Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 110-A "Imouto"
Patron Release 2020.02.03
The darkness of closed eyes spun away into the starry nights of Sunagakure, a cold breeze tickling pale skin. It always took a moment for Gaara to adjust to the sudden change in his existence and he spent a few minutes simply looking around the recreation of his home village.
"Gaara." The voice sounded closer yet came from nowhere, echoing inside his head.
"I'm here, Kaa-sama."
As soon as he spoke a small box of wooden lattices appeared covered in flowering vines. The door on its front took up its entire face and the other sides were no larger, it's purpose solely to represent the connection between the two seals.
Gaara's teal eyes watched eagerly as the door swung open and he received only the briefest peeks into the realm his mother called home. Unlike the darkness of Sunagakure that surrounded him his mother lived in a palace of the purest white marble that reflected the light of her world brilliantly.
As she stepped out of that light, he could only compare her to an angel.
"Kaa-sama." He dropped to one knee as she left the doorway, eyes focused on the tan roof of the building below him. Leisurely she approached, soft footsteps reaching his ears until her bare feet were visible and her slender finger gently ruffled his red hair.
"Your hair is just as lovely as your father's, Gaara. It's a pity you won't grow it out."
"If it would please you, Kaa-sama, I will continue to grow it."
"I think it would look quite handsome, don't you agree Isobu? Do you think your brother's hair would look better like daddy's?"
"Mmmhmm, like daddy." That was a voice Gaara wasn't familiar with and he found himself looking up to the young girl his mother held against her hip. She was small, maybe six or seven, and if set on the ground her head may have reached his mother's waist. Like his mother she seemed to be barefoot but he supposed that didn't matter too much when she was being carried. She wore a blue sundress that came just past her knees with a white ribbon wrapped around her waist like a belt.
A braid of dark green hair was thrown over one of her shoulders and her right hand clutched a simple straw hat with a blue ribbon. Het eyes, one blue and one yellow, were filled with an innocent curiosity as they met and held his gaze. She gave him a small, timid smile before burying herself into his mother's neck.
"Kaa-sama?" He asked.
"This is Isoubu, Gaara, your new sister." She was also technically Karura's sister and therefore Gaara's aunt but he didn't need to know that right now.
His….sister…
Gaara's first thought went to Temari but that comparison was quickly dismissed. Temari had been his older sister and had taken a role of Other Kaa-san due to her relationship with his father. This sister, this little Imouto, wasn't the headstrong, independent Temari who would berate you one second for your stupidity and then be mothering you to make sure you hadn't been hurt.
Temari was a desert princess, beautiful but adapted to a harsh world, this Isobu was shy and delicate.
He had the most inexplicable need to protect her.
Karura bent down to set Isobu on the floor, giving the small girl a smile. "Go on, then, go say hello to your brother."
She looked unsure for a few seconds and Gaara was still so surprised by this development that he hadn't moved from his position on the ground. Gathering her nerves Isobu gave him another shy smile before taking the few steps needed to be beside him.
Gaara blinked twice in surprise as her arms wrapped around his torso as best they could and she gave him a soft peck on his cheek. "Hi, Nii-sama."
"...I-imouto-chan…." After a second of trying to understand what was going on Gaara returned the hug. Like this, with his arms wrapped around her, she seemed even smaller and more fragile, as if she might crumble away if he squeezed too hard.
He….didn't want that.
This was nice.
Gaara wondered for a second if this is how Temari felt when she hugged him and suddenly he understood. This was his little sister, Isobu, and he loved her.
With arms still wrapped around her he stood up, resting her against his hip just as he had seen his mother do. Isobu's hands moved from around his chest to wrapping around his neck and she rested her head against his shoulder as Gaara gave his mother a wondrous look.
Karura simply offered a smile in return.
It was good to see the family together, now she just needed to introduce him to his aunt Mito.
Hanabi was again sitting on what had more or less become her spot - the corner of the kitchen counter- bored out of her mind. Shizune-Sensei had been taking time to instruct her each day but that only covered a full morning or afternoon - depending on when she had time - at best. Usually it was just a few hours.
She was grateful for the distraction and she enjoyed the lessons but there was only so much she could do on her own and with most of the Wolves gone to….wherever they went….she couldn't even talk to them.
They weren't exactly good conversationalists- or, rather, didn't speak much to her - but it was better than sitting around alone. Tayuya had been a godsend in that sense, keeping her company and being just as bored as Hanabi was. Her personality left a lot to be desired, something about the young woman just rubbed her the wrong way, and she could really do without the constant chatter about "Denka-sama" but it was better than nothing.
Of course Tayuya had left almost a week ago to spend some time in Tsukuyomi's apartment where she was officially staying. She didn't know exactly what was keeping her but between what she was pretty sure were new Wolves- new in the sense that they weren't the same five that she'd seen over the last month- and an offhanded comment from Shizune-Sensei about "him being back" Hanabi could make the assumption that Tsukuyomi had returned.
Knowing -explicitly - how much Tayuya longed for the man and having read Kin's Icha-Icha book - no less than three times out of sheer boredom- Hanabi had a pretty good idea what might have happened. It was a blessing for distracting her thoughts but a curse because she really didn't want to be imagining what might be happening between the two, especially when it had been so long.
She knew she was probably overthinking it- Tayuya was supposed to be watching her while Tsukuyomi was away so she might not be coming back because her job was done - but there really wasn't much else to do.
At this point she might even consider asking Clicky for training, too. At least she should be able to practice that while Shizune was busy.
She still believed entrusting her well being to Tsukuyomi had been her best option, but gods above she hadn't anticipated being so bored. The drawbacks of protective custody, she supposed.
