DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe. This is my Mito, though.
Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Mito speaking to Kurama in her mindscape," etc .)
Emphasis
Bijuu, etc. speaking
Bijuu, etc. thinking
Jiraiya had finished writing his first big draft of the sequel to his latest book and, as he'd promised earlier, called it Icha-Icha: The Chase. It was awful! "This thing will be known as the series' new low - by a long shot," Mito said to herself.
Dante, the original, heroic (and handsome) protagonist in the last book, had been completely abandoned for Ro and Ray. Mito was sure that they were a barely-disguised Orochimaru and Jiraiya (who in the last book had also been an alias for Dante - or an especially compelling version of him.) Jiraiya was weird like that and his books were always a little "off."
"Maybe one day, people will look back on this as representative of Ero-ojii's depressed period or something," she muttered as she scratched her head with her pencil. "Ooo: maybe he'll get a documentary and it will delve into this, his more introspective years."
Jiraiya was cool; she could see it happening.
Mito sure as hell didn't want her name associated with this book, ever, whether she was editing it or not, however. As soon as she finished, she was never picking it up again. "Oh, alright, who am I kidding? I'll keep ONE copy so that my collection's whole and complete."
"Sensei, you're talking to yourself again," Shino said quietly.
"AH! Sorry about that Shino-kun. Ooo: nice brush strokes!" She snickered at the way the kid (probably) glared at her. Shino was definitely the neatest painter, though. "We do enough D-ranks, guys, and if you each continue to beef up your training, then I'll request a nice C-rank for you. How's that sound?"
Shino and Hinata slumped. Mito smirked: she was sure they were all sore as hell - but they were getting stronger.
"How many?" Kiba asked. He stopped painting the barn they were working on when he realized that Akamaru had red paint on him again. Whether his name meant "red" or not, he needed to clean him up. "How many of these awful D-ranks do we have to do before we get a C-rank?"
"All missions are important, Kiba-kun, and that information's secret. Plus it's at my discretion!" Mito smiled as Hinata walked up the side of the wall, having apparently gotten tired of using the ladder and being forced to repeatedly move it around. "That's the spirit, Hinata-chan! See boys, we can train to get stronger while we do these menia- haha- while we do this very important work for our village and clients."
Kiba pointed his thick paintbrush at her. "You almost said it AGAIN." He pouted when his sensei just grinned like a maniac (she was one) at him. He knew she was teasing them but he guessed she could be right about training while doing this stupid job. "I'm not great at wall-walking. It's easier to do on trees," he admitted quietly. He frowned at Shino, silently daring him to make fun of him. Hinata was too quiet and nice to do such a thing. Fortunately, his teammates just continued painting.
"You tend to put your feet through walls, then?" Kiba nodded back - ever so slightly and looked thoroughly put out. "Inuzukas have a lot of chakra, Kiba-kun, but it's not like your teammates here don't. You just need to practice. Soon enough, you'll NEED to be able to jump from surface to surface, including water, without thinking about it."
"Some students at the Academy had very small chakra reserves. Why is this important?" Shino asked. "Because a certain amount of chakra must be maintained in order to water walk."
"So that's why you didn't work on it there," Mito hummed to herself. Some of the kids didn't have enough chakra to stand on the water. That was unfortunate. "Hey, Kiba. Maybe we can practice on water later if we have enough time."
"Hinata knows how to do it," Kiba said, surprising the girl.
"Ah! Ano - y-yes. Ah-all Hyuugas are r-required to um… Yes!"
Mito internally sighed but smiled warmly at the insecure girl (or she hoped that she did.) After only a couple of weeks, Hinata's and Shino's rather unique ways of speaking were getting on her nerves. Kiba was brash but pretty much normal aside from translating his ninken partner's language, which was fine. Akamaru had a great attitude and was extremely well-trained for a puppy. "That's wonderful, Hinata. Maybe you can help me work on that skill with the boys?"
"Oh. H-hai!"
The farmer's wife, Yamana-san, came out and brought them refreshments which Mito appreciated since it meant that she could save the stores of food she had on her for next time. The woman shrieked when she saw Hinata so high up (and standing horizontally on her barn) and Mito had to catch the girl when it scared her. Now they were both covered with red paint. Hinata and Yamana-san seemed mortified but Mito laughed it off - or tried to. It's not like she wanted to be covered in red paint, either.
