A/N: I apologize for the ridiculous amount of time it took to upload this chapter. 2016 was an extremely busy year and I hope to get more uploads in this time around. All the love to the people that followed, favourite and reviewed. Also a big thanks to my beta, SyncreticVenture!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 14: A Game of Tag
Takara Daisuke shot up from his desk at the sound of loud banging on the other side of his door, kunai ready in his hand, sure that it was one of Danzo's cronies—
"Oooi! Oi, Dai-chan!"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Daisuke spat, mood souring at the disgustingly unfortunate nickname and the man that was standing at his door. He put the kunai he'd procured away, and stayed quiet, hoping to avoid his visitor.
"Dai-chan, it's been days, man, where have you been? I know you're hiding in there." A pause, and for a second he thought he would be left alone, until Shiranui Genma's cheery voice announced, "I'm coming in!"
No such luck.
Daisuke let out a string of curses as he stormed through his apartment and yanked open the door with a snarl, absolutely sick of people randomly coming in uninvited. What was even the point of traps if it couldn't keep anyone out?
"What the fuck do you want, Genma." Too late did he realise that he had made a terrible, terrible mistake.
Genma's grin was blinding, the senbon stuck in his mouth almost taking out Daisuke's eye as he waltzed past him. "Ah, always such a ray of sunshine, it's so good to see you again too. Do you have some tea? Hm, a beer might be a better idea."
The handle of the door was creaking under the force of his grip, so he let it go and tried to calm down enough to try to stop grinding his teeth to dust. Why did this guy insist on testing his patience? He could swear that Genma derived some sadistic pleasure from his pain.
Sighing, he raised his eyes heavenward with a short prayer, before closing his door and joining the intruder in his kitchen, sliding into a seat at the kitchen table.
Genma at least had the decency to hand him a beer. He took a big swig before pointing his bottle at the man sitting opposite him, "So, what brings you here today?"
"Aww, can't a friend drop by for a chat once in a while?" At Daisuke's silently raised eyebrow, he conceded, "Raidou and I both agreed that you've been acting like a bloody recluse and I am staging an intervention."
As his glare didn't seem to have any effect at all on Genma, Daisuke took another swig of his beer. For strength.
"Your concern is touching, truly. But you can fuck off. I'm not in the mood to go anywhere."
Genma's grin didn't bode well. "That's why I said it's an intervention, Dai-chan. I don't really give a shit if you're in the mood or not."
As Kakashi closed the door behind them, Miu took a moment to take a deep breath. She then unsealed her sword and slipped it into her obi in one fluid motion, her posture shifting subtly as she grabbed hold of the scabbard at the guard, ready to unsheathe and attack at any moment. Turning to look at him, she gave him a careless smile, though her eyes were sharp and focused.
"Ready?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep, let's get this over with." She answered as they started towards her gates.
The walk to the gate was silent, the only sound the crunch of leaves under their sandals as he contemplated his friend.
Over the years he'd discovered that Miu had a strangely dangerous amount of curiosity. It would kick in at the most inopportune times and leave them all in trouble because of it. Like when she'd uncovered the affair of an affluent clan head, because she was curious about the change in his style of clothing, or that time when she got fascinated by some kind of runic symbol that turned out to lead to some kind of map and when, during her research, she found out the place it led to belonged to a vicious group of assassins. He'd had quite a hard time convincing her not to go explore their secret hideout. Just thinking about it made him want to smash something.
There was an urge to know the working behind certain things—which is why she was probably so talented with Fuinjutsu. Actions and reaction, consequences and the inner workings—be it seals, be it human minds—she always wanted to know more; take them apart, study them, trying to understand and then re-construct them.
Kakashi had known that he would be showing Miu up here, so that she could contemplate what her stalker had seen and what he had been thinking.
As Miu opened the gates and closed them behind her again, Kakashi lead the way up, noticing that Miu's focus hadn't waned. Good, he thought, she's keeping herself together. He waited after each jump, carefully watching Miu for any signs that she wanted to or had to stop. When he came to a halt on a higher tree branch with a full view of the house and more importantly a full view of Miu's room, he didn't look, already knowing what he would see. The disgust and anger welled up again, but he deftly pushed those aside.
Landing in a half crouch, her hand on the trunk to steady her body, Kakashi saw the moment of hesitation before she straightened. The moment she did, she sucked in a sharp breath and took a step backwards, as if to distance herself from the sight before her. Her eyes widened in horror, mouth dropped open slightly with the shock. Her gaze flitted between both windows, both giving her a look of her own sanctuary. One that had been violated.
"Wow, he must have been an experienced stalker, for me not to notice him. Or," she added drily. "I just really suck at being aware of my surroundings." He glanced at her and saw the look of rage in her eyes. There was also disbelief. Disgust. Fear. "Three months…damnit, why?" She snarled, but it was a furious plea to understand. He wished he knew the answer to her question.
Her arms came up and curled around her waist in a protective self-hug, eyes never leaving the view to her room. Something inside of him twisted at how vulnerable she looked like right then, at how that bastard had made happy, ferociously protective Miu look like this. He gently took her shoulder and turned her away. Gratefully, she let her forehead drop against his shoulder, eyes closing for what seemed like the first time since she started staring at her room, a hand twisting into the front of his flak jacket. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a muffled whimper. The sound had him tightening his hold on her.
"We'll get him, Miu." He said, his voice hard with determination and promise, echoing Gai's earlier words. "We'll get him."
He could feel Miu nod against his shoulder and as he held her, she slowly relaxed in his grip, tension that had been coiling her body slowly oozing away. She tightened her grip marginally, pressing her forehead against the side of his throat, he let his chin drop the few inches to her head. They stayed like that, locked in an embrace and while he was the one comforting her, Kakashi felt something within himself unfurl at the basic, friendly human contact.
Miu pulled back after a while, letting go and stepping back. She gave him an intent look, her smile soft and warm. "Thank you." And there was a depth in her words that made him smile back from behind his mask, his own eye softening.
"You're welcome."
Her face then drew into a professional mask, eyes getting back that sharp and determined look.
"So, this area was searched thoroughly?" Kakashi, understanding her need to pull back from the situation emotionally, nodded.
"ANBU went through here with the Inuzuka dogs. There's chakra residue but because of the flash-bomb he set off it's become unreadable. Other traces, like scent, have been completely wiped out. I've had my ninken go over it too, but Pakkun couldn't pick up anything either." Miu nodded. She turned around, facing the bark of the tree.
There was obvious wear and tear from where someone had repeatedly gripped it or lounged against it, lower to the branch. The part they were standing on had also smoothed considerably. Miu ran her fingers against the bark. She hummed and then sat down cross-legged.
Kakashi expected that bastard had sat here like this countless of times. He felt a small stab of apprehension, but Miu just closed her eyes, easily falling into a meditative state. He waited, curious to see what she was up to. He felt the wind pick up around them, his neck prickled and he could almost feel the air charge with chakra. Slightly disbelieving, he pulled up his headband, revealing his sharingan and watched in awe as the wind around him swirled with his friend's wind chakra.
He could see that she was concentrating on the tree and the chakra residue that had been left and immediately starting wondering what exactly she was seeing and how far her range went. Instantly, he also identified one big flaw to the technique: it left her completely vulnerable. She had to have someone to watch her back if she ever wanted to use this in the field and like him there could be a chance that an enemy ninja was able to sense the fact that this wasn't a normal wind.
Her chakra pulled away from the tree and for a moment he had the distinct impression that the wind was looking directly at him, however bizarre that sounded. He realized she probably was, as he felt the familiar warmth of her chakra wash against his skin. It lasted for a second, but it left him warm and comforted. He could feel her chakra pulling back and everything around them settling again. He closed his eye and covered it with his headband again.
