A/N: Remember you can always find me and see even more of my content, and see it earlier than anywhere else, over by a certain site that rhymes with Rate On, or a site known for its rather questionable questing practices, under the same name~
There's a lot to be said for the complications that a baby brings into the equation. There's even more to be said for the complication that a baby brings into the equation of a ninja family, especially the ninja family of the Big Cheese of all Ninja in the Land of Fire.
That said, there are moments that make it all worthwhile. And watching one of the most powerful men in the planet, both politically and in terms of ninja skills, look positively perplexed as his baby manages somehow multiply the baby food jar and somehow cover his entire face with a thick layer of goop…
That is priceless, a treasure beyond words, and as both myself and the cute little bundle of joy that is my baby laugh our asses off at the sight of daddy Minato discovering that he is not, in fact, immune to humiliation, I can only be satisfied, so deeply and completely that for a moment, I found peace.
And then Minato, after wiping his face, gets covered again, and it's chaos and laughing and joy and happiness all over again, and my baby giggles as I tickle and praise and support him, protecting him from his daddy's wrath.
Unfortunately, it's not all fun and games forever, all day, every day, in this household. Unfortunately, I am not able to just stay at home. Some part of me had never understood what it was that drove certain people to leave everything behind, and become a different person, but that all changed the first time I held this precious, vulnerable life, this little boy that depended so utterly and completely on me…
It really made it hard, to do what needed to be done. But it'd been fourteen months. The world's gears were turning, and already, problems were being caused.
Naruto was tuckered out after lunch and a good round of laughing his little heart off, and I put him to bed while Minato finished actually cleaning himself. A clone of mine dealt with the mess that remained, and another would stand guard over Naruto for the rest of the day. A bit of a pricey and problematic measure…
But I could never even imagine leaving my baby to anyone else, but myself. Maybe Minato if he was behaving that day.
Together, we returned to our daily lives, slowly but surely, settling into the new normal of a bigger family, and more importantly…
"How is he doing?" I asked, and we both knew who I was talking about.
"The therapy helps, but…" Minato sighed, running his hand through his long hair. "How could I've been so… so blind and stupid, to not notice how all my students were hurting so bad?"
I shook my head, swinging an arm over his shoulders and then forcing him closer to me. "Don't be regretful, be better," I said, then my hands met on his cheeks, and I forced him to look down so we could see eye to eye. Damned tall and leggy blond, too handsome for his own good. "They need you at your best, right? I need you at your best. Naruto needs you at your best."
He nodded, one of his hands grabbing mine.
I gave him the warmest smile I could. "What's important isn't that we screwed up, but the steps we're taking to fix those screw-ups!"
He nodded, now giving me a smile of his own. "Yeah, you're right," he said, then leaned forward, and we shared a short kiss, a peck really, but it recharged my batteries just as well! "I knew I was right in marrying you!"
"You might be a ninja Genius," I teased, poking him on the chest, "but your real wisdom is to know your wife is always right!"
"That it is," he said with a chuckle. "Speaking about which-"
I nodded, taking a deep breath. "The next step… is Danzo."
"Danzo?" Minato asked, frowning. "I thought… you don't mean to tell me his Root project is still-"
"Definitely is," I said. "I haven't been able to investigate much, let alone do so subtly, with Naruto requiring most of my time and attention…"
Not that it was even remotely easy to fish into any of it at all. Root operatives, after all, literally couldn't talk about being in Root even if they wanted to. Danzo was a meticulous and efficient piece of human scum, and he covered his tracks well and effectively.
"Whatever you need… you know Kakashi is itching to put some work in," Minato explained.
As much as I hated the idea of putting Kakashi to work on black ops – the boy needed time to rest his mind, to process the thought that the best friend he'd thought died was alive, that the boy who had become like a symbol to him was, in fact, a deeply wounded human being who had done things he'd regret the rest of his life in his grief induced insanity.
…
There just wasn't any other way. Very few people could be trusted to both be quiet and trustworthy. For a moment, I thought of a potential ally in this endeavor, and then I was reminded that he, too, was a victim like the rest.