She pressed her body up against the last side of the barn they'd yet to start on and rolled herself around on it like a paint roller.
Three children and one middle-aged woman gawked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Well, I'm sorry! I thought it was a good idea and I didn't want to waste paint."
"Oh, haha -that was a wonderful idea, Mito-sama!"
Hinata looked thoroughly ashamed and as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Mito pulled her aside after helping her clean up a bit. She jogged back and grabbed some lemonade and cookies for her kunoichi student. "Don't worry about it, Hinata. Yamana-san made me jump, too."
Hinata knew that probably wasn't true. Mito-sensei was a JONIN. She sniffed and rubbed at her eyes after trying to find part of her jacket that was safe to use - something that wouldn't make the whole thing worse! "F-father won't…"
"Hinata, did you know that your uncle, Hiashi-sama's twin brother, was my mother's Genin teammate?"
Hinata blinked at her sensei, wide-eyed. "I… I didn't know that. Oh!" She'd seen a picture once: of course. "U-Uzumaki K-Kushina." Hizashi-oji didn't talk about his Genin team often but Hinata knew who Hokage-sama's deceased wife was, of course.
"That's right," Mito nodded. "My mother told me about some of their missions together. She… used to pull a lot of pranks on your father." Oftentimes with Hizashi's help: she probably shouldn't mention that. Damn Hyuuga Clan politics. "Their missions were just like ours and I'm POSITIVE your uncle AND your father went home with paint or worse on their clothes many, many times." Mito nodded over at her two male students who had come to check on them. And they brought her yummies, too, it seemed. "What sweet boys you are. Thank you."
"I heard what you were sayin', Sensei," Kiba began. "Can… I ask why you go buy Namikaze but Naruto's an Uzumaki?" He'd been wondering for a while.
"Sure. Let's take a break." She had them sit down by the nearby fence posts and leaned against one. Pulling out some seals, Mito eventually found something that would help Hinata clean up her clothes more - or at least make her more comfortable. Mito planned to jump in the river after the mission was over; Hinata could come with her if she felt like it. Hell, they all could!
In their training this morning, she thought Hinata would have a stroke when she suggested to the girl that she take off her jacket, so that wasn't something she'd mention again. For right now.
"I was born a couple of years after my mother was kidnapped by Kumo for her bloodline" and for another, big furry reason. "My father wasn't yet widely known in the shinobi world and so I was given his last name, instead, to protect me. They hoped that I wouldn't be found out about. You three are clan kids, you understand such a thing, right?" The kids all nodded. "That's the only reason I'm telling you. Naruto and I are both Uzumakis - no matter what our last name is: the only ones I know of in Fire Country.
"Because of that," the Jonin sighed as she continued, "and the fact that my father had so many enemies by that time - Naruto was given the Uzumaki surname. It was also a tribute to my mother who died shortly after he was born." The kids continued to sip their drinks silently so she brought up what was planned for the next day. "Tomorrow we'll be meeting up to train with the other kids you graduated with that have Jonin-senseis." After a beat, Hinata turned red in the face, Kiba fell backward, groaning, and Shino's bugs began buzzing louder. "Did you say something, Shino?"
He turned his head toward her. "No."
Yamana-san returned with some dish soap and a pitcher of water. Mito immediately took off her stained Jonin vest and began trying to work the stain out. She gave Hinata an expectant look but didn't force the issue. "Ya know, I was just asking, Shino," Mito said, trying not to laugh at his tight shoulders and the way his bugs seemed so irritated. What a cute little brat you are. "When we go back to work, we're playing 20 questions."
"No way," Kiba began to snicker. "That's a kid's game!"
"Question 1: why do you think that, Kiba?"
Kiba's eyes widened. "Uh… Cuz we played it when we were kids. Didn't you?" Mito nodded but Shino and Hinata had never played. "Okay then, question 2!" His eyes darted toward his sensei to see if it was okay and she nodded and looked excited. "Shino, what kind of games did you play as a little kid?"
Shino huffed, not believing he would have to engage in this silly game but understood how it could be beneficial since Mito-sensei was determined to make them into more than simple comrades. "One of my favorites was Bidama."