She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile as she got up. "I noticed what you meant about the chakra residue. It's there, but it's somehow…hazy and unclear, like it was cleaned off." He nodded, having felt the same with his sharingan and told her as much.
"What are you able to see when you concentrate your chakra like that?" He asked as they made their way down.
She stopped on a branch to look at him in surprise before her forehead creased in thought. "That's a good question. It's like I can see, hm, or rather feel, the density of chakra residue, but in a really blurry distorted sort of way, like a—a blob of light, is how I would describe it. I didn't know whether it would work or not and the only thing I saw, or felt, were small little specks." She grinned at him.
"I usually use it for reconnaissance in mission, it works really well to check whether there are any threats up ahead and how many exactly there are. It's really weird when you brush up against a person, because there is a feeling of warmth where the chakra core is and it appears to be brighter than anything else I can see. I could see that you were using your Sharingan because your eye appeared brighter to me, for example."
Kakashi hummed. "I felt your chakra against my skin, you know, so you probably can't do this from too close-by?"
Miu nodded. "Leaves me vulnerable too, as I can't pay attention to what's happening around me when I'm looking elsewhere, so I never use it when I'm alone."
She jumped to another branch and quickly made her way down. Kakashi easily followed her and they both landed softly on the forest ground. They made their way over to her gate, where she shot him another look.
"I wonder how he accomplished that though…" She pondered, eyebrows drawn into a frown as she thought it through. "Being able to clean off chakra residue—I've never heard of anything like it." Kakashi nodded.
"ANBU was curious, too. They've taken what remained of that flash-bang—which wasn't much, admittedly, for some further research." Miu nodded and shot him a sideway glance. "Any chance I'd get to see the report?" She asked with badly contained curiosity. Kakashi felt his lips quirk beneath his mask, amusement obvious in his eye.
"I'll see what I can do."
Miu turned to give him a sheepish grin. "Thanks, Kakashi."
As they reached the gates, Miu turned to face him. "Would you mind giving me a second to check the barriers," At his nod and curious expression, she shot him a smile and kneeled down before the latch of the gate. He watched as she ran a few hand seals, hands blurring through them, before she laid them on the part connecting the gate and watched in awe as the whole dome they'd seen earlier appeared again, this time clearly visible. He could see the overwhelming amount of symbols now, recognizing it as part of the seal.
He shot a look at Miu, whose face was scrunched up in concentration as her eyes carefully scanned the seal—she'd taken out a small notebook and was jotting down some observations. With one last sweeping look over her barrier and one quick run through of her notes, she nodded in satisfaction and stopped the jutsu. She opened the gate and locked it behind him. She then made her way over each corner of the fence that was set around her home, guessing that that was where the seals were anchored.
"'M just checking to see that the additional seals I want to layer on top of these won't react badly with the ones that are already there." She said, answering his silent question. "Normally they should be the same on all sides, but I want to check if there aren't any other seals used on those anchors."
He watched as she activated the same jutsu each time, studied the fuinjutsu symbols that appeared on the grounds and on the fence itself, before moving to joining the dome above their head. To him, it all looked the same, unreadable and complex beyond his understanding, but Miu's eyes seemed to focus on different parts each time, actually seeing the differences and making a note of them. He was silent as he kept watch over her, becoming more concerned when she appeared to be straining herself. When she finally finished the last anchor, he caught her arm as she stumbled while getting up.
"Miu," Before he could start lecturing her on the fact that she'd just been discharged from the hospital, she winced and apologized.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect that to take up so much of my energy." She shot him a contrite look that was clearly fakes. "I'll be a good girl and go take a nap or something." Her mouth twitched up into a grin at his annoyed expression. "Sorry, Kakashi, didn't mean to worry you." He just rolled his visible eye as he relaxed slightly.
"Yeah, yeah. As if you do anything but. No wonder my hair's gone grey so fast." This had Miu laughing out loud and he felt himself smile.
As Miu and Kakashi made their way to the door, they were alarmed to hear raised voices. She'd opened the door slightly, but froze as she listened to a very distraught Naruto, actually shouting at Kurenai and Gai. She shot a shocked look at Kakashi, whose eye was slightly narrowed in worry.
"…to go get nee-chan back! She can't be too far—"
"Naruto, she'll be back in a few minutes…" Kurenai placated.
"It's not safe!" Naruto interrupted. "You get her back! You get her back, now!" His voice wavered. "W-what if she's hurt again?" His voice broke at the end and Miu felt her eyes widen in alarm. She fully opened the door and stepped inside.
The boy had his arms wrapped around himself, eyes clenched shut and body pressed against the wall, turned away from Gai and Kurenai. His whole body screamed Don't touch me! Don't come closer!
Her friends saw her first and they both looked more than a little shocked and worried. Kurenai mouthed 'nightmare' to her and she wondered if it was the same one as the one he'd woken up screaming from in the hospital. She ruthlessly crushed the overwhelming feeling of guilt that welled up inside of her, so that she could take care of Naruto.
"Naruto," Miu called, "I'm here." His eyes shot open and Miu almost took a step back at the accusing and betrayed look in his eyes that were filled with tears.
"You promised! You said you wouldn't leave!" His sudden anger melted away and he sobbed. "Y-you went away. You left me all a-alone again, nee-chan…Y-you—" Miu was at his side a second later and pulled him into her arms. His whole body was trembling, his breathing a bit too panicked for her comfort.
"Hush, child. I'm right here. I won't be leaving you alone. C'mon breathe for me, Naruto. Slowly, that's right. In…and out, that's it. Slowly. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."
"Y-you were so cold, nee-chan." He whispered thickly into her neck, his arms coming up to hug her back. The words made her blood freeze in her veins. "I told you to stop, but you wouldn't listen and w-went outside anyway. And then when I found you again, you weren't waking up anymore, nee-chan. Y-you weren't—" His words dissolved into sobs and Miu just kept whispering calming words in his ears, past the lump in her throat. The guilt rushed back with a vengeance and she closed her eyes at the pain in her chest. What the hell kind of nightmare was this kid having?
She glanced up at her friends, their eyes soft with sympathy.
She swallowed thickly and picked Naruto up, still holding him close, she made her way up the stairs to Naruto's own room. She slowly sat down on the bed and leant against the headboard with the kid in her arms. The worst of the trembling was over and he was just crying softly now. She kept up the litany of comforting words, still rubbing soothing circles into his back.
When the tears stopped, she pulled back somewhat and before he could protest, she'd lifted up his small hand and pressed it against her cheek. He looked up at her in question and Miu gave him an intense look, wanting him to understand her next words.
"I'm not cold, kiddo. I'm not dead. I am not leaving you behind, do you hear me?" She said in a soft but stern voice.
"You're warm." He whispered in wonder again, as he gently touched her cheek and Miu felt her heart twist painfully in her chest.
"Yeah, kiddo. I'm not going anywhere." She smiled and rubbed a knuckle against his cheek. "And you know that if I do have to go that I'll always come back to you?" He stiffened and his eyes fell to his knees. Miu sighed inwardly, not really wanting to have this conversation, but she couldn't let the kid keep feeling this way. "Naruto, listen to me." He looked up with an almost stubborn tilt of his head.
"I'm a kunoichi, Naruto. These things happen sometimes. I was attacked, but the doctors helped me out and I got better. I'm here right now, with you. I can't promise you that I won't be attacked again, that I won't be hurt again. Kurenai, Kakashi, Gai, they all get hurt sometimes too, but we're all strong and we can take care of ourselves." She raised her hand and cupped his cheek, wiping away his tears with the pad of her thumb.
"We don't let these kind of things stop us from living, kiddo. Just because of this one attack, you can't make me stay inside so I never get hurt again. It doesn't work that way. This bad person will always keep coming until he… he's finished with what he wants to do. We'll find him and have him punished so he never hurts anyone ever again. I'll still go out and train and go grocery shopping. I'll take you to the park and eventually I'll have to start working again." She bored her eyes into his. "But, Naruto, I'll always come back to you. Do you understand?" He nodded slowly.
