Chapter Thirty
Akemi walked down the halls of the Hyūga compound, each step made her already sour stomach churn. Hinata was away on a mission, apparently a mission that had gone sideways. Unfortunately, that was all the detail she could wring from Lord Fourth. The kids were okay, but their mission had been extended indefinitely. There was nothing to do but wait and hope for them to come home safely.
The last crystals of snow lay casually discarded throughout the garden she and Hinata shared. The obsidian survival marker with seven scratch marks to denote her seven years of surviving cancer, soon to be eight this fall, stood a solemn guard amid the cool February afternoon. Despite knowing that she was with Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto, Akemi couldn't help but fear the need for a second stone marker soon – to mark the daughter that left and never came back. Stop it! She and her team have survived things that Chunin and some Jonin haven't! It will be okay.
Finally, Akemi could stand no more. She bowed to the stone and dropped into a low horse-riding stance. From her, she sprung up into a high block, followed by a forward kick, before performing an ostrich-head strike with her left hand. She ran through the well-rehearsed kata, picturing the clan elders who dared judge her and her family as her unskilled attackers falling to a novice shinobi. Some fell quick, and others needed to be boxed in and dismantled one piece at a time. In every case, her opponents fell to her superior determination, doubts and fears dispelled like shadows in sunlight.
"A true Hyūga would perform it at twice that speed," a voice too hard for a speaker so young caused Akemi to halt.
"We are a proud clan, Hanabi," Akemi replied as she stared at her daughter.
"Do you still consider yourself a part of it, mother?" Hanabi asked curiously with her haunting Byakugan eyes. Her condescension was not thick, but it was still there.
"I may have married into this clan, Hanabi, but that doesn't make me any less a part of it," Akemi spoke proudly. To try it or not to try it. "In fact," she decided to risk offending Hanabi, "any attempt to delegitimize that would also delegitimize you as well."
Hanabi momentarily was aghast, as if having a moment of horrible realization. Good, get her thinking. "Is that a jab, mother?" Hanabi asked curiously.
"Merely a reminder," Akemi remained firm, "that you came from me. You are my daughter and I love you, despite our differences."
"Comforting words," Hanabi spoke without affect, "do you say them to Hinata when she cries?" Hanabi's stare turned venomous as her Byakugan activated.
Akemi's heart began running away in her chest. If Hanabi was planning on using Gentle Fist on her, she'd have no defense. Still, she couldn't let the challenge go unanswered. Her daughter had been under Hatori's thumb far too long, and the effect was now flagrantly clear. "Hanabi, I want you to stop this madness, right now!" Her voice began climbing. "You came from me whether you or your grandfather want to acknowledge it!"
Hanabi assumed a fighting stance, "Come, mother, show me what strength an outsider has!"
"Hanabi, would you show this same level of disrespect to Aunt Kushina, the Hokage's wife?"
"Aunt Kushina," she shook her head, "Is she your answer for everything? You couldn't look after Hinata, you foist her off on Aunt Kushina! You couldn't look after me, you foist me off on her, too!" Hanabi shrieked as her cheeks turned red. "IS THERE ANYTHING YOU DON'T GO RUNNING TO HER FOR!"
"Hanabi," she replied indignantly, "Kushina is my friend, and I consider it an honor to call her my friend!" Akemi huffed as she took her fighting stance. "Just as I consider it an honor to be part of this family, to call your father my husband, to call your sister my daughter…"
"And what about me!" Hanabi shrieked, attacking in a rage.
Despite the focus of the strike, Akemi blocked it just as effectively as she were blocking an imaginary opponent in her kata. It's no different, just the hits actually count this time! Hanabi struck again, and Akemi blocked again, taking what Kushina had taught her and applying it. Arrogance, nothing but empty arrogance! "Come Hanabi, show what a true Hyūga can do to a barbarian outsider!"
Hanabi attacked again, first with a flurry of hand strikes using Gentle Fist, and she soon followed with a sidekick followed by a reverse roundhouse kick. Despite the dangerous nature of the attacks, any one of them piercing a chakra point could be crippling, Akemi held firm. Her advantage in reach and discipline suddenly evident redoubled her confidence. "Your grandfather taught you fury, did he teach you any focus, daughter!" Akemi taunted.