"Ooo! I bet you have a nice marble collection," Mito said. Shino bobbed his head and Kiba began eagerly peppering him with questions about it, making Hinata lighten up and quietly laugh as they began discussing Shino and his brother's especially important marbles.
This is good: we need to do this more, for sure.
"May I ask a question now?" Shino asked. He turned back to Kiba. "Why are you interested in my marble collection?" Mito snorted and Hinata covered her giggles.
"Cuz I didn't know you played man - and it sounds like you're good," Kiba cried. "You should've played with us at the Academy!"
"WELL that's all behind us," Mito said quickly. She'd heard about Shino possibly being excluded or not wanting to be included in some of the kids' activities at school from Naruto when she'd told him who was on her team. It was almost like Naruto didn't know who I was talking about at first. "Now you two can play and maybe even include me and Hinata. Let's ask HINATA a question!" Kiba raised his hand: that was super cute - and a first.
"Do you think dogs or cats are better?"
Hinata's very pale eyes darted between Kiba and their sensei and she finally made a "Huh-uh" sound as she shook her head, refusing to answer as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Mito got it! Her team had been tracking (& running from, & being attacked by) her cats all over the village and let's just say the Jungle Cats weren't the only ones sick of it. "Ah, you have to answer, Hinata-chan; but why don't we ask if you like dogs or NORMAL cats better? Is that acceptable, Kiba?"
"I guess," Kiba said easily enough. "You gotta include ninken with dogs, though."
"Do- do you like n-normal cats, s-sensei?" Hinata asked.
"Not really. I mean, they're okay…" Mito had wanted a kitten or cat when she was very small but she was pretty sure that Lord Third gave her a ninneko to scratch and torture her for a few days so that she wasn't interested in them anymore. -Before she learned how wrong it was, she felt, to keep pets. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that monster had a bow on its ear. "Hmm."
Was it Tora? –That's mean! I can't believe he might've done that to me!
"Dogs! I- I like dogs," Hinata exclaimed and then turned red again.
"Traitor," Mito snarked under her breath and then held in a snort at the way Hinata started trying to take back what she said.
She cheered when most of the red paint was gone from her vest, however. "Now I've just gotta get this out of my hair," she huffed. "Let's finish this, eh?" She made a few clones and they and the kids made short work of their mission, got their payment, and headed to the river.
She walked out on top of it and gestured for Hinata to do the same. Both boys seemed wary; Shino because of his bugs. Mito sat down and stuck her head under the water and had a clone help her get the paint out of it.
"Hinata-chan," Mito whispered once the boys were trying to get a feel for sticking chakra on top of the water with their hands as she'd asked them to. "Do you not want to clean off your jacket? I've got lots of stuff that should take it off with the water. It'll only be more difficult once the stain is set."
"Uhm," Hinata clutched her jacket. "No, sensei."
Mito sighed. She had a feeling that Hinata might be a little more developed than the other girls her age - or was insecure about it. She, too, had developed not necessarily early - but fast (and alone at the Capital. It wasn't terribly pleasant.) "You're going to have to get used to this kind of thing: bathing around your teammates and stuff, Hina-chan. –Do you mind if I call you that?"
"N-no!"
"Good. Now help the boys water walk, okay? You're team captain right now. They're in your care."
"M-me?" Hinata asked in shock.
"Yes, you! Is that a problem?!"
"Uh… Hai! I mean, no: it's n-no problem, sensei!"
Mito bobbed her head and took off, racing across the water but leaving a few clones behind in case one of the cubs decided to go and drown or something. She needed to blow off some steam before her little dumplings' quirkiness made her lose her cool.
When she came back, the boys were soaking wet but Kiba was eager to ask her Question 20.
"Oi, sensei. We all want to know," he grinned, ignoring the way Hinata "eeped" and fell into the water for a second. "What's the deal with your hair?"
"Oh, man! You guys suck, you know that?"
.
The next day, 12 fresh Genins met for the first time in Training Ground 12. Their senseis were late - something that Naruto and Sakura were angrily bitching about being the norm: one loudly and the other in hisses. Team 8 had gotten some weird looks when they all began stretching as soon as they arrived together. The other Genins observed them while they chatted. Sora walked over, dropped the bag he was carrying, and joined them, gesturing for his teammates to join, too, as he yawned.
