This may end up being AU, depending on how the Manga goes.
There is a small building at the heart of the Village Hidden in the Mist that holds as much, if not more, respect than the Mizukage's palace. It had better. It belongs to a tradition within the country of Water that is far older than the Village itself.
Some would call it a temple. Others would argue that 'temple' is not an appropriate title for the home of the country's deadliest warriors. However, not many people actually knew from experience what name it deserved, as only a select few were even allowed to enter. So when the seven men stood, sat, scowled, or lounged around their honored meeting hall to discuss the outcome of a recent mission, the appearance of the groundskeeper was not appreciated.
"Pardon my intrusion," the old man said calmly. He took in the hostility that was directed at him, but did not waver as he bowed to the tallest of them. The man he faced was clad in a high-collared cloak of grey cloth accented with blue waves around the sleeves and hem. The towering figure nodded, a gesture barely visible beneath his matching wide brimmed hat.
The groundskeeper went on. "Lord Hoshigaki," he said, "a message has just arrived requesting your immediate presence… elsewhere.
Instead of questioning this cryptic statement, the man said, "Very well." He cheerfully told his peers to continue without him as he followed the messenger out. A couple of them scoffed and, save for the two wearing ANBU masks, they all looked cross. It was fear of the massive, bandage-wrapped blade on his back that kept them from saying anything. They each had swords of their own of course, but none could match the power of Samehada and its master.
As the two walked through the muffled halls of aged wood and faded paper the old man spoke up. "I truly am sorry for dragging you out of there, old friend."
"Nonsense! I'd rather thank you than forgive you," the shinobi responded. His voice was smooth and fluid, full of humor, with something dangerous lurking underneath. He chuckled, "One would think putting a bunch of killers in a room together would yield more interesting results."
"Yes well, now that you're gone they'll probably be at each other's throats."
He laughed. "I always miss out on the fun parts." A little more seriously, he said, "So, about this message. Is it from the Mizukage?"
"No, your wife." The groundskeeper paused to take in his cloaked companion's reaction. When all he got was silence he pressed on. "As soon as she heard you were back she started demanding you return home at once." He sighed. "That woman… I told you she'd be nothing but trouble."
"No. She knows better than to interrupt these meetings." They exited the building and quickly crossed the small garden. "Whatever this is about, it is important."
The swordsman stopped just past the gate and nodded to his friend in thanks. He held up the two first fingers of his left hand to activate a water teleportation jutsu, and in a splash, he vanished and reappeared on the pond outside his house.
He slid the ornately painted back door open and closed with a deliberate 'thunk.' Before he could even take three steps, there came a cry of "That you Fish Freak?!?"
He chuckled and answered, "Yes Uni, it's me."
A young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties stalked into the room with her hands on her hips and a frustrated scowl on her face. She had curly blond hair and pale gold eyes, and was beautiful up until she bared the dangerously pointed teeth that are so common to clans of the Mist.
"Damn," she said, "I was hoping you were someone else and I could kill you."
"Nice to see you too, darling." Her husband kept the humor in his voice even as he took in her wild and worn out state. He truly believed the woman was incapable of fear, and yet now she looked downright shaken. It had him worried to say the least. "So…" he tried to casually approach the subject, "what's the emergency?"
She moved without warning, and in two steps had swiped the hat off his cringing head. All the while she was muttering, "You know I hate this bloody thing Hisato… can't see your face worth crap…"
"That's the point," he said. He opened his collar and stared after her with a small smirk as she hung the hat in its honored place on the wall. It was much harder to tell his age, but he looked on the older side. His hair was royal blue. It spilled from his forehead protector in long, wispy locks. His skin was pale and also had the slightest blue tinge to it, so that he looked like he was suffering of hypothermia. He had eyes of black that were open as wide as they could go, and just beneath them each cheek was decorated with three gills. He was definitely not what most would call attractive.
He came into the room and took off his sword and cloak, leaning the former against the wall and hanging the latter just beneath the hat. After taking the time to notice just how frantic his wife was, he tried again to get to the bottom of what was happening. "Uni," he said more firmly than he had before, "Not that I'm complaining, but you did pull me out of an important meeting. Was there a reason for that or did you simply wish to rant at me?"
"I haven't left this rathole of a house for days! DAYS!!!" She was trembling with the effort of not smashing a nearby piece of purple coral as it also happened to be a priceless heirloom. He gently took hold of her arms and didn't flinch when she did the same, digging in with her nails. She lowered her head and finally mumbled, "It's the brat."
He frowned. "Okay… what did you do to him?"
"Nothing!" Her eyes flashed viciously, and then narrowed when she saw his doubt. "What?" she snapped. "You don't think I'm capable of caring for my own child?"
He sighed. Leaning forward, he touched his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry, goldfish. Of course I don't think that." He pulled back to meet her eyes and said, "Now, what's wrong?"
"That's just it! Nothing is wrong! The brat won't stop crying, but I can't find anything wrong!"
"Did you call a medic?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. They couldn't find anything either… bunch of useless quacks. Hell, I even got that stinking Fusao in here, but he just said everything was fine and left."
"Did he now?" He developed a thoughtful look. Fusao and Uni didn't get along, but he knew Fusao wouldn't brush off something important. If he thought it was nothing, than it was probably a simple bloodline issue. "How is he?" Hisato asked.
"Fusao? He's an idiot. Wish he'd die. Why?"
