Chapter 12

The room was so quiet, Naruto could have sworn he heard a pin drop. Not one person in the room had spoken since they entered the 'command' building several minutes ago. Everyone's attention was on the woman who called herself Rin, though she was busy looking down at her hands which were resting on the table. She was probably trying to figure out where to start the discussion she mentioned to Naruto just moments ago.

Naruto took a few seconds to look around the sparse room in the recently constructed command building. Naruto had to admit that he was no architect, but with some guidance he thought he did a fairly decent job of constructing a sturdy shelter. With about fifty clones and some helpful advice from Genma, who's brother was a construction worker in Konoha, they had managed to get the building up in a little over a day.

There weren't really any windows, however, because they had no glass nor any money to waste on getting some. So Naruto had simply cut simple squares into the walls and attached shutters outside so that they could close the windows at night. The building itself only had two rooms, the main meeting room that they were in now, and a smaller office should a more private or official setting be required. Even the furnishings were rather sparse. They had packed tables, yet no chairs... so Naruto had constructed some simple benches for everyone to sit around the table.

He noticed Rin shift a little, and watched as she tapped the table briefly with one of her fingertips. She was looking at Jiraiya, apparently going to talk to him about something first. The Sennin, meanwhile, had his arms crossed and was rubbing his chin with one hand - his traditional thinking pose.

Other than those two, Sakura was the only other one present. Sai excused himself first, claiming that there were a few locations he scouted earlier that he wanted to paint, while Ino claimed she had to go clean up the items she left strewn about in the garden. The three ANBU had been assigned secondary objectives by the Hokage and had already been out working on them before Rin and Jiraiya arrived. Kakashi had explained that he was ordered to scout to the north and west of their current location for any villages, while Genma was to go back to Konoha and report that they had managed to set up a minimal base camp. Yuugao meanwhile explained that she was supposed to be scouting out areas to the south and east of their current location. This was mostly just to scout out any potential resources that could be used for the outpost, as well as asking around in the few scattered hamlets if anyone needed any work done.

Out of the corner of his eye he happened to notice Sakura's head turn slightly to look at him. He turned to meet her gaze, to which she gave him a quick smile. He grinned and winked at her, changing that quick little smile into a bigger one.

"You should stop thinking so hard, you old pervert. You might hurt yourself."

Naruto and Sakura's attention both quickly snapped to Rin, who finally spoke. Jiraiya's eyes went wide for a moment, before he started spluttering indignantly.

"W-What!? I... I haven't been a pervert in years! Now I'm a super pervert!"

A loud snort from Naruto and a small groan from Sakura was all the answer Rin needed. She gave the white haired man an evil grin and raised one of her eyebrows, as if to ask "Oh really?".

Jiraiya adopted a slightly abashed look for a few seconds before waving it off. "Fine. I was just thinking about your rather sudden appearance." Jiraiya leaned forward a bit over the table, letting both arms rest on top of it. "But what I'm extremely curious about... why were you gone and pretending to be dead for so long?"

Rin had a look of genuine confusion on her face. "Pretending to be dead? What are you talking about?"

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "There are three states of duty for Konoha shinobi. They are 'Active', 'Missing In Action', and 'Killed In Action'. Of those three, MIA is given out the least, because generally when a shinobi goes missing, it's intentional. So they just get branded as a nuke-nin. However, one day nearly sixteen years ago now, there was a fourth state of duty that was added which applies to that one day only."

Jiraiya paused for effect for a second before continuing. "It was 'Missing, Presumed Dead'. There were simply too many bodies that could not be found because they were instantly turned to ash or even completely disintegrated upon attacking Kyuubi."

Rin stiffened, and while Naruto was no expert in body language, he saw her jaw tense up and her hands clench up into fists. She managed to grind out a few words while keeping her jaw clenched tight, as well.

"You don't have to go into detail about the deaths, I witnessed enough with my own eyes."

Jiraiya simply nodded. "Your name is currently on the list of shinobi who are MPD."

Confusion returned to Rin's features. "But... I informed the Military Police as to what I was doing, which was standard procedure..."

One corner of Jiraiya's mouth twitched slightly. "Was it a medical issue?"

