Disclaimer: I still don't own a thing.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Naruto
(When the rain is pouring in your face and the whole world is on your own case, I will offer you a warm embrace, to make you feel my love.)
They led her in by a group, but for privacy reasons, Teresa convinced Sen and his colleague to allow her to wear her cloak as she entered the village. She did not want her reappearance in Konoha to be some grand spectacle for all wandering eyes to see.
The entire party of both Sen, Tsume, and two other chunin who she could not find it in herself to remember their names, sauntered down Konoha's streets. All four shinobi had encircled her in a defensive position, as Tsume herself stood in the back, using chakra to bind Teresa's wrists together through her cloak.
"I hope we can keep this trip short, I don't want any prying eyes on me," Teresa remarked humorlessly. Even under her cloak, she knew that somehow, her presence had already amassed a crowd of onlookers, interested at catching a glimpse of the mysterious hooded figure in shinobi custody.
Tsume snorted, but obliged nonetheless. "Alright, princess, hold tight. I'm gonna release a little chakra so we can body-flicker out of here, you got that? You might feel a little disoriented on the ride there, so hold on to your bearings."
It was Teresa's turn to snort at hearing the other woman's curt words. "I am familiar with the technique, Tsume-san," she replied coolly. "You needn't worry about me."
The Inuzuka matriarch smirked, her canines protruded from the corners of her lips as she did this. But before she could release any chakra, Teresa had beat her to it, casually sweeping both Tsume and herself up, disappearing into a swirl of wind rather than cloud, and landing directly in the middle of the hokage tower within seconds. As they landed, Tsume shook her head with eyes slightly ajar, a bit disoriented from the trip from having been halfway across the village only seconds ago and thrown unceremoniously in the middle of the Hokage tower. She then turned towards the unassuming blonde who stood about as if nothing had happened. "Oi, princess! No patronizing the patrol agent, you got that?" she shouted in mild irritation.
"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about..." Teresa replied nonchalantly.
Suddenly, the others had appeared as well in puffs of smoke, Sen appearing first with a peeved look on his face. "Woah, you guys left in a flash. Wait for us next time, why don't ya?" He whined.
Tsume rolled her eyes. "It was 'cause of princess over here. She was too impatient, wanted to get here fast, fast, fast! Next time, I call all the shots, 'kay, girlie?"
"As you wish," Teresa replied sarcastically. "...Now, I think it's time I see Hokage-sama once and for all, it's been years."
Before they even realized it, Teresa had casually broke the chakra bindings as if it were nothing but a piece of mere plastic, and strolled past the party of her detainers to make her way towards the man in question's office.
By her side, Tsume and Sen stood aside, gawking at one another. "Wha...What...What just happened?" Tsume spluttered. Sen could only shrug in response, already used to his former teammate's antics.
"She'll be fine from here on out," he said. "We should return to the outpost."
And then both Shinobi had scattered away.
When Teresa barged into the hokage's office, she did not expect him to be sitting there, arms out across his desk, already waiting for her. "Ah, so it seems you've returned Teresa-san," the decrepit man smiled. "I've been waiting for you, you know. It was a surprise to say the least when I detected your chakra signature on my crystal ball. The telescope technique is always useful for these things." He patted the crystal ball in front of him in amusement.
"I'm not surprised you already knew I was here, hokage-sama," she replied before obliging after the man gestured for her to sit.
Hiruzen grinned wider and she could have sworn she saw a twinkle in his eyes. "Of course, I did. I know all things that go around this village."
"I'm sure you do, hokage-sama."
He looked at Teresa for a long time, his face still held that same wizened smile, but she knew better than to think it was nothing but innocent. She knew for a fact that he was silently gauging her, analyzing her every move. "My, have you grown, Teresa-san. You've blossomed to become such a lovely kunoichi, you must be batting the boys away with a stick," he chuckled lightly. "...Or perhaps, a sword. Am I right, 'Silver-Eyed Witch?'"
"Hardly. I needn't worry about any men, hokage-sama, or women for the matter. I prefer the solitude more than anything," Teresa scoffed.
"Ah, yes, I remember now... You were always such a cold child, very talented though," The hokage said as he proceeded to pull his pipe out and fill the bowl with fresh tobacco.
