"What the fuck you talking about I have to take care of some snot-wiping brats?"
Hiruzen rubbed his forehead and glared at Yumi. She was less the motherly type he had expected. Yamamoto Yumi was a broad woman with bushy brown hair tangled up around hairclips. She had dark brown eyes and a permanent scowl over her thin eyebrows. Behind her stood two men, one was tall and built with black hair shaved up into a massive curl and a thick beard. Next to him was a smaller man with a white scarf wrapped around his head like a turban. Each of the men had a sword and a few kunai strapped to different parts of their body.
"If you would keep your voice down, maybe then I'd be able to explain it better. You keep jumping down my throat before I can," Hiruzen answered.
He had a massive migraine and Yumi's loud voice was somehow increasing it.
She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyebrows. "Keep talking."
Hiruzen took a deep breath and clasped his hands together as he focused on the smugglers. That was what they were. They illegally smuggled weapons over the border of Iwagakure and occasionally even drugs. Hiruzen hadn't liked the idea of handing Naruto and Kitsune over to the smugglers but the Keepers clearly saw something in them that he didn't. Yumi was the leader of the smugglers and was ruthless in everything she did. She never took no for an answer. Especially when it came to getting a few extra ryo here and there.
"You have merely been assigned as the legal guardians of two children who had lost their parents to the catastrophe of the Bijū attack. Nothing intensely major. All of which I'm sure you can handle, with your outstanding expertise."
The smaller man glared at him. "Are you fucking with us?"
"Shut up, Mako," Yumi snapped. She slammed her hands down onto the table, shaking glasses and scrolls. "Why would I take care of stupid refugee brats when I have to watch out for full grown idiots myself? I don't have time to babysit babies!"
"Think of this as your ticket for the shinobi to turn a blind eye to your illegal activities. You'd have a clean break without having the authorities breathing down your neck," Hiruzen grinned.
The three smugglers visibly paled. Their activities were known by all but for the Hokage to find out; and still speak so plainly about it like it was a simple issue, it really made you think if you should up your game a little.
Yumi huffed out an annoyed breath and rolled her eyes to disguise her surprise. "Like they would do anything. You've known about my group's schemes for years and haven't done shit to stop it. As if bribing would change my mind to adopt two children."
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Yumi. You've already been chosen as their legal guardian. You are to take the twins home with you and raise them until a suitable age when they can take responsibility for themselves."
Yumi's face grew red and her hands clenched into fists at her side. Her whole body trembled and Hiruzen could see as she ground her teeth together. The taller man looked nervous as he looked between Yumi and Hiruzen, biting the corner of his lip. Mako, however, grinned like a cat. It spread across his face slowly but not discreetly.
Yumi sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, the veins in her neck twitching. Mako and the taller man looked at her in confusion. Was she actually considering taking in these children? There must've been a reason no one had taken them in? Maybe they were deformed or something.
"Where are the brats?" Yumi asked.
"What?!" Mako yelled, staring at his commander. He stepped around her and stood in front of her, his small eyes staring her down. "Yumi, you can't actually want to take these kids in? We have enough problems as is without two extra. Two extra! Besides, we don't have enough room for babies that will keep you up all night."
"Maybe it's about time that you grew up, Mako," her eyes lowered to him. "Literally and figuratively."
The taller man chuckled and looked out the window, scratching the back of his neck. Hiruzen glanced at Yumi but couldn't tell what she was thinking. Her expression was cold and blank, like she was thinking it through but at the same time, just letting it slide. Her eyes also seemed to darken. Maybe that was her way of thinking difficult decisions. Yumi pushed Mako off to the side and focused on Hiruzen.
"Well, am I gonna see these brats or do I have to wait until I get dumped with them?"
O~O
The wall to the hospital was silent and by all witnesses, awkward. Mako trailed behind the group and kicked stones like a child that hadn't gotten his way. Every so often he would glare up at Hiruzen then at Yumi then glare at the ground again. Hiruzen had also learnt that the taller man was named Yoshi. He was a lot calmer and seemed to accept Yumi's decisions, believing it to be in all of their best interests. Despite his large build, he must've had a soft heart underneath it all.
