Ch 4 - The Laughing Ninja

"He...he did it?!" Tamotsu gasped, sitting up from his seat to get a better look down at the field below, "That kid actually did it!"

Hitomi smiled against her steepled fingers and she nodded in approval. "He left a shadow clone in the hole and waited for his chance...He's very clever," she murmured and placed her hands on her lap, "And he was able to tap into his tailed beast's chakra after all."

"Ah," Tamotsu nodded grimly, "His seal on it is a lot more secure than Gaara's."

"Winner of this match," the proctor announced, "Is Naruto Uzumaki."

Tamotsu stomped his feet and cheered along with the rest of the stadium. He even put his two fingers between his lips and let out a shrill whistle. He fell back on his seat laughing when Naruto started to do victory laps on the field.

"Ha! What an entertaining kid," he chuckled and gave another whistle.

"Must you be so flashy?" Michiko interrupted with disdain and two sticks of sweet dangos in each hand.

"Oh! Is one of those for me?" Tamotsu asked. He took a casual swipe towards one of the treats and Michiko smoothly moved out of the way.

"No, these are for Hito," Michiko said as she took the seat next to Hitomi and then she raised an eyebrow when the girl's head suddenly drooped to the side and leaned against Tamotsu's shoulder, "Asleep again? Did she at least get to see the whole fight?"

Tamotsu nodded and put his arm around Hitomi's shoulder so that she could sleep much more securely against him. "Ah, it was quite an eyeful for her. Both those kids went all out on each other. Man, it takes me back. I couldn't even move the next day after my Chunin Exams. Can't believe it's already been eight years."

Michiko did the math in her head and then her eyes widened. "It only took you a year to become a jounin?!"

Tamotsu grinned cheekily, revealing all his teeth. "Are ya impressed?"

Michiko scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Must've been a huge lack of jounins for them to add you to the roster."

Tamotsu's expression turned grim and his eyes darkened. "Ah...there was…"

Michiko stiffened at his expression. The usually jovial and energetic Tamotsu only turned solemn and grave for one reason and one reason only. She covered her hand over her mouth. "Ah...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bring back those memories for you."

Tamotsu waved her off but his face was still not in his usual light-hearted state. "Ya did nothing. Those memories are always with me."

He shook his head slightly to clear away the horrifying images of his close friends and senpais dying at the hands of a child. At the same time, he was haunted by the knowledge that those same friends and mentors of his could actually try to hurt someone who was barely old enough to throw a kunai.

Being promoted to jounin did not bring him the honor and satisfaction he thought it would have. Instead, it gave him so much doubt and resentment towards his own village. A Kage that would put a monster in his own child and then try to kill him for that very reason. A village that would do anything for power and prestige. What exactly had he been fighting for?

The urge to grab the bottle of alcohol from his pouch became too much for him and he started to reach for it until he felt Hitomi's hand grip the side of his shirt. He stilled and studied the girl. She was fast asleep. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His hand that was so close to touching the bottle fell to his side. That's right. I'm fighting for her now.

He had gone on a drinking binge after being a jounin for only two years. He was a minor at the time but getting hands on alcohol was easy for a shinobi, very easy for a jounin. His work started to slip and his missions went from A-ranks to B's. Soon they fell to C's until he was reduced to just minor D-Rank missions, which to be honest he didn't mind at all because it meant he had more time to drink. It was the darkest and blurriest year of his life.

The one thing that he could remember vividly during that year was Hitomi. Or actually, to be more specific, having the alcohol pulled out of his hand and 7-year-old Hitomi dropped into his lap by his sensei.

- Flashback: 5 years ago, Tamotsu 17, Hitomi: 7 -

"Oy, Rika-sensei. What's the big idea?" Tamotsu drawled as he shielded his eyes from the sunlight that was blaring through his window.

Rika, who had thrown the curtains wide opened, turned towards her former student and glared at him. "What has gotten into you?" she demanded, "Where is my usual laughing ninja and what have you done to him?"

Tamotsu winced at a migraine that was stabbing into his brain and then he squinted through his eyes at the little girl sitting quietly on him. "What kind of mother leaves her child with a drunk?" he asked, which earned him a punch on the head.