Rin nodded slowly. "I was helping a patient, and she desperately needed to leave Konoha. She had severe trauma, and was starting to suffer from hallucinations and panic attacks." She cast a glance at Naruto for a few seconds, then focused her gaze on the sannin once more. "Does he know about them? I remember the early talks, but I don't know if it was put into effect..."

Jiraiya gave her a slow nod as her sentence trailed off.

When it didn't seem like Rin was going to elaborate further, Naruto started to get frustrated.

"You don't have to act like I'm not here. Do I know what? What was put into effect?!" Even though he was focusing on Rin, he was vaguely aware of a cool hand resting on his arm. A simple gesture from Sakura, warning him not to get too worked up over some words from a stranger.

Rin's eyebrows raised at Naruto's quick outburst, and she spoke in a quiet voice. "I was wondering if you knew who your parents were. Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina."

Before Naruto could reply affirmatively, Jiraiya cut in. "You did call him Namikaze Naruto outside and he didn't ask why you called him that, remember?"

Rin paused and looked at Jiraiya for a moment, then nodded and turned back to Naruto. "I know he introduced himself as Uzumaki, I guess I just wanted to let him know that I knew."

Jiraiya simply nodded and let the topic drop. Rin cast a quick glance at Sakura, then aimed her piercing gaze at Naruto once more.

"The day I left Konoha, the morning after the Kyuubi attack, I took a patient with me who was mentally unstable."

Rin gave another look to each member in the room before resting on Naruto once again.

"That patient was your mother, Kushina. She's still alive, Naruto."


"... and that is your assignment."

Kiba idly scratched behind one of Akamaru's ears as he stared at the Hokage. "Uh, with all due respect Hokage-sama, I'm a shinobi, not a construction worker."

Kiba heard Hinata faintly mutter his name as the Godaime Hokage gave him an icy cold stare. "It is better to have many talents instead of simply staying one-dimensional. Besides that, I doubt Naruto will have you work on construction that much, since he knows how to manipulate his Kage Bunshin so well."

Hinata gave a small smile while Shino nodded imperceptibly. However, Kiba was still frowning.

"There's another thing. Why the heck does he get to give me orders? We graduated from the Academy at the same time!"

Akamaru whined and put his head down to the ground, paws covering his face. Kiba frowned at the action. "What? I just don't think it's right, thats all!"

Tsunade cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "He can because he is a higher rank than you. Age and graduation years do not matter in the least. To put it into perspective... Kakashi was an ANBU captain by the age of 14, and he was in command of people nearly three times his age."

Kiba stood there, mouth agape, until he heard Hinata giggling. He turned and looked at her, frowning. Before either could say anything, however, there was a quick knock on the door, followed by it opening and a head peeking inside.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes, Shizune?"

"Genma has arrived, he's waiting outside."

"Good timing. Send him in."

"Hai."

All present in the room heard a quick exchange of words outside, followed by Genma walking into the room. He looked different to the three chuunin in the room since he was dressed in civilian clothes, but the ever-present senbon in his mouth gave away who he was to friends almost immediately. He walked up to the Hokage's desk and gave a brief bow.

"Hokage-sama."

Tsunade simply nodded at him. "Report."

Genma began speaking almost immediately, as if he had been preparing a speech his entire trip back.

"We've gotten a location and have settled down a little less than 2 kilometers outside of the ruins. Kakashi and Yuugao are currently out scouting the area, as ordered. Sai has been tasked with hunting and fishing when necessary to get food, and sometimes helps Naruto with construction. Ino has been starting a garden as another food source. Sakura has been doing her best to get all of our supplies organized for immediate placement once we have set up enough of a base foundation."

Genma paused for a moment, letting Tsunade absorb all the information. After a few seconds, she nodded. "What about Naruto?"

Genma scratched at the side of his neck, and gave a small chuckle, causing one of Tsunade's eyebrows to arch upward. "Well, to be blunt, the kid has been nothing short of amazing the past few days. He's an incredibly hard worker, and a great taskmaster. He had given everyone their assignments by the end of our first day, including a proposed daily schedule to follow. His clones are simply remarkable because he can make so many of them... he had the medical building completely finished in just under two days."