As they walked, the occasional passer-by would bow at Hiruzen but then would rush off to tend to other matters. The village was still in shambles from the Bijū attack and it would time for everything to be repaired. The villagers had decided what better time than now. That was what Hiruzen loved about Konoha. Everywhere he looked, villagers helped each other by handing their neighbours extra blankets or wood to rebuild a wall.
It wasn't as if he had enforced some law on the people to always help each other. They simply did so of their freewill.
Hiruzen looked off to the far east of Konoha. Shadows from the mountain casted over a small section of the village, otherwise known as the slums. He hadn't been there before but from what he'd heard, the people there hated the Hokage and all the people of the leaf. Yumi was proof of that. Just from her attitude, he could tell she wanted to decapitate him and stick his head of a spear.
They entered Konoha hospital, which seemed like one of the few buildings which were still intact. An odd wall here and there was broken down but other than that it looked better than a lot of the villagers' homes. Hiruzen nodded at one of the nurses as he passed. He didn't need to still bother stopping at reception just to see someone. If the Hokage came to the hospital, you knew it was for something important.
They passed room after room and had to climb countless flights of stairs. The lead nurse, Ling, had made sure to put them in the safest wing of the hospital. Two Jinchūriki couldn't just be left anywhere unless someone really wanted them dead.
They reached a ward that was less busy than the others. Two of the rooms had windows so you could look through and nurses bustled in and out of different rooms. Cries came from a number of them and Hiruzen knew they had reached the nursery. While he walked, Yumi followed beside him but Mako stayed further behind. He fiddled with his fingers nervously as he glared at nurses. The smell was enough alone to make him agitated.
Hiruzen stopped outside of a window and looked in. There were seven cribs in each row and there were five rows. Every crib was empty except for the two in the middle. The two babies in the crib were asleep and wore one piece pyjamas, one was blue and the other was pink. The colours separated the two different genders.
Yumi frowned as she eyed the cribs. "Those the brats?"
"Which one's the girl?" Yoshi asked as he pressed his face against the glass.
Mako growled and stood on tiptoes to see into the room. He dropped down and kicked Yoshi in the shin. "The one wearing pink, teme! What kind of hospital makes boys wear pink?"
Yoshi opened his mouth to protest but the look he received from Yumi made him close it again. He lifted his ankle and rubbed his shin which had started to turn bright red.
Yumi turned to Hiruzen. "When do I have to take them home?"
Hiruzen expected Mako to look up at her surprised, but he merely muttered a curse under his breath and scratched under his scarf. He looked into the room. The nurses weren't really that busy and seemed to be having a friendly conversation amongst each other. One of the nurses however, stood over the boy's crib with a clipboard in her hands. She was staring at him as if he was some kind of complicated equation. Then she scribbled something down on the paper.
Hiruzen rubbed the back of his neck. "Only one way to find out."
He reached out and tapped the glass. The nurses having a conversation jumped in surprise and spun. A few of them blushed in embarrassment and huddled up together. But the one near the cribs looked up and stared at Hiruzen. Her green eyes looked tired but still calculating. Something was running through her mind as she stared.
She turned to the nurses and waved a hand at them. Almost instantly, they began to file out of the room. Hiruzen nodded at the door and the three smugglers took that as an invitation to enter. He was the last to enter and closed the door behind him.
The nurse placed the clipboard down on a table and smiled at the four. "Hokage-sama, something I can help you?"
"How are our patients doing?" Hiruzen smiled.
The nurse smiled again and looked down at the sleeping babies. Now that they were up close, Yumi was able to see what the twins looked like. They stood next to the girl's crib. She wore a baby pink onesie with a fluffy pink cap over her scarlet hair. She was oddly small and chubby and her eyes were still puffy. Her skin was a flushed pink and her hands were not much bigger than Mako's palm. Yumi didn't know much about babies, but as far as this girl went, she was pretty damn cute. She then looked over to the boy's crib. He was much bigger than the girl and of average size. He wore a baby blue onesie with a blue cap that hid all of his hair. The only way to know he had blonde hair was to look at his eyebrows. On each of his cheeks were three identical whisker marks resembling that of a cat.
