A/N: Hello darlings. Let's get this out of the way first. I'm sorry for the appallingly long time it took to get this out. Honestly just fell into a no writing period.
Beta: It is thanks to the most wonderful illuminated that this chapter reads so much better than any previous one. Thank you dear.
Warning!
Don't skip the following information! (please)
Changes that have been made to the story!
1. Originally Tsubaki was the cute golden fluff ball fox summon. Now I am an idiot and due to things (a certain commission + the mess that is my mind) The old Tsubaki is now Mitsuki and the old Mitsuki is now Tsubaki. [I think I have actually been subtly writing their characters in reverse in the recent chapters so I went back and began editing all previous chapters to make this a constant thing]
Mitsuki=golden fox Michiko had since he was a cub
Tsubaki=the grumpy russet one that is Mitsuki's senpai
2. Change to hiraishin explanation: originally I stated that the amount of chakra used by the hiraishin has more to do with the amount of mass teleported, rather than the distance. But I feel that distance should have more of a factor otherwise the hiraishin becomes too convenient a jutsu.
So the change I made in regards to this technique has to do with distance. As in,
Michiko can teleport anywhere as long as she can sense the anchor (kunai/hiraishin seal).
So despite marking demon country, she couldn't just hiraishin there because her chakra sensing doesn't reach that far. And, the fainter the feel of the seal, the more chakra she would have to use to 'latch' onto the seal and 'pull' herself to that location in addition to the mass thing.
3. The introduction of the Eight Noble Clans concept for Uzu no Kuni. This had a major impact on the Asahama arc. (This applies for the older readers mainly —pre 02/01/17 update of chapter 24)
Chapter 24 has been nearly entirely re-written!
You could go google the naruto oc wikia where I have written a page titled Uzu's Eight Noble Clans for more info.
This impacted on how Michiko was entrusted with Uzushiogakure.
But the gist is: 'Eight clans' refers to the oldest clans of Uzu, each one entrusted with the care of one of Uzu's eight prefectures. In the past, the Uzumaki clan used to belong to this group. However, after its disbandment, it was eventually replaced by the Inaba clan.
In addition, before Michiko could regain the land for Uzushio, the noble clan heads had to have their say (which occurred at the annual party hosted by the daimyō).
This helps me make more sense of the politics of the country and future little bits. This also explained how Uzushio had the money and resources to get a leg up, rather than the daimyō being overly generous. Each clan chipped in one way or another.
The clans and characters to note are:
- Asakura Clan (The daimyo's family. The daimyō and head is: Temmu and his grandson Karu makes an appearance in chapter 24)
- Taira Clan (The head is: Masamori)
- Hashiba clan (The head is: Hideyoshi)
- Inaba Clan (The head is: Kōnin, isn't too happy about the Uzumaki)
- Kikkawa Clan (The head is: Motoaga)
- Ōkochi Clan (The head is: Yoshimitsu)
- Chiba (The head is: Tsunetane)
- Hata (The head is: Yuzuki)
- Uzumaki Clan (previously, but no longer officially part of the eight; The head is: Michiko)
(Best to give the chapter [24] a read for interactions between one another *hides* and more in depth/detailed explanations about events, clans and politics)
"No. Have the report sent to the missions desk when you are done, unless something goes askew." The desk was a new addition that Michiko loved, but not everyone was fully aware of it yet. "Then you come report to me directly. Although I see no reason why it should, I'm not clairvoyant or omniscient, so be on your guard," the red-head told the two shinobi before her. She watched them with smiling eyes as they shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting down and back to her face rapidly in an effort to not stare. It was cute, especially when you could see they were curious.
Another groan came from beneath her and Michiko increased the pressure on the arm she was currently bending backward at a painful angle. "Right, do you have any other questions?" she asked patiently, seeing as they weren't moving. It was a fact which the two in question seemed to realise, as they quickly apologised before taking off.
With the two gone, Michiko was able to redirect her attention to the bruised preteen underneath her. "Is something the matter Saru-kun?" she asked the boy sweetly, watching as his face further contorted before he gave a meek head shake. "Excellent! You know endurance is very important for a shinobi. Ah… it warms my heart to see the younger generation taking their duties so seriously. You know, when I was younger, my father used to do this to me nearly daily. Took me years to get used to it, so good for you, Saru! You are doing great," she praised, talking a mile a minute and waving happily with her free arm at the boy's sensei and teammates.
