In which Han is a good therapist, Yagura feels guilty, and Fuu learns a doujutsu technique.
O-O-O-O-O
Gaara blocked all communication after Shukaku was released.
In Sunagakure, he stayed inside his bedroom, not leaving it except to use the bathroom and to eat. He didn't talk to anyone, even Yashamaru. His uncle tried to engage Gaara in conversation, but he refused to answer.
He spent his days and nights staring out of his bedroom window at what remained of Suna. The destruction was imprinted throughout the city. Many buildings, which had been constant parts of the landscape, were gone, crushed under the Shukaku's power and the Kazekage's Gold Dust.
Gaara could still feel the pain of being crushed under tons of sand. His lungs had burned from the lack of air and his body had been paralyzed as the golden sand buried him alive. Naruto and Fuu must have shared his pain because he remembered them screaming too
He still heard their voices trying to talk to him. The most constant one was Fuu, who kept asking him what happened and trying to comfort him. Roshi and Naruto came often as well, although they let Fuu lead the conversations. Gaara wanted to talk to them more than anything but he forced himself to block them out. They didn't need to talk to a monster.
Surprisingly, he heard two new voices. The first belonged to a man named Killer B. He had tried to cheer him up with a song, but his singing was atrocious. Gaara had been happy when the man left
The other voice belonged to an older girl. She had been very direct and asked him what happened with the sand but Gaara refused to answer. She had closed the link with a flash of irritation.
Gaara vowed to block them all. Because of his bijuu, he hurt them terribly. He destroyed a large part of Sunagakure and watched two men die and it was all his fault. He didn't want to hurt anyone ever again.
Han was the one that got Gaara to ultimately break his vow of silence. Like Roshi, Han had tried to open the communication link to ask for explanations without any success. However, a week after the attack, Han asked him something that broke through his conviction.
'How did the Shukaku get out, child?'
'What? How do you know?' Gaara asked before thinking. He winced. He had been unable to keep up his vow for longer than a week.
'We are shinobi, Gaara-chan. I received intel that Shukaku destroyed parts of Suna. You are the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi. Logically, you lost control of your bijuu and destroyed part of the village.'
Han's voice remained calm. He was not accusing him. Instead, he was talking as if he were answering one of Gaara's questions about the world. He could tell that Han was worried about him. Despite everything, Gaara trusted him. He could talk to him about what happened.
'I fall asleep and Shukaku comes out. My father hurt me to wake me up.'
'Who is your father, Gaara-chan?'
'The Kazekage,' Gaara answered immediately.
He hadn't spent a lot of time with him and the man only rarely visited Gaara and Yashamaru's home. His father talked often to his uncle but he spoke very few words to Gaara himself. The execution of the ANBU was the closest he had seen his father in a very long time.
'Your father is the Kazekage?' Han sounded surprised about the fact. Gaara was not sure why, however, so he ignored his reaction.
'Yeah.'
'Gaara-chan,' Han asked again, voice more gentle than he had heard before, 'what happened that night? How did Shukaku get out?'
Haltingly, Gaara tried to tell Han what happened. It took him a long time to tell the full story of destroying the village, getting buried in sand, and watching the execution of his guard. When he finished, Han was quiet, but Gaara thought that the man felt worried. Finally, Han answered back.
'Child, you need to be careful. Your father is afraid that your bijuu will get out and destroy the village. If he thinks you can't control the beast, he will take drastic measures.'
'Drastic measures?' Gaara repeated the unfamiliar words.
'He might get rid of you, Gaara,' Han explained. 'You need to make your father think that you have full control of your bijuu, even if you don't.'
'How?' Gaara asked, desperate.
'It will be difficult. Make him think that you will be a strong shinobi one day. You have to gain control over your bijuu.'
'How? Shukaku is bad! He says bad things to me! Always!' Gaara almost started to cry. The situation appeared hopeless. He had no control over Shukaku at all.