Yumi then noticed that the two babies were facing each other, with one of their arms each pushed through the bars. As if they had been trying to reach out to each other.
"Doing well, all things considered. They've had their blood tests, hearing exam, pulse oximetry tests, and everything else along those lines. They're the picture of health," she smiled.
She glanced at the smugglers in uncertainty then at Hiruzen. "Are these the people who will take care of the twins?"
"Hai. Just wanted to know when they'd be released, if you know at all," Hiruzen wondered aloud. He gripped onto the side of one of the cribs to keep his balance. Ling's eyes widened and she bit the corner of her lip. Her eyes darted to the smugglers then to Hiruzen.
"I'd prefer to discuss the details... in private."
"Why you little bi-"
"Mako! I suggest you leave before I personally make you," Yumi hissed. Mako looked up at Yumi then at the nurse. He grumbled and stomped out of the room, grabbing Yoshi by the sleeve and dragging him out with him.
Ling stared at Yumi in surprise but quickly shook it off. She picked Naruto up from his crib and began to unbutton his onesie. Then she lifted up the white shirt he wore and revealed the Reaper Death Seal mark. The flesh around it had healed up and it looked like a normal painted in seal. Hiruzen looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the astonishment on Yumi's face. Ling looked up at Hiruzen, her eyebrows furrowed together.
"We do need to discuss what you plan to do with these Jinchūriki when they reach a certain age..."
"Ling, they're too young to worry about that. And neither should you," Hiruzen answered.
"Too young? Too young?" she echoed. She stared down at the boy who had begun to stir from his sleep and kick around, feeling for the soft comfort of the crib. Gently, she lowered his shirt and buttoned his onesie up again before placing him back in the crib. Her expression had smoothed out as she watched the twins. She looked up at Hiruzen again. "This is dangerous, Hokage-sama. To raise children from such a young age as Jinchūriki... you'd only be looking for trouble."
Hiruzen imagined Kushina and Minato again. Both of them dying on the ground, their last pleas being that he look after their offspring. It was something he took to heart. He had spent the past nights simply trying to think of a suitable way for the twins to grow up safely without having the hatred of the villagers on their shoulders.
His gaze hardened as he stared up at Ling. "It was not my decision to make. By the time I arrived, it was too late. The Bijū had already been sealed in each of them. The Kyūubi in the boy, and the Nibi in the girl. If we had to remove the Bijū from them now-"
"They would die. I am well aware of that, Hokage-sama. That's why I wish to keep these two a little longer; just so I can have a fair assumption of what's going on. We can never be too sure with circumstances like."
Hiruzen sighed and nodded. It wasn't exactly what he wanted but it was better to be safe than sorry. Naruto and Kitsune were citizens of Konoha now. That meant they were his responsibility and he couldn't risk them getting hurt over his foolish arrogance. He turned to Kitsune. She blinked her eyes slowly, her eyes mere slits that he doubted she could see through. She yawned and rubbed a hand across her face. Then she began to roll in her crib. As cute as it was, she had no control of her body and even less of how to stay balanced. She knocked into the side of the crib causing the whole crib to shake. Ling's eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. Kitsune blinked her eyes again, rubbed her face then rolled onto her side.
She stuck her arm through the gap in the crib and tried to reach out. Hiruzen frowned at the unusual scene then noticed what she was doing. Naruto had woken up and was doing the same.
They were trying to reach their hands out to each other.
He smiled. Even at this age when they could barely contemplate what was right from wrong, they knew that the other was family.
Hiruzen turned to Yumi and placed his hands behind his back. "You must know now why we chose you as the legal guardians of these children."
"So they can lash out at me and kill me in my sleep? I knew the Hokage hated the slums but not enough that he'd release a Bijū on us," Yumi hissed, clenching her fists.
