Hi everyone, here's another chapter I was able to squeeze through my deadlines. Hope you enjoy it! Keep the feedback coming. I'll still try to to get back to you if you review or PM.

Yukihana hadn't slept well. Her worst nightmares had come true in such a short amount of time that she was left unsure how to pick up the pieces. A few months ago, Yuki had woken up alone inside an ice floe and had to fight her way out of a base crawling with Orochimaru's men. Her ice powers hadn't worked at the time and she was in nothing but her soiled nightgown. When Orochimaru came for her family so many years before, Yuki and Seiichiro barely had enough time to run out of the apartment, let alone to grab weapons or put on shoes. After Yuki had clawed her way through them, she had to loot the clothing and cash off the Sound dead. It had taken her a week to get back to Getsu. During that time, Yuki had barely slept or ate, her body functioning off adrenaline alone

When she got to Getsu and found out Seiichiro was dead, it was a blow but it didn't take Yuki down. There was a clear course of action for Yukihana: find out who did it and make them pay. When she learned her daughter's life was on the line it was the same. Yuki pressed on relentlessly until the danger had passed. Now that it was all done, Yuki was left alone with no purpose in sight. She had accepted there was going to be backlash.

Yuki had been orphaned at three. If her mother risen from the dead when she was a teenager, Yuki would have had some issue with it as well. It didn't make the utter rejection she felt from Beki any easier to bear, however. Her daughter had been hurt and confused, so she had lashed out. It hurt in a way Yuki didn't know how to handle. She knew what to do about physical pain, how to deal with exposure to the elements or will her way through an injury. When her spirit was troubled, Yuki had coping mechanisms in place to rejuvenate her soul and get herself back in balance. Dealing with Beki left Yukihana completely vulnerable, however. Beki had grown inside Yuki and was a part of her body for nine months. When she came into the world, Beki had been the physical embodiment of all her parent's hopes and dreams. She was the chance the pair had at having an honest-to-God family, and the night before that child had told Yuki to stay away from her.

Logically, Yuki understood Beki needed time to process everything. The girl would ask around and come to realize that Yuki really was her mother. With any luck, she would come by on her own to talk things out. All the other parts of Yuki wanted to grab ahold of the girl, bear hug her, cover her face in kisses, and pester her about every detail of her life up until that moment. Yuki had already read the news coverage on the previous year's chunin exams. She was dying to hear all about it from Beki's perspective. If Beki was uncomfortable with all that sharing, Yuki would try to gently remind her that she had brought Beki into this world and was entitled to have a part in her life. The idea of being around her daughter again made Yuki so excited it was hard to keep herself under control.

The apartment was starting to feel closed in. Yuki grabbed her keys and walked out the door hoping fresh air would do her some good. The streets were filled with the usual amount of traffic and Yuki was happy to lose herself in it. She wandered towards the market and window shopped as she walked. Her nerves were finally beginning to lose their edge when she heard her name called. Yuki perked up and turned.

"Hey Kakashi," she grinned. "What's up?"

"Beki was looking for you earlier," Kakashi stood there casually with his hands in his pockets.

"Why didn't you send her my way?" Yuki groaned, running her hands through her hair in agitation.

Kakashi threw up his hands and took a step back, ready to duck out. "I don't know where you live, Yukihana."

Yuki rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me that a hardcore shinobi like you wouldn't know where every potential threat in this village lives. I sure as hell know where you live."

Kakashi maintained a blank stare. As the seconds dragged on and he made no attempt to refute the claim, Yuki shook her head. "I knew it. You forget I'm a ninja, too. I would be disappointed if you didn't keep tabs on me. So, where did Beki go?"

"I told her about the diner you always eat at. She headed in that direction." Kakashi sighed as he spoke, half expecting to be dragged along.

"Thanks," Yuki called over her shoulder as she darted through the crowd. Kakashi watched her go and shrugged. At least he dodged the bullet on this awkward mother-daughter encounter.