'Ignore him. The beast only wants to see you fail. We don't. Keep the communication open, Gaara. Roshi and I will help you figure out how to control your beast. I promise. And the other shinobi are here, too. I know that B and Yugito tried to talk to you. B is a little strange but they are good people. You can trust them too.'
Han paused for a second before talking again, even more gently that time. 'We miss you a lot. Fuu and Naruto especially. They have been crying and want to know when you will talk to them again.'
Gaara felt a pang of guilt. He missed Fuu and Naruto a lot, too. It had been a terrible night, but the limited time he got playing with Naruto was the best moment in his life so far. He had forgotten about it in the aftermath but he remembered now.
'Promise?' Gaara asked.
'I promise,' Han said. 'Talk to us. We can help. Now, do you want to hear the story of how I managed to defeat a group of Konoha ninja using only my wits and half a sword?'
'Yes, please!' Gaara missed the stories from the other jinchuuriki the most. He felt even more guilty for ignoring them for so long. In the physical world, he sat down and relaxed to listen to Han's story. When it ended, Han said goodbye and made Gaara promise to talk to the others.
By the time Han left, it was past midnight, which was when Shukaku was most active. However, his excitement drowned out Shukaku's voice until it was barely a whisper in the back of his mind.
Invigorated, Gaara looked around. Instead of seeing a prison for a monster, he saw a regular bedroom. He wished the others were there with him, but unlike Gaara, they actually needed to sleep every night. Alone, he went to play with his stuffed animals.
When dawn broke, Gaara left his bedroom for the first time since the Shukaku incident. He sat alone in the living room as he waited for Yashamaru to wake up. His uncle made them a simple breakfast and Gaara ate enthusiastically. That time, when Yashamaru asked him a question, he answered.
O-O-O-O-O
As he looked at all of the chaos inside his office, Yagura almost wished he had stayed under the genjutsu. Almost.
The huge pile of documents on his desk detailed the war effort. While brainwashed, Yagura had made an extermination order for holders of kekkei genkai. The resolution had been easy to pass. Holders of bloodline techniques were feared and hated in the Land of Water. They made very easy scapegoats for the death and destruction that took place in every war.
To his horror, the large map of the Land of Water on the wall behind him was covered in pins and markers to track the war effort. Red thumbtacks that indicated battles were spread throughout the country. Green pins indicated victories while white pins indicated losses. A large blue pin indicated the rumored position of the rebel group.
The fact that his former student Mei Terumi was the leader of the resistance force was one of the biggest shocks. Yagura had mentored Mei when she was only a genin and he had watched her grow into a strong and capable jounin. He was proud of the kunoichi she had become. He wasn't sure how he should feel about her leading a group working to remove him from power and execute him, however.
He didn't know how anyone could believe he would want to exterminate kekkei genkai. Then again, hypocritical and backstabbing politicians were nothing new in the world, let alone in Kirigakure.
The only silver lining he had been able to find after breaking the illusion was the fate of his family. On his second day back, Yagura had found a hidden scroll that could only be opened with a pulse of Isobu's chakra.
The scroll detailed how his wife and children left Kirigakure for safety. It also contained the first clue if he wanted to follow their trail.
He was happy to discover that his wife Anzu had taken Asahi and Kasumi away from Kirigakure. Based on the scroll, they were probably living in one of the minor countries on the border with the Land of Fire. As an accomplished shinobi herself, Yagura knew that Anzu could blend into the crowds until the Civil War ended and they could return.
He was just happy that, even in his mind-controlled state, he had enough foresight to protect his most precious people. His son Asahi had been five while his daughter Kasumi had been only two when he was put under.
Yagura felt a pang in his chest whenever he thought of them. They must have grown so much in the last three years. I will never get that time back with them.
Even with his mind free and the company of Isobu, he felt like a puppet. Yagura signed what he was told to sign and declared what he was told to declare. He suspected the one behind the illusion was watching. He couldn't afford to show he was free before he found the culprit. For the moment, he would continue to act as he had been doing.
When Yagura was finally done with his fake duties and headed home, he was ready to make plans. He knew that he needed to do something to change everything without raising suspicions.
