Tobirama didn't speak to Mizumi during the full two weeks it took to go from Kirigakure to Sunagakure. From what the girl gathered, Ibiki briefly met with Yamanaka Inoichi in the Fire Country then left for the Desert. She didn't like that place much. It was too dry, too hot. Her chakra was weaker there and she struggled to sleep. Ibiki spent most of the time trying to distract her from her discomfort by telling her stories. He probably didn't realise how much she understood – that she knew each and every one of them were real.
Through him, she learned about the Great Shinobi Wars. He never said what he did, exactly, but he always seemed to be at the heart of the conflict. He had scars all over his body, so much so that he always kept it covered. The worst of it was on his hands and head. He tried to hide them all from Mizumi, but they were together all day long, so she caught glimpses of them anyway.
He also told her about hope and companionship, the kind that only formed under the direst of circumstances. He told her about the Will of Fire, about the faith he kept close to his heart and the prayers he recited every night before going to sleep. Mizumi loved the stories, dark and light alike. She learned way more than he could ever suspect through them.
And still Tobirama kept silent.
They entered Sunagakure close to sunset. The village was bustling with activity, and the heat just a little bit more bearable. Mizumi put her head on her father's shoulder and closed her eyes for a quick nap. Tobirama was pouting, but that didn't mean she couldn't visit the galaxy he had built. She didn't even attempt to reach for the stars – they were so pretty that just gazing at them was enough.
"What the… How did they get their hands on that demon? It was supposed to be sealed away!"
It was the first time she heard Tobirama's voice in two weeks, and that was all he had to say to her? Mizumi sent him the image of a snarling dog in response.
"I-I know you're not happy with me, Mizumi-chan. I'll explain later, okay? First, I really need to control your chakra, if that's okay. Please. It's really important, I promise I wouldn't ask otherwise."
Mizumi didn't hesitate. Sure, she was angry at Tobirama, but he was and had always been her friend, her protector. Thanks to him, she was never alone, never defenceless. She agreed and let go, falling asleep in Ibiki's arms. Her body was in a comfortable slumber, but her mind was still very much aware. Her chakra, from reasonably dormant and quiet, turned impetuous as the raging sea. It was noble and powerful, cold and always moving and utterly captivating as a tendril of it reached way, way beyond her body.
"By the Hermit, what did they do to that poor boy?"
Mizumi didn't have Tobirama's acute knowledge of chakra and seals, but she felt what he meant. Through his sensor skills, she had never felt something as damaged as this poor baby boy was. So young, only half her age, and he already couldn't sleep. While her Eight Trigrams Seal was a blessing, this boy's botched seal was the worst kind of curse. Through images, she asked Tobirama how they could help, if it was possible.
"It is possible, yes. I don't know how long your father plans on staying here, but I'll keep a chakra link between you and the boy until you leave Sunagakure. It should help his mental state. And, who knows, if you see him again, he should recognise you."
Mizumi formulated her agreement through images, frustrated once more with her lack of language skills. She wanted to speak, to warn her father that Sunagakure had done a terrible, terrible thing to a baby, to be able to tell him about the man in her head. She could feel the seal that kept him there, but she had quickly realised that there was nothing left on the skin of her belly – no proof of what her Uzumaki mother had done to ensure her survival.
"It's done. Now…" He let out a sigh so heavy that it resonated through her bones. For a long time, so long she shifted in Ibiki's arms, he stayed silent. "I'm truly sorry, Mizumi. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I stayed away from your thoughts to sort through some trauma lingering in mine, but I promise I was still watching over you."
"Why?" It was the first time she used actual words to talk to him. This one at least was part of her vocabulary. Ibiki always wondered at her quick development but, from her perspective, it was excruciatingly slow.
"I… I cannot lose you, Mizumi. Before I arrived in this world, I watched the woman I love put herself in danger again and again, and I couldn't do anything. When she died, I couldn't think straight. I was in so much pain… I was there, this time, so close I could reach out and touch her, and yet I couldn't do anything to save her."
Many of the things he talked about were still too complex for Mizumi to fully understand. It was something she adored about Tobirama: he talked to her as if she was an adult, and it was her job to work and catch up to him. It motivated her, made her grow and mature so much faster.
"All of this to say… I won't be mad if you decide you want to become a kunoichi. I'll stay by your side and do my best to protect you like I couldn't protect her. And I'm sorry I was an ass."
Mizumi couldn't help but giggle, startling her father who thought her deep asleep. Adults never used bad words around her, but she still knew of them – they were never discreet enough. Tobirama was the only one to swear in her presence, and it was always at least a little bit funny.
Mizumi was two years old when Ibiki started training her. He was incredibly gentle and presented it more like a game, but Tobirama saw right through the pretence. The balance games and meditation stretches he put her through enhanced her mobility far beyond what a child her age should have at disposal. Once again, her protector was to thank for it. He pushed her far beyond what a kid would have the willpower to do on her own, and beyond what her father would demand of her.
"You're progressing so quickly," he exclaimed. "I wonder what Nara Shikaku would say about you."
"Who is he?"
Finally, she was able to speak simple sentences correctly. It was still not enough for her craving for words. Her head was full of concepts and ideas; that she couldn't express them as she wanted frustrated her to no end. She was too well-behaved to throw a fit about it, though she certainly wanted to.
