Some scenes in this chapter are from OVA "Far reached hope" – well, sort of, you will see.
I wish you a pleasant reading.
„You need to mix tofu and mochiko, so the dough shouldn't be too loose nor too firm, see? It's like an earlobe".
Shiori nodded. The five-year-old didn't understand how she should see the consistency of the mix, sitting on the other end of the kitchen, but days ago she noted that such action worked the best on Kushina. Minato used it for years. To quote Borg from Star Trek: resistance was futile; especially dealing with Uzumaki women.
"You're lucky that Obito loves dango just as you. Minato likes my cooking so much it's a real drag convincing him into going to Ichiraku. On the other hand, you and your lover boy are crazy. Who, in the right mind, doesn't like ramen?! It's against the laws of nature, dettebane!"
"It isn't that I don't like ramen, just…"
"You two don't like any kind of soup, I know, but it's ramen! How do you get to eat properly without it?!"
The smaller redhead sighed. Kushina could rant about ramen all day. As mentioned above it was pointless to try and stop her or engage in dispute about classification ramen as healthy food, so the girl settled for contemplating how she found herself in this madness.
The reborn woman thought that her cousin would eventually stop torturing her with that alleged crush, and probably she would, if Shiori didn't showed the intelligence of amoeba. When Orochimaru inquired about her constant scheming, the girl (possibly because of her prior momentary cerebral hypoxia) blurted the first thing she could think of – nothing else that the imbecilic Kushina's phantasmagorias. And now everyone thought it was true! Even Minato was a little bitter towards Obito, who was already dragged through hell by the snake sannin on a daily basis. The girl wanted to throw herself from Hokages Mountain thinking about all this idiocy in the air.
It had to be contagious. There was no other way Orochimaru and Namikaze could be this stupid.
"Ok, now it must boil two, three minutes." Said Kushina, tossing the dumplings into a large pot. "About your other recipe, are you sure it's correct? I have never seen anything like that. I really doubt Obito will return your feelings if you try to poison him."
"Suzu-nee-chan taught me it. I'll show you what…"
Shiori hadn't had enough time to jump out of the chair before a big fat "no" could be heard.
"It isn't necessary, Shiori-chan. Just sit there and don't move."
The small redhead groaned. She was truly proud of the reputation of a walking disaster, which she managed to get already in Uzu. Everyone in her old Village knew that if someone had the youngest Yori-sama granddaughter doing laundry, cooking or dealing with other domestic work it would end in combusting clothes (for ninety-nine percent altogether with a basin and water in it); exploding roof and no longer existent kitchen; or other cataclysm, which results were often a cross between a decent refurbishment with the game hunt for the other lung. In other words, Shiori was left alone to her laziness and fuinjutsu experiments.
Unfortunately, now she was also banned from the stove and everything in five feet radius. The reborn woman wasn't anything special in the kitchen in her previous life but she was able to prepare a decent meal.
"It will be alright, Kushina-san. Believe me."
The older woman hesitantly eyed the girl and a bag of flour.
"You know I know about the time you exploded a flour, right?"
"It isn't surprising. It was a hot topic in the Village for some time."
The older Uzumaki smiled as if remembering a long forgotten wonder.
"Especially the part about Bomaru-sama's burned eyebrows. Seriously, Shiori-chan, if I didn't know better, I'd think you did it on purpose."
The child gave her a big-eyed look of innocence which would make the saints cry, if it wasn't accompanied by a large toothless smile and sinister dimples.
"But Kushina-san, how could I know that hydrocarbons in a sprayed flour display so high flammability?"
"The same devilish way you know everything else. Ok, kiddo, take the chair and come here but don't touch anything and watch out. If you end blowing up my kitchen it will be the end of that coffee of yours."
The girl's brow furrowed as her mouth turned grim.
"You are evil, Kushina-san."
"And you better remember that, dettebane!"
Ω
Sun shined between lazily swaying leaves, among the bird trills. It didn't fit too well with dozens of shurikens and kunais protruding from almost every tree and bush in the forest clearing.
Among it all stood three chunins from team seven and their sensei who was beaming with pride. His little ducklings were really growing, even the one culprit who stole affection of his little, golden-eyed, devious princess.
