed treason, and Tobi's always had her principles."

He goes stiff.

And, to his little sister - "Did - you know - "

"...Not until after the invasion. Grandfather discovered the truth during Danzo's tribunal - Danzo was the head of Jakkou's division in ANBU. Grandfather had him executed for nearly starting a war with Kiri."

"And then grandfather told me."

"It's supposed to be classified."

"For war."

"Not for killing his children."

"...He's a good shinobi."

"Fuck you."

"Do we all understand each other a little better now?"

"You know, I actually want Jakkou even more dead now."

"That is a fair reaction."

He lets out a sharp breath.

"...It is?"

"Yes," Ani says, the first time she's spoken up. "It's very, very fair to be angry at anyone who enforces the will of someone who once bound you."

"Ah."