Kiba whistled in amazement, causing everyone to look at him, while Genma gave him a grin.

"My brother is in construction, so I know some tricks of the trade to make sure that buildings don't fall down as soon as the wind picks up. I only had to give him some instructions and pointers, and he absorbed everything I told him like a sponge. I think we're going to do just fine."

Tsunade smiled. "Good. The moment you all left I put out a call for various artisans and professionals within the village and the surrounding area. Upon receiving a positive progress report, the civilian council had agreed to pay wages for the first three months for some craftsmen to help build a respectable outpost. Any longer than that, and Naruto will have to find a way to pay them, unless they volunteer to stay. On top of that, the council is willing to sponsor anyone who would like to start a business near the outpost there. So long as it is 'within reason', they say. However they neglected to say what exactly they consider reasonable, so we'll just have to find out later."

As Tsunade paused, Genma quickly edged in a comment. "It sounds as if we're trying to start up a new village, not just build a fort."

The Hokage nodded. "We're giving it the opportunity to become that, certainly. Fire and Whirlpool used to be excellent trade partners just about twenty years ago... the two countries were even closer than we are with Wind right now."

It was Hinata who asked the next question, much to the surprise of those present.

"So what happened?"

Tsunade looked at Hinata, and gave her a sad smile. "I only know bits and pieces, all other records of Whirlpool have been destroyed, and I don't know why. All I can tell you right now is that the Uzumaki come from Whirlpool. That is another reason why Naruto is there. I'm hoping he can find out more."

The Hokage opened one of her drawers, grabbing a scroll that was sitting on top. Making sure she had Genma's attention, she tossed the scroll to him. "That is for Naruto. It contains everything I just told you, plus a little more."

After Genma nodded, she turned her attention to the old Team 8. "Hinata, Kiba... you two will be on hold from missions until Naruto comes to report in, and you will return with him as we discussed previously. Understood?"

Hinata nodded and gave the Hokage a smile, while Kiba did the same, however with a rather sour looking expression. He decided to keep his mouth shut this time.

"Shino, you will be heading to Shikamaru's outpost near Rain, as we also discussed. Have your kikai been able to map the route for you yet?.

Shino gave a barely noticeable nod. "They should have my route planned in the next few minutes, Hokage-sama."

"Good, when you get there, instruct Yamato to take his team and swap with Kakashi's for the next month. I want both teams to scout and know the area surrounding both outposts." She turned her attention to Genma. "Let Kakashi know to expect Yamato in approximately two days. He will depart when Yamato's team arrives. Yamato will stay with Naruto for one month, then they will swap back."

Tsunade glanced between them both once more. "Got it?"

They both nodded, choosing to keep silent.

"Good. I expect you all to be gone no later than tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

The four shinobi present all gave a quick bow, then slowly walked towards the door. Kiba started mumbling something to Hinata, but Tsunade couldn't hear anything other than the girl giggling.

No sooner than they had all left, Shizune entered the room and closed the door softly behind her.

"How is Naruto-kun doing?"

Tsunade focused her attention on Shizune for the first time. "According to Genma, he's doing superbly. Not that I expected any less."

Shizune chuckled a little, bringing her hands up to her mouth in the process. Tsunade finally took notice of the handful of papers she had in one hand.

"I hope that isn't more crap for me to approve."

Shizune looked confused for a brief second, before she remembered the sheets of paper in her hand.

"Oh! No, the period for requisitions is complete, and the Academy just let out for its second quarter break. These are actually responses for the civilian job offers you put out."

"Really? Looks like a nicely sized stack there."

Shizune nodded emphatically. "Yes! These are the fifteen applications I've been able to go over so far. I still have another group of twenty or so that I haven't had a chance to look through yet."

Tsunade held her hand out, and Shizune handed the applications over. She started flipping through them all casually, just to see what positions could potentially be filled so far.

"One thing I was amazed about... almost half of those applicants give one reason for wanting the job is because Naruto-kun is leading."

Tsunade looked up at Shizune for a second, completely stunned. She then quickly looked back down to the stack of papers, checking each one for their reasons.

