The Kuromura family made sure to spread the news of Takeshi through the village. As Natsuki came to the realisation that both parents weren't going to appear, he had taken to hanging around with Kotori when he wasn't in the academy. And even when in the academy, he requested Kotori visit a lot (which Iruka mentioned to Kotori once or twice). Kotori enjoyed the attention though, and had a lot of fun around her nephew. She felt a good connection with him, unlike with Daichi's son or Hiyori's children. Her first son, Tsutomu, was around thirteen and was very suspicious of Kotori. However, the youngest was very keen on getting down and dirty with everyone, including Kotori. Yuuma, on the other hand, was the double of his father. He preferred trying to train with her rather than play.
"Hey, aunty!" Natsuki called, flailing his thin pale arms as he stepped onto the water, "Look what Jin taught me!"
Kotori sat on the edge of the harbour, staring down at her bare feet as they dipped attentively into the water. She hesitated, gripping the edge before looking up at Natsuki, seeing him standing almost perfectly still on the water.
"Good work!" she complimented, smiling, "Come here!"
"Okay!" Natsuki raced over, grinning as he leaned on Kotori's lap, "What is it, aunty?"
"Where do you wanna live now?" she asked, taking his hands and grinning as he pushed her hands back challengingly. He frowned, hesitating then grinned after he thought about it.
"With you!" he exclaimed, "You were the one that saved me on that boat! And we hang out all the time - don't you like hanging out with me, aunty?"
"Of course I do!" Kotori nodded, thinking about it as Natsuki ran around on the water before leaping onto land when he got tired. She watched him jump around and skid to sit beside her, holding out his hands and she gave him the lunchbox Hiyori had made for him.
"Then you can be my mom!" he grinned, sitting cross legged as he stuck into his food. Kotori thought about it, looking down at her lap as she ate her own specially made lunchbox. She took one bite before hearing a crowd of children behind them, calling Natsuki's name.
"Hey! Natsuki, come on! We're gonna go bug old Lady Tsunade with Konohamaru!" one called, waving. That was definitely Tsutomu. They were all family - cousins, second cousins, third cousins, etc. and liked travelling in groups.
"Okay!" Natsuki called and quickly got up, "See you later, aunty!"
"Bye aunt Kotori!" they yelled when Natsuki reached them. She turned and waved before looking back down at the water, crossing her legs.
Adopt Natsuki herself? It was true, she loved him… She enjoyed his presence, and it would be easier to make sure he was getting on alright in Konoha if he lived with her. Jin was probably too busy, and Hiyori had her hands full with two children already. She sighed and leaned back to look at the sky. She smiled, finished her meal and left to train.
The rest of the day was spent by herself, keeping to the forests of the training grounds. She gasped for breath, leaning on a tree before turning and throwing kunai at targets hanging from the branches, a majority hitting the middle. She flipped into the air and raced above ground, turning and leaping over wired explosive tags, which exploded as the force of wind raged after her movements. Turning on her heel as she hit the ground, she could hear footsteps running at her full speed. Prepared for the worst, Kotori slammed her bandaged arm against the attacker's leg, smirking as she came face to face with Lee.
"Good block!" Lee complimented, flipping back. He made a Taijutsu stance and Kotori smirked, running at him. He blinked as she seemed to disappear, however he heard the grass crackle behind him and he turned, blocking her kick. Kotori eyed his movements, taking her leg back to leap over him to avoid a sweep. Bouncing off his shoulders, she turned and leapt towards him, attacking him with a series of punches and kicks. Lee blocked most, gritting his teeth and grunted before he hit a tree behind him. He jumped to the left, and she punched the tree with enough force to break it from its roots.
"That is Guy-sensei's move!" Lee pointed out as they stopped for a breather. They both stayed in Taijutsu stances however. She smirked, catching her breath.
"I trained with Guy!" she nodded, and Lee relaxed, completely forgetting about the fight.
"Ooooh! Does that mean you know all his moves?" he demanded, walking up to her with sudden admiration in his sparkling eyes, "Can you open the Eight Gates?"
"Well, six of them." Kotori leaned back, uncomfortable with how close he was getting. Lee grinned.
"Wow! Do you do any combination moves with Guy-Sensei? Do you do the Strong Fist technique?" he continued to question her as they walked back to the clearing of the training ground. Kotori sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking back at Rock Lee.
"Yes I do. Yes, I use the Strong Fist technique." she smiled, quickly holding up a bottle of water, "Lee, you must be thirsty. Drink this."
"Okay!" Lee nodded, catching the drink and it down.
"That's right, Lee! Water is an important part of training and your diet - you should choose it above all other drinks!" Guy approached, Tenten and Neji tailing behind. Kotori turned and smirked, waving.
"Hey there!" she called, "How're you guys feeling?"
