Also, in a previous chapter, I said Nekomi took out six summoned snakes bigger than her home. That doesn't mean that those snakes were as big as the ones that attacked Naruto in the forest of death in the canon. When she said bigger, she meant taller, for example, if the snakes in the forest of death were five stories tall, the ones Nekomi fought would have been about a story and a half, something like that. Now that that's cleared up, onto the story.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It had been two weeks since they moved there. Nekomi had not gotten as much work done as she would have liked because she had to send out extra clones as a few got intercepted and destroyed. Zabuza had been training with the boys every day. All she had gotten done so far was carving the rooms into the cliffs. It had taken every waking hour for the past two weeks, she hadn't slept more than two hours a night.
Zabuza was starting to worry. 'She's pushing herself too hard.' He said "The others are supposed to arrive soon, right? Why don't you take a break? You haven't gotten much sleep."
She said "But I haven't gotten anything done but the skeleton of the village."
He said "You've been working non-stop. I'm sure they're not expecting to arrive to an already built village, besides, it's time to check in on your clones."
Nekomi decided she could use a short break. She said "Only if you take a break and check on yours." She had shown him how to locate the bushin through a chakra sensing technique combined with meditation. They were all on the outside now. She called "Naruto, Gaara, why don't you play blind hide and seek?" She had the boys try to find each other using their other senses like smell and hearing.
Naruto said "Can Haku play too?"
Haku said "I'm going to help Sumiyo pick herbs."
Nekomi looked up. Sumiyo had henged. Nekomi was still nervous that they were going to be outside the genjutsu she had set up. She said "Wait a moment on that, you two." Sumiyo and Haku paused. Nekomi closed her eyes and programmed the necklaces, then threw them to them. "Keep them on. I set them to make you invisible." They caught them and put them on. They dissapeared.
Zabuza asked "You still there?""
They heard two voices "Hai." "Hai, toussan!"
Nekomi smiled. She said "Now, it won't hide your chakra, so be alert. I know you know how to detect other chakra signatures, Sumiyo."
Haku said "I can too!"
Nekomi said "Yes, but you haven't fully mastered it yet."
Naruto had been listening. He cried "I want to go too!"
Nekomi said "No, you haven't gotten good enough at the technique yet. It's dangerous outside the village."
Naruto pouted, but complied. Nekomi said "Now I have to check in with my clones. So does Zabuza. You and Gaara play and " She looked back at the now invisible Haku and Sumiyo "I'll see the two of you soon, I'll keep my ears open."
"Hai." They left. Nekomi tossed two makeshift blindfolds to the boys.
Gaara smiled at Naruto, who was still pouting over being left behind and said "I won last time."
Naruto focused back on him and challenged "I almost did!"
"Nuh uh."
"I'll beat you this time!" Naruto cried. He tied on his blindfold and so did Gaara.
Nekomi and Zabuza sat down and were motionless. Nekomi was back first. She opened her eyes wide in surprise. Three groups would arrive within the hour. Had they sped up? She had just checked on them yesterday and they weren't that close. She was worried. One of her bushins was very faint, she couldn't pick up on it, but it hadn't dispelled because she didn't have its memories. They could have stopped, changed direction, or be here any minute. Yesterday, they had been closer than the others. Her clones were instructed to teleport the group once they reached a certain distance of the village to the inside.
Zabuza noticed Nekomi's face and said "What?"
Nekomi said "Something's wrong. I've lost track of one of my groups and the others have doubled their speed. If they are being pursued..."
Zabuza frowned "They wouldn't come here, would they?"
Nekomi shook her head "They think like me, I wouldn't do that. Unless, pursuit was far away and they had been forced to use Inabikari." Naruto and Gaara came over, sensing something was up. Suddenly there was a bright flash and Nekomi felt a shock as a clone dissipated. There appeared a woman, a man and two boys. They looked worse for wear, like they had been on the run and in a few fights. Once the woman lay eyes on Nekomi, she sobbed.
"It's true...it's true...oh, Kami..."
