"Oi, brat!" Tsunade tries to pry the young blond off of her, but she couldn't do it without hurting him. His grip tightened even when she realized he became unconscious moments ago.
Without north nor direction, she's at a loss on what to do, but as soon as she begins to think about the situation, the voices and whispers surround her.
"That's the demon's child." "What is he doing touching Tsunade-hime?!" "She will probably kill him" "Yeah, that would be for the best."
A grinding sound bounces in her head as her teeth grate each other.
What the hell are they saying?!
She had enough.
"Leave."
Killer intent floods the area but no one moves, afraid of awakening her newly found ire. That only gets on her nerves even more. She stands with an impassive look, and without further ado, she stomps the ground.
"I-said-leave"
A crater webs through the floor and the stage of her anger cracks like broken glass. Soil dredges around, covering all the view and the noise of her act deafens everything around. By the time the dust settles, only her, Shizune, Tonton and the little blond remain.
"Lady Tsunade…What are we going to do?"
The blonde didn't have an answer to that. She refused to leave the child alone out of fear of what the villager might do to him, but she had business with her sensei. Tsunade was pretty sure that he was already waiting for her, probably grumpy for being awakened by his ANBU in the middle of the night.
She huffed at her predicament.
"Hold him." Tsunade passes the kid to her apprentices unceremoniously, and only now she becomes completely aware of the trail of blood running down his cheek. She pales at the crimson sight. Shizune acts quickly at the frightening look of her master and hastily turns her body around with the blond child, as to block him.
"Shishou…I will heal him for a while?" Tsunade could only nod numbly at her, Shizune sighs "Why don't you think about what you want to do next in the meantime?"
The buxom blonde stands still for a few minutes while Shizune scampers to an unoccupied bank in the corner. Panic recedes a little after a few deep breaths and she sends an apologetic look to the unaware brunette, who was too occupied fuzzing over the little blond for the moment.
Hiruzen was grumpy, and being almost midnight, he was too tired to deny it. It was good news though, so…he couldn't complain.
He really didn't expect for her student to arrive just two weeks after sending the letter.
Considering the time it would take for the letter to arrive and how long it takes to arrive at the village from the town he had sent it. It would mean that Tsunade had received it and immediately parted to Konoha.
The thought of it put a smile on his face. However it diminished when he remembered the latest reason for his hardships.
Naruto's disappearance.
According to the Matron in charge, his little friend escaped in the middle of the night without warning or telling anyone.
He didn't believe her for even a moment.
His suspicions were proven right after Inoichi was done with the petulant woman. A scan in her memories had let them know that that scum of a person had kicked him out without any reason. Not even allowing him to precure his belonging.
The old Hokage would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed in his citizens. And it hurt his faith to acknowledge that he couldn't even trust his shinobis, especially after interrogating the guards of the Hokage Tower that shooed little Naruto away when he came seeking for help. Worst of all. His advisors were demonstrating how little they cared about him occupying the few shinobis he had at hand and not letting him do a full on search on the village for him.
This had Danzo's smell all over it. He just couldn't prove it.
He massages the bridge of his nose, trying really hard to come up with an explanation to Tsunade. knowing how volatile she was, the moment he stuttered will be the moment he would be flying out of the window. He was not looking forward to it.
A door flies over his head.
Sarutobi blinks.
The noise and 'boom' sound were enough to put the ANBU on the edge. That is, until they looked beyond the frame where the door used to be and acknowledged that it was Tsunade —who the Hokage had been waiting for— the origin of this mess, and they were not paid to deal with such an event.
It said so in the rule book of ANBU. If Tsunade was involved, they were excused.
So they abandoned their leader and Hiruzen cursed the fact that he approved that rule in hopes of having more people joining ANBU after the 'Hotspring' incident.
"Tsunade…how have you—"
"Cut the shit, sensei."
The old man swallowed thickly. A droplet of sweat falling down on his forehead.
"Well, direct to the point I see—"
"Where-is-he?"
The Hokage's mind worked a mile per second, directing his eyes everywhere, trying to find a way to inform her of the situation without losing his head in the process. It is like this that his eyes looked beyond Tsunade, exactly to where her apprentice Shizune was. A blond little child in her arms.