"You'll always come back?" He whispered. Miu smiled softly and ran a hand through his hair.
"Always." And as the words left her lips, she desperately wished with all of her being that they would never turn into a lie.
They both sat in comfortable silence, Naruto sat sideways on his sister's lap with his head on her shoulder and still securely wrapped in her arms. He felt the soft thrum of her heartbeat and it reassured him like nothing else could. He shuddered as he thought of his dream again. Always the same one, over and over again. But the shadows hadn't taken nee-chan. Not yet at least, a voice whispered in his head. He ignored it, though his insides seemed to go cold anyway. His sister said she would always come back for him.
He traced the pattern of her clan's symbol on his bracelet with his fingers. He was part of a clan now. Part of a family. Nee-chan's family. It made his chest feel warm, but there was still that pit in his stomach, a cold ball of fear and guilt that didn't go away. One that he'd felt when he'd waited to see his sister for the first time after she'd been hospitalized. It had come back, viciously, with the nightmares. He rubbed at his stomach, hating the feeling of it being there.
"Naruto," His sister's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "The nightmare you had, was it the same one as the one in the hospital?" She asked softly, carding a hand slowly through his hair. He stiffened slightly. He didn't want to think about the shadows and her cold hand and the dead blue eyes that stared up at the clouded sky.
"It was." He confirmed hoarsely after a while.
"Will you tell me about it?" She asked softly. He felt himself go cold and he shivered. "Please?"
He gave a shuddering sigh at the plea and nodded. And so he told her about coming into her room and her cold eyes and that she was leaving. The shadows beneath the stairs that she didn't seem to see, but that hurt him and held him back as she walked through the door. The whispers that the shadows had uttered, words which had cut and hurt and hit too close to home. The moment he realized he got free and his run to the front of the property and finding Miu's lifeless body, her eyes empty as they stared up at the grey sky. And then the shadows that were upon him, hurting him with their words and their whip-like attacks.
His sister stayed silent as he talked, she never stopped running her hand through his hair and the action calmed him immensely. It felt good to finally get it off his chest, to tell of the horror that would come and haunt him in his dreams. They both stayed quiet when he finished talking, but started slightly as his sister put a hand on fists that were clenched painfully. She gave them a small squeeze and he relaxed them slightly.
He studied his sister's hand. It was warm. Quite a lot bigger than his and soft but firm. He noticed that her nails were trimmed short. He turned her hand around, palm-up, and felt callouses on the tips of her fingers and her palm. As he shifted her hand, he saw the surprisingly large number of paper thin scars that scattered from her palm outwards. He wondered how she'd gotten them as he gently traced them with a finger. He laid his smaller one in her bigger one and smiled as his sister gently closed her hand over his. His other hand brushed against where he knew the storage seal was. His eyes drifted up and settled on the bandages and he felt his chest clench painfully again.
"I'm so sorry," His sister's whisper broke him out of his musings and he looked up at her, a confused expression on his face. Her eyes were dark with guilt, a pained expression on her face.
"Why are you sorry, nee-chan?" He asked. He was sure that she didn't have anything to apologize for, if anything it was him that had to apologize.
Her voice was soft and low, brushing against his ear. "I'm sorry you're having such awful nightmares, Naruto. I'm sorry about leaving you alone and scaring you." Her tone was slightly harder as she continued. "I shouldn't have let you wake up alone after that."
"It's okay, nee-chan."
"It was not okay at all." She said. "I made the mistake of letting you wake up alone. You went through a lot, Naruto, and I should have realized that I shouldn't leave unannounced. I also should have asked you about your nightmares earlier. It was my mistake and that's why I apologized. Do you understand?" Naruto swallowed thickly and nodded. Really, his sister cared too much. The ball in his stomach clenched at his insides again and it made him feel sick. She kissed him on his forehead and he almost came undone at the caring act.
He remembered laying numbly against Kakashi's chest and hearing a nurse talking. "—it was lucky that she'd protected the boy, if it had hit him instead…" It was his fault that his sister had gotten hurt in the first place. She shouldn't be apologizing at all. He should be given a firm smacking and then locked up in his room for ever putting her life in danger. She shouldn't be apologizing and comforting him.
She'd been hurt when she'd told him that she was proud of him, he remembered. Naruto swallowed and closed his eyes against the memories.
"The attack… it was so scary, nee-chan." He told her in a whisper. "Everything went so fast in the forest. We were talking one moment and the next you were holding me and you were jumping. The explosion hurt my ears. It was really loud. I don't really know what was going on, but I remember you were really fast, nee-chan. I was really scared, but I knew I would be okay because I was with you. I didn't even know that you were hurt until we got to Jiji's office." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he remembered her pale face, her arm and Kimono red with blood. The whispered apology. Even then she had been apologizing to him. Couldn't she see that he was the one responsible? "There was so much blood." He whispered and then he finally looked up at her and their blue eyes met. "I thought you were going to die." He shakily breathed.
He remembered the way he'd felt the air split with the Kunai. "—it was lucky that she'd protected the boy,"
"You protected me…" Her blue gaze was soft, caring and so wonderfully warm. It made his stomach twist, that cold ball feeling heavier with each breath.
He didn't deserve it. He didn't!
She'd taken the kunai that had been meant to hit him.
"Of course." She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world and it wasn't. Protecting him had never ever been important to anyone. He had never been important. Not to the grown-ups in the orphanage, not to the kids that he lived with and not to the adults that whispered behind his back and threw him out of their shops.
"Why?" He cried out, agitated and confused and guilty, pulling away from her, away from the warm comfort. He saw her eyes widening in surprise, but didn't stop. "You shouldn't have! It's my fault you almost died… You shouldn't have, nee-chan. I'm just a monster, no one would be sad if I died. It would have been better if—"
"That is enough!" His eyes widened at the pain and anger in her unusually rough voice, snapping up to meet hers and saw tears in her eyes. She looked at him as if he had given her a physical blow. Naruto flinched slightly, whether from the anger in those words or the look on her face—he didn't know, and his gaze fell back down to his lap where he clenched his hands in the fabric of his pants.
"It would have been better if you had been hit instead? If you had died instead?" She asked harshly. "You stupid child, do you know how that would have destroyed me?" He felt his eyes widen both at the words and the enormity of the emotions behind them. He didn't remember his sister ever being this angry with him, but the words made his heart squeeze.
Her hands came down on his shoulders and shook him gently but firmly.
"Uzumaki-Tsukino Naruto, you will look at me and listen to what I have to say." His gaze immediately shot up to look at her angry blue ones.
"When I adopted you, I swore to take care of you to the best of my abilities, emotionally, physically and financially. It is my duty as a guardian and as a sister to see that no harm is done to you. When we were attacked, my only thought was of keeping you safe, Naruto. This is because I care. Because I care what happens to you, because I want you to be safe. If there is someone attacking us, I will protect you, with my life if I have to. I will never ever let you get hurt if I can stop it. Do - you - understand?" He felt so bewildered he could only nod numbly.
She cared. She wanted to keep him safe. But why? Why, when everyone else hated him, had always hated him? He was a monster, wasn't he? He'd heard the villagers and shadows whisper the words maliciously over and over again. She shook his shoulders again and he looked up at her.
"And you are not a monster." She said fiercely. "You. Are. Not. I don't ever want to hear you calling yourself that vile word again. Everyone that has ever called you that is wrong. They are wrong, do you understand me?" He gave her a teary nod, not able to hold back the small sob that left his lips. The realization of how much he'd wanted to hear these words blindsided him.