He chuckled. "I mean how is our son?"
"He's in bed, sniveling like a wimp."
"Awake?"
"Probably. I had to give him some stuff just so he'd sleep through the night."
Hisato nodded. "I'll go see what I can do for him."
She rolled her eyes again and, trying to sound casual, said, "Whatever. Do what you want."
He made his quick and sure way through the painted halls of his house until he came to a door decorated with a bunch of blue people frolicking beneath a starry sky, fishing in the nearby ocean, and taunting various sea monsters. Softly he opened it and stepped into a room walled by similar murals. In the center of the floor was a futon containing the bundled and trembling form of a child. His concern instantly grew when he sensed the chaos of the boy's chakra.
"Hey there, small fry," he said as he approached his son.
"Daddy?" murmured a tiny voice. The blankets shifted to reveal a head with teal blue hair, pale skin, and wide, tear-filled eyes of the same gold as his mother's.
The boy sat up as his father knelt by him and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It hurts," he whimpered. With a sob he moved forward and clung to the folds of his father's shirt.
Hisato allowed the boy to cry like this for a few moments before carefully moving him back. "There now. What hurts?"
The boy's wide eyes scrunched into a look of frustration that could have rivaled Uni's. He broke eye contact and wrapped his arms around himself as he thought of how to answer. "All of me," he finally said.
A crease formed on Hisato's brow as he watched his son continue to stare at the floor and shake with silent sobs. He watched as the big tears welled up and slid down the boy's cheek. That's when his sharp eyes picked up on something strange. He ran a thumb just under the boy's right eye and felt the three linear grooves that were forming there.
In a way, he was relieved. Now he knew what was wrong. However, there was still a problem. This was all normal for those of the Hoshigaki bloodline, except that it usually didn't occur until the age of six or seven. The solution was simple enough, but the questing was: how do you teach the concept of chakra control to a child who just turned three?
"Do you know what chakra is?" Hisato ventured.
A quick shake from his son's head and he was cursing inwardly. "Well it's like… air," he tried. "You can't see it or touch it, but you can feel it inside of you. Understand?"
The boy responded with a big sniffle and a few more tears.
He sighed. "Come here." He scooted his son into his lap and placed one of his big hands over the boy's stomach. "Chakra comes from deep in here, but it moves all over inside you. Right now there's too much out, and that hurts, so you have to put it away. Understand?"
When his son's head shook this time, the curse Hisato thought up was much higher on the vulgarity scale. He ran his free hand through his hair in frustration. Desperately he tried to come up with some way to explain this.
"It's like your toy box," he doubtfully tried. "If you take the toys out and leave them lying around, your mother yells at you, right?"
The boy nodded his head.
"And that's no good. Is it?"
He shook his head rapidly.
"So if you don't want that to happen, you have put your toys away. Chakra is the same. If you don't keep it put away, bad stuff happens and it hurts. Okay?"
Finally, a nod of comprehension.
"Good," Hisato said with a proud smile. Now all he had to do was teach the kid control. "I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath." When the boy did this he waited a moment and said, "Good. Now let it out. I want you to do that again but as you put air in your lungs, you have to put all the hurting feelings deep in your tummy at the same time."
He held his own breath as his son sucked in air, and sure enough he sensed a tiny, but noticeable trickle of chakra make its way into the child's chakra coils. It all made its way back out when the breath was released, but it was still a step in the right direction. They repeated this a few more times until most of the chakra was being 'put away' and then he said, "You're doing so well, small fry! And I bet that when you hold your breath it doesn't hurt as much does it?"
"Uh-huh." The child managed to sound a little pleased with himself rather than completely despondent.
"This time, when your breath out I need you to think very hard about keeping the hurt feelings in. Can you do that for me?"
There was a thoughtful pause, and then, "Uh-huh."
It took a few tries, but finally enough of the child's chakra was stabilized that he was no longer in pain.
Before Hisato knew it, his son's breathing evened out and he realized the child in his arms was sound asleep. Gently he laid the child back down, tucked his blanket around him, and rose to leave the room.
Once back in the living area, he found Uni sitting at their low table. She had a bottle of sake out, a cupful already poured that she was glaring at as though it was insulting her. As soon as he entered the room her head snapped up and she asked, "Well? Is he alright? Should we call the medics again? Is he-"
"He is fine," he cut in. "Merely worn out."
"Worn out? Worn out things don't constantly-"
"If you'll let me explain?" he cut in again. He sat down across from her and gave a worried sigh. "Do you remember that discussion we had about the changes we can expect as he gets older?"
"The whole 'turning into a Fish Freak' thing?"
One side of Hisato's mouth quirked into an amused smirk. "Yes, that. It seems these changes have begun earlier than expected and they were causing him some pain."
She stared at him blearily and said, "Some pain? So you're saying our son really is a wimp, then?"
He understood where she was coming from. He knew she had grown up a true ninja of the Bloody Mist, but he couldn't help the bite in his voice as he answered. "I'm saying that our toddler has more chakra than most genin, and that it was burning him from the inside."
He was pleased to see the comprehension in her eyes as she asked, "Will he be alright?"
"He should be. I taught him the basics of control and he grasped it easily enough. As long as we start training and he keeps it up there won't be anymore problems."
She gaped at him and said, "You... you taught a three-year-old chakra control?"
He responded with a satisfied smile.
"Holy shrimp-nuggets..." she breathed in awe.