"It is way too early for you to be labeled as a drunk and I refuse to believe that you are actually going down this path," she said, "When I heard from the Council how you've been behaving, I couldn't believe it. Did you know I just turned down an S-Rank mission so that I could come here and talk some sense into you? S-Rank, Tamotsu. S!"

"Screw the Council!" Tamotsu yelled and Hitomi let out a horrified gasp. The jounin double-downed on his statement, "That's right. I said it. To hell with those egotistical jerks."

"That's my husband you're talking about," Rika snapped.

"Are ya saying he's not one?!"

Rika frowned and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah," she sighed in defeat and leaned against the window, "He has been a little difficult to be around these days. Being on the Council has changed him."

"I-Is...Is the Council bad?" a small voice whispered and Rika went to her daughter.

She put her hands on Hitomi's shoulders. "No, the Council is not bad. Your father is not bad," she said and then shot a warning look at Tamotsu, "They just have to make some very difficult decisions sometimes that some people don't agree with."

"Okay," Hitomi said and nodded her head. Then she began to rub her blackened eyes and Rika looked worriedly at her.

"Are your eyes bothering you or are you sleepy?" she asked.

"Sleepy," Hitomi stated and then let out a big yawn.

"Alright, Hito," Tamotsu sighed and placed the girl on his bed, "You can nap here but don't you dare drool on my pillow."

"Thank you, Brother Tamotsu," Hitomi yawned again and then snuggled deep under the covers.

Rika and Tamotsu stared at the little girl for a while until she began to snore gently. Rika placed her hands on her hips and let out a heavy sigh. "She's starting to sense things like me…"

Tamotsu raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that good?"

Rika shook her head. "It's a mix of both. For some reason, it's activated without her doing any seals and she can't release it. It's draining her chakra. She takes 5 or 6 naps a day. I've taken her to see so many different doctors but they all say the same thing. Her optic nerve somehow has been severed and fused by the Chakra Points in that area. There's nothing they can do."

She started to take in a deep breath but then she wrinkled her nose. "What is that smell?" she said and then her eyes widened when she discovered the source. "Tamotsu! When was the last time you showered?"

Tamotsu shrugged and then found himself being flung into his own bathroom by his sensei who was quite literally half his size. "Shower. Now!" she ordered and then slammed the door in his face. Then he heard his closet door being flung open and a tiny shriek from his sensei. "Do you not have any clean clothes?"

There was a pound on the bathroom door. "Tamotsu, I'm going to go run out to buy you some clothes. I'll be back soon. Shower and keep an eye on Hitomi for me, okay?!"

His very energetic mentor was too much for the hungover jounin and he couldn't even respond. All he could do was slump his shoulders and turn on the shower.

By the time he got out of the bathroom, there was a neat pile of fresh clothes waiting for him by the door. He hadn't even heard Rika sneak the clothes into the bathroom. He scoffed when he saw the big yellow smiley face on the red t-shirt. He kept an annoyed look on his face when he stepped out of the bathroom.

He noticed that Rika had somehow managed to clean his apartment while he was showering. All the garbage was gone, the dishes were done, and there was even food on the table along with a huge bag of candy. Still, the grimace on his face did not change.

Rika ignored his sour mood and she clapped her hands in delight. "I'm so glad it fits!" she whispered as not to wake her still napping child, "I got you seven more of those so you can keep wearing them and not have to worry about changing. Do you like the design? I figured you needed something to remind you to keep laughing."

Tamotsu pointed at the half empty bottle of liquor on his table. "That's what keeps me laughing."

To his horror, Rika took the bottle and dumped the contents into the sink. "You are my precious student," she said and put one hand out to keep Tamotsu an arm's length away, "And too young to be losing hope. I will protect it just like I'm protecting Hitomi's."

"She's the same age as him, isn't she?" Tamotsu asked quietly and Rika froze, "How would you feel if the roles were switched and the village wanted to kill her? Would you want to kill her too?"

"There are many things," Rika said softly, "Many decisions that the Council and I don't see eye to eye on. Karura's son is at the top of the list. Unfortunately, as much as I've tried, I am unable to do anything for Gaara. The Kage, my husband,
and the Council has made sure of that."

