Hola Folks!
How are you guys doing? I am so sorry for the late update but since last chapter changed courses, I now had to slightly alter how to get into the future chapters. I am pretty excited because I have come up with new ideas that you may appreciate more than what I had previously planned =].
Anywhoozies, the first song of the shuffle is Florence and the Machine- No Light No Light; I am a HUGE FATM fan (like a little over 30 songs in my ipod and counting), she's amazing and I love the notes that she can hit! Plus, if you've ever heard an interview from her, I always find it funny that naturally, she is soft spoken. Please give the song a listen, I think the lyrics kind of match the theme of this story a little!
For this chapter, we meet a new character and I already LOVE him! Haha, he will be showing up much more in future chapters so I hope you like him too. No Tetsu this chapter, but tell me what you think about what's going on! Enjoy, rate and review!
Eggs and Bacon,
CrimsonNi
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"I might be wrong…but I think we've found our missing Jinchūriki."
Tsunade looked at everyone in the room to evaluate their reaction. Had the situation not been so serious, she would have laughed at their slacked jaws and widened eyes.
"H-How did you come to that conclusion?" The Saidame asked.
"To be honest, I'm just going off on a hunch. Based on all the reports I've read so far, I just think certain things fit the criteria."
"I don't mean to be rude, Hokage-sama, but for years we've searched the surrounding lands and nations for the 9-tail host and have found no trace. As tragic as it seems, it is most likely that the host and demon are dead," interjected Kakashi.
Tsunade visibly flinched at the word death. Although she wasn't living in Konoha at the time, she remembered receiving the worst news she could ever imagine via letter. The letter was written hastily but her experienced eyes knew exactly what was written.
Dear Tsunade,
I hope this letter reaches you in time and in good health. I don't know how to say this, but by the time you get this letter, there is no doubt that I have already died. As I write this letter to you, Konoha is being attacked by the red demon, the Kyuuubi. The demon has sought freedom during child labor and is now killing our brethren. But Minato has thought of a plan that will save the village in exchange for our lives. He wishes to seal the demon within our son, Naruto. Tsunade! I don't have a lot of time! Please, with all of your might, please take care of our son. Jiraya-sama is already his godfather, so I'd wish for you to be his godmother. With Minato's death, there will no longer be a Hokage—please take that position and lead the village; only you can be perceptive enough to do it. I beg of you. I love you; youare the most amazing person. Take care –Kushina.
The letter was horribly wrinkled and stained with ink and tears. Tsunade remembered clutching the letter and soaking it even more with her own tears. She immediately raced over to Konoha to honor Kushina's wishes, but all she met was a ruined village and Jiraya telling her even worse news. Naruto, the only physical link of Minato and Kushina, was gone, missing. As if things couldn't get any worse, Kushina's pregnancy was a secret (temporarily) to the village, so despite the large-scale search, with no inkling of what he looked like or who may have taken him, he was eventually presumed as dead. Tsunade reached the lowest point of her life; no longer having her best friend around nor her son that she swore to take care of. She resorted to alcohol to cope but still kept her vow and became the new Hokage for Konoha. Had it not been for Jiraya's support, she would have died much too early in her career.
"Hokage…sama?" Kakashi pressed.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I said, there is no evidence to suggest that this man could be Sensei's…child."
Tsunade heavily sighed. "I didn't say this for was certain, but there could be a poss—"
"Sasuke-san, Kakashi-san, Shizune-san, could you excuse us, please? I'd like to have a word with Tsunade."
Shizune worriedly looked to her boss who was too busy glaring at the Third, but she nodded nonetheless and followed Kakashi and Sasuke out the door. Once the soft click was heard, the two powerhouses approached each other with deep frowns scarring their faces—Tsunade having to get up and walk around her desk.
"You have something to say?"
"I do not like this direction."
"Meaning what?"
"Meaning, you should drop this now. This boy isn't who you think he is."
"I never said he was! I said that I think he could be the container," Tsunade replied through gritted teeth.
"And I am telling you to quit that thinking now! This is not the first time you have traced this line of thinking. The village cannot afford for you to go on one of your witch hunts—again."
"Just what the hell is wrong with believing?! All I am trying to do is keep faith, for Kushina's sake."
"But that isn't what this is about, is it?" The Third questioned softly.
Tsunade's forehead wrinkled in confusion, trying to decipher the Third's change in tone. "What are you talking about?"
The Third coughed awkwardly to clear his throat. "Jiraya…mentioned it…he said he…you…the both of you have tried. You…can't conceive."
It took a full two minutes for Tsunade to process those words and let them sink in. She wasn't sure she had heard correctly since the Third was trying to speak in softer tones, but it was clear on what he had said. She felt breathless, as if those words were a cold dip into the river. "H-How…DARE YOU!" And before she could even think to stop herself, her small, methodical hand, roughened by years of battle and medicine, reached across the little space between them and slapped the Third in the face. Thankfully—although Tsunade wasn't thinking so at the time—the Third was strong enough to handle the impact; Tsunade's hits were known to crush bone and stone, so it was clear that her heart wasn't in it to hurt him.
"Tsunade—"
"Get out! Get out! The nerve of you!"
The Saidame said no more, although, he did feel a pang in his chest upon seeing the shaken look on Tsunade's face. He nodded and whispered a mute goodbye before stepping towards the door and walking out. Sasuke, Kakashi, and Shizune were all standing by the door but it was clear they had heard the whole conversation. The Third said nothing to either of them and turned to walk down the hallway. Shizune wasted no time in hurrying inside to check on her master while Kakashi and Sasuke remained outside—the two knew better than to peek their heads in during a delicate moment. After a few moments, Shizune returned outside and without a single word, shook her head and waved goodbye. Both Kakashi and Sasuke understood and walked in the same direction the Third had walked before to leave.
