10/18/17 - if you haven't already, read the first chapter again- it's been a long time since I've updated and have done a bit of revising
By now, the village had been informed of the situation at hand. Naruto had always taken up the name Reiko when her identity was in danger. While it wasn't often Konoha shinobi, or even others came searching for the lost Jinchurriki, Satomi created it as a fail-safe. Kusagakure easily adapted to these situations, but it was not commonplace to mention Naruto to strangers anyhow.
Their wait in the Tower was short, as things Satomi had planned were pushed to later in the day. Azumi had sent them up only a few minutes after they set foot in the building. Naruto had been silent during the trip, with only her hand brushing absently against Yoko's back. As much as she didn't want to stick around, this was important to her and the village. They needed this alliance if they were to survive a second large scale war.
After Kenji knocked politely on the door, it only took a minute for Satomi to exit the room. "Welcome home Kenji, I see that you brought our guests." The brown haired leader said, holding her arm out. The two Kusa nin grasped each other's forearms in greeting. "You can give me the mission report later today. For now, I'd like to welcome our visitors." Satomi turned toward the Konoha nin, bowing her head to them. "My name is Satomi Tsukino, the leader of Kusagakure. It's a pleasure to have you here."
Kakashi stepped forward and introduced himself as the team leader. They spoke for a minute or so, allowing Satomi to explain their arrangements for their stay. Satomi had booked a few rooms for them to stay at the Ivy Vine Inn. "We thank you for hospitality, Tsukino-sama." He bowed at the waist, the rest of the group following suit.
Polite at least. Naruto thought as she watched the exchange. As the team leader, Kakashi was invited into her office for him to explain their goals before the council meeting. Which meant that Naruto was left waiting outside with the rest of the nin. She had Kenji at least.
His hand hovered close to hers, so she began to tap on it with her index finger. Kusa nin were a 'jack of all trades' sort. Of course, everyone specialized in something, but had basic training in everything. Morse code came more in handy than most would realize, as did sign language.
Welcome home, she tapped onto the back of his hand. Good to be back. Youpale. Okay?, he tapped back. Naruto winced. Of course she was. Yes. Maybe. Talk later. Kenji caught her eyes, giving her a nod. He grasped her hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. She smiled briefly at him.
After a few minutes of silent waiting, the door to Satomi's office opened, and the two nin appeared before the group. Naruto's hand slid from Kenji's and returned to Yoko's head.
"Well, that settles just about everything." Satomi declared. "Enjoy your stay and rest before the meeting tomorrow. I have other things to attend to, but I'm sure you'll be able to find your way around this small village." And with that, the brunette leader retreated back into her office.
Silence settled back over the hallway.
Well this is awkward. Naruto thought, suddenly becoming interested in the floor tiling. When she glanced back up, she noticed the others were standing around as well. The team leader, Kakashi, had pulled out an all too familiar orange book. Shikamaru sat in one of the seat lining the walls, his eyes closed. Sakura was looking at her nails, and Sasuke was leaning disinterestedly against the wall. Naruto flinched when she looked to Sai, who was staring straight at her with a strange smile twisted onto his lips.
Sakura coughed lightly and the blonde was glad to have something to draw her attention. "Do you think one of you could show us the way to the inn? If it's not too much trouble, of course." She asked, stepping forward.
Kenji shook his head, pointing toward the clock hanging on the wall. "I would, but my grandmother is worried about me, from what I've heard." Kenji nudged Naruto with his elbow. "We'll no doubt see each other again." He turned to Naruto. "Drop by my place tonight, Grandma will cook too big of a meal again. See you around,"
Shit. This wasn't good. Now she was being forced to spend more time with these people? The team looked expectantly at her and she groaned internally. "I have some time, I can show you the way."
Sakura's eyes brightened. "Great! Do you think you could give us a tour as well? This is my first time in the village. I actually don't think many of us have come here before. Kakashi?"
The silver haired man looked up from his book. "I've passed through once or twice." And then back down again. When no one else spoke of being in Kusa before, Sakura looked to her again.
"Thank you, Reiko-san. I'm sure you must be very busy,"
Naruto shrugged, indifference rolling off her. It was her village's speciality to be like this, and not once had it failed her. She could only hope that statement would ring true after this.