Nekomi was shocked. She went over and hugged the woman "Shina, what happened? Were you attacked en route? I recognize the boys, but..."
Shina sniffed "I met him a couple of years ago, his name is Jin, oh, Kami! It's really you! I couldn't believe..."
Nekomi held her shoulders and caught her gaze. She said gently, "Calm down. Now, tell me what has happened."
Shina took in a shuddering breath "Yes, we had troubles once we started out, but that's not the worse part. Ever since...it happened and...mother died...we have been in hiding. The villagers...they..." Her voice started breaking up again.
Nekomi hugged the woman again and said "Enough, I know now, although I cannot understand." Her face showed anger "Fear often turns into hate, I have seen this several times." She looked at Naruto and Gaara. She said "I am so sorry, if I had known, I would have come for you sooner."
The man came up, with a smile "I am glad to meet you, was the girl a bushin? If she was, she was a strange one."
Nekomi noticed this man seemed to be very upbeat. Considering how fragile Shina now seemed, compared to her former self, he was probably what was keeping her from going off the deep end. She said "Yes, I call it a jikyuu bushin."
The older boy looked at her "I remember you."
Nekomi looked, it was Shina's younger brother. She said "I saw you about four years ago, you were ten then, and your brother was four. I bet he doesn't remember me." Indeed, the younger boy was looking around with a lost face.
Shina asked "What do we do now, Nekomi-hime?" She looked up, with a lost look in her eyes.
Nekomi said "You have been brought here on the assumption that you accept my offer, do you?"
Shina nodded. "We have no where else to go." The man, Jin, nodded.
Taro asked "So, where is this village?"
Nekomi said "Underground. It's still being built."
Just then, three groups arrived almost instantaneously. Nekomi winced as there was a sharp pain in her head from the three clones dispelling at once. Another group from Rain, and one from Fire and one from Water had arrived. They all looked shocked to see Nekomi. The other group from rain had an old man, a woman and two children. The group from Fire consisted of a woman and a small boy and the group from water had a man a woman and two children. They saw each other and began talking, challenging.
Nekomi rubbed her temples. Reassimilation was wearing her out more than she had thought it would. The older man walked up to Nekomi. He said "It has been a long time, Nekomi-san. Things have changed much."
"Hai, Mareo-san."
"You will build a village from scratch?"
"Hai. With the help of every capable man and woman that joins."
He said "It is no easy task."
"Of that I am aware."
"You are exhausted." He looked at her with concern.
Nekomi shook her head at the older man. This was not the place for her to display weakness "I am fine. I must talk to them." In truth, her head was swimming. She raised her voice "Listen!"
They all quieted and looked at her. She said "I have brought you here because you have agreed to join this village, by myself I have only been able to build the skeleton so far, I will need all of you to help along with those that come to get this village built. If any of you wish to back out, you may do so now, I will return you home with no memory of the trip." They were all quiet. Nekomi waited a moment and said "Then all of you agree to stay. Good, for I will need all of you. Once the others arrive we will begin work on the village, I expect that to be in three days from now." Nekomi began to have a migrane, but she couldn't look weak. She would have to wait it out. She closed her eyes for a moment, and as she did, a wave of exhaustion hit her. It was harder to open them back up again. She thought 'I shall have to do something soon.'
Zabuza noticed Nekomi's condition. He called quietly "Naruto," knowing she could handle his energy and that he had the most to give, he said, quietly, "Go give your mother some energy."
Naruto looked at him, then grinned. He ran up to Nekomi. His running up to her caused some talk, as before, he had been standing off to the side. Nekomi looked at Zabuza and saw what he planned. She smiled, she could use it. She thought 'I will introduce them, but save their secret for when we all meet.' She said "Come here, Gaara." He came up, looking nervous. He looked in her eyes. She whispered 'No, it's not about that.' She had them both in front of her. She said "Listen." They stopped talking. She said "I have adopted these two boys and consider them sons. They will be treated with respect, even though they are young. Is that understood?" There were many widened eyes and suprised looks, but nods. Nekomi hoped that she hadn't set them up for royal treatment that would spoil them. She also hoped that she didn't have any of her people turn back when she told them the news.