"I told you this in the hospital and I'll say it again. I love you, you idiot child. I love you. It would destroy me to lose you." He looked up at this, his heart twisting in his chest when she sobbed and pulled him closer. "God, don't ever say anything like that again. I'd miss you. I'd mourn for you, Naruto. I adopted you. You are my family. I need you. You can't die. Your life is not worth any less than anyone else's. Is that understood?" Her voice broke again at the end and he nodded against her neck. His throat felt tight, but that small cold ball in his stomach loosened and withered away. The warmth of her words reached him fully this time. His sister was not dead. She would not be taken by the shadows. She would not look at him coldly, because she loved him.
He cried, then, his arms reaching up to hug her back. Finally feeling intense relief flooding his veins. His sister was safe. She didn't blame him. She wouldn't give him away, because of this. She'd promised to always come back. She still loved him.
"I'm so glad you're safe, nee-chan." He whispered between his sobs. "I'm so glad you're back home. I missed you so much." He felt his sister's shoulders shake, her hold on him tightened just a bit more and he tightened his hold around her neck in return, burying his face deeper into her neck. He closed his eyes as she kissed the top of his head.
"I missed you, too." She whispered back.
Kurenai had given Kakashi a quick run-down on what happened, and now they were all gathered around the kitchen table, their cards lying forgotten halfway through a game.
"Kakashi," Kurenai's soft voice broke the silence. He looked up with a worried expression. "How was she with you?" Kakashi and Miu had a strange relationship, one that apparently went way back. Out of all of them, Kakashi had known her the longest. He frowned and there was no trace of his usual uninterested tone as he spoke.
"Shaken." He said, sighing. "And she was overdoing it, insisted on examining the seals around her home."
Kurenai frowned. "She needs rest and absolutely no more stress." They shared a look, knowing how well that would go over with Miu.
"It's been quiet." Gai said and Kurenai and Kakashi made noises of agreement. Kurenai got up from the stool she'd been sitting on.
"I'll go check on them." The men nodded and she quietly made her way upstairs. She went for Naruto's room first, and opened it only to bite back a soft laugh. She smiled at the sight before her, expression saddening when she noticed the tear tracks on both their faces.
They were both asleep, Miu leaning against the headboard, cheek pressed against Naruto's crown. She had her arms around him protectively. Naruto was sat sideways on her lap with his head against her shoulder and his hands curled in the fabric of her shirt.
While there were tear tracks on both their faces, their expressions were peaceful.
Kurenai smiled fondly at the duo and silently went back downstairs. When she was met with one and a half pair of eyes, she just shrugged and said; "They were sleeping. I'd say we let them rest for a bit."
Gai proposed a game and they all sat down at the table. Kurenai grinned over at Kakashi as she started dealing the cards, "So, how did you two meet anyway?"
The knock on the door startled Miu back to wakefulness and she had to blink a few times to gain her bearings. She'd fallen asleep, still sitting back against the headboard with Naruto still in her arms. She blinked at the door and croaked out a, "Come in." Miu rolled her eyes at the hideous sound of her voice and cleared her throat. Honestly, what was it with her and Naruto and crying their eyes out all the time? She hoped that this would be the last emotional outburst for today, because she felt absolutely drained. Glancing down, she felt a burst of affection for the kid and hoped that he would feel slightly better after this.
The door opened and Kakashi came in, raising an eyebrow at the sight of them. Miu knew she probably looked like a mess. She shrugged a shoulder and gave him a sheepish smile.
"Lunch is ready." He announced, giving them a worried once over. "How is he?" She felt her mouth quirk up in a smile.
"He's okay." She told her friend softly. "He just needed some assurance that I wasn't going to leave him. Or that the attack was his fault in any way." Miu's voice went hard at the end. And she swallowed the anger at the villagers, at his caretakers for letting him feel like a burden, for making him feel that he would not be missed should he die… for making him feel as if he was not worth saving. She closed her eyes and took a calming breath. She opened them again to see Kakashi watching her, an intense, piercing look in his dark eye. She felt herself flush and her gaze dropped.
"And you? How are you doing?" He asked, his voice soft. She raised her eyes to meet his again and smiled a bit ruefully.
"I'll be fine." She whispered and she suddenly felt exhausted again. She closed her eyes against the prickling tears that were welling up and cursed herself in her head. The now familiar weight of the hand on her head was absurdly comforting and she leaned into the touch. She drew strength from it, from her friend's presence and the warmth of her little brother's body as she held him.
I can't be weak. Not now. Naruto needs me to be strong.
Drawing a few breaths to gather her wits about her, she opened her eyes again. She saw the concern in his gaze and just smiled at him. The hand withdrew from her head to fall on her shoulder. He gave it a comforting squeeze before taking a step back. She turned to look at Naruto and shook him gently.
"Naruto," She said and she brushed a hand through his hair. "Naruto, wake up kiddo. Lunch is ready." The kid sleepily blinked opened an eye, after she repeated the gesture a few times. He gave her a dazzlingly warm smile and she felt her heart lighten.
"Nee-chan," He blinked and looked around, turning to give a smile to Kakashi, before looking at her sheepishly. "We fell asleep again?" Miu nodded, a grin spreading on her face.
"Yeah." She said as she stepped off the bed. She put Naruto down and stretched, wincing at the burning pain in her arm and the pang in her neck. Her body felt stiff and sore. "Come on, let's go downstairs. The others are waiting." The smile on Naruto's face dropped and he lowered his eyes.
"I-I shouted at Yuuhi-san and Gai-san, nee-chan." He swallowed thickly. "They must be so angry with me." He whispered. Miu's heart went out to the boy. She could understand where he'd come from and a part of her was also relieved as this was a sign that he was getting used to her friends. Naruto was normally really well behaved, almost too much for a child his age. She knelt down in front of him so that she could look him in the eye as she addressed him.
"Was shouting at them a good idea, Naruto?" He looked at her, a distressed look on his face and shook his head.
"What do you when you did something wrong, kiddo?" Naruto looked at her.
"Say sorry?"
Miu nodded and smiled. "Exactly. Let's wash up and go downstairs then." She turned to her friend. "You go ahead, we'll be right down." He nodded and ruffled Naruto's hair before leaving.
Miu led Naruto to the bathroom and sat him down on the lid of the toilet. Looking in the mirror, she was aghast by her appearance. Well, Kakashi was right, she had just been released from the hospital. Too much excitement was no good. She wetted a washcloth with warm water and knelt down next to Naruto to wash his face. The boy smiled at her as she gently wiped it across his cheeks. With a grin she abandoned her careful manner and just covered his whole face up with the cloth, thoroughly mopping up his face. Naruto yelped and Miu laughed, holding onto him so he didn't fall off. Pulling the cloth away, Naruto gave her a glare, lip protruding in a pout.
"Nee-chan!" He cried petulantly and Miu just laughed harder. The kid lost his scowl, a sly glint entering his eyes. Before Miu knew what was going on, Naruto had jumped her crouching figure, landing her flat on her back with the breath knocked out of her and started scrubbing at her face with an exuberant, "Now it's your turn, nee-chan!"
Spluttering in shock and not being able to bring out a word except for a few muffled yelps, she wrenched the cloth away from her face. She was met with a laughing Naruto, the mirth in his eyes making her own lips turn up again.
"Sweet revenge!" He exclaimed. Miu's face instantly drew into a scowl, though she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from twitching upwards.
"You cheeky brat!" Naruto let out a shriek as she lunged at him and started tickling his sides.
He tried to squirm away from her touch, but she held fast and soon enough he was begging for relief and surrendered. They were both stopped short by an amused huff coming from the doorway and she looked up to see Kurenai standing with her arms crossed and her face painted in amused exasperation.
"Lunch is ready, you know." Miu shot her a sheepish smile.