…

Beki peered in the window of the diner. It wasn't a place she had eaten at before but she had heard good things about it. The smell of the rich food cooking inside was tempting. A man near the window was having a bowl of some of the thickest udon noodles Beki had ever seen. Her stomach growled but she steeled herself. She needed to find her mother. Beki scanned the crowd for the silky black hair and listened for a voice like a ringing bell. Her concentration was broken by a swift slap on her bottom. She turned around, incensed, her skin already warming to threatening temperatures. Instead of some immature teenage boy, Beki saw her mother grinning like an idiot.

"I heard you were looking for me?"

Beki took a deep breath and centered herself. "Yes. I talked to Ishida and he told me you're the real deal."

Yuki perked up and looked around. "Let's not stand out here like a couple of weirdos. I'm hungry. Let's eat."

Yuki took ahold of Beki's arm and dragged her inside. She gave the owner a quick wave and took a spot towards the back. It was unsettling to Beki how at ease Yuki was about all this. She led her daughter to the booth and plopped down in the seat across from her as nonchalantly as if they did this all the time. There was no hint of hesitation in her movements or uncertainty in her eyes. Yuki beamed at Beki with a warmth and familiarity Beki couldn't match. This woman, as familiar as she looked, was a stranger.

The menus were on a rack to the side of the table. Yuki grabbed them and tossed one at Beki.

"I usually get the somen but I think I'm in the mood for some meat," Yuki said half to herself. "Do you still like udon? Its pretty good here."

"Yeah," Beki looked over the menu for a moment and closed it.

"So," Yuki put her menu away and rhythmically rapped her knuckles on table. "We have a lot of ground to cover. I have so many questions for you but you should go first. What do you want to know about your mother?"

"Uh," Beki's mind went blank. In her lifetime, Beki had thought up so many questions she wished she could ask her mother. Some of it was about her past and much of it was about becoming a woman. There were things she wanted to ask that were abstract, like how Yuki knew she was in love with Seiichiro, but they would seem awkward and out of place in this situation. "I don't know. Since you already know what you want to say, you should go first."

"Okay!" Yuki slapped the table. "Did you make any friends at the academy?"

"I'm friends with my teammates. Reika's sister Ren is on my team, and then there's Daiske. Ren's an archer and Daiske's an earth jutsu specialist. I haven't seen them since the chunin exams, and then not for months before that."

"Because you've been here helping your dad," Yuki interjected. She was at the edge of her seat, an electric look in her eye and another question pursed on her lips. "Next up, who is that beautiful girl you are always running around with?"

Beki blinked in surprise at the quick shift in the subject. "Oh, you mean Hinata?"

"She has got to be one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen! I would kill for my hair to look like that," Yuki leaned back in her booth and draped her arms over the top. It was interesting that she felt that way, Beki thought, because Yuki's hair was plenty black and lustrous as it was. "She's so tall, too. Great figure other than the fact that she's flat as a pancake."

Beki paused and her eyebrows slowly furrowed. "Wait. You aren't talking about Hinata. Her rack is as big as yours." Her eyes grew wide with realization. "You're talking about Neji."

"Always wears black and white?" Yuki cocked her head.

"Yeah," Beki shook her head. "I've got bad news for you, Neji's a boy."

"Whoa whoa whoa. How can those hips be a man's?" Yuki shook her head. "I saw Neji and it threatened my womanhood. I won't accept that he's a boy."

"Trust me," Beki looked off to the side. "He's definitely a boy."

Yuki's lips pulled into a smirk. "Wait, so are you saying you two hooked up?"

"No, it isn't like that,," Beki balked. "Neji's just my friend."

"Friends that have seen each other naked, apparently," Yuki grinned. "Have you guys ever gone out, though?"

"No," Beki shook her head. "Neji's like a brother to me."

"Okay, I won't tell you that's a crap decision. Who's he seeing, then?" Yuki asked.

Beki thought for a moment. As far as she could tell, Neji was single. He never talked about anyone he liked or even seemed interested in people that way. Beki had never seen him throw sidelong glances at anyone or comment on whether or not he found a person attractive. "He isn't with anyone."

Yuki looked up and bit at a nail. "Maybe he's gay."

Beki shook her head. "I don't think so. He just isn't into anyone that way."

