Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 111-A "Delivery"
Patron Release 2020.02.17
Mei's expectand green eyes bored a hole through Zabuza's head, the new Mizukage less than pleased to have important information such as blood relations of one of their greatest foes so casually thrown about as if it was common knowledge. She hadn't known, so how long had they been aware?
Knowing who he was related to would give them a possible target, would let them know who to avoid crossing to spare themselves his wrath again, and would give them a much better idea of the man who reduced their village to ash.
It was important, damnit. Why hadn't she been told?
"Erm…" Zabuza shared a nervous glance with Haku who- while she didn't take an actual step in fear of drawing attention to herself- had leaned as far away from the displeased Kage as she could manage. "Did we not mention that in our reports?"
Haku froze at that, her back straight and her eyes dartign around the room for possible exits she may have to use to get out of harm's way. "...Z-zabuza-sama…." Her whispered warning was far too late, Mei's eyes narrowing significantly which only seemed to focus her glare.
"You didn't mention anything in your reports, Zabuza." Her voice had gone sickly sweet but the rest of her face continued to convey the anger bubbling within her. Due to her bloodline, that could have been quite literally, too. Zabuza would not like the results of that rage boiled over and spilled out onto him. Mostly because he'd be dead and liking or not liking anything would be rather impossible at that point. "Because I still haven't received any reports from you."
Her gaze swiveled over to the last Yuki though did lose some of its heat.
"From either of you, I might add."
"Our deepest apologies, Mei-sama." Haku quickly fell into a deep bow-more to keep herself from having to meet Mei's gaze than anything else- and Mei turned her attention back to Zabuza.
"Well?" She raised a brow.
"What?" Zabuza crossed his arms over his chest and turned his attention to one of the side walls as if it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world. He was Momochi Zabuza, damnit, he didn't apologize. Besides, reports were Haku's job. He disposed of the bodies.
"Gods alone know how she turned out so well, Zabuza, after being condemned to grow up around someone like you."
The Swordsman shrugged. "I must have been a good example, then."
"Of what not to do, perhaps." Mei countered. Her glare dropped and she turned back to a still bowing Haku for a second. "You can stop now, Haku-chan. If we wait for Zabuza to get his head out of his ass we'll die as old maids before we ever leave this room."
"As you say, Mei-sama." Haku agreed as she rose. Even so, she avoided meeting Mei's gaze and instead kept her eyes focused on the desk before her.
"So, which of you would like to bring me up to speed. Zabuza? Haku-chan was the one to apologize."
That was….fair. With a slight grumble he moved his eyes from the wall to….the wall….but this one was behind Mei. She rolled her eyes at his antics but didn't say anything. It was close enough, she supposed, and if he wanted to surrender an opportunity to see her breasts it was his loss, not hers.
"During my fight against Tsukuyomi Haku felt the Biju Chakra that was being released and came to make sure I was alright. Naruko, who she met in Nami no Kuni, was a Jinchuriki. Tsukuyomi heard the name and Haku's mention of kissing her-" Mei perked up more at that part then anything else so far, sending Haku a salacious grin and a wink. As much as the girl pretended not to be looking at Mei herself the blush that came from Mei's actions spread quickly over her face and gave her away. "And asked if she was talking about Uzumaki Naruko."
Mei's smirk disappeared and she found herself quickly turning back to Zabuza. "Uzumaki?"
"Uh, yeah. Haku's girl is an Uzumaki."
It was good to know thy hadn't completely died out yet but as much as she wanted to congratulate Haku on her taste- even at the risk of making Zabuza smugly declare it was thanks to him- she instead focused on a more important fact.
If this Naruko was an Uzumaki, chances were damn good that Tsukuyomi was also an Uzumaki. It would explain the miraculous sealing ability but it also made it him a much more real- and personal- threat. The Uzumaki were, after all, distant family. The thought of having one as her enemy didn't really sit right. It did make her wonder if he had been aware of their clans' old relationship and not cared or if he might have instead joined them if he did.
"...I see. Continue."
"Not much more to say," Zabuza shrugged again. "He mentioned that his sister must have good taste and then continued to beat the shit out of Kisame."
"...And you, Zabuza-sama." Haku added, earning a scowl from the man. She looked up to meet Mei's gaze as she continued. "He mentioned something about how he was once Naruko's brother but I'm not sure what he meant by that. He did offer me the opportunity to leave the fight because I knew her, but I don't think he really cared about fighting me in the first place."
"Ah, yeah. He mentioned that Kisame and I weren't his goal. I guess he was really just aiming to get Yagura. Guess the two monsters didn't get along too well."
"That's funny coming from a demon, Zabuza." Mei tried to give a smile but she didn't even have to see it to know it was lacking. "I wouldn't say it was Yagura he was after as much as the Sanbi, he ripped it from Yagura before the Wolves left. Knowing he's an Uzumkai makes it easier to understand how he managed it."
"Oh." Zabuza stopped avoiding her gaze. "That's probably not good."
"No." She agreed. "But we didn't exactly have anyone capable of sealing it anyway."
"Ah." The Swordsman gave an understanding nod. "Yeah, that would have been a problem too. At least he wasn't after you, otherwise Ao would be Mizukage." It earned a small smile from the last Terumi but a smile nonetheless.
"Yes, I suppose you're right, but it could have been you, too."
"Oh, no. I'm not tying myself down behind a desk. I'd have gone rouge again before accepting the hat."
"Really? It would keep Haku here from being the one sent to Konoha."
He froze at that, running the thought through his head, and it was taking visible effort for him to determine what he would prefer.
"He...did...say she used to be his sister. That would imply they probably aren't on the best of terms, right?" He looked between the two women, slightly hopeful.
