Nekomi smiled, then she heard sounds of ronin. She scowled "Dai's sword!" She took off running, then called to the boys behind her "Follow me. Come on!" They ran after her.
Nekomi caught a group of stopped bandits who were fighting over the sword and daggers. She said "Excuse me, those belong to me."
They looked at her and guffawed "They're ours now. If you don't want trouble miss, you better leave."
Another one said "If ya do, I'm the man for you." He gestured at her as the others guffawed.
Nekomi frowned "I give you one last chance to surrender the swords." More laughter. Nekomi sighed "Why do men always want to do it the hard way?" She turned and yelled to the boys "Get down and cover your ears!" They did. Nekomi did around a dozen handseals and shouted "Shitsunen no Justu!" All the men fell down. Nekomi picked up the swords and went off to the stream to wash them off. She could hear the boys follow her. She washed off the swords and dried them with her soft kimono. She put on Dai's sword and looked at her younger son's katana for a moment, then put it and the other on her as well.
Naruto asked "What are those three swords?"
"They're all that I have left of my family."
"What happened to them?"
"They were killed."
There was silence for a few minutes as they walked, then Naruto asked "Where are we going now?"
Nekomi answered without turning "To find somewhere to live. I know of a small place that will need fixing."
"Where is it?"
"In the direction that we are walking." Nekomi answered simply, then Gaara asked another question that stopped Nekomi in her tracks.
"Are you going to be my mom?" Nekomi looked at both of them. She was going to take care of the boys and she was already feeling like she was or wanted to be a mother figure towards them. It was not an unexpected question, it was just the straight out way he asked it.
She smiled "Yes. I will be a mother to both of you."
Gaara smiled. So did Naruto. Nekomi couldn't help but smile again in return. It wasn't very far, just around five miles to the place, but she saw the young ones would tire of the walk. She contemplated whether she should just use one of her jutsu, but then there was the risk of someone watching and reporting her to Oorochimaru...but she could check to see if any were around. She did a few handseals and said "Sakuteki no Jutsu." She smiled as she let her hands fall back to her sides. She sensed the presence of no enemy. She turned to the boys and asked with a smile "Would you like to get there fast?" They nodded. "Hold on!" They did "Inabikari no Jutsu!" With a flash like lightning, they were gone. They reappeared in front of a small broken down looking house. Naruto surprised her with another question.
He asked "Jutsus are what ninjas do, right? Are you a ninja?"
"Yes, I am a ninja."
Gaara asked "How were we just there and now we're here? It didn't feel like I moved." He looked at her in surprise.
Nekomi smiled "One of my favorite techniques. Inabikari no Jutsu."
Naruto was couting on his fingers with thought "You used three different ones. How many are there?"
Nekomi said, with a catlike smile, "Thousands."
"Wow...You must be really strong, kassan." Nekomi started, but then she smiled. Naruto certainly had gotten into the habit of calling her mother quickly.
Gaara asked "Do you know all of them?"
Nekomi chuckled "No, but I know many jutsus. Now...let's have a look at this house..."
Gaara said "There's a hole in the roof."
Naruto said "And there's no glass in the windows."
Nekomi smiled "It's not raining. Maybe our luck will hold out and it wont for the next day or so."
"What are we going to do now?"
"Fix the house."
"How?"
"The roof is made from bamboo. I'll have to get some. Glass for the windows I can do quicker. Gaara, can you make some ordinary sand stand up in a sheet in front of you? I'm going to turn it into glass."
"Can you do that?"
"Yes."
Gaara tried, then he found he was able to do it. Nekomi shouted "Katon: Hakunetsu no justu" after doing several handseals at it and the heat from the justu melted the sand into a puddle. Nekomi warned "Don't touch it. It's very hot." She then had Gaara do it a few more times and said "There are our windows. Now for the hole in the roof..."
Naruto cried "I want to help, kassan!" He then got distracted as he watched the pool of sand. 'How can sand melt. He poked some regular sand. It seemed kind of hard. He reached toward the pool of sand .
Nekomi saw him just before his hand got into it. But it didn't miss his finger. He yowled and collapsed on the grass crying. Nekomi ran over quickly. If she didn't heal the damage quickly, he could lose that fingertip. She said "Hold still, Naruto. Let me have it."
He cried "It really hurts, kassan."
"Next time I tell you not to do something, don't do it! Got it?"
"Hai." He eyes teared up again.
"Shhh." She pulled him onto her lap and tended to the finger. It would be fine now. The boy would have healed by himself almost as quickly, but there still may have been damage. She looked at him. Gaara knew, but Naruto didn't know. It was something he should know, but not right now. She said, softly, "Now, listen to mommy from now on."