Her head snapped to the left to peer through the kitchen doorway as the creak of the front door echoed through the otherwise silent apartment and the only young man she had ever seen with that colored hair stepped into the room.
"Naruto-Sama?"
His gaze turned to her, purple eyes observing her chosen position, and she felt her cheeks heat up slightly as she saw him again for the first time in weeks. How the hell was a man so beautiful?
"Ah, Hanabi, just the person I was looking for. Perfect." He closed the door behind him and made his way into the kitchen with long strides, stopping a foot or two from her position and staring down at her in bemusement. Even sitting on the counter as she was - and she had to jump in order to get onto it, too- he was still taller than her by at least a head. "How have you been?"
"Bored." She answered directly. "Bored and restless. Shizune's been taking time to teach me some but she's mentioned going through records as the physician to a noble house or something. Apparently she has a lot she needs to look over."
The medical records of all the Wolves would indeed be a monumental task, mostly because she would have to get records from their time in Root from the Wolves themselves- or Danzo if he was generous, Naruto supposed - which would be made even more difficult by the fact that the majority of the Wolves were in Nami no Kuni.
Shizune was probably driving herself mad trying to find those records for people who didn't exist for years. He might want to let her know before she pulled out all her hair trying to figure out what was going on.
"Ah, yes. I can imagine she might have quite a bit to occupy herself with." He nodded. "What have you been doing between her lessons?"
She just shrugged before pointing to the counter she was sitting on. "This, mostly. I talked to Tayuya for a bit while she was here…" Her cheeks darkened slightly at her earlier thoughts resurfacing. "But most of the Wolves aren't very good at it."
"They tend to express themselves in...other ways…." Naruto agreed. "If you're interested, I may have something you can start doing. It will require quite a bit of commitment but I'll also be placing significant trust in you."
"And I won't be bored?" She tried to keep her voice neutral but a slight hope was unmistakable.
"With the amount of work we have these days, I can assure you you'll be kept pretty busy throughout the day."
Her face scrunched up in thought for a bit as she thought about an offer he technically hadn't told her about yet. With a thoughtful frown she gave a single nod. "As long as I can continue lessons with Shizune, I don't really care what it is."
"Good." Naruto returned the nod. "I'll arrange things between Shizune and Mai to ensure you have time set aside for lessons."
"Mai?" Hanabi had heard the Wolves- and Tayuya- speak about the young woman but didn't know how she would be connected to this matter.
"Ah, yes, I should probably mention what you'll be doing. Starting tomorrow I want you shadowing Mai so that you can become her assistant. Her current workload is quite large so having someone capable of helping her should reduce the burden significantly."
"She's one of those really high up though, isn't she?" That sounded pretty good to Hanabi, at least she wouldn't be working under some other flunkie, but it was also a bit strange. Why would she be assigned to someone so high up the hierarchy? Better yet, why did someone that high up not already have someone?
"Very." Naruto's face became deadly serious. "She's Tsukuyomi's right hand, Amaterasu, and his favorite Wolf. I mentioned trust in giving you this position for a reason, you'll be around the upper ranks of the Imperial House of Wolves as you fulfil your duties."
"Is…." It was probably inappropriate to ask, but Hanabi found the question leaving her before she could stop it. "Is she higher than you?"
He gave a soft, genuine smile at that. "That could vary depending on who you ask. It would be easier for you to think of us as equals, I think. If Mai is Tsukuyomi's right hand you can consider me the left."
"Oh." Oh indeed, that put things in perspective much better for the former Hyuuga heiress. She was being made the equivalent of Naruto's personal assistant, which was absolutely nothing to scoff at. In fact, a position like that she was likely being raised above even Shizune within the ranks of the Wolves. That was quite the promotion considering she wasn't even a Wolf.
Or was she?
Her face scrunched up in thought again. "Am I…." She trailed off.
"Hmm? Are you what?"
"A…..Wolf…?"
Understanding blossomed in his eyes and they seemed to shine slightly brighter with the question. "Of course." He ruffled her hair with his right hand. "Welcome to the family, Imouto."
The same warmth in his voice filled Hanabi's chest, a sense of peace and belonging she hadn't realized she was missing suddenly surging through her until her own smile spread unbidden across her lips.
"Thank you, Nii-sama."
Hanabi hadn't realized how much she had missed having a family and Natruto, well, Naruto was always happy to see his family grow.
To be perfectly honest, Naruko couldn't really remember the last time they had sat down for a family dinner. There was a tinge of guilt in thinking about that, though, not because she had been avoiding coming home or her mother but because she had begun thinking of family dinners as just her and Kushina. She didn't even know when it had started.
It was understandable, though, Naruto hadn't sat down with them for a meal in years. With both of them, at least. He had dinner with their mother some time ago, back in the Yamanaka compound, and she supposed she had tea with him as they listened to Jiraiya's tales, but all three of them hadn't been together - amiably - since before she had left on a training trip with her mother.
She had to wonder if it would ever happen again, really.
Without Yamanaka intervention, that is. Chances were all three of them would be invited- and accept that invitation - to a dinner by the Yamanaka clan before the three lest Uzumaki sat down together of their own volition.
Still, despite the fact that they were sharing a meal for the first time in what felt like weeks they had hardly spoken, both simply slowly eating their meal as they were lost in private thoughts. Naruko looked up from her food to glance at her mother who in turn was staring down at her meal as if it held all the answers in the universe. She was chewing- slowly- but Naruko hadn't seen her take a bite in the last few minutes. It was obvious that whatever was on her mind was taking just about all her focus.