"Sounds right to me, Zabuza-sama." Even if it hadn't, Haku would have agreed. It was already obvious which way his thoughts were going and it lead to the exact result Haku needed. She missed her Naruko-chan, damnit.
"So the chances are good that they aren't living together?"
"I wouldn't imagine so, Zabuza-sama. Tsukuyomi is the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni and Narutko lives in Konoha."
"Yeah, that's right." Zabuza gave a nod as he reached the conclusion Haku had been aiming for. "Well in that case it's probably even safer if you stayed with her, then, isn't it?"
"Exactly, Zabuza-sama."
"...Alright." The man conceded. "Stay safe but enjoy yourself, okay?"
"Of course, Zabuza-sama. I'll be back before you know it." A grunt was his response but everyone in the room knew he was still concerned.
Mei thought it was cute- both the father/daughter interaction and the fact that Zabuza thpought he had any sort of say over whether or not Haku would be going to Konoha and what - or who- she did while she was there. Personally Mei was rooting for the girl and hoped for some juicy details on her return. She might even need to spend a few minutes with the girl before she left to give her some...advice.
Just the thought of what Haku might be getting up to with her Uzumaki girl was almost as good as an Icha-Icha. On that note, she'd have to ask Haku to keep an eye out for the newer ones on her trip. Mei was quite a few books behind by now because obtaining them during the war was both dificult and by no means a priority.
She had to wonder what wonderful smut she had missed lately.
It took Tsume a few moments to realize that someone was knocking on her door, it had simply been so long since any of her guests had bothered. In fact, with the Wolves being the only guests she'd had in years, it was almost fair to say that guests had never knocked on the door of the main house.
On the instances Hana and Kiba had invited people over they usually brought them back anyway and when they didn't they'd still be out there to greet them by the time they were halfway from the compound gates to the main house.
People simply didn't knock on Tsume's door.
So it was with some sense of wonder that a partially dressed Tsume found herself opening the door and peering out at her unexpected guest. Not only was the young man on the other side of the door unexpected at that time, Tsume could honestly say she had never really expected him to visit period.
She supposed that was probably foolish considering she was well aware of his rather high status within the Wolves. When she had tied her clan so closely to them it was only natural that she'd find herself dealing with their upper echelons. She couldn't expect it to always be Mai- though that would certainly be nice- either considering how much the young woman was responsible for.
Still, she just had not considered that Naruto would end up paying her a visit. If anything she'd expect to receive some sort of message 'requesting' her presence for a meeting. Naruto just struck her as that sort of person. Unannounced house visits were distinctly not Naruto. Well, based on what she had witnessed and what she had heard from Mai anyway. Personally she hadn't spent all that much time with the young man and couldn't really say with any confidence what sort of person he actually was.
"Tsume." His voice broke her from her thoughts, slightly deeper than she thought was completely normal for someone his age but possessing a melodious quality that took off the edge. She also made note of the fact that he was taller than she had realized- or had gone through quite the growth spurt since the last time she saw him - as his purple eyes were perfectly level with her own.
That, of course, also meant she was finding herself rather close to his face as she peeked out from her door. She was, not for the first time, finding herself wondering if he was actually, well, a "he" at all. He was prettier than Mai, for gods' sakes, though that might explain how the young woman could be attracted to them both.
Gods knew Tsume found him attractive which was a feeling beyond strange for the Inuzuka matriarch.
"Ah, Naruto-san." She recognized his perhaps too familiar form of address but made no mention of it. "I hadn't expected you to be stopping by." She opened the door fully and stepped to the side, suddenly aware that her current clothing was perhaps less than appropriate for someone she wasn't all that familiar with. With how he was addressing her, however, maybe it could be ignored. She couldn't say she was completely comfortable with the young man Mai loved being in her house referring to her so casually while she was less than modest but it wasn't the most uncomfortable she'd even been either.
She'd manage, probably.
"Please, come in." She didn't even know why he was here yet but that was no reason to abandon her manners. As he stepped into the house past her it also gave her a chance to make sure her bathrobe was securely fastened before she closed the door and moved to lead him to her sitting room.
Judging by the twinkle of amusement in those damnable purple eyes there was a good chance she hadn't been quite as fast as she may have hoped. If he had seen anything he was at least courteous enough to make no mention of it.
"Are you thirsty?" She found herself asking, cursing herself in her mind. Tsume had a growing suspicion that he was remaining quiet simply to enjoy her bumbling as a last-minute hostess. The worst part? Unlike Mai when she visited he had waited until a decent time to visit- Tsume simply hadn't been up until just before he knocked.
"I am not, thank you."
"Of course." She could also admit- only to herself and perhaps Mai- that she was a bit nervous interacting with the young man for several reasons. The first was, of course, because she was only wearing a pair of tight pants and a generally pretty loose bathrobe. Then there was the fact that not only did Mai like him but he was Mai's superior, so it was important not to displease him. The third, naturally, was that this visit could be about anything and Tsume really hoped it wasn't some sort of bad news. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?"
Tsume took a seat on one of the couches, being extra aware of her bathrobe as she settled into the soft red cushions. Naruto….did not sit where she had expected him to. Normally- in the beginning, anyway- Mai sat on the couch across from her but she wouldn't have been too surprised if he had claimed the single armchair between the two couches. Really, she thought it might even suit him.
Instead, however, he had decided to take a seat on the couch she had chosen. The couches were...not large...and she- expecting him to take one of the other two options- had sat herself down right in the middle which meant as he took a seat on the couch he ended up close enough that his leg was pressed against hers.