She then turned and her eyes bore into Tamotsu's. "I wasn't able to help that child in time but I can do something for my own. I will not have her be swept under the rug and cast aside. Just like I will not have you cast yourself out."

She tossed the bottle over her shoulder without looking back and it fell perfectly into the trash bin. Her eyes never left Tamotsu's. "I have another mission I'm on and it's S-Rank. I leave tomorrow. It might take a week for me to come back so while I'm out, I want you to help with Hitomi."

Tamotsu gaped at his sensei the same way he did when she first started his training. "Me? Help with what?"

"Training," Rika insisted and she snorted at Tamotsu's reaction, "Stop looking at me like I just grew horns. My daughter dreams to be part of the Council one day and as a parent, I want to help her achieve her dreams."

"But...she's blind," Tamotsu said weakly, already knowing that when his sensei decides on something, she follows through no matter what.

Rika rolled her eyes. "Really? I hadn't noticed," she said sarcastically and then placed her hands on her hips, "All I ask is that you take care of her and guide her with her training until I come back. I'll pay you in full too. Think of it as your own
S-Rank mission."

"S? This is S?" Tamotsu asked.

"S for Student," Rika said with a grin, "I always thought you'd make a great teacher so why not start with her? Oh! That could be another meaning. S for Start! You are starting over."

Tamotsu started to protest but then Rika put her hands on his shoulders. She stared solemnly at him. "Gaara is already too far gone," she said, "He's lost control and it's not just because of what's inside of him. It's because of isolation and his father's actions. I don't want Hitomi to go down the same path."

"You think Katsuo-senpai will-" Tamotsu started to say and Rika shook her head.

"No. Katsuo-kun won't hurt his own daughter...but...," she said sadly, "He is someone who sticks by the rules and being on the Council means he's only going to hold even tighter to them. I don't want him to know about her training because he'll only try to stop it."

She looked over at her daughter. "Hitomi...her world is naturally dark now and the only way to keep her in the light is if someone holds her in it. Can you be that person? Just while I'm away?"

"Why me? There are better teachers out there-"

"I see her chakra natures. There's earth...wind..." Rika interrupted and then took a deep breath, "...and lightning."

Tamotsu's eyes widened. "Are you saying she's a candidate?!"

Rika nodded, "There's a chance she'll never awaken it. None of the candidates have so far but if she does, I need someone who can guide her. Someone who knows what it's like to be born with a natural power."

Tamotsu's jaw clenched and he looked over at Hitomi. "A kekkei tota is not the same as a kekkai genkai."

"You're the best person for the job."

"How are you so sure?!"

Rika loosened her hold on her student and she smiled. "Because you're the laughing ninja."

"What?" Tamotsu couldn't believe his ears, "You're basing this on something I did 7 years ago?!"

"You were a snot-nosed chunin yet somehow, out of all the people who visited me when Hitomi was born, the baby only laughed when she was with you. Not me, not her father, and not even Baki, who is surprisingly good with kids. Whenever you laughed, she laughed. There hasn't been much laughter in her life these days and she needs that. She needs you just as much as you need her. So, please….Can you look after her for me?"

Tamotsu's eyes fell on the sleeping girl, who had a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips. Her black hair flowed all over his pillow and her hands were folded delicately over the blanket. She looked like a little doll, so fragile and still. He looked back at Rika and nodded. "Fine. I'll watch over her."

"Good, because I have the contract ready," she said and pulled out a document from her sleeve. She set it on the table next to the bag of candy, "Feel free to have some of the candy, by the way. I got it because Hitomi has a huge sweet tooth. Anyways, if you'll just sign here, here, and here, you will-"

"You're legally binding me to this?!"

Tamotsu let out a little snort as he remembered the contract. His sensei was always good at sensing things and maybe that contract was her sensing the future because she never made it back from that mission. She never came back to take over Hitomi's lessons and watch her grow. The contract he signed bound him to Hitomi for the rest of his life with his living expenses paid out of Rika's own private account. It was something her husband couldn't touch. Only Hitomi had the right to dismiss him.

Hitomi's hair fell across her face and it brushed against his hand. He smiled as the doll-like hair caught in between his fingers. Yes. He may not have a village or Kage that he wanted to fight for anymore but at least he had her. His reason to fight.