"Shut up and fight, Mom!" Hanabi lunged. Rather than waste her energy, Akemi let Hanabi fly past, turning her body to avoid the reckless attack. Hanabi landed on her hands and knees, crying out in pain as she shinned all fours on the ground.
For a long moment, Akemi locked eyes with her daughter, careful not to repeat Hinata's mistake. Hanabi heaved, crying, "SHE WAS ALWAYS YOUR FAVORITE!" Hanabi began sobbing in earnest.
Akemi remained wary of letting her guard down. "Hinata is my first," she shook her head, "not my only."
"And yet you favor her!" Hanabi screamed.
"Only because you turned me away," Akemi felt the first tear run from her eyes.
"You left me with grandpa!"
"Because I was sick, Hanabi! It wasn't just the cancer! It was the after-effects of treatment!" She sobbed. "I couldn't get out of bed for days sometimes." She pulled her robe partly askew to reveal the long surgical scar in her left breast, an angry centipede of scar tissue that forever disfigured her once perfect body. "You're right, I wasn't a good mom! I was depressed, I was bald, and I was a skeleton unfit to nurse my daughter who needed me!"
"So, you left me with grandpa while Hinata sat on her throne with Kushina!" Hanabi squealed.
My god, is that what she really believes?! "Hanabi," Akemi said coldly, "I left you with grandpa because you had bonded with him while I was sick, and you refused to bond to Kushina," Akemi choked on her words. "And don't think that Hinata was sitting pretty," she shook her head, desperately wiping away tears, "Do you think your grandfather changed you, or fed you, or made sure you were bathed!" Akemi slowly raised her voice, building inconsolable rage toward her father-in-law. "You really don't remember," she heaved fiery breathes, "I suppose that evil bastard would have told some lie about it, too!" Akemi balled her hands into tight, lethal fists as a red mist formed in front of her eyes. "Other little girls played mommy with their dolls, Hanabi, but not your sister," she pointed an angry finger at her daughter, "She had to be a mommy, with a real baby sister!"
"No," Hanabi shook her head. "Th-that's not true…" tears choked her voice.
"She made sure you weren't in wet diapers!" Akemi seized Hanabi by the wrist. "She made sure you were fed properly!
"No…." Hanabi moaned weakly.
"She would come to your room to play with you night after night, after brutal hours of training and school, just so you would have a friend!" Akemi roared.
"No…"
"And when you started the academy," Akemi choked, "and your sister was busy getting prepared to be a genin," She yanked back Hanabi's right sleeve, revealing a series of purple and red bruises, "that was when he started hitting you!"
"NOOOOOO!" Hanabi screamed as she pulled herself away, running.
The red mist enveloped Akemi as something demonic within overcame her. She reached into her pocket, feeling the cold steel graze her fingertips. She didn't remember storming to the elder's chambers, nor did she remember pushing past their attendants. The door to Hatori Hyūga's personal chambers slid open.
He sat dressed in immaculate grey robes, his stony expression matching the stony white hair that had once been black as night. "Akemi," he mocked, "to what do I owe this honor, princess?"
"I've come to feed you," something demonic spoke from within. "I've come to feed you the one thing you care about," she brandished the kunai with murder in her heart.
"How exciting the prospect," he laughed with amusement.
"You spent a lifetime tormenting my husband and brother-in-law," she approached like a panther preparing to strike, "that was unacceptable. But then you hit my precious Hanabi and turned her against her sister!" She shrieked as she pointed the blade of the Kunai toward the caricature of a man, "Turned her against me!"
Father-in-law smiled maliciously. "Come, Akemi, do you really think killing me will give you your daughter back?" Perfect pearly-white teeth appeared past his lips. "I did warn you once that I would see you and your spawn out of this family." He laughed. "Kill me, and they'll both have the shame of having a murderer for a mother. For once, you'll have a legacy of worth!"
"Enough, Grandfather!" an avenging angel's voice called. Hinata!
"Ah, Hinata," Hatori quipped, "how nice of you to join us."
"I was busy serving my village," she rebuked harshly. Akemi had seen her daughter angry, but this was unusual. There wasn't even the slightest hint of meekness for which her daughter had come to be known for, "and my clan – something I think you've forgotten how to do!" Hinata's purple eyes burned like embers of smoldering fire.
