Twisted Times Continued
Chapter 1
A rambling recount of Sierra's first 12 months in her new home.
"Left! Right!" Gai called to her, and Sierra aimed her punches at those open palms. He grabbed her last punch, flipping her over his hip and she went sprawling in the dirt. This time, she didn't get up, glaring at him as her chest heaved.
He dropped down on his haunches, brushing a moist strand of brown hair from her forehead with a chuckle. "Is that enough for today?"
She nodded breathlessly.
He offered her his hand, and when she took it, he hauled her to her feet.
"Alright little one. Let's get you home then." He said, steering them in the direction of Naruto's apartment.
It had only been a month, but Sierra was blooming before their eyes. Sakura was micromanaging her health and instructing Naruto very carefully on her diet and vitamin intake. She was filling out, and definitely starting to creep up in height. She was enrolled at the academy, but she had a lot to catch up on, as she was already old enough to graduate with scarcely any Shinobi training. Gai saw her three mornings a week for Taijutsu training.
Iruka said she was making friends at the academy, and she enjoyed roaming around the village without a care in the world, familiarizing herself with her new home. She often spoke to Gai of all the little parks and cute houses she found on her walks.
"Dad!" She called as they came through the front door.
"Kitchen!" Naruto shouted back. Gai followed Sierra into the kitchen where a modest, healthy breakfast had been set up on a small dining table. Kakashi perched at the far end of the table, chair ajar so he could face Naruto, who still puttered around the kitchen.
"Ahahah." Kakashi stood and caught her as she pulled a chair out. "Wash up first, you're filthy."
"Yeah, yeah." She murmured, disappearing down the hallway.
"Any improvements?" Naruto asked Gai, offering him a plate. Gai declined the plate, but he did pinch one of the nicer looking apples from the fruit bowl.
"Slow and steady like always, Naruto. You can't rush such things." Gai smiled at him, tussling the blonde's hair affectionately. There had been no lingering negative emotions between them after the peace summit. In fact, Gai was one of Naruto's biggest supporters when it came to bringing Sierra home. "See you on Thursday, Sierra." He called down the hall, waiting for a noise of confirmation, before nodding goodbye to the men and slipping back out the front door.
"So, what's on today's agenda?" Kakashi asked as Naruto finally sat down.
"She's at the Academy and I'm at the tower all day, elbow deep in paperwork. Y'know, when I asked Tsunade if I could stay in the village for a while so I could make sure Sierra settled in, I wasn't expecting this much desk work." Naruto said, pulling some buckwheat pancakes on to his plate.
Kakashi shook his head, opinion clear on Naruto's whining.
Naruto scoffed at him around his mouthful of food. "Don't be an ass, alright? It's boring, and it really, really starts to drag after a while."
"Said the future Hokage."
"Hey," Naruto shook a finger at him. "That's different. Some of that paperwork matters. And I'll get to make decisions, rather than throwing things up the chain."
Aside from Hiashi's quick remark at the summit, nobody on the council, nor Tsunade, had spoken any more on the subject, but already some of the work he was doing in the tower was clearly in preparation for what he'd be doing once he sat in that chair. It had been a slow start as Tsunade and Naruto both tried to tiptoe around each other. Which of course, was frustrating for both of them. Naruto had taken an office down the hall from the Hokage and they were very sparing in how much time they spent together. But… they were moving forward in repairing their relationship.
Sierra returned at a run, nearly sliding into her chair. "After school, some of us are gunna spar together, is that alright?" She asked, directing the question at Naruto.
"Hmm, where?" He asked, wiping the last of his pancake around his plate, picking up the dregs of sauce.
"On Academy grounds."
"Alright." He nodded. "Anyone gets hurt, you haul ass up to Sakura in the hospital, alright?"
"Of course!" She smiled, turning her attention to Kakashi. "What time's dinner?"
"What time would you like dinner?" Kakashi asked.
"Late, so... 8?" She asked, hopeful.
Kakashi and Naruto exchanged a weighted glance, as if considering the question. In reality, they were only teasing her. Kakashi eventually nodded. "Alright, 8 it is. If you're even a minute late though, I'm sending your father after you in his fluffy bunny slippers.
"Absolutely not." Naruto said as he stood, glaring at the man as he gathered his plate. "… They'll get dirty."
Sierra giggled. Naruto glanced at the clock on the wall.
"You go." Kakashi said, rising and taking the plate from his hand. "I'll tidy up and get her to school."
