Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
New arc! Also, it's going to begin to center on one of the newer characters! I hope you can like her as much as Kaoru!
One year later…
Hoshimi and Jun played with the younger twins on the back lawn of their family home, which was on the edge of the Uchiha Compound (the rest of the clan hadn't been so accepting of the Kyubi half-breeds as their relatives and friends), the younger kids chasing their older siblings as a combination of play and exercise. Mana tripped and saw something between a pair of rocks. He blinked his black eyes and called to the others, "I found!"
His steel-haired, dark-eyed sister came over with the others and asked, "What is it, Mana?"
He pointed to the object of his attention. "I found. What?"
Jun gasped and cried, "It's a white snake! Oka-chan said they're very rare!"
Mitsue tilted his head and reached for it. "Snake?"
Hoshimi grabbed his hand. "No, Mitsu! It could bite you!"
"Hoshi mean! No bite!" the red-haired two-year-old whined, pulling his hand away.
The snake hissed at the sudden movements and lashed out in the only way it knew how: it shot forward and sank its fangs straight into the closest thing, which happened to be Hoshimi's ankle. The little girl cried out, since it was the first thing that had ever pierced her skin. It flashed with a dark light before vanishing. She held the wound and began to sob. "It hurts!"
Jun ordered, "Stay here with Hoshi, Mana and Mitsu. I'll go get Oka-chan!"
A searing black mark burned into her skin as he ran to the house, and sweat began beading all over Hoshimi's body as she tried to stop herself from crying, she wanted to be a big girl and suck it up, but it hurt so bad.
Mitsue hugged her and begged, "No cry, Hoshi! Sorry!"
Mana began to wail, not liking to see his older sister in pain.
Kaoru ran over and looked at the injury. Her eyes narrowed and she immediately took out a vial of her tears. She put a drop on the wound and watched anxiously. Come on, disappear, at least stop hurting. Come on.
Hoshimi blinked and sniffed, wiping her tears. "Thank you, Oka-chan."
The mark was still there, three lines like a pinwheel, but it was clear that it no longer burned. "Hoshi-chan, what happened?"
"Mana found a white snake by these rocks, Mitsu wanted to touch it but I pulled him back and it bit me and this weird mark appeared on my ankle!" the girl said in a rush, the remnants of her cry still dripping down her cheeks.
"Don't worry about it for now, it's okay," Kaoru assured her youngest daughter, helping her to her feet. Even though I need a sealing master to look at it before it activates on its own and the one who marked her abducts her. "Do you remember anything about the snake except it was white?"
"Yellow eyes!" Mana chirped, his own wide.
"It didn't smell like it was all snake!" Jun added, frowning. "Its chakra was unlike anyone's I've smelled before, even the animal summons that some of the ninjas here have!"
Hoshimi held her mom's hand and pointed out, "It actually hurt me, when a normal snake wouldn't have been able to."
Mitsue's little mouth popped open before he cried, "Ninja snake!"
Not just that, but yes, our enemy is a ninja of no mean strength. Only one ninja could make that mark and I thought he was long dead. What's his game?
She jerked when Naruto came out of nowhere and jumped on her back. "Kaoru, come on! The ramen incident shouldn't have you punishing me a year later! You've told me to bug off twice now and Kyu-kun is getting antsy! Come on, Kaoruuuu! Pleeeease!"
"Get off me, you pervert! You don't notice anything, do you?" she snapped, picking Hoshimi up. "Your youngest daughter just got bitten by a ninja snake and all you can think about is my coming heat near the end of the month!"
He instantly became serious and looked at his daughter's damp eyes and damp face. "Hoshi-chan, are you okay? Let Otou-chan see the owie!"
Kaoru rolled her eyes and Hoshimi frowned. "Otou-chan, I might be four years old, but you don't have to treat me like a baby."
Feel the burn, Naruto. You're treating our kids like they're toddlers when they're gonna be in the academy very soon. She only cried because it hurt so much, not because she's too young that she's crying for everything. Kaoru smirked and lifted her little girl's ankle. "Does this look familiar in any way?"
Blue eyes widened in shock as they looked at it closely. "That…that's the same mark that Kimimaro had! Okay, where is he? I'll kill him for marking my Hoshi-chan! I'LL KILL HIM!"
"Naruto, chillax. This isn't the end of the world." I mean, seriously, take a chill pill. Sure this hails of Orochimaru's stubbornness when it comes to survival, but damn it, Hoshi's only four. I doubt we should have any worries about this, since I don't think he thinks Hoshi'll survive the bite, even with the small dose, since none of the kids were screaming "monster!" before it bit her.