"Woops. Guess we got a bit carried away." She shot her brother a reproachful look, but the brat just shot her an impish smile. She sighed and rolled her eyes, giving Kurenai a 'he's hopeless look', that made the other girl raise an amused eyebrow that said, 'and what about you?', which Miu ignored easily in favour of actually washing her face and throwing a towel at Naruto. Miu swallowed a pained hiss as she stood, blinking as the ache she had been ignoring flared into bone deep soreness. She swallowed hard as she leaned against the sink, gripping the sides so that her knees wouldn't give out beneath her.
Well, that was exceptionally stupid. No more overdoing it. She promised herself. Also time to take my medicine again.
Naruto didn't notice anything amiss, as he was having fun wrestling with the giant towel, though Kurenai's reflection was looking at her with a worried frown. Miu mouthed an apology and shot her a sheepish grin.
In under a minute they all trekked downstairs, Miu redoing her braid so that her hair looked somewhat decent. She paused at the hallway cupboard for a second and snatched the letters and bills on them on her way to the kitchen. She riffled through them, confronted by bills, bills and more bills. Her face lit up as she came across three new letters. The name Kunisada, emblazoned on all three, all in different writings. One from the matriarch, she knew, one from her daughter and the other of the cousin she had taken in. Miu looked up as they entered the dining room and smiled at her friends, part apologetic and part thankful.
Naruto, she noticed, seemed to be feeling very contrite right now, the earlier elation temporarily forgotten. She put the letters on the counter, deciding to read them later and came to stand behind him, where he'd stopped at the side of the table at Kurenai and Gai's seats. They all seemed a bit relieved that Naruto was feeling better and she felt immensely happy and grateful to them for taking care of her and Naruto. Kakashi moved to take a seat, setting down her pills next to her plate with a pointed look at Miu. She smiled and gave him a nod.
Naruto looked up then, at the both of them, before dropping his gaze again. He was wringing his hands together in worry.
"Yuuhi-san, Gai-san," His voice was soft, but still easily heard in the silent room. "I'm sorry about shouting at you for not letting me out to find nee-chan. It was very dis-disrespectful…" He stumbled slightly over the difficult word. "I should have believed you when you told me she was okay with Kakashi-san." He shot a look up at her, looking for confirmation and she gave a short nod. He looked each of them in the eye again. "I'm really sorry."
Kurenai and Gai shot each other a look, before they shot one to Miu, who just raised an eyebrow as she smiled slightly.
It was Kurenai that spoke first. "Apology accepted, Naruto. I'm glad you're alright now."
"You have been forgiven, Naruto-kun! That was a very youthful apology!" Miu groaned at the famous, or should she say infamous words. "The care for your sister is like a burning fire, I am very honoured to bear witness to it!" He shot him a blinding smile, throwing his arm up in a thumbs-up. Kurenai sighed, Kakashi ignored him, Miu rolled her eyes and Naruto broke out in giggles. Miu's face softened at the sound and she squeezed Naruto's shoulder gently, before leading him into his seat. He shot her a hesitant smile and she gave him a warm one in return, gently ruffling his hairs.
She sat down and looked at all the food set on the table. She shot her red-eyed friend a warm look.
"Now that's done, let's eat." Kurenai winked. There were cheers around the table as food started being passed around and plates filled.
"Thank you, Kurenai. The food looks wonderful."
"You're welcome."
Naruto's stomach growled then and his face flushed as everyone turned to look at him. Laughter broke out in the dining room and they all started eating.
Lunch was filled with conversation about Miu's unexpected meeting with the Hyuuga clan head's wife and the dinner invitation, making sure to keep it light. Kakashi shot her a pointed look which she ignored. When Kurenai asked her how she got to know the Hyuuga matriarch in the first place she shot a look at her brother, who then launched into the tale of bumping into Hinata-chan just outside the hospital with a cheeky grin at Kakashi, who nodded in approval.
When they were all happily stuffed, Miu and Naruto were herded to the living room, despite Miu's protests. She quickly made a stop at the refrigerator and tacked the drawings she'd received from Naruto on the fridge. She had a limited amount of magnets and made a mental note to get some with Naruto later. She remembered the ones they'd gotten from Hakkido during their trip in Grass, and the small scroll lying in the living room bookcase, before she pushed that out of her mind.
Miu, feeling a bit guilty that she was just beings sent away, offered her help. "I can help with the dishes. Or at least let me make some tea!" She was pointedly ignored and left to pout on the sofa with an amused Naruto sitting next to her. Kakashi and Gai were cleaning up, while Kurenai made the tea.
They closed the door to the dining room so she couldn't hear what they were saying and she and Naruto were left alone. She relaxed into the sofa, appreciating her friends' efforts to let her rest. She enjoyed the quiet for a while, drawing her little brother close to her.
He pulled at her sleeve and she looked down at him, smiling as Naruto looked up at her shyly.
"Nee-chan, um, it's been really long since…" he trailed off and Miu encouraged him to go on. "Since we last read together. Can we do it? Um…read one of your story books I mean." He blushed and ducked his head. Miu ruffled his hair.
"Of course we can, kiddo. Bring whatever you want to read." He shot her a beaming smile before shooting off the couch and running up the stairs. She got up off the couch and went into the kitchen, her friends looked up as she came in and Kurenai had already opened her mouth to order her back inside.
She quickly held up her hands. "I just came here to hear how you'd want to handle the whole guard duty." This got her a series of nods and Gai shepherded her to a seat as they told her of the plan.
"Someone is to be with you at all times. There will always be at least one of us staying the night here," She shot her an apologetic look, which Miu waved away. "When you go out, one of us will be accompanying you. We'll be working with a rotating schedule."
"Sounds good to me." Miu said with a definitive nod. The plan sounded wonderful for both her and them, with the advantage that she didn't need to fear for her sanity. She made a mental note to do something to show her appreciation because they were sacrificing their own free time to do this.
They quickly drew up a schedule, Kakashi was staying the rest of the day, Kurenai next and Gai was the day after. She knew though that her friends would be coming in from time to time, no matter whose rotation it was.
As she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, she made her way back to the living room. Naruto reappeared in the living room with a book clutched to his chest, just as she stretched herself out again. He tentatively made his way over to the couch, where Miu wasted no time in pulling him onto her lap, earning a delighted squeak from the boy.
Opening the book, she started reading to him, bringing all the character to life with different voices, like her dad had for her. The weight of her brother on her lap, the normalcy of reading to him, it finally settled her heart since the attack. She absolutely melted again at the sweet smile the boy gave her when the story finally ended and she couldn't help returning it in kind.
Yes, Miu thought. She really was glad to be home.
Kurenai and Gai took their leave about an hour later after they'd all played a few rounds of poker. Miu had to admit that she absolutely sucked, but she took her loss in stride, and derived great pleasure in seeing Kakashi and Kurenai battle it out, while she egged them on from the sidelines.
She'd pulled Naruto aside for short revision on the alphabet and promised herself she would dedicate at least two hours to this every day until he got the alphabet down.
Kurenai had come to her later, when she'd been alone in the kitchen, getting a refill for her juice, gaze absolutely serious and Miu's cheery glib on Kurenai's excellent poker face died on her lips.
"Miu, are you going to be okay?" The question startled her and her first instinct was to make a snarky remark on Kakashi being bad for her sanity or waving the comment away with a grin and an I'll live! but Kurenai's concern was genuine and she somehow didn't want to blow her off with a half-assed answer. She sighed and shrugged.
"It's the first night back. I'm…" horrendously worried for Naruto, probably not gonna get a wink of sleep, feeling as if I might throw up, oh god, oh god, how did I not notice— "not really expecting much…" She made a vague gesture and grinned a little ruefully. "I'll be fine with Kakashi and Naruto here. Worst case scenario, I'll just use Naruto as my overgrown teddy bear."
But Kurenai didn't laugh and Miu averted her gaze, because it felt like her friend was looking through her and she found that immensely disconcerting. The girl walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.
