Me: I do not own Naruto~
Naruto: Hell yeah!
Me: -_-lll What are you doing here?
So...also part of my gemstones series! Enjoy! Review! And check out my blog! It's on my website, XD.
She was a surprise.
I.
"Are you sure about this, Kushina-chan?" Minato asked worriedly.
"Stop asking me that, Minato-kun! I said I'm sure and I am!" His wife snapped back.
He sighed. "If you say so...it's been years since you've seen Uzushiogakure."
Kushina softened. "Yeah...I know. But I have to go. I have to see what it's become, -ttebane."
It had been her home, after all...a long, long time ago.
II.
"It's a mess..." The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero breathed in sorrow as she looked over the wreckage of her former village.
Minato put an arm around her in comfort.
Kushina accepted the contact, leaning back against her husband. He had always been her rock, her shelter in the storm, and she needed him now, more than ever.
Her eyes roamed over the destroyed place, taking in the fallen buildings and rock rubble and metal shards and a flicker of chakra over there-
"Minato-kun!" She cried, pulling herself out of his embrace. Hope flared, sharp and incandescent and all too easily snuffed out. Could it be a survivor?
Immediately, the most popular candidate for the Fourth Hokage had his special kunai out, his sharp cerulean eyes scanning over the area. "What is it?"
The Third Shinobi War had just ended and paranoia and fear still ran strong. Minato had no intention of letting Kushina get hurt, not now, not ever.
"It's - I think-" Cutting herself off, Kushina leapt forward, clearing most of the ruins in a single bound.
Cursing, Minato hurriedly followed, keeping an eye out for enemy ninja. What the hell was going on here?
Kushina landed easily in front of the remains of a ruined building and quickly kneeled, placing her hands on the ground.
There. Right there. A steadily burning chakra below the debris. Hope flared, sharp and incandescent. What if...
"Kushina-chan!" Minata said firmly. "What is it?"
Stunned, the red-haired kunoichi looked up into his blue eyes. "There's something underneath here. Something with chakra." She whispered.
Minato's eyes widened. "Move back."
Face pale and eyes wide, Kushina got to her feet and obeyed. "Go."
Minato nodded grimly and went through several handseals. "Earth Release: Upheaval."
Slowly, painstakingly, the Yellow Flash peeled back the layers of the rubble and earth until Kushina abruptly held out a hand. She didn't seem to notice that her hand was trembling visibly.
"Once more." She said, her voice strained with apprehension and nervousness. "Carefully."
Minato ran through the jutsu one more time and the final layer of dirt peeled away to reveal a large cavern underneath.
Kushina inhaled sharply. It was one thing to suspect, but to actually see with her own eyes..."I need to go down there."
Minato looked at her. "You aren't going to be going alone."
The Uzumaki Heiress managed a small smile. "Who said I was going alone, -ttebane?"
Minato smiled reassuringly and jumped in before his wife could insist on going first. He knew she would abject, but it was his job to protect her.
"Minato! You jerk!"
III.
"This is..." Kushina breathed, glancing around at the large tunnel lit up by chakra.
"Amazing." Minato finished.
Intricate, complicated seals that must have taken months to complete covered the inside of the tunnel, dark and tasting of pure power. Kushina hadn't seen such a work of fuinjutsu since her childhood years...and those had been created on a much smaller scale. Even for a village known for its fuinjutsu, this was unbelievable. She couldn't imagine the time that must have went into this.
Minato walked over to inspect one of the seals. "I don't think these are dangerous. They're made for stability and preservation." He had a finger down the curving lines, quietly thirsty for the chance to explore and analyze the immaculate work.
Kushina glanced down at her feet. On the 'floor' were seals too. "Where do you think they lead?" She asked, heart thudding against her chest. Maybe...just maybe...
Minato grinned at her. "Let's find out."
They had no idea what lay in wait for them in the tunnel...nor where it would take them.
Kushina grinned back. "What are we waiting for?" She was a jounin kunoichi, the Red Hot Habanero, and she backed down for nothing and nobody.
