Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto
Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23
Chapter 25: Family life and lessons
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Now Naruto would be the first to admit his handwriting really, REALLY sucked. After discovering he had Shoton and had begun learning Fūinjutsu from Ero-Sennin it had improved quite a lot. Granted understanding and learning calligraphy was a total pain. He could not count how much his wrist hurt after practicing for hours and hours just to learn a simply sealing scroll!
Before the Chunin exams he really thought he'd progressed rather well all things considered. He was damn proud how he could make a dozen seal scrolls, silence seals, and that signal seal.
"Sloppy." Kushina drawled in an unimpressed tone.
Boy did he get a huge reality check now that he had his mother take over his Fūinjutsu studies. Said mother and son were sitting in the training room of their home as the morning sun had yet to rise. Both wore a simple shirt and pants as they sat cross-legged.
Jiraiya was damn tough on the blond when starting Fūinjutsu, even given him calligraphy for dummies book to help. However it was nothing compared to the perfectionist his mother was when it came to seals. As she explained to him Fūinjutsu was the craft of their clan. They are artists when it came to seals, and they were deeply proud of their works.
"I thought I was doing well..." He said dejectedly.
"For an Uzumaki, this quality is not 'well'" His mother said sternly. "This is basic stuff; even novices of the craft learn how to make sealing scrolls. How many items can your scrolls hold?"
"Um..." He hadn't really kept an accurate count. "Around... twenty I think?"
"And that right there should tell you all you have to know about the quality of your seals. Twenty is not a high number when it comes to storage seals, it's just passable at best" The redhead said, sounding strangely logical and teacher-like. "The quality of a seal determines how much mass it can stored, spread evenly among the items per number and size, then you have to take into account if the item in question has chakra. Have you ever wondered why ninjas don't just seal their enemies away?"
"Not... really?"
"Because the added chakra levels plus the mass of the person make it impossible for them to be stored away unwillingly inside a scroll that is of average quality only. To seal a single living, conscious and struggling person, you'd need a scroll that has the capacity to store hundreds of thousands of items. But trapping the enemy into something like that is more trouble than it's worth, that's why paralysis and other related types of seals exist. That's why we reserve such use for corpses only, the loss of life force and consciousness makes it much simpler"
"Huh" He hadn't gotten to that in his reading yet. That was good to know.
"So, a storage that can hold twenty items is not of proper quality to be used in the field. At most you'd only add like twenty shuriken or kunai. Or a fewer bigger items" Kushina crossed her arms, still looking unimpressed. "Ergo, this is sloppy work for an Uzumaki"
The blond could only slump his head in defeat while Kushina ran her hand through her son's blond locks; "Don't fret sochi. With me as your teacher, your Fūinjutsu will make Ero-Sennin cry in shame," she just LOVED that nickname her boy came up for Jiraiya. It was so perfect she could not stop laughing when she found out.
Tapping the tip of his brush in the ink he started the seal exercise again; "Who taught you Fūinjutsu?"
"Tsukiko-Baachan," Kushina smiled at the memories while mentally wincing on how many times she had to correct her hand technique. "The lessons are tough but make you one bad ass Uzumaki seal master!"
"Not the first time you mention her" He said, stretching back as he popped the knots in his arms. He could use a break. "She was the one who made the scroll that saved your life right?"
"She was" His mother said all too fondly. "Oh you should have met her; Tsukiko-baachan was just the coolest!" The grin in her face was very bright. "Everyone in the village knew her, and everyone knew for a fact she was the best damn Uzumaki we ever had. Unrivaled master of seals and eternal asskicker"
"She was badass huh?"
"Oh badass doesn't even cover it!" She sounded like a child gushing about how cool her parent was. "She's everything I wanted to be when I was a kid" Her smile grew soft, though it did little to change the happiness that radiated from it. "She pretty much raised me and a bunch of other kids"
He tilted his head; "She did?"
"Yeah. My mom died when I was little, and dad was always busy with the clan and the village." Kushina leaned back, resting on her palms. "I don't really remember a lot from my mother, except that she loved the sea and always took me to the beach"
The image of his mother as a toddler, making happy memories with his grandmother brought a smile to Naruto's face.
"Tsukiko-baachan was always there for us, she had always been" She said with a touch of old melancholy. A soft laugh escaped her lips; "I mean; she pretty much raised the two generations prior to my parents"
Wait... what?
"Uh, how old was she?"
"Oh around two hundred and fifty."
The blond's jaw dropped.
"Of course you couldn't tell because she physically looked only thirty years old."
"T-that the famous Uzumaki longevity I keep hearing about?" Naruto's mind reeling at the thought of someone actually living for that long.
"Partly, Baachan was a senjutsu master, or what most people call them a Sage, something about her mastery and how much it affected her aging process. How you earn that title is learning by senjutsu." Kushina winked with a wistful sigh.
"So that's why Ero-Sennin has his title? He's a Senjutsu master?"
At that the redhead laughed; "Nope! He's tier 1, especially since he needs Ma and Pa to help him." Confusion etched on her son's face; "I'll explain Senjutsu later. Ma and Pa are the elders of the Toads."
Making an 'O' expression the blond massaged his wrists. He really did not know much of anything about his clan. Never mind his father's which he was told was a nomadic bunch.