Unfortunately, thinking was difficult when the voices in his head were talking.
When Yagura was first made into a jinchuuriki, it was near the end of the Second Shinobi War. Mistrust was high between the villages. Even though he knew about the Room, he never wanted to use it in case it gave enemy shinobi any ideas.
Now, however...
'B-sama! I got monkey! You lose!'
'Hey, fool! The student has surpassed the master! Time flies a lot faster!'
'Butterfly! Did you see how he moves his fingers? I think he'll be ready to start casting jutsu soon!'
'Great job, Naruto-chan! You're doing great! Oh! Yugito-senpai! What's the best way to hold the kunai? My fingers are here but maybe I need to hold it like this?'
'Keep your arm low and relax while your body completes the movement. Use your entire body and make your core tight to avoid injuries.'
Before, no one was dumb enough to visit the Room except by accident. Now, however, he couldn't go to bed without hearing inane chattering. They were there occasionally during the day too, but he was too distracted with the crisis to care for them then. However, at night, he had been trying to block out their conversations with no avail.
The fact that everything was so inane only made it all worse. All he wanted to do was come up with a plan to solve the situation in Kiri, but their talking made it impossible to think. The only thing he wanted was to yell at everyone to just shut the fuck up.
Paranoid and annoyed thoughts crowded his brain as he angrily went to sleep.
O-O-O-O-O
For the first time ever, all but Gaara and the two other mysterious jinchuuriki were in the Room. Han was leaning against Gaara's Door. Although the boy couldn't join them, he could listen and chime in whenever he wanted through Han.
The Kumo ninja, Killer B, had admitted that he watched over Naruto during the day whenever the Iwa and Taki jinchuuriki were busy. The Kumo girl, Yugito, often joined them. However, she seemed to be embarrassed to admit that she liked spending time with the toddler.
Fuu had somehow convinced the Kumo genin to teach her a kunai technique. Yugito had refused at first. However, as soon as she got a look at Fuu's glistening orange eyes, she had relented. She had then reluctantly agreed to teach Fuu how to throw three kunai at the same time.
While Fuu and Yugito practiced with the kunai, Roshi was doing some stretching exercises in a corner of the Room. His flexibility rivaled that of many professional gymnasts. Meanwhile, Killer B was playing a shinobi version of Rock-Paper-Scissors with little Naruto. The signs were more complicated than the normal version. It was a common game to prepare children to learn hand signs later.
All of his fellow jinchuuriki were talking loudly to one another as they played their games or showed off their skills. Fuu had managed to throw the kunai, although her accuracy was dreadful. Nearby, Naruto had won more rounds than B, although he knew the older ninja was going easy on the boy.
Han smiled to himself in contentment. Before the young children joined, he would have never imagined what was yet to come. Every day, he was amazed at how jinchuuriki from five different villages had come to trust each other.
Han hadn't felt so at peace anywhere before.
He allowed himself to relax as he let the conversations flow through him to Gaara. He didn't really pay attention to what the others were saying and instead closed his eyes to meditate. Everyone was happy for now. He would enjoy the peacetime for as long as he could. How often were jinchuuriki happy, anyway?
Unfortunately, peace was only a vague concept to shinobi. While he leaned against Gaara's door, a new and powerful chakra signature appeared in the Room.
Instincts honed by decades as a shinobi make him react as soon as he felt the new presence. Before he consciously knew it, he had jumped to stand in front of the three youngest vessels. He assumed a defensive taijutsu stance, Killer B and Roshi at his sides.
"Yugito-san! Defensive position on the children!" Roshi yelled at the older girl.
In an instant, the girl moved to stand behind Fuu and Naruto, claws out protectively.
All six jinchuuriki turned at once to look at their new visitor.
Han thought that it was a young boy at first. The stranger was very short, even shorter than Roshi, which was saying something. He had short messy grey hair and pink pupiless eyes. A scar ran from under his left eye all the way down his cheek. He looked almost unthreatening. Yet, the Mizukage robes that he was wearing were anything but. A large curved staff was slung across his back and his face was scrunched up in rage.