"Amazing... I had no idea..." Tsunade was quickly flipping through each one, and Shizune wasn't sure if Tsunade was talking to herself or if she wanted a comment.

Shizune nodded, even though Tsunade wasn't looking at her. "It seems that Naruto-kun's dream is starting to come true. People are beginning to respect him.

If Tsunade heard, she didn't acknowledge. She continued flipping through the stack until she got to the last one. After she finished, she set them all in a neat stack and leaned back in her chair.

"Hire the ones that stated they are doing it because of Naruto immediately. Bring the others in for interviews."

"H-hire them right away, Tsunade-sama? Is that wise?"

Tsunade looked at Shizune with a raised eyebrow. "They'll be going there because of him, so I don't see why they wouldn't mind taking orders or instruction from him. If they turn out to be problematic, Naruto could always fire them. He is the boss, after all."

Shizune sighed as she grabbed the stack from the Hokage's desk.

"You don't agree?"

Shizune paused for a moment as she turned towards the door.

"It's not that I don't agree. I'm just worried for Naruto-kun's safety. What if someone is lying just to get to him?"

"Then that's a risk we have to take. Naruto is a big boy, and proved he can handle himself. He is a jounin now, after all. We have to believe in him."

Shizune was biting her bottom lip, but she nodded at Tsunade once again. "Alright. I want to believe in him."

That said, the young medi-nin walked through the doorway, leaving Tsunade alone in her office.

As much as she was amazed by Naruto's progress, she hoped she could hand over the reigns of the entire project to him soon. All this paperwork was giving her a serious headache.

She briefly considered going to another doctor to check and see if she was allergic to work, but in the end decided against it and reached for her bottle of sake. She frowned as she grabbed it, not recognizing the shape of the bottle.

She suddenly remembered what it was, and pulled the bottle out. Naruto said when he got back from his latest travels with Jiraiya that he had gotten her a present, but that it was glass and he had to mail it so it wouldn't break if he got into a fight. She had passed it off as him being cute to get out of trouble, but it seemed that he was true to his word. The package had just arrived yesterday, and she was thrilled to find that it was a unique brand of sake that was distilled only in Grass Country. Not only that, but it was considered contraband there, so he must have had an interesting time smuggling it out of the country.

Pouring herself a glass and turning in her chair to look out the window behind her, she wondered what exactly Naruto was doing right now.


Naruto was thinking his heart was going to burst from his ribcage, it was beating so hard and fast.

His mother... was alive? This woman... Rin... knew where she was?!

Jiraiya was wide-eyed and staring at Rin, while Sakura looked more worried for Naruto's well-being than anything else.

Naruto's mind was going a mile a minute. Questions were coming faster and faster, too fast for his mouth to even hope to catch up.

Why did she leave?

Is she okay now?

What trauma did she suffer?

Where is she?

Why didn't she look for him?

"Naruto!"

The teen blinked a few times, and gradually became aware that everyone was looking at him expectantly.

"W-What?"

Rin's normally ice-cold gaze seemed warmer now, for some reason. It didn't send chills down his spine this time.

"I asked if you were okay. You looked like you were going into shock."

Naruto frowned, then looked at the table and let out a big sigh.

"Sorry. I just... had a lot of questions pop into my head and I was trying to think of which one to ask first."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naruto turned to look to his left, where Sakura was sitting. She had been quiet the whole time, content to just sit silently next to him as a pillar of support.

He gave her a crooked grin to reassure her, but it did very little to ease the worry that was plainly evident on her face.

"I'll be fine, Sakura-chan. It's just some pretty big news for me."

Her mouth twitched, she wasn't sure if she should frown or smile, so she settled for a small nod and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. He gave her a quick smile, then turned his attention back to Rin.

"What happened?"

Rin's mouth pressed into a grim line briefly before she started speaking. "When we left Konoha, it was horrible. She was physically exhausted having just come from childbirth but a few hours earlier, and had apparently been running all over Konoha before I found her staring blankly at a wall in her house."