The walk was silent but then again, there was a lot to think about. Kakashi thought about Kotetsu and Izumo while Sasuke contemplated on the possibility of Tetsu being the missing child from 20 years ago.
"Do you think what she said is true?" Kakashi inquired. He sounded unenthusiastic when asking the question, but Sasuke figured that the topic wasn't a light one to ask in a cheery tone.
"I agree that there is a possibility," he replied honestly. Kakashi immediately stopped in his tracks and turned Sasuke around to look him in the eyes. Despite the mask covering nearly the entirety of his face, it was obvious that Kakashi was frowning.
"You really think…that's Sensei's son? Him?"
Sasuke sighed and was beginning to see why Tsunade became so irritable. "I'm just telling you how I see it. I am not saying he is or isn't, just that it can be possible. Now, I have to go."
"Where are you headed off to? We still need to be on standby incase we're needed."
"If Hokage-sama needs us, she'll call us again."
Sasuke didn't even wait for a response as he walked away and headed to his home. Kakashi watched as Sasuke quickly maneuvered through the people of the streets, which left him to contemplate everything that had happened so far since meeting that person. Truthfully, he didn't hate Tetsu, by the idea that he could be his former sensei's son was…appalling. The man valued nothing, he was much too secretive and elusive, he killed Kotetsu, and he was a prostitute for the love of god! Okay, so perhaps the last bit was just Kakashi being picky, but there was something off-putting about Tetsu that Kakashi couldn't seem to get over. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was something and for now, that was enough for Kakashi to continue to deny that that man was in any possible way Sensei's son.
The walk to Sasuke's house wasn't a long one from the Hokage tower, but Sasuke wanted to take his time in getting there. He wasn't like Kakashi in thinking about all of the fucked up things that was wrong with this entire situation, but he couldn't deny that he was bothered by some of the stuff, primarily Kotetsu's death. If they had just taken care of the situation before it grew to what it did, then none of this would have happened. Sasuke had to wonder what the hell made him think it was okay to believe in a prostitute?
Finally, he arrived at his home but he found that the door was locked even when he remembered he had left it unlocked before he left. Sakura must have stopped by. It was annoying to have to fetch the keys so he just gently 'broke' the knob and entered, leaving it on the dresser stand right by the entrance door.
"Sasuke?"
Sasuke repressed the urge to roll his eyes. Who the hell else could it be? "Yeah."
"Hmm…you broke another door knob."
Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised, yet he was. He walked to the right of the small corridor and into the living room where he saw his brother sitting on the couch…apparently knitting. "Itachi, what the hell are you doing?"
"Hm?" Itachi paused in his knitting to look up at Sasuke and smile but then quickly resumed as if nothing were out of the ordinary. "Clearly Sasuke, I'm knitting."
"I can see that! I mean…why? Since when?"
Itachi shrugged. "I don't know when but as for the why, it's fun. I've made myself some socks and thought I should make some for you too."
Sasuke's eyes began twitching, but even the stoic man that he was couldn't completely stop the little laugh he had brewing in his throat. "I think I'm good, thanks."
"On the contrary, my little brother, but you already turn a sickly blue when the temperature hits 65 degrees…this is best." Itachi smiled again as he saw the embarrassing blush adorn his little brother's cheeks. Sasuke held no retort against that little known fact.
Feeling a little thirsty, Sasuke made his way towards the kitchen to fetch some water and despite the jerk's earlier comment, he felt nice enough to bring him one too. "Hey, where's that idiot?"
"Sasuke," Itachi warned. "Shima didn't come because Sakura did."
"Oh?" He responded uncaringly. Sasuke felt his brother's stare on him but he chose to ignore it. "What did she want?"
"To talk about the wedding plans. She said she saw a wedding dress that is exactly to her liking."
"The wedding isn't until next year," Sasuke groaned. He hated this type of stuff.
"Which isn't as much time as you think. In fact, it's very little time…"
Again, the awkward pause. Strangely enough, the water began tasting stale. "I said I'll do it," he murmured.
"Which is what worries me."
Sasuke abruptly stood from his chair and grabbed for his glass of water to take back to the kitchen. "I guess I'll be needing those socks much sooner. I'm gonna go take a shower." He left before Itachi could say anything else.
Back to the Third Hokage:
The Third himself arrived at his home where Konohamaru was waiting for him. The young boy held a saddened expression as he ran towards his grandfather and hugged him. "I heard what happened," he mumbled through the Third's shirt.
With a quiet sigh, the Third nodded and laced his fingers through his grandson's hair. "Yes, it was tragic indeed. We will pay a visit to Kotetsu's family tomorrow."
"Do you need anything?"
The Third was about to say 'no' when he paused to think about the all of the events that had occurred. "Konohamaru, why did you lie to Tsunade about the man?"
There was no need to turn to know that a dark blush was already blooming on Konohamaru's face. "Whaa-? I don't know what's you're talking about, I didn't lie."
"Konohamaru, why did you lie?" He asked again.
Konohamaru stuttered and blushed as his heart quickened at unhealthy speeds; he felt as if he were to be in serious trouble if he were to tell the truth. But his grandfather had already asked twice, which meant that he probably already knew either about the lying, why he was lying, or both.
"I-I don't…know, Grandpa. I just didn't want him to be in trouble."
"I see…" With that, the Third walked up the stairs to his bedroom and closed his door to disallow anyone from coming in. Konohamaru was left terrified and confused about the whole situation which now left him wondering what was going to happen next. He knew deep down, this was nowhere from over and the selfish part of him was glad—he really wanted to see Tetsu again.
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Kuu, thank you so much for your review, I appreciate your comment and am honored you enjoy Mama's character so much =]