Taken all together, Han knew that the man was not someone they could deal with easily.
"Will everyone please shut the fuck up!?" the Mizukage yelled as he stepped into the Room.
Silence followed as everyone took in his words.
"Ya fool! Ya fool! We have children here, watch your language!" Killer B yelled from his left. On his right, Roshi also looked offended by the choice of words.
"Mama, papa," Fuu asked from behind Yugito, "what does 'fuck' mean?"
"It's a word only adults can say, butterfly," Roshi lied irritably. Despite his explanation, he refused to take his eyes off the potential enemy.
"He doesn't look like a grown-up, though," Fuu whined with a pout. "He looks like a kid! Why can he use that word but I can't?!"
"I'm not a kid!" the stranger responded angrily, "I'm an adult! I can say whatever the fuck I want!"
"Fuck!" Naruto copied happily. Han sighed. The caretakers at the orphanage would have to figure out where he learned that word themselves.
"What do you want?" Han asked, trying to come up with a peaceful solution by projecting a calm voice. "We don't mean any harm. If you leave, we won't have to fight."
"I want you to shut up!" the man yelled while pointing a finger at the jinchuuriki. "Do you know how hard it is to go to sleep with all of you babbling so much? I have a lot to deal with right now in Kiri and your inane conversations are driving me insane!"
"Sorry, but this Room is public use," Yugito replied with a sneer. "Any of us can use it however we want and as long as we want. If you don't want to listen to us talk, improve your mental barriers, you runt!"
Han sighed. He had wanted to end the confrontation peacefully, but he doubted an already angry man would back down after that challenge. He shifted his gaze back to the new man.
The man gritted his teeth in anger and moved his staff into an offensive position. The Mizukage clothes disappeared, leaving him in a black combat-ready outfit. The man took an offensive position while the other shinobi shifted into defense. They stared at each other in silence, waiting for someone to break the tension first.
The man leaped into the air and headed towards Roshi first.
"Lava Release: Scorching Rocks Jutsu!" Roshi made a snake sign and began to spew out balls of lava in the stranger's direction.
"Water Release: Aqua Mirror Jutsu!"
A circular pool of water appeared in front of Roshi, creating a clone in the mirror. The man used the hooked end of his staff to rotate the pool. The clone countered with the same balls of lava and Roshi was forced back with his own attack. The clone vanished, leaving behind only a puddle of water.
While Roshi recovered, Han took the opportunity to rush in from the enemy's blind spot. He heated up steam with his chakra and sent the gathered power to his fists. He leaped to attack and his augmented punch hit the stranger directly in the nose. He felt a second of victory before his enemy turned into water. His eyes widened in surprise. A water clone?
Han was hit on the back by the large staff. He went flying to the opposite side of Roshi, away from Yugito and the children. He landed on his feet, unbalanced, and looked back at the fight.
Killer B had conjured his swords and was trying to slash at their enemy.
"Water Release: Aqua Mirror Jutsu!"
As with Roshi, B's attack was reflected back upon him. The Kumo ninja stumbled back as he faced his own swords. While he was still unbalanced, the Kiri ninja ran up to him and hit B in the chest.
"Coral palm!" the stranger yelled.
Immediately, coral began to grow on B's chest. B lost his balance and he fell to the floor, unable to move.
"Oh!" B said, "This fool doesn't monkey around, he has some renown, yeah!"
"B!" Yugito yelled from the other side, "Are you okay?"
"This fool made me eat dirt, but I'm mostly unhurt," B responded. "Keep protecting the children, I wanna hear you cheer on, you dumbass phonies!"
"Don't forget about me, shorty!" Han almost laughed at the irony of Roshi of all people calling someone short. "Lava Release: Chakra Mode!"
Roshi clapped his hands together and his entire body was covered in a shield of hot chakra. Surrounded by lava, he leaped toward their enemy.