"You're an idiot, Miu." Miu snorted and hugged her back for a precious few seconds, pulling back before she started crying again.
"I know that already, but what made you think so?"
Kurenai smiled. "You have a dangerous tendency of squeezing, I've heard? If you use the kid as your teddy bear you'll squeeze the life out of him."
Miu burst into loud laughter. "I can't believe she told you about that! She got me so drunk, I wanted to get her back for it." She grinned. "Gaining the rest of the bed space was just a nice perk."
"Well, I don't think Anko's ever going to sleep with you again." They both shared a laugh.
"Be sure to rest, okay? You can't overdo it," she said as Miu walked Kurenai to her door. Miu rolled her eyes at the unnecessary worrying, huffing out a "Yes, Kurenai."
Before she left the older woman squeezed her shoulder. "Don't let what that bastard did ruin your days or your nights, okay? Like Gai said, we will get him." Miu nodded.
Heading back inside, she found Naruto on his stomach in front of the TV, Kakashi reading a book again, so she fetched her letters and settled on the sofa with that glass of juice she'd been fetching from the kitchen.
It was an update letter from the Kunisada people. All seemed to be going well with their restaurant, the cousin settling in well within the small family. She felt her stomach sink when the kind matron asked about her parents and she quickly scanned over the rest of the letter so that she could put it away.
She laughed at the letters she received from Chieko-chan, the woman's brash twelve year old daughter and the adopted cousin, Kaiji-kun, who would be turning nine next month.
They were both complaining about the other, Chieko absolutely disliked the mess Kaiji made of his room and he was in turn disgusted with her ungirliness, though he did mention that he liked climbing trees with her. He also said that he was staying out of trouble and Miu grinned as she saw that he'd crossed out a sentence that read though I sometimes do wish I could get one over on those smarmy rich guys again.
She smiled as she read that he was feeling at home there and though Kunisada-baa-san was a nag, he loved it there.
They both said how they missed her and asked her to visit them again soon.
"Letter from a friend?" Kakashi asked as she put them away again.
"Yeah, I met them about a year ago on our travels. Kunisada-san owns a restaurant that serves mouth-watering food, Kakashi. It's so good, I'll definitely have to take you there one time." And she told him about how she and her parents had stopped for a break at her restaurant, getting acquainted with a boy that was pickpocketing from the tourists that passed through.
"The kid tried to pick my pockets when I passed him in a busy street, almost got away with it, too. I was so angry when I caught him." She laughed. "He turned out to be a good kid, he'd been abandoned by his mother and he'd been living on the streets for a while.
"He looked thin so I took him back to the restaurant to offer him a meal and be able to have my parents there so I could ask them if we couldn't help out. The kid scarfed down that meal as if he hadn't eaten in a while and the matron walked past, asked us if everything was in order and she just went white when she saw him. Thought that it was her brother at first, he looked so much like him, before she put the pieces together."
Miu got up and walked over to the bookshelf, she took out one of her travel diaries and flipped through the pages until she found what she was searching for. She handed Kakashi the book, and his smile when he saw the photo was obvious. It was one that had been taken with all of them in it, just before they'd left that place four days later.
Naruto, who had been listening in, came over to look at the photo too and burst out into giggles. The picture was taken in front of a small restaurant, KUNISADA, emblazoned on the border above the entrance. The two children in the picture were glaring at each other, the photo capturing them mid-sentence, Miu was looking at them, both frowning and smiling at the same time, Kunisada Kanae was absolutely beaming at the camera with Miu's parents standing beside her, her mother had a hand on her shoulder, while her father held up two fingers behind her head to make it seem like she had bunny ears, both were grinning.
Miu was extremely happy that they were all doing okay. She would love to visit them again soon. She glanced at Naruto and vowed to take him around to the amazing places she'd been to. It would do the kid some good to get away from the village for a short while.
The rest of the day was eventful, to say the least.
Naruto spent some time watching TV, commenting on what was happening once in a while. Miu was distracted though, as she'd taken out her notebook to plan out her barrier seal more efficiently.
She'd remembered that she'd wanted to make some sort of emergency alert system for Naruto in case anything happened and had jotted that down on a page along with a few things she had to look out for, before she moved back to work on the barrier seal. She had one herself, which she and her parents had used. She thought it prudent to equip Naruto with one, too, after making a few alterations of her own.
Her mind kept calculating seals and symbols and different ways of incorporating them and she quickly outlined several seals. Going through her earlier notes, she read through the ones on the barrier seal that was placed around her home. During her inspection, she'd found the anchors strong enough to support the second seal she wanted to place over the first one.
Chewing on the end of her pen, she flipped to a new page and began scribbling down the symbols she could use, noting the ones that she definitely couldn't because of their interference with the main seal. She frowned when there a few that could be placed in either category and she got up, her mind on the three books she'd noted down earlier. Pen between her teeth, she riffled through her notes on her way out. Humming as she found the names for the books she'd noted down for herself as a reference. She should be able to find an answer there…
"Nee-chan!" Miu blinked out of her daze and looked down to find Naruto looking at her in question, slightly pouting. By his tone she figured that it hadn't been the first time he'd called her. Kakashi looked dangerously amused.
She blushed and took the pen from her mouth. "Uh…yes, Naruto?"
The boy sighed and shook his head. Miu felt slightly mortified that the five year old seemed to be exasperated with her. She shot a glare at Kakashi who snorted at the sight. "Nee-chan, I've been calling you for ages! Are you okay?"
Miu bent down at the boy's level, expression sheepish. "I'm okay, Naruto-kun. Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I just got slightly caught up in the seal I'm making." Naruto shot a curious look at the notebook she was holding.
"Another seal? Like the one you worked on when I first came here?" Miu nodded and showed him the temporary design.
"Remember this morning when I told you that I'd make the barrier stronger?" Miu smiled as the boy's face lit up.
"I remember!" Taking a better look at the seal, he cocked his head to the side. "It looks weird with all the wiggly lines." Miu laughed.
"It does look like wiggly lines right? But check this out, if you look closely, they're all quite different." She pointed to two symbols. "These two, for example, what makes them different?"
He squinted his eyes and turned his head as he looked, before pointing at something that was completely identical. She bit her lip to hold back a laugh. "Almost," She pointed at the different hook of the first sign, "It's this." He looked mightily confused so she decided to leave the poor boy alone.
"Anyway, what were you going to ask me?"
"There's only a bit of the Ninja Cat left, but can we go do something after that? I'm getting bored." Miu shot an amused look at Kakashi and raised her eyes, jerking her head towards the window. He raised his eye to the ceiling, but gave a half-hearted nod.
"How about we go outside for a while, get some fresh air. I need to pass by the bank anyway. After that we can go to the park, if you would like to?"
"Yay, the paaark! I wanna go."
She grinned. "We'll be leaving after your programme, then." He cheered and dropped himself back onto the sea of cushions he'd pulled from under the table and from the couches.
Miu left the room with a smile. She went upstairs and freshened herself up a bit, combing her hair and pulling it into a ponytail. She then spent the next ten minutes up in the library collecting the books she needed.
When she staggered past the case full of photo albums, her arms full of books, she remembered the absolute hazard that they were and decided to stop putting sealing the thing off. Laying down her books, she unsealed her ink and brush and careful drew a barrier seal on one side of it. She activated the seal just as Naruto called to her from downstairs. Putting her hand into the shelf to test it, she was satisfied when her fingers met an invisible barrier.
She took the books she needed with her and dropped them on her desk, before she made her way downstairs. Kakashi and Naruto were both already waiting for her in the vestibule.
"Sorry for making you wait." She pulled her sandals on and they all made their way outside. She slid her sword into her obi again as Naruto danced around them, rambling excitedly about the things he wanted to do in the park.
