Whirlpool Effect
Together
***I still own absolutely nothing***
***Tsunade***
"I'm sorry Minato but there isn't any change since yesterday... he still shows no signs of improvement or waking."
His shoulders droop, as he appears almost defeated. I've never seen him like this before, so utterly without hope. Luckily Naruto is completely out of danger, at least medically, by this point, and Jiraiya has been narrowing down suspects in his spare time. The blonde man still hasn't left this room for more than the occasional bathroom break.
Hell I don't think he has slept since arriving.
"Thank you Tsunade, I am glad that you are..."
The door is thrown open and in an instant I am on guard, Shizune has pulled a kunai as well and is preparing to flank the intruder, that is until we see the red hair.
Kushina Uzumaki
The Queen of Uzu
"Kushina-Dono I am..."
"Skip the pleasantries Tsunade, how is he?" She never even pauses as she walks by me, her eyes focused on the small boy wrapped in blankets and strapped to machines. I swear that this might be the first time I have ever seen tears in her eyes before.
"Stable, but still comatose. No signs of mental recovery yet."
"Who did this to him?" she whispers out, more to her husband, who has yet to move, than me.
"Jiraiya is still working on leads, he narrowed it down to the Hyuga though but there is a problem."
"You're damn right there is a problem Minato, look what they did to our son!" Her voice rises just a bit and everyone, including myself, wince back in fear. An angry Kushina was someone no one wanted to mess with.
"I am fully aware of what those bastards did to him. But the perpetrator... based on the injuries Jiraiya thinks it was a child."
Never in my life have I seen someone go from 'murderous rage' to 'painfully calm' so quickly. It was like the fire in her eyes had gone out in that split second.
"A... child?"
"We think either currently in the academy, or even below that age."
"H-how many fit the description?"
"Less than ten, he is working on narrowing it down but..."
The redhead nods, before taking a seat next to her husband, who calmly wraps an arm around her waist.
"You smell awful, when did you bathe last?"
The man chuckles softly, "what day is it?"
"The seventh"
"So it has only been a few days then... that isn't too bad..."
"Go take a shower and get some sleep, I will stay up with him."
"Are you sure?"
Kushina nods, her eyes never leaving her son's breathing form.
"Okay... we will figure this out Kushina, everything will be okay I promise."
Again a silent nod, before he gently kisses her forehead and departs.
"Who would do this to my baby..."
I have no answers for her.
***Orochimaru***
"Sensei, what do you think Konoha will do in response to all of this?"
My eyes are drawn up to my young student, I can already see the anxiety and stress beginning to take a toll on him.
"I would imagine that if they wish to avoid conflict they will try and smooth the incident over, probably offer something in return for his 'pain and suffering' or some such nonsense."
"I see..."
"Why?"
"I was just... what if they offer someone..."
Confusion consumes me for the briefest of seconds until I recall the stories I had told him about Konoha politics, about using bloodlines, and those who possess them, like goods to be traded and sold. Far too Kumo-like for me to have any desire to return to that cesspool.
"You are concerned they will give him a bride."
It is not a question, but a statement, and my mind returns to my other apprentice. If such a thing were to happen it would break her heart.
"I wouldn't worry about that, Kushina-Dono and Minato-Dono do not believe in the concept of marriage or breeding contracts. I know that quite a few other girls in various villages are quite taken with our young heir as well."
"We can only hope so... for her sake."
I nod once again, they might bicker and argue but Kabuto and Anko also treat each other like the siblings they never had.
"I would not worry about that either, I have been on quite a few of the trips and never have I seen Naruto-kun's face light up as much as when he spends time with her."
"I know I just... I want them both to be happy."
"I do too, now remove such negative thoughts from your mind and take these orders to the third division. If Konoha doesn't want to avoid conflict we need to be ready."
"Hai sensei!"
***Jiraiya***
"Jiraiya"
"Hinata Hyuga"
I have seen that spark in my apprentice's eyes before. It signals that his mind is beginning to work on scenarios on how this information could, and would, be used.
"She is Hiashi's eldest daughter correct?"
"Yes"
"How old?"
Turning towards Kushina, who still sits next to her son, a sigh escapes my throat. this is not the sort of information I wanted to be delivering to them and they know it. We all want some evil monster to be behind this. An enemy Ninja, a foreign agent, a killer; someone whose job it is to harm children. This is what they want as the faceless enemy.
