Chapter Nine: A Mother's Intuition

"Is it a warrior's instinct? ...No, it's more along the lines of a mother's intuition."

"Help me with the rice, it hasn't been rinsed yet and I still need to grill the rest of the saury."

"Is it already measured out?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"...Are you positive?"

"Are you deaf? I said what I said."

The sun filtered through the kitchen window, wide-open to let the morning breeze drift in. Diminutive specks of light danced around the wooden countertops of the kitchen as the single clay oven in the center of the room continued to burn and crackle in a comforting rhythm. Two figures bustled around the small space, watching over the bubbling pots. The aroma of the morning's breakfast wafted through the air filling the entire house with the wonderful scent of miso soup and grilled fish.

Teresa heard footsteps shuffling behind her proceeded by the sound of water filling a hollowed rice pot. And then a pause. "It doesn't look like it's enough..."

She halted from cutting the fish she had in her hands and frowned. "Yes, it is. For three people? That's plenty of rice," she intoned, irritated at being contradicted for the third time this morning.

Beside her, Kakashi idly stood about, washing the rice with a meticulous precision befitting that of any seasoned shinobi. The light flickered about and washed over his willowy figure.

"Mm...I don't think so," the man replied in an uncharacteristically sing-song voice.

She quirked her brows in curiosity, before the realization settled in as she felt two approaching familiar chakra signatures heading up the street.

"Oh," she mumbled and as if on cue, a knock resounded from the other side of the door that connected the kitchen to the backyard.

"Come in," Teresa called out.

The knocking had unceremoniously stopped and then a shuffling noise had echoed from the window. Suddenly, Naruto came barreling in from the hallway, causing a clamor in his wake as the picture frames hanging in the hallway walls and vases shook in disturbance.

"I heard a knock! They're here!" The boy shouted in excitement.

The window unlatched itself and flew open. As the sun glared brightly spilling forth with its light in full force, two shadows appeared to be crouched precariously off the sill, balancing themselves upright. The figures, both seemed to be prepubescent boys, were dark-haired with pale skin. They wore the same muted expressions of tedium with the exception of the other boy wearing a more apathetic countenance.

"Can't you two ever enter the normal way? You know, by the front door like any other sound person," Kakashi drawled with a roll of his eyes as they ducked their heads and jumped down to the floor one-by-one.

"Sasuke, Shikamaru," Teresa acknowledged in greeting without looking up from filleting the saury.

The boys nodded at her in return before turning towards Kakashi to smirk.

"We wouldn't be shinobi if we entered the normal way, would we sensei?" Shikamaru yawned before making his way towards Naruto with the other dark-haired boy following in suit.

Teresa gave the Uchiha boy a pointed look. "Breakfast here again? Are Izumi and Kagome not feeding you?" She queried almost jokingly.

"They made breakfast, but I decided to come here instead. We have training," the boy said simply.

"Training? Has your sensei authorized you to see Hatake-san?"

"No, we're not training with Kakashi-sensei, mom. We're gonna train together," Naruto chimed in.

She felt herself smile faintly at his words. Naruto tended to quarrel with Sasuke since they were children and the fact that her son was willing to put petty trivialities aside to come to a compromise with the Uchiha boy was a sign of his progression. Naruto was maturing faster than she could have ever dreamed.

"Oh?" Kakashi looked on at the three of the young shinobi in feigned curiosity.

Both boys nodded in unison.

"Yeah, even though Sasuke annoys the shit out of me...he's a good training partner," Naruto conceded.

"Not like I'm going out of my way to see you either," Sasuke countered in apathy.

The Nara boy simply shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to show his agreement, too lazy to even utter a word.

She looked up from her ministrations, finally getting a good look at the trio of boys with the addition of Kakashi standing off in the corner idly watching the rice steam.

An odd surge of peace had swelled within her as she studied each of the occupants in her kitchen. The small wood-framed kitchen with the bamboo sink. The windows that overlooked the grassy fields of the garden that had been steadily cultivated over the course of eight years. The polished pots and pans. An old-fashioned clay oven that burned continuously through the day because she was far too used to her old world customs. It burned brightly, filling the room with its latent heat. However, she was certain that an odd sort of coldness would have devoured it if the other occupants never stepped foot within. Perhaps that old clay oven was not the singular source of this kitchen's warmth.

Perhaps it was the people who were in it that exuded it all.

