Homecoming and Prank Wars
Chapter 4
Tsunade shook her head, "Obito, You know I love you, but you can't just go around defacing public property . . ."
"Obito didn't deface it, Obito painted it!"
Tsunade rubbed her eyes tiredly, "But the Hokage tower isn't yours to paint!"
"If it's public property, then Obito owns it too, right?"
Tsunade reached for a bottle of Sake, "I'm beginning to understand Deidara, God help me . . ."
...
"I take it the visit didn't go well . . ."
Akira shook his head, "Those self-righteous, filthy . . ."
Tomoe sighed, "Why?"
"They don't even want to know what good he's done, they don't care if he's reformed, they don't care if he's canonized as a Saint! They don't have any room in their cold, dead hearts to forgive their own child!"
Tomoe sat down sadly, "I . . . We, the way we treated Eiichiro . .. Do you think . . ."
Akira sat next to her, "No. We don't hate him, I wish to God he'd have been able to see what he was doing and stop. But . . ."
"How can they be so cruel?"
Akira put his head in his hands "You know how they are, in there minds Kidoumaru disgraced them and the Naraku name. No matter what he does, they'll always have that attached to them, and they can't forgive him for that. They value their reputation more than they value their child."
Eiji stood jut outside the doorway, listening. They're the disgrace to our family name, abandoning their own kid. Kidoumaru still loves them, what's he going to do if . . . We have to tell him, so that he doesn't try to come and find out for himself. How in God's Name to you tell a guy his parents hate him?
...
Kidoumaru stretched out lazily on the grass, "So, Babe, what would you think if I dressed like Sai?"
Sakura laughed, "I'd rather you dress like Akamaru."
"But Akamaru doesn't wear. . . OH,,,!" He laughed, "Mmmmm, you are a pervert, aren't you? I'm underage, remember?"
Sakura pouted, "Every day!"
He sat up on his back elbows, "I still don't know how I'll tell everyone that my birthday is in December, not July, I'm gonna' look like a first-class fool."
"No, people will understand, I mean, you probably didn't have much time to remember those sorts of things in Otogakure. How old were you when you left, six? You can't be expected to know everything about your life before that!"
"I guess not." "Kidoumaru, I was wondering . . . About your parents . . ."
"My parents are Shikato-San and Yoshino-san. The other two, they don't want me back."
Sakura put her hand over his, "How can you be . . ."
Kidoumaru frowned, "Look, they hate me, alright? They aren't forgiving people, and I disgraced them by running off with Orochimaru. They'll never forgive me, not even if I saved their lives. So please, I really don't want to talk about it."
Sakura looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"I know, I'm not mad at you, it's my own fault. I chose to become a monster."
"You were six for God's sake! You couldn't have chosen what clothes to wear! How were you supposed to know? Your parents shouldn't judge you like that, you made a mistake, and you owned up to it. You turned your life around, and they don't care? They're the problem, not you!"
He stared off into space for a while, "When I told you, months ago, that I didn't know if my parents were alive or dead . . . I lied. I tried to write them, and they told me . . . That I should have stayed dead."
Sakura's jaw dropped, "My God . . ."
He started shaking, "I can't . . . Tell you what it feels like . . ."
For the first time since she'd met him, Kidoumaru started to cry. She pulled him against her, and he started sobbing.
...
"Go away, we don't want to talk with either of you!" Jin moved back into his shop, followed closely by Eiji and Zaku.
"You can't just treat your own son like that! You think he's bad? You're worse! At least Kidoumaru is trying to change, you're still the same old pig you always were!"
Jin turned and slapped Eiji across the face, "I said, get out of my work-shop!"
Zaku raised his palms, "Okay, you asked for it, you #!"
Zaku's voice was cold and filled with rage.
"Zaku, NO!"
But it was too late. A high-pitched vibration echoed through the workshop, shattering pottery left and right until everything was wrecked, "Nobody hits my brother, #!-face!"
Jin had fallen to his knees, covering his ears, and he now stood slowly, looking around wide-eyed and white-faced, shaking with terror. "Y-you'll pay for this, brat!"
"Make me, you son of a . . ."
"Zaku! I think we better leave now . . ."
Jin screamed in rage as the boys walked out of his workshop and back toward their family home.
Eiji put an arm around Zaku, "Hey, thanks."
Zaku shrugged, "Hey, somebody's got to take care of you."
...
Sakon and Ukon waited inside the Hokage tower for their prey.
"Here she comes."
Sakon leaned forward and grinned at Shizune, "Hey baby, wanna' see my Cursed Seal?"
Tsunade started laughing wildly, "It looks like you have an admirer, Shizune!"
"Sorry, kid, I don't date children."
Sakon huffed, "I'm not a kid, I'm sixteen!"
Ukon stirred, "Give it up, little brother. No girl's gonna' date freaks like us."
Shizune shook her head, "It's not like that . . ."
"They're playing you, Shizune. They want you to feel guilty so you'll go out with him." Tsunade warned.
The Twins stuck out there tongues at her, "Liar!"
"I'm telling you, these brats are up to something . . ."
...
"A pen! They dragged us all the way here for a pen!" Maki nodded absently as Yoshi whined. Dosu, Yoshi, Kara and Maki sat around a table in a small snack bar.
Dosu grinned, "Hey, Maki, your pants are on fire."
Maki nodded, "Yeah. I guess. Huh, what?"
"You weren't even listening!" Yoshi shouted.
"Well, if you'd quite whining about the your crappy mission I might, jan!"
"What the Hell does jan mean?!"
Kara laughed, "He doesn't know, he says it because Kankurou-San says it."
Maki huffed, "I do know! Tough guys say it, jan! It doesn't mean anything!"
"Alright, let's get to something else." Dosu said, "So, Maki, what made you admire Kankurou-San?"
Maki leaned back, "Well, I saw him fight once, when I was a kid. My parents took me to Sunagakure to visit my aunt, and I saw Kankurou-Sama practicing. He was so cool! I'd never seen a Ninja Puppeteer before, he was amazing! And the way he made Karasu move, he took a carved wooden puppet and made him alive! I wanted to be just like him, to be a puppeteer, jan." He paused, "My Chakra abilities are naturally water, I had to learn a new way to focus and direct my abilities, jan. It took years of training just to perfect my use of Chakra strings, a lot of people said I couldn't do it, but I did . . ."
Dosu shook his head in amazement, This kid learned to use a whole new elemental Chakra so he could become a Ninja Puppeteer! How many people have the dedication, the sheer obsessive force of will to do something like that? Outside of Rock Lee, I've never heard of someone like that!
"Wow, you really worked your #! Off, didn't you? There aren't many Ninja Puppeteers around, did you train yourself?"
"Yes. I studied every book, every scroll I could find, I watched films of great puppeteers in action, I made my puppets with my own hands . . ."
"If I had that kind of drive, I'd be Hokage by now." Yoshi said in awe.
...
"I'm on to you . . ." Kakashi stared into the cat's eyes, "You're all alike . . ." Bang meowed, "Oh, don't play innocent with me! I know what you're up to, and I won't let you make a monkey out of me!"
"Meow?"
"A likely story!"
Suddenly the cat made it's move, jumping onto Kakashi's lap and rubbing up against him, purring.
"#! It all! Noooooooooooo!"
Bang settled down for a nap . . .
To be continued...