The cute little boy that clung to Mikoto's side almost like a leech, who looked with love and wonderment to his baby brother, who referred to me as Auntie and who would have become a monster of this world's creation, who would become the very evil he sought to destroy, in order to tear it apart from within…
The things Itachi thought he'd had to do, to protect his village, his little brother, and even the world at large… Those could not be allowed to be repeated. A world that forced a little boy to become like that did not deserve to exist!
"You look scary, Kushi," Minato said, frowning. "Thinking hard thoughts?"
"Very hard, and for once it's not about your little friend," I said with a wink, trying to forcibly relax myself. "Though speaking about that, I could go for some salt ramen right about now."
"Well, I'm about to hurry on to my office; if you need me you know where to find me. I'll see if I can put some feelers out and sniff out anything. I'm afraid I've got my hands full trying to deal with Orochimaru right now."
Right… another torn on the village's side, for the time being still a nominal ally to it. Another of Danzo's victims, in a way, and a victim of this world as well, though arguably, Orochimaru had long since become a victimizer himself. I couldn't really hold sympathy for someone who made people suffer far worse than he ever did.
I kissed my husband once more, this time a proper kiss, with lots and lots of tongue, and grabbing at his firm and deliciously shaped ass, even as he yelped and protested and acted like he wasn't enjoying it just as much as I was. Unfortunately, I'd have no time to indulge in his body until later!
We parted ways, and I made a circuit of our house's perimeter, even as I made sure to activate every security seal I could. As much as I trusted the shadow clone left with Naruto, as it was me, I didn't consider myself the only and sum total of the protection Naruto needed. No… nobody would lay a single finger on my baby boy unless I explicitly allowed it! No way! Believe me!
As soon as I thought it was mostly safe, I put my hair up in a ponytail, got my flak jacket on, and my forehead protecting plate was fastened on its proper position. I headed to the academy, to perform my duties as a teacher.
Some might think, Kushina, why are you teaching children?
Well, children are cute little engines of chaos and destruction, that's why!
Well, that, and also because if you're looking for the sort of people who would predate on helpless children with no one to protect them, you'd go to the Ninja academy, since that's where the most vulnerable of the leaf's children would gather. Root had no need of those who could not become ninja, after all.
I didn't particularly mind becoming a teacher either, sharing my knowledge and abilities with the next generation and showing them the way, not just to become better ninja, but to become better people in general.
If anybody complains that I used my position as the Hokage's wife to muscle my way into being the one in charge of Itachi's class, they'd be getting punched!
On the way, I stopped by old man Ichiraku's stand, and got myself a bowl of quite salty ramen, just the way I liked it. "Aww, man, I thought I was catching up, but you seem to be getting better every day," I whined, as the stand's owner laughed openly.
His daughter, the cute as a button Ayame, grabbed the bowl I was done with, and was taking it back. "Oh? She's already helping out her old man?"
"I say teach'em the value of hard work," Teuchi commented. "Get them started on that ethic young and all."
I nodded. "And by value, I assume you mean what she's worth."
"Of course!" the stall owner said with a chuckle. "My little girl is a pro negotiator, she's already making more than most."
"Attagirl," I said, giving her a grin as she preened in response.
"Thank you, miss Kushina! Daddy is really bad at negotiating!" the little girl said, smiling a wide and open smile, though I couldn't help the amusement that came from the prominent hole where one of her teeth was missing. She looked entirely too smug and self satisfied.
"Maybe you're just too good, little miss," I said with a wink. "Gotta give your old man a break."
"Never!" Ayame cried, as she hurried into the back room.
Nice people, really.
Teuchi just served me more ramen, and we both laughed together, until it was time for me to start my classes. Fortunately, I am not just a ninja, I am a very badass ninja, and even though I only had five minutes to get to class, I made it with time to spare, appearing in a flurry of leaves, smoke and wind in the middle of class, even as a pair of late arrivals tried to pretend they weren't late.
I regarded my students with a grin, and scanned my eyes among them. Itachi was cute as always, and really, all these munchkin baby ninja were adorable scamps, still too young to really be obnoxious twats.
"Alright everybody, good morning, we'll pretend we're all on time today!" I said, placing my hands on my hips.