"But-"
"You can clean up dinner." Kakashi said, accurately catching Naruto's concerns. They were still negotiating the balancing act of healthy home-cooked meals, while one of them essentially had a 9-5 and the other could suddenly be out of town for a few days or even weeks with minimal notice. Their current (winning) strategy was that Naruto was slated for breakfasts and lunches on Academy days, Kakashi doing all dinners on academy days, with the weekend far less scheduled. Occasionally, they were all in the kitchen teaching Sierra how to cook. Usually, when you cooked, you also cleaned.
Naruto nodded. "Deal." He pulled Kakashi's mask down for a quick kiss, dropped another kiss on Sierra's forehead, grabbed his bag and took off.
Kakashi placed the plate in the sink, with a few other plates and cutlery, running the tap. He peaked into the bento Naruto had prepared for Sierra. "How about we stop and get a muffin or something on the way?" Kakashi suggested with a wink, rolling up his sleeves. Sierra beamed at him.
"This is nice and all," Inness said. He was a good 10 years older than Naruto with dark hair, skin and eyes, and a wicked scar that ran across his cheek before dropping down his neck and along his collarbone. He had a strong jaw and scarred hands, which were presently resting on Nauto's thighs, thumbs drawing small, rhythmic circles. "But I feel like we are doing more fucking than talking these days."
Naruto chuckled into his shoulder. "What do you want from me? Sometimes our best sessions don't include any words at all."
Inness hmmed disapprovingly at Naruto, "You aren't wrong, but I see you three times a week and I can't actually remember the last time we talked. Which is a problem. Because that's what I'm here for."
"Are you lecturing me?" Naruto asked. There was a smile evident in his tone.
"Should I be?" Inness asked, playful. "Because I think you've been avoiding me."
Naruto's hips shifted, and Inness squeezed them in retaliation. Naruto leaned back, bringing them into each other's eye line. "I don't know if avoiding is the right term here." He said with a smirk.
"You haven't been avoiding me physically, no. Obviously not. But I still think you've been avoiding me, how can I say this… psychologically?"
Naruto huffed out a laugh. But his eyes fell away.
"How are you doing?" Inness asked, wrapping his arms around Naruto's waist to keep him from jumping off.
Naruto grumbled at that, leaning away from the man and looking over his shoulder at Inness' interlocked limbs with disapproval. "I'm doing fine. We are all doing fine. Everything's handled."
"Really?"
"Really."
"So you aren't… stressed at all?"
Naruto didn't immediately reply. He grabbed Inness' arms and removed himself from the mans lap, then redressed. Inness put his member away and did his pants back up, but kept his attention on Naruto. Eventually, the blonde sat back down with a sigh.
"Of course, I'm stressed." He relented. "The council are piling it on. Sierra has found her voice and her independence, she's become argumentative. Only occasionally, but it's annoying. I think I'm right, and I don't enjoy being challenged by a child. Kakashi keeps doing… annoying little things, like giving her treats or supporting her when she argues with me. It's frustrating. Sakura has asked us to keep her diet strict for now, but then he buys her crappy food and snacks. And then when I call him out on it, he just shrugs, 'she'll be fine!' he says, 'She's only a kid once'."
He threw his hands up in the air.
"Alright, and how does that make you feel?" Inness asked. Naruto shot him a sour look, and he had to physically wipe away his reflexive smirk. Naruto hated that question, and Inness loved asking it. "But seriously, how does it make you feel?"
Naruto groaned, crossing his arms as if barring himself from the weight of the question. "It makes me feel…" Naruto bit out the start of the response, as Inness had instructed him to use to keep the words flowing. He sighed. "Disrespected. And, like I have to be the tough one. The responsible one. And that would maybe be okay, but he gets to be the fun one. And it grates."
"Alright. And how do you think Kakashi feels?" Inness asked, reaching over and tucking a long blonde lock behind an ear, keeping Naruto's eyes in his sight.
"He probably feels… like he has to be fun, because I'm too serious? Or maybe he's enjoying it, that this is so much easier on him than it is me." Naruto huffed.
"You think he's enjoying how hard this new life is on you?" Inness asked. Naruto shrugged in reply. "Ok… and how do you think Sierra feels?"
"I think… I'm starting to annoy her." Naruto sighed. His eyes slipped closed as he grimaced.
Inness waited.
"But… I don't know what else to do. If I don't tell her, who will? If I don't get her training, how will she get stronger? If I don't have her enrolled in the academy, how can she grow? If I don't maintain her diet and health regime, how can she catch up with the other kids her age?" Naruto growled. "What else can I do?"
Inness nodded. "Does Sierra get a say in any of this?"
Naruto blinked. "What do you mean."
"Do you control everything? Do you give her any choices?" Naruto watched Inness carefully, processing his words. "And, do you reward her at all? You could, say, let her pick anything she wants for dinner, once a week. It would motivate her to eat everything else without arguing."