If one was wondering, the boy currently suffering was indeed the very same one who competed in the chūnin exam nearly a month ago. He was the very same one who didn't get promoted because he had an attitude problem that needed fixing.
Michiko did promise she would see that it was fixed. Hence, she butted in the team's training and proceeded to thoroughly kick the kid's ass before helping him build up his flexibility and endurance.
"P-pleas-ssse," he whined pitifully.
"Hm? Did you say something dear?"
"Pllleaase…"
"Please what?" she inquired, shifting just a fraction so he could get more air in his lungs.
"I get it—get it," he said desperately. "I won't do it again. I pr—promise not to do it again," he said, and Michiko finally got off him.
She sighed sadly at the sorry state the boy was in. Man, tough love was a bitch. "Saru-kun," she addressed the boy, bending down and waiting for him to raise his gaze to hers. "I didn't do this because I have something against you, but I need you to understand that out there it will be worse than in the chūnin exam. There won't be so many friendly faces around that would be willing to step in if things got really ugly. What you did was not only unacceptable because of the context in which it occurred, but because you had inadvertently made enemies that might just come bite you in the ass later. Do you understand?" she asked, waiting for his confirmatory nod before picking him up and slinging him over her shoulder.
Walking up to the boy's teacher, she apologised for the intrusion and reminded the other two that what she told Saru applied for them too, before depositing Saru in the man's arms. "As shinobi we will already have enough enemies even without doing anything. There is no need to purposefully make even more than you already will, throughout your careers." And then she was gone, hiraishining back into her office where a mountain and a half of paperwork awaited and she dearly wished to be familiar with the shadow clone technique. That would be so damn useful.
—.—.—.—.—
Sitting right smack in the archive room, with several feet of concrete and earth separating her from the outside, Michiko was resting upside down on the ceiling of the room. From her position, she could see Honoka busily rearranging the East corner, a task which she had been doing for the better part of a week by herself with surprisingly little complaint. It was both a pleasant surprise and a slightly annoying one, as it deprived Michiko of the opportunity to tease her apprentice. Nevertheless, it couldn't be helped as Michiko simply hadn't the time to do it herself, and there were only a handful of people that she completely trusted to be in this room. It was too bad for Honoka that she happened to be one of them, Michiko wryly smiled.
Meanwhile, the redhead was currently using the place for the tight-knit security and secrecy it provided. Another plus was that its location ensured that if her plotting backfired, the village itself would suffer little to no damage. 'Unless the ceiling caved in, and then that might cause some damage, but that was something to consider another time,' Michiko briefly second-guessed herself.
Right now, Michiko was busily reconstructing the key to her seal. It was one which she knew Minato had left behind but would require Jiraiya's assistance in retrieving. That was a favor which the girl did not wish to call in, as it would lead to far too many questions she couldn't/wouldn't answer and that might make things awkward between Naruto's godparents. It was also not a small matter in that it might make Konoha more wary of her- it would be a shame if their paranoia ruined the relationship between their villages. Well, paranoia was the number one factor that lead to said breakups, but she dismissed that thought.
Michiko had made a promise to her furry resident and she had every intention of keeping it. Plus, it was rather annoying that they couldn't communicate properly.
'Just a bit more and it will be done.'
—.—.—.—.—
"Aren't you supposed to leave soon?" Toshio inquired from the other end of the office where he was organising the scrolls on the shelves.
"In two hours. Now stop being such a nag. It's not like I'll be late," Michiko complained from her desk, where she was going over the joint agreement submitted by the Uesugi and Tsugaru clans to re-join Uzushiogakure.
It was to re-join, because the two families, although from a different prefecture than Uzushio, had produced several shinobi in the past which were trained in Uzushio and fought for the village. Of course, since the main families refused to move their compounds, based on some clan-related motives that probably had to do with their civilian businesses, all of those interested in becoming shinobi had to individually relocate to the village.
