Mitsuki's Adventures

Chapter 9- My Graduation Night

The day he had graduated from the academy brought with it the feel of breathable cloth and the weight of a metal plate that showed the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village; to showcase his loyalties to team and country.

The speech had been long and agonizing to listen to for most but not him.

It spoke of honor and respect and duty; and his parents were sitting right in the middle rows, proudly beaming and listening as much as he was.

However, they didn't join him afterwards.

When the parents vacated the seats that flanked the ceremony, most to regroup with their children, Mitsuki caught his mother's eyes. Then he watched her lips as she said something, gave him a supportive smile, and vanished into the crowd with his father.

'See you at home around 4.'

Another chance for him to kindle a better relationship with his teammates that Mitsuki happily took up. And Boruto and Sarada were happy to welcome him into the fold and introduce him to their parents. Something he was more than happy to relay to his own after a few hours of hanging out with the mixed families and returning to his own home. His Father in the kitchen chopping something up and looking at him as he slipped into his house shoes. "You're late." He said with a touch of surprise and Mitsuki looked at the clock before realizing that it was 5pm instead of 4pm. "Go on." His father said and gestured to the staircase, "Your mom's been waiting." Mitsuki hurried up the stairs as his father continued whatever he was doing as his mother met him at the top of the staircase.

Orochimaru smiled as he listened to his son get yelled at about his tardiness for something so important and continued shopping up vegetables for his own meal and cooking for himself for the next hour or so. A diversion tactic so he didn't have to see the mother of his child as she came down the stairs after an hour and a half, "I'm going ahead first, Oro." She voiced and he nodded, "Mikki is NOT wearing his headband tot he festival, so don't let him leave if he's got it on."

"He just got it, let him wear it." Orochimaru sighed and she firmly emphasised that their son would leave it at home so it didn't get lost. "Why are you leaving right now?"

"Mikki didn't say anything about the tickets to get into the festival, so I have to hurry ot the village and get them" His son's mother voiced as the clacking of wooden sandals on the stone near the door reached Orochimaru's ears. "No tickets, no festival- NO HEADBAND." With that, she shut the door behind herself and he finally looked behind him and looked around for her as his son came down the stairs. His father smiled at his appearance as he wore a more refined kimono of dark blue with silver etchings on it.

"Did you see mom? I picked out her kimono at the shop." Mitsuki asked and his father chuckled, pausing in his cooking and going over ot his son to fix his slightly-loose obi.

"The last time I looked at your mother in a kimono, I almost got killed." His father said and even though the words were serious, his joking smirk was not. Confusing his son on whether it was a lie or the truth even as his father handed him a small portable camera, "Take pictures if you can- just no flash and be sneaky about it." Mitsuki obediently took the camera and looked up at his father,

"Why do I have to be sneaky?" Mitsuki asked and his father stood up and slipped his hands into his sleeves,

"Because your mom is deathly afraid of cameras." His father replied simply, "If she's distracted, it's easier to take a picture of her." Mitsuki blinked in shock and his father took the opportunity to take his son's headband from around his forehead and set it on the table, "No headbands tonight." As his son opened his mouth to protest while his father walked back towards the stove, his father added on sternly, "Punishment for not informing us about the festival tickets."

"That's not fair, they only told me today." Mitsuki protested and his father looked at him, "I just got it today, can't I wear it?" His father absently stirred the contents of the pot on the stove as he looked at his son,

"What did your mother tell you?" His father questioned and Mitsuki looked down at the camera,

"...That she doesn't want me to wear it because I might lose it, and I'll have everyday to wear it after the festival." Mitsuki said sulkily and his father smirked because they both knew that his mother has a very valid point. "...I just want her to see me with it before she leaves…"

"Your mother isn't going to leave, Mitsuki." His father voiced and glanced back to see his son perk up, "I do have a request, however, before you go and enjoy the festival." Mitsuki blinked,

"What is it?" Mitsuki asked and his father turned to him,

"Do not let guys who aren't wearing a wedding ring, talk to your mother." His father stated very firmly and seriously, "And if she starts- or anything happens to you two- call me." Mitsuki nodded,

"No guys around mom. Bye dad!" Mitsuki called and his father glanced at the table to see the headband there before turning back to his dinner for the night and sighing. Perhaps he should have sent a clone to go and watch them.