Looking at his torn sleeve Minato wasn't only proud, he was much more calm about his team wellbeing and safety, when he wouldn't be around.
"Good, you actually hit me."
"Ooh! Oooh! Hitting sensei, that's amazing, Kakashi!"
Rin was clearly impressed with her silver-haired teammate and his skills, what, to put it mildly, fuckingly irritated the other boy.
"It was only one hit. It isn't all that praiseworthy." Answered Kakashi coldly as if trying to be even more cool. Obito resented him.
"I can do it too, you know!"
His further protests weren't presented to the world because of something solid and heavy, what suddenly found itself on his head. It turned out to be a large picnic basket, held by no one other than the diabolical crone, which Minato sensei was unlucky enough to call his fiancée.
"Nice timing, right?" Asked the woman, daring him to say anything, but the young Uchiha had no time to react, since Rin was more than delighted seeing the older kunoichi.
"Kushina-san! Yay!" The medic-nin nearly started to salivate smelling the aroma coming out of the basket. Even without it everyone knew Kushina's cooking had no equal.
"You all doing your best?" The redhead's question was clearly directed towards the sulky, dark-haired boy, who looked as if he was about to fall over. From the moment Kushina told Minato about Shiori's infatuation with one of his students, she saw that the ball of sunshine the blond man was, started to emit something more than comfort and empathy. And to think that everyone said it was she who was overprotective. When Minato heard the news, at first he was motionless, then in an odd way, he started to resemble a growling bullterrier. Most of the shinobi were very possessive of the few souls they cared about; nevertheless the fair-haired jonin had never showed it to such an extent. He was a scary father figure.
On her part, Kushina couldn't imagine why Shiori liked the flamboyant boy. He was too… well, good and stupid for her. However maybe it was exactly the case. Stupid people often were capable of things that the wise wouldn't dare to even consider. Obito had this particular variation of stupidity which was difficult to fool. And the only thing more difficult than forcing him to understand one idea, was persuading him to quit it. The boy just didn't know what giving up meant. So if the girl needed him for some of her shames then… yes, that had to be it. It was a far more realistic perspective than Shiori falling in love. That would be fundamentally wrong. But still, there wasn't a reason not to give her a hell because of it.
Unfortunately, Minato had been too focused on the warding off the possible admirers of their adopted daughter to think soberly.
"They're doing great. We were just about to take a break." Assured the blond man.
"That's good. Here's the lunch." Kushina generously removed the basket off Obito's head. "Your order – Kushina's special. Shiori-chan helped me. She put her whole heart in the meal. She even gave me the new recipe."
Only then team seven noticed a small redheaded hiding behind Kushina. The girl looked like she would rather be everywhere else but there.
"Alright, I love the food you make, Kushina-san. Thanks!" Rin took the basket from the woman and smiled to the child. "Thank you Shiori-chan. It's really nice of you to cook for us."
Kushina was awestruck. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a moment before she dived and crushed the petite medic-nin in a bear hug.
"You're just so cuuute! You're such a good girl, Rin, you know? You're so nice and caring and always ready to help. Unlike the other girl I know. Maybe if she wasn't such a brat, she wouldn't have so much trouble getting a boy she likes."
Shiori looked at Rin and her embarrassingly smiling face, whose owner wanted to make the world a better place, even if the world would rather have something else. The little Uzumaki groaned. Her overall mood had to share the Uchiha boy, who made the same sound.
Kushina as if slapped, let go of Rin and approached the grumbling, young man.
"Let me get this straight. Shiori and I take the time to bring the lunch all the way out here to you guys. She tried very hard to please you, and that's the kind of thanks she gets from you? Hmmm?"
"Hey, I didn't ask any of you to do that! I'm not even hungry!" As it's widely established, at this moment his stomach growled.
Kushina sighed and decided to try another approach. For Shiori's sake. She put her hands on his shoulders and attempted to explain.
"Trying to be tough is ok, but first go ahead and eat something. I mean, you can't fight on an empty stomach, can you?"
"I don't want it!" Obito however was too proud and stubborn for his own good. "I won't take anyone's handout! I can fight without food!"
Kushina smiled. Shiori seeing it, as precaution walked away a few steps, hiding behind Minato, who with Kakashi were already sitting on the other site of the clearing.