It was, Michiko learned, not an unusual arrangement at all. The Uzumaki clan had been for decades the main shinobi clan of the island; however, that did not mean other families did not produce shinobi of their own. They simply came in smaller numbers while their families maintained their primary focus on silk making, weapon making, farming, tea cultivating, etcetera. Before Uzushio's destruction, it was not odd for the clans to allow members interested in pursuing the shinobi career to settle in Uzushiogakure— especially when it gave them a foothold in the village for trade purposes.
Alas, in the present, arrangements had to be made to ensure their young would be safe and that the clan as a whole could still have a say in their growth and not be cut off due to the distance issue. However, the clan heads were either testing her or thought her incompetent, because their demands so far were steadily becoming more obnoxious, the more she read of them.
"Who the hell wants a statue of a rabbit in the middle of the city?"
"I'm surprised, I would have thought that would be something you would like," Toshio commented offhandedly, avoiding the cup she threw his way.
"Not if I am told to do it!" she squawked.
"Hmmm…whatever you say; you have an hour and a half left."
"I know."
"Just reminding you. Hiruko-san is the leader of Yugakure. You being late wou—"
"I swear to god, Toshio if you say one more thing," Michiko warned.
"…make a bad impression and that…"
"Aaaah," she shouted in frustration, getting up and leaving the half-completed revision of the contract from the Uesugi and Tsugaru clans on her desk. She marched past her dark-skinned cousin without further word and slammed the door in his face when he reminded her to change.
—.—.—.—.—
Mamoru Hiruko was a tall, well-built man with brown hair that was greying at the ends, a well-trimmed beard and a passive stare. It actually made it that much harder to read the man whilst they enjoyed the tea and sweets their attendant brought over.
As far as formal meetings went, this was the most informal one that Michiko had taken part in,
which was saying something. She recalled how last year Fugaku-oji invited her to come drink along with Hiashi-san, and while she wasn't technically allowed to drink alcohol…they weren't going to ban her from doing so. If anything, she was at least more responsible than the two Konoha clan heads, who ended up resembling hissing cats by the end of the evening.
"Your village's success at the chūnin exam will undoubtedly result in a boom with regards to missions," Hiruko commented. For the past hour, after exhausting all the traditional formalities, they had ended up mainly speaking about the chūnin exams without even touching upon the real reason for this meeting.
"Hmm, it would be a pleasing outcome," she agreed, not revealing anything, really fighting the need to just demand that the man got to the point. It was a lovely day, and the harbour port they were in was lovely and surrounded by mountains, typical of the Kikkawa clan's land. (Uzu no kuni is divided into eight prefectures. Each controlled by one of the noble clans. Head over to the Naruto Oc wikia and type in Uzu's eight noble clans to see a map of the distribution)
"Indeed. Especially as Uzushio is still expanding. Though I fear this could result in your forces being stretched out too thinly in order to respond to the demand," he added, and the Uzumaki's ear perked. 'Hooho?' she thought, not ignorant of the turn this conversation had taken.
However, couldn't they have had this conversation somewhere else? Her office, his office, she didn't care, but renting out the small teahouse for the day so she could set up security seals was both time-consuming and saddening for her wallet.
"Ara, ara. Certainly something to consider should that ever become a problem," she told the man, with an edge to her voice that had his escorts stiffening but merely caused a small smirk to curl at the corner of his mouth.
"Indeed it would be…say Michiko-san, I hope this will not come off as offensive, but your accent; you aren't native to this land are you?" he asked, throwing Michiko off for a split second as she gave him a bemused look.
"No, I was not born here. I was actually born and raised in Yu no kuni," she admitted, watching as he sighed and purposefully slumped in his chair.
"Such a pity to think you could have been one of our shinobi," he declared, and Michiko didn't allow her face to betray her scepticism. Her parents had not been fans of the other hidden villages. "Alas, everything happens as it ought to do, and I do believe you would have been wasted in any other hidden village."
'So, he has started on the flattery,' she observed. "Hiruko-san, if I may, without sounding completely rude- what is this all about, and do please stop with the roundabout answers." There, she did it. She gave in to her ruder urges because if he planned on spending the next hour buttering her up for whatever it was he wanted, she might just attempt to kill him.
"Ah, I suppose you are the direct type." Why did his comment make her feel as if she just played right into his palm, she wondered.
"We have been allies for a short while, though some might call it a lifetime depending on how far back into shinobi history you look. I believe it's important to help one's allies when they need it, if such a relationship is to be maintained," he began explaining, garnering an appreciative hum from Michiko.
