Bridges and Pillars
Chapter 12: bumpy waters lead to steady shores
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"Honey? What are you doing?" he looked up at his mother, standing in his bedroom doorway with a tiered look on her face.
"I'm reading some basic medical books," Itsuki answered. "Imoto said something that kind of made sense and I feel kind of stupid for not taking it into consideration before graduating."
"Most kids graduate when they're twelve, you are seven." His mother chuckled as she entered and put one hand on his shoulder, looking down on the book he was reading. "What is it saying? That sentence doesn't seem right."
"Yeah, I was just thinking the same," Itsuki sighed and leaned back in his chair. "It says that chakra can heal any kind of injury so long as the medic in question can arrive in time and so long as the patient is still alive."
"um… where did you get that book?"
"From the library," Itsuki answered, "It seems counterproductive to the ones Aunty Tsunade left me."
"Oh, it is," his mother chuckled at him. "how about we make a trip tomorrow? I haven't been in the estate in a long time. Its properly about time for me to organize that mess anyways."
"Estate?" Itsuki asked
"Yeah, I'm the only survivor of my clan." Mebuki smiled sadly at her son. "We were called the Hattori Clan and we specialized in chakra manipulation. Most of us were sensors and healers but we did have a few, like myself, who were battle centric."
"What do you mean?"
"haha, have I never told you?" Mebuki questioned with a smile, "I was a Jonin but I had to retire after the complete nightmare of your sister's birth. My specialty was absorbing the chakra in elemental attacks and neutralizing them before restoring my own reserves. I wasn't too good with the medical side of our techniques but I could—well I can perform the basics." Mebuki tapped at her forehead, "Most of my clansmen learn our family-seal when we're thirteen but I can introduce to you the theory of it now. It'll take time for everything to settle down in your head anyways. No reason why you can't learn the theory of the seal early."
"Wait, seal?" Itsuki questioned, "like the one Imoto has?"
"Yes and no," Mebuki sighed heavily, "Sakura's seal is different from mine and the one you'll someday wear. Her seal was forced into creation and it was forced over a matter of days. A proper hundred-hands seal takes a minimum of three years and a Hyūga's helpful hand. It can take up to ten years without a Hyūga's help but the Hyūga's have been helping the Hattori clan with our seals since we settled down in the village. Well, I should say that Hiashi has been helping our clan since we settled in Konohagakure."
"That sounds kind of cool mom but I'm confused," Itsuki stared up at his mother, who had a fond but lost expression on her war-tiered face. "You said Hattori, I remember learning about them in school. They saved the village from the Kyūbi's miasma, right? They used up their lives to neutralize the miasma and make our village livable again."
"Yeah," Mebuki sighed heavily. "The truth about that is… a lot more complicated."
"What do you mean?"
"The demon miasma murdered all of our children, who weren't skilled enough to neutralize the demonic chakra to begin with," Mebuki explained sadly. "Everyone else… used a forbidden jutsu to create chakra trees. These trees eat up malevolent chakra, also known as killing intent, and neutralize it. That's why every spring Konohagakure is awash in pink blossoms. The cherry trees in this village aren't normal trees, son. Those are your relatives. My family."
"…I don't understand," correction: He didn't want to understand.
"Nor should you," Mebuki smiled bitterly at empty air, her jade eyes glossed over in painful memories. "As painful as it'll be, I'll take you to the Hattori estate tomorrow. We'll collect all the medical tools and books we can find."
"It's okay mom, we don't have to go if you don't want to." Itsuki tried to reassure, "I'll figure everything out on my—"
"That is a Hattori-stubborn streak," Mebuki giggled as she lifted off his desk and turned to leave his room, "regardless, we'll go son, so don't worry about me."
"But,"
"No buts," Mebuki smiled over her shoulder. "it'd be a shame if my family's art just died with me and Tsunade-hime."
"huh?"
"Tsunade-hime is the inheritor of our medical practices, meanwhile I'm the only combat-specialist left," Mebuki stretched her arms overhead as she walked. "The two of us are the only ones left. It'd be a shame if the Hattori arts died with us." She stopped in his doorway and smiled at him. "We'll collect what we can tomorrow and I'll begin your proper training as a Hattori clansman."
"Wait, mom! What about the restaurant?"
"Your father hired three extra bodies yesterday, they'll be fine!" She waved absently at him as she walked down the hall, disappearing for the night.
"Well then," Itsuki smiled as he turned to look at his bed. "Imoto, you're not that slick." The little mound sitting just below his tilted-in-the-wrong-way pillow didn't budge. "Alright, but this is the last time, okay?" he reached up to turn off his desk light before moving towards his navy bed. "You have to start sleeping on your own from now on."