"Water Release: Raging Waves "
Hands moving faster than he thought possible, the stranger spewed out a large wave of water. Under normal circumstances, a water release jutsu was not strong enough to do any damage to Roshi's attack. However, their opponent was both a jinchuuriki and a Kage. His power was not to be trifled with.
With a scream, Roshi fell to the ground and the water pushed him down onto the tiled floor.
Han took his chance. While the man was still attacking Roshi, he sent chakra to the soles of his feet and bounded toward the fight. He extended his fist to punch the man before he could notice he was there.
That time, his fist connected with the real body. However, the man was small and he moved to the side at the last moment. He was only able to hit part of his cheek after all.
"Shit," Han cursed under his breath. It had been a while since he had been outranked by an opponent. The relatively small area only made it more difficult. Roshi's attacks were meant for open battlefields, not small and contained rooms. The Mizukage was also too fast and too small for Han to hit consistently. B was the only one that was ideal for the situation, but he was unable to get up with the large weight of coral on his chest.
The wave of water ended and Han successfully landed next to Roshi and gave him a hand to stand up. The two men stood side by side and stared back at their opponent. The Mizukage had stopped trying to attack for the moment, although he was still eyeing them warily.
Han was starting to wonder if the fight might be helpless. He had other techniques, but the small quarters and the presence of the children meant that he couldn't go all out. He didn't want to hurt anyone else by accident.
"Hey, fool! This Room is for everyone, this fighting shtick is overdone!" B cried as he tried to fight off the coral that was still growing on his chest.
"Do you know what kind of shit I have to deal with?" the man yelled in response. "It's a load of bullshit! You people's inane chatting is making everything worse! Leave if you don't want to get hurt."
The man moved back to an offensive stance, but he didn't try to attack, waiting for their surrender. Han gritted his teeth. Retreating seemed like the best option. He loved the Room and spending time there. However, if a tiny Mizukage would fight him over the use of it, it might not be worth staying there.
Quickly, he tapped Roshi on the shoulder and lifted Killer B by the collar. Using his chakra steam, he vaulted back to where Yugito was still protecting the children. He kept his gaze fixed on their enemy as he watched his companions from the corner of his eye.
"I think we may need to retreat," Roshi said. "This is an opponent we can't easily defeat, especially in these close quarters. We may have to limit our time here."
From the other side of the Room, the man was still watching them. He was listening to their conversation but he didn't move closer. He was apparently satisfied that they were considering a retreat for the moment.
"What?! No! Mama, he can't make us leave! This is our Room, too!" Fuu was furious, her orange eyes full of tears. She was holding Naruto close to her. At her words, he started crying as well.
At the Fuu's words, some indecipherable emotion passed through the stranger's pink eyes. Whatever it was, it faded before Han could begin to assess it.
"Your safety is more important, butterfly," Roshi explained with a grimace. "This shorty is too strong for us to fight all out right now."
"No! No! No!" From Fuu's arms, Naruto started sobbing. "Don't leave me! I want to stay with Fuu-chan! I don't want to leave Mama and Papa!"
At Naruto's words, the stranger flinched. He looked uncomfortable. Han wondered if he could use his discomfort to their advantage as he was struck by inspiration.
"It's alright, Naruto-chan, Fuu-chan," Han said to the children while keeping his gaze fixed on the man. "We will still talk to each other through the Doors. We just won't be able to appear here together anymore."
"How is Yugito-senpai going to teach me a new technique if we can't see each other?" she asked angrily as her grip hardened on Naruto. "And this is the only place where Naruto has a family! If he can't spend time with us he's going to be so sad and lonely!"
Huge tears fell down her face and onto the floor as she made her case. Naruto had moved to hug her tightly, his face buried in her midsection. The sound was slightly muffled, but they could all hear the boy's bawling.
This Mizukage definitely looks guilty. He's probably like Roshi and Yugito and is a bleeding heart for children. It was time to twist the dagger a little more.
"I know, little one," Han said to Fuu. "I don't want to, but he wants us to leave. He wants us to cut each other out."