Relieved flooded him and the words came without him taking a good look at Naruto's state.
Later, he realized that this was a grave mistake.
"Well, your student has him in her arms right now." He said with a fatherly smile, hoping that such news would calm the wild blond and prevent her rage.
It did not.
"What?"
The air cooled to the point that it was hard to breathe, killing intent was felt around the village. Her eyelids opened with unconceivable madness, eyes showed a lack of light and a cold violent resentment were harvored in the depths of those honey colored circles.
Hiruzen grasped the notion that he did something wrong much too late.
"Hmmm"
But it seemed that the universe still wanted him to live, because as soon as focusing her chakra on her fist, the young child stirred. All the denseness and thick, violent chakra dissolved in an instant and Sarutobi felt like he lost ten years of his life when he sighed.
Blue eyes came to life as he tussled around in the young kunoichi's arms. A confused expression adorned his face, making him look more vulnerable than the blond would ever allow himself to be. "Whe-where am I? Who are you?!" His trembling voice wasn't a good signal, and it became obvious that the kid was frightening.
It meant that he had experience with strangers. Bad experience.
"Naruto-kun…" Hiruzen spoke with a soft tone, trying hard for his voice to reach the child, so he knew that he wasn't among strangers.
"Jiji?"
It worked. He sighed as he saw Naruto's body lose its tenseness. "Shizune-chan, if you could?" An unspoken message for her to let him down so the child could get his bearings went along. She did so with a reluctant frown.
Naruto, now on his own two feet —although with wobbly legs— looked around. The sight of his Jiji took a weight out off his shoulders and the little blond could finally smile genuinely after so long. He wanted to run and jump at him, to feel safe again, to feel like his world wasn't crumbling. He was about to do just that when a blond haired woman came into his vision and he went stiff.
He dreamed about her for so long, making a whole of the bits and pieces that his Jiji had told him about her. He would dream that her hair cascaded to the end of the world, that her eyes were pools that would drown you in them. That her bad temperament was harsh and her scolds would make you smile by how warm they felt.
He would dream about her being there for him, looking at him, staying with him.
For the little blond, all those dreams couldn't come close to reality, to the overwhelming hope and fear that took hold of his heart the moment he laid his eyes upon her person.
He blushed at how pretty she was.
Her eyes lacked the warmth he imagined, however they held a certain caring that he had never seen in anyone else when they looked at him.
He was afraid that she would hate him; that he would screw up; that as soon as she met him, she would up and leave.
But all those feelings and emotions went in the deep recesses of his mind as an overwhelming fear of her running away if he didn't do something took control of him.
So he jumped at her leg and held her for dear life.
"Baa-chan!"
He cried and forgotten were the girl that was carrying him just a moment ago and his Jiji that looked upon the scene with a relieved smile.
Tsunade emotionally stumbles in between the cries of the child that just wouldn't let go of her leg and her instinct telling her to hug him.
She takes a deep breath to calm herself and tries to analyze the situation objectively. Even so, her heart was crying for her to just erase the village from the face of the earth, just to protect the little brat.
She had a hard time reigning her emotions.
"Sensei"
Tsunade tried, really tried to not sound threatening…she failed miserably by how the oldman flinched. Her hand unconsciously went to the mess of blonde hair attached to her legs, patting him gently. She cursed when she realized what she was doing, but for the life of her, she couldn't stop herself.
"Hum-hummm…yes, Tsunade?"
"Explain. NOW."
And now the old geezer is sweating.
The blonde couldn't help it, really. There was something yelling at her core to protect the shrimp that made her turn her voice into a growl. She was mad and she didn't know why or how to vent it.
"O-of course." his black pupils traveled to the sides, trying to buy time, but after a few seconds he gave up. Sighing, he told her what he knew, from Naruto's disappearance, who started it, his investigations, betrayal of a few of his shinobis and the actions of the civilian population. He finished by diverting a little of the beating he would surely receive, he told her about his suspicions, about Danzo, about his advisers.