Classes went smooth, as always. Mostly I would just read from the curriculum and explain the various concepts they were expected to know, as best as I could from my experience. Truth be told, at this age, they were still too young in my opinion for half of the stuff I was supposed to be teaching them, Minato was working on a longer curriculum that the academy would adopt soon, and I was currently relying on help from the retired Third Hokage to get my ducks in a row.
He was an absolute godsend when it came to teaching my kiddies everything they needed to know, in the best way possible, and he'd even made handy dandy notes for me to follow, that explained some more concepts in greater detail, corrected misconceptions, and even gave me tips and pointers on how to deal with certain situations.
Like a class clown, at which point he said just make sure that said class clown isn't mean spirited, and if they're not mean spirited, make sure they understand respect, and that the class does as well.
Really, so much of it came down to just… respect.
One of the students, a girl with purple hair, raised her hand, and I pointed at her with a piece of chalk, as she prepared to answer the question I'd written on the board. "We started making Kunai from digging trowels," she said, preening a little, "because they were easier to conceal for farmers when preparing for an assassination!"
"That is indeed correct," I said, giving her a smile. "Miss Uzuki, you've been studying ahead, I see," I praised. "Keep that up."
The day went on like that, and I taught a variety of topics that day. Understanding history was important, if we weren't about to repeat it.
And I understood a certain sort of history, far more than most would give me credit for. I knew what I was looking for.
I scanned my students, and noticed some rather… troubling signs. Kids who were a little bit too pale. Kids who hesitated when it was time to give an honest emotional response. Kids who followed orders a bit too to the letter. Kids who sometimes would abruptly change subjects when certain topics bore a vague passing resemblance to certain words.
Kids who were picked up by others who shared similar complexion, and who were bland and nondescript and, when spoken to, would have a vaguely pleasant but ultimately empty veneer of civility.
"Gotcha bitch," I murmured to myself, as I found my very first plant.
It was time, now, to trace it back to its roots, as an older root Operative lead a younger one away from the academy. Twisting, turning, through the most convoluted and annoying path possible. I would've feared they might have detected me, if I didn't know that Danzo was the kind of paranoiac that would definitely have his operatives just do this on the daily.
So much time wasted.
So many lives destroyed.
For what ultimately would amount to nothing. Innocents slain, lives torn, worlds destroyed…
The silver haired boy that was vaguely familiar to me was led to what appeared to be a regular old tree, but the roots opened up with a touch, spreading apart to show an entrance to an underground tunnel, lit dimly with vaguely glowing fluorescent tubes and the natural light that poured down from the afternoon sky. Soon, it'd be dark.
I memorized the location, and retreated. It wasn't time yet, I couldn't just walk in and create a total disaster. Yes, I'd most certainly get what I wanted… but not in the way I wanted to get it. Every fiber of my being wanted to charge in, impulsively assault the fortress of the traitorous warhawk and destroy everything he'd worked for and achieved…
But another part of me threw a bucket of water over the raging fire of my emotions, and I was able to force myself away.
I needed a moment to meditate… to clear my mind.
I found myself a nice secluded spot in an empty training ground, under the shade of a tree, and I used the methods and knowledge passed down upon me by my ancestors, and by granny Mito, to turn fully introspective and-
Meet face to face with a ginormous red eye.
"You've returned."
"I have," I agreed, looking at the massive form of Kurama, a spiky collar wrapped around his neck, paws shackled to the ground… at least he wasn't impaled anymore. "How do you feel?"
"Why do you care?" he asked.
"Because I'm trying to be a better person than I used to be," I said, placing my hands on my hips. "And your furry ass needs a different cushion from mine, if you catch my drift."
Kurama scoffed. "I am… better," he said, finally, tersely. "What you said has come to pass… Your schemes are as unknowable as ever. What do you need from me?"
"I need help," I said, swallowing my pride for a moment.
"As if I would ever-"
"Don't lie to me, and don't lie to yourself," I interrupted him. "You're not some sort of uncaring monster," I said, "if you were, you wouldn't even talk to me, and wouldn't even consider hearing what I have to say."
The fox growled and pulled against his restraints.
"Yeah yeah, you're not gonna intimidate me," I said, crossing my arms as my chakra chains erupted from behind my back, forming patterns above me. "Look, I'm not about to ask that you share your chakra with me, or anything like that, I'm probably not even physically ready for something like that."