"Be quiet, insolent child!" Hatori hissed. "I've led this clan for over forty years…"
"And you lost the right to lead it!" Hinata cut off his words. "A good leader does what is best for the clan," her voice quivered with tears, "that includes stepping aside when the time comes."
"You'll never be the leader of this clan, Hinata," grandfather shook his head in condescension, "not as long as I'm still here."
"You bastard!" Akemi growled, brandishing the kunai.
"Mom, give me the blade," Hinata commanded. Akemi stared at her daughter. "Killing this old man won't give us Hanabi back, but I can." Hinata nodded in a look that said, "Trust me." Akemi gave her the blade.
"Grandfather, I'll make you deal," Hinata approached like a lioness asserting her dominance, "If Hanabi wins this July, I'm not just no longer the clan heir; I'm out of the clan." Akemi froze in horror at what Hinata was suggesting. "Out of the clan, and out of this house. I'll never come back to this compound ever again. I'll take a cursed seal to ensure our clan secrets never fall into the wrong hands." Hinata's voice was controlled, hiding passion of years of frustration behind it.
Hatori grinned for a moment, but it melted as she spoke, "When I win," Hinata smiled thinly, "You'll leave, not just this clan or this house; you'll leave this village. You'll take a cursed seal, and you'll disappear and never contact any member of this family ever again." Hinata walked in front of her grandfather.
Hatori smiled with thin, sinister lips, "I accept!"
Hinata took the kunai in her left, making a small cut in her palm, "Then shake on it in blood," she turned the kunai handle toward her grandfather, "the way a true clan leader would!"
"Hinata…" Akemi froze as Hatori cut his palm and exchanged a bloody handshake. There was nothing she could do now for Hinata – a blood handshake was binding among the Hyūga Clan. For a long moment, Hinata and her grandfather remained locked in an angry duel of staring. Finally, she broke from his grip and turned to walk toward Akemi. "H-Hinata!"
"It will be healed in a few minutes, Mom," Hinata's face softened back to the face of her shy, conscientious daughter.
"Hinata, what have you done?" Akemi fell to her knees, terrified at the prospect that her daughter would be out of the family in about four months' time.
"Given my word, something a true shinobi never goes back on," Hinata smiled impossibly big for her face.
She's different. "Hinata, what happened out there?" Akemi began crying, confused by everything that had just happened.
"It's okay, Mom," Hinata wrapped her in a hug, "It'll be okay." Akemi clutched her daughter, letting the tears flow. "Mom, come," Hinata said, "Let's get some air, I have quite the story to tell."
Kushina sparred playfully with Kurenai in the backyard. While the air was cool, spring had come earlier than hoped. It would be a terrible shame to waste this fine afternoon with her nose in a book. "You've been practicing like a genin getting ready for her first mission," Kurenai huffed as she blocked a series of strikes.
"Keeps me out of trouble!" Kushina laughed as she batted at Kurenai with a forward crescent kick. "Woman's got to do something to stay occupied now that I'm practically an empty-nester."
"You're hardly an empty-nester, Kushina," the younger woman replied with a side punch followed by a forward jab.
"My son is gone and will be gone more and more often the next few months," she huffed as blocked Kurenai's counterattacks, "My husband is busy to where I'm lucky to see him in the morning as he leaves. I'm no good at playing the part of a desperate housewife!"
"So, that's why you're so gung-ho about getting your instructor's license back," Kurenai paused the match.
"Kurenai," Kushina placed a hand on her hip, "it's not just that." She shook her head in regret, "I sat out most of the Third Shinobi War because I was deemed too dangerous to fall into enemy hands. I was a jonin-sensei for a whole whopping month before I had to hang up my mission gear because I was pregnant with Naruto, didn't even get assigned a team," she sighed. "And I don't really need to tell you about the past twelve years."
"Kushina, you were busy raising a son, making sure he grew up right in very difficult circumstances," Kurenai tried to comfort her. "And you also had your own health to worry about."
"I know that, but I'm tired, Kurenai – tired of being sidelined, tired of being a princess hidden in some distance castle," she shook her head, "tired of being an invalid in the prime of my life."
Kurenai laughed, "So, that's where Naruto gets his impatience from," she smiled ear to ear.
