Waking up from surgery sucked.

She was groggy, there was an annoying beep in her ear, her leg was on fire, and she could have sworn she'd heard someone mention something about tossing her in the Academy again. What on earth was going on?

She managed to squint her eyes open and make out a silver blob next to the bed. Kakashi?

The blob moved and a feminine voice came from it, sounding like it was in a tunnel. "Are you sure, Hokage-sama? I mean she is Jonin already. Putting her back in the Academy-"

Chiori-baachan. Not Kakashi.

She sighed, closing her eyes again and ignoring the disappointment trying to creep into her muddled mess of existence. Was she tired or dead? Both?

"I understand your concern, Chiori-san," the Sandaime spoke this time, sounding like he was speaking through a stack of pillows, "However, she is Jonin rank in Suna. Not Konoha and we don't know what her abilities are. Suna has already refused to acknowledge that she was taken prisoner, so it's either integrate her or execute her and personally, I'd rather integrate. Though, doing so, is in direct violation of warfare protocol."

"I was just getting ready to say that," Minato murmured or maybe spoke. Either way sounded far quieter than his normal tone, "Are we allowed to break warfare protocol that way?"

"Considering lineage, I don't see where it would be a problem. Unless her okaasan steps in that is."

If she could have, she would have snorted. Her okaasan? Yeah. Right.

"And if she doesn't?" Ah. There's Kakashi.

"Then she becomes a citizen of Konoha," Was the Hokage smiling? It sure sounded like it.

"What if she does?" Minato sounded way too worried. Her fingers twitched. She wanted to comfort him, but couldn't move. Anesthesia was a wonderful thing…

"She can't go back to Suna," Something was brushing her bangs and Chiori sounded closer than she had. Was the woman sticking up for her? "From what Minato's said, something's happened to her and it seems to involve her okaasan. She hates that woman."

Hate. Loathe. Want to kill… she could have chosen a lot more words than hate. Ah well.

"Until we know more details, all we can do is hope her okaasan doesn't try to retrieve her. If she tells us more, she may fall under Child Protection Protocol, but I'm not certain Suna has such a thing so don't hold me to it."

"Suna doesn't," Wait. What did she say? It didn't even sound like words.

"You awake?" Minato's voice sounded closer now too and that might have been his hand on her head. It was big enough.

She grunted, not trusting whatever noise she'd made when she'd tried to speak. She pried her eyes open. Blond blob. So, it was him brushing her bangs from her face.

"Welcome back, imouto," the blob smiled…maybe. Those might have been lips. How long did it take for anesthesia to wear off anyway? The blobs and the muffled voices were giving her a headache. So was the beeping. Couldn't they shut that off?

The fire in her leg spread to her back and her leg seized up. She jolted up, knocking her head into Minato's and half screaming/half sobbing as she grabbed for the appendage.

"Kakashi, get the nurse!" Minato barked, wrapping her in his arms as she tried to get the cramp out. It hurt!

Make it stop!

Chiori rubbed her back while Minato held her. "It's alright, sweetie," she murmured next to Taishi's ear, other hand working to massage the area of her thigh she couldn't reach. "Her leg's cramped."

"Hang on," Minato let go of her and gathered some of his chakra in his hands before placing them on her thigh, "The medics can do better, but this should help a little."

Warmth invaded her leg and dulled the fire raging in it causing the muscles to start relaxing. "Thank you," she whimpered, sounding a bit more coherent this time.

"You're welcome," Minato smiled, pulling her into his warmth again. She sighed, snuggling into his chest like a cat to its mother. It was pathetic and childish, but she was a child so screw anyone who said anything about it. Besides, he was her Aniki and if she wanted to coddle him, she would.

Weird.

Less than a week since he'd told her the truth and she was already attached to his hip. She nibbled her lip. That was okay though, wasn't it?

She cleared her dry throat, focusing on the silver blob. "Do families…" she bit her lip. How was she supposed to ask?

"Do families what, sweetie?" the silver blob smiled, hand moving over her back.

"Is it…" She frowned. What exactly was she trying to say?

Wait.

What was she trying to figure out?

She plucked at Minato's shirt, chewing her lip. It'd been something about him…

Ah well.

"Where's Kakashi?" she asked instead.

