Chapter Fifteen
Kakashi at one time might have been bored being Kushina's shadow and protection detail, but it provided him ample distraction from the personal hell that had been training other students. It wasn't that he didn't like training the next generation, but he shuddered at the thought of any of the bright-eyed kids suddenly being called up to go to war. The mere thought of a young life ending sooner than it was supposed to sent chills to his toes. And of them could get cut in half, crushed under a boulder, or have someone punch their hand through their ribs.
He shook out of the negative thought as he followed Kushina through the crowded market. The nights in the red-light district with Jiraiya and Hiashi paid dividends as he moved through the crowd, just another nameless face in the distance. As Kushina rounded the corner, she waved to a familiar figure – Mikoto Uchiha. The young woman carried in a sling her new baby boy: Sasuke. Hiashi stood off, careful to remain out of sight but not out of hearing range of Mikoto and Kushina.
"Let's hope they grow up to be friends!" Kushina said excitedly rubbing her now massive baby bump. Kakashi was less than enthused by Kushina's hopeful statement. The clan as a whole were arrogant and conniving. Not to mention uncaring. Kakashi thought of Itachi, whom he'd paired up with recently. The boy was the most down to earth of all of them, except maybe Izumi or Mikoto. Even then, he stared with lifeless eyes, a dolls eyes, from the great degree of neglect he'd face from his father. Imagine how Obito's life might have been different if he'd had parents like Kushina and Minato!
The thought was less invasive, but still unpleasant. While they had bickered endlessly, Kakashi still considered Obito a friend and teammate. Kushina was the closest thing the boy had ever had to a real mom, but he frequently chaffed under the sometimes tough-love she'd given him. Obito was sloppy, frequently careless, and Kushina never hesitant to point it out. The difference between Fugaku and Kushina was that Kushina actually gave a shit if the boy lived or died. To Fugaku, death on a mission was unavoidable, especially to those he considered weak. It came to a great shock that Obito would die trying to rescue a friend.
"You can come out now, Kakashi," Kushina called as she made down the street for home.
"Kushina," he closed the interval between them, "you shouldn't be calling me out while I'm guarding you!"
"Kakashi," she shook her head, "you've been nothing but an excellent bodyguard for over eight months now. I can't keep letting you hide there like a shadow without acknowledgement," she smiled.
"Kushina, it puts you in jeopardy!" Kakashi protested.
"Kakashi, what's the worst threat you've had to deal with for me in the past few months?"
"Admittedly, nothing worse than a few purse snatchers who chose the wrong woman to rob," he said, smirking behind his mask.
"See?" she patted him on the back, "Soon, you'll be done being a guard and will get a chance to be an uncle."
"Kushina, the baby," he started.
"Naruto," she stopped him, "his name is Naruto," she corrected.
"Naruto," he stumbled, "you, and Minato are the closest thing I have to family left! If something were to happen…" Kakashi fought back tears, feeling his left eye burning again; it always was worsen in a heightened emotional state.
"Hey, hey," Kushina groaned as she hunched down to meet his eyes. "Kakashi, you're the closest thing I have to a son, and the closest thing Naruto will have to a big brother or an uncle when he's born." She gently wiped away a stray tear down his cheek, "If there is something that has you concerned, I'm listening." She smiled, "Tell me, son, what's wrong?"
Being called, "Son," was not a natural thing for Kakashi. Since taking over security detail, he'd been living with the family in the spare room next to Naruto's soon-to-be room. They'd shared meals, and they'd shared conversation. It was a precious tendril of normalcy in Kakashi's life, and he didn't want to jeopardize it. So quit being a wuss, she won't throw you out if you tell her. "Kushina, you asked me what we'd dealt with the last few months, right?"
"Yes?" she stared with her concerned violet eyes.
"That's just it, we've seen nothing," he replied.
"Kakashi?"
"If I were tasked with abducting you, or… eliminating you…"
"Go on," she commanded.
"I would have struck by now." He shrugged, "I don't want to sound paranoid."
"Kakashi, be paranoid, that's your job," she said, "What did you leave unsaid."
"If they wanted you dead or alive, they would have struck by now."
"You're worried about the baby?" fear carved its way across her face.
"You'll be at you weakest, and Minato and the midwives will be using everything they've got to suppress Nine-Tails. Of course," he struggled to say the next words, "it also means anyone who knows about Nine-Tails would be in the best position to extract him!"
Kushina's face curled in horror. "You think that's why no one has made a pass at me?"
"It's what I'd do, Kushina," he said grimly, "I-I'm not trying to scare you!"
"You don't have to," she shook her head. "I think we should talk to Minato."
"Kushina…" Now or never. "Would you reconsider giving birth at the Hospital or at home?"
"Kakashi, we talked about this; in the event I'm too weak or something goes wrong, Nine-Tails getting out would be letting a living, breathing weapon of mass destruction loose. It could kill everyone in the village in short order, and we don't have much in the way of things that could stop it."
"I know that, but the isolated safehouse is just that, too isolated!" He was starting to become a bit frantic, "What if B decides to rematch your husband, and Kumo decides to rip up the armistice? What better way to kick off a renewed war than by capturing or killing our ace in the hole? What better way to blackmail us into negotiations than snatching the Hokage's baby?"