Rin sighed, looking at Naruto but not really seeing him, as if she was looking into the past which was right behind him. "She had various cuts and bruises all over her hands and lower legs, she was incoherent for the most part and walking into things. She was babbling nonsense for a while, and when I finally got her to come to her senses, she just kept repeating over and over that she had to leave. She was completely adamant about it. Fanatically so."

"I did what I could for her then, and informed the Military Police that we would be leaving due to my patient's medical issues. I got clearance, helped Kushina pack a few things, and we took off. My old clan had safehouses scattered throughout Fire Country, but I only knew the location of one... near the Rice Field Country border. That's where we've been for the last fifteen or so years. It was an optimal location for me to be able to spy on Orochimaru, as I later discovered."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, letting it all sink in.

"What is her condition now?"

Naruto looked at Sakura in surprise, he wasn't expecting her to ask anything, and even with the mention of Orochimaru, she didn't even flinch or comment about Sasuke. Maybe...

Mentally slapping himself, he instead considered the kind of question she had asked. With it's medical connotations, the surprise shifted quickly to interest in the answer.

"For the most part, she's fine now. We spar on a regular basis so she can keep in shape and I can get some training in. She's a lot quieter than she used to be, and I think I can count on one hand how many times I've seen her smile since we left Konoha. Once we left the village, she had hallucinations for a little while, but I managed to cure those. I tried dragging her back to Konoha a few times as well, but every time we'd start getting close, she'd have nonstop panic attacks until we left. I haven't tried taking her back again in five years or so."

Sakura nodded. "So it sounds like she's physically fine and mentally stable now?"

Rin looked at the pink haired girl. "Yes." There was a brief pause, and Rin asked a quesion this time. "Are you a medi-nin?"

Sakura nodded, and gave Rin a little wave and a small smile. "Haruno Sakura, combat medic, and apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama."

Rin's eyes went wide as saucers. "Wow, that's quite the resume. It's been a long time since I've gotten any medic training. Maybe you could give me a refresher sometime?"

Sakura looked surprised at the question for a moment before she gave another smile. "Sure. As soon as we've figured out the situation between Naruto and his mother."

Rin nodded and was going to say something else, but Jiraiya cut her off. "So why did you think Naruto was dead?"

Looking at Jiraiya, Rin frowned before she answered. "It's what I was told. Kushina told me she saw both Naruto and her partner... dead. Their bodies. She's had some medi-nin training too, though not to my degree, but she still should have been able to tell easily. I've tried asking her about it, but as soon as she starts remembering she goes catatonic. The trauma was so bad that her mind literally shuts down when she tries to remember."

Everyone was silent again for a few moments. Naruto couldn't help but be worried... he wanted to meet her, but what if her mind couldn't handle the fact that he was alive after believing him dead for so long?

"Do you want to go meet her?"

Naruto's eyes went wide, Rin asked exactly what he was thinking. "Of course I do... but do you think it would be safe?"

Rin looked confused. "What do you mean? No one has found us in fifteen years."

Naruto shook his head. "I mean for her health. She's believed I was dead for these last fifteen years... and then suddenly finds out I'm alive? Do you think she can handle it?"

Rin seemed to ponder it for a moment, though Sakura answered in her stead. "I think it will be fine, Naruto. Her mental problems seem to be self-inflicted from what I'm able to understand. It seems like her mind is doing it so that she doesn't have to feel the pain of losing her partner and son over and over by remembering it. If she sees you... it might actually cure that problem."

"I agree." Rin nodded at Sakura, then looked at Naruto. "I think your girlfriend hit the nail on the head."

Almost immediately the air in the room became tense, Naruto and Sakura looked at each other quickly, blushed, then looked the other way.

"Uhm... Sakura-chan and I haven't really talked about that yet..."

Sakura, while nodding in agreement with Naruto, was surprisingly quiet. If she was going to say anything, Jiraiya beat her to it. "No offense to either of you, but that discussion is rather irrelevant at this moment."

Naruto and Sakura both turned crimson at his remark, and seemed to shrink down on the bench they were sitting on. Tense silence followed for a few moments, which left Jiraiya wondering if maybe he was a bit too harsh. Rin broke the silence by standing up and making a lot of noise as she stretched. When she was done, she looked at Naruto. He was slowly regaining his composure and looked like he wanted to ask another question, but was holding himself back.