Ling looked from Hiruzen to Yumi in uncertainty, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to focus on anything but them. She turned to Naruto and Kitsune, who still attempted to touch hands, even though there was still enough space for a person to walk through. Her heart cried for those two.
To have such a terrible burden placed on you when you were so young... it wasn't even humbling. It was downright awful. They were going to be labelled as biological warfare weapons, even if they were far from it. What was even worse was the fact that their parents weren't alive. Hiruzen hadn't given her much detail to their family history, only that they had died in the Bijū attack.
I pray for you. May the spirits answer your prayers. Ling thought smiling. As if hearing her thoughts, the twins both looked up in unison at her, cerulean eyes staring back through puffy lids.
She looked back up at the arguing Hokage and smuggler. It didn't look like they'd reach an agreement any time soon. She moved past them toward her clipboard and looked over the chart. Everything seemed to be in order with the two. Their blood type was B, they were healthy and had no problems. Except for the presence of a Bijū in each of them. Their chakra network was already forming inside of them at an alarming rate. Most chakra networks took a few years to form inside a child but theirs... it was as if the Bijū were speeding up the process for their benefits.
"I ain't taking care of no demons!" Yumi's voice pierced her thoughts.
"They are not the demons. The demons are sealed within them and it is not their fault that they were chosen," Hiruzen answered back softly.
"Oh yeah, I bet it's that cliché again. Wrong place at the wrong time. The villagers are going to look at the two like they were the ones who had released the beasts. Their lives will be a living fucking hell and you'll be the one to blame for trying to cover it up! What kind of law is that anyway? None of the older generation are meant to tell the younger generation that these kids hold the Bijū? Someone will let it slip and a bounty the size of Kaze no Kuni on their heads! Do you really want them to live out a life like that?"
Hiruzen was silent and closed his eyes. It was true. The villagers would despise Naruto and Kitsune and accuse them of releasing the Bijū and attacking the village. They wouldn't care that they were new born babies. The beasts were inside of them. That's all they needed to know to fuel their anger.
"I will not let anything happen to Naruto and Kitsune. If they live with you, they'll be free of the accusing eyes of society and grow up peaceful lives. When you see fit... you may let them go and they can move into the village to see if they will find it accepting. Until then, I want you to take care of them. You can raise them the right way; so that they'll be able to take care of themselves instead of depending on each other," Hiruzen answered.
Yumi stared at Hiruzen then down at the twins. They had quickly fallen asleep as if the arguing had been something of a lullaby to them. As she looked closer at Kitsune, Yumi noticed something. Peeking out of the corner of her onesie were black markings. Something similar to spirals. Her heart hardened and so did her expression. The Reaper Death Seal was over her heart. Unlike her brother's which was on his stomach, hers was directly on her chest over heart.
She would die instantly if the Bijū was removed from her.
She couldn't bring herself to let innocent children die. They weren't even a few months yet... She looked up at Hiruzen, her eyebrows furrowing together. "When can I take them home?"
O~O
A week went by quickly and the day arrived where Yumi had to bring Naruto and Kitsune home with her. She had debriefed her men that there would be two extra by not that they were babies.
How would smugglers react to Jinchūriki children living with them? She didn't want to find out but she wouldn't be able to keep the twins a secret for long. Hiruzen kept her updated on their progress at the hospital even though there was nothing wrong with them. That pathetic nurse was being superstitious just because they hadn't shown signs of chakra overload. Shouldn't she be happy they were still alive and not a pile of organs from exploding?
Clearly not.
She entered the hospital with Yoshi and Mako and walked up to the receptionist. As her eyes rolled up to meet Yumi's, her expression changed to fear and her hand shot to the emergency button.
"I'm here for Uzumaki Naruto and Kitsune. Not you," Yumi stated, stuffing her hands into her pockets.
The nurse visibly relaxed and sighed. She then blushed in embarrassment as she realized she did it out loud and turned her attention to finding a visiting clipboard. She handed it to Yumi and forced a smile. "My apologies, Yamamoto-san. Please enjoy your visit!"