"You said that last night," came the amused giggle beneath his pillow and blanket. "And mommy didn't see me. How did you?"
"I happened to be looking for you," Itsuki chuckled as he lifted his blanket and stared down on his sleepy faced baby sister. "How'd you manage to keep yourself awake when you're that tired?"
"Not easy," Sakura answered as she sat up and scrambled for the side of the bed closest to the wall.
"Hmmm, get some sleep this time, Imoto," Itsuki ordered gently as he laid down beside her.
"Good night Anii," Sakura whispered as she snuggled into his side, her head on his shoulder.
"Good night Imoto," Itsuki whispered back.
Sakura smiled at the three kids shrieking up a storm in her back yard, it was one of the few days where everyone was at the actual house and not the apartment. Kiba, Hinata, and Sasuke were eagerly running away from her father who was using their little game of water-tag to practice walking without crouches. He should, in all technicality, be deemed a cripple for the rest of his life but 'Aunty Tsunade' was helping his recovery exceed all expectations. It was strange to Sakura to call her former mentor 'aunty', especially since Tsunade had never shown any familial-ties to Sakura in her first life. Their relationship was strictly teacher-student, with a few rare occurrences of drunk-motherly-advice. In this life, Tsunade was her godmother and affectionately called 'aunty' by not just the two Haruno-children, but by the Uchiha, Inuzuka, and Hyūga clan heirs. It was both fascinating and terrifying.
Hearing a grunt of pain beside her, Sakura turned to look up at the person stiffly sitting down on the porch steps beside her. She found her mother sighing as if moving her joints was painful. Sakura noted her mother's sports bra and shorts, mentally sighing at the familiar comparison of her new life and previous life. She could only think that some things never changed, and then some things changed drastically, like her own wardrobe. Whether she was in the city with her parents or here at the house, Sakura's outfits consisted of baby shorts and a Dudou for a shirt; she walked around bare-backed, barefoot, and sleeveless. It was different from her first life, where she only wore onesies for the first six years of her life.
"Are you tired baby?" Mebuki asked, leaning against the railing and eyeing Sakura with a tiered smile.
"Mommy okay?" Sakura asked instead
"Oh I'm just stiff," Mebuki chuckled. "You aren't going to play with the others?"
"Hm, tiered," Sakura answered with a stiff nod. "Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Aunty Tsunade," Sakura started then stopped, biting her lip and looked away.
"She'll be back sweetheart," Mebuki chuckled, "She can't say goodbye without seeing you, right?"
"Mmmhhhmm," Sakura nodded, not looking at her mother. She was to be turning four soon, Tsunade's promised departure might've passed but any day she could up and leave. She's been talking about her journey for weeks now, so Sakura knew her former teacher was carefully letting Sakura get used to the news.
"Alright little sprite," Mebuki breathed her words as if she were sighing in relief. "I'm not a mind reader, use your voice, and ask your questions."
"Um," Sakura hesitated, wondering what kind of mess of a future she was going to forge with her next words. "Anii… Anii is gonna be a ninja." She stopped, sighing and slumping in her seat, dreading the consequences of her request.
"Okay?" Mebuki smiled and tilted herself forward slightly to look at Sakura's face.
"um… what happens…" Sakura bit her lip, trying hard not to imagine what his short shinobi-career was like in her first life. "When I'm older… and I go on missions with big brother… if he gets hurt… what'd I… what I do?" someone kill me, this stutter is driving me insane! It was one of the few things she was persistent in preserving. Sure she adapted to speaking names quickly and forming sentences early but she didn't want anyone to get too suspicious of her intelligence. She kept her observations on the three children closest to her at this point in time and any clarity of speech patterns they showed, she mimicked. It was difficult enough to match their growing development but she was trying and that was what mattered most.
"Do you want to be a healer when you grow up?" Mebuki asked, a gentle smile on her face.
"I wanna pro-ket," Sakura frowned, "Pro-Teh-ko…Pro-teeeeh-Kah… Pro-pro—" Sakura bit her lip, trying hard not to start crying in sheer frustration. Someone kill me! This stutter is devastating to my mentality! Whether it be in this life or her previous, at this age Sakura Haruno had never been able to speak clearly; even if her vocabulary was larger then other's her age.
"Protect?" Mebuki questioned, smile growing, "do you want to protect your brother?"
"Uh-huh," Sakura nodded, her face flushed to match her hair in embarrassment. "eh-every-one…Pro-pro-the-K eh-ev-rr-E-one…"
"That'll take more than just healing skill," Mebuki hummed thoughtfully. "Do you know why your Aunty Tsunade is so well known for her medical skills?"
"No?" Sakura looked up at her mother, curious beyond all words. Truthfully, she knew and understood but the problem was that she was currently four years old and she shouldn't know such things yet.