Naruto held his hand up. Nekomi took it and gently accepted the energy, causing no visible energy to leak out. She felt better after a minute and stopped when she saw Naruto droop. She said, quietly "Arigato. Now, you two go back with Zabuza-san while I finish." They did.
Naruto looked at all the people. There were two boys close to his age and two younger. Instead of going back to Zabuza, he wandered in the crowd. The adults were still listening to his mom. He walked up to the youngest looking one that had blond hair like him. He asked "What's your name?"
The blond haired woman standing next to the boy looked down upon the two boys, one her son and the other the son of...she wondered what she should call her. He took after her side of the family in looks more than he did the princess. What were they talking about? She shifted her focus from the speech to the conversation the two boys were having.
Michio shyly answered "Michio."
Naruto said "My name's Naruto. Is that lady your mom?"
He nodded.
"She's pretty."
Michio said "You have yellow hair, like me."
Naruto nodded "Yep."
"Are you my brother?" Naruto looked at him confused. He didn't think so, he had never met him before. He didn't know who his parents were...before he could answer, the woman spoke up.
She said "No, Michio-kun, that boy is her son." She pointed to Nekomi.
"Oh."
Naruto got a little nervous when the woman bent down to him "What's your name? Naruto, right?" Naruto got a little nervous. Was he supposed to use his fake name? He frowned. He nodded, though.
Nyoko wondered what she had said to make him frown like that. She said "Michio, do you want to go play with him?" Michio nodded, again, shyly. Nyoko said, smiling at Naruto, "Now you look after him, ok?"
Naruto looked at her in surprise, but nodded. He grinned. Gaara had been talking to a red haired boy. Naruto walked up "Hey, Gaara. Who're you talking to?"
The older boy said "I'm Ryo. What's your name?"
"Naruto."
"Nice to know you both."
Gaara frowned at Naruto. Didn't he remember that they were supposed to tell them the other names? He guessed nothing could be done now. Another boy walked over, with black hair. He said "Hi."
Naruto said "Hi."
"My name's Mio. What's your names?"
Gaara sighed "Gaara."
"Naruto."
"Ryo."
"Michio," he said, shyly.
Mio said "Hey, there's one more boy. Hey!" He called the smaller red haired boy. The boy looked at him, then came over, hesitating "hello"
Mio said "We're all getting to know each other. I'm Mio. That's..."
"Naruto"
"Ryo"
"Gaara"
"Michio"
The boy answered "I'm Yoshi."
Naruto pointed and asked "Is that your mom?"
Yoshi looked and nodded.
Mio said "You don't look a lot like her."
Yoshi shuffled his feet "I'm adopted, mom says."
Naruto said "Me too!"
"Really?" He looked at them, happy.
Mio said "Yeah, weren't you paying attention earlier."
Yoshi looked down.Gaara said "Yes, so am I. Is your mom nice?" Yoshi nodded hard. Gaara said "That's what matters, okay?" He nodded.
Mio said "Let's play a game."
"What game?"
"Tag!"
"Ball"
"We don't have a ball. Let's play tag."
"Ok."
Mio tagged Naruto "You're it!" They chased each other around.
Nekomi watched the children playing their game and worried about them doing it so close to the cliff. She caught Zabuza's eye and motioned with her hand for him to go over and keep an eye on the children. After a minute, he caught on and did. Just then, another jolt. Another one had come back. This was another family from fire, although she had only expected one person to be in it. She was surprised. She said "Welcome." She thought 'I should start getting some of them to their rooms, however sparse they may be.' She said "Those of you who are ready to go to your rooms, may, although I warn you, they are not well developed yet. Work has just begun, but they are solid." She opened a scroll and handed it down to Sumiyo "Sumiyo, please stand over there." Sumiyo walked a short ways away. "Those of you who are ready, go to Sumiyo, she will show you to your rooms." Many of the younger ones went. The two newest arrivals stayed and so did the older adults. She said "There should be three more groups arriving today, three tomorrow and four the next day. After they have all arrived, we will have a discussion, all of us, and begin the rebuilding." She joined the crowd.
