Uchiha Mikoto's Diary: Adopting my Hellion teammate's Hellion Spawn went better than I expected.
Author: Nonoo
Editor: AK47atDiscowd
Eternal Sleep
Date: October 11 Time: 01:00 hours
My hands are still shaking. I can't breathe- I don't know what to do-
"Kaa-san?" Itachi squeezes my hand. He's still carrying Sasuke- asleep, I note- and his eyes are wide and scared. I drop down and hug him. "It's alright." I say, just like I have told myself since the Kyuubi rampaged. "It's alright."
It isn't, my mind whispers. It isn't, and I know it. This is the shelter, and the only reason I'm not out there as a Jounin is because of my semi-retirement after having Itachi, the retirement I've intended to annul once Sasuke begins going to the Academy. And I can see the devastation everywhere, dead shinobi, dead civilians, injured people in such high numbers that the medics can't handle them. And then-
And then they bring her in. She's still and silent in a way she never was in real life, and I freeze. It's only Itachi's hand in mine that stops me from running right over to my stupid, stupid teammate who definitely just did something stupid. I wander over to her, slow. She's just asleep, right? She'll wake up.
She won't.
Tetsuko's dark and curly hair is plastered to her face with blood, her onyx Uchiha eyes closed in eternal sleep. Five minutes, or maybe five years later, they put Taiga near her.
My hand tightens on Itachi's.
Debate
Date: October 12 Time: 10:00 hours
The Hokage's office is crowded. Fugaku is still away, busy with leading the KMPF with all the recent destruction in the village, the Uchiha are all busy. I left Itachi and Sasuke with Shisui, who's still young, but he is a Jounin and Itachi's not exactly irresponsible.
I'm not here as Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Matriarch, or as Uchiha Mikoto, Konoha Jounin. I am here as Uchiha Mikoto, interim Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, as Uchiha Mikoto, once first-in-line to the position.
I denied it mostly because the Council is boring. A bunch of sexist old fools. And responsibility is too much work.
Kami, that makes me sound like a Nara.
Kushina is dead, my mind offers as some kind of… negativity to counter my wandering thoughts. It works. Kushina is gone, Tetsuko is gone. Both my teammates dead in the span of a couple hours. I won't see Kushina laugh again, eat ramen again, won't eat her cooking again. I won't see Tetsuko pranking Taiga and everyone she gets her hands on, won't fall prey to her pranks, won't see her sing after a couple dozen bottles of sake.
I won't get to have baby dates with Kushina. Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi son of my teammate, won't get time with the woman who is- was- his mother.
Speaking of who…
He's tiny. His coloring is all Minato, but the shape of his face, his eyes, his entire structure- that's all Kushina. And he's in the middle of the room in a tiny basket, as if he's some kind of commodity for people to gawk at.
He might well be. My mind says brightly. He's a jinchuuriki. A thing.
And he's a child. A baby. And no one other than me sees him as that. They see him as a weapon, as the fox that destroyed Konoha. (and that doesn't make sense. If the Kyuubi has enough intelligence to hate, why would it stay in the village instead of escaping, considering the presence of sealing masters here?) Danzo in particular is leering at Naruto, and I resist the urge to smack him upside the head, or lodge a few kunai in his crotch. Indecent! Unbecoming of a lady! Is what the Uchiha lady who taught me etiquette would say. I purse my lips up.
Mikoto-chan, I just know that my baby and your Sasuke will be best friends!
I clench my fist. Into the fray we go.
"What do you mean, the Uchiha have to move to Sector 45?" I snap. I'm running on fumes right now, I haven't slept since the Kyuubi attack.
"It is simple to understand." Danzo preens. I resist the urge to mime vomiting. "To help with reconstruction, the Uchiha Clan will be relocated from Sector 21 to Sector 45."
I raise an eyebrow at him. "And why us?"
"You're the largest clan."
Clamping down on the swear words that sensei made almost natural, I say with heavily faked politeness. "The Hyuuga are larger than us, though," I make my tone as sweet as possible. Danzo looks a little put off. I'm not wrong- the Hyuuga are larger than us, and if Danzo denied that, he'd be in hot water with them.