He gestured to their enemy, who definitely had a look of guilt on his face. He was still holding his large staff firmly in an offensive stance. Nevertheless, he appeared unsettled by the children crying. Fuu turned to the man, her orange eyes their greatest weapon.
"Please!" she said as she stared at the stranger. "We promise we will be more quiet! But don't make us leave the Room! This is the only place we have! This is the only place where I can see Naruto-chan."
At her words, Naruto's hug tightened and the two children held each other like a lifeline. Han wondered how Fuu could possibly be breathing. Naruto was small, but his grip looked like it could crush steel.
The man stopped to consider her for a second. He looked like he wanted to say something but he stopped himself. The man grunted in exasperation and vanished from the Room without answering to Fuu.
Immediately, the coral that was crushing B disappeared and he stopped struggling. The puddles created by the water release vanished as well. Only the six jinchuuriki remained as they rested and gathered their thoughts. They stood together, with only Fuu and Naruto's sniffling to break the silence as their crying petered out. Roshi spoke up first.
"Well, if he comes again, let's just run," Roshi said with a huff. "Not until the kids get stronger at least."
"Agreed," Yugito said with a serious look on her face. "He was a truly dangerous opponent."
"We will have to be quieter," Han added. "He has retreated, but if we're too loud, he might come back for a fight."
Roshi sighed and put his hands on the back of his head. He closed his eyes in exhaustion.
"Well, we are all going to wake up with a migraine tomorrow," Roshi said, sounding irritated. "Battling in the Room always does that."
Han winced. He hadn't tried battling or using chakra beyond basic sparring in the Room with anyone for a long time. The last time he and Roshi used the Room to spar, they had both woken up with the worst migraines of their lives. Their bodies couldn't be hurt or die while in their shared mind space. However, any damage had to be reflected back onto their bodies somehow.
"Are we going to see each other again, soon?" Fuu asked in a small voice. Her tears were drying up, but her eyes were still sad.
At her words, Roshi smiled. He went to stand next to her and picked her and Naruto up for a hug. They went along as he held them on his hip.
"Of course, butterfly," Roshi reassured the girl. "He will keep us apart over my dead body."
Don't jinx it. The man might actually try to kill you. You don't mess with a Kage.
"Thank you, Mama," Fuu said, a smile back on her face.
From behind him, he heard Yugito's claws finally retracting back into her fingers and toes. She sighed and moved to stand next to B, who was still lying on the floor despite the vanished coral.
"Well, that man kind of ruined the mood," she complained. "I think I'm gonna have to call it a night for now."
Yugito turned to look at Fuu. Fuu wiped her eyes with her forearm before she looked up at the older girl. Yugito smiled.
"Keep your chin up, girl," Yugito said. "Practice the technique I showed you one hundred times more and I'm sure you'll get it."
"Really? You think so?" Fuu already sounded like her normal enthusiastic self.
Yugito smiled at her and nodded. She patted Fuu on the head softly and bent her head down to look at Naruto in the eye. She combed her hands through his hair.
"You too, little monster," she told the boy. "It's time to go to sleep. I will see you all soon. Good night."
At that, she disappeared.
"Yeah, I'm gonna call it a night, too," Roshi said as he put the children back on the floor. "Goodnight."
The other jinchuuriki departed one by one, saying goodbye before disappearing for the night.
Eventually, Han was the only one left. He sighed and he glared once more at the Door that symbolized the Three-Tails jinchuuriki. He was not sure if it was his imagination or not, but the aquamarine chakra signature appeared to glow more than before.
Before turning in for the night, Han walked calmly to Gaara's Door. He hadn't said goodnight to him yet.
Han put his hand on the Door and carefully recounted the events from earlier. When he finished, he wished the boy good night and let his mind leave their jinchuuriki mind space to enter deep sleep. He would need as much rest as he could get before facing the morning. He was not looking forward to the inevitable migraine.
O-O-O-O-O
After the disastrous yet exhilarating fight inside the Room, Yagura's return to work was dreary and depressing.