Her son chatted animatedly with his indolent teammate, a brilliant child and heir to the Nara Clan. Beside them stood another clan heir, one whom she had saved four years ago from becoming a pawn to the Village's malicious agenda—an aloof prodigy whose demeanor reminded her very much of herself. And then there was her old childhood rival, who had taken a shine to coming over to her house every morning for breakfast for the past few years because he was "too lazy to cook a decent meal to break the morning's fast." He was a man of very few words, yet far too many complexities to fully understand.

All of which who possessed an inherent strangeness to their character. All of which had somehow managed to leave their impressions upon her memory, and in some convoluted way, managed to become very constant figures in her life.

Of course, her son would be a given. However, to think that Kakashi of all people and these two other children would be doing the same was almost unfathomable. And yet, despite all preconceived notions aside, here they were. All under one roof. All sharing their habitual breakfast routine together as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

She looked at them all as if she looked upon the world in its entirety, with eyes full of gratification that could never be fully expressed through mere words. The boys all stared back at her in those few passing seconds, not knowing of the myriad thoughts that had been running circles within her mind. There were no words to truly articulate what that swell within her meant. There were no words that could express the peace that enveloped her mind as she looked upon her kitchen full of shinobi who somehow became a part of her life.

Teresa shook herself from this ephemeral thought and gestured towards the boys.

"Well, don't just stand there then. Help set the table. Breakfast is almost ready," Teresa ordered as she nonchalantly waved the knife in her hand around.

And like that, that private moment of introspection was gone.

"Yes, m'am," all three said obediently.

She went back and continued to concentrate slicing the last fish, that synonymous faint smile still lingering on her lips as she looked away.

The boys proceeded to run about the kitchen, opening cabinets and pulling out drawers to procure the necessary utensils.

"Rice is boiling. Ten more minutes and it'll be finished," Kakashi announced, hands in his pockets, with a lackadaisical look about him.

Teresa nodded as she finished grilling up the last of the fish, flipping it over to grill the other side with some chopsticks. She reached around the countertop and stuck her fingers into a clay jar containing sea salt, pinching it up to collect a small amount of coarse salt to sprinkle over the sizzling fish. With the last of the saury finally cooked, she placed it on the serving plate of other cooked fish and handed it over to Naruto.

"Here," she said," Put this on the table."

Sasuke ambled over with five small wooden bowls stacked upon one another, placing it on the counter top beside her. She nodded her head and opened the other pot that had been simmering on the clay oven. Opening a drawer beneath her, she fished for a ladle and removed the lid from the pot. Hot steam immediately escaped from within and the rich scent of miso soup engulfed the kitchen in its entirety as she scooped the hot broth into each small bowl. One by one, each of the boys came to collect their respective bowls with the last being Kakashi.

All four sat around the table as Teresa placed the last plate of blanched vegetables she had harvested from her garden this morning on the table.

"Thanks for the food, Mom."

"Thanks, Teresa-sama."

"Smells great, Shimura-san."

"...Thank you, Teresa-sama."

She nodded her head in acknowledgment and all five of the shinobi ritually began to serve themselves some food. The table had grown quiet as each of its occupants proceeded to consume their fill of food.

"So, how is your family?" Teresa questioned, eyes staring pointedly at a sullen-looking Sasuke, breaking the routine silence of the breakfast table.

Kakashi peered up from his plate and offered the boy a genuine look of interest. Naruto snickered and Shikamaru simply elbowed the boy in some unspoken conversation.

The young Uchiha cleared his throat, setting his chopsticks down. "Fine. Aunt Masako has been getting more and more weak by the day. The doctor has put her on bed rest until she can recover, but we're not so sure whether she will...or not," he said solemnly.

"What are her symptoms?" The masked man beside her queried.

"Fevers, coughing, loss of breath...She can't move much because she's always fatigued and when she does, she breaks out into a cold sweat."

"Pneumonia," Teresa surmised plainly.

"Yes," he nodded. "The doctor said because of her age that most elderly barely recover at this state. Kagome and Izumi tell me that it's only inevitable."

"Last winter was quite harsh. The outbreak of influenza circulating around the Village didn't help either. I supposed she contracted pneumonia from an exacerbated case of the flu," Teresa continued.

"Yes."

"My old man caught the flu during the winter, too. He was bedridden for weeks until he finally recovered. Mom fed him only chicken soup and ginger tea the entire time and once he got better, he told me he could never swallow a drop of chicken soup again," Shikamaru mentioned.

Kakashi and Naruto laughed in unison.