"Also, it is not as if we live in our own compound. We live with the civilians, and we're fine that way. Why are you trying to isolate us?"
Danzo dithers. In a way, I suspect he only ever prepared for Fugaku. Not for me. Fugaku doesn't like going against the Council, he's afraid of changing the status quo, whether or not said status quo is a disaster in making. I, on the other hand, am reckless.
I wonder if my teammates and sensei rubbed off on me before resuming to verbally attack Danzo.
"Is there any reason, Danzo-sama?"
"It-" I interrupt him before he can continue. It is very bad manners, but at this point, I don't care.
"Are you insinuating that the Uchiha have something to do with the Kyuubi's attack?" Everyone goes silent. It's the elephant in the room- Sharingan. Everyone suspects us. No one is willing to say it out loud.
I slam a hand on the table in front of me, making everyone jump. "Unlike the Hyuuga, not every Uchiha can use the Sharingan," I snarl, "and of those, very few would be strong enough to control the Kyuubi. You're talking about an ancient beast made of chakra here."
"And what of those people?" Danzo smirks. I resist the urge to roll my eyes (or throw something at him, preferably something sharp) and retort. "Four. Five if you'll make a generous estimate and allow a child to join the ranks. They are-" I continue forcefully, "me. Fugaku. And the child in question is Uchiha Shisui, who's twelve, not to mention he's Kushina's student."
"The other two?" The Third asks. I wonder for a moment if he'll take the mantle up again, before replying. "Uchiha Tetsuko and Uchiha Taiga."
"Well, your and Fugaku-sama's movements are all known, and Uchiha Shisui is a child, but what of these two?" Danzo asks smarmily. I realize that he probably hasn't gotten his hands on intel yet, before growling at him. "They're dead."
Silence again. The Third clears his throat after a moment.
"There is no need for the Uchiha Clan, specifically, to move. All the displaced families should move, temporarily, to Sector 45 till their original residences can be repaired."
I almost sigh in relief. The Uchiha Clan lives scattered in Sector 21, unlike the other clans which have their own compounds. Sending us to the isolated Sector 45 at the fringes of the village would be isolation, nothing more, and it would have shown. My clan isn't proud, it's sensitive. Scared. Always wondering if we have a place in the village. This way, maybe things won't come to a head too soon.
"What are you planning to do with the new Kyuubi jinchuuriki?" I ask loudly. We've discussed many things, trivialities and important things both. Reconstruction. Land and money allotments. Funerals. What to do about the loss of so many shinobi.
But we haven't even spoken of Naruto, who's still sleeping in his basket. I await the moment he wakes up and screams. Kushina had great lungs, I'm sure her son has inherited them as well.
"Both of his parents are dead…" someone says. The room has only the Clan Heads and Council (and the Third), and everyone here knows exactly who Naruto is. Know that he's the Fourth and Kushina's son, and yet they look at him like he's a demon.
"I guess he'll end up in an orphanage." The Third says. I freeze. "I'll be shortly declaring that any speech of his status as a jinchuuriki and his being Minato's son to be restricted and taboo. No one is to speak of it." his eyes sweep us all, and I clamp down on an incredulous laugh. It's understandable, to protect him from anyone who'd want a jinchuuriki or from Minato or Kushina's enemies who may want revenge, but the jinchuuriki thing is something too many know. If Naruto's left in an orphanage, alone, he'll definitely be ostracized. And it will affect him.
"Why can't he be adopted?" I ask quietly, cutting through the hubbub. They all fall silent so fast that I might well have suggested 'let's gift the kid to Kumo' or something preposterous like that.
"Who'd adopt that demon?" Hyuuga Hiashi says blandly, and I glare at him hard enough that he jerks back. Some days I wish his wife was the Hyuuga Clan Head, because Himawari-san is not a stick-in-the-mud like Hiashi. Even Hizashi is better.
"He's not a demon," I say brusquely.
"He's a jinchuuriki. Of the Nine-Tailed Fox." Hiashi speaks as if to a small child. My hands twitch. "Exactly," I say, and he blinks in surprise. "He's a jinchuuriki. He's the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, not the Kyuubi itself!" It was bad enough before, and Kushina had gone into the situation of being a jinchuuriki knowing what would happen. And she inherited the fox when it was feared for its power, not like now- Naruto has acquired not just the Kyuubi which is a legendary creature of evil, but the Kyuubi which destroyed Konoha and killed many. A known, experienced evil is so much more loathed than an abstract concept.