It wasn't surprising, her mother had always thrown herself completely into her problems until they were resolved, though it didn't always have positive results.
Especially not when it came to her brother.
Naruko had been intending to return to her food before it got cold- something she felt her mother would probably have to deal with before she finished half of her meal - when her attention was instead caught by a sudden tingling in her stomach. It was small, at first, but quickly grew into a buzzing and then a roaring burn that reminded her of Mito's Chakra.
But this wasn't Mito's. She was familiar enough with that energy to know that there was something wrong with whatever was surging around her seal at the moment. It was hot, like Mito's, but there was something about it she could only describe as both deep and wet but it also had a feeling of age to it, a terrible eternity that weighed down on it.
It was as if the world's oceans had drained and she was standing at the very bottom of the dry sea staring up as it returned to its rightful place. She would be crushed by this power and if by some miracle she survived her fate would be drowning in the darkest depths of an alien world she didn't belong in.
A strange thought fluttered through her head like a lost butterfly - was this how others might perceive the Chakra of the Kyuubi? Was she simply so used to it- having been surrounded by it since her very conception- that it was n o longer alien to her and she now felt only the burning might of Mito's raw power flowing through her veins?
That's how it should feel, right? Strange, alien. The Biju were - as far as anybody could tell- giant masses of Chakra that somehow achieved sentience in the millennia they were thought to exist for. They didn't even understand how they existed, how could they possibly fathom what was literally that being filling your body with its strength as you used the Chakra that made up its existence in place of your own energy?
But the most important question it brought to mind was why she was feeling like that at all. The first thought was another Biju, but she discarded that as preposterous. They hadn't managed to fit Mito into a single seal so how could it possibly hold another Biju? That didn't even address the question of how it would have wound up in her seal without her knowing. Even assuming somethign stupid like Naruto managing to fit one of the lesser tailed beasts into his part of the seal, there still wouldn't be any room in hers with the presence of the Kyuubi.
And she really couldn't imagine her brother managing to obtain a Biju and seal it within an existing seal at his age, no matter how much he may have exceeded any of her expectations in the past. It was simply too far out of his capabilities. Hell, it was out of most people's capabilities. There were very few sealmasters left in the world and the dying art was the only way to contain the Biju.
That was likely to become a rather large issue in the future, actually, and if she had more time to think about it the fact would be much more troubling. As it was, it only ended up being a fleeting thought before her attention refocused to the energy flowing through her seal. She didn't even realize when her hand slipped down to her seal to feel the heat or the fact that she had folded over the table while she did so.
It seemed to grow in intensity but as soon as it started it had vanished, leaving as hollow ache through her bones and a feeling of loss in her abdomen. As she regained her breath- she hadn't realized she had lost it- her thoughts drifted back to how alien the Chakra felt how...wrong...it was. If it was still Mito's Chakra- and no other explanation made sense - then what had happened to Mito in the seal?
"-Uko? Naruko?!"
Her awareness expanded from the seal back to the real world and she was greeted by the sight and the feeling of the cool wooden table pressed against her cheek. She blinked once, twice, and with a groan pushed herself back up. Her body felt as if she'd been training all day, specifically doing crunches for the last eighteen hours straight and then spent another six hours being smacked around the training ground by Kakashi in a particularly sadistic sort of mood.
There was a soft hand on her shoulder, gently shaking it. Her eyes traveled along the grain of the table to where her mother had been sitting what felt like just seconds before. The bowl was still there, knocked over and spilling rice all over the table, and the steam that had wafted from it seemed to have long since stopped as the food cooled. How long had she been out?
"Naruko?!"
"S-sorry." her eyes flickered over to the hand on her shoulder and up the pale skin until she saw the concerned expression on her mother's face.
"Are you okay, Sunflower?"
"I'm- I'm fine." Naruko gave her best smile, but she didn't even have to see it to know that it was lacking….something. It was probably just as off as Mito's Chakra had felt. "...I think."
"What happened?"
"I.." Naruko's smile turned into a much more appropriate frown. "I don't actually know." She glanced down at er exposed seal, noting that while it was fading from the solid black it was still very much visible. It was hot to the touch, too, which didn't happen during normal use but had happened recently.
She had even spoken with Mito about it- though briefly- so it had to be something going on with the Kyuubi.
"It's the seal." She continued after a second. "It felt like the Kyuubi's chakra but...wrong. There was something off about it."
Kushina frowned and looked down to the seal just in time to watch it finish fading away. She was knowledgeable in seals- He early childhood and her time around Minato had seen to that- but she wasn't exactly a seal master. She had been much more interested in swords than seals - though she wouldn't admit that to anyone else lest she tarnish the good name of the Uzumaki sealmasters of the past- so even Jiraiya was technically more skilled in Fuinjutsu than her.
Even so, what Naruko was describing didn't seem right at all and off the top of her head Kushina didn't know what could be causing it. Before she could ask any questions, however, Naruko continued.
"It's happened before and I asked Mito about it. She said not to worry. I went to Jiraiya for a second opinion and he thought it was fine, though he was more interested by the fact that the Kyuubi is a woman."
Yeah, that sounded like him alright. The fact that Naruko had gone to Jiraiya about it, though, instead of coming to her- did she already know that he was more skilled in Fuinjutsu?
"Why Jiraiya?" Kushina hoped that sounded casual and she was either successful or Naruko was too out of it to look further into the question.
"Because he's easy to find. Just start at the largest bathhouse and work backwards."
That was also very true and Kushina gave an internal sigh of relief. She had done her best to try teaching Naruko Fuinjutsu but the girl, much like her mother, was more interested in the blade. Fuinjutsu really was a dying art, Kushina just really didn't want to admit it. It was to be expected, really. After Uzushiogakure's fall most of the sealing art was lost and there was a hatred for the art in the countries that had launched the attacks to finally take it down in the first place.