"What are they doing?" Choji asked anxiously.
Shikamaru's eyes were sharp. "I think the question is what are we not doing that they are?"
"Whaddya mean, Shikamaru?"
Naruto ran up to Kiba. "Hey! You losers think you're better than us?!"
"Yes," Kiba drawled, grinning at the way Naruto, naturally, came unglued at his comment. He's such a hothead, he thought - which was pretty funny, considering what a hothead Kiba was. He snickered when Naruto began stretching while looking over his shoulder to see if Sakura was watching him. He fell over and Sai immediately began giving him shit for it.
Mito's mouth fell open as she listened to the Uchiha-looking kid smack-talk her brother and wondered if it was wrong or weird that she wished that she and Kurenai could exchange students.
That kid's hilarious!
Three of their senseis watched from the trees. Mito dropped her head and handed over some ryo to Asuma, trying not to listen to more of Sai and Naruto's "conversation." She hadn't believed her brother could be quite this much of a goofy dork around his friends but the proof was right in front of her - acting like an orange, lovesick, brutish idiot.
"Your students certainly seem hardworking, Mito-chan," Kurenai commented. "Mine usually wait for me to show up before beginning to warm up." She pushed Asuma's hand away from his pockets with a glare that dared him to pull out his cigarettes right now.
"Sora, too?!" Mito asked, outraged. "He knows better than that," she huffed. "I'll be happy to sic my summons on them, Kurenai-chan. That's how I got my Genins to start behaving - right from the start." She punched her fist into her other hand, remembering how freaked out they were. It had been beautiful.
"Ah, no thanks," Kurenai said, not liking that idea at all. Mito shrugged but put her face in her hands when she saw her very orange little brother trying to show off and completely ignoring poor little Hinata-chan who is trying to greet him. She sighed. "Since you showed them what their affinities are, my group won't stop asking me to teach them jutsus. I had hoped that Kakashi-san would show up so I could get some advice from him."
Mito hummed, turning pinker and pinker as she thought about her last interaction with the silver-haired shinobi. It had been mortifying. Had she been thinking straight, she would've offered to teach Kurenai's kids a jutsu, each. She'd heard each one of them had very, very good chakra control.
"What's with that face?" Asuma asked her. Mito tried to push him off the tree but didn't put any chakra into it. "Why don't you go haul Hatake's ass over here: God only knows how long we'll be waiting for him, otherwise." Asuma knew that Mito could find anyone.
"No thanks," Mito said as she felt her head about to explode from embarrassment.
Kurenai also wondered what had Mito looking so flustered. "I'd love to see you use your chains; that would be hilarious." Mito disappeared in a flash of red and yellow teleportation. "Was it something I said?"
Two weeks before -
Mito stalked her prey and found the pervert reading in a tree. Kakashi took one look at her and tried to make a run for it. Mito grabbed him with her chains and twirled him into her. "WHAT did you do to my brother?"
"Maha! Ha! Maa, maa, hime-sama. I passed him and the other brats, didn't I?"
"Stop calling me that; you're not making your victimhood any easier, calling me that! –Now what gave you the right to jutsu my brother's asshole?"
Kakashi let out something between a snort and a giggle. "That's my father's original jutsu you're slamming."
Mito thought that Kakashi HAD to be lying. "Your father, the great White Fang, invented the Ass Poke, did he?"
"'Ass Poke?!' Yare, yare. I'll have you know that jutsu is called '1,000 Years of Death' for a very good reason, hime-sama."
"Is it, now?" Mito asked. A slender pointed chain shot out of her back and straight into Kakashi's ass - not too hard, of course. She had NOT anticipated his somewhat erotic response to that. She blushed all over herself, panicked, and ran away while he yelled about suing her for sexual harassment or telling her father about her "true nature," chuckling as if he thought the whole thing was funny.
"God." And to think, I was going to go over sexual harassment with the kiddies. She had no right! Sniffling pathetically, she jumped when Kakashi snuck up on her.
He flipped open his book, grinning behind it. "Nice, subtle response there," he teased. "Why aren't you with your Genins?" Mito's pretty eyes flashed at him, her little nostrils flaring, too.
"Why aren't YOU with yours?"
Kakashi shrugged. "I had a mission to sniff out potential perverts. Maa, it seems I found one." Mito disappeared again, making him snort and skip off to find his chibi minions.