"Damn right!" Kushina laughed as she hugged her friend.
"If it makes any difference, I'm sure you would have been a great jonin-sensei had I got assigned to you back in the day," Kurenai's watch began beeping. "Speaking of, I'm going to have to wrap this up, my team is training in fifteen minutes."
"You kids have fun, now!" Kushina winked as she bade farewell to her friend. Not wanting to waste a still perfect afternoon, Kushina continued to drill her moves, relearning all the muscle memory that was coming back to her in a flood. She had no doubt she'd be a jonin-sensei again, but she was losing her patience. Whereas the classroom and study part of getting back her instructor license was going fantastic, she had plenty of time to study now that Naruto was away on missions, there was one obstacle she couldn't overcome – she needed to train a student.
Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that the next class wouldn't be graduating until early October. Every genin from last year's class was attached, and Kushina had no strong connection to any chunin or academy students. While she could ask Kakashi to let her have team seven, she wanted her son and his team going in the field with someone fully capable. In other words, you've got six months of cooling your heels until you can bid for an apprentice, let alone start training them.
"Hey, Madame First Lady!" a childish voice shouted from the other side of the gate.
Kushina shook off her melancholic mask as she stared at the shabbily dressed Konohamaru. He looked like he'd gone for a roll down a grassy hill and landed in some bushes at the bottom. "Konohamrau," she laughed, "how many times have I told you, it's Mrs. Uzimaki or Miss Kushina!"
"Gotcha, Mrs. Uzimaki!" he shouted enthusiastically. "By the way, is Naruto home yet?!"
Persistent if nothing else. "Sorry Konohamaru, he's still not back yet," Kushina shook her head. This was the fifth time in three weeks that Konohamaru had come by asking after Naruto.
"Oh, okay," the boy's head sunk. He looked ready to cry.
"Konohamaru, what's wrong?" Kushina asked, mildly concerned.
"It's just that," he paused, "it's just that boss isn't around anymore."
"He's on a mission. He'll be home soon; I got a message they're on their way back as we speak," she reassured him.
"I know," he sighed.
"Wait a minute," Kushina stopped to look at her watch, "Why aren't you training, Konohamaru? I thought your sensei trained you until 1700?"
"Hehe," he laughed nervously, "about that… I kinda got suspended by my sensei."
"Konohamaru…" Kushina tried to avoid scolding him, "What did you do?"
"I uh, used a justu Naruto and I have been working on perfecting," he smiled nervously.
Those two rascals! "You turned into a naked woman and caused your instructor to faint again, didn't you?"
"Umm…" he paused, clearly assessing if he should admit to it, "yeah!" Kushina could sense some level of pride in his deed despite the mask of worry
Kushina thought to scold him, but she decided against it. You have no leg to stand on! Kushina herself had been a prankster during her days at the academy. She felt the corner of her mouth curl upwards at the memory of some of her more legendary pranks – one of which would have gotten her expelled from the academy had she been caught. "So," she blushed, "Why aren't you training with your parents?"
"They're ANBU, Mrs. Uzimaki, they're gone even more than Naruto."
She felt for the boy. "And what about your grandfather?"
Konohamaru sighed, "It's not that grandpa can't train me, but he's not a young man anymore." He shook his head. "Maybe if I'd been born when Naruto was, I'd be far enough along by now. As much as grandpa doesn't want to admit it, he can't keep up like he once did."
Kushina felt her heart flutter a bit. Lord Sarutobi had been like a father to her generation and was like a grandfather to Naruto's generation. The thought of the once-great warrior growing old and incapable saddened her. In a way, she saw herself lamenting Grandma Mito's advanced age when Kushina was a little girl. However, a moment of realization flickered in the back of Kushina's head. "Wait a minute, you said your sensei suspended you, right? For how long?" Kushina shot him a curious glance.
"Ummm…" Konohamaru bounced back and forth on his heels, "I uh… he kinda said…" he bounced back and forth even more nervously, "… basically, he said he was done with me and my pranks!" Konohamaru deflated. While it wasn't uncommon for academy students to go through the whole program without outside instruction, most families hired private instructors for their children, especially in prominent clans.
"Wait a minute, you haven't told your parents, have you?" she pointed at him in mock accusation.