"Hey… you're pretty manly." The woman's voice was sweet and warm like hot chocolate, until her aura changed and the ruby locks hadn't started to float in the air. Just then her fist connected with the boy's skull. "Yeah, right… Like I would ever say something like that to you! Now, no more out of you! Eat! Being healthy is a part of being ninja! What you said just proves that you're nothing but a little kid! And apologize to Shiori-chan, I won't let you hurt her feelings like that!"
"Well, you know what…?"
"There they go again." Mumbled Rin, stopping near the rest of the team.
"Let just eat. Ok, you three?" Proposed Minato putting Shiori on his knees and opening the basket. Besides the usual goodies there was something he had never seen before. "That's the thing you helped Kushina to cook, Shiori-chan? The new meal?"
It looked like a big, flat cake, on which someone with closed eyes threw a bit of almost everything that was in the fridge.
"It smells nice." Commented Kakashi sniffing the air. "What is it?"
"It's called pizza." Answered the child, taking a piece and gorging it with a gusto. "Come Kushina-san, Obi-nii, or there will be nothing left."
The boy eyed the smaller redhead and the food in her hands. Why, the hell, no; she owed him for that tortures she put him every evening. Obito strolled to her and plopped next to Minato. The man snapped his jaw full of white teeth that seemed to creak, when the girl came down from his knees and sat on Obito's.
The issue of building a dungeon in the basement and throwing Shiori into it until she would be at least sixty seemed to be as promising as possible. There were too many men like Jiraiya sensei. Minato would be damned before he would let any of them touch his little girl. Obito was fairly secure, besides the boy was head over heels in love with Rin, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Summarizing, it was a mess.
At the same time Shiori looked at Obito with pride, but also with a bit of concern. Thanks to Orochimaru and his pets the boy was faster and more agile than before. His nin and taijutsu also were more efficient. It was like a double-edged sword. Her actions could have salutary effects, but there was always a possibility she completely destroyed the last chance the world had. Although it didn't seem likely that a bit improving of Obito's skills could significantly affect Tobi, given his future power.
A hug saved her from dwelling in her thoughts.
"It's delicious! You're the best, Shi-chan. I can eat it every day."
"Heh, what was it, Obito?" inquired Kushina. "I thought, you said that you won't take anyone's handout, and now you want it daily? You know, brat, you would need to marry her to eat like that every day. What you say on that, dettebane?"
Obito's glance flickered to giggling Rin and a flat stare given him by the child chewing its food. Even now her golden pools were too sharp for someone her age. The boy peeked into them and saw how the next layer of her person looked back at him from inside.
"Nah, Shi-chan is like a lil sis, and family feed each other, right? Besides, then I would reconsider to forgive her?"
"Forgive me? For what?"
"Are you kidding me?! For the torment you sentenced me to! I tell you, Shi-chan, Orochimaru is crazy! CRAZY!"
"Wait," Kakashi butted in. "What do you mean? Are you training with one of the sannins?"
"It isn't training, Kakashi. It's hell! You thought that from where I have all those bruises? The man is psychotic. And don't let me even start about his summons…"
Using the general distraction, Shiori took the last piece of pizza. Listening to the discussion of Obito's daily dreadful ordeals, that apparently fascinated his teammates, the reborn woman felt like a mad scientist, who attached the head, pulled the lightning to a crackling electrodes, and now saw her work totteringly marching to the village.
Now she could only wait for the torches and pitchforks.
Ω
"You know, Kakashi really is getting a lot better." Mused Kushina, sewing Minato's torn blouse. To think that the little, grumpy boy caused the damage was a bit unreal. Not so long ago he was napping on Minato's lap, just like Shiori was doing it right now. The two of them were practically their children. The woman supposed it was a good preparation before they would have their own. She only hoped that their child would have better childhood, and a little different attitude.
"Yeah, you're right about that." Answered the blond man, glancing from a photo album to the small head of rosy locks on his laps. He had to have some similar thoughts as Kushina, because he lovingly caressed the child's head. "For his age, he is doing great."
"Rin is growing well, too. They are really becoming a good team."
"Don't tell me you forget about Obito?"
The woman's needle stopped for a second.