Mitsuki arrived just as the sun was setting and looked around for his mother through the crowds of people, before remembering to hide the camera as he continued to look around for his mother. It actually made a lot of sense now that he thought about it. He had only ever seen the paintings his father had done of his mother and his mother, herself.

'If she's distracted, I'll be easier to get a picture of her.'

His first 'mission' as an official genin- it didn't seem like a hard task. As he looked at the bright and colorful lanterns illuminating the closed-off streets where the festival resided, he happily noted that it was bright enough to not use the flash either. "Hey, Mitsuki!" He looked over and saw Sarada, his friend and new teammate, waving and walking over to him in a red kimono, "Nice kimono! Where are your parents?"

"Thanks." Mitsuki grinned, "My Dad's at home, but my Mom's here. I'm having trouble finding her." As he said that he pulled otut eh camera again and turned off the flash while his teammate looked at it,

"Hey, that's the new optima pix with the 10.0 zoom, right?" She asked excitedly and Mitsuki looked up at her, "I don't even think they've released those yet- how'd you get one?"

"My dad gave it to me to take pictures of my mom, because she doesn't like her picture taken." Mitsuki answered and handed the camera to Sarada, "I was turning off the flash because it's pretty bright here." She tapped a few things and handed it back with the task already taken care of, "Thanks." He walked forward and she fell in step with him, "Are your parents here?"

"Yeah, I think they're outside here too." Sarada answered, "What's your mom look like?"

"Really pretty with silver hair." He answered simply and the two looked around before Sarada pointed a woman out, "That one over there?" Mitsuki grinned and grabbed Sarada's hand, who blushed, as the boy pulled her through the crowds in a firm bee-line to the woman who smiled as they stopped in front of her,

"Mom, you got the tickets, right?" Mitsuki asked, his teammate there and his mother smiled and nodded, flashing the tickets, "Oh, mom, this is Sarada Uchiha." His mother smiled and tilted her head slightly,

"Hello there. May I call you Sarada?" She asked, and the Uchiha girl nodded, "I'm Midori- or Miss Noir, whatever you prefer. Thank you for taking care of my son." Sarada nodded vigorously,

"Ye-Yes. Mitsuki…" Sarada murmured and tried to pull her hand away and he looked at her,

"We should stick together and help her find her parents, Mom. They're here too." Mtisuki said and his mother nodded in her agreement, her ornate hair put up in an elegant bun to keep it from falling on the pale cream fur ruff of her kimono's collar. A set up her son had picked out himself and she was more than proud to flaunt her son's tastes. Mitsuki pulled sarada behind him again and weaved in and out with his mother and teammate for another half hour before reuniting them and the two walking off to enjoy the festival on their own. However, as soon as Sarada was out of earshot, his Mother save him a playful smile, "What?"

"Holding hands with a teammate, hm?" She asked teasingly and he blushed, "She's pretty cute, Mikki, she'll grow to be a beautiful woman one day." Her son's face reddened even more as she his her mouth behind a paper fan that matched her kimono and chuckled behind it.