"But he's so good looking! If I was your age I'd be all over that," Yuki shook her head and Beki gagged at the thought of her mother with Neji. The idea nauseated her more when she thought about what a disgustingly good looking pair they would make. "So he's not dating anyone, he isn't gay, and looks like that? Something's amiss here."

Beki avoided eye contact and Yuki picked up that she wanted to change the subject. "Who's Hinata?"

"Neji's cousin. I live with her and her fiance, Naruto, within the Hyuga compound," Beki explained. "I've been there for about two years now."

The waitress came by and took their orders. A few moments later she brought the pair a pot of tea and some cups. Beki reached out to serve her mother in an attempt to be polite. Yukihana beat her to the pot, however, and was absently filling their cups as she continued: "So how close are you with Hinata? Is she your best friend, or…?"

Beki nodded. "Yeah, we're pretty close."

"How close?" Yuki slid Beki her cup of tea and Beki shot her a strange look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not judging, just curious," Yuki shrugged. "If she's as good looking as Neji and has a fantastic rack, she would be pretty irresistible."

"Nothing weird has ever happened between me and Hinata-" Beki began to say but paused, remembering some of their escapades while Naruto was away. "Nothing super weird, anyway."

Yuki gave her a knowing look. "You guys've kissed, haven't you?"

Beki's first instinct was to lie but then she remembered this woman was her mother. She sighed and decided that it was in her best interest to trust Yuki. "There were circumstances that made it necessary. Besides, I kiss everyone. I don't think it's weird to kiss people but I guess someone else might take it the wrong way."

"I don't think it is, either," Yuki grinned. "You get that from me. Don't take any of this the wrong way, pumpkin. I'm trying to get to know everything about you and I don't want to miss anything important. The only place I have to start is with my own life experiences, you know?"

Beki nodded. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"Beki, I was raised on a shrine in a remote part of the mountain pass. We were a bunch of teenage girls with nothing to do but fool around." Yuki opened her mouth to expand but the waitress arrived with their food. The moment the she set the food down the savory scent of the broth hit Beki. She picked up her chopsticks and went right for the thick gummy noodles without hesitation. Yuki watched her for a moment, smiled and shook her head. She followed her daughter's lead and dug into her tonkatsu. The two ate in silence for a time. Beki was grateful for a chance to process everything. The situation was so alien yet so familiar. Once again, she hardly knew anything about Yukihana but she acted the same way her father had always treated her. This was the most natural thing in the world to Yuki, to sit across from Beki and share a meal with her.

"Want a bite?" Yuki slid her bowl across the table and Beki eyed it tentatively. "I'm your mother. You can eat of my plate."

Beki took a small bite of the pork and Yuki retracted her bowl. "Its good."

"I've tried most of the stuff on the menu. I haven't been disappointed." Yuki smiled as she savored the rich flavor of the pork.

"How often do you eat here?" Beki asked between bites of udon.

Yuki shrugged. "I come here for lunch or dinner about four times a week."

"You eat out a lot," Beki said half to herself, thinking of how many meals she cooked with Naruto and Hinata during the week.

Yuki shrugged. "I can't cook." Beki gave her an incredulous look so she explained: "I grew up on the shrine as a candidate for head priestess. Cooking wasn't a skill they taught me because that was the other priestess' jobs."

"What about after you met dad?" Beki thought of all the meals her father had thrown together. They weren't anything amazing but he could at least throw together a decent pot of curry.

"When I was pregnant he started to learn because I was godawful at it. Did he ever get good at it?" Yuki asked.

Beki shrugged. "It was fine to me."

Yuki tapped her fingers on her teacup. "What was your dad like while you were growing up?"

"He was a bear," Beki sighed. She had anticipated that this would come up. Before she came to the diner, Beki had thrown together a basic idea of what she would say. "Overprotective to the extreme. He worked a lot but when he was with me I had his full attention. He tried his best to be involved with me. He took me out to movies and to dinner, he bought me trinkets when he had to go out of town. I was hardheaded and stubborn but he was patient with me about it. I guess he was like that, too."

"And defiant as hell," Yuki smiled.