"And what would this help be?" 'Surely the village hadn't pissed off someone enough for an all-out battle? Hell, as far as the information network was concerned, Yugakure had been determinedly quiet the past months,' her mind raced.
"Mah, nothing to worry about. Certainly not now, though it is good to know Uzushio has our back," he said, taking another sip of his tea. He was the image of calm. They stayed in the teahouse for another hour before the man and his entourage departed. The only evidence of their meeting was the empty cups and lone scroll left on his chair. Why did every meeting with Hiruko feel like she just dined with Dumbledore?
—.—.—.—.—
Danzō was not happy. Not that he usually was, but today was a particularly bad day— mostly for his ANBU who, for all their training, still feared his wrath.
He had warned Hiruzen and the others, told them from the beginning that it was not something they could bet on, that they should have put a stop to it from the beginning. However, they allowed their sentimentalities to get the better of them and Konoha's safety was at risk.
The Uzumaki brat had already got in his way, unintentionally or not, when it came to the Uchiha, starting from the night of the Kyubi's rampage. The girl had forged and now maintained close connections with that clan, and was steadily building the same ties with the Hyūga clan. It would inadvertently bring the two clans closer to one another. Her close relationship with Konoha's jinchūriki also put him on edge, and he didn't understand what more the others needed before they began taking this matter seriously.
To make matters worse, she had access to the village whenever she wanted because of those damn seals, seals developed from their Nidaime's work. They ought to have had Kushina punished for giving away such a secret to an outsider, but that couldn't be done either— not with Hiruzen keeping such a close eye on her and her son.
Uzushio, as a whole, posed no threat to Konoha so far; however, continual growth needed to be interrupted. His information network had also informed him of Uzu once again making moves outside of their island, reaching out to nobles from lands who had severed their ties with them after the Uzumaki massacre. In addition, the last chūnin exam proved how lax Konoha had been regarding the whirlpool village. The very idea that such a minor village performed so well set off warning bells in his mind. It meant they had to keep a closer eye and put an end to it when the chance presented itself, so it couldn't grow further.
Nearly immediately after the exams passed, his spies informed that two of their most prominent clients had sent mission request to Uzushio rather than Konoha. And, as if to rub salt in the wound further, their daimyō announced his intent to visit Uzu no Kuni and while he would be escorted by their hand picked ANBU, he would return escorted by Uzushio's shinobi— to encourage the good relationship between their countries and hidden villages.
Something needed to be done and it needed to be done, and soon. That village was making more progress than expected.
'If the past must be repeated than so be it.'
—.—.—.—.—
Seiichi loved Kimimaro. No, Michiko was not being dramatic. Seiichi absolutely adored Kimimaro- or his hair- but that was the same thing as far as the toddler was concerned. It couldn't be helped, considering the boy's white locks stood out like a sore thumb amongst the red their family typically sprouted. While it tended to break her heart a little whenever her brother would run —trot— away from her once Kimimaro entered the room, it also made her unbelievably happy to see how well they got along.
They were her little boys, so of course she wanted them to be friends. It also helped that for all Kimimaro was technically Seiichi's nephew, he acted more as an over-protective older brother who found the beginning of someone's life fascinating and awe-inspiring.
Seiichi was crying? Not to worry, Kimimaro would magically teleport to his side. Seiichi wanted to play? Who cared about training? There was time for that later. Seiichi was hungry? "No, don't worry bā-san, I'll feed him."
Really, it made Michiko glad to know her sibling was so well liked, even if she didn't have nearly as much time for him as she wanted. But right now, at this very moment, Seiichi was hers.
The parents were out, Kimimaro was at the academy, and aunts were busy, so the nearly two-year-old was hanging out with Michiko in her office.
The toddler was happily babbling while badly throwing the ball to his sister, who would catch it before gently throwing it back and grinning as he laughed each time that he caught it. He was so pleased by his accomplishment.
Leaning forward, she picked up the toddler and brought him close to her face, giving him an eskimo kiss which was received with a bout of giggles.
"Mimi," he gurgled happily, small hands grasping strands of her hair and pulling. "Story," he demanded, pulling on her hair harder for emphasis.
