It was way too easy to break into Kumo. Like way too easy. I slipped in over the wall between guard shifts and that was it. The hardest thing about getting here was figuring out how to use makeup to cover the seal on my forehead. I spent the first afternoon in Kumo walking around to different shops, picking up some music, and getting a Gyuki toy from one of the shops. I grabbed some ramen before checking into a small inn on the outskirts of the village for the night.
My goal for today is to get everything I need and then get out of the village as soon as possible.
I check out of the inn with my Gyuki toy held firmly in my arms. Not only was it a good cover, acting younger than I am. But also, the toy was the only thing grounding me and keeping me from losing my mind. It's my first time in a village of this size in months and it's taking everything in me to act somewhat normal.
There's just so many damn chakra signatures. Everywhere.
I make my way towards the center of the village when I see a small food stall. It's not overly decorated, but it's the only place with a line in the area. As I get closer to the stall, I smell it.
Mangú?
I blink tears out of my eyes and immediately get in line. People are chattering around me and I have to force myself to breathe normally when I hear different words in Uzu. I knew that Uzu and Kumo planned on working together, but were they already this close before Uzushiogakure fell?
It takes a few minutes before it's my turn to order. An older woman stands behind the counter and immediately her eyes narrow as she looks down at me. I feel my cheeks heat up and I turn my attention away from the woman to the menu. There's a mixture of foods that I've seen in Konoha, foods I've learned about in Uzu, and foods that I'd never heard of before.
"Buenos días, chica. What can I get you?" A voice asks. I look up to see a younger woman by the older one. She smiles down at me and I feel my chest tighten. Her skin is light brown and contrasts with the white tank top she wears. Her curly red hair is pulled back in so many braids I can't even count them all.
"Qué pasa?" The girl asks, her head tilting.
"Lo siento," I rush to say. "Could I get an order of mangú with extra onions?" The girl smiles as she writes down my order.
"Uzumaki?" She asks as she looks up at me.
"What?" I squeak. The girl gives a mischievous grin, reminding me of Ichika.
"You're an Uzumaki, right? You've already got your seal and you're so young."
"My-" I touch my forehead and she tilts her head back as she laughs.
"You can't see it, chica," the girl says as she reaches over to pat my head. "You're safe here, stop by the Raikage tower and they can get you some supplies and a place to stay while you're here." I don't know what to say, and I lose a chance to say anything as she hands me a takeout container with a to-go coffee cup. I struggle to juggle the cute toy and food in my hands.
"I didn't-"
"It's on the house, prima pequeña. Cómo te llamas?"
"Me llamo es Uzumaki Kikuko," I say as I put the container on the counter to grab a spoon. "Y tú?"
"Did you say Kikuko?" Another voice asks. A boy leans over the counter to look down at me.
"Uh yes?" I say as I pick up my container of food.
"Kushina-chan's daughter?" The older woman asks as she leans over the counter too.
"Mucho gusto?" I say as I feel multiple eyes on me. The older woman's face relaxes as she lets out a small laugh. She reaches over the counter and pats the top of my head.
"I ran into your mother on the beach, it's nice to finally meet you, hime." The older woman says. "My name is Ueda Aiya, this is my daughter Akako, and my son Akihiko. Feel free to stop by whenever you're here."
"Thank you," I smile up at her. She starts making a shooing motion away from the counter and I take a step away.
"De nada, hime!" Akako says.
"See you around camarón!" Akihiko yells as he waves his hand.
"What did you call me?" I do not yell. The three Ueda's laugh as I turn and walk away. I pout until I make it to a deserted training ground and flop down against a tree. I take a sip of the coffee and I can't help but smile. Café con leche is the way to my heart.
I open my food container and take a large bite of the mangú. I sigh and lean back against the tree, closing my eyes for a second. I take my time eating the rest of the food while sipping my coffee. Once I've finished my food and stuck the empty coffee cup in the take out container, I freeze.
"Hey there, kid." I look up to see a man with tattoos on both of his upper arms. His light blonde hair covers one of his eyes, while his visible eye looks tired.
"Hi," I try not to squeak. He snorts as he crouches down beside me.
"I'm Darui," he says. "I'll take you up to the tower, okay Uzumaki-chan?"
"Why do I need to go to the tower?" Akako had mentioned going there as well. That was the last thing that we had planned on doing when I was back in Uzu.