"It's because she's also a combatant," Mebuki answered. "When she plays the role of medic for a team and suddenly her teammates are unable to defend her or themselves, she steps up and whips out her opponents. She doesn't use just brute strength though. Medical skills are a double-edged blade. Plus she uses her surroundings for both defense and offense. I once saw her rip a tree out of the ground to chuck it at an advancing team and then used the surrounding dirt and dust in the air to make a concussion that pushed everyone away. Neither were particularly lethal attacks, considering one could be dodged and another harmless to the body but both actions performed their intended purposes."
"What's that?"
"The tree scattered the enemy-team while the concussion knocked out anyone who was too close to her retreating team," Mebuki answered. "Sometimes, using an assortment of weak jutsus are the best forms of retreat. So long as your enemy can't pursue you, you can always escape. Remember that sweetheart," Mebuki smiled as she patted her daughter's head affectionately. "It's always best to live and fight another day then to go in with the intent to die."
"Yes, mama," Sakura smiled and nodded.
"I'm off work! Where's my princess?!"
"Aunty Tsuna!"
Mebuki laughed as her daughter tore through the house for her favorite person.
*Several hours ago*
"How do we know you're sincere?" Tsunade frowned at the small group of shinobi standing at the end of the table, none of them trusting the chairs presented to them. "The last time you came here, you tried attacking with your Jinchūriki and trying to kidnap one of our bloodlines."
"Before we were following instructions of our client," the representative sighed. "However, without their backing, we can no longer keep up with the demands of war. If things continue we'll be forced to graduate our academy children by far too soon. The Raikage doesn't want to make the same mistake as his predecessor and force child-soldiers to participate in war again."
"Child-soldiers?" Tsunade repeated lowly, she remembered what it was like to be a child soldier. Granted it was half her fault for showing such skills as young as she was but—a memory of two laughing children flashed in her mind and Tsunade felt her blood cool. If the war continued, the demand for soldiers would increase, forcing not just civilian-born children into the academy but any child showing a high enough intelligence. It was bad enough that Itsuki was forced to graduate early but at least he was able to graduate with two others his age so it wasn't like he'd be alone.
"Aunty Tsuna!" the children smiled like a sun was stuffed behind their faces, laughing shrilly as they bombarded her with wildflowers.
"I remember that life as clearly as you do," Tsunade spoke up, the first to break the silence. "However, do not think that my sympathy will erase my doubt and distrust of you. You came here before speaking similar words and promising us peace but you went back on your word. How can you possibly expect us to trust you after what you did?" the kumo nin shared guilty looks, unable to refute her words.
"Tsunade-hime, you have no place to speak here," Danzo scowled at her.
"Oh?" Tsunade turned a glare towards him, "And you do? A bag of bones with no title to his name other than 'former teammate of the Sandaime-Hokage'? you have a higher right then I? you're not even the former genin teammate of MY sensei. Homura and Koharu are his former teammates. You're not even a LEGAL representative of the village council. Yet you claim you have a higher right to be here than me, the heiress of one of the founding clans, the head of the hospital, a Hokage-candidate, AND I'm the inheritor of the HATTORI CLAN HEALING TECHNIQUES. What is that you are again? The bastard son of some girl your dad drunkenly-fucked once upon a blue moon sixty-years ago?"
"I'm the head of the Anbu Corps!" Danzo hissed at her.
"oh right, the title you stole after your predecessor and previous candidate both mysteriously died. How convenient for you." Tsunade smirked at him, her amber eyes cold and vicious as a steel blade. "Mio, the heir of a shinobi clan and our Jonin commander, Kibi, our T&I inheritor, and Shioriko Haruno, our top strategist. Isn't it absolutely magical how all these people with BETTER titles and more important jobs are CONVENIENTLY not here? We should be having this discussion as a village with the people who have the most influence in the village hearing this…" Tsunade stopped to give the Kumo-representatives a dull look, "Apparently sincere apology." The representatives pouted at her but it wasn't as if they could say anything to refute her.
Damn you, Slung princess, Danzo glared at the blonde staring dully at the representatives. He couldn't refute her, not without causing some serious damage to his reputation. Besides that, it wasn't as if he had a good comeback for her. She had purposefully spouted the wrong names for those inheritors, in this manner the Kumo-nin in the room wouldn't be able to do any harm to their infrastructure.
"If you still don't believe our sincerity, and I honestly don't blame you, you can always separate us into different quarters," the representative suggested tentatively. "This way you don't need to worry about what happened last time repeating. It's not as if any of us can handle a team of Jonin by our self's."
"That's acceptable, for now at least," Hiruzen spoke up at last. "Tsunade-hime, please ready yourself."
"Of course," Tsunade hummed as she stood. "Shizune, escort the blonde to the compound."