Kusagakure was built up- not out, so not to disturb the surrounding forest. Buildings towered over the cities wall's, apartment complexes and offices abundant at the center of the village. It was a modern village, all buildings sticking to a grid layout that made it harder to get lost. The western sector of the village was primarily housing and places of civilian education- while the eastern was filled with training grounds and the Shinobi academy. Naruto also lived in the eastern sector, where she found being close to the training grounds a blessing.
The most travelled road in the village was definitely what the villagers would nickname "the Link". The Link connected the village gates and the government tower, making things fairly easy for visitors. Most of the village's hotels and shops were also clustered near the Link, which Naruto had been thankful for every day when she lived there.
Compared to Konohagakure- Kusa was small. It did well for the population of Kusa, and Naruto wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Naruto lead the Konoha nin around the village, exhaustion settling over her, both in mind and body. Sakura seemed to have endless questions as the blonde explained things. The rest of the group trailed behind lazily. Still, she was glad that Sakura was eager to learn about her village.
Despite her feelings, that Kusa-famous stone face never slipped. She allowed herself to smile at times- or more like forced herself. Much like she forced herself to be interested in Sakura's stories of what Konoha was like. After showing them the residential area, she brought them up toward the Tower to their inn. The sun had begun its descent in the sky by the time they had finished, darkness expanding across the horizon to greet the vibrant red-orange sky.
They stopped outside of the inn, saying their long awaited farewells. The inn itself was new, only built five years ago. It had taken the place of the crumbling old Haru Inn, but had kept the name in favour of tradition. The structure had the classic white inn siding with a brick face. The brick surrounded the double white oak doors, vines trailing around the door. On the third and final floor, a balcony stretched across the wall. It was the honeymoon suite, but it was mainly the rich who stayed in it.
Naruto ignored the shouting she heard in the distance as she grudgingly shook everyone's hand. "It was no problem," she said in reply to Sakura's thanks. They said their farewells and were gone their separate ways.
That is, if they hadn't heard a cry of "come back!".
Turning, Naruto had just enough time to see Yuki barrelling toward her, arms stretched out to capture her waist. Behind her was Akarui, panting as she ran. The redhead really needed a break, and babysitting Yuki was not one. It was technically Naruto's fault; whatever went wrong. She had left Yuki with Akarui.
"... Your daughter?" Kakashi asked hesitantly. Naruto couldn't see it, but there was definitely surprise swimming in that one eye of his.
"Reiko! Save me from her!" Yuki called out, clinging desperately to Naruto's waist.
"Your sister...?" Kakashi corrected his previous statement.
"Something like that," She said to Kakashi. "What's wrong?" She placed her hand atop Yuki's red head, looking up at Akarui, questions forming in her mind.
"I tried to take her home, but she refused to go. It took me 20 minutes to get her to leave the shop," Akarui explained between breaths.
She looked back to Yuki, whose blue eyes were brimming with mischievous excitement. Laughing, she tickled the girl's sides, making her squirm away from the Jinchuuriki. "Stop making so much trouble for Akarui, she's hard at work these days," She said in a sterner voice, but the playfulness was still there.
"I'm sorry Akarui," She bowed her head in apology. Akarui ruffled Yuki's hair for the second time that day. She then apologized to the nin from Konoha, for interrupting their conversation. Kakashi waved her apology off, saying that it wasn't something to apologize for.
Finally, the two groups parted from each other.
Before walking to Kenji's apartment, they dropped by Akane and Yuki's house. Akane greeted Yuki with an oddly absent hug and the generic "where have you been? I was worried sick!' spiel. After Akane thanked the two shinobi for looking after her child, she closed the door to them. Naruto shrugged off the strange exchange and set her course on Kenji's apartment at the top of the Link.
The apartment was lit up, the aroma from Grandma's cooking could be smelt in the third floor's hallway, and only got stronger as you neared apartment 308. Instead of knocking, Akarui reached for the door handle. It was unlocked.
"Excuse us!" Naruto called out, trying to make up for her friend's bad behaviour. Naruto sat on porch step, unlatching her sandals and putting them neatly to the side. She strolled down the entryway, stopping just before the kitchen where Kenji blocked her path.