Not a child
"Naruto's age"
The flinch says it all, 'what are we going to do, demand her head as payment?' It is an impossible situation to recover from. A parent naturally wants vengeance for harm done to their child, they naturally want to protect against any future attacks but... they are still a parent, and they know that if the situation had been reversed...
"Too young for a cold blooded killer..."
"I have seen younger than that take lives..."
I agree with both Kushina and her husband. The child is too young... and I have seen younger than that trained to do terrible things.
"What are you going to do?" My question fills the silence, and is answered with an even greater silence.
"I don't know..."
"You have to do something!" I glance over to the intruder, a young girl with purple hair.
"It isn't that simple Anko, she isn't..."
"She attacked him! You can't just let her get away with it!"
"You're right we can't. If we did that what kind of message would it be sending?"
Minato lets out a deep sigh at his wife's comment, his mind still going full speed by the looks of things. "Jiraiya, what do you know about her?"
This time my wince must be obvious due to the looks on everyone's face. "She is the heir to the Hyuga clan. Mother died a few years back, one younger sister, major self esteem issues stemming from..." my response dies out as I think about how to word this.
"Stemming from what Jiraiya?" this time it is Kushina, and she looks almost afraid of how I will answer.
"There was an incident with Kumo a year after her mother's passing, she was kidnapped. The intruder got a mile outside of Konoha before her uncle caught up and killed the man. He had to be sacrificed to 'preserve relations'."
Even Anko falls silent at this, her anger quickly diffusing. It is not all that surprising, blaming a child is one thing. Blaming a child that is most likely suffering from a psychological trauma is something else completely.
"She was kidnapped at night wasn't she"
My apprentice doesn't ask, so much as knows the answer.
"She was"
"Then years later she is caught off guard by a stranger on a dark street in the middle of the night, probably a bit too close for comfort. We all know how Naruto can be."
"She lashes out instinctively, and realizes seconds later what she has done" Kushina continues on for her husband.
"That explains how he ended up in the hospital, but why didn't she stay and..."
"Clan heir" I answer Konan's question without pause. "The Hyuga would have taken her back to the compound for protection and to get her story straight. The last time this happened they ended up losing the clan head's brother, and that was in self defense against a diplomat. I can't imagine what they were thinking when they heard she attacked the son of a Kage and Queen without provocation."
"They just want to protect their child..." The Queen of Uzu whispers, taking her own sons hand into her own.
I nod, this entire situation is becoming more of a catastrophe the more we learn about it.
***Yahiko***
"Orochimaru-San"
"Yahiko-San"
I pause as I watch the Sanin work furiously at the papers and information laid out before him. It has been a rough two days... and we are only supposed to keep the village functioning. How the hell Minato and Kushina do this all of the time, plus play politics, plus keep a family together, and visit other villages is beyond me.
"What is our next move?"
The pale man before me lets out what sounds like the mixture of a sigh and a groan. I know it all too well, and I have been mastering that utterance as of late.
"Twelve hours"
I blink in confusion, what was he talking about?
"Twelve hours?"
"Yes, if we do not hear anything in that much time... we will assume that this was some sort of trap to lure Uzukage-Sama and Kushina-Dono into their village as an ambush... In twelve hours we mobilize Uzu for war."
That terms feels like a punch to the gut. War? I had lived through one already, seen the horrors of it first hand, and nearly lost not only my own life, but the lives of my friends as well.
That is before Uzu intervened, before the island nation used more resources than we could have imagined to set up an escape path from the doomed country, before we were saved.
Now we are standing on the edge of the blade once more, the question is what will be my role this time? Will I stand by and let others fight for me, let others die for me?
Or will I step forward to protect everything I care about, everything that I nearly lost in the last conflict, and everything that I have found since then.
The answer is obvious.
"If it comes to that, I am going to be part of the rescue team for our leaders."
"Yahiko we aren't..."
"I. Will. Not. Leave. Them. There!"
The Sanin sighs once more, rubbing the bridge of his nose in what I can only assume is a headache I helped amplify. But at the moment I couldn't care less. "I do not plan on leaving them behind Yahiko, but we cannot simply throw soldiers away if it is..."
"They are not going to die."
"They are in the middle of a potentially hostile village, we cannot simply kick the door down and ask them to release our leaders."
"Why the hell not!? It worked for them during the war!"
Amber eyes pause, and then blink as the information is absorbed.
"That... gives me an idea..."