Teresa raised a brow, wondering why the hokage seemed as if he wanted to tell her something important, but was somehow trying to avoid the topic itself with idle chatter. Without further warning, she decided to cut off all pretenses and charge head on. "Hokage-sama, I know that you've already confirmed my identity, there's no need to keep me here any longer. So please, no more small talk, what is it you really wish to tell me?"
He exhaled a puff of smoke out, before setting the pipe down to eye her with a serious expression now. "I've been waiting for you for quite some time now to be quite frank, Teresa-san..." He folded his hands under his chin. "I knew you were the only person, I knew you were the best possible choice out of them all. It makes things even easier knowing that you've only recently returned back to Konoha, thus you hold no grudges towards any one. But even so, judging from one of your first missions as a jounin—" Teresa's eyes lit up remembrance and Hiruzen nodded knowingly "—Ah, you remember it, don't you? Do you remember when you escorted the leader of Kusagakure during the war? You illustrated to me your complete lack of bias as both a person and a shinobi. Being as shrewd as I was, I realized then that I could entrust you with anything..."
"Where are you getting at with this, hokage-sama?" Teresa queried in suspicion.
"I have something of grave importance that I believe I can only entrust within you. As hokage, I wholeheartedly believe that if you accept it, this will be one of your most important missions to date, Teresa-san."
"Well, how can you trust me with something so important when I've barely just returned? For all you know, I could be a completely different person from who I was back then, all those seven years ago. What if I am not the same kunoichi you remember?"
Hiruzen leaned in from his desk and beamed at her. "Which is exactly why I trust my judgement in trusting you. I know you've changed, Shimura-san. I can see it in your eyes. Did you know that silver can shine like diamonds if you polish it the right way?"
"Pardon?"
Why was the old man being cryptic at a time like this? He was certainly not winning her favor if he wanted her to accept some prestigious mission now.
"Do you trust me, Teresa-san?" The hokage queried.
"I trust you enough as long as you explain to me at what you're trying to entrust me with...So what is it now, hokage-sama, shall I escort some royal official, or perhaps take on an army of blacklisted shinobi while I'm at it?" Teresa questioned with a furrowed brow, sarcasm dripping off her every word. She did not enjoy the way the old man was stalling from telling her his purpose, or her purpose for the matter.
"I have precious cargo I want you to take care of..." Hiruzen said simply before standing up. "Would you like to come with me and see what it is?"
She sighed in contempt. Was that it? What was so important that the hokage had to fuss over about to begin with?
"Fine," Teresa shrugged before following the man out of his office. They walked down a discrete pathway near the Hokage tower. She followed in suit with the Sandaime as the man himself had walked ahead.
"Where are you taking me, hokage-sama?"
"You'll see," the old man replied cryptically, yet again and she rolled her eyes.
Before even realizing it, Teresa looked up to see that they had made it upon the ANBU headquarters.
"Here? Why here? You don't expect me to join the ANBU, do you? Because if so, I refuse," she remarked dryly. She never had held a particular interest in joining ANBU in her entire life in this realm, it reminded her too much of the organization.
"Heavens, no, Shimura-san," Hiruzen laughed heartily. "I know how averse you were in joining it back then. I could never force you to do it now... However, there is someone I want you to meet."
He said nothing more after that, but only proceeded to lead her down a series of halls until they reached a single door at the end of the last corridor.
Teresa sighed as they stopped in front of it. "What is this, Hokage-sama?"
The wizened leader turned to her solemnly. "Are you aware that I had a successor, Shimura-san?" She nodded her head in response and allowed him to continue. "Well, then, I suppose you are also aware of the most recent attack upon the village as well, the Kyuubi attack to be more precise. Namikaze Minato gave his life in order to protect this village, but in exchange, an even bigger sacrifice was made, one that I believe even he had not thought through entirely. In order to negate the momentum of the Kyuubi, Minato had to seal it in a container. He sacrificed his new born son and sealed it within him... He wanted the boy to be remembered, to be cherished as a hero, but... The village didn't honor his last wishes. It has been three years and since then, and his own son had been labeled as a pariah. I couldn't even find him a stable caretaker during his first year of birth because he would be either abused or neglected. As of now, he has been under custody of ANBU, which is by far one of the most terrible places to leave a child...but in Naruto's case, it is the safest for now."
