"Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge."
~ Audre Lorde
...
"You don't do anything by halves do you?"
Mitomi stares at the jonin commander during their weekly game of shogi. She hadn't won yet but she was a lot closer to beating Shikamaru so that was a plus at least. Then she shakes her head.
"It is not my nature to half ass life. I did that once, it sucked. You're going to win in two moves, I forfeit." He chuckles and clears the board. Mitomi lays back on the porch folding her arms under her head to half glare at the sky.
"We are closer to moving in on the old hawk. Jiraiya had some very interesting whispers for us, he's going to track down Tsunade." Shikaku tells her and she nods, there were no clouds in the sky.
It didn't bode well to her.
"That's good… I've been trying to figure out the seal on Jiji's cloak. It's more complicated than the seal on the tongues. I've never seen anything like it before… The foxes would probably know more. They were seal keepers of Uzu at one point.." She needed the foxes back, she needed her summons more than anything.
There was a spiritual connection between a fox summon and their summoner and she had had three partners. Mitomi needed the sisters back.
"Lucky you that the scroll has finally been cleared by intelligence. Inoichi has it for you, he wants to check your mental state again so you'll get it then." Mitomi sits up and smiles at him. About fucking time.
"All my teachers are out of the village so I'll go bother him tomorrow. Is it okay if I take a nap? The sky is boring today." Shikaku chuckles again before getting up.
No Nara had ever denied her a nap before. Mitomi closes her eyes and lays back down. She was honestly exhausted.
…
When Mitomi wakes up it is because Shikamaru flops down next to her bonelessly. She barely opens her eyes to glare at him, before deciding if he was going to sit there then he was going to become a pillow. "Dad beat you again?" He questions.
"Shikaku-sama always beats me." She mutters, pushing her cheek into his thigh, Mitomi doesn't mind the hand that pulls at her hair. It feels nice. Familiar.
"Your hair is shorter."
She nods, she knows. Mitomi had let Haku trim it after he washed the blood from it. It still hadn't fully regrown from being singed and had been slightly uneven. Her hair was still long, reaching the middle of her back instead of the bottom of her butt.
She is slightly surprised that he noticed. She hadn't thought he would care. This wasn't her Shikamaru… no matter how badly she missed him.
"It looks nice." If her face heats up at the compliment she cannot be blamed.
Mitomi had loved Shikamaru… She still loved Shikamaru. But she needed him to come to his own decisions about her, this wasn't her Shikamaru but she wanted him to be.
He leans back and she adjusts so she can look at his face. He's looking up at the sky, focused and far away. Mitomi smiles at him when she thinks he isn't paying attention. She should have known better, Shikamaru was always paying attention.
Especially to her.
They sit in content silence until dawn.
…
Mitomi has never interacted with the snake woman. So she was trying to decide why she was currently in her face. Hayate was snickering at her that jerk! She would assume he was the one who told Anko how to find her.
"I want you to help proctor the second exam." Mitomi's brow twitches.. She did not want to be anywhere near the forest of death.
"I don't have a choice do I?" The Chunin exams were still a month away.. She knew that Inoichi-sama and Shikaku-sama had something planned for it but they weren't telling her.
Rude.
"That would be right! Come along Uzumaki-chibi we have work to do! You too Gekko, let's go!" Anko dragged them away from their guard post, thankfully because Mitomi was sure Hayate was plotting murder for their third gaurdmate...again.
It was like someone was intentionally setting people who hated her with her. Mitomi wondered who that could have been. Oh wait she knew, she hoped he died a painful death in a pool of his own blood.
"Do I want to know who you're planning on mauling with that face?" Hayate asks once Anko deposits her into a chair in oh look they were in the T&I headquarters. How fun…
"Lots of people. Did you know we were being roped in to help with the exams?" Because she was going to be very put out with him if he had.
He did, she glared at him the entire time. Anko handed her some dango which was nice, except Mitomi wasn't a huge fan of the treat… she thought of Itachi and his love of the sweet desert. It hurt.
She had failed so very miserably with them. Mitomi felt so much guilt over failing them all a second time. She tried not to think about it too often.
Anko steered the conversation into planning for the second stage of the exam and Mitomi remained quiet listening intently.
There was work to be done.
She needed to start figuring out how to either kill or mortally wound a certain Snake sannin. At least she had the foxes back now… she'd need to check their archives for the seal key for the curse mark. It should be there if her memory serves correct.
Mitomi firmly believed in the multiverse theory, she always had. Reincarnation was easier to grasp when you believed in splintering realities and multiple timelines all existing in relative to each other. In relation to the multiverse theory was the summoning realm, it existed outside the probability of the multiverse. The Summoning realm worked differently than this one, it was a constant, all of time ran through the summoning realm. The multiverse theory didn't apply to the summoning world like it applied to her own world.
Her seal key for the heaven curse mark should be there. With all of her other extensive fuinjutsu work. The only key she had actively recreated current was the ROOT removal seal. She needed it more than the others.
She'd reverse summon herself later tonight to discuss with the foxes. They had a vested interest in not being eaten by the snake clan so she knew they'd be happy to help.
…
Mitomi flopped down next to Shikamaru in the glass of his backyard, the rest of team ten was there too. She waved at Ino and accepted the chip Choji offered without complaint. "Are you three going to compete in the chunin exams?" She knew that Team 7 would be offered the chance, shishou had told her that Kakashi thought they could handle it.
Idiot.
Mitomi had feelings about the chunin exams, and they stood that the rookie nine plus team Gai should stay far away from them. She was glad she'd gotten a field promotion and didn't have to worry about such things. The Chunin exams were stupid, they were basically a glorified death match. A measuring contest… needless to say she wasn't impressed.
"Depends on if Asuma-sensei nominates or not. But probably, it will be a drag to have to go take the exams anywhere else." Mitomi rolls her eyes and lays back, she can' say she's surprised. Displeased certainly, but not surprised.
"We can't all be lucky and get a field promotion like you Mito-chan." Ino teases and Mitomi rolls over to stick her tongue out at the blonde girl.
"It's cool if you three get promoted, it means less gate guard duty for me." Which was probably not true, she'd probably still get stuck guarding the back gate. ANBU used that gate and they liked her.
Mitomi had a feeling that in another year she'd be getting an invitation.. She had said no the first time… but she probably wouldn't say no now. Depending on the whole Shimura situation that is.
She wasn't going to plant her garden around a tree with poison roots after all.
"Are you helping with the exams, Mito?" She smiles at Choji's polite question.
"I am. Unfortunately. I should have gone on the extended escort mission with shishou, because the amount of work Anko-san is making me do is troublesome." Mitomi rolls back to stare at the sky. Storm clouds gathering up in the distance. She bites her lip.
Not a good sign at all.
"Are you sure you're an Uzumaki? 'Cause you act just like Shika!" Ino is laughing, Choji snickers too. Shikamaru mumbles under his breath. Mitomi ignores them all content to frown at the gloomy sky.
Shit was about to hit the fan… she could just feel it.
XOXOX
In which Mitomi gets outed as a closet Nara. Or something.
Thank you for reading!
~LaRae