"Bossy much?" she asked, gently removing her hair from his pudgy hands and placing him in her lap before contemplating what story to tell him. 'Have I told him red-riding hood yet?"
—.—.—.—.—
There was something unappreciated about early mornings— particularly in her household, where with the exception of Kimimaro, only Michiko seemed to truly love them. Even with Kimimaro, she was willing to bet that it had more to do with the fact that she woke up at that ungodly hour, rather than his personal preference. However, regardless of reason, it was nice to have someone join her morning training before it was time to officially start the day.
Five in the morning typically found the two dressed and out the door for their morning run, which looked more like Guy's endurance village laps than a casual jog. This preceded a spar between the two where Michiko would help Kimimaro better his clan stances, since his own clan clearly wouldn't train him, till eventually it was time for the boy to return home and get ready for the academy.
Michiko, on the other hand, would remain in training ground five for another hour or so, practising with her guan dao and added weights in an effort to increase her reaction speed.
Because for all that the hiraishin offered her an advantage if the field was littered with her seals, unlike Minato who was also fast on his own merit, Michiko was not. Unlike him, she was a heavy hitter and had been trained as one from a young age— with an emphasis on the heavy hitter part and a pass on the speed.
She was the type that fought primarily using taijutsu in combination with bukijutsu, and used ninjutsu more as an additional edge to her fighting style. Which, if you asked someone like Kakashi, was a damn shame considering her chakra reserves.
When the morning workout was done, the redhead would flash back home, take a shower, change, steal some food from the table, and flash over to her office. No matter how fast she was, Toshio would still get there before her and have a list of activities prepared for her to go through— and tea, lots and lots of tea.
—.—.—.—.—
Her mindscape always surprised the girl with how dark it was. "Really, can't you make this place a tad brighter?" she questioned Kurama, who was currently engaged in a personal game of Ignore the Human. "Seriously? Are we really going to do this?" she complained.
"…"
"Ugh. You listen here, furry ass. Here I come, wanting to remove your seal, and you give me this treatment?" 'Oh, didn't that catch his attention.'
"What?" he demanded, red eyes narrowed upon the girl before him.
"What? Did your old age finally catch up to you?" she teased. Teased, not taunted, of course. He had known her for nearly six years— nothing compared to his lifespan, but enough for a human. It was enough time for him to get a very good sense of the kind of person they are.
Kurama could now make that distinction and no longer found himself getting angry like he used to in the beginning. "Has your own human idiocy finally got the better of you?" he asked instead, raising from the ground and towering over her.
"And here I thought you would be happier," she pouted, coming closer to his cage. She stopped only when his paw passed through the bar and slammed right next to her. Any closer, and it would have crushed her.
"Do you forget who I am human? Have the years that I tolerated you made you complacent? Do not forget that I do not care about your insignificant life and will tear you to pieces to escape," he growled, increasing his volume when the girl's expression softened and she passed through the bars.
"Pity I have so little self-preservation; but you won't kill me either." Her voice was so sure; the redhead was certain in her words and that frustrated the fox further.
"You audacious chit," he growled, bringing his face closer to hers.
"You old fox," she returned pleasantly, a hand going out to caress his nuzzle and Kurama hated himself for letting her. "I know you won't hurt me. See? I'm inside the seal, I've done it a hundred times over the years and you never used this as a chance to escape. And I know that you know that me being inside would have made it easier to break the seal. But you never did and when it will all be over, when the whole Kaguya bullshit passes, I will make sure you can go back outside to do whatever. Well, if you want," she promised, jokingly winking at the end as she touched her forehead to his nuzzle.
"If I want?" he asked.
"Hey, you might finally fall for me and never want to leave!" she joked, laughing at the aghast expression he was able to make in response to her words.
"Stupid human," but his tone held no bite and he once again closed his eyes, crossing his paws in front of himself, ignoring the way Michiko needed to duck as he returned to 'sleeping'. "Do as you'd like," he told her.
Kurama pretended he couldn't feel her trailing fingers through his fur. It wasn't all that hard. Her hand was tiny. 'Humans are fragile things.'
"I still haven't gotten you to admit we're friends, you know?" she commented absentmindedly, causing him to huff.
"We are not friends, brat," was his swift reply and she pouted.
