ššššš ššš šš ššššš š ššššš šš ššš ššš as the two men walked alongside a young Yumi. Her golden eyes darted around the village taking in its aura and not feeling welcomed. Everyone they passed had a gleeful glint in their eyes and a smile pulling at their face. Even Minato had a smile on his face, Fugaku's remained stoic.
Yumi felt like an outsider already. How could people smile at such a time like this? There was a killer out on the loose and yet they had no idea. They didn't witness the flames of the previous night that Yumi had to watch as they torched her house to the ground. They didn't see the blood that spilled from her brother's neck and father's head. And they didn't have their last remaining bit of hope crushed when they heard that their mother had not made it through the attack.
Kids they had passed were surrounded by friends or hanging on to their parents. Yumi had envy for them all. Just yesterday at this time she was setting the table for dinner and now she's in a totally new location. She hasn't even had time to process it all.
Minato glanced down at her from time to time feeling a pang of guilt seeing her sad eyes. He had been feeling this guilt the moment he saw her come out of the burning house. If only they had made it sooner then maybe they wouldn't be in this situation.
Her eyes finally drifted away from the happier villagers and over to the two men leading her. Her quiet voice only made Minato feel worse, "Where are we going?"
He pointed on ahead towards a large red building. The building stood high on the ground with large singular walls poking out at the top almost like a crown. But Yumi couldn't help but compare the building to a plump tomato. In front of the top floor a large painted symbol of fire was glowing in the afternoon sun. Behind the red building was a large mountain with three faces sculpted next to each other.
"We're going up to see our leader and give him the rundown on what happened on our mission," Minato's voice was kept lighthearted knowing that she was just a kid. "But don't worry, he already knows about your situation."
Yumi just responded with a nod and went back to observing the village.
It was certainly different from her own village. All the buildings being on top of each other and small walkways that the villagers crowd. Yumi hadn't seen it yet, but the village was much bigger than this. This was just the main city, still her village's main city was not this packed. She was worried she wouldn't be able to adjust by the end of her stay.
She was worried that she would always remain an outsider.
They continued on with walking forward, going up plenty of steps until finally they were at the front of the red building. Yumi's small head had to go back all the way just to be able to see the top of it.
Fugaku stepped inside first with Minato following close behind. Yumi got distracted for a moment but caught up quickly. When she came in there were two hallways next to her that flowed down with the circular sculpt of the building. The hallways were littered with doors leading to different rooms that she could see people coming in and out from with papers in their hands or their bags as they scurried off home for the night.
She continued following the men up a flight of stairs that led to the second floor which was essentially the same as the first floor except these people seemed to be wearing dark uniforms and had stern looks painted on their faces.
Then the men took her up the final flight of stairs where she could finally go down the twisting hallway. There weren't that many doors up here seeing as how it was the smaller part of the building, but it was the most important part because their leader was here.
Yumi was prepared to act respectful just like her dad had taught her if they had other diplomatic guests just like last night when she met Minato and Fugaku. But instead of going inside the final door they had stopped at, Minato grabbed her shoulder gently as Fugaku went inside.
She glanced up at Minato with a confused stare wondering why she couldn't go in with Fugaku, "What's in there?"
"Our leader, the Hokage, is in there. We just thought you would like to stay out here while Fugaku relays the events of yesterday to him," He wasn't sure if he should smile at the end of that sentence. He wanted Yumi to feel comfortable around him so he kept the gentle voice and tried to smile as much as he could, but it was hard watching the girl he could've saved.
"Oh," Her face fell back to the heart wrenching frown from before while her back leaned against the wall.
He wanted to be able to bring up the mood somehow, but his mind was running blanks, "But you can see him once he's done." His smile was hard to keep up when she just remained with a quiet and sad face.
The two of them remained in an awkward silence the rest of the time Fugaku was inside. Minato almost felt relief when the door finally opened and he no longer had to try and think of a good conversation for them while waiting. Fugaku pushed the door open all the way so that the two could come in.
Yumi felt a rush of nerves run through her. She felt like she had forgotten everything her dad and mom taught her about manners at that moment. What if she said the wrong thing? Would they say, "Fuck you" and send her back into danger?
The man in front of her was busy staring out the window at the setting sun. He was dressed in a long, red robe with a white cloak hanging over it. When he turned towards her, she noticed that he was a lot older than the two men that had been with this whole day. Wrinkles pulled at his eyes and outlined his lips. Smoke grew out of his pipe that he was holding in his mouth.
Minato bowed towards the Hokage, making Yumi follow his actions immediately. The Hokage pulled his seat out and sat down behind his desk. He pulled himself forward allowing his elbows to rest on the desk.