Hiruzen reached into his sleeve and pulled out a single envelope. As he gingerly opened it, a pile of pictures had poured out from it—they had all depicted images of a little blond boy, barely even a toddler, with bright blue eyes as bright as the morning sky and a big toothy grin that scintillated like the sun.
"Would you like to meet him, Shimura-san?"
Still a bit puzzled, Teresa nodded her head nonetheless.
He gently opened the door and peeked his head in and Teresa stood awkwardly aside to allow the man some space.
"Hello?" Hiruzen called out softly. "It's me, Naruto-chan."
She could not see, but she could definitely hear a small childish squeak, before a little voice called out in reply. "Is dat you grampa?" It said.
Hiruzen smiled and then turned towards Teresa before turning back towards the little voice. "Yes, it is me. I have someone I'd like you to meet, Naruto-chan. Would you like to meet her?"
"Is it 'nother mask person, grampa Hiru?" The voice questioned once more.
"No, not this time, Naru-chan."
She heard a light shuffle within the room as if someone were scrambling about. "...'Kay! You can come in now!"
Hiruzen ushered Teresa in despite the fact that she had felt frozen in place.
As she entered the room, she looked around only to realize it was a child's room—filled with a plethora of toys, books, and a small training bed with a starry shaped night lamp on the bedside table. Amongst the jumble of toddler paraphernalia, the sight of a small figure sitting on the middle of a play mat caught her eyes.
The figure turned towards her and broke out into a wide, toothy smile much like the one she saw within the pictures. He was all sunshine and light breezes, with soft blond hair that fell in tufts, lightly tanned skin, and big bright eyes. Small whisker-like birthmarks were etched upon his cheeks and a very prominent dimple on the left side of his cheek could be seen as he smiled back at her, looking at her in awestruck. It reminded Teresa of someone that she used to know, but she dared not say who.
"Hi!" He greeted loudly as he waved his hand at her in vigor.
"...Hello..." Teresa replied softly.
"You don' have a mask," the little boy squealed in glee as he ran up towards her. "You're pwetty!"
"Thank you," she smiled, teeth and all.
The boy proceeded to circle around her as if he were inspecting her and then he nodded his head. "I'm Naruto. Whas your name?"
"My name is Teresa."
"Tuh-we-suh?" Naruto said slowly, testing her name out on his tongue. "Thas a nice name. Like mine."
She laughed lightly at this. "Yes, your name is very nice too, Naruto."
"Thank youu!" The boy beamed.
Hiruzen took this time to step in closely towards Naruto before simply plopping himself down next to the little boy. Naruto then handed him a stuffed frog from the floor and proceeded to chatter away about this and that as they played. "You won't tell the others, won't you?" The Hokage looked up towards Teresa as he continued to play pretend with the stuffed animal. "They'd have a laugh if they knew I did this."
"Of course not, Hokage-sama," she reassured in amusement.
Naruto looked up at Teresa this time. "You come play with?" He asked before handing her stuffed white-furred cat. "You can be Miss Kitty or Mistuh Kitty, if you want!"
"Sure," she obliged with a soft laugh before kneeling on the floor to play with Naruto and the Hokage.
The hokage took this opportunity to gaze up towards Teresa, a look of pleading had crossed his countenance. "Please, Teresa-san, I ask of only one thing. Please take Naruto under your custody. It would mean so much to me...to Minato and Kushina... And rest assured that if you do accept, I will be paying you full-time for the entire duration. The money will be transferred into your own funds along with an allowance that will support any expenses you pay for him."
Teresa was taken aback. Of all the people in the entire shinobi community, of all the people who were more qualified at child-rearing than she, Hiruzen had somehow thought about her. She did not know if she should feel honored or apathetic at being his last and only choice. "How old is he?" Was all she could muster out being that she was too distracted in slight awe as she reached over to lightly touch the back of his head, weaving her fingers through his soft blond locks. He giggled at her ministrations.
"He's three years old now," Hiruzen replied proudly. "He's very smart too, very spritely. You'd love him, I'm sure...as long as you give him a chance. People tend to dismiss him earlier on, they don't often try to get to know the poor boy. But he's wonderful, he truly is."