***Kushina***
I find myself facing a conundrum.
On one hand I want to strangle the little bitch in front of me for striking my son. On the other I want to pick her up into a hug and hold her. I can see the distress in her eyes, the puffiness from crying, the dark circles due to lack of sleep. Her guilt was slowly destroying her.
"You are Hinata Hyuga?"
"H-hai"
"You are aware of who I am then?"
"H-hai Uzumaki-Dono."
"You are aware of why I am here?"
The pale-eyed girl nods silently.
"Well?"
I shouldn't be so rough with her, she already looks close to breaking mentally but this can be therapeutic as well. If she can confess her sins perhaps she will see that it wasn't entirely her fault.
"I-I hurt your son..."
"Yes you did"
"I-Is he..."
"Still in a coma, they do not know when he will wake up."
A strangled sob escapes her lips as fresh tears begin to flow once again. Why her? Why the hell did it have to be her who almost struck down my son? Why couldn't it have been some cocky asshole or an older ninja who simply didn't care about other human beings?
Why did it have to be a sobbing child?
"I-I-I-I am so sorry... I didn't mean to..."
"What happened?" I had meant for my voice to be relaxed and warm, to put her mind at ease and hopefully make this a little less painful. Instead my tone was icy cold, and I had to force myself not to flinch.
"I-I was coming home from a late n-night political class wh-when he called out from behind me... I struck w-without th-thinking."
She barely managed to repeat her short explanation between the tears and gasps for breath. My heart breaks just a little bit more for the girl.
To my left I notice Minato's eyes narrow in concentration, something had been said that had put the man ill at ease. I would have to talk to him about it later.
"I-Is there a-anything I c-can do?"
My neck snaps back towards the young girl, her head bowed low, in front of me.
"Go home Hinata, try and get some sleep."
"I-I just keep seeing him on the ground..."
An idea pops into my mind, perhaps this might help all of us in the long run. "Hinata... would you like to visit Naruto?"
The girl is obviously shocked as her head springs up, her eyes wide as she stares at me. "wh-wha..."
"Well if you feel bad about this then perhaps you can help look after him for a while. My husband and I are going to a meeting with the Konoha council soon and we can use all the help we can get looking after him in our absence."
"I-I-I-I..."
The child looks about three seconds from passing out, though from exhaustion or surprise I have no idea. Finally she nods her head in acceptance.
"Good, let your father know where you are going and then pack anything you might want to bring. We will leave for the hospital in a few minutes."
***Kushina***
"I don't like this"
"I know"
"I understand the reasons, the repercussions that an attack on the child of a Kage, along with the son of a queen, will have but..."
"You want to be with our son rather than sitting in a lifeless dark room with a bunch of old bastards who think they know better than you do."
My husband doesn't guess, he simply knows. After dropping Hinata off at the hospital, and explaining the situation to Konan, Nagato, and Karin, we had once again been summoned by Konoha's council.
The arrogant pricks
"Yes"
"I feel the same way, but this might be a way of getting answers... something still isn't right about all of this Kushina."
"I know"
We finally reach our destination at the end of the underground hallway, apparently Konoha was just a tad paranoid about their council members being attacked... that or they really enjoyed the lack of sunlight and fresh air.
With a nod the doors are pushed open by the ANBU guards, and we walk into the meeting. Already those in control of the village have been assembled and all conversations halt as the attention is focused on us.
Minato pulls a chair back from the table for me, and I sit with a small smile given to him, even after all these years he is still trying to 'charm' me.
Silly man, I have been his for over a decade. His seat is occupied a second later.
"Now that our guests have chosen to arrive we can begin this meeting."
Not sure who that man is, or thinks that he is, but he appears to be a civilian by the lack of Chakra. I am also unsure as to why the hell he is even here.
"It has come to our attention that an unfortunate incident occurred several days ago involving a member of our village and your son. Based upon our information we believe that it was a Hyuga involved."
Blink
Pause
Blink
The man appeared to have finished his statement.
"And?"
Now the various council members appear a bit nervous, they either know more and don't want us to know... or they are all incompetent idiots. Being that this is a Ninja village I am hoping for the first option.
"Well... that is all we have been able to figure out thus far. Rest assured though that when we know more..."
"We already know the name of the attacker and have spoken with them."
Silence
"Oh..."
Apparently most of the council members are incompetent idiots after all... terrific...
"If that is all then I would like to return to my son, he is still..."