Suna and Konoha still held Fuinjuutsu on a pedestal but Suna wasn't the most finesse-focused village and Konoha more or less relied on Jiraiya's expertise. The youth simply didn't care. Those other villages kept their fuinjutsu to the bare minimum, only what they needed to transfer Biju to new hosts.
The Uzumaki in her absolutely hated it but when there was no one to teach there wasn't anything she could do about it except pass down the scrolls she did have to her children. Maybe a grandchild would be interested in the art and would help bring it back to its former glory.
Grandchildren, that was a nice thought but one she really couldn't allow herself to be distracted by at the moment.
But if Jiraiya said it was fine, there was a very good chance it was. There was a very serious man hiding beneath all that eccentricity and they were always peering out from behind their mask. The well-being of his goddaughter was not something the man would take lightly, even if he acted aloof about it.
Kushina bit her bottom lip slightly in worry, though. While Jiraiya was more skilled than her in some areas of Fuinjutsu, Minato left them both in the dust. The man practically was sealing and he took it to heights she didn't think even her ancestors had ever managed to obtain despite inventing the art. The concept of what he had done to seal the Kyuubi into his children they could both understand but the actual execution of those seals was beyond their comprehension for the most part.
Hell, he had summoned the Shinigami for parts of it but instead of summoning them as part of a Jutsu had included it as part of the seal itself to conserve Chakra. As far as both Kushina and Jiraiya were concerned, that shouldn't have been possible. He had converted a sacrificial summoning Kinjutsu into a seal.
That alone was mind boggling, but he hadn't just created a seal for that specific purpose, he had tacked it onto another seal almost as an afterthought for mere convenience.
Kushina was still, to this day, convinced that he was actually some sort of Fuinjutsu Deity come down to see how their art was doing first hand.
Might explain how no one else in the entire world except his daughter had that particular shade of hair.
"You said it was off this time, right?" Kushina eventually managed to gather her thoughts enough to offer what advice she could. "Maybe things aren't as under control as she thought? I think you should check in on her and make sure, she might actually need your help if something's going wrong with the seal. She's stuck in there, remember, so there's a good chance anything happening to it isn't very pleasant for her."
"Y-yeah," Naruko nodded. "That makes sense. I'll see if I can reach her after a bath." She went to rise from the table but froze, eyes glancing back to the bowls on the table. "Did you need any help cleaning up?"
Kushina's green eyes flickered from her daughter to the two half eaten bowls- one of them currently tipped over spilling its contents all over the table- and then back. "No, Sunflower, go take your bath. I'll clean up here."
"You sure?"
She gave her daughter a reassuring smile, hoping none of the questions in her mind reflected through it. "I'm sure, it will only take a minute or two. Go."
"Thanks mom." Pushing herself up on her toes she gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying to her room for a change of clothes for her bath.
As Naruko took her leave from the dining room Kushina began to busy herself by cleaning up, though her thoughts were far from the mundane task of picking up the dishes and cleaning the table. The first concern, naturally, was her daughter Naruko and whatever was going on with her seal. That, however, quickly turned to the other half of the seal and its bearer - Naruto.
She could admit to herself- and would probably be able to say it out loud soon - but she had absolutely no idea how to fix the mess she had made with her son. All the ideas she had rushed to implement had more or less run out- and she would have been better off without most of them- leaving her in a position that was actually worse than when she had first returned to Konoha.
The only real positive as of late was that Naruko had been able to spend some time with him both as part of team seven and as they met with Jiraiya. Kushina really did hope that time together would allow them to reconnect as siblings. It wasn't fair to either of them that they had been separated and had grown apart and it especially wasn't fair for Naruko to be resented for something she had no control over.
At this point she would settle for him hating her for the rest of his life if that meant the two siblings could repair their relations.
That didn't mean she wanted that outcome, of course, but as things were going she didn't even know if she could achieve that, let alone repair her relation with her would be easier if he needed her for something- anything, really -because she would have something to work off of but he didn't seem to need anything from her and she didn't really have anything he might want.
She was proud that he had managed to carve out a life for himself- though she didn't know how reliant he might be on those damnable Wolves- but it was really making it difficult for her to earn her way back into his good graces.
Her spilled bowl was set into Naruko's half-filled one and she idly brushed the food from the table into it. Maybe she was looking at this from the wrong angle. Naruto didn't seem to need anything and had managed to gather friends and allies around him who might be providing anything he did need, so maybe she should be looking for opportunities to help them instead. That would still earn her favor with Naruto, wouldn't it? It would also, technically, be ensuring he had what he needed by ensuring those meeting his needs had, in turn, what they needed. He probably wouldn't see it that way but she could still feel better about the fact that she was contributing towards his well being.
Now it was just a matter of figuring out who all those friends actually were. There were the Wolves, of course, but she'd rather avoid helping that pack of bad influences unless it became her only option. She already needed to speak with Jiraiya about Naruko and her seal, but the man was also conveniently on passable terms with her son and, being a spymaster, could probably figure out who else was around him without too much trouble.
And it wasn't as if the man didn't know all the women around her son already, figuring out the other half of the friends he kept might not be exciting for the man but it shouldn't be anything close to a challenge for him.
Getting close to one of the girls her son was around a lot, though, probably wasn't too bad of an idea either. Not only could it provide insight to both how he was doing and what he might need in the future but a good relation with them could help her get back into contact with her son. Even if they couldn't convince him to meet with her they could pass on messages or at least put in a good word for her.