"Saito, Samenosuke, Kosuke, Maya, Lyn, Kirika" His mother listed the names of cousins and other most distant kin. "I always hanged out with them when I was a kid. Oh how we would hound Tsukiko-baachan" She chuckled. "But that old lady was never bothered, never so much as grumbled" Her gaze became a bit lost. "You know, thinking back on it, sometimes she had this look like... she had done so much, that she had fought for so long and seen so much, but baachan didn't let the memories consume her" Her lips pressed into a thing line. "I never asked her about what kind of fights she was in, guess I was too young to understand"
Naruto listened in silently.
"She was always so wise; I only understood half the stuff she tried to teach me as I was growing up... Then, right before I was sent to Konoha, she left and... Didn't come back"
She fell silent for a moment.
"No one ever saw her again"
"...What happened?"
Kushina let out a long sigh; "Wish I could tell you, kiddo. But I know full well what happened after she left, the Second Ninja War was on the horizon, Iwa and Kumo thought we were too much of a threat, they couldn't allow Konoha to keep an ally like our country"
The bitterness in her voice, the intense anger laced in her words. He knew his mother hated those villages. It was plainly seen in her eyes like Neji with Kumo. Wanting to get lighten the mood, Naruto cleared his throat; "Think you can teach me the sword some time?"
Almost instantly Kushina perked up as she smiled at her son; "You want to learn Kenjutsu?"
"Next to Fūinjutsu it's an Uzumaki practice right? Figured I should learn that too." Naruto grinning seeing the beaming smiling coming off her.
"Okay, I can mix in some Kenjutsu while doing regular training. We can do it fully after the exams. Also need to get a sword too."
"I could just make one with Shoton."
"True, but a real sword master always has a blade on their hip." Kushina said seriously, remembering something her father always said.
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Karin bit the edge of her lip as she accommodated the last book on the shelf. There, perfect. She stood back and looked at it satisfied. Now all her belongings where arranged just like she wanted.
All three of them.
The sheer space left in the rest of the shelves really painted a painful contrast...
The bespectacled girl sighed softly, she honestly had never been bothered by her lack of belongings, but that was before she actually had a place to call her own. Though originally a simple guest room, Kushina had been adamant that this room now belonged to her.
It was a bit strange for her. More often than not the ground had been her bed, and even when staying inside Orochimaru's bases her chambers were these small squared things lacking any kinds of wisdom. Just a dreary atmosphere of darkness and isolation.
Naruto and his mother really wanted her to feel welcome; they wanted this to be her home... It had so long since she had a home.
She knew her mother would be happy and relieved that her daughter was now with her real family again. Even though both were utterly insane and the biggest smart asses she ever met, they had been so kind and loving to her.
Though it felt almost alien to her having prepared warm meals every day and even lunches during training. She had gotten a rather odd look from Auntie Kushina (what she wanted Karin to call her) when she asked why she was making lunches.
'I guess adjusting to family life again will take a while for me.' She had been helping Naruto get used to it since he never had any family till a few weeks ago. If she was having a time to re-adjust, he was outright lost in adjusting at all.
Still, Karin would not let her cousin down as both had been growing into real family since.
Though there was still that gnawing sensation in the back of her mind, that fear that Orochimaru was watching.
Karin wondered if it had been a mistake, acting how she did, just going along with the village giving custody of her to Kushina until her probation was up. Acting so openly like this, there was no doubt in her mind that the Snake Sannin knew she had betrayed him.
Even now she could feel his gaze on her, almost like his pets were just waiting for the chance to pounce and sink their fangs into her throat. Orochimaru suffered no traitors. Karin was sure the only reason she was still alive was because there were ANBU keeping a close eye on her.
Karin took comfort in the knowledge that in the large scheme of things her betrayal was not a huge loss for Orochimaru nor did it change his plans in any significant way. She did not have any important information regarding his plans for the Leaf, and his mere appearance was enough to send the village into high alert, more so now with the Exams going.
What she did know, however, was the location of a couple of bases. Granted they were relatively low in terms of importance for Orochimaru's operations, but she was still a loose end he would have to take care of eventually.
She trembled at where her thoughts took her, Karin let out a shuddering breath and walked to the kitchen. She needed some water.
She was met by the sight of Kushina in an apron, preparing lunch. "Heeey Karin-chan!" She gave her a beaming smile. "Don't eat anything, lunch will be done soon~"
The smell of ramen hit her nostrils and she smiled, her aunt's caring smile made all her fears disappear in an instant.
Perhaps she could get used to this 'having a home' business.
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The afternoon sun shined over Konoha as Naruto traversed through the trees in civilian clothes around the training areas. Seal training had taken most of the morning and his mother said he should relax a bit before they start their normal session. Idly he could not stop smiling even while his mother was a much tougher sensei than Ero-Sennin; it just felt amazing being taught by a family.
Family, something he thought he'd never really ever have. Having his mom back as well as his Cousin Karin being with them, it was a feeling he could not describe!
His mental musings were broken as he stopped on a large branch upon hearing… music? Curiosity claimed him as he followed the tune to an open field as he saw Yugito sitting on a stump playing, what was it that Sakura called them? Oh yeah a shamisen. Not far were her teammates Karui, Omoi, and Samui moving in the rhythm of his fellow Jinchuuriki's music.
It was a beautiful.
The Nibi Jinchuuriki's eyes were closed, letting her fingers move over the strings with ease, never missing a single note.
In the field, Omoi and Karui struck at Samui, the older Kumo-nin barely reacted to their combined maneuver as she held them back with her own blade and pushed them away, sending them skidding across the ground, tearing blades of grass on their feet's path.