With a little bit of luck, she kills them while she only puts me in the hospital. He prayed to the Log much to his shame. Small miracles Hiruzen, small miracles.
To say that Tsunade was beyond pissed was an understatement.
"That's what happened as far as I'm aware of, if you want more answers, you should ask Naruto-kun himself."
And that was the crux of the problem. Even though she had her hands on his head, Tsunade had done nothing to acknowledge the mop of blond hair hanging in her leg. So…with a rather forced and slow motion, she turned to look at the child.
Her eyes immediately averted his form.
I feel like if I look at him, there will be no turning back.
She took a deep breath. I came ready for this, no running away anymore. And thus, she kneeled. The movement had caught him by surprise and had him separated from her, he tried to make himself small but the blonde took a hold of his shoulder and cupped his cheek with her other hand. Ever so gently, she directed his face to her.
Blue eyes met honey.
"Naruto-kun?" Her voice was like silk and softened any defense he had built up over the two weeks he had lived on the streets. "Could you tell me what happened?"
His bottom lips trembled and he nodded while looking at the floor. "They…T-they…"
In between sobs his story was told. Benches and trash cans, funny tasting food, the cold and the hateful glares he received. "B-but…I knew Baa-chan would come!" And he repeated this phrase over and over again during the whole tale. The only thing that kept him going was the hope of his 'Baa-chan' coming to get him, saving him and scaring away all the bullies.
Tsunade had the tact to not lash out during the telling. To the village for doing something so undue to a child; to her sensei, for being so careless; and to the kid, for having so much faith in her.
"It's okay…it's okay." She ended up with a blonde kid crying in her bosom, Shizune looked at the scene with a gentle smile while Hiruzen turned his chair, looked at the window and laid his eyes on the village. Contrasting feelings embedded in his mind. He admitted, the village he thought he knew and the village he had in front of him were completely different. But his will was his own, and he would see through that this became a village that his predecessors could be proud of.
"For now, we have to think about what we will do." He cut through the awkward atmosphere with ease and a pensive expression. "For now…" The oldman turned to his student and asked an unspoken question with his eyes. 'What will you do with him?'
For now, the sannin really didn't have an answer, but she could make short term decisions at the moment. "Naruto-kun, do you want to come with me?"
The blonde child raised his head and looked at the woman in front of him while his face pressed in between breasts. The thought of letting go of her not ever crossed his mind as he nodded submisibly.
She sighed and stood up, kid in arms, she turned to the Hokage. Her cold eyes made presence and made his skin crawl. "Sensei…" She said in a relaxed yet firm tone. "Prepare a meeting tomorrow, have all clan heads and your advisors present."
Sarutobi sighed, already resigned to his fate. "Of course." he granted, but looked at her from the corner of his eyes, procuring his words before asking. "What for? If I may ask."
She gave him a smirk that looked more like a bloodthirsty hound. "Some heads will have to roll, you know." Hiruzen looked at her, wide eyes, but before he could comment she interrupted him. "Nobody…does this to my family and gets away with it."
He swallowed his fears slowly. I'm glad I told her about my suspicions…otherwise my head would probably be rolling tomorrow too.
Unbeknown to them, little Naruto's fists gripped her haori even harder at hearing that she considered him family too.
"Shizune." The black haired girl perked up at being called by her master. "We're going to the Senju compound, look for something to eat while we're going."
"Of course, lady Tsunade." she answered quickly and with no hesitation.
Tsunade smiled at her and without even saying goodbye, she left the office. Shizune bowed respectfully to the old Hokage and the man just waved dismissively at her actions. She left just after.
Sarutobi leaned, getting further and trying to be absorbed by his seat. His shoulders tense and neck stiff, he could even feel how his stomach was dancing in anxiety.
"I just hope that the hospital will have free beds tomorrow."
He could feel an ulcer forming. To that, he was used to. Hemorrhoids, on the other hand…
It will be a long day tomorrow. He thought while standing up and going to the bathroom.
A/N: How are you people! Just a chapter before the next year arrives. Hope you're having a fantastic time!
With that, I say goodbye. Enjoy and see you next year!