She wanted to be there for him, damnit! She may have missed the opportunity to finish raising him but gods above she still loved him and wanted to be a part of his life.
Unfortunately some rather poor, hastily prepared responses to the various situations she found herself dealing with had managed to utterly cripple her ability to bring him back into the family. If she had simply waited a day or actually left him with someone none of this would have ever happened, but to be perfectly honest she wasn't sure if the results would have been any better.
Her son had grown into a fine young man in her absence, after all, and while it sometimes felt as though he did she was fairly certain that he didn't actually hate her. Not because he still felt something, but simply because he held no passion for someone no longer a part of his life. It was...not comforting...but she liked to think it was better than pure hate. Despite being a form of passion, if he hated her she'd have to work through that hate just to get him into an amiable, civil sort of relationship. With him having more or less washed his hands of her she was starting at that point and trying to work from there.
Then again, if he did hate her they'd probably clash more often. While bad in and of itself it would at least result in more frequent interaction between the two of them which would make fixing things a bit easier.
Either way, really, Kushina was not in a good position to pull her family back together in anything close to what they shared before she left.
But while she was in this bad position, who's to say it would have been any better with the other things she could have tried? Who would her son be if she had left him with a friend?
Would he resent her as much? More? Would he be as uncaring as her was now, adopting others as her parents and considering her a stranger for leaving?
If left with Tsunade he might not have even become a Shinobi, dissuaded by her bitter views of the career, and if left with Mikoto, well…
Kushina tried not to think too deeply about what might have happened there.
Either not having Mikoto watch him saved his life or by not having him there she had played a part in Mikoto's death. The Uchiha Massacre, even. Sure, they may have tried something with him but it was unlikely when his sister held the Kyuubi itself. If anything the presence of an outsider would have made it harder for them to plan anything and the death of that clan might not have been necessary.
Dwelling on such thoughts would help anyone and so scraping the remainder of their dinner into the trash Kushina likewise did her best to toss out that train of thought. What-ifs were useless to her, what she needed to focus on was finding ways to help him to show that she still cared and could be both trusted and relied upon in the future.
Jiraiya would need to be hunted down- but as her daughter had said that wasn't a difficult task when he was within the village walls- but even without his insight she knew a clan of mindwalkers he seemed to be fond of and that would be as good a place as any to start.
And it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to patch things up with their godmother, either. Kushina wanted her family back, all of it, and she knew the Slug Sannin was probably beating herself up over her mistakes enough without the words she had stabbed her with.
Tsunade had failed Naruto, that was undeniable, but how could Kushina hold that against her when she had failed him even more?
It was time to make things right.
Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 110-B "Funding"
Patron Release 2020.02.10
Mei had never expected for things to magically become sunshine and daisies after Yagura was gone, but she could admit that she hadn't expected things to stay just as bad- and perhaps even worse- here in Mizu no Kuni.
The remaining populace of Kirigakuri- a large majority of them, actually. Less than 5% had actually been killed when the Wolves burned it to the ground -had been shoved into the area immediately around the Mizukage Tower. Some of those had been the residences of high-ranking Shinobi loyalists and converting them wasn't too difficulkt but the rest had been offices and workshops managing the Shinobi and supplies under Yagura's command. Temporary habitation had been set up in those as best they could but even with that they were woefully unequipped to provide for the people now trusting in them.
What made it worse was the fact that all their old bases- every last one of them- had been destroyed during the final battle so they didn't have the option of moving either the former rebels- they still needed a better name and the civil war was already over- nor the displaced civilians into them even temporarily.
Fortunately there had been enough food stores that they should be able to keep everyone fed for about a month, though their luck ran out after that. With most of Kirigakure destroyed and no real connections to the other cities and villages in Mani no Kuni they really didn't have a way to obtain more.
Yagura had more or less claimed the authority of Daimyo during his reign and had simply moved supplies from Namihime to support the village through the war. Now that he was dead Namihime was less than willing to continue giving away their much needed supplies for free. Kirigakure didn't exactly have anything worth trading either, unless a demand for rubble suddenly emerged in the markets.
A nearby fishing village had apparently been the ones to ferry the Wolves back to Nami no Kuni and they had been quite handsomely paid. That little village was currently more wealthy than the entire village of Kirigakure and their funds would probably run out within the next year, two or three if they were smart with it.
It might not be too bad if she could arrange for some missions for her Shinobi so the village could start with some sort of income but people were still quite wary of Kirigakure and the reputation it had nurtured for decades.
The option of demanding some of the other villages- including the great city of Namihime itself- was an option but one she would really like to avoid. They weren't Yagura and his loyalists and they had spent far too long fighting tyranny to become tyrants themselves.
If they only had something of value they could probably just get everything they needed from that fishing village the Wolves had used. There was some amusement that accompanied that thought and she couldn't help the small, wry smile that played at her lips. She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but there was some appeal to the idea of using the Wolves to secure the well being of her people.
They would trade with the previously ordinary village who, in turn, would continue trading with Nami no Kuni. With the increased demand the fishermen- most of them, anyway- would turn to the purchasing and transporting of goods. The increased wealth would attract opportunists of all sorts and the services they'd in turn demand would turn the small village into a thriving town and, quite possibly, a city proper.
Nami no Kuni, likewise, would continue to grow from the increased trade which means the Wolves themselves would actually do what they could to support their new partnership. That she could be certain of because everything she had witnessed showed a very territorial, pack mentality within the Wolves. In this case it wouldn't be such a bad thing, not for the village that would have some measure of protection through association with the Wolves and not for a recovering Kirigakure that could rely on a constant stream of supplies from said village due to their secure position.
