Chapter 14: Another Fated Reunion

Author's Note: Chapter 14! We're one chapter away from the finale! Honestly, I want to just continue writing this part, but I know for a fact you guys will enjoy the second part more than this. I just want to thank everyone for their support thus far and those who will continue to support the story even as we move to Shippuden! That's enough of me ranting, but enjoy this chapter! Ancient - signing out!

"Mom…" Yorukō slowly said, slowly processing the sight of his mother before him. He swayed a little to the right, losing balance. Quickly recomposing himself before he fell, the smirk returned to his face as the teen slowly walked towards his mother, detaching himself from Aya. Sayuri for her part walked towards her son, her arms extended. When the two met, Sayuri grabbed Yorukō in a deep hug, one he quickly returned.

"Yorukō-kun…" Sayuri slowly replied, her eyes watering from the embrace with her son. The two stayed in the same position for a little longer before Yorukō broke away, much to Sayuri's displeasure. Yorukō for his part wanted to revel in his mother's embrace for a little longer but remembered his objective of going to the Leaf Village to reunite with Yuina and Kori.

"Mom… it's good to see you again." Yorukō remarked. He used his left hand and called Aya, the young girl scurrying to him almost immediately. Standing beside Yorukō, Aya and Sayuri looked at each before a sly grin began spreading across the latter's face.

"So, Yorukō-kun," Sayuri playfully said, softly elbowing her son in the chest, "which woman was the one to make me a grandma?"

Yorukō's expression was priceless, the teen falling on his back with a dumbfounded look on his face. This made Aya look at her fallen sensei, confusion etched all over her young face. Sayuri, upon seeing this began to laugh hard before falling on the ground while clutching her sides. After a short while, both Yorukō and Sayuri recovered and got back up before facing each other.

"Are you okay, sensei?" asked Aya, the young girl concerned for her sensei's well-being. Upon hearing how Aya addressed her son, Sayuri became more composed and collected.

"Sensei?" Sayuri asked, looking down at Aya before looking back at her son: "When did this happen?"

"I met her while I was on a… mission to put it lightly." Yorukō said.

"What kind of mission, my son?" Sayuri asked, wishing to know more.

"I'd rather not talk about it, at least not right now." Yorukō said, completely shutting the conversation off.

"O-Okay then, I can wait until you're comfortable." Sayuri said before turning her attention to Aya. The older woman knelt to play in the girl's hair to try and move on from the conversation she just had with her son. Aya, however, felt the same kind of warmth from Sayuri as she did with Yorukō, leading her to put her small hands on Sayuri's, causing the older woman's maternal instincts to kick in and grab Aya into a tight hug, much to Yorukō's confusion.

"Forgive me for saying this, but you were never this close with Kazuma and I when we were both respective kids, mom." Yorukō said, coming off a bit colder than he expected.

Sayuri let go of Aya immediately upon hearing Yorukō saying that, getting back to her feet and facing her eldest son, tears brimming from her eyes. She grabbed Yorukō into another tight hug, only difference this time being the amount of raw emotion being put into the hug. Yorukō for his part wanted to keep up his tone, but completely lost it in his mother's grip. After a few seconds, Sayuri let go of her son and faced him, tears still in her eyes.

"There's so much I could've did for you, Yoru-kun," Sayuri noted, tears still in her eyes: "more I could've did, more I could've said…"

"What are you talking about? We've always been together, right?"

"You're right, but..." Sayuri began, tears beginning to roll down her cheek: "it's all because of your dad because I couldn't do more."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I've been under his control for years now, and it's only recently I broke free from it, and it's all thanks to your note, Yoru-kun." Sayuri revealed.

"My note? How did my note 'break your control' with him?"

"It brought me back to reality, the reality that he caused me to lose out on many years with my sons."

"You're not making much sense, mom. What do you mean that you lost out on years with us? You've always been there, the distant mom that you were! How am I supposed to believe you?!" Yorukō finally snapped, his raw emotion leaking out towards his mother.

"I figured you'd say that. Here, why don't you try this?"

"Try what?" Yorukō questioned.

"Hit me with an Ice jutsu. Make it your strongest one."

"What does that have to do with anything, mom?! Better yet, now that I think about it, why ARE you here?!"

"If you'll actually do what I asked, this one time, I'll explain everything soon after." Sayuri told her son.

"But I could kill you!"

"Just do it, son." Sayuri told him. Almost immediately, Yorukō formed an ice sword and completely impaled his mother to a tree, tears flowing down his eyes. He removed the sword from his mother and broke it before turning to Aya.