"It's your first trip in Kumo, right?" He grabs my trash from me as he stands up.
"Yeah," I say as I stand up, clutching the Gyuki toy in my arms.
"Let's go," he nods towards the entrance of the training field and I take a few quick steps to walk beside him. "You can explain to the Raikage why you didn't check in at the gate when we get to the tower." I swear he eye smiles briefly before turning back and throwing my trash away.
Of course I'd end up being caught by Kumo's Kakashi.
"Why in the hell is Namikaze's kid in my office?" The Raikage yells as soon as the door shuts behind us. I feel shock register in Darui's chakra beside me.
"That's uh, not common knowledge?" I manage to squeak out.
"What?" He asks as he leans over his desk.
"Well, my brother still doesn't know, and technically I'm not supposed to know either. Something about protecting us or something. How did you know?" The man across the desk just blinks at me. Beside him is his brother, Killer Bee.
"You have the same eyes," the Raikage grumbles. He just stares at me as I shift on my feet.
"It's nice to meet you, Bee-sama!" I say after the silence in the room gets a little too awkward.
"What?" The Raikage asks again.
"I liked listening to his music when I was in the village?"
"I thought you said it was your first time here," Darui says.
"It is, I meant when I was in Konoha."
"Which means you've been somewhere other than Konoha," the Raikage says as he leans back in his chair. He crosses his arms over his chest and I know I probably look terrified.
"I can't really tell you where I've been." I rush to say. "But I promise I'm only here to get supplies and then go back to where I came from! I'm on a training trip, ya know? I haven't been in Konoha for months!"
"Alone?" A woman beside the Raikage's desk asks.
"Yes," I nod. I hold Gyuki closer to my chest and look back to the Raikage. His eyes aren't steely like they were before. He sighs and drops his hand on his head.
"How the hell am I supposed to believe Namikaze's kid is here peacefully?" He asks the woman beside his desk quietly. Her eyes soften as she looks at me.
"Maybe you should believe that a descendant of Uzushiogakure is here peacefully?" She asks gently.
"Uzushiogakure?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Y-yeah," I say quietly. "My name is Uzumaki Kikuko. The last princess of whirlpool." The room turns deathly silent. And then the Raikage lets out a loud sigh. He pinches the bridge of his nose, reminding me of Shikaku whenever we got caught doing a big prank.
"Yo bro!" Killer Bee says as he looks at his brother. "Can't let the princess be distressed-" I force myself not to giggle at that by hiding my face in my Gyuki toy. "Besides, she's got Gyuki, she can't be doing anything cooky." There's silence in the room again until after a few seconds I can't stop my muffled giggles from coming out. I see Killer Bee's smile widen as he looks back and forth between me and his brother.
"You're making sure she's not doing anything crazy," the Raikage says as he looks at Bee. I feel my eyes widen. Would that mean that Bee would be with me the rest of the time I'm in the village? "And you make sure you don't tell Konoha about any of your cousins or anyone else you might see here." He turns his eyes back to me.
"I'm not telling them anything about Kumo or Uzu," I say. My voice shakes from my anger and I see a small grin on the Raikage's face.
"Watch what you say, kid," he says and I drop my face into my toy. I hear a muffled giggle and some chuckles as my cheeks heat up.
"This is the longest conversation I've had with humans in months 'ttbane! It's easier keeping things out of letters!" The Raikage snorts loudly.
"Get out of here and don't blow anything up, Uzumaki." I feel myself pouting as I look up from my toy. Bee walks around the desk and puts a hand on my shoulder before he leads me out of the room.
"Thank you!" I say as we start to walk away. I pause in the doorway and turn around. "And uh Raikage-sama?" The man looks up at me from his paperwork. The woman who was once by his desk now stands beside him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Could you not tell anyone I was here?" He rolls his eyes and waves his hand.
"Like I'd tell that damn village anything." I grin and turn back around to follow Bee out of the tower. It's not until we get to the bottom of the stairs that I realize that he said cousins. Were there more cousins in the village other than the Ueda's?
I follow Bee out onto the bustling street and struggle to keep up with him. I end up grabbing onto the end of his white shirt. He looks down at me for a second before putting a hand on the top of my head as we keep walking through the crowd. For a second I'm able to see a small smile on his face. He goes outside of the bustling heart of the village and leads me to a small training ground down the main street.