Jun looked up at Kaoru in confusion. "Who's 'he', Oka-chan?"
Great. Jun trusts me so much that I've never lied to him. She smiled and answered, "Perhaps another time, Jun. Aunt Konan and Uncle Nagato are here." That ought to keep him at bay for a while.
Naruto ran inside and whisked Nagato off straight away, Konan confused as all hell why. Kaoru shook her head and gestured for them to go to the kitchen to fix the older woman a snack and some tea, Hoshimi following at her mother's heels, the other children going off to play. Konan held her six-month-old son, who had his mother's blue hair and mint green eyes. He was a rather lazy baby, not much seemed to affect him. He liked to lie around, or stay in either parent's arms.
"I'm again surprised not to see any yearlings or newborns around here," the blue-haired woman commented, putting a hand on her hip. "You sure are taking this punishment seriously."
"Naruto's just as bad as Kyu-san now. I'm not having hundreds of kids just because they can't bug off whenever spring or fall comes. Any other time I don't care, but then? It's all for them. I want to have a break and not repopulate the clan overnight. I have ten kids for now and in a few years they'll be off to the academy, but a constant wave of kids isn't what I want, no matter what they want." The blood rushes all to one place and I want no part of it while I'm in heat. If I could shut it off for a while, I would, but I guess I need to keep it on so I'm reminded that I'm in my prime and can still have more kids, even if it's once every spring and fall.
"I'm sure they're very active little things that run everywhere. Ichiro isn't that much of a handful yet, even though he does like to sit around a lot. Tsunade-sama is looking into it."
"I hope she is, or else we'd think he was just a normal child come from two extraordinary ninja parents."
Konan then looked down at Hoshimi's damp eyes. "Are you all right, Hoshi-chan? Your eyes are wet."
The four-year-old girl pointed at her ankle. "A white snake bit me."
"That symbol…was it a ninja snake, Kaoru?" the young mother asked.
"Yes," Kaoru confirmed. "One that we thought was dead. It seems he's back and wants Hoshi-chan."
"I hope not for a long time. She's so young."
"Not for long. We both know that."
"Is that why your husband whisked off mine?"
"Yeah."
"You don't seem as worried as he is."
"If I freak out, all the rest of the household would descend into panic. I don't need my kids panicking and worrying that their sister's not going to be okay."
"Then again, you have been the sturdiest of the pillars in this household. You take charge more often than Naruto-san does and have nurtured your kids to be mature and polite. When something happens, your children turn to you. Even if Naruto-san is the father of your kids, he still has a lot of growing up to do. I hope that Nagato can help him calm down by the time they come back."
When the tea kettle began to whistle, Kaoru took it off the stove and poured the boiling water in the teapot, letting it sit for a moment before pouring it into a teacup and serving the tea with some cucumber sandwiches. Konan handed her son to the more experienced mother and picked up a sandwich half, gazing at Hoshimi, who had knelt next to her mother.
"Hoshi-chan, are you sure you don't want to go play some more? Does it hurt any?"
Hoshimi shook her head. "I want to be with Oka-chan right now, Aunt Konan."
The blue-haired woman nodded and looked back to her older friend. "I think the maturity isn't just a learned trait," she stated as she glanced between mother and daughter.
"Of course it isn't," Kaoru agreed. "It's all part of being an angel."
"Naruto-san told me that you weren't like this when you were young."
" 'Young' as in fourteen years old. What teenager doesn't have issues?"
"I see your point. You think any of your kids'll turn out like you did?"
"No." This was said flatly.
"You're so sure of that. What might've happened to you in the past that—"
"Sorry, I can't tell you."
"We're friends, aren't we?"
"Mind our audience."
Hoshimi ducked her head and murmured, "Should I leave, Oka-chan?"
Kaoru mussed her hair. "Not unless you want to, Hoshi-chan."
The little girl scooted closer to her. "No, I wanna be with you."
"Then I can speak of this later. You're scared, aren't you?"
"It hurt me. Nothing's been able to hurt me before."
"You're not as invulnerable as I am, but only powerful beings can hurt you. Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Within half an hour, Sasuke and Itachi arrived and were both massively concerned over their niece's welfare.
"Kaoru, we'll have to inform the Hokage about this. If left alone, Hoshimi will be snatched up the instant she's Genin age," Itachi reasoned, glancing at his younger brother. "I'm surprised he waited this long, and why target the third youngest one with the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai?"
"Probably because she's the first the snake encountered, otherwise it could've been any of the older ones: Yoka, Kaminari, or Yasu," Sasuke guessed, a frown on his face at the prospect that yet another Uchiha was being targeted by the Hebi-sennin, whom he'd thought he'd killed. "It might be advantageous for him as well, considering her breeding and chakra capacity, as well as how quickly each your kids pick up on things."