The man that had just arrived half bowed "Nekomi-hime. I was glad to come."
Nekomi said "I am glad that you came, however, when I sent my clone, I was not expecting two."
The woman nodded, deferentially to Nekomi. She said "My name is Miya, I have taken my husband's name of Okibi."
Nekomi questioned "Maiden name?" She saw a red tomoe flash in the woman's eyes so quickly it could have been imagined. Nekomi's eyes widened 'Hisoka's a half Hyuuga and he married a half Uchiha?' She laughed, lightly "What are the chances? I would talk to you when I have finished here." Hisoka nodded.
Nekomi met next with the older man from before. He asked, quietly, "You did an energy transferrence earlier."
"Hai, my son."
"I thought so, but I could not believe it. To take energy from a child so young, and have him still standing, he must be an incredible child."
Nekomi smiled "Hai."
Shina's new husband contacted her next "Nekomi-hime. Shina and Taro have retired, I will do so too, as soon as I have collected my son." Nekomi nodded, then looked for the children. She had taken her eyes off them for a few minutes. They were still playing closeby, she counted. All of them were there. She let out a breath in relief. He left. Then the older man, Mareo, nodded deferentially and said "I wanted to inquire about what we will all do for the next three days."
Nekomi said "In a couple of hours, I will adress everyone about that."
He nodded again, to affirm and said "Then I will also retire with my daughter. My other daughter went after my grandson, she is...overly enthusiastic about training. I noticed your...friend was also a swordsman."
Nekomi said "I will make sure she doesn't start a fight." He smiled and left with a little black haired girl. She watched a blond haired woman pick up a little boy and pass by soon afterward. The family from water, looked her way, slightly bowed, and retired. Then, all was left were the half Hyuuga, the half Uchiha and Saki Hinoke, the mother of the small red haired boy, who was still playing with Naruto and Gaara. Nekomi looked at her, questioningly.
Saki said "What? I'm from fire too, plus I'm a missing nin now, it's not like I'm gonna go blab anything."
Nekomi smiled and shook her head slightly at the woman who was only a two years her junior. She looked at the Okibis. She said "She is harmless, I will leave it to your discretion whether you want to include her in this conversation and enforce your decision."
The man and woman looked at each other and the man said "I trust that you would let no turncoat within this village. She may stay."
Saki looked a little miffed, but she held her peace. She wasn't used to being treated like a child. She said "Gee, thanks."
Nekomi said "Be respectful, Saki. Also, I expect you to keep what is heard to yourself." She nodded, after a minute. Nekomi smiled slightly and said "Sorry for the lack of accomodations," then she smiled curiously as they sat down on the grass "How did you two meet? The chances are astronomical."
The woman said, with a half smile "I had been cast out of Leaf when I was a baby, because of who I was. I'm almost happy about what happened to those high minded bastards. Serves them right for being so elitist." She sighed. "Anyway, back to how we met." She smiled a little bit. "I moved out of that house when I was grown and I travelled around. About three years ago, I ran into Hisoka outside of Fire."
Hisoka said "Literally," He kept a stolid face. "Turning around a corner."
The woman, Miya said "Of course, once I saw him, I figured he was a ninja from Leaf and that was going to finish me off, so without thinking about it, I activated my sharingan."
Hisoka said "Once I saw who she was, I thought she was sent by the police force to finish ME off, so we fought."
Miya said "When we both saw Leaf nin and both dove into the alley, we decided that maybe we'd be better off talking than fighting."
Saki was obviously thinking on this. She studied both of them, then exclaimed "So, wait, you're half-Uchiha, and your husband's a half-Hyuuga and you're married! Woo! Imagine the kids!"
Only the faintest blush was visible upon the faces of the two. Nekomi reprimanded Saki. She said "Saki, you're being too personal."
Saki looked at her, trying to explain that she was just teasing, but Nekomi's stern gaze discouraged it. "Gomen." She mumbled. Nekomi shook her head and said "Soon, I will adress everyone about what we will do for the next three days."