"But Sakura-"
"Naruto, she's a little girl. I'm sure she wants to catch up with her friends, but eating, what, chicken and veggies every night is boring. If Sakura had her way, that's all anyone would eat, all day every day. You offered Sierra the world when you brought her to Konoha, didn't you? Seems to me she might have less control of her life now then she did back home." Inness observed.
Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously as he straightened, affronted.
Inness continued. "And do you explain things to her? A while back you said she resisted taking daily showers. Have you sat down and explained to her why you want her to shower every day? Have you given her a chance to do it without reminding her, trusting her, or do you remind her every day, so she doesn't even have a chance to show initiative?"
Naruto frowned at him.
"Can you even imagine what it's like, to go from never being cared about and living on the streets, to this? She may not know about body odor, or being dirty, or she may think of it more as protection than something to wash off. Have you even talked to her, or are you just mad that your new pet won't just take all your orders with a 'yessir, thank you sir'?"
"She's not my pet." Naruto said, voice low.
"Obviously." Inness said, nodding. "She's a person. She needs compassion and support, information and understanding, not orders and unfair expectations. And she needs some slack, Naruto. I've seen her, she looks much better than she did when she arrived. What has it been, 3 months? 4? And she's got the Bijuu. Surely such a strict diet is redundant at this point?"
Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "…You're right. Of course, you're right, but damn." He chuckled lowly. "Nobody else has the balls to talk to me like this."
"That's why you chose me." Inness smiled at Naruto. He glanced at the clock on the wall.
"We've still got time." Naruto assured him. "Now, tell me what I can do to make this better."
"It's not my job to tell you what to do." Inness said.
"That's funny," Naruto said, with a lopsided smile. He placed a hand on Inness' thigh. "Because just earlier you-"
"Alright, aright." Inness said, chuckling. "Here's what you could do…"
Naruto was preparing lunch.
It was a Saturday. He wasn't needed at the tower, Sierra didn't have any academy classes, and Kakashi wasn't on a mission. They were off, training or something, and he was having an easy morning. It was early autumn, and he had all the windows of the apartment open, allowing the cool, gentle breeze to waft through the house.
They usually had some of the windows open, of course, to help in the dispersion of Sierra's pheromones, but it was a particularly windy today, and even though a few papers had fluttered off the corner of the dining table (where he too often dumped paperwork from the tower) he was still enjoying it.
Sandwiches. He worked slowly, not in any real rush, even as the time for their return drew nearer. He'd taken Inness' advice. He'd relaxed and tried to step back from the role of controller. It had had a palpable effect. Naruto had laid down some expectations he had for Sierra in her daily routine, and then explained, and answered questions, about why he was asking her to do this stuff. It had almost hurt him physically to refrain from asking her if she'd showered or brushed her teeth on any given day, but they'd managed to set a new standard where she was happy to keep clean and well presented, and was grateful to see the shift in Naruto away from nagging and controlling to supportive and amenable.
Kakashi had praised Naruto for the changes, in more ways than one, and they'd managed to have a few productive conversations about the stress the situation had caused both of them. How Naruto's overbearing and controlling behavior had made Kakashi feel like he had to overcompensate on being the fun one. Then they'd teamed up, and told Sakura to shove her diet plan and give them a more realistic one.
Naruto threw a wayward piece of cheese into his mouth. It was the first time in his life that he'd ever had a routine three meals a day. Sometimes he passed on lunch or something, really not used to eating so much, or gave himself smaller portions when Kakashi wasn't there to give him a knowing glance. He'd never eaten well when he was younger and, well, when he was old enough to know better, he never really felt the need to adjust. He was convinced his stomach was smaller than his year mates now, maybe because of the fox, though Sakura insisted he should actually be in the position of needing to eat more calories due to his burden. He shook his head. It didn't matter. Sierra was finally settled into 3 meals a day, and that's how it was going to stay.
Because really, things were running so smoothly. Naruto smiled as he placed the sandwiches at the dining table, feeling an odd kind of contentment. It was odd because it wasn't something he'd ever expected to experience, the warmth of a functioning and loving family unit.
It was probably only a minute or two later that they came home. There was a large clatter and a hushed discussion at the doorway before they finally joined him. Kakashi had returned to Naruto's apartment a bit worried, truth be told, but when he walked in to see Naruto lazily perched at the dining room table with a content smile, he felt himself relax. Sierra soon came running back past him, having gone to wash her hands, and up to Naruto, bouncing on her toes.
He grinned at her, furrowing his brows at her unusual energy level. "Did ya have fun training, kiddo?"