"How did he find out about my kids anyway? It's a closely-guarded secret here," Kaoru demanded, her eyes pricking with unshed tears. Damn it, I thought this was solved five years ago!
"I think he must have been spying on the compound and just happened to come across your children first," Itachi surmised, placing a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. "I live near the center of the compound with Otouto close by, which wouldn't have been the easiest place to reach, even with our diminished numbers. Considering how like you Hoshimi looks, but with black eyes, he might've mistaken her for either my or Otouto's child instead of yours."
Sasuke nodded in agreement. "It was an honest mistake."
Kaoru sighed. "This sucks. Now poor Hoshi-chan has to be watched twenty-four-seven by ANBU so she isn't taken."
"How is she holding up? I'm sure it throbs often until we can go get it sealed," Itachi inquired.
The mother of said child sighed again. "It does, but she's playing with her younger siblings and trying to ignore it. I told her it would get fixed later."
Sasuke snorted. "It better not have a seal like mine. That one is too weak when it comes to a four-year-old girl who's only been taught basic ninja skills by her parents. Not dissing you or anything, but her will hasn't been tested by anything harsh."
"I know," Kaoru replied. "It has to be a strong seal that won't break under pressure. Yours was too easy to bypass, Otouto."
Sasuke nodded and Itachi changed the subject. "Have Yoka and Kaminari awakened Sharingan yet?"
Kaoru shook her head. "Nor have they gotten their second tail. Probably won't until their first Chunin Exams. They haven't needed to."
"Onee-chan, you idiot!" Sasuke snapped. "The Chunin Exams are brutal for unprepared Genin! And the twins are already nine! Their Jonin-senseis need to get their rears in gear and sign them up for this coming summer after they turn ten! It isn't right to hold them back so long! It's been three years for them since they graduated from the academy!"
"It's not their fault, it's their teammates who need extra training," Itachi cut in. "After the last war, there have been less and less Genin who want to become Chunin because of the danger the rank gives. Yoka and Kaminari were ready within their turning eight, but the others of their cells flaked out so they couldn't apply. Misoka is having trouble too, right? She'll be turning nine this summer too."
"And Yasu as well," Kaoru sighed. "I hope that Eri doesn't have to experience the exact same thing when he graduates this month."
"What has Konohagakure no Sato come to? All its new generation has turned into gutless worms!" Sasuke exclaimed in disgust. "And the brave ones are suffering for it!"
"They're not brave, just naïve to the ways of war," Itachi pointed out. "They grew up in Nami no Kuni, where the war didn't touch. Our own children might've been born during the war, but they won't remember it and will be like their cousins when they become ninjas. None of the older Genin want to experience that again and becoming Chunin will lead to going on higher-ranked missions that will constitute danger and after the wars, they don't want anything akin to it, no matter their skill set."
"We used to have the most Genin to apply! Now I'll be surprised I can't count the number of them on my hand!"
"The only reason Konoha was in the first exams after the war was because of you and Konohamaru's team. The second was because of Hyuga Hanabi. Now all our brave older Genin have become Chunin."
"Pathetic."
"Children don't like to be scared and hurt, and when you boil it down, that's what they are still."
"So they'll be Genin until they grow up and hold their teammates down?"
"That is their choice."
"Why doesn't Tsunade-sama just put Yoka, Kaminari and Misoka on the same team and get it over with? The others don't have what it takes to be real ninja."
"I think she's giving them a little slack so they can recover from their fears."
"You don't recover, you face them! She's babying them! I'm sure that one of our nieces is gonna snap and beat the crap out of their teammates just to make them grow up!"
"Many of those kids are orphans who lost their parents in one of the wars."
"Naruto's an orphan, you didn't see him wimping out just because he saw something scary!"
Kaoru rubbed her forehead and asked tiredly, "Would you two just shut up and stop with the bitching about the newest additions to the Genin ranks? Holy crap you went on a tangent and left me behind. Yeah, I want my kids to become Chunin, but it's not my decision. If their teammates are wimps, let 'em. It's a good lesson for them to be patient with others' faults. You could learn that, Otouto. For those Genin who've decided not to take the exam yet, it's only been a year-and-a-half, not three. But soon enough, I'm sure that something will be done so those who are ready will be able to move on while the others will be reformed into new teams.
"Now, who wants some tea?"
Has everyone guessed who the new focus will be? It's far more exciting than what Kaoru's life has been the past while... D:
Please review!