.
Later that evening after dinner and camping/mission drills -
Mito set her hands on her hips, wondering if she should send her Genins home. Nope. She was going to work these kids to their limits so that they'd grow strong and stay alive long after she was gone. "Team 8; you're with me." Asuma shot her a weird look - all of the kids had worked pretty hard all day and into the evening hours (no different from what she usually forced on her team but maybe she did more with her Genins than the other senseis did? No one else was giving their kids homework, either: what was that about?) She blew out the breath she'd been holding, deciding to go with her gut.
"Where to now, Mito-sensei?" Shino asked. He was always so QUIET! Mito was glad that he asked questions at least.
"Hospital. I need to start my rounds and you three are with me." The kids seemed relieved at that, making Mito smirk. She worked damn hard at the hospital and could use some extra little hands. "Akamaru needs to go home, though. Let's drop him off!" Kiba really didn't like that.
She later introduced them to Tsunade, grinning as the boys gawked (but bopping Kiba on the head when he seemed to be ogling her godmother's impressive assets. It was better that she discipline him rather than Tsunade sending the boy sailing across the village or breaking him in half or something.) Tsunade sent the kids to shower and change into chibi scrubs - just like the ones she, Shizune, and Mito used to wear when they were little.
"Aw! You guys look so cute," Mito cooed. Shino looked especially uncomfortable without his big coat covering half his kawaii face. Tsunade's footsteps clicked closer in the hallway and Mito heard her chuckle lightly.
"I remember when your sensei was even smaller than you and in those scrubs. Hmm. How about I take them off your hands for a while, Mito? A team just came in and they all need stitches."
Mito's nose wrinkled up just as much as her Genins' did. "You can't uhh, heal them?" she whispered. Tsunade gave her a look that told Mito that she was in for hell for doubting her mentor. She groaned and might have whimpered a little. "I know it would be good for them to learn. Are you three up for it?" All three kids looked highly uncomfortable but seemed to realize that tending to wounds would be good for them to learn. So far everything they knew about it from their sensei had been theoretical and Hinata's med classes hadn't allowed her to work on people yet. "You're all so mature; I'm so proud of you."
Tsunade clicked her tongue and led them away. All three of them kept looking back at her while Tsunade mentioned that she was in charge until 2230.
Shortly after that was when Mito found her poor little kitties in the cafeteria, sleeping next to their uneaten food.
"Oh, no! Your parents are going to kill me!"
20 minutes later Mito met a furious (and worried) Hyuuga Hiashi at his compound's gates. He was ready to rip Namikaze Mito a new one if something happened to his firstborn daughter. Instead, he met a pair of glaring eyes that dared him to do just that. Her words were as polite as they'd been in council meetings, though.
Her smile seemed just as false.
"Please forgive me for bringing Hinata-san back so late, Hyuuga-dono. After our group training session, Hinata was good enough to follow me back to the hospital for my rounds. Although I was in surgery, Tsunade-hime took over for me and has given me extremely positive feedback on Hinata's chakra control, her skills, and her ability to mend and stitch wounds. I can also confirm that I am very impressed with her."
Hiashi looked surprised before he schooled his features. Minato's daughter was softly apologizing to his daughter for keeping her out so late, praising her, and being quite kind as she stroked Hinata's hair once that it made a lump rise in his throat. He said nothing but walked his daughter back home - although he did give the Jonin-sensei a puzzled look when he realized the Uzumaki Head was still standing outside their compound's gate. He turned toward her and thought he'd seen the red-haired devil herself, glaring at him before she teleported away.
Oh, God. She's just like her mother but with Minato and Tsunade-hime's techniques?! –No, no. That's impossible.
"So, Hinata. We have had little time to speak since you've been placed on a Genin team. Why don't you tell me about your sensei and teammates?"
Hinata blinked up at him, wondering if she was still asleep. She wasn't sure if this was a dream or a nightmare.
Minato peeked down from the roof. "You're back awfully late." He winced when his surprised daughter shrieked and came unglued - bringing ANBU careening in from everywhere - and then tried not to laugh as he flagged them off (and Mito apologized &/or seemed willing to fight them all in her embarrassment.)