Meanwhile...with the children...
Yoshi was having the time of his life. He had never had friends before. He laughed "You're frozen!" They were playing freeze tag.
Naruto cried "Save me, Haku!" Gaara was frozen too. Haku was trying to get around the boy, who was guarding the others.
She feinted and got to Naruto "Go!" Naruto took off running. He looked behind him after a minute. Everyone had gotten frozen.
When he turned around he saw Yoshi "Ack!" He was tagged. He wondered how that kid did that.
Yoshi laughed "I win!"
It was then that his mother came for him. He went with her reluctantly, waving goodbye to his new friends. Soon after, Nekomi spoke to the crowd, then they all went to their rooms. Sumiyo and Ishigo had their own room as the other famalies did. Zabuza and Haku had their own room too, so it was just Nekomi, Gaara and Naruto in theirs. Nekomi decided she'd talk to Naruto and Gaara about her decision. They didn't take it as well as she hoped.
Naruto cried "No! They'll all hate me!"
Gaara cried "I just made friends!"
Nekomi said, soothingly, "Do I hate you?" They shook their heads. "Do Zabuza or Haku hate you?" Their heads shook again. Nekomi said "If they do not accept you, they can leave, I will erase their memories and take them back. Anyone who lives in my village will accept my sons."
Gaara asked "Why do you have to tell them?"
Nekomi said "All of us must work together. To do so requires trust, keeping such a big secret from the peopleNaruto and Gaara looked up at her, still scared looking. She hugged them "I promise."
The days passed and soon all families were here, including the ones Zabuza had brought. It was time to meet the crowd. She gathered them in front of her. She stood on a raised mound. She said "Listen. Some of you have recently arrived. Some of you have been here for a few days. If any of you wish to leave, tell me now, raise your hand!" None did. One said "We would follow you anywhere!"
Nekomi frowned slightly. She said "There will be no secret pasts in my village. In this village, all of us will work together and to do so we must trust each other. Secrets undermine this." The Okibis looked at her, nervous. She continued "You may have changed your mind about your wish to join this village when I tell you. If you wish to go then, I will take your memory and you can go. If you want to talk, to understand, I will talk with you afterward." She paused.
Hisoka stepped up. Nekomi looked at him in surprise. He said "I have a secret past. I am, as I'm sure a lot of you can tell, part Hyuuga. I was saved by this woman from death and I would follow her through death."
The woman came up. She said "I am half Uchiha and if not for this village, I would be doomed to a life of wandering."
Nekomi looked at them surprised, when they smiled at her. She had not expected that. She said "You see, there are no secret pasts here. You all know mine. The one I must tell you of is of these boys who have become my sons." The crowd, which had become loud, questioning the couple, became quiet once again.
Nekomi cleared her throat and held her sons' hands. She presented Gaara first. She said "This is my son, Gaara." She had decided to do away with the fake names, at least inside the village. There was no point. She said "I found him left to die on the border of Rain. This boy is the jailor to the Ichibi, Shukaku, which was sealed into him at birth." There were many gasps. Nekomi held up her hands before talk began up again. She said "I am not finished." They quieted again. She continued "And this is my son, Naruto. I found him near death also on the border with Rain. He is the jailor to Kyuubi no Kitsune." There were more gasps and some talk. Nekomi held up her hands with a stern face. She said "Consider what some of you have gone through yourselves. If you need more explanation, I will explain, but I will have you know that these boys are my sons and if you are not willing to accept them, you are not welcome in my village." She frowned.
A man questioned "You would sacrifice the creation of this village upon two jinchuriki?"
Nekomi said "They may be jinchuriki, but they are my sons and I would give my life for them."
A hand went up, cautiously. It was Kawa's wife "What do you mean by jailor?"
Nekomi said "The bijuu that have been sealed into my sons are caged, preventing their escape, with unbreakable seals."
A man from Wind said "The holders of the bijuu are supposed to be unstable. How do we know that these will not be."