When we stop he takes his hand off the top of my head and holds it out in a fist. I look up at him and make a fist of my own before I press it against his. One second we're in the training field and the next we're in a dark room.
"What?" I squeak. I hear a loud laugh and turn around to see Gyuki. Like actually Gyuki, not a toy. And he's huge. I feel my eyes widen and he just laughs harder. I hear Bee laugh beside me and look up at him. "You could've warned me, y'know?" I pull my hand back from the fist bump and wrap it back around to hug the Gyuki toy to my chest.
"Sorry," Bee says as he pats my head again. I pout up at him before turning to Gyuki.
"You're Gyuki," I say as I look up at him. He tilts his huge head and leans down a little to look at me.
"And you're not the leaf's jinchūriki," the tailed beast says as he looks down at me.
"Of course I'm not," I huff as I hold the toy closer to my chest. "My kaa-chan was, though."
"That's why you feel so much like Kurama, then." Gyuki says. "How's the cranky fox?"
"I don't know," I say as I look down at the toy. "Tou-san sealed him away, so much so that he doesn't know he's a jinchūriki."
"Kurama's going to be pissed," Gyuki sighs as he lays down. Bee immediately walks over and jumps up on his head. I walk over slowly and sit down beside Gyuki, leaning against the side of his nose.
"His jinchūriki will be able to change him," I say as I stretch out my legs.
"Oh really?" It's clear Gyuki doesn't believe me at all.
"He's really good at beating someone up and then making them be his friend."
"So how do you know about our names, Uzumaki-hime?" Gyuki asks after a moment of silence.
"I read a book on it in Uzu and there's murals of all of you in the Uzukage's tower."
"Uzu and us have a bit in common."
"Too much chakra and a love for explosions?" I ask as I start to pet actual Gyuki instead of the toy. I feel his amusement, but under that there's a deep sadness. I feel my lips wobble as I hide my face into Gyuki.
"I'm gonna fix things 'ttbane." I say between sniffles, "At least make it so you can talk to each other."
"You're going to need to work on your secret keeping skills then, little hime," I can hear the amusement in Gyuki's voice.
"I just feel safe here," I say quietly. I hear something shift and before I know it I'm pulled into a hug by Bee. I feel myself starting to fall asleep when there's quiet laughter. When I open my eyes we're out of Bee's mindscape and I'm leaning against him in the training field.
"Ready to shop till you drop?" Bee asks, grinning down at me. I smile up at him as I pull out my list.
"As long as we get some food soon." I get another head pat for that and soon we're walking through the crowded streets once again.
"Rice?" Bee asks.
"Check."
"Sword oil?"
"Check."
"Kunai?"
"I've got it, Bee," I smile up at him. His worried look turns to a soft smile as he pats my head. I pout at the action but that doesn't stop him. I knew that Bee knew that I was closely related to Kurama's jinchūriki. I don't know if that was the reason we were both already so close. Or if it was the fact that I didn't even flinch when I saw Gyuki.
Regardless of what brought us together, I'm already dreading leaving Kumo. I ended up staying overnight and going back to that same food stand in the morning with Bee and Darui. As soon as my cousins realized I was leaving they loaded up a scroll with food. Enough to last me at least a week. Darui moped beside me the entire time. It was just like Kakashi when he would pout if there was no eggplant at a restaurant. He eventually left, leaving me and Bee standing at the gate.
"Don't blow anything up," Bee says. I grin up at him. I may or may not have almost blown up a training ground the night before when Bee asked me to show him some of my seals.
"I won't blow anything up until I'm out of the country." Bee sighs but there's a small grin on his face. I feel the dread coming from the chunin at the gate and have to force myself to not laugh. I wrap my arms around Bee's waist and feel his hand pat me on my upper back.
"Let me know when you're coming back," Bee says. I pull away from the hug and smile up at him.
"Alright," I say. "I'll send my summons." Bee raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything.
"Be safe," he says quietly. "And come back if you need to."
"I will." He nods.
"Good, now get going. It might start snowing." I can practically hear Gyuki's suffering sigh at the rhyme. I don't say anything, though and turn to leave the village. Once I'm a few feet out of the gate I turn back around to wave at Bee before jumping into one of the trees. I was faster traveling by the trees than on the ground. A perk of growing up in Konoha. Although the trees here are nearly as large.