"Well, I see you as one…and hopefully you will end up seeing me as one too," she said determinately, finally sliding off his paw and making her way past the golden gates keeping him caged.
'A strange human. Michiko is a strange human,' and this wasn't the first time Kurama thought it.
"Hopefully this will make communication easier," she told him, scaling up the gates with her chakra till she reached the 'seal' on top of the lock.
But he somehow had gotten used to her.
Ripping off the paper, Michiko placed her hand on the exposed seal, and with a final look towards Kurama, pushed chakra through it in the correct pattern.
He wondered what would the old man say if he could see him now.
—.—.—.—.—
There really was no good explanation for the explosions which had collapsed the formerly unknown Kaguya tunnels. However they occurred, and as such the Mizukage had to have an investigation carried out.
The reasonable explanation was that not all of the Kaguya bloodline had been killed, and had used the tunnel system to make an emergency escape, which they then collapsed in order to hide clan secrets or make it harder to track them down. At least, that was what the official report stated. It was an inconclusive deduction, as D-ranks were still handed out in order to excavate the precarious tunnels. They even had a death. Such was the decrease in the quality of ninja, which only served to irk the Mizukage further.
He didn't like to leave things unfinished. He didn't like the thought of Kaguya members still breathing after they raised a finger against Kirigakure. It was something to be remedied, especially if they carried information about their village that he didn't want in the hands of outsiders. Of course, his interest in this case may or may not have to do with outside influence, but that was not really the important bit.
What was important right now was the object his ninja brought from the last excavation: a lone kunai. It was nothing extraordinary on its own but for its distinguishing features: three prongs and a sealing array on the handle. It was custom made, not from Kirigakure, but not unfamiliar. The Yellow Flash had made sure of that.
Only this blade surely couldn't belong to Konoha's deceased Hokage.
—.—.—.—.—
Yagura might not have been certain of the origins of the kunai, but Zetsu could make some educated guesses. Or rather, he had a better idea of where to dig for information, because it was not a kunai that belonged to the Yondaime Hokage. He could tell as much, Obito could tell as much— but the chakra clinging to the weapon was familiar even if this particular Zetsu never met its owner.
The night they had unleashed the Kyūbi upon Konoha, one of his clones remained behind after Obito retreated. He knew what the Yondaime did, knew who he did it to, but Obito and Black Zetsu had said to leave her alone, that there was no rush. They had time and needed to collect the other bijū first, anyway.
There was time. There were other things to do, people to gather. However, it seemed the little Uzumaki was poking her nose were it didn't belong, and that wouldn't be a good thing. Especially since he confirmed the archives had been cleaned out. 'Naughty children ought to be punished.' White Zetsu thought, as he relayed the image of the kunai and the signature of the chakra through his roots, letting his brothers know of this information as well.
After all, her bloodline really wasn't needed anymore. He had everything he needed, and useless things got thrown out.
—.—.—.—.—
You know, it was one thing for a mission to go wrong. Two, three, hell, depending on the volume of missions received, one could expect there to be a couple of screw-ups. Of course there were, some minor and easily ignorable, some blatant and impossible to look over.
However for the past month or so, the frequency of things going wrong had steadily increased and that was something Michiko didn't like. The phenomena was mostly concentrated among the higher ranked missions, which made sense. They were more dangerous and that left more room for things to go bad. However, when her shinobi started getting killed, and those that survived all reported the same thing, the girl couldn't help the conclusion she reached.
Someone was purposely targeting her shinobi, and she wanted to find out who.
"Toshio," she called the grim-looking male to her left, "Send for Kahyō and Rabbit," she ordered. She watched as the male exited the office, the seals re-activating as he closed the door. Sighing, Michiko leaned into her chair and closed her eyes for a moment. 'Blood will be spilt.'
'You're more bearable this way,' her companion's voice rang in her mind, and she got an image of a lounging fox, its nine tails lazily swaying as it pinned her in place with its red gaze.
'Oh, I'm counting on you to help, you know.'
—.—.—.—.—
September was drawing to an end and that meant Seiichi was due to turn two and that family was coming over. By family, she meant her grandmother with Kushina and Naruto. It was only possible because Kushina could bully her way through nearly anything, and the Hokage had ANBU to spare for the journey. It must be nice to no longer be stretched thin manpower-wise.