"We're better now that we've rested." Tenten smiled, "And how about you? I heard you were up for probably thirty-two hours, right?"
"Something like that. I'm better now." Kotori nodded, sitting down on the grass. Lee handed her the now empty bottle back, and Kotori glared at it before looking up at him pointedly. Lee, sadly, was not paying attention.
"Guy-sensei, Kotori-sensei was telling me you trained together!" he clenched his fist in front of him, "She should train with us some time!"
"That's an excellent idea, Lee!" Guy agreed. Kotori was looking more and more tired as they spoke about it, and Tenten chuckled, waving her hand as if it dismissed their conversation. Kotori glanced up at her, putting the bottle down.
"Now that you've been dragged into this, you can't get out." Tenten teased, "Trust me, Neji and I have been trying to since we were Genin…"
"Hm." Neji merely glared at Guy and Lee, "Come on you two, we don't have all day to act like fools. Remember why we're here!"
"Right, to be stronger than we were yesterday!" Lee leapt forward, grinning, "That is our motto!"
Kotori got up, picking up her small duffle bag and putting the empty bottle into it as Team Guy ran off, however Guy stayed behind. He turned to Kotori and smiled calmly; something she didn't see every day.
"I heard you have a new team." he stated, "Osamu, Kishi and Eiji, right? They're good kids. Eiji's a bit of a stick in the mud, but they're cheery souls. Very close."
"Yeah, I noticed." Kotori crossed her arms, "Why are you mentioning this, Guy?"
"I'm just saying." Guy smirked, moving to walk after his team, who were waiting by the river, "They're strong."
"I know." Kotori stated firmly, walking away without another word. She glared, looking down at her feet as Guy's words fluttered in her mind. She knew they were strong, but she was still afraid that… She was just nervous about their health. But they were chunin after all, she knew they could look after themselves well enough. She trusted them.
Right?
She stared ahead of her before stretching and yawning, putting her things down by her door and removing her flak jacket. As night approached, she decided to (figuratively) let her hair down and head out to the streets. She left her apartment hurriedly and skipped through the streets for the nearest bar. It was already full of shinobi and civilians, getting along like a house on fire. Grinning, she made her way into the bar, finding a seat.
"What'll you have, Kotori?" the barman asked. She grinned.
"Just sake for now!" she answered. Turning her head, she watched the entertainment jump on stage, much to the amusement of already drunk patrons. A figure sat next to her, which didn't bother her until he spoke.
"Can I buy you a drink?" he offered. Kotori turned her head, caught off guard by his appearance: for such a masculine voice, he was very thin and feminine. Keeping back an amused smile, Kotori shook her head and looked at her drink when it arrived.
"I'm fine." she answered. He chuckled, pale fingers covering his mouth.
"I see. You are Kotori Kuromura, yes?" he asked. She quickly looked at him again, frowning and pursing her lips. Who was this guy? She noticed his lips gently sparkling; was he wearing lip gloss?
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"Daiko." he stated simply, ordering sake for himself, "Your team is taking me and my wife to Kusagakure."
"What, all that way?" she mumbled, however he either didn't notice or ignored it, continuing.
"We're leaving tomorrow, or that's what Tsunade said. My wife should be arriving soon - I didn't know you were allowed to drink as a shinobi." he added, eyeing her refill her cup, "That's interesting."
"I'll be fine tomorrow." she said firmly, "No need to get all worried about your safety. This'll probably just be some C rank mission anyway. Escorts are… Are easy."
Daiko opened his mouth to question her, however a large land gripped his shoulder and Kotori turned suddenly, eyeing the figure holding onto Daiko. Daiko, however, seemed undeterred.
"Yoshie, you made it!" he turned to face the butch woman, "This is Kotori, the one Tsunade told us about!"
"Nice to meet you!" Yoshie greeted eagerly, grabbing her free hand and shaking it vigorously. It was an odd sight: the husband being more feminine than his wife. Neither seemed fussed with it however. In fact, they were working with it with their choices of clothing. Kotori put on a smile, gently rubbing her red hand once Yoshie let it go.
"Yup. Nice to meet you too." Kotori nodded, "But I think I'm gonna head to bed early tonight, you two go ahead and see the sights! Be at the North gate for nine, though! We want you to get to Kusagakure in good time!"
"Alright, see you later!" Yoshie waved naively. Kotori paid for her drink and quickly got up and left, letting out a loud sigh. Well, that didn't go as well as she had planned. She wanted a long night of drinking, partying and meeting new people, but no. She had to get ready to take these two all the way to Kusagakure.
I wonder if being a shinobi really is my calling. she thought jokingly, making her way back to her apartment.
The next morning, Kotori was already at the gates before nine. She fixed the bag over her shoulder and crossed her arms, turning her head to see Osamu, Kishi and Eiji approaching.