Kurama hummed. "My chakra would be toxic to you as you are, and it would erode you from within. Likely would shorten your lifespan quite a bit, even as it forces you to recover faster."
I nodded. "There's ways around that, but I would need you to trust me when I tell you that I understand a lot more than you think I do."
Kurama said nothing.
"Anyway, point is… I need your help. As much as I hate to admit it, you're not an idiot, and you've got an outside perspective on this whole mess."
"Do you think I care in the least what some worms do, squirming underground in the dark?" Kurama asked, idly.
"Yes," I said, simply. "Empathy is one of your abilities, isn't it?"
The fox's nails scrapped the stone of his prison.
"You can feel them suffering, can't you? You can feel their pain, their sorrow, their despair…" I grit my teeth. "I… I need that. I need to be able- I need to be able to understand them. To… to share in their pain."
Kurama's eyes were now fully focused on me.
"That's… that's the only way, isn't it? We have to understand each other… to connect, the way we were meant to," I said, as my chains' spiked tips became links at the end, open ones, as I spread them around myself.
"Ninshu."
The single word contained such immense weight and meaning that both of us stopped, almost for a full minute, even breathing.
"You wish… the approximation, the incomplete imitation that I can approximate," Kurama said. "Is that it?"
I nodded.
Kurama's teeth glinted in the darkness. "Are you ready for that pain, Kushina? Are you ready to understand just how truly wretched and evil your species really is? Are you ready to learn to hate your people, as I do?"
"And yet…" I mused, looking up at him. "You were free for hundreds of years, weren't you? You and all of your siblings… if you'd truly wanted humans gone, we'd be gone… Wouldn't we?"
Kurama growled.
"I want to see what it is that you found, I want to find that as well… that little bit of hope, that gave you reason to spare humanity… I want to understand things like you do, I want to understand you, to understand my friends, my family, to understand the ramen vendor and my students, to understand every person walking the streets of the village, to understand the thief and the mugger, to understand the enemies that lurk in the dark…"
"Then close your eyes, and do not think, feel."
By the word of the Fox, I closed my eyes, and as if each of my chains was a bond, I felt them expand, increase, lengthen, and I felt as if I was in a whirling sea of anger, hatred, despair and sorrow, as if suffering was my entire being, as if I was mourning a hundred mothers, a hundred fathers, and a hundred siblings.
I saw, a hundred times, myself driving the knife into the side of a beloved friend, sibling, lover… I saw a hundred times, myself, staring in resignation at the pouring wound, with the knowledge that I was a failure…
I lived a hundred lives at once, and I lived a hundred more, and the echoes of their screams, the ringing of their cries and the strangled remains of their sorrowful weeping scorched the very depths of my being, leaving marks within that scarred it deeply.
And then I was pulled out of the ocean and took my deep breath in a lifetime, and I realized I was weeping myself, barely able to breathe, as the claw of the nine tailed fox poked my forehead, the stinging pain a distant memory as the wound he'd inflicted recovered.
For a moment, I thought I saw worry, I thought I saw-
And then I wept more, and my arms wrapped around his furry paw, and despite everything else, the fox said nothing.
Despite what fun he could make of me, for breaking so easily, for my weakness… he remained stoic and firm, the sound of my weeping echoing across the confines of my own mind.
My eyes fluttered open once more, and I wiped at my cheeks. Fortunately, a mother is always supplied, and I was easily able to find tissues in one of my pockets to blow my nose. I needed a breaker, I needed a breather, I needed to do something to remind myself of what it was that I needed to do.
As I cleaned myself up, I thought of exactly what I should do, and I quickly headed home.
Minato would be informed of what I had discovered, and he'd put things in motion to ensure that the problem of Danzo was dealt with, while I spent the rest of that day just hugging the pillar of hope and love that was my son, the toddler just loving the contact with his mom and not really knowing why his very existence cured the metaphysical injuries I'd inflicted upon myself.
It was for him, that I was doing all of this. For him, for my husband… even for all the poor souls come and gone before me…
Well, at least that was dealt with. I'd… I couldn't, not now, keep going further in my training to try to become the person the world needed. I needed more time, and I needed to recover. My son was filling up my mommy love batteries, but I needed something more… I needed something spicier.