He sniffed then hugged her "Kassan!"
She hugged him back then said "Come, now we must fix the roof."
Gaara asked "How?"
"How good are you boys at climbing?"
Naruto answered "I can climb!" Gaara looked down.
Nekomi said "Watch Naruto. He'll show you how, Gaara." Gaara nodded, embarassed.
Nekomi sent them up the tree to get the leaves she wanted to mix in for the paste that filled in the holes between the bamboo and hardened. She got the bamboo and they came back to the house. "I've got it from here."
Naruto and Gaara watched as their new mom jumped up on top of the roof and quickly repaired it and then as she took the now formed glass and put it in the windows. "She's fast."
"Yeah."
Nekomi was swinging the door back and forth. It was still good. She smiled. Repairs done. She had checked the bathroom and miraculously the plumbing still seemed to work. She announced "Now it's time to clean!" She smiled as she saw that this job obviously didn't appeal to them. She dug around and found some brushes they could use to start cleaning up the floor. She smiled. They had been modified like the ones at her home. "Oi, this could be more fun than you think. Any of you been skating before?" She strapped two of the brushes on and showed them. "It works better with water." She held out a bucket "Naruto, will..." He grabbed the bucket and ran off to the stream with a cry of "Cool!"
Nekomi sweatdropped "I forgot to tell him that we have running water."
Gaara looked like he was fighting with a laugh. Nekomi said "Holding back laughter isn't good for you." She tickled him. He laughed and tried to get into a ball. She tickled him out of it. She stopped when his breathing got heavy and picked him up to sit in her lap. She'd have a kimono to wash later, but it was worth it.
Gaara turned around to look at her when he could stop laughing "What was that?"
Nekomi asked, with surprise although she shouldn't be, "You've never been tickled before, Gaara?" He shook his head. "What did you think of it?"
"It was...fun." Nekomi smiled. She asked "Why were you trying to keep from laughing earlier, Gaara?"
He looked down "When I get happy, bad things happen." He sniffed "Yashamaru..."
Nekomi held him "That's not going to happen anymore. Do you believe me?"
He turned around and looked at her, then nodded. She smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "Good."
Naruto ran in with the water.
Nekomi said "Now pour it out on the floor." He did. She strapped the brushes to their feet. She watched them as they started out shakily. She laughed "Be careful!"
Naruto tagged Gaara "You're it."
Gaara just looked at him. Naruto said "That means you've got to get me now."
You could see the light go on in Gaara's head. "Tag. I've heard of that, but I never played it before."
Naruto said "I watched some kids play. One person is 'it' then they tag someone else and then they're it."
"What's the point?"
"You're trying to not be 'it'."
"Oh."
"And now you're it."
"So i'm not it anymore if i touch you?"
"Or anyone else who's playing." They looked at Nekomi.
She said "I've got to do the rest of the cleaning boys..."
Naruto said "Please!"
Gaara looked at her with pleading eyes too. "You can play too...kassan." He smiled.
A tear came to Nekomi's eye. Gaara had accepted her as mother too. She said "How could I refuse after all that?" She smiled and strapped on the last pair. Gaara touched her.
Naruto said "You've got to say 'your it' Gaara!"
Gaara cried "You're it!" He ran off. Nekomi chased them around all over the house then tagged Naruto and he chased the both of them. After about thirty minutes of this, Nekomi could see the boys needed a break.
She thought 'It looks like they've been channeling chakra into their legs without knowing it. Interesting.' She untied the brushes and took a look around. Once the water dried, a good sweep would take out all of the loosened dirt. She needed supplies. "We need to go into town."
Gaara and Naruto looked at her, frowning. Nekomi frowned also, they would be sure to attract attention. She had planned on using a genjutsu to disguise herself, but the boys wouldn't be able to do it themselves yet. But the necklaces, yes, they would work..."Let's go outside, but leave the door open so that the house can air out." They followed her out. She bit her thumb and performed the handsigns for the summoning jutsu. A lion around the size of Nekomi showed up. "Hello Sierra."
"Nekomi! Everyone thought you were dead too. We heard about what happened. Are there any other..." Nekomi shook her head sadly. "I am the last Wara."
"I was worried that you were gone too. You should have called me sooner!" She poofed away. Nekomi was left with her mouth open. Sierra reappeared though.
"What?" She said when she saw Nekomi's look "I had to go tell everyone. Why did you summon me anyway? And who are the cubs? I've never seen them before."
Nekomi said "I can't go back to the complex and I want you to get a couple of things for me. The cubs are my adopted sons."
Sierra looked at her sadly "They won't replace the ones you lost."
