Namiko is downstairs with her undead grandparents. Mei is upstairs in Iruka's room drinking tea. Well, the tea is mostly forgotten between all the passionate kissing and touching going on. Suddenly, right when things are getting really passionate, Iruka pulls away.
"We need to stop," he sighs, regretfully. "Chojuro and Gengetsu are here. They'll be looking for you."
Mei pouts. "Annoying," she mutters.
"Yeah, I know," says Iruka. "We'll finish this some other time." They straighten themselves out and head downstairs to pretend they weren't trying to get it on in the bedroom.
By the time they make it downstairs, Chojuro and Gengetsu are in the living room asking for Mei.
"I'm here," says Mei, as she enters the room. "Did something happen?"
"Lady Mizukage," says Chojuro earnestly. "We need to return to the Mist right away. There is a situation…" he glances at the undead zombies and then at Iruka. "...a bad situation...that you are needed for…"
"You're leaving already?" sighs Iruka. "I hoped you'd be able to stay another day at least. But if your village needs you, you had better return."
"I'm afraid I must," says Mei. She had hoped to at least secure a serious romantic relationship before she left. She has plans to marry Iruka and make him think it was all his idea.
"I suppose you'll be taking Namiko, huh?" says Iruka.
Mei nods. She wishes she could take both of them.
"What?" says Ikkaku.
"What do you mean, 'take Namiko'?" says Kohari, wrapping her arms around Mei's daughter.
"Namiko is a genin of the Hidden Mist," says Iruka firmly. "She was only staying here until we defeated Zetsu. Now that Zetsu is dead, her mother will take her home."
"I'll come visit!" says Namiko, trying to escape Kohari. "And you can come visit me, right Mummy?"
"Of course," says Mei smoothly. "And when Namiko is training with Nagato in the Hidden Rain, she will be much closer, so you will be able to see her more often then. And it's not like I will never let her come here again."
"But…" says Ikkaku. "But we only just met her."
"You are dead," says Iruku, with surprising bluntness. "Be glad you got to meet her at all."
"Iruka!" scolds Kohari, glaring at him.
"We don't know if this reanimation jutsu will ever end," says Gengetsu, shrugging. "We reanimations met last night to discuss the matter, and the Hokages are working on a solution. However, it will be a long time before they come up with a way to end the jutsu. Until then you two will have plenty of time to visit the kid in the Mist or Rain."
"Can't she just stay here a little longer?" protests Kohari, hugging Namiko closer. "We could bring her to you in a week or two?"
"I'll be back to be a fairy for Hinata," says Namiko trying to escape. "That's in a month."
"Well why can't you stay until then?" asks Ikkaku.
"Because I want to take her home now!" snaps Mei, losing her patience. At least Kazama acknowledged that Mei had every right to refuse to let Namiko stay in the Leaf. "She's already been here for so long my village is starting to ask awkward questions. If I don't take her back to the Mist now, they will want to break peace with the Leaf!"
"What is going on in here?" demands Kazama, sweeping into the room.
"Mei needs to leave now," says Iruka, sadly.
"Ah, I see," says Kazama. She turns to Ikkaku and Kohari. "Let Namiko go, she needs to pack whatever things she is taking home with her and get ready to leave."
"You're okay with her leaving?" demands Kohari.
"She'll be back," says Kazama sternly. "And if you want to stay with her that much, just go to the Mist!"
"But we don't want to leave Iruka," says Ikkaku.
"You're dead," says Kazama, her hands on her hips. "It's a bit late for that."
"Hey! We died protecting him!" snaps Kohari, finally letting go of Namiko so she get right up close to Kazama and glare directly into her eyes.
Kazama's spine of steel holds up. "I know," says Kazama evenly. "So you should be glad you even get this extra time."
Namiko scampers off to Iruka's room to pack the things she is going to take, and Iruka follows her.
Minato turns up from somewhere to see what all the noise is about. "So what's going on?" he asks.