"We weren't training." She giggled, glancing back at Kakashi, who leant in the doorway. The man shook his head at the girls' antics. Naruto frowned, confused, but she grabbed his hand. "Hey, can I go eat in my room today please?"
"I- ok? I mean-" Naruto looked from his daughter to Kakashi, who nodded at him. Naruto sighed. "Ok, go ahead."
She kissed his cheek quickly, grabbing her plate and glass of juice and running off. Naruto resisted the urge to remind her to be careful, though at the speed she was moving he doubted either of them would blame him.
"What's that all about?" Naruto asked as Kakashi came over, taking the closest seat and dragging his plate over.
"Oh, she just doesn't want to get in the way." Kakashi said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"…In the way of what?"
"We need to talk about something." Kakashi said. Calmly.
Naruto stared at him. "Talk about what?"
"This is a really nice sandwich." Kakashi said, ignoring him.
Naruto rose, walking over to the doorway. By the front door stood 6 boxes in 2 piles. "Did… we get another delivery from the Princess?" Naruto asked.
"No."
Naruto walked over to the boxes, opening one. Some of Kakashi's day clothes, and some trinkets. In the other, some of Kakashi's tactical gear and his ceremonial weaponry, still in their boxes.
"You look about 2 seconds from a panic attack." Kakashi had followed him out of the kitchen.
"No." Naruto said firmly, brusquely shutting the boxes.
"No?" Kakashi asked, smiling. "No what?"
"Just no." Naruto shot back.
Kakashi stared at him. It wasn't a huge apartment, so they weren't standing very far away from each other. Naruto hesitated, caught between wanting to get out from under Kakashi's gaze but not having quite enough room to maneuver around him. Kakashi seemed to realize he'd trapped Naruto, to his credit, and took a step back to allow Naruto room to walk back into the kitchen.
Naruto went.
He busied himself, collecting up the plates and moving them to the sink, tidying what he hadn't before. Kakashi watched him quietly from the doorway. He washed the dishes, wanting Kakashi to speak and get it over with, but also to shut up and leave. He wasn't sure he could handle whatever was going to come next.
He'd washed everything. He was lost in his own thoughts and had come to a stop in the middle of the kitchen, tea towel in his hands. His head snapped up as Kakashi took a step towards him. Kakashi raised his hands placatingly, wearing a gentle expression.
"Would you just hear me out? Please?"
Naruto eyed him suspiciously, but nodded.
Kakashi moved quickly before the blonde could duck away, catching him up and kissing him deeply. He gently wrestled the tea towel from Naruto's hand and tossed it aside. Naruto was tense in his grip, and no amount of gentle kisses seemed to get through his defenses.
Kakashi sighed deeply, moving on. "Here's what's going to happen." He said. He pulled Naruto around, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm moving in." He kissed Naruto's neck. "We're officially dating." Another kiss. "I get to live with my daughter and my boyfriend." Another kiss, but Naruto's hands had come up, pushing down on the arms wrapped around his waist. Kakashi grabbed him tighter, pulling him closer and relishing Naruto's sharp little gasp. "And everything's going to be fine."
Naruto was shaking his head, trying to slip out of his grasp. "Sensei-"
"Ru." Kakashi said back, using a nickname that only came out when they were alone.
Naruto let out a big sigh. "We aren't dating."
Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah, we are. We're even raising a kid together." Naruto shook his head, so Kakashi kept going. "And sometimes we even share a bed… without fucking."
"That doesn't mean-"
"Yeah, it does, Ru." Kakashi said, a little exasperated. And a little worried. He didn't think Naruto would resist this much.
"We can't be dating." Naruto whined. "I don't-" a huff. "You're the most important one, for sure, but I don't want to stop sleeping with other people, and-"
"Oh, is that all?" Kakashi asked, then let out a laugh. "We're going to be in an open relationship."
Naruto stilled. "What."
"An open relationship. Where two people are together, and they still sleep with other people."
"That's cheating."
"No, not in an open relationship. It's like… you give each other permission to keep sleeping around." Naruto had completely stilled in his grasp, Kakashi noticed with concern. "Surely you knew about…"
"No." Naruto said quickly. "I was never interested in relationships because I didn't think I'd ever have one. Is it… is it really that easy?" He turned now, blue eyes wide, searching Kakashi's.
Kakashi shrugged. "That's pretty much what we've been doing the past 6 months, if not longer than that."
"So… nothing would change?" Naruto asked, suspicious.
"No, things will still change a bit. For starters, the way we talk to each other will change." Kakashi said.
"What?" Naruto laughed, tone insinuating that surely such an item must be much lower priority on the list of changes.