"Come on, Aya. I don't want us to be here for much longer, so let's double-time it to the Leaf." Yorukō told his student.

"Not without me, you don't!"

Sayuri's voice caused Yorukō to freeze in fear, the teen questioning how she survived such an attack. Turning around, he noticed paper-like substances beginning to form in the wound he inflicted on his mother, Sayuri walking towards the pair. Aya ran behind her sensei in fear, hoping the situation doesn't escalate any further.

"How?!" Yorukō frantically asked: "I impaled you to a tree!"

"Now will you listen, Yoru-kun?" Sayuri gently said, her son numbly nodded. Getting his full attention, she continued: "For a really smart boy, it seems your judgement and intellect can really get clouded by your quick emotions and fail to read between the lines." She watched as Aya hid behind Yorukō, a small smile gracing her lips.

"She's really attached to you, don't you think?" Sayuri asked more out loud than directly to her son: "I've always wanted a daughter, but it looks like Aya-chan could do, don't you think?"

"You've always wanted a daughter?" Yorukō queried before gently grabbing Aya's hand, gesturing the young girl to his mother: "She won't hurt you, trust me." Aya nodded, returning to Sayuri. The older woman knelt to bring Aya closer to her for another hug."

"You see, Yorukō, I've been…dead for quite some time now." Sayuri finally admitted.

"Dead on the inside? I mean, being with my father could bring that on." Yorukō remarked.

"No, as in, actually dead. I'm a reanimation."

"WHAT?!" Yorukō bellowed, eyes wide and jaw slack: "How could you be dead? How long have you been dead? How are you here?!"

Taking a deep breath, Sayuri steadied herself, knowing this conversation would happen someday but not entirely prepared to tell her son: "I'm going to answer all of your questions in order, and please, let me finish, then all will come full circle." Yorukō nodded, prompting the older woman to continue: "You asked, 'how could I be dead?' Well, I… I committed suicide years ago. It was brought on by witnessing Kazuma run away from the treatment he received from the frost villagers, your father, and myself when I was initially under his genjutsu, and subsequently watching said father basically removing you from being in my life and rigorously train you since then. I couldn't take it, losing both rays of my life, and poisoned myself when you and your dad was asleep."

"I…I never realized losing both of us meant losing yourself too, mom." Yorukō said with tears in his eyes: "I'm sorry you had to endure that."

"It was never your fault, Yoru-kun. I blame your father. Well, as for the 'how long I've been dead', well, since you were taken to be trained from you were four, so for the past thirteen years."

Yorukō stayed silent as he processed this information from his mother, his blood boiling to an all-time high, his rage increasing by the second towards his father. He contemplated changing his course from the Leaf and head to the Frost to confront his father about all of this but stopped himself as he knew he would not leave that confrontation unscathed, let alone with his life. He brought his attention back to his mother as she continued answering his question.

"As for 'how am I here', well, that's a two-part question that you deserve to know both parts for." Sayuri informed her son once she got his attention again. She took a deep breath, prepared to tell him the entire story behind her resurrection. Before she started, she got to her feet and faced Yorukō.

"It's a really, really long story. Where do you need to be again?" Sayuri asked.

"The Leaf Village." Yorukō simply replied.

"Alright, I'll tell you while we're on the way there." Sayuri explained. Yorukō nodded.

"Um, sensei?" Aya finally spoke, catching both their attention. "Guren-san told me to give you this whenever I can." She took a bronze scroll from her pocket and handed it to Yorukō. "She said it contains your belongings from when you were first here."

"Thanks." Yorukō said as he took the scroll: "We have to get a move on to the leaf; we've been here for too long."

Meanwhile in the Leaf Village…

"I wonder if Yorukō-kun is okay…it's been over a week since we last saw him." Yuina said.

"I'm sure he's fine, he promised us he's going to return to us, right? We have to believe in him." Kori reminded her cousin.

"You're right." Yuina responded before thinking to herself: "I really want to see you again, Yorukō-kun. I want us to be more than just friends."

Kori had a similar thought in mind: "I want to see you one more time, Yorukō-kun. Maybe we can start over properly this time?"

"Get on my mother's back, Aya." Yorukō instructed to the girl: "She's grown attached to you, and I'm still in pain from that fight." She nodded, walking to Sayuri who knelt and allowed her to climb her back. Once the girl was secured on Sayuri's back, Yorukō took off, his mother following suit.

"So, how are you here?" Yorukō asked as he jumped on a branch.