"Morning, Kotori-sensei!" Osamu chirped, "What's the mission today?"
"Escorting." she answered, feeling a hitch in her throat. Letting it pass, she smiled, "They should be here soon."
They only waited a few minutes more until Yoshie and Daiko arrived. Eager to get going, Osamu led the way down the path, and Yoshie's eyes continued to wander in awe.
"This place is beautiful!" she pointed out. Osamu looked at her and nodded in agreement.
"Not as beautiful as Kusagakure's little country." he corrected, "We'll be staying there for a while even when the mission's over, right, Kotori-sensei?"
"What? Oh, yeah." she answered, clearly distracted. Yoshie watched Kotori and then smiled, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts. The group moved quickly, Kotori seemingly rushing them with her pace.
As night edged for them, the sun making its departure, Eiji stopped suddenly on a higher branch. Kotori only noticed when Kishi called out her name hesitantly, and she turned to look at her student.
"What?" she asked, "Don't we want to get going?"
"We've nearly left them behind." he pointed back, and the team squinted to see Yoshie and Daiko hopping after them. Daiko seemed rather unstable in the treetops, and Osamu grunted, hand on his hip.
"Hey, you were the one that wanted to travel up here! Quit holding us back!" he demanded, and Daiko laughed nervously while Yoshie steadied him.
"I had only wanted to, to see what it was like!" he explained, holding Yoshie's arm, "I've never actually done this before!"
Osamu merely let out a 'tch' before crossing his arms. Kotori, rubbing the bridge of her nose, hopped to the ground.
"Alright, then we'll be going on down here from now on." she ordered, watching them all make their way down. Her green eyes moved for the sky, watching the dark clouds rumbling threateningly North. Making a face, she thought through a plan: find thick trees and do the best they could with that. She hadn't anticipated rain, so perhaps it would pass by them. She checked they were all ready to go and walked on at the front, rolling her shoulders uncomfortably. Eiji kept his eyes on her, shifting his glasses up his nose and looked back ahead. Kotori noticed, but thought nothing of it.
As the clouds stretched and roared, Kotori decided it was best to use what they had.
Osamu grunted as he removed the folded tents from his back, huffing. Kotori overheard him whining about carrying both tents, but ignored it, concentrating on explaining the situation to Daiko and Yoshie. Eiji, tired of staying in one position, moved to the top of the trees to calculate how close the oncoming rain clouds were.
As it turned out, they were very close.
Barely getting the tents up in time, it was decided the adults would stay in one and the chunin in the other. Kotori rolled her neck and removed her flak jacket to use as a pillow, able to ignore the flashing lightning and howling wind. Daiko, on the other hand, was much more nervous and jumped every time the thunder showed itself.
"Remember our rule? Counting between the lightning and thunder to see how far away it was!" Yoshie had explained, but it was no good. The thunder was definitely going to go right over the group, but Kotori decided not to mention that. Yoshie knew what was best afterwards, and that was conversation. Kotori smiled thoughtfully when she was asked for a subject.
"How long have you two been together?" Kotori asked, directing the question to Daiko. Daiko looked at her, chin on his knees as he thought. He looked very small and frail, while Yoshie protected him with an arm around his shoulders.
"A few years." he finally answered, closing his eyes to hide himself from the noise, "We met as an arrange marriage between two small towns on the borders of the Land of Fire and Kusagakure's country. Our family are two rivalling ninja families, but we were arranged to be wed to calm the feud. It definitely worked…"
When he could say no more, Yoshie grinned in delight. She was happy to continue the story: although put together at eighteen, their families gave them as much time as they needed to decide when to officially marry. Yoshie's family wanted the marriage and alliance to be as peaceful as it could be, so they refused to push and actual marriage onto them and make the couple unhappy. Kotori had never heard of such precautions being taken before, but then noted Daiko had said they were shinobi families.
"So, are you both shinobi or not?" she asked cautiously, and Yoshie waited for Daiko to answer. He blinked, looking at them and sighed in defeat.
"I'm not, but Yoshie is. She hasn't done many things in a while - she wanted to travel instead."
Kotori squinted, putting her knees to her chest.
"If you're a shinobi, then why do you need escorts?" she questioned, positive her confusion was clear on her face. Yoshie smiled embarrassedly, her cheeks pink. When she explained she had made a few 'mistakes' in some towns, and that they were looking for her. Until they got to Kusagakure, she was in danger. Satisfied with the answer, Kotori said they might as well get some sleep, and she glanced at the tent, watching the lightning cast ghastly shadows.
It took Yoshie only moments to sleep, however Daiko was still cowering in his place. He looked at Kotori, which went unnoticed, and tried to smile.
"So, do you have anyone special?" he inquired politely, and Kotori almost didn't hear him over the thunder. She pursed her lips nervously before smiling and nodded.