"Well, we'll say different things about each other, or to each other." Kakashi said, mentally preparing himself. He took Naruto in, his incredulous look at that moment was precious.
"Like what?" Naruto asked, though he seemed to realize his mistake even as he said it.
"Like…" Kakashi said, pushing Naruto up against the fridge and cupping his cheek. " 'I love you.' "
Naruto looked up at him, eyes wider, cheeks slowly reddening. "…Oh." He breathed.
Kakashi didn't let up. He kissed Naruto gently, barely pressing their lips together. He watched, heart full, as Naruto's eyes slipped closed. He murmured those words again, directly onto Naruto's lips. Hands moved. Defenses has disappeared, and Naruto's hands curled in his shirt and up behind his neck. Kakashi's hands slipped from his face to his head, lingering behind his ears as he kept Naruto's face right where he wanted it.
"Hey, did you guys-" Sierra wandered back into the kitchen.
Naruto's mortified look startled loud laughter out of Kakashi, and he pulled Naruto's face into his chest, hiding him from their daughter. "Yeah, we did." Kakashi winked at her over Naruto's back. "He said I can stay. Can you give us a few more minutes please, little one?"
Sierra pulled a face as she set down her glass and plate. "Kissing's gross."
"So gross." Kakashi smiled at her, screwing up his nose, before making a shooing gesture. She went back to her room.
It wasn't like they didn't kiss in front of her, but Naruto did make a point of keeping it to a minimum. Kakashi didn't force Naruto off of his chest right away, though he could feel himself grinning from ear to ear. That girl had some timing.
"I can feel you laughing." Naruto murmured into his chest.
"I'm happy." Kakashi said. Naruto finally peeled away from his chest, face red. He avoided Kakashi's eyes, but had a small smile on his face.
"Of course you are, asshole."
They spent the day unpacking and moving things around in the apartment. Naruto wasn't very vocal about it all, at least with Kakashi. He made an effort to keep things light around Sierra. Kakashi gave him the room he needed to process the change, focusing instead on his vision for taking over half of the wardrobe and rearranging the bathroom. One Naruto got a handle on things, Kakashi was going to have to insist they find a bigger place.
Kakashi was having a last-minute chat to Sierra before he turned off her light. He moved around the apartment, looking for any other lights, before moving to his new bedroom. One of the door's in the bedroom led directly into the bathroom, and Naruto stood in that door frame, thinking.
As Kakashi came into the room he turned off the main light, leaving the final light source behind Naruto. Kakashi sat down on the edge of the bed closest to the bathroom, waiting.
"Do you promise nothing's going to change?" Naruto asked softly leant against the door frame, face in shadow.
"Nothing we can't handle." Kakashi said.
Naruto didn't reply.
"Look," Kakashi sighed. "If we aren't dating then we are breaking up. Because I want to be closer to you, and Sierra. And if that's what has to happen, well then… a lot more will have to change." It was the last weapon he had prepared for this day, an all or nothing approach, but he didn't enjoy using it.
Naruto cocked his head, thinking. The seconds dragged so long, Kakashi wondered if he'd made a mistake. If he'd pushed too hard and ruined everything.
Finally, Naruto shook his head, releasing a sigh. He flicked off the bathroom light, and Kakashi blinked quickly as darkness settled. "No. No, I don't want that."
As Naruto's hands gathered Kakashi's face, his own hands rose to cover them. He could just make out Naruto's eyes in the darkness, as they stared down into his. Kakashi turned his head, kissing one of Naruto's palms, eyes not straying.
Naruto huffed at him, smiling.
Kakashi reached forward, catching Naruto behind the knees and pulling the man into his lap. "Good. I don't want that, either."
Naruto kissed him softly. "I love you, too."
Kakashi hadn't expected to hear those words so quickly reciprocated. He grabbed Naruto and twisted them, smothering him against the bed. The words had been tender, but what followed next wouldn't be. He ripped his own shirt over his head and Naruto followed suit.
"Alright, we're nearly done for today." Trish said, closing her notebook. "Let's check on your dial."
Sierra groaned, but she stood from her couch and moved over to a small stool, sitting carefully, crossing her legs and closing her eyes.
"No effort." Trish said. She'd moved after Sierra and sat close by. "What number are we at?"
Sierra looked inwards. She found herself in a room, cobble stones and aged wood, patches of soft moss covering any surface it deigned fit. Her skin prickled as if it was cold and damp, though it didn't actually feel that way. On the wall was a simple dial, of which she was very familiar with.
Not long after she'd arrived, they'd had a breakthrough, the numbers and the notches between them had changed, and instead of just 10 big notches, there was now smaller notches between them. They called the lowest setting zero, and Sierra told Trish that the notches only went as high as 100.