She looked at the little boy, silently agreeing with the Hokage. Teresa felt that she would most definitely get along with the Fourth's last legacy. "And there is no one else suitable to take care of him?"
"Unfortunately, no. All of the villagers, both civilian and shinobi hold a bias towards him...due to the fact that, he contains the kyuubi. He has been gone from the public eye for two years, some people even believe him to have died. It is truly a sad phenomena. But I understand that they don't know better, death does that to people. They're hurt and the only outlet they can project their resentment on is my poor Naruto."
Teresa frowned. How could a village completely ignore a child in need? How could they neglect a child without parent? As she thought about this, Teresa could not help but be reminded of the parallels of the boy's story with a girl she had once known and even loved once upon a time. It was that very same way, the way that Clare had been left abandoned and neglected by the village she had been staying in after the death of her Yoma captor. The villagers had ignored her, they left her to die. She did not want that same fate to be thrust upon another poor, unfortunate soul. Clare was enough, not him too. It would be a travesty to allow a toddler to roam around this world on his own and Teresa knew it firsthand, solitude was no proper companion.
"If I accept this mission, am I to simply take care of him without any precautionary measures being placed upon his safety first and foremost?" Teresa questioned. "...I'm not sure if you're aware, but... Well, as you can see, I myself have already amassed quite a...notable reputation and not of the very good kind. Wouldn't it only make it worse if my own notoriety brought even more unwanted attention upon the boy being that he is already labeled as this, 'pariah?'"
"Yes, yes, but of course we've already drawn some safety measures for both you and Naruto. I've had it planned from the very beginning—your backstory and all. All traces of information about Naruto have been erased from the databases of the public, you both can start off in a clean slate. We've even come up with the idea of keeping up the pretense that you two are simply mother and child—As long as that is fine with you," the old man replied quickly.
"I do not care about any aliases, do whatever you must. However, I do care about the level of safety in this 'mission'—if in the case that I actually accept this. And it is not my safety I am worrying about, hokage-sama. I can protect myself from simple backlash from the majority. It is the boy's safety I am worried about."
"He will be safe of course, you have my seal on it. And of course he will be safe even more so under your protection."
Teresa nodded at this. She knew what her answer would be.
"...So, Teresa-san, do you accept this mission?" Hiruzen questioned tentatively.
Without a second thought, Teresa nodded her head in a final agreement. She had sealed her fate.
"Yes, I accept it."
A wide grin broke out across the hokage's visage and before she knew it, the old man and reached out and embraced her in gratitude. "Thank you, Teresa-san. You have done this village a great favor, I shall forever be indebted to you."
"Well, perhaps you could return me one favor, then, Hokage-sama?" She questioned as she pulled away to gaze at the little boy playing between them all oblivious and in his own world.
"Yes, yes, of course. What is it you wish to ask me, Shimura-san? Only say the word and I shall do it," Hiruzen replied eagerly.
"As for my kin, please inform all of them of this...this 'mission'—my grandfather as well for the matter. I haven't seen them yet and I know they'll be quite surprised to know that I've taken up a child."
"Of course," he nodded in agreement before turning towards Naruto. "Did you hear that, Naru-chan? Teresa-san has agreed to take care of you now. Now you don't have to stay here and play alone anymore, my boy!"
"Yay!" The toddler clapped, not really understanding what was going on.
Both Teresa and the Hokage had laughed at this and then she reached her hand out towards him. "I'll be taking care of you, Naruto. Okay?"
He smiled toothily before grasping ahold of her fingers with zeal.
"...'Kay," he hummed.
She knew this was what she needed.
Author's Note: No editing had been made yet again, so bare with me.
I read through all of your reviews, looks like you all had realized what I had in mind. This was what I wanted since the very beginning of the story to be honest. And yes, I am aware that Naruto should be four rather than three because canonically, he was born when Kakashi's generation was sixteen and in between. But in this story, Naruto's generation was conceived a year later than the original storyline. I thought it'd be easier for a three-year-old to establish maternally instinctual bonds much more easier than four, because children are more conscious and experience a level of self-actualization at that age. I want the mother-son dynamic to be natural, not forced. Anyways, please review. I enjoy reading each and every one of them, good and bad.