Title: My Triumph lasted till the Drums
Chapter 3: That oppresses, like the Heft
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
When Nanami turned one, Kushina insisted on throwing the girl an unforgettable birthday party. She began planning back in March by sending out invitations to friends, both hers and Nanami's (even though Nanami's only friend was Itachi).
For weeks Kushina had been fluttering about the village handing out invitations, ordering decorations and tasting food. If somebody began to mention how overboard she was, they got a painful taste of the notorious Uzumaki temper.
Nanami couldn't remember having someone fuss over her like this, not even her first set of parents. Nanami remembered some pieces of her other life, and none of the memories had been particularly pleasant. Pain and confusion were the primary emotions attached to these memories, so she made an effort to block them out.
Nanami had spent more time with her friend Itachi. Kushina asked Mikoto to watch her when Kushina was called away on a mission or when she was planning her party. When she spent time alone with Itachi, she drew or built block towers and they would talk. Both were quiet children, especially in front of others. Nanami had only revealed her knowledge of words like Kaa-san, Tou-san and 'Tachi in front of her parents, but when she was alone with Itachi they spoke.
Nanami was currently sitting in a kid pin set up in Itachi's room. She was building a tower with some of the blocks set out on the ground. She stacked another block on her 3-high tower, then looked over at Itachi. He was just sitting there, watching her build blocks, but his mind was somewhere else. "Your Kaa-san told me you started training today," Nanami said. "Are you okay?"
Itachi looked at her, momentarily drawn out of his thoughts. "It's supposed to be fun but, they are training me to kill people," he said.
Nanami uncomfortably shifted her weight on the mat. She looked at the boy, the precious boy she had grown so attached to the last couple months. Nanami had never realized how important it was to have somebody that completely understood you, accepted you with out judgement. "Do you think I'll be trained to kill people too?" she asked him.
"Probably," he said, "but you don't have to if you don't want to."
"I want to," she said.
He looked over at her abruptly, his tiny eyebrows furrowing in disbelief, for a baby to be thinking such complex thoughts about death, to speak so carelessly about it bothered him. Then again, he wasn't even 2 and he had been thinking about these issues as well.
"Why?" he asked her with urgency.
Nanami stared at him a minute and turned away focusing back on her block tower. "My birthday is soon. Kaa-san is going to throw a party. What are they like?" she asked.
Itachi, frustrated with her lack of explanation, shifted in his seat and looked down at his hands. "Your parent's friends gather and give you presents," he said.
"Are you coming?" she asked.
"I'd guess so," he said.
"I want Tsunade to come," she looked back over at him from her block tower.
"The Sannin? She must be fighting in the war," he said.
"They got back last night from a mission. Kaa-san was talking with Tou-san about it last night. I guess that Kaa-san and Tsunade-san are related," Nanami explained.
"Why do you want her to come?" Itachi asked.
"She is a medical-nin. I want to be a medical-nin, the best one," she said.
"They don't kill people Nana-chan," he told her, "they stay off the front lines, they are support."
"They don't have to be," she said, "Tsunade-san is on the front lines."
"So you want her to train you," he stated.
"I do, and I'm going to get her to like me at my birthday party," she said.
Itachi looked that the girl, the look on her face showed pure determination. She had a plan, and was going to see it through. Itachi just hoped that the people standing in her way would survive the change Nanami would bring to their lives.
Days later, on April 12th, Kushina sat on the floor in the living room with Nanami sitting in between her legs. She was combing the girl's dark, silky Uchiha hair and began to braid the short locks around her face and stuck a myosotis flower in her hair, and pinned it into place. Kushina had invited all her friends to Nanami's party, those that were not on the front lines, as a last get together before she and Minato had to return to the fighting, leaving Nanami behind with Mikoto part time, and Hiashi Hyuuga for the rest. The clan heads had decided to start Nanami's training in a few months as her chakra network was already started developing.