"He is hardly more than a bragging little half-pint. He is always tripping over himself, he can't throw a shuriken straight and his jutsu setup is just… I doubt even the Snake can help him. Orochimaru said, Shiori told him that the idiot will be a kick-ass in the future. He for sure needs some more work."
"Well, it's just like you said." Agreed Minato with a knowing smile. "Obito does have a lot of things that he needs to work on. But still. His bright and outgoing attitude is very important. Obito being there deepens the bond between everyone on the team. Even Shiori-chan took a shine to him and that's a fact. I mean, he has to be something special if the two Uzumaki like him so much. He is your favorite, isn't he?"
"Oh, are you sure about that?" the woman joked standing up and gave him the repaired blouse. "We should put her to bed or tomorrow she will be more grouchy than usual."
"Yeah, you're right." The man gently took the child in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He chuckled when the girl crinkled her nose and muttered something about flying toads. Kushina watched as he changed her and put to bed without waking her. Minato would be a marvelous father. Well, actually, he already was; thought the woman looking out the window at sleeping Konoha.
"By the way, is the location of your next assignment going to be decided soon?"
"Yes, I should find out for sure in just a few days' time but…" He hesitated for a moment, sensing the change of breathing among the bedclothes. Hiding this was pointless, it would come to light sooner or later. "I think that's going to be at Kannabi Bridge."
"Kannabi Bridge…" Muttered the older redhead as if it was a prayer. "I hope the war ends soon."
"So do I, Kushina. So do I." Minato kissed the girl's head and unnoticed for the older woman wiped with his thumb a single tear running down on the plump cheek.
Ω
She could swear the looks the boy was giving her could be the definition for "glaring." The girl bet if she checked the pages of a dictionary all she found would be those nonchalant, steady eyes. It wasn't just that they were monochrome. His eyes matched the way he felt towards the world: dark and cold. The whites of his eyes contrasted harshly with the pitch black iris that sunk deep into his head. Its depth reminded her of a black hole; an air of emotionless and unsettling sorrow emanating from his gaze.
The smell emanating from him was even more upsetting.
"You stink."
"Shiori-chan!"
"I'm not rude, Mini-nii, I'm just stating the truth. He needs a bath."
"Stating the truth sometimes can be rude. Then, it's just better to hold it back."
"Can I have it on paper?"
"On paper?"
"In the case of future arguments?"
Kakashi couldn't believe how he could ever think the little gremlin standing next to him was just a stupid, winy, spoiled girl. Well, Shiori was winy and spoiled but she wasn't stupid. He had to give it to Obito; the other boy from the beginning tried to convince them that the girl had a sinister mastermind. She could be useful, heck, she was useful and she could even be likeable if she wasn't so arrogant, rude, vain and bratty.
"Hell, what stinks here?!" Asked Kushina, entering the room. Maybe the rudeness was an Uzumaki trait? "Shiori-chan, what a dead, freak animal you took home from the lab this time? I swear that after the last time I will give you to Orochimaru for good if you pull a stunt like that one more time!"
"You promise?"
"You shouldn't be so happy about that, dettebane!"
"Easy there, Kushina." Minato pulled the taller Uzumaki away from the grumpy child. After the night he told them about Kannabi Bridge, Shiori was much worse than normally. The two redheads were constantly on each other's throat. The blond supposed it helped them deal with the tension, but unfortunately it meant he was in the middle of their bickering more time than he was not. "It is just Kakashi who stinks."
"And who is rude now, Mini-nii?"
"I hope it's true, Minato, because if I find one more hairless rat with six legs in my tube I will show you all what a true tantrum means!"
"Come on, Kushina-san. I apologized already. Moreover, where should I put it? At first I wanted to place the rat into the sink but the animal was too big."
Kakashi massaged the bridge of his nose and marched to the bathroom. After his jonin evaluation he needed a bath – an image of a gigantic zombie chimera between a bald rat and a spider swimming in the bathtub materialized in his mind. Maybe he would take a shower? Yes, definitely a shower.
Meanwhile, Shiori was packing her gift for the newly nominated jonin. In a way she was angry at Kakashi. She knew she shouldn't be, but she was. Recently she was angry at everyone. But seriously, would he die if he was still a chunin? Couldn't he catch a cold or break a leg? Then Konoha would sent someone else on Kannabi and all the known shit wouldn't happen.