"So Naruto... when should we go meet her?"

Naruto's eyes started to widen, and he started to stand up, but Jiraiya stopped him before he could say or do anything.

The white haired man turned slightly to look at Rin. "She should probably see me first. Perhaps if she sees someone from Konoha before she sees Naruto, it might soften the blow. Good or bad."

Rin appeared to mull over Jiraiya's offer for several moments as everyone waited for her answer. With a heavy sigh, she nodded her head. "You're right. It would probably be safer that way. Even though she might kill me."

That confused everyone, but she held up a hand to stop any impending questions. "It's pointless for me to explain what I mean. She wouldn't really kill me. I hope."

She focused on Naruto. "Are you ready to go?"

Naruto got up so fast that he almost knocked Sakura off the bench. He tossed her a quick apology, then turned to Rin with confident grin. "You'd better believe it. When can we leave?"

Rin shrugged. "Now is fine." She turned to look at Jiraiya. "Unless anyone has other plans?"

Jiraiya shook his head, and started to stand as well. "I can go now."

Naruto nodded and looked at his... almost girlfriend. "Sakura-chan, you want to come?"

Sakura looked conflicted, and didn't seem to want to look Naruto in the eye.

Naruto was definitely concerned, and managed to grab the attention of Rin and Jiraiya, who looked on with curiosity. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

The girl sighed, and finally looked at him. "I really want to go, but I think I should stay here. You'll be meeting your mom for the first time, and I don't want to be a distraction." She managed a small smile. "Besides, who else can keep Ino, Sai, and that pervert Kakashi-sensei in line?"

There was a small gasp from the other side of the table, and everyones attention quickly focused on Rin.

"Did you just say Kakashi... sensei?"

Sakura nodded slowly as Jiraiya's, and surprisingly Naruto's faces betrayed no emotion, nor curiosity.

"Wow, I can't believe he... wait..." Rin waved her hand dismissively. "We've got more important things to attend to right now. You guys can answer my questions later."

Everyone nodded, and Naruto turned to Sakura one last time as Jiraiya and Rin headed for the door.

"Thanks, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened momentarily as Naruto looked at her seriously. He even dropped the ever-present suffix from her name... she hoped it was to show how much he really appreciated her. So she smiled at him.

"You're welcome, Naruto."

Naruto smiled back, but for some reason couldn't move. Jiraiya and Rin had since left the building, so the two of them were alone.

"Naruto..."

The voice was soft, so at first he didn't where it was coming from. It took a second for him to realize that it had actually come from the person standing in front of him.

"Is something wrong?"

Sakura shook her head, then looked up and gave him a big smile. She grabbed the bottom of his vest suddenly, surprising him, then fumbled around for a little bit as she tried to line up the zipper. Finally getting it, she zipped his vest up most of the way.

"Be strong, Naruto. If something goes wrong and she flips out, you need to be strong, okay?"

She was staring him right in the eyes as she spoke, completely unwavering. He knew it deserved a serious response, so he gave the most serious one he could think of at the time.

"I will. It's a promise."

Sakura just gave him a big smile, then caught him totally offguard once again. She grabbed both sides of his vest collar with her hands, pulled him down a little, and smashed her lips against his. Naruto was totally unprepared, his eyes were wide and his mind went totally blank.

The beginning of the kiss was a little awkward, Sakura was trying but Naruto was much too surprised to respond.

Three seconds into the kiss, he started to respond, slowly closing his eyes.

Seven seconds into the kiss, he felt her arms go around his neck as her tongue probed for entry, his arms slowly started snaking around her back.

Eleven seconds into the kiss, their tongues were playing tonsil tag, her hand was starting to slide into the hair on the back of his head, as his arms started squeezing her tighter.

Fourteen seconds into the kiss, scritch... scritch scritch scritch... scritch scritch...

Seventeen seconds into the kiss, Sakura pulled back, her face glowing red. She mumbled a quick 'Good Luck', then turned and bolted for the door.