"No, it's not-! Mom, she could have gotten lost in the crowd and I didn't…" Mitsuki stammered and his mother smiled,

"Mikki, it's OK, I'm not scolding you. It's good to see you noticing girls, you're about that age." His mother reassured, the dangling hair pins he had put in her elaborate hair tinkling sweetly in the brisk moments of mid-spring breeze. "It's good to find people who are important to you; they will bring out the best in you." Mitsuki smiled and they stopped at a stall to get some mochi before continuing on,

Exploring the festival was interesting and when his mother wasn't paying attention he was quick to take pictures and stealthily hide the camera again before he started questioning her again, "So, can we talk more about your past?" He inquired and she grinned,

"I don't see why not. What do you want to know?" His mother asked as they stopped at a cotton candy stand and waited for two fluffy sticks of spun sugar,

"Do I have grandparents?" Mitsuki asked and she smiled, "Dad says his died when he was young but he said yours don't like him much; what are they like? Are they nice? Do you talk to them?" He quizzed excitedly as his mother laughed and paid for their cotton candy before taking the two offered sticks of fluff and handing one to her son who took it,

"Why the rush, kid?" She smiled as they walked away from the stand and moved to one of the seating areas off to the side of the stalls that lined the closed-off streets, in a small park-like area. When they sat down to nibble on their chosen sweets, she added, "I'm not going to leave, so we have all the time in the world." Mitsuki beamed happily that his mother was answering the question he'd been feverishly asking his father since she had returned. "I didn't know my birth parents personally; they died soon after I was born but left me with a couple who raised me. My 'mom', the one who raised me, was a really nice woman but her husband died when I was young too. She remarried and the man she married was very…" She looked at her son as she tried to decide whether or not it was alright to reveal the degree of her child her that she had, but be decided against it, "...'Strict'. However, when your dad takes pictures of you, I send them a copy, so they know about you." Mitsuki sat there, drinking it all in as his mother took her time to eat her cotton candy and let it seep in,

That the foundation of his parent's being together could have been that they were both, at one point, completely alone in the world. That it could have been the poured concrete that even made Mitsuki possible. It was mind-numbing.

"You're a ninja too, right mom?" Mitsuki asked eagerly and she nodded, "Does Dad know?"

"...Well… Yes… and No." His Mother answered with rare vagueness and Mitsuki was puzzled, "My jutsus take a while to work, so your Dad isn't really interested in them." She looked down at her cotton candy and had a few bites, and in a fleeting moment Mitsuki looked past her shoulder- and saw Boruto with his parents and his little sister. Her son stood up and pulled her to her feet, "Mikki?"

"Mom, my friend Boruto and his family are here, you can meet them!" Mitsuki said excitedly and she shared his enthusiasm as he pulled her closer towards the family that had stopped ot get something to munch on, "Wait here, I'll go get them." Mitsuki said and she smiled, nodding affirmatively and let her son run off to greet his friend.

Behind her, amongst the crowd of familiar faces of villagers and visiting relatives; were also the faces of enemies and Midori put a hand to her head. She looked behind her at the creeping sensation of being watched and when no one stood out, she brushed it off and continued to wait for her son patiently. It was fun being out of the house and she couldn't really remember the last time that Orochimaru had gone out of his way to take her out somewhere. There had been today but that was different. It wasn't a date it was just-

'We have to stop and get you some medicine and I need more supplies. I would appreciate it if you'd help carry some of it.' It was… Orochimaru being Orochimaru. Putting his experiments first, as always.

Before she could even begin to question how he had left his work behind long enough to actually help her conceive their son, a familiar voice called out to her from her left and she turned, "Oh-" Purple face-paint marking the man's face but she smiled, "Kankuro, right?" The man grinned sheepishly and stopped in front of her, rubbing the back of his neck,

"Yep! It's really nice to see you, Ms. Noir… been a while, eh?" The man, Kankuro, grinned, "Um, like 5 years… I think..."