I bet you're wishing I trip down the stairs. Yumi thought. She snatched the clipboard from the nurse and began writing out her name and the date she came by. She didn't understand why she still needed to do it when the hospital was still trying to rebuild. The Bijū had left it a partial mess and she was surprised it was still standing. In fact, she had been hoping it would be destroyed along with everyone in it.
Yumi handed the clipboard back to the nurse and stomped past. She hated hospitals and this was her second time in the past few days. It reeked of death and reminded her of a time when she still lived in the safety of the village before being rudely shoved into the slums. Yoshi and Mako rushed after her, tripping over each other. It was worse when they proceeded up the stairs. Mako nearly fell over the railing and it didn't help he wasn't tall enough to reach it.
They reached the nursery but it was much busier now. Loud cries could be heard in every room along with the screams of mothers giving birth. Yumi shuddered.
The nursery wouldn't stay empty forever, she should've realized it sooner.
She walked up to the room on the right hand side and knocked on the door twice. More cries followed with that simple knock and she took a few steps back. It was like upsetting a hornet's nest. The door swung open and they were greeted by Ling, her raven hair pulled into messy bun underneath the nurse hat. She rose an eyebrow at the smugglers. Then looked back into the room. Her memory clicked and her mouth formed an "o" shape.
"I didn't think you'd show up," she said barely above a whisper.
"You think we'd leave the little fuckers here with you in this torture chamber? Fat chance in fucking hell!" Mako snapped. The nurses tending to the babies in the room turned and shot Mako disproving glares. They had heard about him from Ling and they didn't feel like dealing with him now.
Ling glared at Mako and ran a hand across her throat to indicate for him to shut up before turning back into the room. As Yumi passed, she smacked Mako a firm one on the back of his head, the sound echoing around the room, along with Mako's curse. She walked inside and noticed how full the room was. Everywhere she looked. Babies, babies, babies.
It was like a nightmare come to life.
She spotted Naruto and Kitsune immediately in their same spots from a week ago. They were awake now though, and blinking lazily at the ceiling. Of course their eyes were still puffy but it wasn't as bad as it had been before. Yumi looked to Ling who had fetched a duffel bag and handed it to her. Yoshi stepped up and took the bag, opening it up and rummaging through it.
He pulled out baby things. Diapers, baby food, medicine, and even a few toys. Yumi rose an eyebrow at Ling who genuinely smiled this time.
"That should last you a couple of days, maybe even a few weeks if you use them right. Hokage-sama thought you should have it easy for the first time since you haven't raised children before so we got all the basics for you. After that runs out though, you're going to need to buy your own," Ling said.
She went over to the cribs and lifted Naruto out first, who gurgled in protest. A thin line of saliva trickled down his chin. Yumi shuddered. Baby spit, great.
Ling handed Naruto to her and smiled and stroked the boy's head. He twitched his head in response and closed his eyes. She laughed and went over to Kitsune's crib, lifting her out and making her way to the two men. She looked between Mako and Yoshi, unsure of who to entrust Kitsune to.
Yoshi stepped up and held his arms out. At first Ling looked reluctant and seemed to tighten her fingers around Kitsune's pink clothes but eventually handed her over to the taller man. He held Kitsune close to his chest and smiled as she yawned, showing off her two rows of gums. Ling looked to Yumi and clasped her hands in front of her. "If you need anything... Anything. Just come by and I'll be glad to help you."
I'll? Yumi had expected Ling to say "we'll" and refer to the nurses behind her but it looked like she was taking responsibility for the twins on her own. Did the other nurses know of the Bijū? Was that why they didn't help Ling to take Naruto and Kitsune out of the cribs?
Shoving all questions aside, Yumi stared down at the ground, her lip curling in disgust at what she was about to say. "Ari-Arigato," she muttered.
Ling stared at Yumi blankly, blinking her large eyes at her. Then she smiled.
"Dōitashimashite, Yumi-san. I hope to see you again soon."
"That better not be an assumption that I'll come running back because I couldn't change a diaper," Yumi growled.