"You are thinking about something, right, Shiori-chan?"
"It is an activity, to which sometimes I use my brain, Mini-nii. Although this may seem odd."
The man sighed and sat down beside her on the bed among the masses of colorful pillows and toys.
"I know you're worrying about them and me but it's ok. It's completely normal. You have a good heart, maybe sometimes it is hard to see it under your snotty attitude, but you have one. You don't want to see the people you care about get hurt and I am the same. I will protect my precious people no matter what. Everything will be alright, I promise."
She wanted to scream that nothing would be alright but a bitter lump stuck in her throat. The biggest problem wasn't that she didn't care. It was exactly the opposite. The reborn woman cared, she cared too much about that idiotic boy who she tried to save to do the first thing she thought about, the only rational one. A single appropriately selected seal would be enough and the Tobi problem would disappear. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill the first soul she thought about as a friend because she cared. Oh, how she despised this word. Caring was her biggest fault, the gravest disadvantage. And yet the reborn woman knew she would destroy the world if it meant rescuing her and the four people she loved here.
One of them lifted her up. Minato put their foreheads together and their eyes met. His were blue as a summer sky and his smile warmer than the gentle sun. That smile she loved so happened to be the first thing in the new world that awoke these damned sentiments in her soul. The bonds she had now, the ones that made her heart beat, were at the same time a terrible burden. Caring for their futures and for them to care for her - yet what was to come would bring comfort to no one, least of all for her. They were all disposable people, the rungs on the destiny's ladder.
"It's happy day, Shiori-chan. Come, I see you have a gift for Kakashi."
"Yeah," she mumbled, pressing a small bundle to her chest. Her new family, her mentor and her friend – she was way too selfish to let any of them die.
Ω
Kakashi blinked. He had never before seen tags like the ones he got from Shiori. There had to be something wrong with them, because Minato sensei snatched them almost immediately and Kushina shrieked like a hammer drill.
"What the heck, kiddo? What were you thinking giving him something like that?!"
"It's a particular design. It's the first time I see it." Minato was clearly intrigued. He knew more Uzumaki seals than anyone else outside of the clan, but this variation of an Uzu exploding seal was something new. In other words, for ninety-nine percent it was dangerous.
"It's a Suzu senpai seal. It's potent like a six-point fire wave tag."
"What?!" Minato turned white like a chalk. "Shiori-chan, what were you thinking giving him weapon like that?"
"It isn't a weapon, Mini-nii. It is for his new hobby."
"New hobby?" Minato said in a tone of a man, who at any price tried to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Yup, everyone needs a hobby. I thought that Hatake-san may want to test himself in the mining industry. The seals will be very helpful, if one day he would want to try and move a small mountain."
The blond man hunched a bit in his chair. It turned out that the end of the tunnel was on fire and the arsonist hid behind false smiles and golden, sorrowful eyes.
Ω
Every step Kushina took sounded like the timer on a bomb to the reborn woman. She couldn't stop it, reverse or slow it down. Each one dragged her forward, helpless and nervous to the appointed meeting. The terror was like an invisible monstrosity, sitting grimly on her shoulders, that only she could hear when it was sharpening its fangs. But unless she would turn back time, drag the sun from the blue firmament and send amnesia into the world, she couldn't do a thing.
And there they were. The whole team seven stood in the Village's gate.
"Are you ready?" Asked Minato. They were, like animals being gathering together into a truck driving to a slaughter house, only the animals didn't know where they were going, Shiori did.
Their "yes" was like a howl of butchered donkeys.
"Kushina, Shiori-chan," the jonin knelt down and ruffled the girl's rosy hair. "Be good, listen to Kushina and try not to blow up the Village when we are gone, ok?"
The five-year-old blinked and grinned. She tried very hard but it was hollow non the less.
"I will try, Mini-nii."
"See you soon, little one."
Kushina smiled sadly. Shiori's knuckles were white. The girl had to squeeze them almost to the blood, otherwise she would attach them into Minato and never let go. Those golden eyes had frozen over like a winter pond, robbing them of their usual warmth. The adult woman wanted to restore the child's spark but her insides were too moist with unshed tears. Kushina even in Uzu knew Shiori hid some sort of pain behind that cynical wall, but now it was evident on her face and the woman wished it would just go away. She knew that was a selfish want, people had a right to be hurt. They didn't have to ask for it - it just was there, like the old pair of socks you never liked. The older Uzumaki understood – she felt exactly the same. But now she couldn't let them see. She had to be a rock for the younger ones.