Mito was still groaning when she came inside. He met her downstairs. Momo-san was in the kitchen and determined to warm up dinner for her.
Momo did not want Mito-hime trying to cook and thus destroying much of The Residence's kitchen again, so when she heard the shrieking outside, she grabbed her yukata and headed there to protect it.
"Burning the candle at both ends, are we?" he asked his daughter teasingly.
"No. But my Genins have been. And I really screwed up tonight." Her father had been a Jonin-sensei, so maybe he could give her a few tips or tell her if she was on the right track with them. "I took my Genins to the hospital after training so that they could give me a hand. I got busy but… Ugh. Tsunade watched them for half the evening and they all fell asleep in the cafeteria. I just got back from walking them home."
Minato nodded, not willing to say how much crap he figured Hiashi would give him about such a thing. Shibi was cool and Tsume was probably thrilled to have a night without her youngest around although he was sure that both had been worried. "Were their parents understanding?"
"I think so. Tsume has invited the team over for dinner tomorrow, but I feel bad imposing my presence when I've finally given the kids a day off."
Minato felt a smile tugging at his lips. Mito was devoted to her job; that was certain. "Finally?"
"Yeah," she breathed guiltily. "This is their first day off." Her father choked and started laughing. "I haven't been balls to the walls with them EVERY day!" Her eyes became wide when she saw Momo-san put something into the oven that she'd only seen on TV. "Is that… real pizza?" It looked like one of those fancy things with the big scops of white, fluffy cheese and herbs on it. Isn't it called a "Margarita" or something like that?
"It is," Momo said. "I'm surprised that you're familiar with this particular version."
"ARE YOU JOKING?!" Minato laughed and put a silencing seal down. "Oh, sorry."
"No, no. It's just time that you learned about Momo, Mito-chan. –About her origins and - well, everything! Ah. Mito is also - or was also a TV buff, Momo. When she had time to watch television. Do you still like to do that, Mito-chan?"
Mito nodded absently. It's not like she'd seen much TV since she'd been back but she once had a little fantasy about winning The Price is Right by either better 1 unit of money on top of whatever the highest bidder declared OR betting only 1... "Dollars," she was almost sure, was the currency in California. Not that such a thing mattered right now. She'd had once hoped to do that when she was an old lady.
"Are you sure, Minato?" Momo asked as she sat down at the table.
Mito noticed that Momo-san was already pulling out some alcohol for whatever this was about, though. She ran her fingers through her two-toned hair, pushing it back - and tried to seem unaffected, but these two were really acting MUCH more informal or intimate with each other than she'd ever imagined. She felt her gut churn, wondering if they had some kind of secret relationship. Her father had been alone a long time and… She sighed and closed her eyes. Momo was also quite a bit older than her father - not that she supposed that mattered.
Such a thing would simply take some getting used to, she tried to assure herself.
"I am," Minato grinned and patted the table. He believed in trust engendering trust and this was a family issue, besides. He'd screwed up with Mito repeatedly before and wanted to fix things. Hopefully, she'd be excited about this: he bet she would be! "Go on and introduce yourself properly, Momo."
Momo poured herself a drink. "Mito. I am your father's caretaker and…"
"Tsk! I don't need a caretaker and that's not what I meant!"
"I manage the household, how does that sound?" Momo asked. Minato pretended to think that over but bobbed his head. "I used to go by the name Mimmi Namie. My real name, however, is Namikaze Momo."
"You got… married?! WHAT THE FUCK, TOU-SAN?"
"Goodness, no! I'm Minato's aunt, Mito-hime!"
"What?" Mito breathed out after a beat. "And don't call me that," she muttered as an almost involuntary response.
"No one knows about this, Mito," Minato said, scooting forward. "Not even Naruto: not until he reaches Chunin or turns 16, at least, alright?" His daughter looked thoroughly shocked which was understandable. Aside from their noses and hairline, he and Momo didn't resemble each other very much and he could see her cataloging their features.
Momo used to have bright blonde hair, too, but it had changed as she aged.
"I love Naruto dearly but I'm afraid that he's got a big mouth," Momo sighed as she shot back some flavored vodka and then coughed. Mito got herself a glass to do the same. Her father waved a third glass off.