However, as the two talked and Mitsuki came back with his friend and his family in tow, the first thing he noticed as the two casually conversed was the man lifting his right hand up to the back of his neck. And how there wasn't a ring on any of the digits. As they drew closer, he heard the male asking her for something before he blurted out, "Hey mom, I found Boruto!" The two adults looking over at him and his mother politely excused herself from the male before smiling at her son,

"That's great." His mother said and approached Boruto and his family- mainly his parents. "Hello, I'm Midori Noir." She bowed slightly, "Thank you for looking after my son." Boruto's parents smiled and returned the sentiment and they began getting wrapped up in light conversation- as Mitsuki looked at Kankuro who hung back a bit. "Hey, who's the old man creepin' on your mom?" Boruto whispered to him and Mitsuki glanced at him before nodding towards Kankuro, and the two boys walked over ot the adult through the guise of the crowd.

"Hey." Mitsuki voiced and Kankuro looked at the boy as he and Boruto stopped in front of him, trying to wrack his brain for something intimidating that his Father would say. However, over all the years and all the stories, Mitsuki hadn't heard one where Orochimaru had actually had to go out of his way to speak more than 'she's with me'. How was Mitsuki supposed to convey the same things his father could with a glance? His mother would probably tell him to believe in his own abilities but… "Don't get friendly with her." The adult narrowed his eyes a bit at Mitsuki but Boruto piped in, "Don't be leering at my friend's mom, Uncle."

"I wasn't leering." Kankuro spoke up as Midori glanced over at the boys confronting the adult and watched the scene unfold while still conversing half-way with Boruto's parents before they paused to watch the scene unfold. "Your mom, huh? Can't believe she has a son- what are you, like 10?"

"I got a Dad too, maybe I should call him- OH you might not know him, but-" Mitsuki pulled down his eyelid a bit and pointed to his eye as Kankuro stiffed from the following line, "He has bright yellow eyes like I do."

"Uh- N-No, that's cool." Kankuro mumbled, "I'll just, um- talk to her some other-" "No you won't, Uncle." Boruto interjected as he put his hands behind his heads, "Take a hint! No talking, no looking, ya know? Beat it, you're ruining a really nice festival!" Kankuro nervously glanced back at Mitsuki who glared at him before retreating into the crowd, leaving Mitsuki and Boruto to high-five.

"Mitsuki." His mother's stern voice came from behind them and he turned around, "What was that all about?" She questioned firmly and her son nervously looked away, "Once i'm done with his parents- then we're going to talk about what just happened, Mitsuki." His Mother informed him and went back to Boruto's parents as Mitsuki frowned a bit, feeling a bit guilty for his bad behavior; however, his Father did say 'no ring, no talking', so he hadn't disobeyed.

"Yo, Mitsuki, your mom's pretty hot for an old lady." Boruto said and Mitsuki glared at him too, "Just kidding!" "Boruto, come on." His own dad called and Boruto clapped Mitsuki on the shoulder before walking off with his father as Mitsuki's mother waved them off and rejoined her own son.

"Are you mad?" Mitsuki asked quietly and she looked at him and he sheepishly glanced up at her to see how anger she was. But she was smiling.

"I am a bit unnerved, but I'm not mad, Mikki." She replied and patted him on the head, "We've been here quite a bit; let's go home." His mother said as she sighed, "I'll make something for us when we get home, snacks aren't dinner." Mitsuki followed his mother happily and vocalized his agreeance, telling his friends he'd see them later on their way out as his mother continued towards the Village gates and out of them. "I had a good time, how about you?" Mitsuki smiled,

"I had a really good time too!" And he had gotten a few good pictures while his mother wasn't looking, thankfully. Then it happened.

It began with his Mother pulling Mitsuki into herself just a fraction of a second before several black-cloaked figures landed in a ring around them, "Midori Noir." One of them vocalized and she tensed and gently squeezed her son's shoulder, "You are to come with us."

"Sorry, my husband doesn't like me wandering." His Mother said and one of them approached her and she defensively moved closer to Mitsuki who gripped her kimono.

"You need to come with us, and you will do so." The singular male said, the others producing kunai, "Come quietly, Midori Noir." His Mother smirked,

"Sorry. 'Quietly' isn't in my vocabulary."