"What? But!"
"No buts," Tsunade ordered. "It's not as if they'll be able to do anything there and so long as you're unharmed, they'll keep living."
"Ah…um, alright," Shizune sighed heavily, "Sir, please follow me. As for you three, someone will escort each of you separately to your own rooms. Please be patient."
"Um… okay?" The blond stood and slowly followed Shizune out of the room.
Current time frame, night time at the Haruno House
Tsunade sighed in relief as she cradled the sleeping three-year-old in her arms. The memory of the meeting several hours ago unnerved her in a way she hasn't been since she saw her brother's corpse. This war is exhausting and if it continues, then anyone who shows the slightest bit of protentional for combat would be drafted into the ninja academy. The previous day they were disgusting drafting orphans and civilian borns to fill the gaps in their forces, today they're discussing peace treaties. She doesn't know if this war will continue but if it does then other children then just her godchildren are going to be in danger.
I can't let this war continue, Tsunade thought, her arms tightening ever so slightly around the toddler. I can't have her on the battlefield… at least not yet…
"Aunty Tsunade?" Tsunade turned to the sleepy rose-gold haired boy approaching with one hand rubbing against his eye. "Is Imoto sleeping yet?"
"Can't sleep without her, huh?" Tsunade chuckled
"I can too," Itsuki pouted at her.
"Uh-huh," Tsunade smiled at him.
"Oh, uh, Aunty Tsunade, can I ask you a question?"
"Hm? Sure," Tsunade smiled, adjusting the toddler on her chest carefully.
"Um, so how am I supposed to extract the juices of a Ryūmu fruit without getting poisoned by the spikes on its shell?" Tsunade stared at Itsuki, silently noting the herbology book tucked under one arm and the smudged ink on his face from where he fell asleep while writing notes. Something he apparently inherited from his father, who fell still asleep writing notes all the time.
"The Ryūmu fruit is very rare," Tsunade said thoughtfully, "Only the strongest of the Hattori clan could make the tree produce the fruit."
"But the fruit produced can be used to treat any kind injury," Itsuki yawned. "It can even produce near-instantaneous healing results if used properly."
"If' is a big word in this conversation," Tsunade hummed at him. "Are you trying to learn how to be a medic?"
"Having a medic on my team would be beneficial," Itsuki smiled shyly at her. "Both of my teammates are a little on the reckless side. Even if one doesn't show it most of the time."
"Haaaah, your ancestors are going to be SO proud of you," Tsunade sighed and shook her head with a gentle smile.
"Why?" Itsuki asked
"Because the Hattori clan invented healing through the usage of chakra," Tsunade smiled as she reached forward to shake the boy's rose-gold curls. "Before the creations of the five nations and their respective hidden villages, the Hattori clan were famous for their healing techniques. The very rare and few people who thought they could take a Hattori in as a slave were usually whipped out by a nearby Kekkei Genkai clan. The shinobi clans with bloodlines were, and still are, seriously overprotective of the Hattori clan. that's why when the Hattori clan had to give up their marriage with the Uzumaki clan so the Senju's and Uzumaki's could have peaceful grounds to walk on, they didn't think twice about it. Instead of marrying someone from the Uzumaki family, the Hattori clan heir married the female-Senju who had the strongest taijutsu capabilities. This brought peace between the Senju, Hattori, and Uzumaki families."
"What about the Uchiha? They're a founding clan too," Itsuki asked curiously, his stormy eyes big and round, seeking answers to all his questions.
"Because the Uchiha clan had a physical kekkei genkai, they admitted that they couldn't accept an outside marriage partner," Tsunade sighed. "unfortunately, despite their efforts, bringing someone into their clan will either produce a sterile individual or a—" Tsunade snapped her mouth shut, pressing her lips tightly together.
"Aunty?" Itsuki questioned. Tsunade stared down on Itsuki, understanding that he was seven and couldn't possibly understand all the delicate little problems that came with owning a bloodline.
"It just never ended well for the Uchiha, honey," Tsunade sighed. "No more questions about it, okay? The point is the three founding clans welcomed the Hattori and the Hyūga clan has supported the Hattori clan the longest. Please don't forget that."
"Yes aunty," Itsuki nodded solemnly, noting that her quick diversion and affectionate nickname were meant to distract him from what some unfortunate Uchiha-parent had to suffer from many decades ago.
"Now then, shall I leave you some books?" Tsunade asked, "As soon as the peace treaty is signed I'll be leaving. So I won't be able to teach you till your jonin instructor gets out of the hospital."
"Ah! You'll be my teacher until then?!" Itsuki asked excitedly, bouncing on his feet and tugging at the bottom of her shirt.
Damn those blue eyes, of course, she agreed.
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