"I caught the flu as well, though I still tried to continue on with my duties," Kakashi offered.

"Yeah, and then you got me sick because you kept coming to training all contagious," Naruto grimaced. "I don't know how Shikamaru never caught that bug you had, even Ino had to stay in for a couple of days."

"Guess I've got a strong immune system."

"Well, my bad. I'm just never one to let some illness keep me from doing my job," the older man shrugged. "I thought to myself, my precious pupils would be so devastated if their sensei couldn't make it to training."

"At the expense of getting your 'precious pupils' sick..." Naruto grumbled.

"Eh, you're fine now. Get over it."

The boy stuck his tongue out at the silver-haired shinobi before the older man reached over to lightly bonk him on the head.

Shikamaru snickered, Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Teresa could not help but chuckle slightly at the scene unfurling before her.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch," the blond whined as he rubbed his head.

"Serves you right."

"You suck, sensei."

Teresa cleared her throat and turned towards Sasuke as her son and Kakashi continued to bicker at one another.

"Well, if it's of any consolation, we'll be praying for Masako's health," Teresa nodded in resolution.

Even if she did not believe in any god, or Kami, or whatever this world decided to systematically believe in, there must have been some sort of divine power lingering on throughout the cosmic dust of the universe responsible for all the inexplainable occurrences that happened in her lifetime. Perhaps these powers that be could listen to their words of supplication. If at all, it was comforting to possess some wishful thinking.

"Thank you, Teresa-sama," Sasuke said quietly.

She gazed at the boy with obsidian eyes. The very same eyes that she used to gaze upon as if the world had been held within the darkness of the irises.

Obito...

His name, the thought of him, always left a bitter taste in her mouth. Discretely, she gulped down a glass of water next to her plate to alleviate that psychological sensation that still lingered.

Sasuke was different. He was not Obito. They may share the same heritage and clan name, but the narratives were far from similar.

Four years ago, and six months, and three days had passed since the massacre that occurred within the Uchiha compound happened—though, Teresa, liked to pretend that she was not counting. Since then, she had taken Sasuke in when his family could not reach him. On the days when the world seemed black and white and a dull expression would engulf his countenance in its entirety. When no form of compassion or empathy could chisel down the rough edges created by his sorrow. She liked to think that the boy would confide in her because she understood the grim reality of their existence. The grim reality of what it is to be a Shinobi in one of the most powerful villages in all of the elemental nations.

That day led to trigger of events that would change her life forever, and two more orphaned children had unceremoniously tumbled upon her lap. Izumi and Sasuke were now permanent fixtures in her life. She acted as a de-facto maternal figure when there was no one else to turn to. For advice, for compassion, for a hot meal on the table, for anything.

Who knew in this new life that she would ultimately take on a parental role for not just one, but a handful of budding Shinobi? The fates had a twisted way of warping reality, but she could not complain after having lived such a long existence.

"So, what will you boys be doing today? Care to give a breakdown of your training session?" Kakashi queried.

"Well, you did tell me that I need to practice on my chakra control when applying it to hand-to-hand combat..." Naruto began with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Uh huh, so, Shikamaru and Sasuke are going to run some combat drills to warm up and—"

Shikamaru cut in. "Well, I recall that you said Naruto and I both need to work on our fighting dynamic based on team reliance, so...I guess I'm here to practice on just that."

"Asuma-sensei said I need to improve on my taijutsu and seeing as Naruto is rather proficient in hand-to-hand combat, I was thinking that in exchange for that, after the practice drills, I'd help him on his ninjutsu...because he still lacks in that area," Sasuke added as an afterthought.

"Good. I'm glad you're taking my advice on improvements with your...extracurricular practice."

"Well, duh, Kakashi-sensei. Shikamaru and I gotta be in the best shape possible for our first real mission," the blond put an extra emphasis on the term "real."

"...Yeah...I'll admit it when I know that at this point, I won't be physically or mentally prepared for this next mission," Shikamaru conceded.

"I'm just here because I want to train," Sasuke said dully.

Teresa glanced at Kakashi with a curious gaze. She vaguely remembered Naruto telling her how Team Seven would be embarking on a mission soon, but that was only once and he only mentioned it passively in casual conversation one night when she came home from a mission.

"What will the mission be classified as?" Teresa spoke up, deciding to voice her thoughts out in to the open.

"It's a C-Class mission," Kakashi replied. "Nothing too serious, just a simple escort mission in the Land of Waves."