Yugito's tempo began to decrease, almost in perfect sync with the mood and energy of her peers as they measured each other up, slowly taking a stance.
Her fingers seemed to stop for a moment before once more striking the notes with renewed intensity.
The young genin dashed forward, surrounding the chunin in a blur of movement. Samui parred away a downward strike from Karui before spinning around and delivering a sweeping slash to counter Omoi's strike from the other side. A straight kick against his chest pushed the genin back, sending him stumbling against the ground, Samui swiftly turned to face the redhead and struck with the back of her hand against Karui's cheek. Sending the girl to the ground with a cry of pain.
The shamizen's tempo slowed once more.
They were perfectly in sync with Yugito's music; it was like water, almost effortless yet powerful. Was this Kumogakure style training or they're own version of it? It was damn awesome either way. He soon noticed Yugito had stopped before realizing Karui and Omoi were standing on either side of him with Samui looking up at her fellow blond.
"You really need work on your stealth," Karui smirked with her head cocked to the side.
A weak chuckle came from the blond Uzumaki as he kept his gazed on the buxom Chunin with the impassive eyes; "Am I in trouble?"
"Depends on why you're here." Samui said in her normal cold tone.
A lollipop rolled in Omoi's mouth; "Espionage, uncovering Kumo training secrets, assassinate us-" Yugito appeared beside the sole male of their team, smacking him on the head.
Naruto only sweatdropped as he squinted; "I can guarantee I am not here for any of that. Last one especially. I'm just roaming around till my training starts later. Heard the music and came to see, you guys are awesome by the way!"
Samui gave the young blond a look; "We sent a message to our Kage about you, and your mother."
'SERIOUSLY!?' Karui, Yugito, and Omoi mentally yelled at the zero tact from their friend/substitute sensei.
"..I kind of figured that." Naruto stated solemnly before grinning; "But no harm in trying to be friends right?"
Uh, yeah. LOTS of harm in trying to be friends with a foreign shinobi, particularly one with his circumstances. That's what most of the Kumo Nin wanted to say but held their tongues. Was Naruto just oblivious to the consequences? He had shown he had a good head on his shoulders; they had fought alongside him so they knew he wasn't dumb. Though to be fair they didn't know him all that well, perhaps he was just selectively ignoring the facts.
Or perhaps he just didn't care, that was always a possibility.
"So uh, Yugito" The whiskered blonde said in an awkward tone. "Actually wanted to talk to you about something" He scratched the back of his neck. "It's about Gaara, you know how he, um..." He hesitantly looked at her comrades.
"They know Naruto" She revealed. "Soon after I found out I told them" Had to do it really.
"Yeah" Karui droned. "I know ninjas hold the ideal of being able to act without emotion for our duty, but there is a line in which you become a straight up psychopath"
"And that Gaara guy? Ohh boy" Omoi let out a long breath. "That guy crossed it a long time ago. Can't see why Suna keeps someone as unstable as him as Jinchuuriki."
"They do that on purpose," Matatabi spoke up in both Naruto's and Yugito's head. "I learned this from one of my old hosts. Suna places a weak seal on their Jinchurriki to Shukaku can purposely manifest on command against enemies."
"WHAT!" Karui and Omoi jumped while Samui lifted a brow at the sudden outburst from Naruto and Yugito. "What about the damn host!?" Naruto commented before he took notice of the odd looks from Samui, Omoi, and Karui; "Uh sorry, Matatabi-chan is talking to us."
The feline Bijuu smiled at that before getting serious again; "Why don't you all get back down to the ground so you can listen."
Following her advice as Yugito explained the group sat down on the ground as Naruto and Yugito told what Matatabi knew about Shukaku and Suna's Jinchurriki. Saying it was a bit disturbing was an understatement. The Nibi and Kyuubi Jinchurriki both seethed; "What the fuck does Suna see us as?" The young Uzumaki growled out.
"Are you honestly surprised?" Samui bored tone cut in. "You're a Jinchuuriki, you should know what it's expected of you. If you can't properly harness your bijuu for the sake of your village then they have to resort to desperate measures"
Yugito winced as Naruto angrily bore his eyes into Samui's. "I'm not a tool" He growled softly, though the intensity of his tone was still very noticeable.
"Then you're a poor ninja" She simply stated. "We're all tools of our village"
"I don't believe that" He heartfelt replied. "We do things differently in Konoha"
And he believed it, for all the 'shinobi are emotionless tools' crap he heard over and over, he had yet to meet a ninja that truly embodied that concept. He had met hearty comrades of the Leaf, he had seen fierce opponents who lost themselves to anger and bloodlust, releasing in the thought of killing their enemies. Each and every ninja he had met showed emotions all the time. This 'ideal' of what a shinobi truly should be was nothing but bullshit in his eyes. It was simply impossible.
"...Believe what you want" The chūnin said, a hint of tiredness showing in her voice. "I don't care"
'Looks super-hot but that attitude...' The blond just huffed in exasperation as he shook his head.
"To be fair she is a good person, she just sees things one way," Matatabi digressed with a sigh.
Yugito shook her head at her teammate/friend's behavior; "At any rate least we know more what we're dealing with Gaara."
"I can tell Sasuke later," Naruto muttered as he looked at the bunch; "So you guys still going to train more?"
Karui glanced to Samui who sighed; "We could take a break before resuming."