"Kakashi…"
"Kushina, please…"
"I can't risk a delivery here, but I do agree, we need to take appropriate precautions," her eyes remained cold, "I'll talk to Minato to beefing up security, making sure we have a full ANBU squad on hand."
"Kushina," Kakashi felt his chest tighten, "after this week, we should also clear your social calendar, and end all public appearances until after Naruto is born."
She stood up, "This is going to be hell to pay in social circles and the tabloids."
"Kushina, anybody with even basic knowledge of pregnancy can guess you have a month, two at most. The closer we get, the easier it will be for someone to guess your due date."
"All right, you win. After this week, I'll go to the safehouse with the protection detail and lay low until everything is ready."
"Kushina…"
"Yes, son?" she smiled despite the clear chill in her eyes.
"Thanks for listening!" he said.
"Thanks for worrying!"
Akemi struggled down the hallway, waddling as she carried the load that was her baby daughter resting atop her pelvis. Given her relatively lean frame, even a relatively small change in her body shape severely upset her normally graceful movements. As she crossed in front of a mirror in the hallway, she caught a glimpse of herself. My god, I'm wide as a house! She sighed as she rubbed her outsized baby bump. Much had changed since the duel in early April. Her body had changed, the garden, now teeming with life, had changed. Sadly, Hiashi is changing.
It wasn't that he was disappointed that he was having a daughter, he'd made that clear. Hiashi was struggling to affect meaningful change in the clan as the elders, most holdovers from Hattori's era, were less than receptive to changes in clan marriage and reaching out into the community. Between the stress of dealing with the clan elders and his daughter's impending birth, there was no shortage of things causing him sleepless nights and ulcer-inducing days.
"Goddammit, you incompetent wench!" Hattori had changed, too. But not for the better. As Akemi strolled past his room, he could hear the old man chastising his nurse like a wild dog barking at prey beyond reach. A wounded animal with a bark worse than his bite, now.
She couldn't blame him for being bitter; the once robust man had lost almost all his muscle mass, and his once chiseled chest and stomach now sagged from long months of inactivity. Hiashi's gentle fist strike had caused a serious disruption of old man Hattori's electrical nodes that controlled his heart. At the same time, the contusion of the strike shook loose a vulnerable plaque in a vital coronary artery causing a heart attack. Had Lord Fourth not been present, Hattori would have died well before reaching the Hospital. He might have done us a favor.
Akemi swallowed the horrible thought, along with acid working back up her throat. With the amount of damage the injury had caused to his heart, it would have been a death sentence to throw the old man out, and Hiashi was not that kind of man. At least some things haven't changed.
"Akemi!" Yukio called from the end of the hallway, carrying her year-old son, "Kushina is here!"
Akemi renewed her pace as the thought of seeing her friend, due in about two weeks. As she reached the sitting room, Kushina sprawled back in an armchair, smiling wide, "Akemi!" She moved to get up.
"Kushina, please, don't get up!" Akemi raised a hand. "With how close you are, I'm in no position to deliver," Akemi groaned as she sat across the coffee table from Kushina, "if your boy loses his patience."
"Ha! I wouldn't put it past Naruto to do something like that," she laughed, rubbing her stomach. "How about your girl?"
"Hinata?" Akemi looked down at her own bump, "She's kicking more and more; I keep reminding myself this will be worth it…" Hinata interrupted on cue, "…once I'm holding my baby girl!"
"Hinata," Kushina smiled, "such a beautiful name."
An attendant with black hair and a cherubic smile walked in, carrying a tray of tea. "Ladies, would you care for some refreshment?"
"Thank you very much," Akemi gestured to the coffee table. The attendant poured each lady a cup of tea. Akemi turned her attention back to Kushina, "And thank you for the compliment." She rubbed her stomach, "I hope my little sunflower comes to know her Aunt Kushina like family."
"Hopefully," Kushina beamed, "they'll both live in a world more peaceful than the one we grew up in!"
Akemi couldn't be sure, but Hinata seemed to bounce at Kushina's statement. "Maybe if we're real lucky, they'll take a shine to one another!"
"That would be something," Kushina grinned, "Hinata Hyūga and Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Ladies," The attendant interrupted, "will there be anything else you require?"
"No, thank you, miss…"
"Hanabi," the young lady smiled as she bowed, "I'm from a cadet branch of the family."
"Thank you, Hanabi," Akemi said, "You're dismissed." The young lady bowed and left. Hanabi, also a pretty name.
The rain soaked Himawari as she stalked her target from the vantage point in Senju Park. This was it. If she screwed up, the amount of damage she might cause was unfathomable. It's not too late to go back. You could accept the future you came from and all the pain that Mom and Dad lived through. You could let grandma and grandpa die and never live to see their children become genin, never see them become heroes, and never see them become parents.
Kakashi ran past on the way to the Hokage's office. Dad's office. She knew the place like the back of her hand, and she knew the conversation about to happen in her sleep. It all came down to one decision, one single detail and everything would change. A single brushstroke and a painting goes from priceless to worthless. A simple kind word or a sinister word, and a person becomes a hero or villain. One critical moment, and the future that is becomes the future that might have been. Himawari ran to her position just out of view of the office and activated her Byakugan. Okay, time to see how well I learned this, Mirai!