IV.
They followed the seals for a long time. The tunnel went up and down and curved and twisted without pattern or reason.
"Kushina-chan..." Minato said uncertainly. "Are you sure we should keep going?" He didn't doubt her, but this could potentially be very dangerous.
"It's just ahead." She kept her eyes focused upfront. "I can feel the chakra..."
Minato frowned thoughtfully. He knew his wife was a sensor-type and was much more sensitive to chakra than he was.
"Describe it to me." He encouraged.
Kushina tilted her head to the side a bit, clearly focusing. "It's...small. Like it's not full grown. But it's strong, -ttebane." She hesitated. "It's also strangely still."
Minato blinked. "Still?" Her tone alerted him to her unease, but anyone else would have thought her completely unconcerned. He knew different, had known her for years.
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Chakra shifts and changes with its user, but this one...isn't moving at all." Worry flickered in her violet eyes.
Before he could respond, the tunnel took a sharp turn and they found themselves in front of a door covered in seals.
They exchanged looks and Minato put his hand to the doorknob. "Ready?" The metal was cold against his palm, the cold of years of neglect.
He held a kunai in his other hand. He didn't care who it was, but he would allow no one to harm the love of his life.
Kushina bit her lip and readied her chakra. There was no telling what was on the other side. "Ready."
Minato twisted the doorknob, knocking the door open with his shoulder.
When nothing jumped at them, Kushina performed a quick fire jutsu and lit up the dark space.
She reeled back in shock and Minato's eyes widened. They had expected many things, most of which were probably ridiculous, but they had never considered this.
The chamber was smoothly carved, as if someone had spent a lot of time making sure it would never cave in. Every solid inch of it was covered in seals. There was literally no space left for anything else.
On the floor, impossibly complicated seals centered on a single, little girl.
She looked no older than 4 years old. Burgundy red hair - darker than Kushina's by far - splayed around her like a protective halo. She wore a simple white dress and white slippers. In the dim light, her skin glowed healthily as if she had been well taken care of since the years after Uzushiogakure fell.
Her features were peaceful and her eyes were closed.
Kushina staggered and would have fell if Minato hadn't caught her.
"...Kushina-chan?" He asked tentatively.
"I know her." The redhead gasped into the quiet. "I know her!"
"Shh. Calm down." Minato murmured in her ear. "Who is she?"
"Uzumaki Maika. The little girl of my mother's best friend." Kushina stared blankly at the toddler. "I thought she was dead."
Like the rest of them.
Watching the seals around little Maika burn with a steady flow of chakra, Minato slowly shook his head. "If nothing else...she isn't dead."
V.
"Suspension seals." Minato told his sensei a whole week later. "The Uzumakis put her in a large, self-sustaining suspension seal in an underground chamber before Uzushiogakure fell."
Jiraiya whistled. "That was a decade and a half ago."
"Yeah." The blond wearily rubbed his brow. "And they've kept her alive all this time." A miracle, a feat previously thought impossible. 'Well,' He thought sardonically to himself, 'at least now we know that those people were wrong.'
The Toad Sannin frowned. "Will she wake up?"
Minato nodded slowly. "The medics predict she'll wake up in a few days."
Jiraiya was silent for a moment. "How is Kushina taking this?"
"To be honest? I don't know." Minato said. "And I think...she doesn't either."
VI.
Kushina stared intently on the fragile little girl lying on the hospital bed as if her will alone would wake her up. Her body was tense, her breathing calm only through her years of training. It had been such a long time...since she had met another Uzumaki. She didn't know what to expect, but what she did know was that no one would ever harm this little girl if she had a say.
Minato stood a little behind her and watched as the nurses took her off the sedative. He said nothing and she was grateful. This was something she had to deal with on her own.
They waited, the air growing tense with anticipation and anxiety as the minutes passed. The clock went tick-tock, tick-tock behind Kushina and she found the noise aggravating. Why was it taking so damn long?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when Uzumaki Maika stirred for the first time in more than a decade.