Minato tilted her chin till she was face to blob with him. "Are you alright?"

Why was he morphing into a black octopus looking thing?

Anesthesia overdose.

He ripped his vest off, tossing it across the room and gripped the dresser. How, how had they been so stupid?

They'd nearly killed her!

"Minato?"

He jerked and rubbed the back of his neck as heat flooded his cheeks. "Sorry, Kushina, been a strange day."

"I heard. How's she doing?" She sat on the bed and tucked her feet under her before digging some takeout containers from Ichiraku out of the bag next to her.

He took a container and chopsticks from her. "Better since they figured out why she passed out like she did." He pulled the container open and dug into his ramen.

"You know for only knowing her a little over a month, you're an awfully protective Aniki," Kushina smiled at him, gaze flitting around the room, "Even changed your room for her too. Didn't know you were a fan of purple."

He swallowed his noodles. "This will be her room before long. Might as well make it comfortable for her."

"Will your okaasan be able to handle raising another one at her age?"

He choked on the noodles. He hadn't even thought of that!

"You didn't talk to them about it, did you?"

"No," he rasped, coughing and swallowing the rest of his noodles. He hadn't talked to his okaasan or Taishi about where she was going to live if she stayed in Konoha and Kushina was right. His okaasan couldn't handle raising another one at her age. He bit his lip. Did that mean he and Kushina would have to take the girl in when they moved?

How were they going to handle her?

"No."

What?

Kushina glared at him. "I know what you're thinking and while I like your imouto, I don't want her living with us."

"But-"

"Don't you dare say it'd be good practice for when we have our own either."

There went that argument. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Why can't she live with us then?"

"The entire point of us moving in together is to have time to ourselves without somebody hanging over our shoulder," Kushina sighed, swirling her ramen, "At least till we have our own kids anyway."

He ran a hand over his face. Taishi couldn't stay with him or his okaasan…what was he supposed to do? He didn't want her on the street and didn't want her back in Suna.

He bit his lip. Maybe the Hokage could help?

It wasn't unheard of for kids to live on their own at Taishi's age. Didn't the village have a program to help the youngsters with rent and necessities too?

"I'll talk to the Hokage."

Kushina smiled. "Good. Now, eat."

His reason for being here was awful to begin with, but the look on the Sandaime's face made him want to shrink into a ball and bury himself in the ground. He hadn't even said anything yet and the man looked ready to rip someone to shreds. How was he going to take his request?

"We have an issue." His tone was hard, cold and sent a chill down his spine. What happened?

Hiruzen held a piece of paper out to him.

"Her okaasan wants her executed!?" The paper went up in flames and he slammed his hands on the desk, "Hokage-sama, you can't!"

"I won't, but I want to know why a parent would want their child executed instead of returned."

He shook his head. "I don't know and I'm not sure I want to know."

Hiruzen packed his pipe and lit it. "The problem is her okaasan was not the only one requesting her execution. I received forty-eight requests yesterday and that's on top the fifty or so from last week. Twelve of which were from the Kazekage's council members."

"Do they say why?" Was his imouto a criminal? Was that why so many were wanting her dead? He gulped. He hoped not.

"No. That bothers me worse than the requests. They aren't giving me a reason despite my requesting one every time a request comes in."

He pinched his chin. If she was a criminal, somebody would have said so. If she wasn't…

Why were so many calling for her execution?

"They haven't asked for her back?"

"No."

That didn't make any sense either. They didn't want her back, yet wanted her executed…

Could that be why she'd broke down on him that night?

Had her okaasan not been the only one mistreating her?

"Anyway, you wanted something didn't you?" Hiruzen's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He nodded, gulping. "I was thinking that my okaasan is getting old and with me getting ready to move in with Kushina…" He closed his eyes. He couldn't ask. He couldn't. She was just a kid.

"She needs somewhere to go," Hiruzen finished.

He nodded. He was lower than dirt…

Hiruzen hummed in his throat and shuffled some papers around on his desk. "Well, I can put her under Child Housing Protocol, but can it wait until her ankle has healed? I'd hate to leave her incapacitated with no help."

"Hai." He swallowed the bile trying to rise in his throat. This entire situation was wrong. His imouto had half a village after her head and was going to be living on her own too. Why was fate such a cruel bitch and why was he being used as part of her plan?