"Good evening, Yumi," His voice was raspy, probably from the smoking he had done over the years.
"G...Good evening, sir," She shouldn't be as worried as she is. Her uncle was a king after all so she should already be aware of all the formalities.
"I just thought it would be a good idea to formally welcome you as a guest of the Hidden Leaf Village," Though raspy, his voice was just as gentle as Minato's with her.
"Thank you...sir."
His attention was then directed towards Minato, letting her relax for a moment and letting her drop the diplomatic attitude.
"I had someone send a message to Kushina letting her know what is going on," The Hokage relayed to Minato.
She turned back to him with another confused stare. He seemed to relax immensely at that information, even a little smile creeped up on his face and this time it didn't seem forced, "Thank you, I was worried about her reaction to bringing Yumi home." She was still a little confused on who this other woman was, but she would just have to wait and find out. "Well, we should get going now before it gets too late."
Minato once again grabbed Yumi's shoulders, directing her towards the door.
The Hokage nodded and waved them off, "Yes, I wish you all a good night, and Yumi," Minato stopped so that she could turn around and hear what he had to say. "I'm sorry about what happened to your family. You have my condolences."
"Welcome!" A bright smile mixed together with burning red hair was the first thing Yumi was greeted with when entering Minato's home.
Night had befallen the village now so only artificial light was illuminating his home. Finally being in her final destination, all Yumi wanted was to lay down and finally cry. But she had to wait just a few more minutes, even if it was starting to get more difficult to hold in.
His home felt so warm and comforting, almost like a tight hug. All the furniture, the paint, the scent, it just mixed together so well. The kitchen was right in front of her with the table already set with warm food most likely cooked by the new woman. She was going to assume that this is Kushina.
It all felt nice, but Yumi felt like she didn't belong there.
Minato moved away from Yumi's side for the first time within that whole day. He went to Kushina's side and wrapped an arm around her waist. The way their eyes met sent her back to her parent's love. It was strong and just as warm as the house she was standing in.
"Yumi, this is my wife, Kushina," His voice actually seemed happy for the first time today. "I hope you don't mind that she's here."
She was shaking her head as Kushina made her way over to the young girl. Her smile fit the one that only a mother would have. Gentle, loving, and comforting. Her hair burned bright and grew down to her back. Her eyes were a dark blue just like the sea with its tender glow. Yumi almost hated her in a way. She didn't want to see another woman as a motherly figure. She had a perfectly fine one just yesterday.
"I made dinner if you would like to eat with us," And if her smile wasn't enough, her voice was just the cherry on top. "And after that I have some clothes for you to borrow for pajamas until we can get you new ones."
Yumi's hands nervously bunched up in balls, being in a new home, village, and surrounded by new people all in the mass of one day was more than enough to send her over the edge, but she was trying her best to keep it all together.
"I would like to eat," Her eyes couldn't meet Minato or Kushina's kind stare.
Kushina led Yumi over to her seat as Minato sat down in his own chair. After being seated, Kushina ran over to her own seat so that they could all start digging in. Staring down at the food, Yumi's stomach begged for it. It looked absolutely delicious and so warm.
She took a quick glance at the married couple and saw the pitiful stare they were giving each other. Yumi tried to ignore while she started to cut into the meat, but it was poking at her wall she was working so hard to keep up.
It was the only stare that people had given her today. All day it was just a repeat of pity over and over again. Just last night she was eating dinner with her family. They were laughing and smiling together and now they're gone and there's no chance of them returning.
They are now being reduced to a simple, "I'm sorry for your loss" and pity stares.
She wrapped her lips around the warm piece of meat and that was just the final piece for her to collapse. It was so good and tasted like the freshest piece of meat she had ever tried. Yet, she felt as though she didn't deserve it.
Out of everyone in her family, she was the only one left alive. The useless one. The one who won't achieve anything in her life. The one who was already doomed for failure. Everyone else was going to do things with their lives and were already on that course to achieving their goals, but it was taken from them and now she was the only one left.
She had to leave the rest of her family for strangers and a village she doesn't belong in. She wasn't even sure if this was the right choice to keep her safe. What if it doesn't work out? What if she just ends up dead anyway?
As the fork left her mouth, a few tears left her eyes. A short intake of air was needed as she no longer could hold her composure. The tears fell fast down onto her clothes as she tried to eat the piece of meat.
Minato and Kushina quickly stared at each other unsure of what to do. Kushina slid her hand over to her and whispered her name softly, "Yumi..."
Yumi shook her head as she took more gasp of air. She tried her best to respond, but the sobs wanted to make it impossible for her to talk, "Th...Thank you for the food. It's really good."