"I didn't have to be defiant with him," Beki shook her head. "He was always pretty reasonable about things. If he told me "no" to something there was always a good reason. Otherwise I got to be fairly independent."

Yuki listened patiently, her eyes fixed on the table and a sad smile on her face. "But what was he like? Was he funny? Did he ever dance with you?"

Beki thought those questions were strange but humored the woman. "He didn't crack a lot of jokes. He was sarcastic, though. He danced with me when I was younger, when we would go to festivals. Dad didn't seem to like dancing very much."

Yuki took a sip of her tea to cover for the tears welling in her eyes. "Did he ever talk about me?"

"Dad had nothing but good things to say about you. He told me you were talented, smart, and beautiful constantly. If he was giving me a compliment it was usually how much I was like you." Beki paused to read the mood. Her food was really tasty and she hated to let it go cold. If her mother started crying, however, she thought it would look ruthless to carry on eating her noodles.

"That could be why you're so unprepared to meet me," Yuki sighed as she prepped her next bite of pork. "Sounds like Seiichiro's memories were skewed."

They both took a few bites of their food. Beki noticed that her mother's chipper mood had sombered. Instead of bright eyed looks Beki's way, Yuki kept her eyes on the table. "He didn't date anyone, you know?" Beki offered. "There were lots of interested women, I'll tell you that. Dad always talked his way out of it. He used me as an excuse most of the time but I think the real reason was because he was still in love with you."

Yuki's grew so full of tears they sparkled. She demurely put a hand over them and sniffled. Beki sat there quietly as Yuki silently pulled herself together. She blinked and a tear fell perfectly on each cheek. Beki couldn't help but feel a little irritated by how beautiful her mother looked even when she cried. The tears brought a soft pink flush to her freckled cheeks and her dewey lashes sparkled. Beki assumed that she must take after her father, then. When Beki cried she looked like a snotty swollen tomato.

"Sorry," Yuki shook her head. "He was alive for me such a short time ago. It was only a few months ago for me that you were five and he was twenty-four. Seiichiro was such a badass: gruff, handsome, and strong enough to hold off the gates of hell by himself. Every morning I would wake up and fall back in love with him. He…" Yuki trailed off and sighed. "I guess it's time we started talking about me, huh?"

Beki nodded. Knowing what her father was like when he was young from someone who had been there would be a comfort. Beki missed him desperately and was trying to hold on to every memory of him that she could. "Go ahead."

"So I'm sure your dad told you about the shrine, but we're going back a little before that. Let's talk about the Asou," Yuki said as she waved the waitress over. The waitress took their empty bowls and brought out more tea. Yuki poured Beki another cup as she talked. "As the laws go, there should always be one of each type of Maiden at the shrine at all times. That was the case for a hundred years or so until Getsugakure was formed. To try to keep our providence relevant, they began sending the occasional Maiden to train at the academy and become shinobi. Of the three, the Asou were the most favored. Our kekke genkai manifested young, was simple to train, and highly effective in the field. Over the generations, more and more Asou were asked to become shinobi. For the sake of the village they took up the job time and time again. The problem was we were getting killed off faster than we were reproducing."

This wasn't news to Beki but she didn't interrupt. Reika had explained a lot of this to Beki when she was young. The Head Priestess had been the closest thing Beki had to a mother figure and the fact that Reika had been her mother's best friend helped. She told her about Yukihana as well, but just like her father it seemed Reika had glossed over a lot of Yuki's lesser qualities.

"My parents were the last of the Asou. They were like, third cousins or something," Yuki gave a dismissive wave. "Do you think that's gross?"

Beki shrugged. That explains a lot, Beki thought.

Yuki nodded and continued. "They called my parents out on a mission and they were killed. One of the older women in the village had been taking care of my sister and I. When she went into town and heard the news was right when a bad snowstorm hit. It was one of the worst we had on record. I think fifteen people died. People were stranded in their homes for days. When the snow finally let up they sent some people over to see if my sister and I were alright. The furnace had gone out. Yukihina didn't make it but I was just fine. With nowhere else to go and the fear that the clan would be completely wiped out, I was taken to the shrine."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Beki shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"She was my twin," Yuki swirled the tea in her cup. "I don't really remember her. We were so young. There's a picture of us somewhere in that old house. Someday when we go back I'll show you."