"There's someone," she answered, finally looking at him, "It's rocky, I don't know."
"That's a shame." was all Daiko could say, but he lay down and attempted to sleep. Kotori nodded, mentally agreeing and then resting her chin on her knees, blocking out the sounds of the battling thunder and wind with peaceful memories.
Kotori awoke first, and in turn woke up her team and then the married couple. The Chunin put away the tents while Kotori explained their path to Daiko and Yoshie, who were not at all interested. They just wanted to be home. Understanding their desires completely, Kotori had them all continue their path as soon as Osamu and Eiji were finished.
They chose to follow pathways, however as they approached the border, Kotori noticed much of the land was changing from the familiarity of the Land of Fire. She glanced around, pursing her lips. She knew this place well enough; there weren't many threatening animals that showed themselves in the daylight, and any bandits could be heard from a mile away. That was the good thing about the long grass - it was difficult to avoid and to be quiet. But that was also the same for the team, so Kotori kept it in mind to be extra careful.
"Kotori-sensei," someone spoke, and she turned to see it was Eiji by her side, "How long will we be staying in Kusagakure once the mission is complete?"
"A night's rest, then we leave in the morning." she said, pondering it. What was there to do in Kusagakure? There was something she knew she could do, but it wouldn't reveal herself. There was something in Kusagakure she could do… Was it someone living there? No one immediately came to mind. Eiji, noticing she was lost in thought, moved to walk with Kishi and Osamu again.
"I love Kusagakure," Yoshie commented idly, "Osamu was right; this place is much more beautiful than the Land of Fire."
"Gee, thanks," Osamu glared at her, which went unnoticed, and Daiko even seemed to have cheered up now that he was in a familiar environment. Yoshie moved freely, pleased that she was getting further from danger and closer to home, while Daiko was still a bit nervous. Kotori found no reason to be however and relaxed her pace.
"We're going to come across a small village soon. Nothing like Kusagakure, but a good place to stop!" Yoshie explained, "Daiko grew up in this village, actually."
"Mhm. We can stop at my parent's home for some food and rest, if you like," he offered, nervousness dwindling, "They love to meet new people - especially shinobi from other villages!"
"I'll tell them all about our great adventures!" Osamu interjected, a flame in his eye. Kotori smirked at his outburst and Yoshie agreed eagerly, wanting to hear all about it.
Their arrival to the village was swift. They were allowed entrance once Yoshie explained their jobs as escorts and made their way down the streets.
"Come on, I'll take you to my parent's home." Daiko led the team away, but Kotori had other plans.
"That's okay, I'll meet you guys soon - I have stuff to take care of," she excused, and left down a different street.
She had no idea where she was going, but Kotori just wanted to be by herself. Daiko's question from last night kept coming back to haunt her, and she continued to ponder on her answer. Was there someone back home? Was she just creating their relationship in her mind for comfort reasons? Sighing heavily, Kotori put a strand of hair behind her ear and looked back up, seeing an ANBU member standing in front of a shop. However she was of Kusagakure loyalty, with the yellow-tan colour of their flak jackets on her vest and arm protectors. Her face was covered by the usual mask, however her hair was a deep purple, held up by a single pin.
What caught her off guard, was that she was about the size of a thirteen year old. Eyeing her, she quickly moved on, however she noticed the girl moved to follow her. Keeping a relaxed pace, she allowed the ANBU to follow her round the corner, and then did a sharp turn into a corner. The girl disappeared in an instant, and Kotori immediately looked up to the roofs, seeing a flash of dark yellow above.
"Predictable." she leapt up onto the roof and stood on the edge, eyeing the area. The ANBU must have known she noticed, because she was already gone. She jumped back down to the streets, strolling through the crowd and window browsing, trying to take her mind off of the young girl.
Up ahead of her, Kotori spotted the group of ANBU again. She couldn't tell if the young girl was with them - adults crowding around them - and she eyed the group. When she got a chance, she spotted the young ANBU girl making her way towards them in a flash of yellow, only visible to a trained shinobi eye. Landing just in front of Kotori, stopping her in her tracks, she turned. Kotori looked down at the mask and narrowed her eyes, putting her hands defiantly on her hips.
"What do you want with me?"
"What's your business here?" she questioned, her voice husky from the mask, "Konoha shinobi."
"I'm an escort, we're moving on to Kusagakure." she answered defiantly, not wanting to take any crap from a child, "I'm not going to try anything - our villages are allied."
"And you're a Kuromura?"
The question threw her off. Was the salmon hair really such a giveaway? Kotori didn't know her family trait was still very well known, considering her parent's fame, especially her father's, from the Shinobi War had seemingly worn away. Kotori wasn't sure how to respond, eyeing the girl.