He didn't seem bothered by this in the slightest even as he turned to better face her. Tsume was painfully aware that at this distance and in her current position she probably had a rather significant amount of cleavage currently on display but on the off-chance he didn't notice- and she didn't know who she thought she was fooling with that desperate hope- she couldn't exactly adjust anything without risking drawing attention to the matter.
Why couldn't it have been Mai?
A tall stool had been placed next to Mai's desk, upon which Hanabi sat watching curiously as her new boss poured over reports and scribbled down notes. Mostly, however, Hanabi paid attention to the various curses leaving the young woman's lips, particularly when a report involved Tsukuyomi or Naruto in some way. As it so happened, that meant just about all of them. The only other person to regularly come up in reports was Sai- Mai's brother, apparently- who was overseeing the Wolves in Nami no Kuni.
She had more than a few choice words for him, too.
Hanabi had a small notebook of her own which she had written some of Mai's favored words to use for each of the men she had to deal with along with what their reports typically entailed. Or, rather, that part of the reports had Mai using those words.
Sai's was actually the easiest to identify. His reports contained all manner of information about the activities of the Wolves in Nami no Kuni but the most notable part of each was the myriad of red ink staining the page. Even before the reports reached Mai's desk it was evident that Sai was...less than financially gifted.
Governess Hana- who Mai had explained took care of the civilian matters of Nami no Kuni- had her signature in the same red ink near the bottom of the pages showing she had tried to show Sai the issues before his financial reports were submitted. Based on the number of reports and the continuous trend of red ink it was evident that it wasn't doing any good and something just wasn't clicking with the man.
The problem with reports talking about- or in some cases from- Tsukuyomi and Naruto were much harder for Hanabi to figure out. The first thing she had to figure out was why Mai would have such reports. Those talking about those two made sense, naturally they would be heavily involved with matters of the Wolves, but reports that were apparently from them made considerably less so.
She actually ended up having to ask about that, despite wanting to figure everything out while asking as few questions as possible, and Mai's answer left a lot to be desired.
"I'd like to be able to say it's so that we all stay aware of what's going on as we work for the betterment of the Wolves," Mai had started. "But the truth is that it's the Wolves who have been splitting the paperwork and sending it to the desk of the person they think is most appropriate."
Hanabi's first thought, then, was that it meant those were mistakes. Mai set her straight on that pretty quickly, too.
"Oh, no. They go precisely where the Wolves intend them to go. If a Wolf sorting the paperwork thinks I would want to be aware of something Naruto did, one of his reports might go to me before reaching Tsukuyomi. Likewise, if they think Naruto should be aware of something Tsukuyomi did they'll direct it to Naruto's desk."
Mai had smirked after saying that, as if there was some hidden joke in her explanation, but what Hanabi had heard she didn't really like. Sure, it seemed to be working, but that was far too disorganized for her tastes. Sorting things by who you felt they should go to? That wouldn't be consistent at all and it meant you never could be sure how much work that reached a desk was actually supposed to be done by that person.
How were they supposed to keep anything under control that way? Hanabi had already decided she would be having some long chats with the Wolves about organization and properly performing administrative tasks. This disorganized mess was unacceptable.
It was probably a good thing no one had told her of Naruto's tendency to steal and complete Mai's paperwork for her, the poor girl probably would have had an aneurysm.
Naruto didn't think twice about taking a seat beside his hostess, squeezing in right between her and the arm of the couch quite snugly. He also did his best to ignore rather lovely display he was certain she wasn't intending to be putting on. Out of respect for both her and Mai he kept it to a single glance that lasted less than a second.
Okay, a second and a half. It was two, tops.
You couldn't blame him, Mai had excellent taste. Temptation momentarily sated he focused on her eyes, only vaguely recognizing that at this distance it was perhaps just a tad more intimate than he had intended. He didn't mind but Tsume looked...less than comfortable with the situation.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't get some amusement from that. The Inuzuka matriarch wasn't someone you'd think to describe as shy so this was probably the closest to it most people would ever get the chance to see. Naruto decided to savor it while he could and if she was a bit off balance, well, that would only make it better when he made sure she knew that if she upset Mai he'd do everything in his power to turn "uncomfortable" into agony for the rest of her miserable existence.
"You can thank your daughter for my visit, actually." He pulled a plain envelope from his shirt pocket and handed it over to the woman. "I was in Nami no Kuni recently and she requested that I deliver this to you for her. I saw no reason to decline seeing as I was coming back to Konoha anyway."
"That's odd." Tsume frowned as she took hold of the letter. "She usually just sends it with one of the regular Wolves." Her brown eyes looked up from the envelope to meet Naruto's calm gaze. "You wouldn't know why she asked you, would you?"
"Your guess is probably better than mine, Tsume. As wonderful a young woman she is and as fantastically as she's been doing as Nami's governess I don't often have the chance to enjoy her company. You would know her much better than I, I would assume."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She spent a few moments staring at the blank envelope in her hands in thought. "Would you mind if I-"
"Oh, no. Not at all." He rose from the couch and stepped off to the side. "Would you prefer some privacy?"
"Ah," Yes, she would, but not with him leaving the room. Not only did she not want him unsupervised in her house but it would be in rather bad taste to send a guest into another room so she could read her daughter's letter. "I think I'll just step into my office for a moment to grab a letter opener, if you'll excuse me."
There was understanding in those purple eyes telling her that he was fully aware that she'd be taking the opportunity to read the letter before returning but didn't mind in the slightest.
"If you like." He invited with a nod. "But I doubt it has anything to do with me so unless there's something you'd like to discuss I can leave you to it."
That was a really tempting offer but while Tsume didn't really have anything to discuss with him now that could change depending on what her daughter wrote. He had just said he was in Nami, so he might be able to shed more light on anything her daughter wasn't clear about.