"Nee-chan, nee-chan, can you please push me on the swing again? Today, I want to go really high!" He excitedly threw up his arms into the air.
Miu smiled. "Sure, kiddo."
They all trooped towards the shopping district. After having done some groceries, and stopping at the bank to pay her bills, they ended up at the playground. Naruto looked absolutely ready to run so she sent him on his way. He gave an enthusiastic whoop and dashed towards the slide.
Miu kept an eye on Naruto, marvelling as the kid raced up the slide a few times, still mindful of the other children. He jumped from attraction to attraction and eventually moved on to the monkey bars, climbing and swinging and hanging and giving Miu small heart attacks every once in a while. She noted that he was very careful to keep her in his line of sight. Miu smiled as the boy's eyes met hers again. He beamed right back at her before making his way up the bars again, right to the top of the structure.
"Lil' Monkey," She muttered under her breath, face soft as she watched him.
She waved as the boy managed to get to the top a big grin on both their faces. He seemed to enjoy his victory for a while, before taking the most dangerous way back down.
"That bothering you?" Kakashi asked. The query made her look up in surprise to see Kakashi glancing down at her hurt arm.
She realised that she'd been flexing her hand absently. Miu hummed. "It's just a bit stiff." She frowned, rubbing her wrist. "The doctor said it would take a while for the cells to regenerate, so that's to be expected."
"Do you have to go back to the hospital?"
"Yeah, I have a check-up next week to see if everything's healing properly and there is no trace of the poison left." She glanced at her friend. "I made an appointment for Naruto, too."
He hummed. "For his weight or his…injuries?"
"Both. He was definitely neglected at the orphanage. He might need supplements aside from healthy meals every day." She swallowed, hands twisting into the sleeves of her sweater. Her eyes were on her little brother, grinning from ear to ear as he balanced on a wooden beam that was part of an unsteady bridge. Her heart felt heavy with fear and she wondered if love was supposed to be this way. "Kakashi, Naruto once told me that he healed quite fast. Do you think that his body is okay? That the abuse his body was put through healed without a problem?"
"Miu," He squeezed her shoulder and she looked away from the boy for a moment to glance up at her friend. "Do you know what I know about the Uzumaki clan?" Miu immediately perked up.
"What?"
"They have incredibly long lifespans, which means they recover from exhaustion and injuries in a very short time. The doctor will be able to tell you more, but I think that the boy's body is as healthy as it can be right now." She grinned, feeling a part of the burden on her shoulders lift.
"Thank you for telling me." She slapped his leg. "If you have any more vital information about his heritage that I need to know about, I would like to hear it."
"None I can think of right now." The man's eye curved into his typical smile and she snorted.
"Fine." She turned back to watch Naruto, who looked back up at that same moment. They both grinned at each other and waved.
Miu glanced up at Kakashi and saw that he was looking towards Naruto as well, the look in his eye seemed suspiciously soft. Feeling lighter than she had in a while, she bumped him with her shoulder. She heard him snort, before he bumped her back. They then sat in comfortable silence and Miu treasured this feeling of peace for as long as it would last.
Naruto came over a while later, barrelling towards her, crashing into her arms with a loud, "caught you!" before he burst into giggles.
"That you did," Miu shook her head, smile tugging at her face as she dusted off the boy's clothes. He endured this for all of two seconds before he dragged them both off the benches. They went towards the swings first and Miu pushed him, as she'd promised. The boy was whooping all the while, kicking his feet with ecstatic shouts of "Higher, higher!"
When he'd had enough of that, Kakashi challenged him to do the parkour that almost spanned the entire length of the park. Naruto puffed out his chest and made his way to the start line. "I'm gonna be the fastest to do this ever!"
The boy made very good time in the beginning, but ended up stuck behind another child, who seemed a bit afraid of crossing the next part. Naruto helped coach her through climbing the net, both kids giggling when they made it to the other side and Naruto praised her, "You did very well!" Before he saluted her and went on his way. Kakashi and Miu were both immensely amused by this display, Miu more visibly than Kakashi.
"He's absolutely adorable," She'd gush under her breath and Kakashi rolled his eye.
"Stop being such a sister, geez." This just earned him a swat to the shoulder, which he neatly dodged.
When Naruto came out through the other side, he was wearing a victorious smile.
"Did you see that, did you see?" He asked. "I finished the whole thing!"
Miu enveloped the boy in a hug. "You were brilliant, Naruto. Well done on helping that girl, too!"
"You did very well," Kakashi smiled, as the boy looked up at him expectantly. "Your speed on that bridge was phenomenal." The boy beamed.
"Thank you, Kakashi-san." He then walked up to Kakashi and tapped him on the leg with that look on his face and went, "You're it."
Miu roared with laughter as she ran from the frozen man, shooting Naruto a thumbs-up. She had to dodge the next second, when Kakashi raced up towards her. They ended up playing a game of tag that somehow kept on drawing in more and more children. It never seemed to stop.
Kakashi and Miu both exchanged a despairing look and hid behind a tree on a bench so that they could rest a bit. Naruto seemed to appear behind them a second later, with a pout.
"Come on, hiding is no fair! You gotta stay on the move!" They ended up staying another thirty minutes until Naruto finally tired himself out. He came running up to where she was standing and Miu had to mentally recount the game to see if he wasn't 'it'. The boy almost stumbled into her legs and grinned up at her.
"Done." Miu thanked the heavens and shared a look of relief with Kakashi who jumped out of the tree above them. He should be glad that Naruto hadn't seen.
"Did you have fun?" She asked as she brushed a few leaves from his hair and Naruto gave an enthusiastic yes. "I'm happy to hear that." They made their way towards the entrance of the park and Naruto waved at a good amount of children, a few shouting, "Bye bye, Naruto!" She couldn't help the feeling of pride that swelled up in her chest.
"Come on, you little monkey, let's get you home." Miu smiled as the boy almost tripped over his own feet for the third time as he yawned, "Not tired, nee-chan." He mumbled in his defence, even though she hadn't said anything.
"Naruto," She said as she got on one knee in front of him. "Get on. You're falling asleep while you're walking."
After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'm not falling asleep!" Before he clambered on her back, giggling when she straightened up and he snaked his little arms around her neck. It took only a minute for him to relax and fall asleep.
"His energy levels are insane." Kakashi said as they started walking again, sweeping his gaze over the passing crowd.
Miu grumbled about the fact that the boy, of course, had inherited this from his crazy-ass parents, before looking up at her friend. "I am dead on my feet, I don't think I would have lasted another second."
Miu stopped in front of a bookstore, out of the wave of people that had come out today. She slightly shifted Naruto, so that she had a more secure grip on him.
"Kakashi," she jerked her head to the bookstore. "I wanna check if Yukito Ayatsuji-sensei's newest novel has been released."
Kakashi smiled. "Weren't you dead on your feet?"
"Books give me energy." Kakashi rolled his eye, which Miu took as assent and walked into the store before her friend realized that letting her into a place full of books was a pretty bad idea.
According to an employee, Yukito-sensei's book would be released in a month and Miu walked away a bit dejectedly. Not spotting Kakashi behind her she went to the shelves that held the mystery novels.
Fifteen minutes later, they left the store with five new books—Miu had bought two of those, Kakashi had bought three.
"I controlled the urge to buy six other books and I'm very proud of myself." She muttered as she enviously glanced at Kakashi's new acquisitions.
"You have a shelf full of books that you haven't read yet." Kakashi sounded very happy with himself. "I, on the other hand, haven't gotten any new books in a while." Miu pouted, still feeling a bit slighted at not having purchased the rest of the books she wanted.
"Also, what genre does that Yukito-sensei of yours write in? I don't think I've heard of him before."