"When I lost Kushina, I was barely holding on," Minato admitted. Momo took his hand, rubbing his fingers comfortingly - and he grabbed Mito's, gripping both of them. Mito looked so guilty and miserable but it had been the truth. "That's what led to her coming."
Momo picked up the story. "I was born overseas. My father was a Konoha shinobi who had a mission over there." Spying was left unsaid. Mito was experienced enough to know what her father had been doing. "He met my mother, an American working as a translator.
"My chakra was undeveloped enough to remain undetected but when Minato contacted me, I was prepared to help. –I'd recently divorced and made a career change, becoming a chef, and I came as soon as I could." She then groaned just thinking about what she had to do to get here. "It took a very long time to make it here."
Mito tried to take it all in. She had always been told that her father was an orphan. "I… I can't believe it," she finally said in the end. "It's so crazy but good to know we have more family?" She pouted at her father. "You suck for not telling me sooner."
"Ah, I'm sorry, Mito," Minato said as he decided to have a drink after all. "My grandfather's S-ranked mission went on until his death. He lived a long life and this is the first opportunity I've had when either I wasn't up to my eyeballs in paperwork and/or Naruto wasn't around. I wanted you to get to know her a little - I know how suspicious you can be." His daughter rolled her eyes but turned red, making him grin.
"Your grandparents did have a good life, Minato. Salute." They all raised their glasses and drank another shot. Mito was in shock but she did later approach her great aunt and (very tentatively) hugged her after bowing and thanking her for taking care of her family while she was gone. It was almost… too good to be true. And Kami-sama: Momo was an EXCELLENT chef. "If your grandparents lived overseas, how did you get over here?" she asked her father before her eyes widened and she looked at Momo. "Did you crash a plane to get here?!"
That's how foreign-born civvies normally ended up here! –Not that many survived such a thing.
A genjutsu and thousands of interconnected seals had hidden the Elemental Nations from the rest of the world for over a thousand years. Some select "world power VIPs" DID know that the Elemental Nations existed but it was a huge secret to the common people. People with chakra weren't quite viewed as human over there, or so Mito had been told.
Momo grinned slyly. "No, I didn't have to crash it. I did have to get my pilot's license and 'disappear' however."
Mito shook her head in wonder. "Holy shit. I have so many questions."
Mito was still thinking about their conversation the next morning when she met up with Anko for breakfast. After a hearty meal followed by possibly too many sweets, they walked through the village together as merchants began to open their shops. She sighed. Mito was least comfortable when the streets were crowded and lots of people were milling around, close to each other. She figured they had around 15 minutes or so until things got really busy.
"Oi," Anko said, unknowingly breaking Mito out of her headache-inducing thoughts. "You been to Higurashi's before?" She pointed to the weapons shop they were approaching. Mito shook her head and Anko dragged her inside, the little chiming bells tinkling above them announcing their arrival. She smirked when she saw her friend's big eyes greedily looking around the shop. "It's the best and coolest weapons outfitter in the village."
"Why, thank you, Anko-senpai! Ah! Mito-sensei!"
Mito bobbed her head respectfully at the girl that had come out from around the counter in the back. "Tenten-chan, right?" She'd met Tenten at the hospital taking classes from Shizune. "How's the chakra control coming along?" Both Tenten and Anko groaned as the latter went off to drool over pointy things. Mito wanted to play with a lot of what she saw here, too. "Don't give up on it!"
"I'm not giving up. I'm not, I swear," Tenten promised. "It's just hard. But Gai-sensei said that you have enormous reserves…"
"She's enormous alright," Anko said, peeking her head out from behind some chain mail. "Have you seen her ass and those thighs?" Anko blew her cheeks out and gestured as if Mito was as wide as a truck.
"Fuck off, Anko," Mito steamed. "I can't help it if I'm a muscle-bound badass."
"You are an ass. And the word is "thicc" not badass:" Anko figured that was what thicc meant, anyway. Mito pouted. "And Tenten, don't inflate her ego, kid. " She disappeared into another awesome part of the store.
Mito glared at her friend but then grinned mischievously at the little bun-haired kunoichi. "Don't mind her, Tenten: she'll be dead soon. –So you were saying?"
"Ah. Gai-sensei said that you've been able to achieve fine chakra control despite how unruly and large your reserves are."