Nekomi said "They were unstable because they were sealed improperly. Both of their seals are well done."
The same mand from wind said "But Gaara was said to be unstable himself."
Nekomi frowned. She said "Naruto's seal was done by the student of the seal master, the fourth Hokage. His seal was expertly done. I corrected the mistakes in Gaara's seal myself and made it secure, like Naruto's."
She heard some doubt still. Many of the people looked confused. Some looked scared. Some were muttering about the bijuu. She frowned, not wanting to have to get rid of any of her new village members. Suddenly, unexpectedly, Miya Okibi came up beside Nekomi.
She cried "Do I look like a monster to you? An abomination?" There was no answer, but she had the crowd's attention. She waved her hand at the boys and said "I was outcast from birth because of who my parents were, something completely out of my control and here these two are, outcast from their home villages because of something they couldn't control any more than me!" Some looked to be considering what she had said. She contiued "The reason why most of you are here, if I may guess, is because you didn't exactly get along with everyone where you came from, maybe you were outcasts, or maybe you had someone treat you like dirt for no reason. Then you should know what it's like!" She paused, to let that sink in. She said "I trust Nekomi-hime in her judgement, but not only that. I also trust my own. I have watched them play with the other children. They play without malice, they look after the smaller ones. That is not the behavior of a monster." She stepped down.
Hisoka stepped up then. His wife had never even met Nekomi before this day and she had gotten up to talk the crowd. He could do no less. He said "I was branded at birth as a bastard child because my mother was a common villager. Still, I was subjected to the cruelty of being a part of the branch house. They placed their cage seal on my forehead and would have killed me if it hadn't been for her." He pointed to Nekomi. "I also stand by her judgement." He crossed his arms. The adults from each family began to speak out. First came the adults Nekomi had brought.
A stern, samurai like man said "My family has had connections to the Waras for generations and I have never met one who was stupid. I will give them a chance."
The grey haired man, Mareo, said "I do not believe the boys to be bakemono. I, too, have seen them play with the other children. I have let them play with my grandson and he has never come back harmed."
His daughter, a blonde haired woman, spoke up and said "I'm with my toussan and besides, if these kids were the bijuu and not their jailors, you'd feel youkai chakra, and you don't."
Shina spoke up "My parents died; one when I was young, and my mother recently. If it were not for this village, neither I nor my siblings would have anywhere else to go because me and my brothers were treated like abominations. I know what it feels like to have people hate you for no reason. I do not believe they are demons."
A grey haired woman, probably the second eldest of the villagers spoke up and said "I may not be a Hyuuga, but I have been able to see through people for a long time." There was a chuckle or two from the crowd. She continued "I also know a good deal about seals and the ones done on the two boys are very well done. I see no danger of the bijuu escaping."
A dark haired man in glasses said "So have I and I agree. I also add something that no one else has. If these boys weren't holding back the bijuu, they would be wreaking havoc on the world. If anything, they are heroes, not monsters." He pushed his glasses up.
A long red haired woman said "Nekomi-hime, when she didn't even know me, saved my baby from drowning, I owe her for that. I will trust her judgement."
Then Saki spoke up. She said "I don't even see how anyone can think that those brats are monsters, they're just little boys, like my Yoshi. They've been better friends to him than anyone."
Yoshi spoke up, the first child to do so "Yeah!" When he saw everyone looking at him, he hid behind his mother's leg again. His cry had broke what tension, there was, though. Several other people put their imput in.
Nekomi was relieved by the results. Everyone seemed at least willing to try, now. That Miya was really some speechgiver. She was glad that she had her. She wondered how different it might have turned out if it hadn't been for her. Then came Zabuza's group. The eldest of each family came up. A brown haired man spoke, it seemed for all of them. He said "We've never even seen you before and we've stayed mainly together, but we all agree that we can't stand the Mizukage and that this village may be the best way of dealing with him. We'll give the kids the benefit of the doubt."
Just then there was a flash. Everyone tensed as they tried to see who it was.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO So, what do you guys think? Good? RandR and leave comments. Also, who do you guys think it is?