As she placed the final plank of wood and nailed it in, Hagoromo wiped some sweat from her forehead. Strapped to her back was Asura, clapping happily at something he was watching behind her back. The red-haired woman smiled at her baby boy. Asura really was a happy boy, always laughing and smiling at one thing or another. She was glad when he recovered fully from his kidnapping at the hands of Black Zetsu. Hagoromo had been worried that it would affect him badly and he wouldn't be her happy caring boy. But he seemed to be fine, aside from a short bout of fearing being touched.
But now he was back to normal. As she finished fixing the roof, she sighed contentedly, "there we go, we are finished Yuki-San!" she called as she carefully climbed down from the roof. Indra and Heiwa finished sweeping at that moment as well, "we are finished as well!" Heiwa called cheerfully. Hagoromo smiled proudly at the twins as they came up to her, "well done you two" she praised. Heiwa beamed happily, and Indra's lips curved up into a small smile. Futami came over with Kaito stretching while following behind him. Yuki walked up and examined their work, before nodding, "it is good, I will be forever grateful to you Hagoromo-Sama" she replied, bowing, as Kaito had explained exactly who she was and what she had done. Suffice to say, Yuki was extremely happy that the woman had actually wanted to help someone like her with her problems.
Hagoromo herself smiled, "I should be the one saying that Yuki-San, you have been extremely kind and a big help to us" she replied, bowing slightly. The old woman waved her off, "oh, no need for that, I am only an old woman, please, do not worry about it" she replied. "Well, if we should ever meet again, I hope to find you in good health Yuki-San," she replied, turning away, "well, shall we go?" Hagoromo asked her group. Everyone nodded, and they left the repaired house, continuing on their way.
ĤŎ
As the group continued travelling and fixing the things that had been broken during the battle against Kaguya and the Juubi, more people decided to join Hagoromo on her travels. Most among them were adults, while some were children. Seven years past. Due to wanting to grow up with their little brother, and having learned it from their mother, Indra and Heiwa created seals that stopped them from growing when applied. They deactivated them when Asura was five, and continued growing from there. Hagoromo was initially unsure about letting her children do something so potentially hazardous to their health, but when she examined the seal, she found that they absorbed physical and spiritual energy separately, keeping the user young for a short time.
Though they were going to deactivate them when their younger brother was five, the seals actually slowly wore off over time, gradually releasing the stored Chakra, and allowing the user to slowly grow from there. Because of this, the twins ended up only being one year older than Asura by the time they returned home. Meanwhile, Hagoromo, Indra and Heiwa trained with their mother and their fellow Ninshu followers. The group would often meditate together, strengthening the bond each of them shared. Asura watched them, getting more and more curious about this 'bond' everyone shared with each other every passing day. One day, the boy went up to Hagoromo and tugged on her robe. The Sage turned and smiled at her youngest child. She knelt down in front of the boy, "yes Asura-Kun, what is it?" she asked softly.
Asura smiled, "can I me, medi, med- sit with you tonight Mama?!" he asked exuberantly. Hagoromo thought for a moment, would Asura-Kun be old enough to understand what they were doing and copy it? well, he was five years old, he should be able to at least sit with them. But first she wanted to see if he could actually form the bond. He may not be able to direct his Chakra properly yet. "Alright Asura-Kun, you can sit with Mama and try to form the bond, but first you must find your own Chakra, the energy that lets you form the bond, alright?" she asked. The boy nodded excitedly. Sitting on the ground in a cross-legged position, Hagoromo looked up at her youngest son, "first, you need to sit like Mama, but make sure you are comfortable" she instructed slowly, making sure the child understood. The boy nodded and got into the same position. When he was comfortable, he smiled, "okay!" The Eldest Otsutsuki nodded, "good, now, take my hand" she said, holding out her right hand.
Asura nodded again and grabbed hold of his Mama's hand. "Next I want you to close your eyes and try to breathe deeply and evenly, can you do that Asura?" she asked. The brown-haired child nodded, trying to focus on his breathing. When Hagoromo saw that he was keeping his breathing deep and even she smiled. He was doing well. Wasn't Asura supposed to be really bad at this or something? "Good, now, Mama is going to send some of her energy inside you, I want you to feel it, and then try to find the same type of energy within yourself, do you understand?" she asked carefully. When the boy made a noise of agreement, he was concentrating really hard, Hagoromo pushed some of her Chakra into the boy. Asura frowned in concentration. He could almost feel it. Just a little more. He almost had it, and- the boys eyes snapped open.
He'd lost it. His Chakra had vanished again, and now he couldn't feel any of the energy. Why did it keep doing that! Asura looked up at his mother with sad eyes, sure she'd be disappointed in him, "I lost it," he mumbled, "I could almost feel it, but then it went away again, I am sorry Kaa-Sama" he said, looking down in shame. Hagoromo smiled sadly and placed her hand on the top of his head, "It is alright, you almost had it, and that is what matters, why do you not keep trying for now, and I will check on your progress later?" she asked, before getting up and returning to the others, who were sitting in a circle all wearing similar white robes. Indra and Heiwa sat on either side of her, looking up when she came over. The woman sat down in her place and held out her hands. Her older children each took hold of one of her hands, while the other people in the group took hold of the hands of the people next to them and so on until they were all holding hands.
Each of them closed their eyes to help them concentrate, slowly feeling the Chakra they each had connect to each others Chakra. Asura couldn't help but watch sadly as everyone else shared a bond that he could not. He especially wanted to connect with his siblings and mother, but he could not hold onto his Chakra tight enough. The boy sighed. Suddenly he sat up straighter. Well, he would never be able to do it if he didn't try. And so Asura continued to meditate on his own, more determined than ever to hold onto his Chakra and form a bond with everyone through Ninshu.
ĤŎ
As Hagoromo and her group continued travelling around the world, they kept restoring buildings, homes, even forests, literally 'building bridges' with everyone. And the woman shared her Chakra with each of her followers who had pledged themselves to her and her way of life. Along the way, the Sage kept note of what places would be good homes for each of the Biju after she was gone, and left a Chakra marking their for them to find later, as well as building a shrine in each location. Soon enough there were enough followers of Ninshu, that many of them left of their own accord to keep fixing the lands that had been destroyed by the Juubi.
With this done, Hagoromo, Futami, a six year old Indra and Heiwa and a five year old Asura began their long journey home. Indra and Heiwa had grown their hair out long, while Asura kept his short and spiky. Thankfully though, they had come full circle, so while it seemed long, they would be able to reach home within a single year.
To Be Continued