Ling laughed. A light and sweet sound that was almost too sweet. Her eyes seemed to shine now instead of looking dull and bored. "Not at all. Just stating if you need help, you're more than welcome to ask me. I work here all day everyday."
"Sad life," Mako muttered, staring at Kitsune.
Ling glared at the shorter man then looked to Yumi. She bowed respectively then straightened up, smiling brightly. She then simply turned and walked to one of cribs and began speaking to a nurse.
That was it then.
Yumi turned and made her way out, carrying Naruto as if he was going to have an accident on her at any moment. Yoshi followed closely behind with Mako running after them. They left the hospital and made their way towards the slums.
Their home.
It was the least developed part of the village, consisting of derelict apartments, ditches, damaged and unfinished dirt roads, with a seeming lack of plumbing and electrical upkeep. It was home to many of Konoha's poorer population. It was a squalid district with unfinished construction and neglected architecture. The entrance to the slums from Konoha consisted of narrow airways, with the western part of it all home to small markets and produce stands. After travelling through a narrow valley to get to "downtown" slums, a more open area was here that connected to the water slums.
Their home was near the water slums, but a safe enough distance that you didn't need to worry about someone drowning. It wasn't much. It was a rectangular shaped concrete house with enough rooms for a whole gang of smugglers and all the other basic rooms. During the past week, Yumi had been preparing the twins' room for them since they sure as hell were not going to sleep with her in her room.
It was bad enough she always had to wake up when they cried.
The door to the Den, as they called their home, opened and a small group of smugglers came out. Just like Mako, they had white scarves wrapped around their heads but were much taller than him. They were speaking amongst themselves, laughing and grinning. Until they saw Yumi. They went quiet and straightened up.
"Yumi-sama, we have news about a convoy with medicinal dru—Yumi-sama? Why are you holding a baby?"
Yumi looked down at Naruto. The walk and being outside must've tired him because he had fallen asleep and was drooling against her shirt. She wanted to bash his head in, but being a baby, he'd probably die before her fist would connect with his flesh.
"D-d-Don't tell me... these a-a-are the extra t-two you spoke about?" one of them exclaimed, pointing a shaking finger at the sleeping babies.
"Are we gonna sell them?"
"Did you steal them from the hospital?"
"Cold. But I respect your decision. Lots of people would pay a lot for a baby. Especially a blonde haired girl."
"That's a boy, you dumb shit!"
"Yeah right!"
"Shut up all of you!" Yumi snapped. The group immediately shut up and straightened up again. Even if they were idiots, they knew when to listen to their commander.
She sighed and wished she could rub her forehead. She stared all of them down, her eyes darkening and growing cold. "These children will be staying with us. And no, I didn't steal from the hospital; and no, we're not going to sell them either. In return for taking care of these Jinchūriki, the Hokage has offered to ignore our activities and pay a sum of money to make sure these brats are kept alive. None of you, and I repeat, none of you, are to hurt these children. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal. But I do have one question," one asked, stepping forward. She nodded at him. "Did you just say that they're Jinchūriki? As in they are the host bodies for a Bijū?"
"Really? Those things?" someone else questioned.
"What, so these kids are like the controllers or something? The Bijū answer to them?"
"That'll be a good thing to have on our side. In case a war breaks out, we can command the Bijū to attack our enemies."
"We will do no such thing!" Yumi snapped. She couldn't believe that her men were talking about the children as if they were pawns to use in a war.
She handed Naruto to Mako and took a few steps towards the men. "I don't want to hear any talk about you trying to use these kids as weapons. They are human beings and were unfortunately chosen to bear demons. But that doesn't change the fact they have feelings and if I ever hear you discuss ways to use their power as an advantage in a fight, I will rip off the one thing you find most valuable and feed it to you! Do I make myself clear?"
They nodded quickly, their hands darting to cover their crouches. Yumi glared at them for a solid few more seconds before she spun around and took Naruto from Mako. She then stormed inside, stomping angrily.
Hard to believe she just defended children she barely knew. Maybe they were already rubbing off on her.