He won't have a happy life, he won't have the life Kushina and Minato wanted for him, not at the rate things are moving.
I just know that my baby and your Sasuke will be best friends!
Will that even happen? They won't let the Kyuubi jinchuuriki near the Uchiha, right?
I'll make them, then. I grin. I am not letting my teammate's son, my best friend's son, grow up as a pariah.
"Is that really a good decision?" I ask, voice sickly sweet, putting on a questioning expression. No one who knows anything about me would think that I am anything but scheming, but no one here knows me well enough. "After all, if the kid is ostracized, he may grow to hate his village, and he might try to rebel and leave. I heard it happened in Iwa." Everyone hates Iwa. no one here would want to be compared to Iwa of all places. Well, maybe Kumo or Kiri would be worse but anti-Iwa sentiment runs deep in Konoha. My words send a ripple around the room, and everyone starts whispering. Yamanaka Inoichi and Nara Shikaku are silent and assessing. Inuzuka Tsume grins. I like her, she's one of the few female Clan Heads, and the only one of a major clan, and seems to enjoy annoying the Council, or so Fugaku says. Hiashi has his usual blank look on his face- the blank eyes only help. Akimichi Chouza is… eating potato chips. I nearly stare before Utatane Koharu clears her throat.
"Mikoto-sama, who would take that thing in?" I bristle at her remark. Naruto is not a thing, he is Kushina's son.
"I would," I snap, "seeing that his mother is- was my teammate. I would've expected the venerated Sarutobi-sama to take him in, but I was evidently mistaken." And I'm not bluffing- I did expect it. Naruto doesn't have any family- Minato was an orphan, and pretty much all of Kushina's relatives and close family died when Uzushio fell. There's Jiraiya, I guess, but he's flighty. So Sarutobi Hiruzen is the one anyone would think of. He's Minato's sensei's sensei, and the previous Hokage. It'd be his… duty.
And he isn't even considering doing it.
"Why would you…" Utatane trails off.
"He's my teammate's son," I snarl for the second time, "and she gave her life for the sake of the village. And Kushina named me godmother, besides." And there's no one else. Team 13, my team, is all dead. Sensei, Kushina, Tetsuko. I'm the only one left. Even if there's Team Kushina, Kushina's genin team who're now Jounin, they're still young, only twelve or something. And I know one of them died in the Kyuubi attack. The two left can't bring a baby up.
But I can.
"Unless there are any objections, I would love to adopt Naruto!" I smile even more sweetly, and kami, my face muscles hurt. I've gotten too used to that damn Uchiha expression.
"Mikoto-sama-" Utatane begins before she is interrupted. Cerulean blue eyes open wide and a tiny mouth- OW. Naruto definitely inherited Kushina's lung power. The entire room leans away like a ripple, everyone wincing at the high pitched shriek. There are very few women here- Tsume and a few minor clan heads- and though most of the men are fathers, they either don't know what to do or aren't willing to do anything. Tsume's nose is wrinkled, her better hearing is probably giving her a headache. I grin, and before anyone can say anything, scoop Naruto up. He stops his wailing, probably from curiosity, and looks at me with serious blue eyes. He wrinkles his nose up the same way Kushina did when something confused her and oh. He's her son. I know the fact, but right now, it hits me like a cart. I will not not not see him grow up a pariah, fuck what the Council wants.
Naruto makes grabby hands at me and makes a squeaky sound. "He's probably hungry," I muse out aloud.
Everyone is slowly, steadily, edging away. I put on a bright smile.
"Now then, can I or can I not adopt Naruto? Or should I put him back and let him scream again?"
Home
Date: October 12 Time: 18:00 hours
Eight hours. The meeting ran eight hours, and I'm exhausted. I fed Naruto- in a way, it's lucky I'm still feeding Sasuke- and I have custody of him. There are conditions and terms and kami knows what going with it, like regular check ups with the Third, who's Hokage-sama again now because he's taking the hat back, and regular check ups with a medic vetted by the Council. Not to mention the ANBU who will probably be watching us all the time.