"I know."
"You want me to get the genjutsu crystal necklaces, right?"
Nekomi asked "How did you know?" Surprised.
Sierra said "You'll have to go into town soon for supplies. I smelled no food in the house, also those two stick out like a sore tail."
Naruto said "Hey!"
Sierra sniffed both of them and then looked at them more closely. "I've heard of these two. Did you know that they're rumored to be dead?"
Nekomi nodded. "Just like me. Now, to change the subject. You can't go there as you are. Only Waras summon cats. I'll have to henge you."
"Into what?" Sierra asked with distaste.
"A rabbit?"
Sierra growled "I eat rabbits."
"A bear." Sierra growled.
Nekomi said "Sorry. Sorry. I forgot about the incident with the bear. It can't be a fox, they're too similiar."
Gaara said "What about a raccoon?"
Nekomi and Sierra looked at him. "That's not a bad idea. Ready, Sierra?"
"Let's get this over with." Nekomi henge'd her. "Good luck, Sierra." Sierra ran off. While she was gone, Nekomi went about getting the garbage out of the house and in the can out back. She also noticed the lack of cooking utensils. The question arose in her mind how the power and water were still on, but she dismissed it. She would check that out later. She had found a broom and just gotten the floor clean when Sierra returned. She took the necklaces out of her paws and changed her back to normal.
Sierra said "The bodies are gone."
"ANBU"
"Yes. There was a team of them left. It appears they are doing a headcount."
"Damn it. They'll find out I'm not dead and they'll think my family's alive too. I buried them."
"They'll find the buried ones. A hyuuga's on their team."
Nekomi frowned "Then all that's left is me."
"What are you going to do?"
"Double henge a rabbit after I kill it and hope it fools them."
Gaara looked panicked "Don't go Kassan!"
Naruto cried "Don't leave us."
Nekomi said "I will return. You have my word."
"No!"
Sierra stepped between them. Nekomi cried "Inabikari no Jutsu!" She was gone.
Naruto cried "Why did you do that?!"
Gaara said "What if something happens?"
Sierra said "She has taken you in as her cubs. Nekomi would never abandon her cubs. She will return. Nekomi is a capable warrior. You need not worry. I will stay until she returns and protect you."
Gaara looked at the big cat. So did Naruto.
Naruto thought 'She's big. I wonder if I could ride her.'
Sierra saw his looks and backed her ears "I am not a horse. I am a lion. You don't ride a lion."
Naruto whimpered at her glare and growl "You're scary."
Sierra sighed "Cubs." She turned to look at him "You may stroke me if you wish."
Naruto touched her fur. "It's soft." He ran his hands down it then tried the other way. Sierra growled softly.
"Don't rub it backwards."
"Sorry...come feel, Gaara. It's soft." Gaara came over and rubbed Sierra too. Sierra purred and stretched.
She said "You're good cubs." She licked their faces.
Nekomi couldn't use the teleportation technique again, so she had to use a double genjutsu to make her invisible and hide her energy to keep her from being spotted by the byakugan. She found the place where she had lain and put the henge'd rabbit who now looked like her there. It was lucky they had not checked this part of the complex yet. She left and made her way back home.
Before she dropped her jutsus and came in she saw a sweet sight. Sierra had licked the boys. She smiled and dropped the jutsus.
"Kassan!"
"Kassan!" They ran over towards her. "You're back!"
"Of course." She then looked at them seriously "When I told you i'd never leave you, I meant it."
Sierra said "If that's all, I'll be going now."
"Tell Oodora I say hi."
Sierra snorted. "Sure."
"Sierra?" The lion turned back around to see Nekomi with a curious expression.
"What?"
"Thank you for watching my sons."
Sierra smiled "They're good cubs." She turned and poofed away.
Gaara asked "What is it?" As Nekomi showed him the crystal.
Nekomi said "It's a disguise." She did some handsigns and closed her eyes to program the two necklaces and gave them to the boys "Now put them over your heads." They did then looked at each other in surprise. Instead of blond and red hair and blue eyes, they both had brown hair and brown eyes now. Then they went to look in the stream. Nekomi followed.
Naruto saw his whisker marks were gone, his hair had even flattened.
Gaara saw the marks about his eyes had dissapeared.
The thought that went through both their head was 'I look normal.'
They saw Nekomi had changed to have brown hair and brown eyes too.
Gaara said "But you don't have a necklace."
Nekomi answered "I don't need one. We will have to walk this time." With a foreboding feeling, Nekomi began their trip to town.
There weren't many things to correct in this chapter, but I thought since I was reposting the others, I might as well repost this one.