At that Naruto beamed; "Then you guys hungry!? I know best place to chow down!" He was greeted with bewildered looks save the busty Chunin who lifted a brow; "What?"
"Konoha and Kumo aren't fans of each other. Given half the crap our village has done. I can list half the murderous glares sent our way just walking around here," Karui expressed slowly. "...Not to mention you and your mom's clan."
Letting out an explosive sigh the blond Uzumaki shook his head; "I'll say it again like I told Neji, 'you' guys didn't attack Uzushio. Hell none of us were even born yet. So how is hating you over something 'you' never did going to help me any?" He looked at all them seriously; "Before I even knew why people treated me like they did I hated this village for so long. And you know what, I got sick of hating. So no, I do not hate 'you' guys for something that happened years ago!"
They remained silent as they looked at him.
"So, I'll ask again; you guys hungry? I can take you to a great place"
...Yeah this kid clearly didn't understand how the world works. But that was not her problem; Samui wasn't going to say no to a free meal. "Cool" She shrugged. Her team soon agreed with her on the account that their stomachs were roaring angrily at them.
Unbeknownst to the young teens a figure stood in the shadows observing and listening to the conversations between Naruto and the Kumo team. Her violet eyes remained impassive as she rolled a kunai in her the palm of her hand.
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The shinobi of Kumo could honestly say that Konoha was not what they were expecting. As Naruto guided them towards what was, in his words, 'the bestest ramen place in the world' (with Yugito unsuccessfully trying to convince him that 'bestest' was not a word), they let their sights wander around the village streets.
Oh they knew there were a few share of Konoha Nin keeping their eyes on them, suspecting they were trying to spy for structural weaknesses and key points on the infrastructure, Kumo did have a background of playing Konoha, but the team did not care.
No, what caught their attention was how some stores were actually owned by NINJAS of all things. As in, shinobi who had another job in their civilian lives... That phrase along was wrong on so many levels for the group of Kumo. Back in their village, ninjas didn't have a 'civilian life', you either were a ninja or you were a civilian, there was no middle ground. The military did not occupy themselves with the rest of the village activities regarding commerce and such that was the civilians' job.
Your duty hours were in service of the village, and you're off duty hours were so you could relax and train to better be of service to the village. That's it.
They could understand a clan having means of acquiring money; it wasn't strange to see that the Akimichi clan possessed a large chain of restaurants in one of the districts. But then they heard that the Yamanaka, the clan who knew how to invade the mind, which some members could develop freaking telepathy had a flower shop... What?
That made no sense to the Kumo group. Konoha really were a bunch of hippies...
Perhaps further proof of such stereotype was when they saw a ninja of Konoha, a chunin or perhaps a jounin due to his vest, approaching a kimono wearing man sweeping the entrance of his shop. The two men smiled heartily at each other, and before the surprised eyes of the Kumo Nin, tenderly embraced locked lips in a gentle kiss.
Nobody paid them any mind. No passersby stopped to stare at them, no reactions just... nothing. Like this was something completely ordinary.
You didn't see that in Kumo.
"Um, is that-" Karui nodded towards the couple, not wanting to make it obvious and point. "-normal?"
Naruto turned to see what she was talking about, he squinted as he looked around. "What?"
"Them" Omoi whispered. "The... couple"
The whiskered blonde's eyes widened in understand. "Ohh that. What about it? They're just kissing"
"They're two guys" Yugito felt the need of pointing out.
Naruto didn't look like she understands what she was talking about. "Yeeeeah?"
Even the cold headed Samui felt her eye twitch. "They're gay"
"And?"
"Konoha is fine with this?" Karui softly asked.
"Well, why wouldn't we be? It's just two people in a relationship" It was then that his eyes widened. "Wait, Kumo doesn't let people...?"
"It's not illegal or anything" The Kumo Jinchuuriki tactfully said. "It's just... not really encouraged. The village sees it as robbing the chance of having future ninja"
The Uzumaki was now squinted at her. "That's pretty dumb. And what if their kids did not want to be ninja?"
"You can have a choice to be a civilian or shinobi. No one is forced into service. Orphans like me, Karui, and Omoi had the option to be civilians," Yugito explained while they walked through the street. "Though for me it became a full service after being selected as the new Nibi Jinchurriki."
"However you're expected as a Kumo Shinobi to be training during off duty hours," Karui also brings up.
"Damn," Naruto muttered as he shook his head. "So not much if any real R&R for you guys is there?" Granted he had been told out of the villages Kumo was the most militaristic, but never thought it was ingrained that MUCH.
"That's the life as a Shinobi Naruto-San," Samui said coolly as she walked.
A small groan came from the young blond as he cocked his head; "That's how you see the Shinobi life Samui-San. Never hurts to unwind a little you know."
The buxom blond just shrugged while Yugito shook her head. If Naruto thought he could get Samui of all people to loosen up he'd be in for a surprise. Still she gave him an 'A' for trying since they started walking.
It was not long before they reached a simple ramen stand, owned by a middle aged man and his daughter. The ever squinting eyes of Teuchi looked upon their best costumer and smiled. "Ahhh welcome Naruto, welcome! Who are your friends?"
"Some very misguided people who don't know the awesomeness of your food, old man!" The blonde smiled, earning a collective eye twitch and glare from the foreign ninjas.
"Oh no, we can't have that!" Ayame cried out in faux scandal, "Take a seat, we'll treat you to the best ramen in the village!"