Yagura wanted to act like the illusion was still working until he found the one responsible. He signed all paperwork that any of his advisors brought. He moved tax expenditures to fund weapons manufacturing. He handed out an A-Ranked mission to a new genin team.
He didn't trust his advisors and he knew that at least some of them worked for the person that put the genjutsu on him. If he tried to tell the village about the brainwashing, he knew that he would simply be put under again. Or worse, he would be executed and replaced with someone more malleable. Despite being the strongest shinobi in the village, he felt completely powerless.
Listening to the chatter in the Room at night was almost a relief at that point. They had been quieter since their fight. Nevertheless, he could hear their voices whenever they got excited, which happened often.
He liked listening to their daily lives. It was a good distraction for him. Fuu's biggest problem was figuring out how to keep a leaf on her forehead using chakra. Naruto learned how to balance himself on one leg. Yugito wanted permission to take the chuunin exams, despite being jounin level already. B kept trying and failing to rap. Unlike Yagura, they didn't have to worry about the Bloody Civil War.
After the disastrous fight, no one had tried to communicate with him. They were undoubtedly relieved that he left of his own will and were hoping he would never visit again. But it had been nice to be away from the facade that was his life, especially for a fight. He wanted to go to the Room again, despite everything.
Yagura needed to get away.
One week after, his mind pulled him into the Room once he fell asleep.
It was very late, past midnight, and the others had inevitably gone to sleep already. The only one there was the incredibly tall man wearing armor. From the hitai-ate, Yagura knew that he was from Iwagakure.
The man tensed when he sensed Yagura. He moved his body into a taijutsu defensive position. He was obviously expecting a return to their last fight.
"What do you want?" the man asked in a deep and dangerous voice. "You shouldn't have come here."
"Nothing, I just want to get away," Yagura waved his hand to try to calm the man down, "I'm not going to fight you."
Yagura had left behind his staff and his Mizukage outfit from his current manifestation. He wanted to look as unthreatening as possible. However, the man didn't trust him and he didn't move out of his defensive position. He's an experienced ninja. I wouldn't trust me either.
Yagura shrugged. He didn't want a fight. They might not die or be injured while inside the Room. However, the morning after the fight, he had woken up with a migraine worse than anything else he had felt before. The pain had only made his miserable situation worse. Even having his eye torn out and reconnected had paled in comparison.
Instead of talking, Yagura plopped down onto the floor of the Room and looked up at the domed ceiling. The tiles felt cold on his body. The temperature had a grounding effect when his mind felt like it was going to float away.
He forced himself to relax and for tension to leave his body. He took deep breaths in and out. He wished the young jinchuuriki were there. They reminded him of Asahi and Kasumi, even though they looked nothing like his son and daughter.
Yagura laid on the floor, not speaking or moving, only allowing his body to relax. The crisis in Kirigakure could wait for an hour.
When he finally stood up and stretched to go to sleep, the man from Iwa was still in the same position, eyeing him warily. Yagura snorted. As if you're worth fighting, old man. That migraine was not worth it.
"Good night," Yagura said, forcing himself to be polite. The man didn't reply.
As he allowed his mind to leave the Room, he noted that the man hadn't moved from his initial defensive position. Get ready to see me again, old man. And often. I'm using this Room whether you want me to or not.
O-O-O-O-O
A/N: Fuu's eyes are hypnotic.
For my characterization of Yagura, I like to imagine this (ง •̀_•́)ง emoticon. He tries to look serious and calm but he's a Napoleon complex in a human body. He's ready to throw down anytime, anywhere.
In regards to Yagura's wife and children... according to the Boruto anime, Yagura had a grandson named Kagura. This means that his children have to be older than Naruto unless Naruto had Boruto late and/or Yagura's kids were teen parents. I tried to do the math, but the Naruto timeline is weird and contradictory. Anzu, Asahi, and Kasumi are my OCs, of course. They will be background characters.
Only one jinchuuriki left! Utakata, you will join the family whether you want to or not! Fuu won't give you any other choice!
You can talk to me on Tumblr at waffledogwrites.
Next chapter: Utakata is traumatized.