The only real problem with that was, again, that they didn't have anything to trade for those much needed goods, nothing but labor. Still, a partnership with the village before everything expanded- if things went the way she was imagining them, anyway- could be very beneficial as they tried to return to being worthy of calling themselves one of the five major villages.
Her Shinobi could do the work needed to help expand that little village so it could support that kind of population and activity, it would just take a bit of convincing on her part to arrange things. Alternatively, they did have allies in Konohagakure. They had sent forces before, maybe they wouldn't be opposed to helping them financially for a bit as they got back onto their feet? It was worth a try, in any case, though it also brought another amusing thought with it.
The Wolves, from rumors, had their roots within the walls of Konohagakure itself so Konoha would be giving funds to Kirigakure, who would pay the unnamed- as far as anyone actually knew- village who would trade with the Wolves in Nami no Kuni. Either Konoha would be giving funds- indirectly- to a group they hated- that their Kage hated, at least- or if the Wolves used it in Konoha it would be coming right back to them.
It probably wouldn't work in her favor to bring that up when requesting Konoha's help, but it served to amuse her which was worth quite a bit with how much shit she had to deal with.
Konoha would help though- probably. They had been willing to send an ANBU team, after all, and that was nothing to scoff at. Granted the Wolves more or less had scoffed at them after the first time they had been caught by surprise and especially during the last battle with their lord on the field and Konoha had only gone that far because of the presence of Wolves. It was entirely possible they would try to wash their hands of the matter now that the Wolves had retreated.
Retreated?
No, that was all wrong. Sure, they had left, but it certainly wasn't in any sort of defeat. They had simply returned to their den in Nami no Kuni to enjoy their spoils- she had become acutely aware that the treasuries had been absolutely drained, which was a major source of their issues now- and nap for a bit before leaving for another hunt against some unfortunate prey later.
She doubted it would be Kirigakure again, simply because the Wolves had already stripped the village of any "meat" it possessed. They were essentially a discarded bone at this point, though she supposed "shell" was both more common and fitr better with the fact that they were completely surrounded by the ocean.
With Hi no Kuni's recent...acquisitions...however, she thought there was probably a good chance Konoha might go for supporting them if only to further secure their rapidly growing powerbase.
Ooh, there might be work there, actually. Konoha was trying to keep Kaze no Kuni in line but they still had only so many Shinobi. With most of them focused on keeping the peace there were less going out on missions and with Suna Shinobi suspiciously absent- those who weren't dead were rumored to have followed their Kage to gods know where- Kaze no Kuni wasn't exactly bringing in much profit either. The Daimyo of Hi no Kuni had some deep pockets but they weren't unending, so anything that could get Konoha Shinobi back on missions to help offset the cost was likely to be received well.
That was even better because they could solidify an alliance, get the funding they needed to rebuild, and they would have the chance to pull their weight rather than beg for handouts with the promise of supporting Konoha in the future.
Yes, they'd still be supporting Konoha, but if they were going to end up in an alliance anyway they'd might as well make it on their terms. It would also do wonders for their reputation as they rejoined the Shinobi world in full.
But on the topic of Konoha and their support- and going back to how the Wolves had been able to tear through them- the strength the Wolves had demonstrated paled dramatically in comparison to the power their lord had been wielding.
Mei was, perhaps, not the greatest commander - her skill lay more in leading than logistics, strategy, and politics- but she knew a Biju cloak when she saw one. As controlled as Tsukuyomi's seemed to be- and it was to a degree that was so incredible she was almost able to convince herself she had imagined it- it was unmistakably the Chakra of a Biju.
Which Biju she had absolutely no idea. Not only did she not know the actual name of the young man that had stolen away her victory so decisively but Kirigakure as a whole- even during Yagura's reign- had been severely lacking in global intelligence to that degree. He had, of course, been focused on other things.
What Mei did now know, however, was that this Tsukuyomi now possessed the Sanbi.
Just thinking those words sent a shiver down her spine, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. Possessing it was one thing, he had managed to steal it in moments and seal it gods know where. It couldn't have been within himself as far as she was aware- she had at least enough general knowledge of sealing to know that it should be impossible- but even if he had some sort of item or prepared sealing array in anticipation of the task it demonstrated a skill in Fuinjutsu that made her exceedingly nervous.
The Uzumaki had been distant cousins of her own and she had grown up with her mother's tales of their might before the fall of Uzushiro. Fuinjutsu was not something to be taken lightly, especially when there were so few these days to still practice it outside the village's traditional Biju sealing methods.
What she had seen was far beyond that, as most Biju sealings even from one host to another would take at least an hour or two. Konoha- with it's old ties to the Uzumaki and the prodigy of the Yondaime- and Kumogakure- who rumors said perfected the art of Jinchuriki- might be able to do it much faster, but she highly doubted they could do it as a godsbedamned attack against a Kage without either very careful preparation or an ungodly amount of skill.
And Fuinjutsu users given the opportunity to prepare was the stuff of nightmares.
If she was completely honest with herself- and she wasn't planning on sharing this with anyone else ever- it was probably a good thing he had taken the Sanbi with him. That sounded bad, but the rebels- gods they needed a better name- didn't really have any Fuinjutsu users.
Like, at all.
Not a single one.
Ao was the most familiar with the art, and even he could only recognize certain seals he came across which was a far cry from being able to make them himself. So, really, having the Sanbi taken from their country would save them a whole lot of trouble when it was supposed to reform in three years. She hadn't realized that until a few days after everything had calmed down.
She had intended to kill Yagura that day, which would have become a problem in three years when the Sanbi suddenly returned. If they reaized it soon enough they might have time to try scraping something together- which would more than likely mean getting help from one of the other major villages- but if she hadn't remembered they would be in more than a little trouble.