In truth, at this point, I was starting to become a bit worried that my life with Minato would become stale.
We've been together for years, and we really haven't tried that much stuff. Honestly, I'm shocked at how… vanilla, our relationship really is. The kinkiest we've ever gone was costume play with clones, and even then that was one time, and most of our sex is pretty vanilla.
I mean, we've barely even done it lately, since we're both usually super busy, either with work or with Naruto, who is becoming even more of a whirlwind of a person as we speak. Maelstrom indeed.
But… I knew what to do. I'd never allow our marriage to become stale, and I'd certainly never let Minato grow bored with his wife!
"And that's pretty much the issue," I spoke, as Mikoto downed her own glass of wine. "I couldn't really think of anything
I found myself visiting the source of wisdom in all matters related to boring relationships, Mikoto, and dragging her out to visit a bar like we did in old times, to drown our sorrows about the men in our lives. She, however, had more experience, having been married for longer, and having received bridal training, unlike myself!
Mikoto hummed. "Well," she swirled the remainder of the wine in her glass, "there's actually a lot of stuff you can do to keep your relationship fresh. Clones are a classic," she said, "though if you feel especially kinky, you can always bring in a third…"
I hummed. "Eh… I don't think I'd like that?" I said. "Honestly I'm not sure, I might need to be less drunk when I consider that," I accepted. "The idea of Minato with another woman feels… a bit icky," I finally said.
"I can understand that, I don't think I like the idea either," Mikoto agreed. "Anyway, uh… you've bought some toys, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, sometimes he uses the massager or the vibrator, but well, most of the time I use them on myself, why?"
Mikoto blinked. "On himself?" she asked.
"Yeah?" I asked. "The massager is, you know, an actual massager and he does get tense shoulders and stuff," I said.
"Kushina, it's- I mean it's called a massager but, it's meant for, you know," she said, gesturing downwards.
I rolled my eyes. "Why would he use it for that, I told him if he wants to get off to just call me," I said, shrugging.
"Well sometimes it's fun to, you know… p-play some games together with your spouse," Mikoto said, stumbling a bit with her words.
"You mean like… you know, using the stuff on each other?"
She nodded. "Or… using it in presence of each other," she suggested.
"I might try that sometime, but I'm looking for something… you know, a bit surprising? Something that I could give him as a birthday present or something."
Mikoto hummed. "Well, I, uh-" she then rubbed her chin, and it seemed she had an eureka moment, as an idea dawned on her. "I actually have an idea. I tried it myself, but, well, Fugaku just wasn't into it so it had to be tabled. I still have most of the stuff needed for it since I never, you know, actually got to use it, so you only need to buy a few things."
I nodded. "Like what?"
"Well, you'll probably need to buy a couple things from that shop you bought your other toys from… you see, there's this thing called a buttplug…"
The following explanation would tickle something at the back of my mind, and gave me a distractingly tingly feeling, every time I remembered it. It… was actually rather interesting, as a whole. For some reason, the more she spoke of it, the more it sounded… logical, to me. Like it was something I had thought of, or known, in the back of my mind, and had just sort of forgot about, until it finally clicked.
"Ah, you're suggesting I try anal!" it finally dawned on me. "Man I've been so busy lately that I've forgotten all about how to have sex!"
Mikoto cringed, hard, and I realized the people on the next table over looked a bit startled. I doubted they'd heard our conversation, the bar was a loud place.
"I've never tried it before, but it sounds kinda fun!"
Mikoto nodded. "Just remember, you need to be very careful with this stuff!"
The rest of the night was a bit dull, as we mostly spoke of daily life activities. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good time to needle her about the Uchiha clan's dealings and their current level of dissatisfaction with their role in the village.
It… was actually a bit embarrassing to ask the clerk at the toy shop if he had any sort of advice on buttstuff, but… well…
"Honey, I'm gay, and I like large objects up my bum," he said with a chuckle. "You literally couldn't have asked for a better guide in your journey into the wonders of butt stuff," he explained. "Okay, first, I think I remember the lady you're talking about, she bought the full kit, so you probably have most of the stuff you need already. That said… I won't judge you if you don't want to share plugs. Some people are into stuff like that, but me, I prefer keeping everything personal."
I nodded.