So he remembers me now, huh? That's nice. "Tsunade-hime has really large reserves, too. Wait. Did Gai call me enormous and unruly?"
"Uh, no! He uh…"
Mito's hair started crackling "Why's he talking about me?!"
"I asked him who the new senseis were," Tenten exclaimed (quickly!) - although Mito-sensei's hair-raising "thing" had been downright exciting - "and when he said you'd taken a team, I told him that I'd met you at the hospital."
"Oh. That's nice," Mito commented, sufficiently placated. Maybe she'd find Gai and challenge him to a spar. He seemed like a guy - no pun intended - who would be up for something like that. Plus she needed to pound him for talking about her.
"What kind of weapon are you looking for?" Tenten asked, getting back to work before her father came out and scolded her.
Mito wilted and blew out the breath she'd been holding as she looked around. There was SO MUCH cool stuff here! "I have trouble with super-cool weapons - or what to do with them in a real fight because I generally rely on my fists, seals, chains, and ninjutsu. So I need to keep my hands free." Tenten was staring, wide-eyed at her palms while she gestured.
"Can I ask what's in your seals?" And are they all over you?
"She's got everything but the kitchen sink in there, kid," Anko said, appearing with an enormous scythe. She swung it at Mito and her no-fun friend stopped her from cutting her head off with one overpowered hand. She snickered at Tenten when it looked like she was going to have her first orgasm. "Mito's even got furniture in there."
Mito felt her face heating up. "Don't tell people that, Anko!" It wasn't her fault that she couldn't yet afford to buy a building to house and display all the stuff she'd brought back from Uzushio! What was she supposed to do with it all?
"Is it true?" Tenten asked in wonderment. Mito-sensei shrugged sheepishly and Tenten lost control of herself. She bowed deeply in front of the Jonin-sensei. "TEACH ME, SENSEI! Take me as your apprentice!" Her face screwed up at her purple-haired frequent customer who started cackling. She was serious, dammit!
"Oh!" Mito squeaked, feeling bad about having to disappoint such a possibly eager student. "I wish I could, Tenten. But I have a new team and…" She snapped her fingers as she came up with a solution. "I can help you with your sealing whenever we've both got free time and sometimes I teach sealing lessons - of sorts - at the Academy to shinobis." She fumbled around in her seals to find a schedule to hand the girl, hoping that she'd show up for her (or someone else's) next fuuinjutsu lecture. "ANKO, GET OVER HERE!" Anko slunk over looking put out. "I bet Anko would be a great master for you!"
"WHAT? Don't tell her that, you asshole."
"You got free time! Take an apprentice you lazy whore," Mito hissed in her friend's ear. Weapons went sloppily flying and both Jonins tumbled around slapping and laughing at each other like children.
Tenten wondered if she made a mistake. Then she saw those seals on Mito-sensei again and tried not to drool. Tenten was almost positive that the three-pronged kunais had flown straight out of Mito-sensei's palms. When the dual-colored-haired Jonin wiped her thumb over another seal and all of her weapons returned to the seal in her arm, she had to fan herself off.
"I guess I could give you a test: see what you're made of," Anko said as she rubbed her sore chin and looked the girl over more. Mito got all excited, making her roll her eyes. "When are you off, Tenten? –And I'll need to talk to Gai to see if it's okay first - and I'll only take you on IF you pass my test, kid. -Whatever that is. Hmmm. If Hokage-sama will allow it, actually; gotta check that, too."
"He will!" Mito left them to it as she read a notice that she could order tessens from the business' partner shop in Suna. "Cool."
Minutes (and a lot of sword swinging) later, Mito heard Tenten talking about Gai's team and how they were supposedly the fastest Genin team in Konoha. "That's impressive. There are a lot of Genin teams that have been together longer than you, hm?"
"That's right," Tenten said proudly - hoping it was true. Gai-sensei said it was but he wasn't satisfied with their speed yet: ugh. And WHY had she not asked Anko-senpai to mentor her before? They both loved weapons and she was so cool! She was totally going to ace the snake summoner's test!
Mito hummed as she thought about what Tenten said. Fastest Genins in Konoha, huh? –Maybe she'd have to get her Genins to challenge that title. Her cubs were already gaining speed like crazy; running from cheetahs would do that.
Sorry, Tenten. Sorry, Gai! My Genins are coming for ya!