"He's a friend, the leader of the Nara Clan. His clan is known for the fact that most of them are geniuses."
"It's insane. They could have literally ruled the world if they weren't so fucking lazy."
It took every bit of control Mizuki had for her not to giggle. Still, she heard fondness in Tobirama's voice. It was hard to miss it.
"Are they nice?" she asked Ibiki.
"Well… As a clan, I think they are. They keep to themselves, like the Aburame, but they are more approachable, probably because their friendship with the Yamanaka and Akimichi clan puts them at the centre of the village."
Tobirama continued feeding chakra to the baby with the Tailed Beast sealed inside him. Mizumi didn't always sleep through the night; when she woke up, she always found him working on their connection with the boy. It meant she was more tired than usual, what with part of her chakra being constantly used. It was for a good cause, however. It allowed that boy to rest, to feel a kind of stability that his seal had robbed him of. She didn't care about herself in this situation; Tobirama was doing the right thing, a good thing.
"You're too sweet for your own good," Tobirama growled. "Go back to sleep."
Nightmares had started plaguing her after her kidnapping. Sometimes, in her dreams, she was still conscious as she killed her tormentors, a little monster of anger and cruelty. Sometimes, she didn't do anything and Asami died. Sometimes, Ibiki was taken in her stead and his life forfeited. It was unfair, how a child like her already had nights filled with bloodshed. It was unfair, and yet she embraced it, accepted it. It came hand in hand with what she saw in her own future.
Still, she was happy that both Tobirama and Ibiki comforted her when she woke up crying. Strong arms around her and a soft voice in her head allowed her to go back to sleep, at peace once more. Most nights, Ibiki held her until morning, so he could step up if she had other nightmares.
They ended up staying a full year in Sunagakure. Six months prior, close to their original return date, Ibiki received a message, carried by a hawk. His expression grew sombre as he read it. He didn't say anything to Mizumi right away, but she understood it was bad news. This time around, he had arranged for her to be kept away from whatever task he had been assigned. Her guardian, Setsuna, was a kunoichi too. She wasn't back into active duty because her children weren't Genin yet, she explained to Ibiki the first day he left Mizumi into her care.
Setsuna was a very nice woman, but she wasn't Ibiki. She always stopped the games far too early for Mizumi's tastes. She was bored most of the time she spent in her nanny's house. It lasted for six months, and the girl couldn't have been happier when her father announced that it was time to leave, to go back to Konoha. She didn't have any memory of this village he called home and was ravenous in her curiosity about it.
On the morning of their departure, Tobirama cut the chakra connection between her and the mysterious jinchūriki boy. Just before it was done, it seemed to her that she heard a muffled sob, too faint for her to confirm it. She was sad to leave that part of their presence in Sunagakure behind her. It felt like losing a friend.
"The boy will be okay, Mizumi. He's a bit more stable than he was a year ago. He still can't sleep, but through your chakra I taught him how to meditate instead. It will have to be enough."
Yes. They couldn't have done anything more, Mizumi knew that. Still, she felt terribly guilty, leaving the poor boy behind. He had to be around eighteen months old now, the age she had been when the purists had kidnapped her. How would she have pulled through without support, without people who loved her no matter what?
"Tell me about Konoha, Daddy," she asked about an hour after they left Sunagakure, to distract her from those sombre thoughts.
A smile bloomed on Ibiki's lips, lighting up his face and taking years off it. It was so rare to see him smile; most times, it was more of a calculating grin. She had never seen a genuine smile from him when anyone but her was in the room. Even Asami didn't get that honour. Perhaps smiling was his way of making her know she was special, unique even. She found this expression stunningly beautiful on him.
"Well, first of all, it's very green, as green as Sunagakure is yellow and Kirigakure is grey. The weather is a perfect mix between the two villages, mild and sunny most days. The civilians and shinobi live hand in hand in most areas of the village – the ninja departments excepted, of course. The Hokage Tower, administration and school are all in the same huge building."
"Why?" Mizumi asked, her tiny brow furrowed in an effort to understand.
"Because it's much easier to protect, kitten. Sure, it makes it a bigger target, too, but our enemies would have to manage to hit it first and it never happened. We always managed to hold it. Anyway, where was I… Ah, yes. There are many clans in Konoha, even more than in Kirigakure before the purge, and each of them has its own territory. You and I, we'll probably keep living in the heart of the village, except if a clan wants to give us shelter."
"Do you want to live with a clan, Daddy?" Inside her head, Tobirama was vigorous in his approval, but didn't explain why.
"I think it'd be easier, yes. We'd be even more protected, and you'd be with people who know what it's like to raise a clan kid." Something she couldn't put her finger on passed on his face then faded away. "But it's not my choice to make, anyway. A clan's territory, and their right to it, is sacred. When they hear you're an Uzumaki, they'll offer it, or they won't, and I'll consider a decision depending on which clan offered."
He probably didn't intend it, but she understood what he wasn't saying: some clans were safer than others to live within. Safety was always Ibiki's absolute priority, especially since Mizumi had been taken away from him. As they travelled back to Konoha, he always had two shadow clones standing guard when he slept, and he always did so in shifts, unaware that, when he was asleep, his daughter had her own guard coming alive.
They wouldn't let that fiasco happen to her again.