"Well, it happened supposedly a day after I killed myself. It felt instantaneous to me – one moment I was in another land completely, devoid of negative emotions, the next moment I felt like I was being dragged back to somewhere, and when I opened my eyes, I saw your father standing beside this…snake-looking person. Before I could say or even do anything, I felt like I was being stabbed with a kunai behind the neck, but I didn't feel any blood. Turns out, that same kunai I felt I was stabbed with had a form of binding tag onto it which bound my real emotions and replaced them with fabricated ones your father and accomplice made, causing me to become more distant. It was similar to the genjutsu he controlled me with to treat Kazuma badly." Sayuri explained, jumping on a branch beside her son.

"So, you've basically been dead my whole childhood?"

Sayuri nodded. "Yes, and it seems as though the binding tag was supposed to be permanent, until I saw your note. It had me beginning to question most of these fabrications that were placed on me, which started to corrupt the binding tag placed inside of me. You see, the sheer emotion and distraught you put in that note, wishing you didn't have to go through with killing your comrades and deserting the village showed me that the village is failing, and how much I failed as a mother, causing my true emotions to resurface. Because of my knowledge with the jutsu used to reanimate me, I used the proper hand signs to break free from your father's control and influence, leaving me to have this immortal body, limitless chakra, and my own free will, immediately prompting me to come and look for you. So, with everything said and done, it's all thanks to you, Yoru-kun."

"Wait a sec, dad doesn't know you've broken free and fled the village?" Yorukō asked.

Sayuri shook her head. "No, and I feel that when he does, it won't be pretty for anyone involved, especially with why I'm here."

"I thought you already said why you're here, I'm lost…" Yorukō said.

"I did, but there's more to it. Ice release didn't originally belong to your father. It belonged to me." The older woman revealed.

"That's shocking to say the least, but how is he so good at it?"

"I taught him the basics of the release, after all, you really only just need wind and water to attempt to create ice. He just got lucky on the first try. Upon seeing him master it the first time, I said to myself, why not teach him more techniques?" Sayuri explained.

Yorukō nodded in understanding, despite part of him disagreeing with it. It wasn't long until he saw large gates in front of him, two silhouettes standing there as guards. "We're close to the Leaf. Hopefully there isn't any funny business when we get there, I'd hate for us to start an incident." Turning to his mother, the teen continued: "I'm guessing there's more to the story, so when we get settled in, I want us to finish this conversation. One final thing, you need to right a certain wrong in the Leaf."

"What do you mean?" Sayuri asked, confused.

"Kazuma is in this village. Explain to him what you told me, give him some closure – and do NOT tell him about your current…status. Water it down to Reiki's parts." Yorukō explained.

"Understood." Sayuri said, completely understanding that last line.

The trio finally arrived at the gate where they were met by two guards, Kotetsu and Izumo. The pair looked at the three outsiders, particularly Yorukō for an extended period of time. After an uncomfortable silence, the pair finally stopped looking at them intently, opting to just stand there with their weapons in hand.

"What business do you have in the Leaf?" Izumo asked.

"I'm here to seek asylum and amnesty within Konohagakure no Sato, and to provide intel to your Hokage." Yorukō respectfully answered. "These guys aren't really much, but if I show any sign of aggression, things may escalate for me, and depending on how far it escalates, I may be dealing with Tsunade herself."

"Who are you?" Kotetsu asked.

"Who I am is above your pay grade, but I'll be happy to tell you…once I speak to the Hokage." Yorukō said with a hint of authority.

"Until we can get an I.D. on you, I'm afraid I can't let you pass, any of you for that matter." Izumo explained. "There's been too many things that happened over the past year, and we'd rather not risk any more attacks or invasions. Please understand."

"Guess we're doing this, then." Yorukō thought to himself while slowly shifting to grab one of his swords.

"It's fine, you two. Let them pass." A feminine voice said. Kotetsu and Izumo turned around to see Tsunade, the Hokage being accompanied by Sakura and Shizune.

"But, Lady Tsunade-" Kotetsu said before being cut off.

"They can all accompany me back to my office. I've been expecting him anyway."

"Understood." Izumo and Kotetsu said in unison, moving to the side so that the trio could follow Tsunade as she walked back to her office. Looking around, Yorukō, Sayuri, and especially Aya was stunned at the beauty of the village, the trio feeling that it definitely lived up to their reputation. They also felt a certain warmth within being in the village, something they haven't felt before. Taking occasional glances, Yorukō noticed there were villagers who looked at them strangely, some talking amongst themselves, but the teen shrugged it off, citing them as irrelevant.