Eight seconds post-kiss, Naruto was standing there with a blank look on his face, and was awoken by a beautiful voice screaming 'pervert!' followed by the painful howl of an elderly man.


Just under two hours into their trip, Rin jumped down from a tree to the forest floor, holding up her hand as a signal to stop. Naruto and Jiraiya both dropped down next to her.

"We're here. The cottage is right up ahead, near where the trees start to thin out a little."

Both Naruto and Jiraiya nodded, the latter still rubbing the side of his jaw where Sakura hit him. They jogged along the forest floor for another three minutes, until the cabin became clearly visible. It was rather simple looking, and completely generic. It was supposed to be a safehouse, supposedly, so there was no reason for it to stick out. It appeared to be in good shape, so it obviously was well maintained. There were a few scattered plant beds in various places around the house... giving Naruto some small confirmation that his mother was here. Unless, of course, Rin happened to be a gardener too.

Naruto felt his heartbeat grow strong once again as they came closer to the front door. As they stopped at the entrance, Rin turned around and looked at Jiraiya, then Naruto.

"Jiraiya is going to follow me in first. Since it's evening Kushina is probably going to be in the kitchen making dinner. I don't want to scare her too bad, so until I call for you, don't let yourself be seen. She's probably already detected more than one person here and is likely on guard inside."

Both men nodded at the female medic, who took a deep breath, the unlocked and opened the front door.

"Kushina! I'm back!"

"Welcome back... I'm making dinner. Is there someone else with you?"

To Naruto, hearing his mothers voice made his quickly beating heart skip a beat. He couldn't remember the last time he was this nervous. Her voice was beautiful; it sounded so gentle he tried to imagine what she looked like without even seeing her.

"Yes, actually. We'll come greet you in the kitchen."

"Oh, alright. I'm actually in the dining room grabbing a tray to put dinner on. I'll meet you there."

Rin glanced at Jiraiya, then motioned for him to follow. He nodded and they both stepped inside.

There were several seconds of maddening silence. The only sound Naruto heard was the thumping of his heart.

"J-Jiraiya!" The startled shout made Naruto jump a little, involuntarily.

"Hello, Kushina-chan. Long time no see."

There were a few more seconds of silence, followed by an angry shout that Naruto was not expecting.

"Rin! Why is he here!? You promised me! You promised!"

"I know I did, I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

"But you promised me!"

"Kushina! Please calm down! I have a good reason! Please let me explain!

"I can't believe this... this wasn't supposed to happen!"

Naruto was starting to panic... his mother sounded like she was going to be hysterical.

"Kushina! Please, listen to me! I have an explanation! Please..."

"This... had better be good..."

Naruto felt like his heart was going to leap up out of his throat. He really, really wanted to meet her... but she sounded pretty bad right now...

"It's very good. I think it might make everything okay again." There was a brief pause, then, "Alright, come on in!"

Naruto steeled himself, and began to put one foot in front of the other. Slowly moving forward, he moved in the direction that he last heard Rin's voice from. Through the front door, and down a brief hallway; he walked through an arched doorway, into a room that was definitely a kitchen.

He saw Jiraiya, and he saw Rin. They both saw him come in, and he saw a small smile appear on Jiraiya's face. Near them stood a woman who had her back to him. She seemed a few inches shorter than him, and from what he could see, she was rather slim. Her deep red hair was tied into a single loose ponytail that traveled all the way down to the small of her back.

She must have seen Jiraiya and Rin looking at him, because she slowly turned around to face the newcomer. The first thing he saw was a slight scowl marring her face, but as soon as she saw him, it almost instantly turned into one of shock.

Vibrant green eyes opened wide, and her mouth opened slightly. He heard her gasp... it was the only sound in the entire room, and it was so loud to him it might as well have been thunder.

For once in his life, Naruto was totally speechless. He had no boast, no declaration of victory, no pouty exclamation. No cheer, no sob, no scream. So he did the only thing that he could think of, the only thing a boy seeing his mother for the first time, ever, could do.

He tried to speak, his mouth was completely dry. It barely came out a whisper.

"Hi... mom."

She heard it.

The tray hit the floor.


Edited: February 10th, 2010

Up next: October Tenth