Her eyes fluttered open, revealing confused orbs of palest pink.
They focused slowly on the ceiling and then began to coast erratically across the room.
"...Maika-chan?" Kushina called softly.
Maika sluggishly focused on her. Blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice-
"Kushina-chan?" She asked uncertainly, her young voice scratchy from disuse.
Kushina beamed, tears coming to her eyes. Unable to help herself, she threw herself on the toddler, hugging her closely.
The nurse tutted in disapproval, but smiled despite herself.
Obviously completely bewildered, Maika looked over at Minato in confusion.
He just grinned happily at her.
VII.
"Minato-kun!" Kushina said, slamming open the door.
The jounin looked up from his paperwork, blinking at his wife.
"Kushina-chan. Maika-chan." Minato smiled warmly at the little girl hiding behind his wife's legs.
Maika smiled, only an upward twitch of her lips really. It had only been a month since she had woken up, but she seemed to like Minato at least.
It had been a slow-going process with the young Uzumaki. She was slow to trust and slower still to recover from her ordeal. The years that had passed by without her didn't help matters.
"Minato-kun!" Kushina called again, red hair flying everywhere.
The Yellow Flash smiled indulgently at his wife. "What is it?"
"I want to adopt Maika-chan, -ttebane!" She declared loudly.
The girl in question winced at the noise, but didn't reject her statement.
Minato did his best to look surprised. "As a sister, you mean?"
"Of course! As my younger sister!" Kushina paused suspiciously. "Wait. Why do you know?"
He grinned at her and held up a paper. "Because I already legalized it."
Kushina's eyes widened and she hurriedly grabbed the paper.
Looking it over, she realized that is was the final copy for the adoption process.
"But - How -" She stuttered, mouth wide open.
The adoption process needed her signature and Maika's and Kushina was fairly certain she had not sighed anything recently. Which...also explained why her desk was piled up with stacks of paper. She had no intention of ever going near it.
"I talked to the Hokage and he got it done for me." Minato lounged against his chair, smirking triumphantly.
A second of silence passed. Two.
"Minato-kun!" Kushina flung herself at her husband. "You're the best, -ttebane!"
He laughed and kissed her heatedly on the mouth. Ah, he loved Kushina, passion and temper and all.
The redhead moaned and slid her tongue against his. Heat flared between them...
And a delicate cough bought them back to reality and they broke away, flushing.
Maika raised an eyebrow at them in disapproval.
"Ah." Minato sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that."
"You're going to have to get used to it, Maika-chan." Kushina smiled impishly. "Since you're going to be living with us now as my little sister."
It was amazing what the exasperated sigh of a four year old could convey.
The couple laughed smugly.
He was a genius
I.
"Push, Mikoto-sama! Push!" The mid-wife urged.
The Uchiha Matriarch gritted her teeth and bore down with all of her strength, panting and gasping.
A few minutes later, a newborn's cries filled the air.
"Congratulations, Fugaku-sama." The mid-wife handed a small, tiny life to the Uchiha Head. "It's a boy."
The hardened shinobi looked down at his child, all silky black hair and round eyes, and felt his heart melt but slightly.
He walked over to his exhausted wife and presented her son to her. She smiled wanly, gently taking the boy from him. Mikoto cuddled him close to her breast, eyes tender with maternal love.
"What shall we call him?" She asked, pressing a sweet kiss to the babe's forehead.
Fugaku gave a rare smile to his wife and child, reaching out to smooth a hand over the boy's soft black hair.
"Itachi." He said. "Uchiha Itachi."
Mikoto nuzzled her son happily, but wearily. "May you grow up to be an honorable man, Itachi."
"And may you be a great shinobi and a magnificent clan heir." Fugaku added.
They had no idea how right they would be.
II.
As a child, Itachi was very quiet.
Quiet but inquisitive.
"Okaa-san." Itachi called, his soft voice insistent.