After finishing getting herself and Nanami ready, and finishing decorating and cooking, Kushina eagerly awaited for Minato and her friends to show up.
When the doorbell rang, Kushina bounced out of her seat and ran to the door to greet her guests. Both Mikoto and her husband were at the door. In Mikoto's hands were a present and the hand of her son who looked up at his energy filled godmother with a bit of discomfort.
"Welcome! You are the first ones here, you can come in and play with Nana-chan if you want, Itachi-chan," Kushina said.
"Okay," he said, letting go of his mother's hand and walking over to where the one year old sat playing with blocks in the living room.
"The decorations are so pretty Kushina. We brought some food and a present for Nana-chan," Mikoto told her friend as they walked into the living room. The adults had begun talking as the doorbell continued to ring and more people showed up. Minato wandered into the party as well, and soon enough the house was mostly filled with high ranking shinobi who were glad to take a break from the physical and mental exhaustion of the war.
Nanami had been greeted by many people who were unfamiliar to her as she eagerly waited for the Sannin's presence. However, a bellowing male voice interrupted her musings and drew her attention to her father and the large white haired man he was talking with.
"So this is the brat you took in, eh Minato," the man said.
"Yes, this in Nanami Jiraiya -sensei. Do you remember Nanako Uchiha? This is her daughter."
"Yeah I remember her, she was a sweet girl. Any newa on the father?" the man, Jiraiya asked.
"No, Nanako was pretty secretive about her life outside of being a medical shinobi. Some think it may have been a Hyuuga because of the mutation of her kekkei genkai, but the DNA testing has been inconclusive so far. Plus, we've grown quite attached to Nana-chan, she's like a daughter to me," Minato said.
"You're pretty young to be a father Minato."
"Kushina was close with Nanako, she felt responsible as the her godmother to take care of her. I think it would be a burden on Kushina had she not volunteered to take care of Nanami." Minato explained.
"I guess I get it. Is Tsunade coming to this thing? If she is I need to get out of here. I left a present on the table over there," Jiraiya said.
"What did you do this time sensei?" Minato asked, with a bit of worry lacing his tone.
"Nothing really, but I'll talk to you a bit later about the team you plan to take on. See ya, nice to meet you Nana-chan," he said.
The girl looked over at the Sannin and smiled, before waving at him as he left the party. Not too long after, the woman she had been waiting for arrived at the party. She boldly burst through the door and scanned the room before her eyes landed on Kushina. She walked over to her mother and hugged the woman. The two spoke for a while before Kushina pointed over at Nanami and the two walked over to her and Itachi sitting on the ground building blocks.
"This in Nanami," Kushina said as she picked the girl up into her arms and presented her to Tsunade. "Nana-chan, this is my cousin Tsunade-san. Say hello."
"Hello Tusnade-sama." Nanami said with enthusiasm.
Tsunade looked a bit stunned before smiling softly at the girl and reached out to take her into her arms. "So this is Nanako's daughter? She is very bright," Tsunade said.
"She is very advanced Tsunade-san, she will make a wonderful ninja someday," Kushina said.
"I want to be like you Tsunade-sama. A medical-nin," Nanami said, revealing her extensive vocabulary for the first time in front of others aside from Itachi. Both Kushina and Tsunade look surprised at the girl, then looked at each other. "I want you to train me Tsunade-sama, to be like you. I want to fight and be a medical-nin. You trained my birth mother, right?" Nanami asked.
Kushina was taken aback, she knew that Nanami was advance, but not to this extent. How had she known all this information? Was it solely from listening to people's conversations? This skill typically had not been developed in children her age, especially the ability to remember and process information.
"How do you know I trained your mother, Nanami-chan?" Tsunade asked.
"Kaa-san said it," Nanami said.
"Why do you want me to train you Nanami?" Tsunade asked.
"Because I want to protect and fight for my precious people," she said.
Itachi looked up and smiled when he realized she had finally answered his question from before.