Just… can't give a fuck. I'm too tired. I just want to go back home and sleep-
"Sasuke, no! Be careful! Itachiiiii!"
Not happening, huh. When I walk in, Sasuke is crawling around, Itachi chasing him, while Shisui is for some reason… trussed up. Then I notice Kei, Kushina's other student and Shisui's teammate, sitting on the windowsill. Ah. Culprit found. I arch an eyebrow at her and she smiles thinly. "He was being a worrywart," she informs me. Shisui struggles pointlessly. Kei probably stuck a chakra suppression seal on him.
I sigh, and snap. "Kei, let Shisui down. Itachi, pick Sasuke up. I need to talk to you." They've none noticed Naruto, probably because he's curled up inside my jacket. Kei's really out of it, then, because she's a pretty good sensor. But Naruto is a baby…
I settle down, gently taking Naruto out, and Kei and Shisui squeak.
"...Mikoto-san…" Kei says haltingly. "Did you kidnap Kushina-sensei's kid? I can't imagine the Council letting you bring him with you."
I smile smugly.
"That's exactly what you have to imagine, Kei-chan."
Toddling Time Date: One Year after the Nine Tails' Attack Time: 09:00 hours
"Come on, Naru-chan! You can do it!"
"N-n-n-"
"Just a bit more!"
"Nii!"
"You did it!"
I watch Shisui twirl around with Naruto raised up high with a wry smile. Kei is tickling Sasuke's tummy for who-knows-what-reason, probably his reaction, because Kei generally does things to get reactions out of people. Sasuke giggles and grabs a fistful of Kei's short-cropped hair. "Nii-cha!" he squeaks. At one and three months, Sasuke's vocabulary is a little bit larger than Naruto's just learnt 'nii'. It's kind of funny, both my son and godson's first word being 'nii' and not 'oka' or something. Well, Naruto and Sasuke are neither mother's/father's little baby, they are their brother's little baby. Sasuke calls Itachi 'nii-cha' and Shisui and Kei 'nii' though Kei is actually 'nee'. Sasuke doesn't seem to understand the distinction yet.
Today is the anniversary of your teammates' deaths.
I swallow and push away my unnecessary thoughts, and instead pick Itachi up and cuddle him.
He hates it, and his pout is so cute.
Welcome to the Academy
Date: Five Years after the Nine Tails' Attack Time: 08:30 hours
"You're going to be late!" Shisui squeaks. He is, for once, back in the village. He and Kei ended up on increasingly longer and harder missions after the Nine-Tails' attack, what with their being Jounin and the shortage of shinobi. They've acquired a tired edge that experienced shinobi have, and scars all over. Since Naruto and Sasuke turned two, Kei and Shisui couldn't visit as often as they used to, but they always came over when they were in the village. Shisui is here now, though Kei is away with Itachi on a mission.
Naruto and Sasuke are a little over five now, and are going to the Academy. I look forward to what shenanigans they'll get up to there.
"OKAA-SAN!" Sasuke shrieks, barreling into me. He looks at me with a red face. "Why's everyone mean to Naru?" he sniffs. "No one talks to him!"
Ah, that. It's finally popped up. The Uchiha Clan- and everyone in Sector 21, pretty much- are used to Naruto and like him. He's bubbly and helpful and loving, and, I think, reminds everyone of Uchiha Obito, the most un-Uchiha like Uchiha ever. And everyone around us has seen him grow up, and knows him. But the Academy has others, other kids, other adults. Who will all, one and sundry, see only 'Kyuubi no Kitsune' and not 'Uzumaki Naruto'. I sigh, and ruffle Sasuke's hair. Naruto is hanging back, unusually silent. I beckon him.
"We need to talk, Naruto, Sasuke."
Naruto and Sasuke are both on my lap as usual.
"Do you know of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?" I ask softly. They both nod furiously. "Alright then."
This is taboo, but I. Don't. Care. Naruto deserves to know.