"Entry is forbidden," When she gave him a pointed look, he added, "Or no supper."
Pouting, she turned on her heel, walking through the archway she had passed on the way in. Kenji's living room was bland, if even that. Of course, she understood why. It was not often that Kenji had the leisure of relaxing at home, she should know. She had been in the ANBU long before him.
There was two white chairs and a matching couch nestled in the room, cushion's still stiff from the lack of use. A simple glass top coffee table separated them over top a black rug. There was a light above, one that lit up the whole room. But for a warmer feeling, Akarui had bought him a lamp that settled soft light over the room. A bookshelf full of dusty books was pushed against the farthest wall. The walls, of course, were white. There wasn't any color in this part of Kenji's apartment. Whenever the two girls came over, they would hang around in the kitchen, or lounge on his wonderfully comfortable bed.
Akarui had already spread herself over the couch, hardly leaving any room for the other two. The furniture was under used and extremely uncomfortable to sit on. The couch wasn't so bad, because it was the go to piece of furniture in his living room. Naruto made some room for herself by shoving Akarui's legs onto the ground and snuggling up beside her. Kenji joined in on the end.
Contentedness filled Naruto, the closeness of the three of them bring up old memories. For her first few years in Kusa, she was silent. She was so afraid of what could happen- what would happen. The resentfulness, the hateful stares, the harmful words. But they never came. And after awhile, she realized that they wouldn't come.
After her recovery began to progress, she was placed into a team with Akarui and Kenji. At the time she was around 12, and her complete lack of social interaction in her early days came back to bite her in the ass. The conversations that were had were awkward and choppy at best. Often times, Akarui would get frustrated over Naruto's lack of reaction, but Satomi helped greatly in explaining the situation to her new team.
She was so overjoyed when her new teammates adapted themselves to make her feel more comfortable and at home. She felt so at ease with them, she finally had people she could call friends. Soon enough, things were flowing smoothly for Naruto. She was finally able to live her life the way she wanted to, and finally, she was happy with her life.
"When will supper be ready?" Akarui's voice was muffled by the couch's cushions. Naruto rolled her eyes. Old habits die hard, she thought. Patience was never Akarui's strength.
"Whenever Satomi gets here," Kenji replied, taking a quick peek at the watch strapped around his wrist.
"What time is it now?"
"6:20," He replied, letting his arm hang off the couch again.
Naruto laughed as she heard Akarui blow air out of her nose, obviously hungry and tired of waiting. That was fair enough; she had spent the entire day organizing the store.
There was a polite knock on the door, and Akarui sprang up from the couch, making her way to the door. A moment later, she appeared in the archway with Satomi. "Busy day?" Kenji asked as the two remaining members of Team Satomi stood from the couch.
Satomi groaned. "Haru cornered me just before I left, she wanted to know how the new playground was coming along. She didn't seem to understand that there are bigger priorities at the moment," Naruto laughed, knowing how persistent Haru could get. They say a mother's love is stronger than anything else. Or so she's heard. They had gotten into arguments on more than one occasion.
"Well, now that you're here, let's eat," Kenji clapped his hands together, ushering them toward the dining table.
Kenji sat everyone at the table, then headed into the kitchen to help Mirai bring out the food. Naruto breathed in deeply when their dinner's aroma drifted from the kitchen when Kenji opened the door. Her stomach growled in anticipation. That, or Kurama was jealous that he couldn't have any.
A few minutes, Kenji and Mirai exited the kitchen. Plates of steaming food lined Kenji's arms, while Mirai only carried a platter with an array of dipping sauce on it. When their meal was set down, Naruto eyed it over. One of the plates held beef that was boiled to perfection and sliced thinly, another was a potato salad, and the other a broccoli dish. Naruto's mouth watered.
Kenji ducked back into the kitchen and returned with a single bowl, which he set in front of her. The blonde laughed lightly; it was ramen. "You didn't have to make me this," She said, glancing up to Mirai.
"It wasn't me!" She put up her hands in defence. The Jinchurriki turned to Kenji, looking for an explanation.