"Umm..." he fidgeted with his fingers, imitating Hinata, "… not yet!" He was turning red as Kushina's hair. Knowing his parents, he was in deep crap – the Sarutobi Clan took training damn seriously.
Gears began turning in Kushina's head. "You're in deep do-do, aren't you, if they find out?" she grinned like Nine-Tails. He nervously nodded in response. "Fortunately, I have a plan that might help both of us," Kushina clapped her hands with delight.
"What plan?" he cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy.
"Konohamaru, I'll be your sensei!" Kushina clapped.
"Come again," he said in disbelief.
"I need to accumulate at least a five-hundred contact hours with a student of any level below jonin to re-qualify as jonin-sensei and academy instructor," she explained.
"You want…me as your student?" he was still incredulous.
"Why not?" She asked.
"But," he stammered, "You're the First Lady of the village, the Hokage's wife!"
"Yeah, so?"
"I'm… I'm," he searched with his eyes, struggling, "I'm just some screw up kid from a prominent clan!" Konohamaru began crying.
"Konohamaru!" She wrapped him in a hug, "You know that's not true! I hear good things about your skill in the classroom!"
"That's only because of my grandfather!" he whined. "If it weren't for grandpa, I'd just be another meat-shield at the academy!"
"Konohamaru," Kushina paused, remembering similar words she'd written in her diary as a student. She also remembered another young boy who frequently felt weighed down by his family name – Obito Uchiha. "Konohamaru, what your grandfather did and what your parents do for this village is extremely important. He began to roll his eyes, but she forced him to look her in the face. "But you're important, too!" His mouth hung open with the words. "I can't take the place of your parents. But if you give me a chance, I'll square things with your parents, and I'll train you the same way I trained my own son!"
"Y-you'd really do that for me?" the boy shook.
"I will," she nodded, "and if you choose, I'll even requested you get assigned to me as a genin when you're old enough!"
The boy's face lit up like a holiday display, "Oh wow! Thanks Mrs. Uzimaki!"
Kushina smiled coyly, "Don't thank me yet; we still have to talk to your parents or grandfather to get their approval."
"I'm sure they'll say yes!" Konohamaru shot a fist skyward, "Look out, Naruto, I'm coming for you!"
"Hey Mom! Hey Konohamaru!" a familiar voice called. Naruto walked in through the gate. His orange mission gear looking like it had seen better days.
"Hey boss!" Konohamaru ran to Naruto, offering a fist bump. "Guess what I have a new sensei!" Konohamaru bounced excitedly as Naruto when he had to use the bathroom.
"Oh?" Naruto shot a glance to her. Kushina brought her hands together in mock-innocence.
"Your Mom!" Konohamaru shouted, "Isn't it cool!"
Naruto smirked, "You do realize she can be a cruel taskmistress."
"She raised your lazy bumpkins; how bad could she be?" Both Konohamaru and Kushina laughed as Naruto scowled. Finally, even he had to laugh.
"Aunt Kushina, are you here?" Hinata's soft voice chirped over the hedge.
"We're in back, Hinata!" Kushina called over her shoulder. It's practically a family reunion.
Soon, Hinata appeared at the back fence, guiding a terribly sullen looking Akemi. "Akemi?" Kushina asked, "why the long face?"
"I thought she needed a friend," Hinata answered for her mother, "someone to talk to right now."
"Of course," Kushina said, "Akemi, why don't you come in with me. Kids, you all go to the dojo and get Konohamaru warmed up and we'll do a quick training session together in a bit!"
"Yippie!" the boys shouted in unison, both dragging Hinata along with them. Akemi too, needed dragging. To Kushina, she looked like a stiff breeze could knock her over. "Akemi, come on," she commanded as she dragged her into the house and to the family room couch. "So, do you mind telling me what your daughter dragged you all the way over here?"
"Ku-Kushina!" Akemi broke down into tears. While not unexpected, Kushina was still taken aback by her friend's sudden display of weakness. She put her arms around her sobbing friend, letting the tears do their job. "Kushina…" she sobbed weakly.
"It's all right, Akemi, tell me what's troubling you," she reassured her.
"I'm… a bad mom! I'm such a bad mom!" Akemi sobbed.
