Summary: As Konoha recovers from the Kyuubi 'incident' some are quick to forget, to make demands they feel they are due. They learn otherwise.
...ooO Aftermath Ooo...
Kagome watched and waited. Minato had not relaxed his mask in the hours since dawn. Not while the Council assembled, the charges read, the ignorant argued, the traitors were executed, the taiyoukais departed... And now her concern deepened. The people around him saw him as unbreakable. Didn't anyone realise just how close he was to losing control?
Her anger built as the leeches made their demands, hung on his robes, voiced their petty concerns.
..oo..
The more sensitive shinobis flinched as they sensed the building power. Warily they backed off forming a large space between themselves and the Miko. Within minutes they could 'see' the pink aura manifest around her. And then even the civilians could sense the crackle of her power.
And then the dam broke.
"ENOUGH!"
The shinobis with kekkai genkais cried out and flinched under the sting of her loosened power. Hastily they retreated followed by the rest. The civilians cringed under the assault but were not physically affected like the shinobis.
Only the Yondaime and his son playing in a crib set up in one corner were not affected by her outburst.
"GET OUT! ALL OF YOU!" The Miko snarled as she snatched up her staff and moved to stand between the Yondaime and the rest. "You've badgered him enough for five lifetimes! Now get out! Konoha is secure, your families are unharmed! Now let him have some peace!"
One fat merchant was fool enough to protest.
"Now see here-. Ooof!"
The butt of her staff jabbed smartly into his solar plexus knocking his breath out, forcing him to double over. That put him into the perfect position to be knocked out with a sharp rap on the head.
The smarter shinobis moved away. By now most of them had heard she did not carry that staff for just show.
The less intelligent ones tried to defend the civilians and were hurt badly for their trouble. Her attacks became even more lethal as she infused her staff with her energy, inflicting painful lasting burns that resisted healing. A Hyuuga who tried to close her tenketsus screamed in agony when she gripped his wrist and forced her own power into him. Everyone could see the pink energy writhing beneath pale skin, blackening flesh and destroying nerves.
The more sensible ANBU clearly saw the Miko was defending the Yondaime from what she perceived as a non-physical threat. She was forcing the Councillors to back off since the Yondaime was clearly in some sort of post-battle shock state and unable or unwilling to do it himself. ANBU Hyootsume, the Taichou of the Lead Squad, made the call to order the shinobis.
"Get the civilians out of here. Clear everyone off this level of the Tower. Take the injured to the Hospital. None of them will be treated here."
And they were followed. Those that remained maintained a respectful distance. And then they also moved to the Outer Chamber, within earshot in case the Yondaime needed them.
Hyootsume watched through a crack in the door.
..oo..
Kagome rested her staff against the table and moved to stand before the tall frozen blonde Hokage.
"Minato-kun? Please, speak to me."
"She's gone. She's never coming back."
Kagome was confused for a split second. "Kushina? Yes, she is."
Minato struggled to speak through the lump in his throat. "Last time we spoke we fought. She didn't want to go through a second pregnancy as we had originally agreed, an heir for both of our clan names. She wanted to go straight back to the ranks of ANBU."
Kagome snorted. "She wanted to be in the best place to avenge her Country. That is why she married you remember? When you refused to agree to open warfare she decided covert warfare was an acceptable substitute."
He frowned. "Would you have acted differently?"
Kagome sighed feeling very old. "Minato, I've fought beside people who only lived for revenge. Sango wanted to avenge her village. I loved her as a sister but she clearly didn't feel the same way for me. When she had to choose between the living and the dead she chose the dead. So did almost everyone else. That is something I would never consider acceptable."
"But she lost her family..."
"You never had a family growing up. I chose my path knowing I would never see them but I still dreamt of having a husband and children. I could not allow my selfish desires to be the cause of future deaths."
"You would not hurt them? Your once friends?" Minato couldn't help goading her. "Can you honestly say you never felt the desire for revenge? That you will not kill them if you ever met them once more?"
Kagome looked away. "What good will killing them do me? The best revenge I can have is to spite them by living well. The ningens forgot all I sacrificed for them so I chose to live among youkai. The houshis and mikos turned me away citing the greater good so I do the same by using my gifts to serve the youkai who protected me. My heart sister cut all ties to get new allies for her revenge so I also cut ties to form new ones among my natural enemies. The hanyou protector discarded me so I pledged myself to his hated brother because Sesshoumaru is far more honorable, true, and dependable than the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.
"Kushina Chose to live in the past, to serve the dead. She abandoned her vows to the living, to you and her to-be children."
"She lost most of her Clan, her entire Country-." Minato didn't know why he was defending Kushina. Then again the dead deserved respect...
"And I lost my entire world! My history! My present! My future! I was in Limbo Minato! You will never know what that feels like, to be the pivot of so much power, to be bound within the matrix so tight you can never get free, to watch but never live. If you are lucky you never will!" Kagome snapped right back. "You have no idea what loss is like until you literally feel your soul splintered and ripped from you! To be forced to channel so much power your body literally disintegrates from within!" And then she broke down and cried.
Minato froze torn between struggling through his own turmoil and the urge to comfort her since he was the cause of her current state.
She felt his arms around her, drawing her close to his chest. She cried; tears from depths she had long believed run dry.