"It's your birthday. You deserve something special. After all, you're 20 today," He hooked his arm around Naruto's neck, pulling her into his chest. A second later, his knuckles connected with her skull, rubbing her head roughly.
"So close to being halfway to an old hag," Akarui chimed in, baring a mischievous smile. Satomi, who was coming close to 50 herself, scowled.
"You're not too far behind me Akuma," Naruto's muffled answer could be heard from behind Kenji's forearm. A quick jab to his side made him leave her alone. When Kenji backed off she quickly flattened her now wild hair. "Sit down so we can eat," She directed at her male teammate.
After Kenji was seated, they said their birthday wishes to the Jinchuuriki. Naruto picked up the chopsticks beside the bowl, wasting no time digging into the dish that was specially prepared for her.
Throughout the dinner, an array of flavors had danced in her mouth, having a little bit more than her fair share of food. Of course it didn't help that Mirai kept plumping slices of juicy beef onto her plate.
Like any birthday, her team had teased her mercilessly about embarrassing past actions and memories, making laughter the only sound one could hear in the apartment.
After the dinner ended and the table cleaned, Akarui handed her a card. Inside of it, a thoughtful paragraph about Naru was written in Akarui's careful and neat handwriting.
Dear Naru,
Can you believe you've had the pleasure of knowing me for 8 years? I'm just kidding around, but 8 years? Honestly, it feels like much longer to me. I don't know where I would be right now if you had never come to the village. You know, at first I didn't like you much. You never talked, and it always felt like you were ignoring me and everyone else in this village. But I'm glad that I was able to snag a special place in your heart despite that. I'm not going to lie, I'd be lost without you.
Much love,
Akarui
Her present- a premium trip to the spa. The blonde smiled, grateful for her gift. A spa day would be just what she needed. Kenji gifted her a katana with her clan's symbol etched into the flat of the blade. Satomi, a bottle of sake and a paid vacation to the Land of the Waves. Mirai brought hers last; a hand knitted blanket with an image of a one tailed fox on it. On the fox's chest, lay the Uzumaki spiral.
At the end, she was grinning so wide, she thought her face would split. Drawing them into a big hug, she let out a breathy laugh. "I really couldn't ask for a better family, I hope you all know that,"
Upon leaving Kenji's apartment, Naruto's hands breezed through the familiar hand signs for a reverse summoning jutsu. She knew she would be expected in the expansive forest by her summons, so she didn't bother travelling home where her bed would silently tempt her.
Leaves rustled above her in the warm breeze that travelled the forest, bringing the familiar sound of wind chimes with it. Smiling to herself, she got up from the ground. Birds chirped from their roasts in the towering trees, and if she listened close enough she could hear the scratching of tiny claws on bark. Unlike back in the moonlit Kusa, dusk was just settling over the fox's home, pale light filtering through the treetops.
Drawing in a deep breath of fresh, she closed her eyes. She loved this forest; the comfort it provided her, all the memories of this place in her good times and the bad. While it was never said aloud, Naruto knew there would always be a spot for her in the Ancient Forest. She couldn't count the amount of times she had hidden away from the world in here when she just couldn't handle it anymore, where Yoko was a constant reminder of that she was strong. That she could handle whatever the gods threw at her, for she had already pushed through so much.
When she opened her eyes, Yoko stood there, eyes bright and five white tails waving excitedly. Naruto reached down and ruffled the fur atop her head with a smile.
"Come on Naru, everyone's waiting for you," Yoko said, turning and padding off into the forest. Gazing beyond the fox, she could see the subtle glow of lanterns, and hear the yipping of her fox summons deep into the forest. Filled with subtle glowing warmth, she followed Yoko.
Shortly after getting back home, she had let herself fall straight into bed, a mound of blankets and pillows enticing her. When she awoke however, she woke to a mess. The lamp on her bedside table had been knocked off, the shade laying a foot away from it. Her alarm clock was absolutely destroyed- a kunai sticking out of where the snooze button had been. Sighing, she untangled herself from her sheets, picking up her lamp and throwing some of her many pillows back onto her bed. Reaching behind the table, she unplugged the alarm clock, throwing into the garbage bin on her way out of her room. She would need to get a new one today; and move the kunai pack from under her pillows.