"Mystery and Horror, but the book I was reading is a mystery and it – was – so – freakin – brilliant." She squeaked in excitement. "You have to read this book, Kakashi, I seriously recommend—"
They looked up simultaneously as someone shouted Kakashi's name over the crowd.
The man coming towards them was a shinobi, his stride one of easy grace. He was dressed in the standard jounin outfit, wearing his headband like a bandana over the top of his head with two jaw length bangs framing his face. He was currently grinning at Kakashi around a senbon, which was nestled in his mouth as if it were a straw of wheat.
There was a man trailing behind him, also wearing the jounin uniform, though he was stockier than the first one, a bit older too, with short brown hair and forehead protector properly on his forehead. He had a slightly bemused expression on his face.
"Genma," Kakashi greeted. "How have you been?" The man pointed a finger at Kakashi's chest.
"Don't you 'how have you been' me, Kakashi! You're gone for seven months, seven! And then you come back and don't even come to visit? You break my heart." He put a hand to his heart, face and voice impassive, despite his passionate sounding words.
"I think it's been more like four, though I would have liked it to be a lot longer. And I had more important stuff keeping me busy," Kakashi glibly replied. Genma's eyes slid over to her and seemed to glance at Naruto before he raised an eyebrow.
"I don't think we've been introduced," He said as he held out a hand. "Shiranui Genma."
Miu shook the man's hand, "Tsukino Miu. Pleasure to meet you." She frowned. "Shiranui…? I could swear I've heard that name before,"
Genma looked smug at that, "Well, well, well. Looks like I haven't lost my charm." He seemed to make a point of addressing Kakashi. Her friend looked absolutely unimpressed, she noted with amusement.
Miu frowned slightly, brain buzzing as she tried to figure out where she'd heard his name before.
Buzzing.
Ah.
Her face cleared and a questioning grin slid in its place. "The Honey Man?"
I don't think I've ever seen someone pale that quickly. She mused as she tried to hold in her laughter for Naruto's sake.
Shiranui Genma shot a furiously accusing look at Kakashi, who quickly raised his hands in surrender, "It wasn't me, I swear!"
Miu burst out into giggles and pressed the back of her hand against her mouth as she tried—in vain—to stop laughing. "Minato-san was quite a storyteller." She managed to huff.
"Minato-san talked too much." He muttered under his breath.
Miu had to turn away as her face was trying to stretch into a grin again. She bit her lip and tried to get back some of her composure.
The man rolled his eyes. "How did Minato-san manage to talk to you anyway? Oh, oh wait—" His senbon turned to point upwards as his mouth stretched into a shit-eating grin and he let out a bark of laughter. "Tsukino Hiroshi was your dad?" This time it was Miu who paled. "You should really hear what he and Minato-san got up to." He leaned over and whispered the words "gay strip club" into her ear. Miu felt her face flush, mouth drop open as a million questions popped up in her head.
She only managed to bring out a strangled, "What?"
"And I've heard tons of things about you from Kakashi, too." He continued smoothly.
Miu didn't know how to feel after having the tables so abruptly turned on her, "What did he say?" she growled, addressing Kakashi more than she was Genma and her supposed friend took a defensive step backwards, hands raising and eye turning into that placating smile. Her eyes met some stranger's over Kakashi's shoulder and she quickly reconsidered the question, seeing as they were outside and were attracting quite a lot of attention already. "Wait," She snapped at Genma, who'd been opening his mouth to reply, "don't answer that."
Desperate to change the subject, she turned to the man who seemed a bit left out. "Sorry, I don't think we've been introduced." She shot Genma a glare at this. "I'm Tsukino Miu," she put out her hand and the man's dark brown eyes were piercing as they met hers. He smiled disarmingly, almost boyishly as he shook her hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, Tsukino-chan, my name is Takara Daisuke."
For a second Miu's heart seemed to stutter in her chest, stomach twisting uncomfortably as a panicked ringing started up in her ears. She managed to smile, as her mind went to the seal with this man's clan emblem on it.
"Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi said as he shook the man's hand. "You're quite a new face here, aren't you?" He asked.
The older man nodded, "Yeah, I've just been here for a few months. I used to live with my family in a small village near the Land of Tea." He looked back at Miu and she realized that she'd been staring at him. She blushed and quickly averted her gaze.
"Ah, I suppose that you were saddled with Genma when you came here, then?"
Daisuke let out a long suffering sigh. "Unfortunately, yes."
They both ignored the indignant, "Hey!" from Genma as they shared a commiserating look. Miu, who wasn't really happy with Genma about that strip club jab, was even less happy with Kakashi.
"Well, Shiranui-san at least you can't be more annoying than Kakashi."
The man laughed as it was Kakashi's turn to shout a denial to that statement. "Please, call me Genma. Shiranui-san makes me feel old." He then swung his arm over Kakashi's shoulder and excitedly started talking to him about something.
"You really shouldn't be encouraging Genma, Tsukino-chan, he's an unbelievable pain in the ass." Despite Miu's shock at coming face to face with someone whose whole family was reported as dead and whose clan scroll she had lying on her desk, she cracked a smile at the comment. She looked up at the man now standing next to her, smile widening at his pained expression.
"I apologize, though maybe we should let them compete as Kakashi is no beginner at being a pain in the ass either." She then grimaced. "No, wait, what am I even saying. Letting those two have a go at each other sounds like a disastrous idea." This elicited a laugh from the older man and she grinned.
The man glanced over to her, his gaze lingering on Naruto's blond head. "My brother," she clarified at his questioning look. "He wore himself out playing in the park." The man smiled again, there was something that flashed in his eyes, faster than she could catch it, before it was gone again.
Just on cue the boy made a low sound, slightly tightening his arms before relaxing again. She stilled and listened to his even breathing before sighing softly, "I should probably get him into bed." Kakashi seemed to have heard her over his talking with Genma and came to stand beside her. They all said goodbye, with Genma-san extracting a promise from Kakashi to get together for a drink, and not a minute later, Miu was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, almost antsy to get home.
"Miu, what's the hurry?" there was a note of confusion in his voice and Miu had no intention of explaining so she slowed down a bit and smiled, pushing all thought of that scroll and Takara Daisuke from her head. They were probably unrelated anyway.
"Sorry, I'm just eager to get the kid home." She raised an eyebrow at Kakashi. "So, Genma-san is a nice guy." The man, sensing danger, just gave a nervous laugh. Miu tried to suppress her smile. "What have you been saying to this guy about me, hm?"
They both jumped off the last rooftop and started up the path to her home. Kakashi mumbled something about "it" being a long time ago.
"How long have you known him?
"Since the academy. We've been on some missions together."
Miu grimaced at the other thing Genma had mouthed and turned to Kakashi. "D'you know why Dad and Minato-san were in a gay strip club together?"
He seemed to choke at the abrupt change in subject. "No clue, but male friends do some crazy stuff together. It was probably for a mission."
"You seem to be speaking from experience," She grinned. "Had a fun outing with Gai, once?"
Kakashi looked horrified. Miu laughed the rest of the way home, trying to calm herself so that she didn't wake Naruto.
When they got home, Miu took Naruto up to his room and quietly tucked him in. She sat there for a while, on the edge of Naruto's bed, her mind inadvertently returning to Takara and that damn scroll in her room.
What was her family doing with a scroll of his clan? Miu knew these kinds of scrolls held some pretty important information, like family techniques or secrets, something that shouldn't be in the hands of another clan. She wondered whether it had become theirs through marriage, though she didn't remember any of her aunts taking the name Takara. Maybe they'd found it after the clan's destruction? She bit her lip. Should she return it to him after she managed to break the seal on it? She swallowed down her panic and figured that she should at least break the seal her grandfather had placed on it before she did anything.
She shrugged off the thought of piercing brown eyes and left Naruto's room, making her way into the kitchen for a cup of tea.
A/N: I would love to hear what you thought of it!