"All right, be careful and do your best, guys!" Kakashi and Rin being sweet kids nodded. The scrawny Uchiha glanced away, waiting for her harsh words. "And you, Obito…"
"What?"
Kushina couldn't disappoint him. She pointed a finger just before his eyes, to help him focus.
"You're clumsy and you're hasty. And you're a blundering fool, too. And add knucklehead to the list. So be doubly careful out there! Because if you come back injured and make Shiori-chan cry, you will get more than my fist. Got that?!"
The boy smirked.
"Who do you think I am, anyway?! I'm gonna become hokage, Uchiha Obito-sama! And I would never make Shi-chan cry. Please, there is nothing to worry about! I will make the mission a success and then come back with everyone without a scratch! That's a promise!"
That stupid boy never failed to warm Kushina's heart.
"You better keep that promise!"
Shiori couldn't watch how they laughed. She glanced at Kakashi and caught his eyes. He was just as uncomfortable as she.
"Hatake-san, please take care of everyone."
"We will complete the mission. Don't worry." He assured her but instead of thanks he was met with a frown.
"It's not the same, Kakashi-san. Just…" He had an impression she wanted to say more but the girl only sighed. "Just be careful, alright?"
"Don't worry Shi-chan, I will watch out for him." Obito hugged her from behind. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, putting his chin on the top of the girl's head. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the show of affection. She sunk into the warmth of his, thankful for the simple gesture. His touch made the morning air warmer somehow, a little less scary.
"You better watch out for yourself."
"What?" The boy clutched his heart in a mocking hurt. "You don't have faith in me? Even after all these hours with Orochimaru and his hellish pets? If I lived through that I can live through everything."
"I doubt Orochimaru-sama ever seriously wanted to hurt you." Rin tried to get him back on the ground.
"I know that. Besides even the big, scary legendary snake sannin don't want to make Shi-chan angry. Regret that you haven't seen them together. It's like a dream or like a nightmare, depends how you look at it."
"I think it is enough, Obito," said their jonin sensei. "Or Shiori will kick you as the goodbye."
True to his words, the redhead girl's cheeks were puffed and red.
"You are an idiot, Obi-nii."
"Come on, Shi-chan, compared to you everyone are idio…"
The mass of the five-year-old child's body hit him with a momentum.
"Just promise me, you will remember all of your promises."
"Will do, kiddo. It's a promise of a lifetime."
Shiori shook his little finger with her pinky. She didn't know if anything she did changed the plot. Obito was stronger; the boys were actually talking with each other and Kakashi had a few of hers exploding tags (Minato confiscated the rest). They should be back, every one of them but the plot was a heartless bitch, so just as well they all could die.
The two last Uzumaki in Konoha watched as their precious people walked for war. War in this world was unlike the conflicts in her previous one. Not only because of the technology. There almost nobody wanted to fight, not really, not in the full flagged war. Here, parents sent their children into battle and were proud of it. It was sick but it was also a common occurrence. Single death could assemble a community, even a whole country. Many deaths, hundreds of them could give birth to an idea, be used for good or evil. More deaths were far ticker; it wasn't the same. It was enough to made it bloodstained enough and people would keep on living their ordinary lives. It was like a safety shutdown. Humans just weren't designed to cope with that kind of annihilation and so they didn't. They lived and tried to be happy.
Maybe Shiori also should try it?
Kushina took her hand.
"What do you think about some dango?"
"Dango, not ramen?"
"Hey, I'm trying to be nice here. Better be grateful or forget about dango!"
"Ok, ok, sheesh. Don't be so touchy. But can we have a double portion?"
The woman's eyes narrowed to crinkled slits.
"Who do you think I am? We will have a triple portion! At least two of them, dettebane!"
My huge, heartfelt thanks to mrsmiawallace88 for her ever-faithful help. Also tons of thanks to all of you who read, followed, favorited and reviewed this story. Let me know what you think of this chapter.
Thanks once more and to the next time ^o^