"You know that five years ago, the Kyuubi got loose, right? So you see, the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi away. In you." I look into widening cerulean blue eyes and onyx eyes that match mine. "So you see, Naru-chan, everyone looks at you and thinks you are the Kyuubi. But you aren't. The seal is too strong for that, you see."
"I'm… a fox?" Naruto sniffs.
"No," I say forcefully, "no, you aren't. You're a jinchuuriki, like your mother before you."
"You know my mother?" Naruto knows he's my godson and not own son, though he calls me and Fugaku kaa-san and tou-san.
"She was my teammate," I smile sadly. "Someone took the Kyuubi out of her, you see, and she died protecting you, Naru-chan. Being a jinchuuriki is hard," I hug him and Sasuke closer, "but it doesn't change who you are, kiddo. You're still you. Right, Sasuke?" Sasuke nods firmly with an exaggerated serious expression. "Naru is Naru." he informs us, then hugs Naruto around the neck.
Maybe I should have taught him earlier that squeezing someone's neck can kill them.
Date: Seven Years after the Nine Tails' Attack
"You brought a friend?"
Sasuke and Naruto are here with a girl. She's pretty, with pink hair and sea-green eyes. She is quite evidently shy, so I smile at her, and she returns it with a wobbly one of her own.
"This is Sakura. Kaa-san, I invited her for dinner!" Sasuke says brightly, all but dragging Sakura in, Naruto following them.
"It's nice they're making friends, ne?" Kei says, leaning against the door jamb. There are circles under her eyes and she looks exhausted. Since the Nine-Tails' attack, she's here most often, so much so that she might well live here. Even Shisui is the same. Speaking of who-
"Is Shisui back yet?" Kei shakes her head. "Itachi's back, though," she says lightly. "He should make it in time for dinner."
She rolls her shoulders. "Shall I help to cook?"
"Kami, no." I say immediately, and Kei laughs as she walks away. Kei's taste buds are weird, she almost never adds spice, and she has a horror of putting too much sugar in sweets.
And why would you call a sweet a sweet unless it is sweet?
"So, Sakura-chan, why did you join the Academy?" I ask, propping my chin on my hand. Sakura became more open and is talking a little now. Itachi is also here, though Kei disappeared, presumably to sleep.
"I had a neighbor…" Sakura says softly, "who was a kunoichi. She… one day she just disappeared, and the adults said she died." She frowns slightly. "Haruka-san protected so many people, and I want to be like her and help people."
"Oh," I smile, "that's a nice goal."
Sakura smiles happily.
Date: Eight Years after the Nine Tails' Attack
"You're being a coward, Kakashi-san." Kei says dryly. "Just come in. Naruto's a kid, not a ticking time bomb."
I watch an evidently flustered Hatake Kakashi flounder in front of my home. I sigh. The boy is so emotionally stunted it's almost funny.
I go out and bodily drag him in, with him squawking and Kei laughing behind me.
"H-Hello, Naruto."
"Hello, mopstick head-san!" Naruto says cheerfully. Kei is almost falling over laughing, only Shisui leaning against her- also laughing- holding her up. I clamp down a snicker.
"This is Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke." I say gently. "Kakashi knew your dad, Naruto."
"Really?" Naruto looks at me with wide eyes before transferring his puppy-dog eye look to Kakashi.
Poor guy. He has no idea how persistent Naruto can be. When he found out Kei was his mother's student, he asked her questions for over a month.
Still does.
But everyone looks happy, and I guess that's enough.
Time to Leave
Date: Twelve Years after the Nine Tails' Attack Time: 15:00 hours
"WE PASSED!" Sasuke and Naruto shriek, throwing themselves at me and Fugaku. They stare at us with shining eyes, and I notice Sakura standing behind them, and Kakashi a little further away. She is quite different from seven years ago, she holds herself with confidence and there is a coiled strength to her that is characteristic of shinobi.
Naruto and Sasuke take a breath and step back. Sasuke pulls Sakura and Naruto drags Kakashi closer.
"We got a team! We're Team Seven!" The three chorus while Kakashi turns his face- or the bare bit of his face that's visible- away. I swear he's blushing.
"Congratulations," I say with a smile. Itachi, Shisui and Kei are going to be so thrilled. Team Seven is going to be a great team, I'm sure.