In a way, he had done them a favor.
She was still concerned with what the Lord of Wolves might end up doing with what was evidently a second Biju at his disposal but for the moment she could focus her attention on making sure Kirigakure at least lasted long enough for them to see. They could deal with whatever plan he had- assuming he actually had a plan and wasn't just taking it for the sake of having it- if they managed to get that far.
Village first, bloodthirsty Lord of Wolves with the power of Biju at his command later.
So, with that in mind, she needed to get into contact with Konohagakure to ask for more support. She had sent Ao last time, back when they thought they might manage to get aid from the Wolves themselves. That had probably been their first mistake, bringing their plight- and vulnerabilities- to the attention of that pack, but it was far too late to undo that now.
Ao was always a good representation of the rebels- Neo-Kirigakure? There had to be something they could use that wouldn't remind them of the long fought war that was finally over or that mentioned "blood". That word had been associated with their village in a negative light for far too long for them to do anything that might cause it to continue - but she could very easily admit that she needed him to stay here in Kirigakure to help make sure everything was running smoothly as they tried to tackle the monumental mess they had been left with.
That left her next best option as….Haku. Not that there was anything wrong with the girl- outside of how much time the poor thing had to spend around Zabuza. He wasn't exactly the greatest role model, though he did his best for his daughter- but Mei thought she should really have others qualified for this sort of task when Ao was needed elsewhere. The fact that she had to call upon the Demon of the Bloody Mist's daughter- who had no formal political or negotiating training nor experience- was pretty sad.
And speaking of the girl….
"...And I still say I would have been fine if Kisame had just come back."
"But he didn't come back, Zabuza-sama. No one has seen him since Tsukuyomi threw him away during your fight."
"We might have seen him…." The door to Mei's office opened to reveal Zabuza who's complete attention was over his shoulder looking at his daughter as he walked. "...if someone hadn't dragged us out of the fight. We have no idea what happened while we were away."
"Of course we do, Zabuza-sama." Haku looked like she desperately wished to roll her eyes but by some miracle- and an impressive force of will- she managed to refrain and instead remained as polite as she could manage in this sort of discussion. Or just discussing something with Zabuza period, Mei was well aware of the challenge that could be. "We know that you stayed alive and I had a chance to dress your wounds."
"And that Kisame disappeared." Mei added.
"Yes, exactly." Haku shot Mei a small, grateful smile for siding with her in trying to get some common sense through Zabuza's thick head. "Even Mei knows that avoiding a fight with Tsukuyomi is simply a good idea."
Green eyes narrowed at the last of the Yuki clan. "'Even'?" She asked flatly. "What do you mean 'even'? And what's this about avoiding fights?"
"Ah." Haku paused as she found herself unexpectedly on the defensive. "Perhaps I misspoke."
Zabua gave an amused snort while Mei's narrowed eyes continued to bore into the girl for a few more moments. "Quite."
"...What I meant was 'allowed him to leave in gratitude for killing Yagura who was kicking her ass.'"
Zabuza blinked twice in surprise before letting out a long whistle. "Gods, Haku, what's gotten into you lately?"
"...Nothing."
Mei simply started for a bit, both rethinking how wise it would be to send Haku to Konoha to request aid and considering the fact that sending her would give her at least a week without the girl. That was a week for he recent attitude to simmer a bit.
It wasn't bad, per say- in fact Mei rather liked seeing the girl with this fire in her - but she simply didn't have the patience to deal with that attitude directed at her when there was already so much on her plate.
And maybe a week or two away from Zabuza was exactly what the girl needed. Well, that and perhaps a chance to get laid. She was never going to have that opportunity here in Kirigakure when her overprotective father was Momochi Zabuza the Demon of the Bloody Mist himself. No male from the ages of twelve to forty would even speak to the girl in fear of her father's wrath.
Well, except Choujiro, but that was only because the sweet boy was completely oblivious and Zabuza couldn't kill him because it would bring Mei's wrath down on him. And speaking of Choujiro, she might need to have the young man around Zabuza while Haku was away to try keeping him under control.
That was something that made her more hesitant to send Haku than anything else, honestly. Haku was one of the very, very few people who could reign in the Demon and sending her away would quite literally half that number.
Choujiro might be able to pull him back a bit, only because Zabuza wouldn't be able to shut him up without violence- well, he shouldn't be, but the young man could be pretty meek. A command from Mei herself should have that all sorted out, though, because that would give him more than enough confidence to, well, at least do his best- but it was just as likely that being around the young man would simply irritate Zabuza enough that it had the completely opposite effect than what she was aiming for.
She might just keep him here in her office, though that idea would probably result in a bored Zabuza driving her crazy until she either sent him out- and he'd end up doing gods know what unsupervised in her village- or she might try screwing his brains out again to keep him placid. Either way, she wouldn't be getting much work done in the end which was the only reason she wasn't going
Gods above, Mei would have absolutely loved the chance to spend some time out of the country. She loved it, of course, it was her home- but she needed a break. Desperately.
Unfortunately it would be rather bad form for her to skip out on the village to enjoy the sun of Konohagakure, though it would probably be better for the negotiations in the end. If she could somehow convince Ao to just take up the damn hat- she hadn't actually wanted to be Mizukage after overthrowing Yagura, she had just ended up as the head of the rebellion and her people wouldn't accept anyone except her or Ao as Kage. Sometimes she even considered just giving Zabuza the hat and making Ao deal with trying to keep him in line.- then things would be so much better.