"I'll only be a minute." She assured him. "If you're not too busy it would probably be a good idea for the two of us to get to know each other a little better considering the relationship between our packs and our roles within them."
He conceded her point with a dip of his head."I do believe you're right. In that case I'll be here when you're finished." Naruto slipped back onto the couch as Tsume stood up, close enough that they ended up rubbing against each other again. As he sank slightly into the red cushions he crossed his right leg over his left knee and lazily tossed one hand over the arm of the couch so he was more lounging than sitting.
Tsume tightened her bathrobe again as she finished standing up, not bothering to try to hide it, and made her way out of the room. Briefly she considered retreating to her room to put on a shirt too but that would both take more time than proper with a guest waiting on her and undoubtedly tell her guest that she had been uncomfortable with what she was wearing before.
She didn't particularly care for either of those, really. She'd have to brave her shirtlessness for a bit longer. For some reason it wasn't as hard when Mai and her Wolves stopped by but it was just...weird… to be like this when her guest was Mai's boss. That was probably it the whole reason she was uncomfortable now that she thought about it.
Well, it could be worse. At least these days she had the habit of throwing on a pair of pants before getting out of bed. That would have been infinitely more awkward.
She had planned to speak with Mito after her bath, she really did, unfortunately she hadn't taken into consideration just how relaxed that bath would make her. Naruko had fallen asleep before she could even button up her pajama top.
Morning training came first when she woke up, her regular routine, and it was only a bit before lunch that she had remembered what she needed to do. There was one good thing about having a Sensei who really would rather be anything but and that was the fact that they were only there because the students were.
One "I need to take care of something at home" later and the daily training was dismissed by a Kakashi only too pleased for the chance to read his beloved books in the comfort of his own home.
Sakura had been understandably disappointed, but Naruko really couldn't bring herself to feel bad when the girl's disappointment stemmed solely from the fact that she wouldn't be able to draw any more of Naruko's blood that day. Whatever had gotten into that girl- the Anko virus or something- Naruko had to admit it was actually doing her a lot of good.
With Naruko's own training under her mother, the former fangirl shouldn't have been able to even touch her. Naruko couldn't honestly say this change was pure bloodlust- which was a weird thought to associate with the pinkette- or if this new mindset was driving her to train more on her own. Whatever training she was doing, Naruko was almost tempted to ask to join. The girl had grown leaps and bounds and it was honestly a bit frightening how quickly she was improving.
Unless she was simply one of those genius prodigies and simply hadn't had any reason to apply herself until recently. That actually made a lot more sense, everything considered.
But Sakura wasn't Naruko's main concern at the moment, no, it was much more important that she check in with the Biju sealed into her stomach to make sure everything was alright.
Racing into the compound- they still hadn't taken care of the tall grass and it was coming very close to peaking up over the walls- she made straight for her room and threw her equipment haphazardly onto her bed. She was probably going to regret that later when an errant Kunai or- gods forbid- Senbon made itself known when she next went to lie down. That was a future-Naruko problem, though, so she didn't concern herself with it.
Finding a good spot on the floor she tucked her legs in close and closed her eyes as she concentrated on the faint traces of Mito's Chakra that her seal naturally filtered into her own system. Finding a strand she held it firmly in her attention and slowly followed it back through her tenketsu and into the seal.
She knew she had succeeded when the distant murmur of Konoha was suddenly silenced and a cold dampness settled over her like a thin veil.
The fact that she was now sitting cross-legged in a pool of murky water that came most of the way up her thighs was pretty telling too.
With a string of curses aimed at the gods of the earth- apparently Uzumaki customs spoke out against angering the sky and the sea, or so her mother had said- she jumped up from the water and narrowed her eyes at the small, flat platform of rubble not even a foot away. Of course she couldn't have landed there, that would have been too damn convenient.
Making a mental note to concentrate on that spot the next time she entered the sealscape she took a look around the mental representation of her seal. Rubble, rubble, and more rubble. Yeah, everything seemed to be just how she had left it but gods above and below she hoped this wasn't some sort or representation of her mind, too.
Despite all the rubble she could see, however, she couldn't see the giant stacked pile where Mito had been living. It was as if something had scattered all the rubble that had been around her almost evenly through the waters of this flooded basement but Mito herself was nowhere to be seen.
"Mito?" No response.
"Mito?!" Nothing but an echo.
That was...odd. Usually Mito would like the company, if only to have a chance to act superior to someone, and if she was mad with Naruko or otherwise didn't want to be disturbed she could block her out from the seal entirely.
Focusing again on the strand of Chakra that had brought her here she realized her mistake when the entire world around her seemed to light up in senses. Well, that wasn't going to be of any use when the entire seal was packed full of the Kyuubi and her Chakra.
Picking a random direction Naruko began navigating around the chunks of metal and stone that littered the ground around her. It would have been so much easier with either the water gone or the rubble cleared- she would have been happy with either really- because together they were a pain in the ass. As far as she knew she couldn't use Chakra in here- and she wasn't keen on finding out first hand- so water walking was out. Even if she could use water walking the second her feet touched solid ground she knew she would be sent flying and the murky water did a very good job at hiding some of the rubble just beneath the surface.
If she knew she could use Chakra she'd make her way towards one of the walls and walk along them instead but as it was her only real option was to slowly make her across the rubble as best she could and through the water when she had to.
Mito had better be in trouble when she found her or Naruko was going to be beyond irritated.
Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 111-B "Lessons"
Patron Release 2020.02.24
As Tsume had expected her daughter's letter had indeed left her with more questions, she just didn't expect anything close to the questions she now had. She didn't have to find a mirror to know that her cheeks were probably aglow.