She did not know how it happened but she found herself kneeling on the floor, straddling his lap knees on both sides of his hips, hands clenched in the material of his cream coat.
Her voice was hoarse, her eyes swollen. "Did you think I do not yearn for more? That I do not regret what is lost? I gave and gave and gave, in hopes of receiving something I never did; and now I will not risk what little I have left! Ningens are greedy selfish grasping gluttons. At least Naruto loves me for what I give him. Your Council will simply demand it as their right. And they have no right to me!"
Minato absently began running his hand through her hair and down her back. Kagome had been so strong, so stable and utterly dependable these past weeks. She had always seemed so sure, so knowledgeable... He had never realized how fragile she truly was emotionally. She was moving but the wounds of her past were still raw. She needed to be Protected from those that would abuse her.
Besides Kagome was right. The dead were dead and the living deserved priority in his attention and care.
...ooOoo...
Itachi frowned as he listened to snips of conversation around Konoha. Being so young, many of the adults ignored him. Without the distinctive fan on his clothing he was just one of the many children, no perceived threat. But what he was hearing dismayed and angered him.
..oo..
"The Miko is a threat."
"Don't be silly Kaoru-san. She is a holy woman! She drove off the Kyuubi!"
"Not that kind of threat Misao! I mean she is a threat to all single females."
"What do you mean?"
"Have you noticed how much time the Yondaime spends with her?"
"Well, yes, but he is the only one she knows in Konoha!"
"Has she bothered trying to make friends?"
"Well, she spends time with the Uchihas."
"Any adult females other than Mikoto-san?"
"Not really... But-."
"But nothing! She is monopolizing the Yondaime and his heir! How are we supposed to show ourselves as good candidates to be his wife and Narutos mother with her around?"
"Anou, Yondaime-sama is still grieving."
"Don't be silly. He didn't love the Uzumaki bitch. It was just a political arrangement so Whirlpool Countrys survivors felt better about formalizing their status as Konohans."
"You are being a bitch Kaoru! He deserves some privacy and the right to choose for himself!"
"Don't be silly Misao. Do you really think the Council and Clans are just standing by and not pushing their candidates, their daughters and nieces? The only way for an unconnected kunoichi like me to get his attention is-."
"By looking after his child? By acting maternal?" Kaoru laughed cynically. "Don't be a fool! Do you think you are the first to try such an act? The ANBU have already tossed kunochi and civilians out of his office and house. In fact I heard he's put blood seals on his estate so only those keyed can enter."
"Dammit! The bitch already spends so much time with him! She lives with him!"
"Because she is Naruto-sans caretaker! He is probably attached to her by now!"
"He is just a baby. He'll forget about her soon enough."
..oo..
"She is a bad influence in Yondaime-sama." A customer at a particular ramen booth voiced knowingly.
"I don't see how?" Ichiraku Teuchi commented dryly as he prepared ramen for his waiting customers.
"She is friends with those Things! With the Kyuubi!"
"If she wasn't Konoha would no longer be standing!" Teuchi bit out sharply. "It was the respect They have for her that made the Kyuubi stop. If he continued his attack a lot more people and innocents would have died."
"She is friends with youkai!" The malcontent muttered. "She puts them first. She trusts them!"
"Considering how many people were found guilty of treason and executed in the purge She is Right. I cannot believe how many people were willing traitors simply because they wanted power and influence. It almost makes me ashamed to be Konohan. If the Yondaime had not executed them for their crimes I would have left! If the guilty are not held responsible for their sins I do not see how someone who attacks me personally will be punished either." Teuchi responded in glacial tones.
..oo..
Uchiha Fugate sighed as he sipped his tea slowly as his wife cleared the remnants of the evening meal. His wife noticed his preoccupation.
"What is it Fugate-kun?"
"The Clans." He muttered sourly.
Mikoto frowned. "What about them? Are they still sore about how many were found guilty?"
"No. As a whole they agree it was the right thing to do. The biggest issue right now is the Miko."
"Kagome-sama? What about her?"
"There are... concerns about the influence she has on the Yondaime."
Mikoto stopped and sat down to give her full attention. "What? Kagome-sama is not interested in politics or Konoha society. She spends most of her time with children as a matter of fact."
"That is it. Some idiots are muttering foolishness about her converting our children to youkai idolatry. Idiots! Especially since all clans with kekkai genkai already do that secretly."
"But they don't know that, do they?"
"Anyone with a brain would." Fugate replied bluntly. "They prefer not to acknowledge the true origins of Bloodline Limits and turn a blind eye and deaf ear. But what worries me is the Miko. There are factions forming around her. Many clans want her to marry to their candidates, to get her power and influence. Others just want to separate her from Minato so they can push their females as a second wife and mother to his son."
Mikoto stilled. "Oh dear! That is... very bad."
Fugate snorted. "In the mildest of terms Mikoto-chan. When Kagome-san hears of their plans to breed her she will blow up."
"Anata, I'm more concerned about their plans to separate Kagome-sama from Naruto-kun and Yondaime-sama." She bit her lip. "I've seen her. She is iron in front of others; she doesn't flinch at any of their taunts, snubs, or put downs. But she holds onto Naruto-chan like a talisman when she walks away. If she is separated from him... She Will leave Konoha; there is nothing holding her here."
...ooOoo...
TBC…
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