Entering the kitchen, she pulled on the refrigerator door, finding it as empty as her stomach. She would need to get groceries too. Pushing a jug of milk to the wall of the fridge, she found a salad she had made a few days ago. Naruto groaned but took it out anyways. Taking a second look, she grabbed a bottle of caesar dressing from the door before walking away, kicking the door shut with her foot. Her stomach rumbled as she sat at the small round table off the kitchen. It would have to do for now, but she would need some protein sooner or later.
Flipping through yesterday's edition of Kusa Daily, she lazily munched on her salad. Like usual, there was nothing of too much interest. The front page was of course on the upcoming Fox Festival, which was a time where the village was most lively. Laterns much like the ones that hung in the Ancient Forest would be lining the streets, with everything from food vendors to games filling the Rinku. Of course, the grande parade was what drew the festivities to close; for the children anyways. With dozens of local performers, the village showcased its love for the arts, and for one of it's shinobi councilors. Naruto wished that they hadn't renamed it in her honour. That wasn't to say she was ungrateful for the village's affections; she just didn't think that she should be the sole one that was celebrated. Hundreds of shinobi fought alongside her during countless skirmishes, and her team had always stood by her side.
She recalled a time where she had been grievously wounded, hiding out in a ravine that was close to the border of the Hidden Waterfall country. She had been separated from her squad by the enemy, by using one of their own and her sharp sense of hearing to lure her off. Now she knew what she was doing was stupid, but as young and confident of her abilities as she was, she went off by herself. Following the cries to a deep ravine, she had not hesitated to drop down, unaware of the enemies waiting below. When she had landed on the ravine floor, the Kusa nin- Akio was his name- had lain dead, his throat slit.
Bubbling with rage she had faced the group of Waterfall nin, kunai in hand. It was four against one, where she received as much as she gave, and the threat of death loomed over her. This was before she understood how to harness Kurama's chakra effectively, making it no use to her. Attacking them with absolutely no plan is what made everything go so wrong. She had charged at the nearest one instantly, kunai ripping through his shirt and slashing along his stomach. In that moment, the other 3 had jumped into action, shuriken and kunai embedding into her flesh. She remembered screaming in rage, tearing through the skin on her thumb and summoning her most battle ferocious foxes. The puff of smoke had been enough to distract the enemy for a split second; long enough for her foxes to rip into throats with sharpened fangs.
She had slumped to the ground, her healing abilities not able to keep up with the wound she had sustained now that her adrenaline stopping pulsing through her. It would take some time for even her to heal without the help of a med-nin, of which she had no access to down in the ravine. She was almost in the enemy's territory, meaning that they could be anywhere above her. It could have been it for her if her squad- consisting of Anita, Shiro, and Kane- had not doubled back to check on her.
Nonetheless, her fellow shinobi were content with the celebration of her- what she thought didn't make a difference. She had been vehemently opposed to it at first, but after a few shinobi came up to her and gave her their two cents on why they thought it was a good idea, she relented and accepted it. If she couldn't change their minds, she might as well embrace it.
She flipped to the next page after skimming through the article on the festival, where a headline in bold black letters caught her attention.
FACT OR FICTION? SEARCH FOR MISSING GENIN CALLED OFF
KONOHA- The search for a young genin who reportedly went missing somewhere in the Fire country over 3 months ago has been called off after no one was found.
"The search has been discontinued. Searchers have not located anyone, nor has there been any sightings of the genin." An insider source reported after Konoha Police declined to make an official statement to the media about the closing of the investigation.
Despite Iwa's urgency for their genin to be returned, no information was made available to the public to assist Konoha's police in their search. It is believed by many that the genin never existed in the first place.
"No information was made available to the police force either, the whole situation was a mess." claimed the insider.
We reached out for a statement from both the Hokage and the Tsuchikage's offices, but received no answer.
Naruto sighed, rubbing at her eyes as realization dawned on her. This was really the last thing she wanted to see. But it also relieved her. There could be no ulterior motive to the Konoha nin. They had simply accepted Satomi's offer of assistance, and are here to draw up terms of the alliance. She groaned and her relief quickly faded away. With the threat of war looming on her village's doorstep, how could she possibly stop it?