"Lend me your senses for a moment, kitten" Matatabi asked her host. "Ohhh it's been so long since I tasted... well, anything really"
Yugito rolled her eyes with a fond smile, "Alright, alright" The owners believed the words were meant for them, and took their seats.
Once more they were unknowingly observed from the shadows. The violet eyes of a certain Uzumaki glared balefully at these Kumo Nin. Already tolerating them was taking a lot out of her, and seeing Naruto acting so friendly with the people who slaughtered their clan was already testing the limits of her patience.
She needed to have a clear talk with her son, once she managed to calm herself. Kushina feared if she went up to them now she'd do something she'd regret, something that would cause many problems for the village in the long run.
The Uzumaki took a deep breath and stealthily departed, she needed to let out some steam...
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"Your movements are sluggish," Jiraiya critiques in a harsh tone with his arms crossed; "The Kushina I recall could actually whip my ass on a good day when I actually felt like being serious."
"And I never could land a single hit," Kakashi chimed in while reading.
In a secluded training area the two stood not far from a huffing Kushina. Sweat dripped off her as she glared at both men who remained unflinching by her gaze. It had been at least an hour in of as the silver haired scarecrow dubbed it; 'Let's kick Kushina-Sama's ass into shape session'. And for the redhead it was galling that she was this fatigued already.
She was an ANBU captain for heaven's Sake!
An ANBU captain who had been on maternity leave for months with an increasingly larger belly, but still! She still had all her knowledge, muscle memory was there, she could perform the moves she wanted... but her muscles were currently more like soft dough rather than the corded athletic mass she had developed through years of training.
Apparently, the Divine Sleep seal did restore her to perfect health for the most part... to a civilian level; she had to regain her physical fitness on her own. Great...
Okay, the thing had literally saved her life; she wasn't going to complain about having to do more exercise. She wasn't a Nara!
She spat on the ground and lunged once more; Jiraiya uncrossed his arms and met Kushina's wild attack with a cold calculated defense. An elbow block to defend against a right swing, his own leg rose to meet the redhead's knee strike; again and again he countered her attacks perfectly. They were passionate, as the woman often was, but more than that they were wild, angry. Something had ticked her off today.
A kick against her left leg caused her to lose her footing, leaving her open to a series of swift punches to her abdomen, finishing with an uppercut that sent her flying backwards and to the ground.
Kakashi flipped a page, "That had to hurt"
It did. But Kushina didn't know what hurt more, her body or her pride.
"You're unfocused, not sure what's got you in such a huff, but I don't care. What I do care about is you being at such a pathetic state. If we're going to get you back to the woman who struck fear with her mere presence, you better get that head of yours in the game girl." Jiraiya spoke in a tone as harsh as his glare.
Getting back to her feet, her eyes shifted to Kakashi who looked up; "Oh my turn?" his tone a sarcastic drawl.
Kushina took a deep breath, feeling the heat leaving her body as sweat dripped down her brow. She flashed him a confident smirk. "Don't hold back kid, I wanna see what you're capable of doing after twelve-"
Kakashi unfolded his Hitai-ate revealing Sharingan and stared directly into Kushina's eye, she saw the tomoe spinning wildly as heaviness overtook her body.
"FU-!" She barely had time to swear as everything went dark, the genjutsu overtaking her.
She spent what felt a small eternity floating in the body before she was finally able to snap out of it. She stood up from the ground with a gasp of breath. Kushina panted heavily while Jiraiya and Kakashi looked down at her.
"Seven minutes, thirty nine seconds" Kakashi said matter of flatly. "Not bad for the level of genjutsu I used, but still took you longer to break it than I thought"
The redhead rested her head in her hands. "Too physically exhausted to fight it properly" She cursed at her own weakness.
"Getting you back into shape should be our top priority" The toad sage reasoned.
Kushina fought back a growl. "Could have told you that myself..."
"And now we are sure" Jiraiya shot back snidely. "Now get on your stomach and do two hundred push-ups, after that we're done for today"
Kushina dropped the ground and began doing push-ups in the earnest, not letting the exhaustion get to her. "Any news on the snake?" She asked while she pushed herself up and down from the ground.
"We're looking everywhere we can" Jiraiya assured her. "But you know he is a slippery one, not helped that he knows Konoha inside and out..." This already made a bad situation even worse.
"What has that sick fuck been up to all these years?"
The sannin snorted, "From what I learned? Lots, none of them good. Human experimentation, forbidden jutsu research. There was even a time in which joined a particular group I've been keeping an eye on for a long time now"
Kakashi's sole visible eye widened in recognition; "You mean... the Akatsuki?"
"Akatsuki?" Kushina muttered to herself. "Who the hell are those, another Blood Leash wannabe?" Great, just what the nations needed, more mercenaries and slavers. As if they didn't have enough to deal with Blood Leash, the biggest slaver enterprise in the nations, and a private army that fought for the highest bidder. The Land of Fire had been trying to take them out for decades now. And by what she heard, they were still around...
Jiraiya and Kakashi shared an uneasy look; "It's... more complicated than that. They are mercenaries yeah, but what my info tells me is that their goals are... something more"
The Gama Sannin paused for a long while; "This is the group Itachi is being a double agent for..." Kushina stopped mid push as she turned her head slowly and looked at the older man; "He makes contact with me when he can."
"From what we know of them this is a group of highly dangerous rogue ninja," Kakashi digressed after he was told not too long ago in wanting to know of Itachi's whereabouts. "And you might know a few names of them."