Now it was Kushina's turn to be confused. Did I miss something? Is this cry with the First Lady Day? "Akemi, how could you say such a terrible thing? You couldn't ask to be a better mom!" she patted her friend on the back.
"How did I raise… a monster!" she wailed. "Where did I go wrong! How Hanabi turn so vicious! She was once such a sweet little girl!"
Minato had told Kushina everything about his suspicions of abuse at the Hyūga Compound. Kushina had to resist the urge to physically remove Hinata from the home then, and she still didn't like the idea of using the showdown in July to decide the issue. However, the situation also brought back many self-doubts about training. She thought of Hanabi, Hinata, Konohamaru, and Obito. Are you sure you aren't setting yourself and others up for a lethal failure? She looked at Akemi, her first student of sorts, and reaffirmed herself. "Akemi, I want you to stop telling yourself lies about being a bad mom!"
"But they're true! Had I been there for Hanabi…"
"Then your father-in-law would have found another avenue to attack you and her," Kushina cut her off. "Akemi," she shook her head, "it'd be one thing if you meant ill or actively tried hurting her, but you haven't!"
"Kushina, you don't know! You've never failed!"
"That's not true, and you know it!"
"But you're such a better mom!"
"If I was truly a good mom," she corrected, letting tears run, "I would still be Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki!" Kushina sobbed at the thought of the burden she'd put on Naruto and Hinata. "Obito would be here right now, and Rin, and…" now Kushina's words were choked with tears. Obito had been like a son, had been like the son she'd wanted Naruto to be. Did I push him too hard? Was I really being cruel when I was trying to help him grow? Did I not show him enough love!
"Kushina, he became a criminal and a murderer," Akemi remined her.
"Akemi, not a day goes by when I don't worry about how much he and my son were alike!" She heaved. "Obito wanted to be Hokage, wanted to be recognized for something more than his family name!" she gestured with her chin toward the dojo, "Does that sound like either of those two boys in there with Hinata!"
"You showed him a mother's love, good and bad," Akemi said.
"And yet, he tried to kill me, my husband, and my son!" Kushina felt herself being torn apart like Nine-Tails was back in her. "Do you think I'm not afraid every time my son goes out on a mission he won't come back, or worse, come back twisted and evil as that sweet little boy who was lost on a mission my husband sent him on!"
"Kushina, I know how his clan treated him! You were the one bright spot in his life!" Akemi said, "I know in my heart, something terrible must have happened to him to make him change!"
"And something terrible already happened to Hanabi," Kushina said. "I should have tried harder," she shook her head, "when she initially rejected me! Not handed her to your grandfather!"
"Kushina, you didn't know, hell, I didn't know! I thought having my little baby girl had changed him for the better! I had no idea he'd twist her for the worst!"
"So, here we sit," Kushina sighed, "two grown women wondering where we went wrong with people we loved."
"Kushina, it's too late for Obito," Akemi shook her head.
"But it's not too late for Hanabi, or Hinata," Kushina added.
"How, Kushina?" she asked. "How do we get through when everything we've tried has failed.
"Mom," Naruto called, "will you and Aunt Akemi be joining us soon? We're all warmed up!"
"We'll be there in a minute honey!" she called back. Kushina stared at Akemi, "We give our best love, but we also give them room to figure things out. Naruto and Hinata," she nodded, "they're very special children." She took Akemi by the hand. "If anyone can find a way to bring Hanabi back into the fold, it's them!"
"Kushina, thank you!" Akemi and she embraced.
"Don't thank me yet, my apprentice," Kushina giggled like the caricature of a wicked witch, "You still have to pay the price!"
"Price?" Akemi gasped melodramatically.
"Yes, my pretty," Kushina started laughing hysterically, "It's time to practice!" Both women laughed. For Kushina, it was the only medicine she knew for a broken heart. After man years of worrying she'd been a bad mom to Naruto, the fact that Konohamaru, Hinata, and Akemi could come to her made her realize she hadn't done half-bad. Where there is laughter, there is love. Where there is love, there is family, even if it isn't tied by blood!
Author's note: Hey everyone, sorry this one came out delayed by a few hours. I've been down with the flu the past few day. I hope you're all safe wherever you are in the world. Stay healthy, and hope you're all enjoying!