She didn't know- exactly- what had given Hana the opinion that her mother should seek to further cement ties with the House of Wolves in such a manner but her daughter hadn't even tried to hide what she meant in her letter.
Marry Tsukuyomi? Tsume had maybe interacted with him three times since they had allied their packs together and she still had't even seen his face, let alone gotten to know him as a person.
Of course, that wasn't exactly what her daughter was suggesting, either.
A political marriage didn't depend on anything but status and duty, so everything else was irrelevant. Be that as it may, Hana hadn't really said anything about why she was suggesting this particular course of action, either.
As far as Tsume was aware their relationship with the Wolves was favorable and even if it wasn't a marriage wasn't going to resolve anything between the two packs. Tsukuyomi himself seemed keen on the courts but his Wolves and the Inuzuka didn't usually care much for politics and certainly wouldn't be soothed by meeting some courtly requirement.
There was also the fact that if anyone was going to be having a political marriage it would be her daughter who was already well received by the Wolves and was enjoying her time in Nami no Kuni. That Tsume might actually consider arranging, but only if Hana was interested in it. As it was, Hana hadn't really mentioned any interest in one of the Wolves and Tsume couldn't see any reason a marriage should need to be set up for either of them.
She skimmed over the rest of the letter, picking out a few key words such as "Daimyo", "Princess", "Yu no Kuni", and "Attractive". It was the last one that caught her attention, to be honest, and she focused on the sentence to see who her daughter was referring to.
She found herself blinking in surprise at the thought.
When had her daughter seen Tsukuyomi's face?
She could admit to being slightly jealous, simply because she had been wondering what the Lord of Wolves had looked like since she first heard the name Mai had given him. However it was she had managed to see it, according to Hana it was a sight to behold. She wondered how it would compare to Naruto and his unnatural beauty.
She continued to read the letter and soon knew that her entire face had to be absolutely red. Tsukuyomi, it would seem, was not one to sleep alone often and made little to no effort to hide his activities from others in his palace.
Tsume hadn't realized he had a palace but upon reflection it only seemed right for a Daimyo's residence. He wasn't going to be living in an apartment somewhere. It also reminded her of her own habits with dress within the main house before Mai started visiting regularly.
If she had her own palace you could bet your ass she would be walking around without pants and she wouldn't give a damn if everybody knew she was having sex on the daily.
Why Hana thought she should try for a man who obviously already had a plethora of lovers Tsume didn't know and to be perfectly honest she didn't really feel up to asking.
Folding the letter neatly she stuffed it into her desk and realized that she had been gone longer for perhaps was appropriate with a guest present, even if he had been well aware of what she was up to.
Retying her bathrobe- there was no way she had time to throw on a shirt now- she took a calming breath to hopefully decrease the blood currently flowing to her face.
She was going to have to have some words with Hna when they next met face to face, she didn't think she could properly express her absolute bewilderment at the idea and she was equally sure no words Hana could write would ever explain it as well as those that would come from her lips.
And waiting a month for a response that was probably going to cause more questions would drive Tsume insane, not responding would allow her to put it from her mind and distract herself with other matters.
...Still…..
Married to a Daimyo, huh? There were certainly worse aspirations.
Mai had excused herself for a minute- probably to check on Tsukuyomi, which Hanabi tried to not imagine taking quite some time - and told her to stay here in the young woman's office. Hanabi had perused a few of the files that Mai had deemed safe enough to leave out- Hanabi wasn't so foolish as to believe she would immediately be fully trusted in her new role- but had grown bored of them pretty quickly.
So instead she had found herself staring into the empty eyeholes of a snarling Wolf mask. After a few minutes she quietly declared "I'm in charge of you now."
The Wolf just shrugged.
Gods above she hated that one.
This was….new.
Naruko looked up at the wall that filled in the corridor. Normally shem ight just assume this was some sort of dead end and turned away but this wall was new. Not in the sense that it hadn't been there before- she would have no idea whether or not that was the case anyway, she never had explored this world much and certainly not enough to memorize every wall- but when compared to the crumbling, mildew covered walls of this flooded basement it was obvious that this wall hadn't had to endure anything close to what the rest of this world had.
Well that or it had simply been much, much more resilient. She really couldn't say either way.
What was the most odd about this wall, however, was the suspiciously door- shaped -and sized- patch of lighter paint. The whole wall seemed to be made of wood- which also stood out, because everythign else here was concrete- and unless she was mistaken there was a small metal knocker hanging from it.
Approaching cautiously only confirmed what she was seeing and after a moment of hesitation she lifted the cold metal ring and slammed it down three times.
On the third impact she backed up and waited, the sound of the knock echoing through the otherwise empty corridors behind her. Those echoes faded into the distance with no other result. Looking to either side she stepped back up to the door.
Knock
Knock
Before her third knock she found herself suddenly spinning and before she knew it- and far before she could react- she found herself standing with her back to a bookcase and a perplexed Mito staring at her from a leather couch.
"...Naruko?"
"Erm, Hi?" The Uzumaki heiress took a few seconds to look around the small room- more like a rather large one room apartment, really- before returning her attention to the Kyuubi. "I guess this would probably explain the strange feeling I was getting from the seal, huh?" Her mom had mentioned that changes to the seal may have placed the Kyuubi into an uncomfortable situation but everything seemed pretty damned cozy to Naruko.
And to think she waded her way through that water and over all that rubble to make sure Mito was okay.
"What?" The seal had been this way for quite some time now, so it made no sense if Naruko had just now felt it.
Unless she had been spending all this time trying to reach her.
No, wait. She had reached out after she had healed Naruto and that was about the same time the seal was changed to be a bit more habitable. So what since then had caught the girls atten…..tion…..