"Kisame Hoshikage, Kakuzu of Taki, Sasori of the Red Sand, monsters in their own right are among their ranks" Jiraiya figured she'd at least react to the last one considering the history between him and Kakashi's father.
But Kushina did not seem to hear him, or she did not seem to care for those individuals at the moment. She continued on her push-ups with renewed intensity. 'Itachi...' She thought mournfully.
"As for their goals" Jiraiya sighed. "Itachi's info tells me they are planning to target the Bijuu in the near future"
"WHAT!?" Kushina stopped as she yelled. What the hell would some group want the Bijuu? "There will be people coming after my son" There was a feral growl in the redhead's tone.
"I plan on making sure Naruto is prepared for them," Jiraiya reassured her; "But with you back, I gather you want to do that to?" Dumb question considering the look from Kushina. "Right now the group is doing all kinds of mercenary work. Building up their renown throughout the nations and gathering funds. It will be awhile before they start their real plan."
Then they had time in getting Naruto ready for these 'Akatsuki' guys. Like hell was Kushina having anyone take her son from her!
Her pushups increased in even greater vigor, determined to double the amount the perv had tasked her with. She needed to get back into shape if she wanted to help Naruto.
All the while, she used that time to ponder on how to speak to Naruto regarding certain… company he's been keeping lately.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"So why are you dragging me around the stores?" Karin asked weakly as she kept up with Sakura and Ino. The young Uzumaki redhead having met the Yamanaka heiress a week ago when meeting up with Sakura.
She had almost as much energy as her cousin, never mind the cockiness too. Still, next to Naruto's team it was nice making another friend.
"Well, you need some new clothes and really need to make that room of yours be more 'you' if you get what I mean." Ino smiled surveying the stores.
At that Karin squints; "I'm not really much of a girly girl." Sure she liked have some things that defined her as a lady. But she never liked going overboard.
"So we go by your pace and find what you like." Sakura winked as they stopped at a clothing stores; "So let's start with some clothes for you?"
"Consider this as day one of your new life girl! Starting with clothes!" The Yamanaka beamed while physically dragging Karin into the store. Sakura only giggled as she followed them.
Now living under Orochimaru, Karin wore very bland basic clothing, which was enough in her opinion. Her eyes slowly widened at the sight of so much clothing and multitude of styles. Her head swaying from side to side as he eyes took in every fabric laid out for a potential customer.
With her hands on her hips Ino smirked at her new friend's awed expression; "Shall we figure out your style hun?"
"No rush," Sakura gave a meaningful smile.
There was no rush indeed... which unfortunately for Karin, it ended up meaning they took AGES so she could try every single dress that they could find. The bespectacled girl couldn't really say any of these strike her fancy, until she spotted a two articles of clothing that she honestly could see herself wearing.
"This looks nice" She commented.
Sakura and Ino turned to what she was looking at and face faulted. "The ninja shorts and shirt?"
"Yeah"
"That look just like what you're wearing right now only in a different color?"
"...Yeah"
The two kunoichi gave her a look.
"Yes, yes. I'm hopeless, trust me I know"
"You're not hopeless" Sakura insisted, "You just never had the freedom to do stuff you like. I bet you never even went to get ice cream because you wanted to or..." She waved her hand around, looking for another example.
"Date cute boys!" Ino, of course, said excited. She rolled her eyes at the look the pinkette was giving her. "Oh I am taking my career seriously, but hey, I like what I like"
Well that was true, Sakura sighed a bit. Ino had started training together with her since their talk and reconnect as friends again. Taking the training sessions seriously and thankfully the former fangirl Ino was beginning to go away. Still, there were just some aspects that would always be Ino; Gossip, clothing, and boys.
"Well," the rosette clasped her hands together; "as your friends, Ino and I will make sure you're fully adapted to your new life here. This includes fashion tastes."
Karin supposed she could accept that. And while having real friends felt odd, it was also nice to have them. Guess it could not hurt to let this two help her find some stuff for her and her room.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Sasuke must have stared at the scroll for at least an hour.
He did not move from his position, kneeling on the ground with the Tiger scrolls perfectly settled in front on him. The silence in the house was so uncomfortably deep the movement of the clock's hands felt too loud. At moments his fingers twitching, as if finally deciding to move and open the scroll, only for him to hesitate and remain still.
Sasuke prided himself in being a determined individual; he knew his goals and went to claim them without any doubt.
But one look at that scroll and his determination crumbled to dust.
He should not feel this way; this was his legacy, something that was his own right to inherit.
And yet whenever he looked at it all he could see was his mother's face. A smiling face... A face that now he understood must have been a mask for a long time.
He took comfort in knowing his mother loved him, but to hear her life had seldom been of her own choosing... it honestly created a pain Sasuke was not accustomed too. He knew pain of tragedy, when injustice struck you. But this was a pain you felt for somebody else, when injustice befell another person.
The thought that his mother had been viewed by the clan elders as little more than an obedient servant was enough to drive him into rage
This scroll... this was part of his mother's life, her real life. This scroll was part of her pride, the legacy of her family line, something that she must have held unto when giving her life to the clan as a whole.
Part of him felt that signing the scroll himself would taint it. For the Tiger Contract was not tied to the Uchiha, the tigers made that very clear as he was told. Would they accept him? Would his mother want him to sign it?
"Whatever you choose, your mother would be proud of you regardless."