Sierra walked up to it and counted her way down from the second large notch. "16." She said.
Trish would be nodding now. "That's good, Sierra. We had 16 last week too. That means you're stable at this number. Good work. Now, turn it as high as you can for a count of ten. When you're done, tell me what number you can get to."
Sierra nodded, taking a breath. Then she reached for the dial. Bracing herself, she slowly turned it as far as she could. It felt like stretching a muscle, in a bad way. The same way she could stretch her legs until they suddenly cramped painfully. She was afraid of a sudden cramp from this, but she also wanted to gain control of this ability, so she worked hard on these exercises. She held the dial as high as she could turn it, 117, and counted to ten, before easing it back down.
"100." She lied, as she panted. "It stopped at 100." She opened her eyes, and Trish was nodding.
She trusted Trish, but she was afraid of anyone knowing that she could turn the dial past 100. That seemed, to her, to be the only thing that was actually changing during these exercises, and it frustrated her. Her constant was only down four points from the time they made the breakthrough.
"No change there then." Trish said, writing some notes in a different, smaller notebook. "Today I want you to turn it as low as you can go, hold it for 10 seconds, then bring it down to a tolerable level like 10,12, or 14, and hold that for a few minutes. I'll let you know when to stop. Then, I'd like you to gently release the dial, and watch it till it stops moving, ok?"
"Ok." Sierra said, closing her eyes once more.
She did as asked, turning it quickly down to zero and holding it. This was just as taxing as before, but she pushed to 20 seconds, before very slowly moving the dial back up. She stopped it at 10, focusing on her breathing, as Trish had taught her, and tried to will away the stretched feeling. Even as she stood there, with her hand on the dial, her thoughts wandered.
They'd spoken about a lot of things that day. Trish was so smart and patient with her. She knew, now, that as much as she had had to learn about becoming a member of Naruto's family, Naruto had also had to learn how to have a family. And now, with the regular help and intervention of Trish and Inness, their wayward little family was finally starting to feel… normal.
So, when Sierra confessed that she was pretty sure she'd started a fight between her fathers the other day, Trish had talked her through it. She wasn't even sure what had happened, or when, but they'd fought about something. They were very careful not to argue in front of her, but she could see the tells by now. From Naruto's looks, the way his posture changed when he was upset or annoyed, how snappy he could be (but not at her), to Kakashi's careful shrugs and how purposefully nonchalantly his hands rested, usually in his pockets. When Naruto got confrontational, he looked the part, but when Kakashi did, it was just the opposite.
Trish was able to talk her down, saying that if she couldn't remember doing or saying anything, it probably wasn't even about her, and reminded her that both of her father's were complex individuals with plenty on their own plates, and that they were capable of pissing each other off, fighting, and forgiving, without any involvement from her whatsoever. That if, in the future, she was concerned, Trish advised her to grab one of them (reading the mood to figure out which one would be best) and ask what was going on. Trish had laughed, telling her cheekily that while both men were severely ill equipped to be straight forward to her about their feelings, they would doubtless make an effort to reassure her, and to explain to her what exactly had ruffled their feathers.
(She had then, at Sierra's insistence, gone to chat with Inness down the hall, and come back with a very weird smile and laughingly told her that the argument had, in fact, had nothing to do with her, and was already resolved.)
Sierra's life was good, she wasn't saying it wasn't. Through both men she'd met so many interesting people, such as the Kazekage and his siblings, all the people at Sakura's hospital, Gai and Kakashi's other Jounin friends, Naruto's friends and year mates… just, so many people. And they were mostly all friendly towards her! She had made friends at the academy, even though they were all younger than her. She had been foreign and new (apparently, she had an accent?), and had been a hot topic when she'd arrived, but that had eventually settled. She had a roof over her head and food whenever she wanted, clothes that fit, hot water, air conditioning, luxury upon luxury.
"Okay, let go of the dial." Trish's voice cut into her thoughts, and she released the dial as asked.
She felt the feeling of stretching ease, and the dial slowly rotated back to a resting position.
"…16."
"Good." Trish said. Sierra opened her eyes again, blinking at the lights of Trish's office. "Good work, Sierra. We're all done for today, let's get you home."
Trish packed up quickly, and the two left together, chatting as they walked through Konoha proper.
Sierra sometimes wandered if she was supposed to think of Trish as a mother, if that was why Naruto had chosen her as Sierra's councilor. Certainly, the woman was friendly towards her, and caring. She would grab her shoulder or elbow and pull her out of the way of things while walking home, gently tuck her hair out of her face, or plait it for her during a session. She listened to everything the girl said with patience and love, and clearly went the extra mile by taking her home and talking to one or both of her parents, carefully advising them how to take better care of their charge.