Oh.
Yeah.
Probably the Sanbi forming her cloak within the seal. If Mito's use of her own Chakra caught her attention that would have done it without a doubt.
"The seal was acting strange the other day," Naruko continued, completely oblivious to Mito's thoughts as she returned to peering around the room. "It was like the last time, when you told me not to worry about it, but there was something...off….about the whole thing. It felt, I don't know. Empty? Deep? The seal burned but there was also this coldness to the feeling that was really odd. I didn't even know you could do this within the seal."
Yeah, definitely the Sanbi she had felt. Mito blamed Karura for this, she's the one who brought the girl into her prison.
How terribly inconsiderate.
"I can't." Might as well start off with the easier questions, Mito thought. "I've never had much control over this world and when I did have more freedom I made a series of mistakes I'm still trying to remedy."
"Oh?" Naruko's head swiveled back down to the Biju. "Then who did this?"
"Naruto."
"Oh? Oh! So you were able to get back to him?" Naruko returned to looking about the place with renewed vigor. Was this his part of the seal, then? Maybe that's why it was so….different…..
Were they in a cage?
It sure as hell looked like it, though the bars that made up the far walls- and how had she missed that- were so large and spaced far enough apart that they could probably stroll right between them without a second's thought. It was probably more effective for giant foxes.
"...In a sense."
Mito didn't sound particularly happy with the answer she was giving and so Naruko decided it was probably best to avoid that line of conversation.
"So I must have just been feeling the Seal shift last night then, huh?"
"...Not exactly. The seal's been this was for some time now."
Naruko gave her a curious gaze. "Then what did I feel?"
Mito fell silent for a few long moments before answering. "I had a ...guest...of sorts….." She admitted. "You probably felt them entering the seal."
…...What? Naruko tried desperately to wrap her mind around such a concept. Mito had guests? Someone- or something- had been able to enter the seal? She didn't even know where to begin with that one.
"H-how?"
"Seals transcend time and space, Naruko, you should know this."
"Of course I know that!" Naruko's fists found themselves on her hips. "But I also know that there's a reason it took two seals to contain you. There shouldn't be any room for others to join you in here."
"Join? There's infinite room for that, Naruko. They simply won't be sealed."
"...What?"
Mito rolled her eyes and pointed to one of the empty chairs to either side of the couch she was currently on. "Sit down and I'll try to explain." Why she, of all people, would have to explain this concept to an Uuzmaki heiress she had no idea but there was a slight feeling of satisfaction from the idea, especially if it got back to her previous host. Oh, she could already see Kushina's face when Naruko told her and it was delicious. That was reason enough for her to go through with it.
"The amount a seal can contain is not limited by an amount it can hold but rather by how much it can restrain and the amount of Chakra necessary to do so. Smaller seals for trivial items such as Kunai don't have much Chakra in them on their creation but also don't have to contend with the Kunai because those bits of sharp metal aren't exactly trying to leave on their own and possess no Chakra.
"Seals for Biju not only have to be able to keep the Biju from breaking out by suppressing their Chakra but are usually designed to allow the Jinchuriki to access that Chakra, which ends up being rather complicated seals. Your mother's seal didn't allow much of my Chakra to flow freely but kept me restrained with a single seal. Your father, who had not been intending to transfer me to one of you that night- came up with a quick solution to both restrain me and provided nearly unrestricted access to my Chakra."
"How'd he do that?" Naruko had leaned forward in her seat as if it would somehow make a huge difference in how well she could hear Mito speak in an otherwise quiet room.
"By not restraining me at all in your half of the seal."
Naruko shot straight up, surprise clearly evident. "Wait, but how- "
"Your father was….rather impressive….for a human, anyway." Mito admitted grudgingly. "I'm sure your mother probably described your seal as the container and Naruto's as the lid, right?"
Naruko nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly how she described it. And because the container was exactly the same size as you are Naruto's seal sits before the entrance so you can't leave."
"...Not quite, but I suppose that was sufficient when she told you. You're more of a net than a container. You set the boundary but are full of holes that can be used to access my Chakra. Overall pretty flimsy and not likely to hold me."
"Oh, okay." Naruko frowned. "Then what is Naruto?"
"Naruto is….erm." Mito paused. "Maybe...maybe that was a bad analogy." She hadn't actually thought that far. "I guess you could say he's like a set of nails pinning that net taunt against the ground, or a rope holding it from the ground so that gravity keeps me from getting out…."
Naruko's frown grew deeper. "I don't think I really understand what you're trying to say."
Think, think- ah-ha! That would...suffice.
"Bad analogy, think of it like this instead. I'm a fox, you're like a collar. It doesn't do much to keep me from running around but Naruto's seal is a leash that he holds, keeping me nearby."
"Ah!" Naruko's eyes brightened considerably. "Yeah, that makes sense!"
Mito gave a small smile as Naruko finally understood and it grew bigger as she proceeded to connect things from there.
"So the Seal "yard" can have many animals in it, but my collar can only be on your neck."
"Precisely."
Naruko gave a satisfied nod before stopping to blink a few times in confusion. "Wait, but who visited you?"
Oh, joy. They were getting into the fun questions now.
"Was…..was it a Biju? It sort of felt like your Chakra…."
She caught on pretty quickly, Mito would give her that.
"Yes, it was. I'm fairly confident in saying you felt Isobu's Chakra."
"Isobu?"
"The Sanbi."
If anything the answer made Naruko more confused. "How did the Sanbi visit?"
"There are ways for seals to be connected, such as in the case with you and Naruto, and through those connections the Sanbi was able to visit me."
"But this seal isn't connected to the Sanbi's, is it?" Naruko had a feeling she would know if that was the case.
