Shorter chapter – I guess denouement doesn't take up as much space as plot…
This, the final chapter of Regrets, is brought to you with help from my ever-classy beta –waiting4morning, the new album from the Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely, the letter K, and the number 23.
Also, to all the blokes and ladies that have read/reviewed/faved this fic: you are all better than homemade bread – and I really enjoy homemade bread, so that's quite a compliment. Thanks for all your support on this fic! It's been fun!
TEN
Kushina had checked the packs on the bunk bed at least six times—probably more—to make sure she hadn't missed anything. She didn't know why she was checking so often—there weren't any places for her possessions to be hiding in barracks room. It wasn't like she had much to her name to begin with, but the nervous energy which permeated her had to go somewhere, and she could only reasonably do so many pushups to dispel it.
When the time came, she slung the travel pack across her back and picked up the box of oddments which would not be joining her on her journey. The box held an economy-sized container of q-tips; a broken stapler; a plush koala which was now looking rather ragged; a dog-eared copy of one of Jiraiya's first books with a string of photo-booth pictures holding a page about three-quarters of the way through; a couple packs of instant ramen—spicy shrimp flavor; and some clumpy lavender nail polish.
Normally, she would have found space for these items in her pack (at least for the book and the ramen, the stapler may have been pitched) but she deliberately packed the bag loosely this time. As it was, the collection held enough emotional weight for it to be a wrench to leave it. This was her anchor, her bit of self to be left in Konoha for retrieval at a later date. To avoid further deliberation, Kushina folded up the top flaps of the box and walked out of the Konoha barracks, only just remembering to switch off the light to the room as she shut the door behind her.
On her way across town, she felt not exactly conspicuous but very visible. However, as she had no particular reason to be stealthy, she still used the road, still smiled at those she passed—a few of whom smiled back.
"Kushina-san!"
Kushina whirled around, unconsciously shifting the box to under one arm and widening her stance. A familiar chuunin trotted toward Kushina.
"Iruka-san." Kushina gave him a half-smile. She still wasn't sure how to react to Naruto's former teacher. Being in his presence made her feel like she was about to be scolded. All the same, she paused to wait for him to catch up.
"I heard you are leaving today?" He came even with her and skidded to a stop, folding his arms across his chest.
"Yeah." Kushina rattled the box by way of demonstration. "I was just heading over to Naruto's apartment to store a few things, then we're heading out."
"Do you mind if I join you? I wanted to see Naruto off."
"Sure." Kushina fell into step beside Iruka, picking at the corner of the cardboard box as she walked. Mentally flailing for conversation, she asked a question to which she already knew the answer. "You're still working at the Academy, right?"
"That's right." A fond smirk came across Iruka's face, and he watched his feet for a few paces. "It's nice to get back to teaching—though we missed a ridiculous amount of class time and the students are behind now. I'll have to be extra tough on them if anyone is going to graduate this year."
"Haha. Oh they're going to love that." Kushina chuckled a little at the mental image of hoards of overworked almost-genin ganging up on their harried chuunin instructor.
"So this… mission. Is it going to keep you all on the road for a while?" Iruka shoved his hands in his pockets and pursed his lips.
"That's my understanding. A couple of years – as long as it takes Jiraiya-sama and me to whip Naruto into shape… and find out a little more about what Akatsuki is up to." Kushina shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not the mastermind behind this little venture, the pervy sage is. I'm just there because I helped catch the informant that gave us our first lead—and because of Naruto."
Iruka gave her an intent glance. "He requested that you come with him for the training?"
Something about the way Iruka stressed the word "requested" hit Kushina uncomfortably. But she allowed herself to dwell on the pleasantness of the memory rather than Iruka's skepticism.
"Yeah, he did. Flat told the old pervert he wanted me along and he'd have to deal. I understand he gave the same speech to Godaime as well."
"Hm. Well, he's a pretty determined kid."
"Yep, he is." Kushina fiddled some more with the corner of the box. The cardboard was beginning to peel.
"So, I bet you're glad to be leaving Konoha again…"
Kushina narrowed her eyes at the chuunin beside her. "Not especially, no."
"Well, I figured that—" Iruka stopped mid-sentence, took a deep breath, and released it. When he spoke again, his tone was calmer, more deliberate. "I'm glad you're able to travel with your son now."
"Yes, so am I."
"He's a good kid, you know."
"Heh – so I've heard."
"Though, be aware – sometimes you have to shout at him three or four times before he remembers a direct order. And he doesn't always grasp abstract concepts very quickly, but when he gets it, he grabs on with both hands and gets it, y'know?"
Kushina laughed. "Yeah, I know, Iruka-san. I know." She glanced over at the chuunin and saw him nod his head slowly. "I'm glad you caught up with me Iruka-san, I wanted to say thank you."