But then, she'd had the same thoughts about Sakura. Sakura's role in her life was more organic and real. While certainly kind and caring, the woman was already involved in her fathers' lives. She saw Sakura often when she first arrived, but now that she was meeting most of the bars for her age bracket (Except for height, that wasn't climbing quite as quickly as they'd thought it would) she saw her just as often, but more casually. Naruto and Sakura often hung out (especially with him not going on missions as yet), meeting for lunch or going out to dinner, which Sierra often joined them for. Sakura and Kakashi meanwhile still had occasional sparring sessions and hang outs, and Sakura would pop in every other day if Naruto was out of town to make sure Kakashi wasn't accidentally neglecting her needs. (He forgot to pack her a lunch for the academy one time and Sierra doubted he would ever hear the end of it.)
Trish focused on her mental well being, Sakura on her physical. Trish listened patiently, but Sakura would happily call her an idiot and tussle her hair.
When they got back to the apartment, Trish joined Naruto on the couches for some wine, and Sierra went to join Kakashi in the kitchen. He was making a big stir-fry for them all while Konoha radio played from a device nearby.
Sierra paused, absorbing the music, the warmth and good smells radiating from the kitchen, and even Trish's shriek of laughter as Naruto provided her some ancillary information about his and Kakashi's alleged fight. She looked back over her shoulder at her father, raising an eyebrow. Sierra hadn't heard what he'd said, but at her glance he went red and buried his face in his hands. Trish patted his shoulder comfortingly, still laughing.
"What are they giggling about in there?" Kakashi asked his daughter, about to serve up dinner. He was wearing a pink apron covered in romping puppies, over regular navy ninja pants and shirt, sleeves pushed up over his elbows.
"Probably whatever you two were fighting about this week." Sierra said, with a coy smile.
Kakashi stilled. "They better not be!" He called, loud enough to reach the other room, startling another shriek of laughter from Trish. Kakashi winked at Sierra.
"I didn't say anything!" Naruto shouted back, and even his voice carried his mortification.
Sierra laughed, moving to help her father.
No, her life wasn't good. It was perfect. And, as she moved from one room, where one father kissed her forehead as he handed her two bowls of delicious smelling food, wearing a ridiculous apron, into the other room, where the other sat with a glass of wine in one hand, the other smushed against the bridge of his nose in an attempt to hide his red cheeks, before accepting the bowl with a grumbled thanks and a bashful smile, she realized something.
She didn't need a mother.
Naruto was running late that evening.
It wasn't unheard of, of course. Kakashi could hazard a dozen guesses as to why he would be running late that particular day. It could be that he was busy sorting some extra information regarding Kakashi's extended mission to Kazegakure the following day. Or, it could be that he wasn't sure about coming home, given the past 24 hours.
Why?
Sometime last night, when it was about time for the house to be winding down and Sierra to get to bed, Naruto had gone to touch her. Maybe to shift a lock of hair, or nudge her shoulder, Kakashi hadn't quite clocked the exact movement Naruto had made, but they'd all seen Sierra flinch.
Flinch. From Naruto.
She'd laughed nervously, brushing it off, and raced off to get ready for bed. Kakashi was shocked, but Naruto was ashen. Kakashi had tried to comfort him, but Naruto wasn't having it, and ended up spending the night in his office. Kakashi had tried to talk to Sierra before she'd gone to bed, but she'd brushed him off as well. He wondered if any of them had slept well. Kakashi knew he was kept awake, trying to figure out if her flinch had been a fluke or if it was something he needed to pursue further. She had been… a little withdrawn recently. Trish had told them that Sierra wasn't sharing anything noteworthy, but they were about to reach the anniversary for the peace summit, and she wondered if the girl was just suffering a bit of fatigue. Her life had changed substantially in only a year, maybe it was all catching up to her?
Still, such an action had significantly hurt Naruto, and Kakashi found he was actually quite annoyed at their daughter for hurting him so. Even involuntarily, if that's what it was. He remembered that Naruto, not actually being able to source the information on Sierra's actual birth date, had been planning to allocate her birthday to the day she arrived in Konoha, the day after the peace summit, and had been planning the girls 'first' birthday party in secret. The blonde was trying so hard, and now… for this to happen...
That morning, he'd come into the kitchen and found him quietly making breakfast. He'd hugged him from behind, kissing him, and was just generally a nuisance while Naruto continued to cook around him.
"I'm sure it was an accident." Kakashi had eventually said.
Naruto had stilled in his arms, before releasing a big sigh. "Ok."