The raven haired boy let out a grunt, ever since leaving that hospital Naruto's mother had frequented the Uchiha to check on him. Or annoy him for the most part, but, it felt comforting having someone visit him who was his mother's dearest friend.
Mostly she was over telling stories about his mother during their Genin days while cooking for him. For which he did not ask for, but she would NOT take no for an answer. Sasuke really saw where Naruto got a lot of his personality from.
Still, as much as Kushina had assured him. He had been hesitant to open the summing scroll. 'For all I know they could outright reject me, at worse try to eat me alive.' They were tigers after all.
He took a look at his hands; '"Mother..." He knew prayers don't really help, but for this he felt like he had to. "I may not be worthy to even open this, but I want to make you proud. Not as an Uchiha, but as your son. After everything Naruto's mom told me, I just don't know what to think about our clan... But I do know this." His eyes shone with resolution. "After all the stories, I want to be like the ninja you were. So please, let me have your blessing to use this scroll."
The room was predictably silent. Yet he swore he felt lightness in the air around him now. His eyes look over the room before refocusing back to the scroll. A sigh escaped his lips; "I love you mother, I'll make you proud."
His hands reached for the scroll. Slowly he unlocked and unfurled it. He saw a few names, but the last one got his attention. 'Mikoto Uchiha'. Beside his mother's was likely his grandfather and great-grandfather. "Ryoichi and Tadao... I hope, as your grandson I'll do things right."
He bit into his thumb before looking at his mother's name, his name soon was written across from hers. A breathe he did not know he held escaped his lips once finished. It was done...
Should he try summoning now? Hmm, perhaps it'd be best to try out under supervision. Next time the team met on the training he'd try to make contact with the tigers.
For now, Sasuke prepared for his next persona training session. He had a match against a bloodthirsty maniac to worry about.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Naruto came home with a belly full of ramen, which was enough to keep him on a good mood for the rest of the day. Mom should be back from her training by now, and he was actually eager for a new lesson on fūinjutsu. Perhaps he'd be able to convince her to skip on storage sealing on go straight for explosive seals. He had the suspicion his mother had a fondness for those.
He was right, as he entered the living room and saw his mom sitting on the couch, eyes closed with her hands folded against her lap. Man she looked beat up, the perv and Kakashi-sensei did not go easy on her.
"Hey mom" He greeted her with a wide smile, causing her eyes to open and turn to him. Hmm, she had a strange look in them. "What's up?"
"Oh, you're here. Good" She sounded nervous. "There is... something I need to talk to you about"
A bit worried about what had his mother troubled, he wordlessly stood in front of her, watching her hands clench and unclench on her pants. Finally she took a deep breath and gave him a stern look. "What were you doing with those Kumo ninja today?"
He blinked. "You k-"
"Yes I know" She quickly cut it. "Now answer the question"
"We..." He shrugged. "We were just eating"
"Mhm" Her tone was not too pleased. "And may I know why?"
"Because we get along?"
By the look he in her eyes she was only more upset. She took a long deep breathe, as if she was trying to reign in her feelings. "Naruto, do you know what Kumogakure did to our clan?"
The blond gave a small nod; "I found out during the second part of the exam. And when they tried to kidnap Hinata."
"...Did you also know they also tried to kidnap me when I was your age?" Shock etched on her son's face. Clearly no told him about that incident. "So I'll ask why would you get along with people from Kumo."
Naruto had seen that look before, in Neji; "Because while what Kumo did was horrible, it wasn't Yugito and her team who did it."
The older Uzumaki's eyes twitched at that, she pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long exhale. "You clearly don't get it"
"Did... Did I do something wrong?" He fearfully asked.
His fears were confirmed with his mother's next words. "Yes, yes you did" Naruto felt his heart throb painfully at the mere notion of having disappointed his mother in some fashion. Being a son had been such new wonderful yet frightening territory for him, he feared failing, to do something wrong in front of the eyes of she who had become an incomparable treasure to him.
"You honestly think you and anyone from Kumo can be friends?" Kushina said incredulously. "Those are the people who slaughtered OUR CLAN" She put emphasis in the words. "And don't give me that whole 'it wasn't them who did it', it makes no difference because if they are ordered to do so they will kill you and anyone you love"
"But they're-!"
"'Not like that'? You are just telling yourself that because you don't know any better!" Kushina stood up, angrily pacing around the room.
"What do you want me to do then?" He quietly demanded. "Not to see them anymore?"
"It's for your own good" Kushina assured him, believing she was getting through.
...But apparently that was not the case, as Naruto looked back at her defiantly. "What if I do want to be friends with them? Yugito is a Jinchuuriki like me, like you were"
"I am NOTHING like them!" She seethed. "And you should watch your tongue when speaking to me like that, I'm your mother" Children were supposed to obey their parents, that's how it's always been, that's how Tsunade raised her. "You know what their people did, why are you so forgiving?!"
"Because other people did it, not Yugito and her team!" Naruto cried back in exasperation, tears welling up in his eyes, the mere act of arguing with his mother was painful. "Why do you hate them so much?!" He needed to understand.
And Kushina made it very clear with just a few words
"BECAUSE THEY DESTROYED MY HOME AND KILLED MY FAMILY!" Her shout echoed throughout the house.
Naruto stood there flabbergasted the sheer intensity of emotion in his mother's voice, the anger, the hate, the pain. It reminded him of Sasuke in their early years in the Academy, once more he felt that pressure, once more he tried to empathize and understand but couldn't.