"So, here's how it works…"
A very informative lecture, on which I took notes not just on the topic being taught, but also taking some pointers that I would later employ with my students when it came to actually teaching, he had a way to explain things in a very interesting way!
Fortunately, I am a ninja! I was easily able to sneak home and hide the stuff, and Minato didn't even notice anything was off, no matter how giggly I got and how bad I was at denying that anything was off.
As soon as he was gone for the morning, and Naruto was fed and back to imitating a chainsaw with his snoring, and the house was locked down from both observation and intrusion…
I laid on my bed, bottomless, and brought out the stuff from the sealing scroll that Minato was unaware of.
The oddly shaped toy that Mikoto had recommended, as well as the bottle of lubricant jelly, popped out of it. It was the first, a slim and thin toy that somewhat resembled a dildo, barely bigger than my thumb.
As instructed, I first teased my butthole – I'd already made sure to wash it thoroughly and completely in my morning shower – with a lubricated finger.
My body is that of a lewd woman, I realized, as I felt just how amazing it was to poke myself way down there, caressing the tight ring of muscle as I spread the stuff on myself. I hissed and sucked in a breath as my finger pierced the tight ring of tightly closed muscles, spreading them slightly.
It felt good, it felt great actually. I really hope this works out, because if a single finger feels this good up there, I can't imagine how good Minato's entire dick will feel. I caressed myself, slowly but surely, spreading myself open with my finger.
At first it was a bit uncomfortable, but soon, my ass was more than accepting of my fingers, and the next step was in line. I took in a deep breath, and grabbed at the oddly shaped dildo once more, playing a little with the bulbous shape on one end. I slathered it in lubricant jelly, running my hands over it and ensuring that it was absolutely and completely covered.
It took a few moments of gathering courage, but I brought it up to my butt and, with a moment of hesitation… plunged it in. It was bigger than my fingers, bigger than two of my fingers even, and I felt oddly stuffed, I felt weird, at the same time uncomfortable and yet…
Something inside me was deeply excited.
I began playing with the toy stuck in my ass, safe in the knowledge that its odd shape would prevent it from slipping in too far and being stuck up my butt. On some level, the deep seated primal fear of having to go to the hospital to get a dildo removed from my butthole had been a fear I didn't even know I had… but if toys like this exist…
I moaned out loud, unable to contain myself as I began masturbating anally for the first time in my life. My body responded eagerly, and it felt like my ass was on fire, itching and filling me, even as the toy scratched me deep within.
I moaned, and now began fucking myself harder, my slimy hand slipping from the toy and instead going directly for my pussy, the lubricant making my fingers glide smoothly down my horny pussy's lips, and going deep within.
I was so horny, so incredibly horny, that I couldn't even believe it. In fact, it was… way too horny! It felt like my entire body was on fire.
I grabbed at the bottle of lubricant that Mikoto had provided me, and my eyes widened.
"Mikoto!" I roared, as I read the label on the bottle.
I swear I could hear her giggling in the distance.
"I'll take revenge for this," I said, as I grabbed at one of my other toys, a dildo that was only slightly smaller than Minato, and plunged it into my pussy, as the aphrodisiac lubricant drove my arousal into overdrive.
My first orgasm hit me like an exploding tag going off, and it only felt like my senses were heightened and the pleasure was even less effective at dousing the flames of passion that were driving me wild.
In fact… I pulled the plug out of my ass, and grabbed the next one in the set, the clerk had told me to start small and slowly increase their size, but I'm a goddamn ninja, my body is stronger than this, and right now, my body is demanding a thicker toy!
I'd bought four plugs total, plugs that ranged from barely larger than two of my fingers, to the thickest part being even bigger than Minato's fat cock. The second one slipped in easily into my well lubricated asshole, and I began assfucking myself with it, while using my other hand to plunge a dildo up my hungry cunny.
I looked to my bedside clock… it was hours before Minato got off of work, and could come to douse the strong, burning desire that was itching through all my body.
Deep within, I could almost HEAR the asshole fox laughing at my predicament, as I begged time to pass faster, even as I tried to calm my pleasure addled body.
"Minato, please cum home soon!" I begged, even as I came all over our bed, and couldn't even begin to imagine stopping myself.