"Ru…"
"Look, it is what it is, alright? Just-" Naruto shifted, shaking Kakashi off of him. He shoved a plate into the mans hands, and Kakashi gave in, moving to sit at the table. Naruto placed the last of breakfast down but didn't stop, going back behind the counter to begin washing the dishes.
When Sierra had finally joined them, Kakashi had finished his plate, and Naruto was leant against the kitchen counter, reading some documents.
Sierra came into the room quietly, placing a hand tentatively on Naruto's arm. Kakashi watched as Naruto briefly steeled himself, putting on a small smile. "Good morning little-"
"I'm sorry." She said, eyes cast down.
Naruto placed his other hand over hers. "I… just wish you'd tell me what's wrong."
She fought it for a moment, before breaking into sobs. Naruto had dropped down by her side, pulling her into a tight hug. Kakashi came over but didn't push himself into the moment. She hadn't cried much in the near year she'd lived in Konoha. They'd both taken her to Trish's office, and Kakashi had stayed there when Naruto had gone on to the tower, notifying the academy that she wouldn't be in on the way. To Kakashi's frustration, Sierra hadn't given Trish anything.
Something was upsetting their daughter, and she wouldn't talk about it. Trish tried to reassure him, once again, that it could just be fatigue, or hormonal changes courtesy of the puberty that had caught up to the girl a few months ago, but she seemed less certain this time.
They'd stopped by Sakura's office at the hospital, and she'd done a quick assessment of the girl. She confirmed that it could be hormonal, but she couldn't be certain. Kakashi had then taken Sierra home, and they'd relaxed all day. Keeping conversation light and doing trivial things, like painting her nails and some not so taxing chakra exercises before they flopped on the master bed and spent time reading together.
Presently, he finished off the stir fry, filling the three bowls on the counter and tossing the pan into the sink. She smiled as he put the bowl in front or her and joined her at the table, she'd accused Kakashi in the past of being able to stir fry literally anything. It was true, of course, tossing meat veggies and sauce in a pan was an easy bachelor meal. He'd branched out in the past year, but he still made it on autopilot sometimes, even if he'd intended to make something else.
"I forgot, how long will you be away for?" She asked, as she began eating.
Kakashi pointed his fork at the big family calendar on the wall behind her, where it was clearly marked. "10 to 14 days. The Kazekage has asked for my help with a border town because I'm familiar with the chief. There will be plenty to do, from maintenance, basic civilian weapon training, a festival, just… all kinds of things. Seems every time it's mentioned, either the Hokage or the Kazekage have added something new to the itinerary. Then, I have to report in at Suna, before coming home."
She nodded.
"… I can cancel it, though." He said, watching her.
She grimaced. "No… it's fine. But I'll miss you. Obviously." She tried to smile at him.
He nodded. It wasn't actually a mission he could easily cancel, but he would've pushed hard if she'd asked him to. "Well, I'm going to try and keep it short anyway, and try to get home in about ten days." 'Otherwise, I might miss your birthday.'
Naruto came clattering through the front door, cursing as he dropped something. "You're just in time for dinner." Kakashi called.
"Barely." Naruto panted around a grin.
He came up behind Sierra, squishing her in a hug, and covered her in smooches. Kakashi watched on, amused, as she tried to fight him, before giving in to laughter as Naruto continued to squish big kisses on her cheeks and head. In her efforts to fight him off, a piece of saucy meat flew off of her fork, catching in Naruto's hair.
…Ok, so he clearly wasn't avoiding them.
Naruto laughed breathlessly as Kakashi reached over and pulled the food from his hair. "You need another haircut." Kakashi murmured, and Naruto cheekily smooshed a kiss onto Kakashi's cheek, pulling away with an audible pop. As Naruto moved to fetch his bowl from the counter, chuckling, Kakashi looked at his daughter, dead-pan. "Gross."
She shook her head at him, grinning.
Author's Note:
Welcome to chapter one of Twisted Times Continued, the sequel to Twisted Times. This chapter is a big, long welcome, exposing you to some choice events over the course of the past 12 months before we jump into current events.
Thanks for reading!
You should also know that I wrote a one-shot while I was away! I posted it just last night. It's not a part of the Twisted Times universe, in fact it's a one shot smut fic called Perspective about Naruto and Sasuke, set closer towards the Boruto timeline. It's my first attempt at a sex scene! If it gets enough love, I may consider writing the sex scenes for Twisted Times, in all their graphic glory. After I get all the plot out first!
Here's my question for reviewers: What do you think of our new OCs, Inness and Triss? They are of course NOT main characters, just ancillary, but provide emotional and intellectual support to our favorite found family. Also, any thoughts on what's going to happen next? Stay tuned for Chapter 2!