"No," Mito folded her arms over her chest with a slight huff. "Her seal isn't connected to me at all."
"Then how-"
Mito pointed to the large bars behind her. "Unfortunately Karura's is apparently connected to both mine and Isobu's and they both stopped by for a visit."
Wha-
There had been three Biju within her seal that evening? How the hell had she not known?
"The Sanbi called on her Chakra at one point, that's probably what you felt." Mito continued as if was no big deal.
Wait, Karura's was connected? Who and why?
Naruko got up from her seat and moved over to the large blackened iron bars, peering out into a familiar flooded basement. What wasn't familiar to her was the large pathway of black marble or the smaller section of white marble that branched out to one of the walls where it disappeared into an elaborate arch.
The Uzuamki heir blinked in surprise at the sight through the archway where blue carpets were laid out trimmed in gold and sunlight spilled through windows too high up for her to see.
"...W-who...exactly…..is Karura?" She asked without turning to face the Kyuubi.
"Hmm? Oh, the Ichibi. My...youngest...sibling, the bitch." There was something odd about the way she said youngest but Naruko was too distracted by what she was seeing to pat it too much mind.
"And why is she connected to you, exactly?"
"That's not for me to say."
That caught Naruo's attention and she looked over her shoulder at the orange hair of Mito. "What do you mean it's not for you to say? Your seals are connected, for gods' sakes, who could possibly decide that it doesn't concern you?"
"It does concern me, Naruko." Mito didn't need to explain her thought any further, the Uzumaki heiress understood well enough.
"If her seal is connected to your seal then it's connected to me." Naruko argued. "That makes it my concern too."
"That's not for me to decide, these matters are Naruto's and I won't divulge his business to you."
Oh, that made a lot more sense then. When she had been so desperate to get back into Naruto's favor again- Naruko never had learned what happened there, either- it wasn't too surprising that she didn't want to do anything that might draw his ire.
"Oh, sorry." A silence fell in the room, only the light crackle of Mito's fireplace filling the silence, and Naruko returned to staring out from between the bars as if it were she trapped within the seal. But...she wasn't ...was she? The other Biju had apparently been able to come and go as they please….
Naruko shot another glance back at Mito who hadn't moved at all. "Would Karura tell me what was going on?"
Mito's head tilted to the side in thought. "She might, why?" The Kyuubi turned to look over the couch just in time to watch as Naruko slipped between the bars to step onto the black marble of Naruto's old walkway.
It took her a second to realize what she had just seen and two crimson eyes slowly blinked as she processed it.
They widened significantly when she finished.
Scrambling from the couch Mito ran to the bars as Naruko took a few curious steps into Naruto's sealscape putting her just out of reach of Mito's hand as she tried to snatch the back of the girl's clothes. "What the hell do you think you're doing over there?! Get back here!"
"What?" Naruko shrugged. "I'm just going to go ask Karura."
Completely oblivious about what it was she was currently doing, Naruko proceeded down the white walkway and through the marble archway into Karura's domain.
Mito watched blankly, really hoping Naruto didin't get too upset by this and, more importantly, wasn't upset at her for Naruko's actions.
Damn that girl.
She also tried very hard to not consider the fact that she had just done exactly what she had told Karura not to do with her son.
Did no one listen to her?
A lounging Naruto watched curiously as Tsume returned to the room and took a seat in the opposite corner of the couch across from him, placing herself as far away as possible. He rose a brow at that and the slight dusting of red on her cheeks but otherwise didn't comment on it.
"Everything's going well, I hope?" He asked causally, his brow rising higher when Tsume's blush ended up darkening. Now he was getting really curious. What had Hana included in her letter?
"Ah...yes." She took a moment trying to regain her composure. "Everything seems fine, she simply included something I was not expecting to read."
"Nothing bad?"
"No, just...surprising. I'll have to speak with her about it in person at some point."
Naruto gave a thoughtful nod, mentally making a note that when he tried to use Tsume to get Mai to take a vacation he needed to find some way to pull Hana into it, too. It looked like he might end up going back to Nami soon, in that case.
But perhaps after Hanabi had a month or so to get the gist of Mai's regular duties so she could help fill in. Or, maybe not. Naruto still had his clone, they could make things work.
Wait, was his clone still active?
Naruto's eyes widened in sudden realization and he shot up from the couch.
"Naruto-san?"
"I'm terribly sorry but I just remembered something that urgently requires my attentio-" He managed to take three whole steps before his clone-with impeccable timing- finished the backlog of paperwork and decided it should probably dispel itself.
Naruto fell to the ground like a limp noodle, smacking his head on Tsume's coffeetable with a resounding crack. Fortunately the table wasn't damaged in the process, Mai often commented on how heardheaded he could be.
Jumping up from her own seat Tsume scrambled over to the bleeding young man and wondered just how many more surprises she was going to be having today.
"Well, fuck." She was going to have to find a Wolf to get him back home or, at the very least, inform Mai. Poor girl was going to be worried sick when she heard.
"I'm home!" The door opened and shut with a careless bang. "Kurenai-Sensei seemed pretty distracted again today and sent us all home earl- is that blood?"
Tsume had enough time to roll her eyes at her luck before her son burst into the sitting room with Kunai drawn, eyes darting around for intruders. Akamaru trotted up from behind him, plopping down at his feet with a single bark of greeting.
"Naruto?! Holy shit, mom, what did you do?"
"Calm down, Kiba. He collapsed as he was leaving, go fetch me someone so we can get him some help."
"Why was he even here in the first place?" Kiba asked, slipping his Kunai back into their pouch. His attention turned to his mother and his eyes widened. "You're not even wearing a shirt!" He noted. His eyes darted between the two other people in the room and a look of horror grew over his face.