For her, anyway, but she was pretty confident that Ao would make a fine Kage. He might do better at building a village from the ground up, too. With all his talk about "the old days" you'd think he watched the first building of Kirigakure be erected.
"Whatever it is," Mei pulled herself from he thoughts and back into the present. "You'll need to either leave it here in Kiri or find a way to get it out of your system on your way to Konohagakure."
"Oh?" Haku's attention swiveled over to her Kage while Zabuza rose a curious brow, a sinking suspicion crawling over his face.
"Why would we be going to Konoha?"
"Not 'we'," Mei corrected the Swordsman. "'She'. I need Haku to bring our request for aid to Konoha. With any luck they can help us get back on our feet enough that we can at least keep everybody fed, though the sooner we can get to rebuilding the better."
"You're going to send her by herself?"
Haku gave him a slight glare at that but it was Mei who put words to it. "Are you doubting her, Zabuza? Haku is more than capable of making the journey by herself, but if you're still concerned I can find someone else to accompany her. Perhaps some strapping young man?" Mei rose a questioning brow in an almost threatening manner. "Would that put your mind at ease?"
"...No."
"Then I'd suggest not questioning my decisions. I'm only sending her alone because I don't trust you on a diplomatic mission of such importance."
Did she ever mention who else it was who could keep Zabuza in line beside Haku? It was herself, naturally, and not just because of her fantastic cleavage.
There simply weren't many who could both confidently contest him with their words and not end up with him trying to fight them because of it. That specific combination was rare but was all one needed to chain down this particular demon. She'd be lying if she said she didn't take some advantage of that fact-
Or of her cleavage.
They were both pretty effective, honestly, and she got better results when her persuasions left people in a good mood.
Briefly she wondered if that's why Ao had been so adamant that she maintain leadership in the form of picking up the mantle of Mizukage. He could be a sly old bastard when he wanted to.
"...Yeah," He grudgingly agreed. "That's probably for the best then."
"I'm glad you've come to see it my way, Zabuza." Mei tilted her head slightly to the side and gave a too-sweet smile in his direction filled with equal parts threat and satisfaction. She did throw him a bone as she returned her attention to Haku, giving an exaggerated sigh that had his eyes glued exactly where she had expected them to end up. "To be perfectly honest, Haku-chan, you'll be playing the role of courier more than diplomat on this mission. You'll be delivering a request from me to the current Hokage, Asuma, and then awaiting for his reply. It may take a few days for a decision to be reached, though, and I unfortunately don't have any funds to spare for your lodging. If he doesn't offer something you'll have to make do."
Haku's eyes brightened significantly. "Oh, that won't be any trouble at all, Mei-sama, if it's Konoha I think I have someone I can stay with."
Zabuza's attention was immediately pulled from…..his previous focus…and snapped instead to his daughter.
"No."
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Haku turned to her father, resting a hand on a cocked hip. Mei had to exert monumental effort to hide her smile. The girl was growing into some attitude lately and Mei very much approved. "She's in Konoha, I'm going to Konoha, and we don't have money for a hotel. This is the perfect time to go visit Naruko-chan."
Oh? Green eyes widened in surprise for a second before Mei found herself having to hide her smirk behind her hand, a wicked glint entering her eyes. "Naruko-chan, is it?" She asked with a slight giggle. "Oh my. Haku, dear, I never knew."
The Hyoton user looked about seconds away from bursting into flames- an impressive feet, really- as she realized that she had made the horrible mistake of bringing it to Mei's attention. Sex and scandals- most notably sex scandals, go figure- were the woman's favorite pastime. Everyone in Kiri knew the best way to gain the woman's favor was to be the first person to relay a piece of particularly juicy gossip to the woman. Everyone needed a hobby but now Mei was going to be much more interested in Haku's -now much more notable- love life.
Naturally, Haku wanted to get the attention off of herself so she used the time-proven method of shoving blame onto Zabuza. "Zabuza-sama's taught me a lot, Mei-sama, including how to appreciate attractive women."
A smirking Zabuza found his blood running cold as those words left his daughter's lips and he froze under Mei's questioning gaze.
"Oh?" She exclaimed, crossing her arms. "Is that so, Zabuza?"
"You sneaky little…." It was whispered under his breath and from the corner of his eye he could see the victorious smirk his daughter was giving him.
"I learned that from you too." Was her quiet reply. She had him there. Gods, he had done a fucking fantastic job raising her, hadn't he? If he didn't have such a foreboding sense of impending doom he might be capable of feeling an immense swell of pride about that.
"What can I say," He did his best to make the shrug look casual and- mostly- succeeded. "She gets her good taste from me."
Mei gave an amused giggle as she dropped her accusing stare. "Hmm, well, you do have pretty good taste, I'll give you that." She became slightly more serious but retained a teasing tone. "So, is the big, bad Zabuza scarred this beautiful Konoha girl is going to steal away his precious daughter? Maybe she won't want to come back."
"They can get a hotel room together if it makes them happy." This shrug was much less forced. "As long as it's not a boy I don't care who she falls in love with." Haku returned to her previous shade of red.
Mei's teasing was replaced by genuine confusion. "Then what's the problem?"
"The problem? The problem is that she wants to go stay with Tsukuyomi's sister! For fucks sake, even I know that can't be a good idea."
…...What?
"Zabuza." Her glare was possibly hotter than any lava she had ever used. "Explain. Now."
Zabuza and Haku shared a brief look. Oh, yeah, maybe they should have mentioned that a bit sooner.
Whoops.
Thanks goes to my Patrons who recently paid for two of my new tires so I could keep getting to work. The plan is to use the March funds to commission a Smol Isobu but we'll see how things play out.
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