"Mei is leaving," explains Kazama. "She is taking Namiko with her, and these two don't like that idea."
Minato tips his head to one side and thinks for a second. Then he pulls out one of his kunai and hands it to Mei. "Take this. That way I can take people to the Mist to visit Namiko."
"Thanks," says Mei, grinning. "That will make visiting easier. Just warn me before you come to make sure I'm not in a meeting or something."
"Of course," says Minato, grinning.
"Why are you all so calm about this?" demands Ikkaku.
"I can teleport," says Minato, shrugging. "And Mei is Namiko's mother. I figured she would take the little munchkin with her when she left."
"But…"
"Why…?"
"We just want to spend more time…"
"Then go to the Mist!" Kazama snaps, interrupting Ikkaku and Kohari's grumbling.
Mei decides it is time to intervene. "I have a suggestion," she says. "How about the two of you see us back to the Mist and maybe stay a while?"
"But…" says Ikkaku, frowning.
"Think about it," says Mei, smiling her best disarming smile.
About an hour later, Iruka's entire family is at the gates seeing off Mei, Chojuro, Gengetsu and Namiko.
"Come and visit us as soon as your Kage duties allow," says Arashi, smiling at Mei. Then he adds in a whisper, "Someone needs to make an honest man of Iruka."
Mei blushes and says, "I will." She means she will come and visit, although she does hope she can make an honest man of Iruka. Because that means marrying him, and Mei does so want to get married.
Naruto hugs the stuffing out of Namiko and says, "I'll come and visit you, I promise, dattebayo! And you HAVE to come visit me, okay Namiko?"
"Okay," agrees Namiko, hugging back just as hard. "When you come visit me, I'll show you around the Mist!"
"Does the Hidden Mist have good mud?" asks Burifu, tipping her dirt-streaked head to one side.
"I dunno," says Namiko, shrugging. "I don't really go looking for mud. You'll have to come and see for yourself if our mud is any good."
"I will do that, eh," says Burifu, nodding.
"Bye-bye," says Kimiko, shyly. She is not sure about Chojuro and Gengetsu, and settled for hiding behind Jiraiya. Namiko pulls Kimiko out from behind the sanin and hugs her a little too hard.
"You have to come and visit too!" she says. "We will have a sleepover at my house some time."
"You still sound like an old lady," says Kimiko shyly. "But I'll come."
"Good," says Burifu, nodding. "We'll go together."
"The more people for a sleepover the better," says Namiko, releasing Kimiko from her iron hug.
Namiko really does sound like an old lady, Mei realizes. And where did she learn to hug that hard?
Mei's question is answered almost instantly when Kazama descends upon Namiko and hugs the poor kid far more tightly than Namiko was hugging Naruto. "Be a good girl and don't make yourself sick by eating too much ramen," says Kazama sternly. "And write to us, okay?"
"Yes Grandma," says Namiko, smiling and apparently unfazed by the bone-crushing hug.
Then Arashi takes over the relentless hugging of Namiko. "Next time you come I'll take you to a museum," he says. "There's one opening up about the history of shinobi. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"Uh-huh," Nods Namiko. "That does sound like fun."
"Are you sure you're not related by blood?" says Jiraiya sceptically.
Iruka laughs and says, "If you go back enough generations we are probably all related somehow. After all, everyone with chakra is descended from a select few people that Kaguya-"
"AND suddenly a lot makes sense," says Jiraiya.
"Come on," says Mei, taking Namiko's hand. "We need to get going. Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for taking such good care of Namiko." Mei heads off, pulling Namiko along behind her.
"Bye!" Namiko calls over her shoulder, waving to her dad's side of the family. "Bye Daddy! Bye Undead Grandma and Grandpa!"
Mei is waiting for Ikkaku and Kohari to decide to come after all. They still have not decided.
The small group of Mist ninjas gets a considerable way before Ikkaku and Kohari come running after them shouting, "HEY! WAIT FOR US!"
Mei grins. She knew they'd come in the end.