Himawari pressed outward with her enhanced vision, and the conversation replayed.
"Lord Hokage!" Kakashi bowed, waiting for Minato to return the bow. Minato replied in kind, and Kakashi only began to rise once Minato had risen fully.
"Kakashi, for the millionth time," grandpa said, "this is an informal assignment, no need for ANBU formality." Minato raised his hands to placate his bodyguard. "You're practically going to be an uncle in a day or two!"
"More like a few hours, sir," Kakashi spoke out of breath from having run all the way from the safehouse.
"In that case, I think it's about time for me close up shop and head over! How is Kushina?" Minato exclaimed excitedly.
"First contractions started about the time I left – too intense to be another false labor."
"If you ever give up being ANBU," Minato laughed, "You could make a heck of a midwife!" Kakashi gave his rare smile concealed by his mask.
"Well, shall we get going then?" Kakashi asked.
"Kakashi, you've been watching Kushina every day for practically all nine months! Nothing is going to happen!" Minato exclaimed, sounding self-assured. "Why don't you take the night off?" he asked
Shock stretched out on Kakashi's face, "Lord Hokage, are you sure that is…" Kakashi hesitated, clearly not trying to sound irreverent, "wise?"
"Kakashi, is there any reason the other ANBU on duty tonight can't provide adequate security on top of the protective seals already in place?"
"No," he replied
"And has there been any suspect activity lately in the village?" Minato asked, confident the answer would be negative.
"No, not exactly…" Kakashi's voice trailed off, suggesting not all was said.
"Not exactly?" Minato furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" The ember is there, get ready to fan it into a flame!
"It's just," Kakashi hesitated, voice full of apprehension, "that's just the thing. When she had that false labor last week, suddenly everything went dark. Even petty crime suddenly dried up for about a day or two."
Grandfather again pondered the situation, ready to dismiss Kakashi's concerns. NOW! NOW! Few people knew that a genjutsu could be extended by the effect of Byakugan. Himawari prepared to make her grandfather see the horrific things she'd seen as she'd passed through time, as she'd watch him and Grandma expire, begging Lord Third to look after their son – the future Seventh Hokage. The more horrible, more terrifying the better!
She latched onto the tiny flicker of concern burning within him, fanning it into a blazing inferno. She fed him the image of the village in flames. Before Minato, she projected the vivid image of Kushina and him lying dead. Their son was wailing into the hellish night as the village burned around him; the specter of the freshly sealed Nine-Tails loomed over the crying baby and the burning village.
"Lord Minato, are you all right?" Himawari let the genjutsu fade for the moment, allowing Kakashi's soft voice to pierce the veil. Minato reached for his chest, and Himawari and again fed him the sensation of Nine-Tails long, razor-sharp claw passing through his chest and stomach. On cue, Minato's breathing became laborious, and he doubled over like he'd been impaled through his stomach. "Lord Hokage!" Kakashi yelled, his eyes growing wide.
Himawari ending Grandpa's suffering and her own as she dispelled the genjutsu. Minato's breathing eased. The cold, haunting terror remained chiseled on his face. Sweat stained his armpits and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Minato stared blankly out the window with deep fear and contemplation on his face. His lips moved as she read the silent words they spoke, "You know something, you're right," Grandpa regained his composure and straightened himself as if the event hadn't happened. "Maybe an extra set of eyes on overwatch is a good idea."
"If you're not comfortable," Kakashi raised his hands in surrender. Uncle Kakashi, goddammit no!
Minato's lips moved, trying to exude calm and composure despite his own unease. "No, if there is even a remote chance you are right, then their best chance at attacking any of us will be in a few hours, when she can't fight back, and I may be unable to as well."
"Attacking the enemy when he is weakest," Kakashi nodded, "It's what I'd do." What a comforting thought.
"Look, if we're wrong, I'll give you an extended leave," Minato said.
"And if I'm right?" Kakashi asked, now looking concerned in his own right.
"Then we do our best!" Minato nodded, "It's all we can do. A ninja never gives up!" Minato walked to the coat rack near the door, donning the Hokage's white jacket. "Come on, we have a baby to deliver!" The two dashing men left the office, bound for a future uncertain.
It's time to go! Himawari felt the lead weight in her stomach. She had possibly changed thirty-nine years of history in ways she couldn't fathom. Two days, two days should be enough! Her chakra would last long enough if she displaced forward that far. If she had to come back and undo everything she'd done, it would hold out that long – long enough to know if she'd saved her grandparents or if she'd damned the future into a cascade of falling dominos. HImawari displaced forward to October 12th, wondering what future awaited her.
Author's notes: Hello everyone, thank you for reading. As mentioned, the next chapter or two will retrace the opening chapters of Critical Moments, Volume I, albeit from different perspectives. I hope you've been enjoying this journey, and hopefully been enjoying my alternative cascade of events thus far. Thanks again for letting me put this long collection of ideas to paper.
-Adam