Calmly setting down the shirt she had been mending, the young mother rose from her seat and crossed the room where her son had been fiddling with a puzzle box.
"Yes, Itachi?" She knelt next to the boy with such wide, innocent coal black eyes.
He held out the puzzle box, his growing black hair getting into his eyes to his silent annoyance. "I'm finished."
Blinking, she took the puzzle from him and went over it. It had been perfectly solved.
Turning back to her patiently waiting son, she awarded him with a pleased smile. "Well done, Itachi."
"Thank you, Okaa-san." Her son was ever so polite and sometimes, she worried that he would never behave as a child should. "What now?"
Mikoto considered thoughtfully. Her son was certainly smart enough and in the war the Village was in…yes, best to start early. They were talking about destroying the Kannabi Bridge, but that would take time yet.
"Today," She told her son of 18 months, "We are going to be setting traps."
Itachi's eyes sparkled with interest.
III.
"Otou-san." Itachi bowed respectfully to his father, face perfectly serious despite the scene in front of him.
Fugaku, his face a confusing mix of pride and embarrassment, attempted to frown with dignity at his three year old son. Considering he was hanging from the ceiling, it wasn't very persuasive.
"Let him down, Itachi-kun." Mikoto said from the doorway, covering her smile with her hand. It may have taken him a year and a half, but the little boy had managed to successfully catch his father in a simple trap. The impressive part was that he wasn't even a genin, while his father was a seasoned jounin.
"Of course, Okaa-san." He replied, face still impossibly stoic.
As soon as his father was out of sight and sound, he grinned widely in triumph and Mikoto broke down laughing hysterically.
He was an anomaly.
I.
Shisui was a strange Uchiha.
He was always smiling and laughing despite the firm reminders that he was an Uchiha and should be a dutiful, strong, controlled shinobi for the clan.
Shisui paid no attention to that and to the elders horror, his father, Kagami, didn't particularly care either.
The boy went around grinning and teasing, acting like the polar opposite of what an Uchiha should be and generally annoyed everyone around.
If he noticed the uneasy whispers behind his back about how similar he was to Uchiha Obito, and everyone knew how that had turned out, he never showed it.
II.
"Ohayo, Ita-kun!" Shisui grinned at his friend, casually swinging an arm around a thin shoulder.
Itachi flicked a glance at him beneath dark eyelashes. "Shisui-san." He greeted blandly, easily shrugging off the offending arm.
"How ya doing, little guy?" Shisui laughed and ruffled his long hair, not put off in the least by the younger boy's lack of friendliness. He was used to it by now; the whole Uchiha clan was like that, to an extent.
Itachi sighed. "Don't do that."
Shisui smirked and did it again, just to spite the boy. Itachi's reactions were always so amusing.
III.
"Class, we are welcoming a new student today." The academy teacher said, shushing the rowdy kids.
A boy with dark hair, dark eyes, and a fan on the back of his shirt sauntered into the room confidently, radiating superiority and dominance.
Instantly 90% of the class knew who he was even before he opened his mouth and said, "My name is Uchiha Shisui. It is a pleasure to meet everyone." He bowed, every inch a member of a prestigious, powerful clan.
Girls swooned and boys scowled.
The teacher directed Shisui to his seat and sat down on his own chair. A loud farting sound echoed through the suddenly silent room. The teacher froze and started to blush.
The silence was broken by composed, polite Shisui who broke out laughing, pointing at the teacher, and slapping his hands against his thighs. "Hahahahaha! He fell for it! He fell for it!" He rolled off his seat in his merriment.
The class sweatdropped. 'Is he really an Uchiha…?!"
The teacher went purple, an impressive feat really. "Uchiha Shisui! Detention!"
Next time:
"Itachi, this is Maika-chan. She's Kushina-chan's little sister. Maika-chan, this is Itachi. He is my son."
The two children stared at each other in silence.
Review! And thnxs to my beta, ChaosEmperorNex!
Question: What does jasper mean?