There was a brief but painfully heavy silence, broken only by Kushina's harried pants.
"Kumo, Iwa, the Kurokiba snake clan..." She muttered each name with loathing. "We did nothing to the villages, even in the wars we stayed mostly out of the conflicts, supporting Konoha in non-combat scenarios. But that was enough for them to see us as a threat" She plummeted down on the couch. "The Kurokiba clan has been a longtime enemy of ours and the dragons', so when a chance to strike presented itself, they did not waste it and informed two villages that would take it at a moment's notice"
A snake clan? That... was news to him. He had not heard any account of something like that being involved in Uzu's fall.
"I was already away from the village when it happened, given to Konoha to serve as the fox's jailor" Tears leaked from her eyes. "...By the time I heard the news, it was already too late, Uzushio was under heavy siege" Kushina ran a hand over her face, trying to stave off the flood without any success. "And by the time Konoha reinforcements arrived, the battle was over... our home had been utterly destroyed and our clan slain by the thousands... My father among those numbers"
Her father... his grandfather; Daisuke Uzumaki. Quite a few tales had been told to him, about the late leader of Uzushio from his mom. He knew how he died defending Uzu, everything had been facts, but hearing it from his mother like this… this wasn't just a history lesson, this was a tragedy, this pain still fresh.
But still, all he knew of his grandfather and his clan were only stories. He had no real attachment to them unlike his mom who did, passionately so. He could not see or feel as strongly for their clan and late family like she did, because all the family he had was just his mother and Karin.
"Mom..." His voice was quiet but she raised her head as she listened; "All I know about Grandpa or the clan is from you and bit from Karin."
The horrifying realization finally dawned on Kushina. Naruto did not feel like she did... He most likely didn't even understand it.
He, who had grown up alone (a fact Kushina bitterly remembered) didn't understand what it was to lose something. That is not to say Naruto didn't know pain, or that he couldn't empathize with other people. But to truly understand that kind of pain took something else, it took having lived through the same thing.
Kushina was not heartless, she would not judge someone for not 'understanding her pain' like some kind of angsty brat who thought the world revolved around them. She understood pain was hard to measure, and you didn't need to have gone through the same thing to feel compassion for someone. Naruto, bless him, was a kind boy. He wanted to see the good in other people, to help them even if he didn't fully understood. Because he was an oddity in the shinobi world, he was someone who knew kindness. And for that Kushina was eternally grateful, knowing that her son grew up to be so wonderful. Hoping he could keep that sense of compassion which she herself had been forgetting throughout many years of loss and pain.
But even still, Kushina could not let go of that pain, a pain which Naruto for all his virtues did not understand. He just...
"You didn't live through it" Kushina muttered softly. "They didn't even let me return until they buried all the bodies... Seen what was done to my home, it felt like someone had ripped out my own heart"
Her son remained silent.
"Tsukiko-baachan's gardens where we played so much with her were now cinders. The streets filled with the smiles of our kin were wrecked beyond recognition. The enemy did not stop until they made sure our ancestral homeland was nothing but rubble... The place of my birth, my parents', my grandfathers', all of our ancestors... There was nothing left" A sob escaped her lips, the memories as fresh and painful as they had been all those years ago. "They took everything from us just because they could..."
Some much pain rolled off his mother, he never could put it to words how much his mom loved Uzushio. There was no words he could describe what feelings she had for their homeland and clan. And most likely he'd never find them because he never knew about them.
His mom was right, he did not experience what she felt when learning Uzushio was destroyed and her father, his grandfather murdered. He did not feel the ache she did of losing an entire clan like she and Sasuke did. And as far as she was concerned all of Kumo was the enemy to her. It did not matter who they were, they came from the village that took away her family and nearly kidnapped her like they tried with Hinata.
Yes what they did was beyond barbaric and wrong. But for Naruto; "I... I can't blame Yugito, Karui, Omoi, and Samui for something they never did and weren't even born yet, something beyond their control. Because it's exactly be like how people here blamed me for Kurama attacking the village."
"...I see that now" Kushina spoke meekly, understanding her son's view on it. She could not lie and say she was happy about it but... Maybe as his mother she had to respect his feelings on the matter.
She did not know; this whole 'motherhood' thing was such foreign territory for her, thrusted into the role of a twelve year old's mother from one moment to the next. Ideally, she would have grown into the role as Naruto himself grew up.
But things would never be like that, so she had to adapt.
"Do you... want me to stop seeing them?" Her son asked, fearful for the answer.
The Uzumaki took her time pondering on what she was going to say. "No" Naruto felt he could breathe again. "I won't forbid you, but... I just want you to understand the kind of risks you're taking" Gently she took his hands into hers looking her son in the eyes; "Just please be careful around them. All I ask." Naruto slowly nodded before being pulled into a hug; "I'm sorry for yelling."
Naruto hugged his mom back; "It's alright..."
"I just..." Kushina sighed; "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing"
"If it helps, I'm on the same boat" The whiskered blonde replied.
The two manage to share a short laugh, knowing they'd be okay. They'd grow together as family.
Staying silently behind a corner, Karin smiled to herself.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Till next time!
Next: Dragon Age Origins 'Two Chapters'
And back to: Naruto: Shoton of Konoha 'Two Chapters'
Attention: 'One chapter' of Anbu Sennin: A Final Fantasy VII Story will be made in between.