"Ah, that will be quite interesting."

"I hope so..." Naruto muttered.

"So when will you be leaving?"

"Monday, next week. We leave 06:00 sharp."

Teresa arched her brow. "Interesting. I'll be leaving to the Land of Waves on a mission the day before."

"No way, mom. Maybe we'll see 'ya or something," Naruto said cheerfully.

"Hmm...maybe..."

"I didn't know Hokage-sama was sending more shinobi to the Land of Waves."

"Yes, well, I'm supposed to be on a manhunt for a wanted nin. I've heard that someone has been sabotaging the Konoha diplomatic outposts and stealing supplies. One of our shinobi was taken hostage too, I think."

"Will you be going with a team?"

"No, I don't believe so. I think the hokage has allocated all the manpower to Suna, especially since they lost control of their jinchuriki."

"So, no trackers?"

"Nope."

"No targeting team?"

"No."

"Combat support?"

"No, just me."

"Well, doesn't sound like a very traditional manhunt mission," Sasuke murmured.

"During times when hokage-sama has distributed a full-fledged roster of shinobi, we work with what we have," Kaskashi reasoned sheepishly. "Besides, I'm not surprised hokage-sama called for Shimura-san on the pretense of a solo mission—she basically has the skillset to be her own team."

Teresa smirked. "Is that flattery I hear, Hatake-san?"

"Just stating the facts," the one-eyed shinobi reasoned.

"I guess Suna really did take up all the manpower..." Sasuke said grimly.

"Oh, I've heard about that from my pops..." Shikamaru added.

"Heard what?"

"The Kazekage was supposed to be in control of the jinchuriki of the one-tailed beast...but, it seems that he no longer has that control. A third of the village was destroyed during its rampage. They reached out to Konoha for aid," Kakashi drawled.

"So, is the Kazekage a jinchuriki too?" Naruto questioned with widening eyes.

"No. According to our intel, the Kazekage's last child is the biju container."

"Oh, is it a boy or a girl?"

Sasuke's face scrunched up in exasperation. "What does it matter if they're a boy or a girl?"

"I dunno. I'm just wondering," Naruto shrugged.

"A boy. No older than your age. Although, I think perhaps he might be around your age..."

Naruto nodded, a somewhat content expression had overtaken his countenance at the response.

"Why're you smiling?" Sasuke gave him a side-eyed glance.

"Oh, nothing. Why, a guy can't be happy for no reason?"

"I didn't say that." The Uchiha boy rolled his eyes. "I was just wondering why you have that stupid look on your face, that's all. Forget it."

Naruto momentarily frowned before flipping off the other boy. "Shut up, teme. You have a stupid look on your face."

Sasuke glared and Naruto mimed the same expression. They were so close, their foreheads were touching.

"Now, now boys...no need to fight in the breakfast table. It would be disrespectful to Shimura-san after she went all the way to cook us up an entire meal," Kakshi said amusedly.

"Well, maybe he should stop making stupid faces."

"Yeah? Well, maybe you should stop looking at my face, how about that?"

"Ugh, you guys are hopeless..." Shikamaru yawned.

Teresa knew better, however. She knew what that small smile at the mention of Suna's jinchuriki meant. She knew for a fact that it was Naruto's odd way of finding something relatable to his own misfortunate circumstances. The thought that there was someone out there, just like him—a boy, who was the same age as him no less—meant that he was not alone in the world. That he was not the only young child forsaken by humanity and cast off by themselves to carry the burden of being a jinchuriki. It was a point of contention that he would always hold a grudge for, especially towards the fourth hokage. He often mentioned his woes when he was younger, but as he matured, he would speak less about those circumstances. Although, she knew that his thoughts had never changed. Being a biju container was a responsibility that no child should have to undertake. Perhaps it was a mother's intuition to understand what it meant for him.

Teresa nudged her son on the side and he temporarily looked away from his rival to glance his mother's way.

"You know..maybe one day, you'll meet him," Teresa said in a low voice for only Naruto to hear.

Her son beamed at her, a silent conversation having panned out between mother and son, as he went back to shoveling food into his mouth. He gave the Uchiha boy an appraising look.

"You know what, Sasuke? Forget it. I'm feeling pretty forgiving today, so you get a pass."

"Whatever..."

All five of the shinobi continued to eat their meal and soon, the table was filled with friendly conversation once more.

Author's Note: It's been awhile. Wave Arc is coming real soon.