Currently, it was the evening of the twenty-fifth and Michiko was in the back garden accompanied by her toddler brother and adopted son. All three of them engaged in what appeared to be dancing— at least Michiko and Kimimaro were dancing. Seiichi just saw them and wanted to join in, which was sweet and frankly utterly adorable, despite the fact that his flailing limbs and lack of coordination meant he wasn't so much dancing as doing an impression of a drunken duck: a cute one, but a duck nonetheless.
At least he was starting his training early, any ninja observer would have likely remarked. After all, never let anyone say that dancing wasn't good for a future as a shinobi. Balance and flexibility were two very important factors in their lifestyle. If anyone was going to give her brother grief about it, she would simply point them in Kimimaro's direction.
—.—.—.—.—
Michiko presented a semi-pleasant expression for the ragged people before her, trying to not look pitying or angry on their behalf. There were three people, only three people, two of which were children, and they looked to have survived hell. If what the eldest male said was true, hell was a pretty close analogy.
They claimed to be the remnants of the Chinoike clan. A clan which was exiled years ago from Kaminari no Kuni with the aid of none other than the Uchiha clan. Part of the girl felt —stupidly— as though she should have somehow prevented this injustice, despite it occurring before her birth. The remainder, a much more reasonable side of her possessing the majority vote, simply focused on the now and what she had to do.
A flicker of her chakra later had Heiwa in her office. Her gold braid swayed lightly as she made her way to Michiko, sparing only a moment to acknowledge the other occupants of the room.
"Please escort the Chinoike to one of our waiting rooms," the redhead ordered, giving the woman a meaningful look before returning her attention to the brown-haired man. "Joichiro-san, if you and the children would please follow Heiwa. She will escort you to a room where you may rest till more adequate lodgings are prepared." Michiko said, pretending to miss the mistrustful looks she was receiving from the children.
"Of course," he replied, and for all that he looked the part of a ragged wanderer, the man had never once stopped speaking in keigo. One had to give him points for politeness at least. 'And protectiveness,' she thought, gaze softening just a tad at how the children clung to him, and how even now he constantly angled himself to be in the line of fire should a fight break out.
"Akio, Sari," he prompted the children lightly, before turning to fully face Michiko and bowing low from the waist, the youngsters following after a moment of hesitation. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Uzumaki-sama, and promise to repay your kindness." Joichiro stated in a solemn tone, with the children's more stiff thank yous coming afterwards.
"Joichiro-san, please stand and focus on your health and that of the children. We can talk more once you are settled in," Michiko waved them off and waited till they finally left her office and the door was shut before slumping in her chair. 'Another clan brought to the brink of extinction by the fear and jealousy caused from possessing a kekkei genkai.'
"What did the cat drag in this time?" Toshio asked as he entered her office. His back was straight and his copper hair swept to the side in a new hairstyle that he was trying.
"I'd appreciate you not speaking like that." Michiko grouched, annoyed at her cousin who merely shrugged his shoulders. It was the truth. Sighing in exasperation, the girl waved him over. "They claim to be all that's left of the Chinoike clan," she explained, while picking up a pen and writing down a quick note in a small scroll.
"The Chinoike clan? Never heard of them."
"Neither have I. They were exiled years ago from Kaminari no kuni and lived in the Valley of Hell since then."
"And where is this valley of hell?" Toshio inquired, as he made his way around her desk and leaned on it, arms crossed whilst looking out the windows towards the village below. Who would have ever thought Uzushio would call themselves a village ever again?
"Here," Michiko said, whilst handing him the scroll after stamping it. "Take this to the west archives."
"You want me to look into these Chinoike?" After she assented, he asked, "Why are you so interested in them?"
"The clan that helped push them into exile was the Uchiha one."
"And you want to make sure that will not become a problem." Toshio concluded, a glint appearing in his dark eyes. "Understood." He put the scroll in his pant's pocket as he rose and went to exit the office.
Michiko said nothing further and simply watched, as the light from the setting sun hit his back, illuminating the Uzumaki symbol done in red sticking on the back of his shirt.
A/N: If you thought the above author note was not enought here is another one! Wanted to once again apologise for the wait and thank everyone who patiently waited, everyone that reviewed and keept me going, and every new reader. Thank you.