"You said you were seeing a girl!" Kiba pointed an accusing finger at his mother. "Naruto's not a girl." Even if he was as pretty as one, which just wasn't right.
"Shut up, Kiba! Go get help!" The red had most definitely returned to Tsume. First Hana is suggesting she get's married to Tsukuyomi and now her son was insinuating she was in a relationship with the object of Mai's affection. She tried not to dwell on the thought of her, Mai, and Naruto all together but it was proving rather difficult, especially as she removed the sash holding her robe together to wrap around Naruto's bleeding forehead.
"What, like a doctor or something?"
"The first person you see who's either a Chunin or old enough to not get acne anymore, go!"
She more wanted Kiba to leave than actually needed anyone urgently for Naruto. Head wounds just bled a lot, he'd be fine. Getting Kiba away- and Wolves here- was all she really needed and even then she could probably just move him to a bed- or even one of these couches- for a bit until he woke up and was able to walk home on his own.
Tsume would simply like to have the Wolves aware rather than panicking over one of their high-ranking individuals having gone missing without a word. She didn't want to incite a panic in them and especially not in Mai. Girl had enough to deal with without having to worry about Naruto's well being and trying to settle down the Wolves.
"Y-yeah, sure." Kiba darted out of the room- opening and slamming the door shut again- to go find someone and Tsume turned to Akamaru who had remained sitting on the floor.
"Find me a rag, would you?" She asked. "He got blood everywhere." Okay, maybe an exaggeration but she did need to clean it up still. "Wet, if you can manage it."
Akamru gave a bark of agreement and got up to find one, returning a minute or so later with Kuromaru who he had recruited to help him. Kuromaru gave her a pointed look as Akamaru dropped the wet rag with a happy bark.
"What?" She huffed. "It's not like I did this to him." The pointed look remained.
"I didn't!" He didn't seem to believe her so she gave another huff and rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. Can you grab me a blanket or something at least?" Tsume asked as she slid her arms under Naruto and lifted him up.
Kuromaru tilted his head to the side as she took a step to the couch. "Really?" He asked with a sigh and a shake of his head.
"What? I'm not going to leave him on the floor."
"You shouldn't," He agreed. "But not even a bed for your injured guest?"
"You know I don't keep the guest rooms ready."
Kutomaru gave the closest thing to a shrug he could. "Your bed is fine."
Tsume gave him a blank stare while her earlier thoughts returned. She had already shared that bed with Mai, she wasn't inviting Naruto into it conscious or no. "Hana's is free." It was half suggestion and half her thinking out loud but Kuromaru nodded in agreement.
"That should work."
As long as it wasn't hers Tsume didn't care and she figured it served Hana right for that letter. Let's see how she liked it when she next came home and her bed smelled like a man.
"Hello? Hello?!"" Naruko's voice echoed down the white hallways as she wandered through the palace she found herself in. It was a far cry from Mito's small dwelling but so far seemed to be completely empty.
What was the point in such a large place if no one was here?
It was pretty at least, much more pleasant to the eyes than the view Mito's abode was treated to through the bars of her prison. Remembering a time when Mito lay in a pile of rubble and murky water crying Naruko was also aware that Mito's current environment wasn't bad at all in comparison it simply wasn't...well….this.
She continued walking for what seemed to be an hour before she stumbled upon an archway that was different from the others. With images of tailed beasts carved into it elaborately she figured it had to be important.
She was right.
Kind of.
It was a throne room of sorts- though it seemed to be missing some walls- and the ground was covered in precious metals and finely cut gems in the pattern of a flower which in the real world the work to create it alone would be worth fortunes so say nothing of the materials or the finished product. Inlaying it all into the white marble would have taken the skilled hands of a master.
Considering there wasn't anyone you could hire to come into your seal to do such work- that she was aware of, anyway- Naruko figured that wasn't the case here.
Unfortunately her discovery of this room didn't seem to amount to much because like the throne before her the rest of the room was empty. It did, however, provide something beyond the endless white hallways of the palace so making the decision of returning to the maze behind her or continuing into the gardens she could see through the open wall wasn't a difficult one.
Naruko stepped into the garden, looking about at the vibrant flowers and the open sky above her. While the light spilling into the palace seemed to be from some point in the afternoon the sky she saw seemed to be late evening and was filled with the orange glow of a weary sun preparing for its well-deserved rest.
If she hadn't already know that this world wasn't real then that would have been plenty to tip her off.
It was probably better this way, she could admit, because these gardens would probably be unbearably hot if the sky matched the light that poured into the palace. As it was it was a bit warm with a gentle breeze that reminded her of Konoha summer evenings.
It was...pleasant.
There were certainly worse places to be sealed away into, now she just had to figure out what that sealing had to do with her brother and why Mito refused to say.
She spent a few minutes just wandering the garden, enjoying the breeze and the fragrant flowers that littered the area, before a sound caught her attention. Turning back to the throne room a little girl in a blue dress stared back at her, standing barefoot on the white marble. Strands of dark green hair peeked out from under a straw hat with a light blue ribbon that matched her dress.
Mismatched eyes stared back at her in surprise and wonder for a second and Naruko had just enough time to smile and give a small wave before the girl screamed out "Mommy!" and ran back into the palace.
Naruko's smile dropped as quickly as her hand.
Well, that was one way to make an impression, she supposed, just not the way she would have liked. It also brought up a whole lot more questions.
How many people were in this seal and, more importantly, why?
Thanks goes to my Patrons for their support. By the time you're reading this I'll probably be on a plane for a week of training, let's hope I can get some writing done in the hotel.
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