"Oh?" Iruka's forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"Yeah – for watching out for the brat while I was off doing… whatever it is I was doing." Kushina tore off a bit of the cardboard and flicked it at the dirt road. "A lot of people were shitheads to him—"
"Yourself included?"
"Yeah, okay, that's true enough." Kushina cleared her throat, fixed her jaw, and stopped in the dirt road. Iruka halted too and turned toward her. "In any case, you were different—for whatever reason, you kept the shithead behavior to a minimum and took care of him. Thanks for that."
"My pleasure." Iruka granted her a small smile and turned back to the road.
Comfortable silence reigned for about a block, and Iruka spoke up again. "So… you sure you really want to spend years in the company of your son and Jiraiya-sama?"
Kushina feigned a shudder and chuckled a little. "Yeah, well, I'd prefer it if it was just me and the kid, but I guess there's some logic behind this arrangement. This way we'll be able to split up, if we have to—we can be more aggressive about tracking down Akatsuki while making sure Naruto is protected the whole time." Kushina rolled her eyes. "The Pervert agreed to it when I pointed out it would give him more freedom to go off on short 'research trips'."
"And maybe it will shorten the time the whole mission takes."
"Yeah, that's the idea. Either way, we've gotta be back in three years—before Orochimaru is able to do his soul transferring thingy to Sasuke." Kushina shifted the box over to her hip—she had torn a hole in the box with her fidgeting. "Since Naruto's main goal is to rescue the Uchiha…"
They approached Naruto's apartment building. Iruka opened the door and stood back, allowing Kushina to pass. She smiled her thanks and trotted up the stairs. Naruto was folding his bed sheets—very badly—and throwing them into a closet.
"You just about ready?" Kushina said.
"Yep! I've got everything packed… Iruka-sensei!" A grin split the twelve-year-old's face upon seeing the chuunin enter the apartment.
Iruka stepped forward and crossed his arms, smiling. "This place looks cleaner than usual…"
"It is! I cleaned all day! I didn't want to leave it a wreck or anything." Naruto glanced at Kushina. "How much time do we have? I'd like to get a last bowl of Ichiraku before we leave! Come with me, Iruka-sensei?"
"We're supposed to be meeting to leave in half an hour—you can make it if you hurry."
"Let's go!" Naruto shoved the chuunin toward the door. "Come on, Iruka-sensei! Ramen time!"
Kushina chuckled. The kid would probably wrangle a free meal out of the teacher, but Iruka didn't seem to pick up on it. He mostly looked happy and flustered. They were almost out the door when Kushina called out to them.
"Oy, Naruto! Can I store this stuff here?" She held the box out in front of her.
"Sure, Mom, whatever. I'll see you in a bit." Naruto gave a wave of casual dismissal and began to drag Iruka down the hallway. Kushina could hear him chattering about the comparative merits of ramen flavors as they neared the stairwell.
Kushina shook her head at the wonder of that flippant wave and turned toward the apartment. She set the box on the counter, walked over to the closet, and pulled out a sheet to refold it. She stepped to the window and glanced down at the retreating duo of ramen enthusiasts. With a private smile, she stacked the refolded sheets in the closet, and followed them with the box of oddments. She closed the door, turned to leave, paused, and turned back toward the closet.
Retrieving the box, Kushina opened it and pulled out the old book of Jiraiya's. The margins were packed with handwriting, and certain phrases were highlighted. Fanning the pages, Kushina slipped the string of photos from its position and replaced the book and the box. She walked to the refrigerator and peeled a cheap frog magnet from its position with her fingernails. She affixed the pictures to the door with the magnet, positioning it so the frog and Minato were eyeing one another comically. Chuckling, she dropped her hands and admired her work.
Minato looks out of frame (at the frog), a tricky grin on his face.
Minato has hands up and is laughing as Kushina charges the frame, a disheveled mass of hair and pregnant belly.
Minato blissfully buries his face in a handful of Kushina's hair while she looks at the camera.
Both place their hands on Kushina's stomach and look at it. "First family portrait" is scrawled across the bottom.
"I think we're going to be okay, my love."
Kushina tooled around the apartment, catching things her son had missed. She emptied a small container of milk down the drain, threw away a few leftovers in the fridge, and checked the locks on the windows, pausing to glance at the photos every so often. They seemed at home there. Shouldering her pack and nodding to herself, Kushina exited the apartment, closing the door behind her.
FIN
A/N: And so ends the longest piece of fiction—fanbased or otherwise—that I have written in my life. Maybe now that I've built up some authorial stamina, I can, y'know, write the Great American Novel or something… bwahaha!
A note on timelines: I am choosing not to address the filler episodes, one way or another. You can pretend this chapter takes place several months after chapter NINE and imagine all kinds of family bonding hijinks taking place in the gap, or you can go with the manga timeline and say this chapter is directly after the Sasuke retrieval arc. Your call.
Thanks, dear readers, for sticking with me to the end! Let me know what you think!