Some time passed, and the group finally arrived at the Hokage's mansion, something Yorukō cited as one of – if not the most beautiful and structured building of the whole village. Looking to the sides, the teen noticed shinobi standing guard at the gate and at the door, each of them ready to strike at the first sign of aggression. The trio followed the Hokage into her office, where she took a seat to face them.

"I know who you are, Yorukō Hasegawa. Based off the description Kazuma and co. has given me, it was safe to assume it was you. What I was not expecting are your two guests, they I do not know. Mind explaining that to me?" said Tsunade.

"The older woman (who doesn't look that much older) is my mother, Sayuri Hasegawa. She intercepted me on my way to the Leaf and wishes to assimilate into your ranks as well." Yorukō explained before pointing at Aya: "The little girl is Aya. I intercepted her while I was on a mission for someone and decided to take her on as a student."

"I see." Tsunade replied, resting her head on her palms: "Well, I will grant you all citizenship in the Leaf Village, but you will need to join our ranks, Yorukō. If you can do that, I can have Aya join the ninja academy and for your mother-"

"I don't want to join your ranks, Lady Tsunade. I'd be more comfortable training my son if that's okay." Sayuri cut in.

"Understood. Wait, you're Kazuma's mother as well, correct?" Tsunade asked.

"That is correct."

"The reports said you passed away thirteen years ago. How are you still here?" Tsunade queried.

It was at this moment when Yorukō took a black orb out of his coat pocket, alerting everyone in the room to be on guard. Slamming the orb to the ground, multiple privacy seals appeared over the room, sealing the ability for anyone on the outside to hear this conversation. "Apologies, but I do not want anyone outside of this room to know this bit of information." Tsunade nodded before turning back to Sayuri.

"I was reanimated by my husband through Orochimaru." Sayuri told the Kage.

"That snake…" Tsunade said, gritting her teeth.

"Well, if we're done here, I think I need to discuss how we'll be living here, yes?" Yorukō said, catching Tsunade's attention.

"Funny you should say that, two girls who know you got ahold of a small estate within the Leaf after putting both their mission earnings into it." She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled an address onto it. "It's big enough to hold all of you guys, and I think they're both expecting you." Handing the paper to Yorukō, the trio bowed to the Hokage before Yorukō removed the privacy seals and left the room, the pair following him.

"Can we really trust him, Lady Tsunade? This Yorukō guy?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah, he has good intentions, but I couldn't shake off this oppressive, dark chakra inside of him." Sakura added.

"We can trust him. Despite that feeling – I felt it too, I believe that he'll be strong enough to protect the ones who care for him and those he cares for, and I get the vibe that he's someone who doesn't go back on his word, which reminds me of Naruto. A lot."

With Yorukō and co…

"I think it's here." Yorukō said, standing in front of a gate. Looking up, he noticed a two-story house with two types of garden on each side of the grass, one blue and one purple. Going past the gate, Aya and Sayuri followed behind Yorukō as he stood in front of the main door before knocking it.

"I swear, if its ShinobiMail guys again I'm going to-" Kori irritatingly said as she opened the door, but her mood did a whole turn when she saw Yorukō. "Y-Y-Yorukō-kun? Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me, Kori. Did you miss me?" Yorukō asked. Almost immediately, the girl jumped at him, grabbing him in a hug, Yorukō reciprocating it."

"I thought we lost you! It was a long time, you know! You even had Yuina worried!" Kori said erratically.

"I'm here now to stay. I kept my promise to the both of you." Yorukō told the girl, letting her go. Seeing Yuina inside sitting in a chair and reading some form of book, Yorukō stepped in the house, noticing the designs being similar to the Frost Village. Noticing that she hasn't seen him yet, the teen placed his hands Yuina's eyes.

"Guess who?"

Yuina immediately froze up in her chair at the sound of her crush. It took a while before Yuina raised her hands and placed hers over his, ecstatic he kept his promise to return to them. Slowly getting out of her seat, Yorukō removed his hands from her eyes to face her directly when Yuina closed the distance between them and crashed her lips onto his. The feelings she felt towards him reached at a fever pitch, her tongue aggressively trying to gain entrance. He allowed her in, the teens' tongues dancing together in harmony as the two continued to lock lips for the next couple of moments, time slowing down with each kiss between the two. Yorukō broke away after some time, much to both their disappointments but had equally content looks on their faces.

"Welcome home, Yorukō-kun."

And the chapter ends here! Regrettably, I wanted to add more in this but I felt that here would be a good stopping point. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and the first part of the series ends in the next chapter. I want to thank everyone for their continued support so far, and I'll see you all in the next one!

Ancient: Signing out!

Next Chapter: How I really feel about you