"Why didn't we live in your family's house?" Beki asked and Yuki held up a hand.

"We'll get to that. My ice powers had manifested and the Head Priestess took it as a sign that I was destined to be her successor. Around that time Reika was dropped off at the shrine. Her mother had died and her father wanted nothing to do with her. To be fair, as we were both technically eligible to be Head Priestess, we were trained in tandem. The main purpose of being Head Priestess is to train Maidens. Did your dad ever talk to you about the Kishin style?"

"Yeah," Beki nodded. "Daichiro's son used it on me at the chunin exams."

Yuki made an empathetic clicking sound. "Sorry. I know that shit hurts."

Beki shrugged. "I dealt with it. It was good in that it made me think about not relying on one style too much."

"Good," Yuki settled into her seat. "Being a Maiden is a gift but it shouldn't be a crutch."

"You were saying? About the Kishin style?" Beki wanted to keep the conversation on track.

"Right. So the Head Priestess is supposed to train Maidens. It was understood that from time to time we would be orphaned or what not, so if a girl from the three lines had nowhere to go, she would be sent to the shrine. The Head Priestess would teach her how to use and control her powers. That way, the shrine and the culture could be protected." Yuki searched Beki's face. "I'm drawing this out too much. Long and short of it is, we came under attack. I was in the lead for head priestess so I felt it was my responsibility to protect the shrine. I killed the raiders down to the last man. The Head Priestess and the elders came together and decided that I was too dangerous to lead. The last vote was Reika." Yuki bit at her nail and looked out the window. "She was my best friend but she smelled blood in the water. Voted me out to secure the position of Head Priestess for herself."

Beki narrowed her eyes. Reika had never told her that. Come to think of it, Beki had never asked about why her mother had left the shrine. As a child, she had assumed it was because Yuki became a shinobi or because she met Seiichiro.

"They had sent some shinobi up from the capital to take on the raiders and your father was one of them. He figured out I had taken them all down on my own and invited me to become a shinobi. The rest...I'd rather not go into." Yuki stretched. "Any questions?"

"Actually, yeah," Beki leaned forward in her seat. "Why were you so brutal? They told me that you juggled people's heads."

"I had a lot to prove, Beki." Yuki explained. "I didn't go to an academy, I had no formal training. I became a shinobi at sixteen. In those exams I had a target on my back and the best thing I could do was overdo it. I was so over the top it pissed everyone off and they got sloppy. From what I read, you used less than...traditional methods to pass the exam yourself."

"Having your top ripped open and not going 'le gasp' and fighting through it is different than decapitating people and juggling their heads in front of their loved ones." Beki shot her a dirty look.

Yuki shrugged. "Potato potato."

"So what does all this mean for me?" Beki asked. "You've told me all this but I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"You've become the Burned Maiden. There is no way you've received any training in how to control it." Yuki leaned forward. "According to your dad's notes, he's hired you a tutor down here. There is no way that some two bit Leafling could teach you anything about how to keep yourself from spontaneously combusting."

"So you're going to train me," Beki lit up. No more training with Ebisu!

"That's right," Yuki rested her chin on her hand. "You've got a lot to process. Why don't you run on home and rest. We can start training tomorrow morning. I'll come pick you up."

"Sounds good," Beki stood up and reached for her wallet.

"What, are you crazy?" Yuki shook her head. "Put your milk money away."

"But you haven't been working-" Beki began but Yuki held up a hand.

"My family died out faster than they could spend their money. I'm sitting on a fortune here." Yuki explained.

"Oh," Beki blinked. "Okay then. Thanks."

"See you later pumpkin." Yuki said as she took out her wallet.

"Bye Yuki," Beki said as she walked away, not seeing Yuki cringe.

I guess it was too much to expect for her to start calling me Mom again, Yuki thought as she paid for their food. Yuki was beginning to feel at peace now that she had finally talked to Beki. Maybe there was hope that they could be a normal family again.