I start making my way down the mountain and get lost in my thoughts. In the rest of my time in Kumo I hadn't seen anyone else with red hair or Uzu characteristics. I'd have to talk to Kairi when I got back to the island to see if maybe she could send some of the hawks to look for others from Uzu.
Although if the Raikage found out he'd probably try to kill me.
Whoosh.
I keep running, although instead of the straight line I'd been running in earlier I keep changing my direction. Ichika was right about me needing to work on my awareness skills, I guess. There's a slight sting in the upper part of my ear. I'm pretty sure a part of my cartilage is missing. Thanks to the side of the kunai that went through it.
I stretch out my sensory abilities as I jump down from the trees into a clearing. There's a small village about two miles south. But there's only one other chakra signature near me. When it gets closer I let out a groan.
Of course root would be chasing me.
I quickly get a couple of shuriken and kunai from the seals near the pockets on my pants. As soon as I see the root agent in the tree above the clearing I throw my shuriken. The agent dodges easily and runs towards me with a tanto in their hand. Minoru's death flashes in front of my eyes as the agent gets closer. I struggle to breathe.
I move at the last second, barely missing the tanto. I channel chakra in my elbow and hit the agent behind their ear. I hear a grunt of pain as I shunshin across the clearing. I want more than anything to use my chains but that's the last thing I'm supposed to do.
I don't want Danzo to know I can use my chains. And if this agent gets back to him, that's the first thing they'll tell him. I reach my right arm behind me to the seal on the middle of my back. Ryūjin is immediately in my hand. I pull the sword from under my haori and hold it in front of me.
The root agent runs towards me again, just like before. This time I parry the attack and use one of my kunai to stab the root agent in their lung. They grunt again but bring the tanto down, slicing along the top of my shoulder. I close my eyes for a brief second from the searing hot pain.
But then I open them again. The tanto is coming down again and the agent has left their chest exposed. I hit their left shoulder to distract them, the tanto pauses for a brief second.
I stab the root agent through their heart. They drop the tanto. I barely register the brief thunk the weapon makes as it hits the grass. The root agent leans over Ryūjin. I slowly pull the blade out of their chest. I gasp as I feel the pain in my shoulder and look down at it.
It doesn't look good. My right shoulder is covered in blood that goes down my arm, staining the green haori. Of course root would manage to ruin the first piece of clothing that I take hours to cover in seals. I wipe the blood on Ryūjin off on the root agent's clothing before I put it back in my seal. It was a last minute decision to make the second permanent seal on my body. But I'm glad that I decided to make it. I use my left hand to grab my medical kit from the seal on the left side of my thigh.
Ai had me put one seal on each side of the pants for medical kits. I'll have to thank her for that when I get back to the island.
I see floating dots and bite my lip.
I need to work quickly. I carefully wrap my shoulder tightly. Blood still seeps through the bandages, but the bleeding seems to have slowed a little. I reach up to my ear and feel a small gap between parts of my upper ear and sigh. If I end up with a weird moniker about the small nick in my right ear I'll retire from being a shinobi immediately.
I put a bandage over my ear until I can get back to the island to deal with it. I'm already closer to Uzu than Kumo. There's no point in going back to Kumo, it'll just give Danzo more time to send another agent to attack me the next time I leave.
I slip my medical kit back into its seal before I bend down and put my hand over the seal along the bottom hem of my pants. A body scroll comes out immediately followed by another storage scroll. I take the mask off the root agent and slip it into the storage scroll first.
I look down at the man. His eyes are wide open, as is his mouth. With shaking hands I reach down to move his tongue. The seal is dark black.
Until it's not.
The seal turns to a bright red color and I shunshin away immediately. As soon as I'm safely behind a tree, my ears start to ring from the explosion. That didn't happen with the other root bodies from before. My ears still ring as I look back around the tree. Where there was once a clearing, there's now a crater. I wince as I look at it.
Ichika is going to kill me when she hears about this. I sigh and the scrolls in my hands back into their seal before I hop back up into the trees. I feel chakra signatures approaching from the small village and I do not want to be here when they arrive.
Translations!
Buenos días - good morning
Qué pasa - what's up?
Lo siento - I'm sorry
Prima pequeña - little cousin
Como te llamas? - what's your name
Me llamo es - my name is
Y tú - and you?
Much gusto - nice to meet you
Camarón - shrimp
Café con leche - coffee with milk