"A minute of your time would be appreciated Uzumaki-San"
Okay, now they are just trying to piss me off.
"Danzo Shimura" I have to bite my tongue to stop any further titles being added onto his name, there are so many things I want to call the bastard.
"I have spoken with the Hokage and we agree that this incident should not harm the alliance between our two villages, thus we have come up with a solution. During our own investigation we have established that the perpetrator was none other than Hinata Hyuga." Ignoring the few surprised gasps the old warhawk continued on, "Because of this, and the political ramifications that involve an attack on a clan heir, we purpose a compromise."
"Oh, and what are you and the Hokage purposing?" Minato has to speak up for me because I am quite sure that if I was forced to interact with this creep any longer I would probably vomit.
A scroll is slid across the table, earning a raised eyebrow from my husband, who picks it up a moment later.
"A very simple agreement, a marriage contract between Hinata and your son. They will alternate between living in Uzu and Konoha throughout the year, the first and third borne child will be married back into Konoha clans while the second and fourth will be allowed to marry into Uzu."
I can tell that someone isn't happy about this, Hiashi appears ready to tear the man's head off his shoulders if the slight grimace and eye twitch are any indication. So he was most likely ordered to sacrifice his daughter then, how interesting.
Regardless of his feelings I have no intention to...
There is a slight gleam in my husbands eyes as he glances at me, a silent message that is asking for permission to handle the situation. I nod in acceptance.
The poor bastards don't know what is about to hit them.
'Fastest man alive' doesn't just apply to combat. Minato shared a secret with me on our wedding day, the secret of his speed. Most people believe it is because of the Hiraishin technique that he perfected.
They are wrong
My husband actually perceives the world differently than we do. He is able to slow down reality to a crawl, allowing for not only an edge in combat, but also in the world of politics.
Where one man might come up with ten different solutions in the scope of a minute, my husband goes through thousands. That is why he never overreacts, never shows unwanted emotion, never falls for taunts or tricks, he literally has minutes to cool down between statements, where the rest of us are given seconds, if that.
"Nah that is okay Hokage-Sama, no harm no foul."
I take back the previous remark, now it is silent.
"Wh-what?"
"We understand that mistakes happen, and we are certainly not going to blame a child for a reaction that is perfectly understandable. If the situation was reverse then we would have trained our son to defend himself first and ask questions later as well, so don't sweat it."
"B-but surely..."
"Uzukage-Sama, we simply do not wish for their to be any damage between our two nations."
Minato nods at the civilian's concerns, "there won't be. Uzu profits from this alliance just as much as Konoha does. We are not going to take any military or economic actions against your nation. Doing so would harm us just as much as you anyway."
"Then perhaps..." The Hokage speaks up once more, clearly trying to make some point, though what it is I am not quite sure. If all they wanted was to have the event 'blow over' then why push the issue? "...we should strengthen our alliance with the marriage contract regardless? Surely Uzu would profit from having the Byakugan, and I know that Konoha would greatly appreciate such a powerful bloodline being added to our village as well."
My husband's eyes gleam in victory, and the pieces to the puzzle fall together.
It was all about the Uzumaki bloodline, maybe it had been the entire time. Hinata had mentioned being out so late at night for 'political training', which sounded odd at the time. Then there was the fact that Jiraiya and Tsunade were misdirected, away from our son. Now there is the insistence that Naruto marry Hinata, with the explicit note of having the children marry back into Konoha.
It was all about bloodlines. I should have known though, it always seems to be with these pricks.
"Well that does sound rather nice, and from what I have seen Hinata is a very sweet girl but... I am sorry Hyuga-Sama, Hokage-Sama, I just don't think that it would work out between them.
Hiashi looks relieved
The Uchiha looks enraged
"It really is no offense to either one of you but consider things from our point of view. Hinata attacked Naruto, now whether this was accidental or not isn't the point. The fact is that I doubt their relationship will be anything but awkward and tense. Forcing them into a union would create marital strife, which no one wants. Plus Uzu does not condone or endorse marriage contracts of any kind so..."
"But she is a clan heir!" one of the council members has leapt from their seat, exclaiming wildly with their hands. How the hell did these people get placed in charge of a village?
"Yes... but she is not right for our son, at least not now. If that changes in the future and they both consent to courtship I certainly wouldn't stop him but... well the fact of the matter is that several other notable individuals have been interested in courting our son when he is of age as well."
"Such as?"
I am half tempted to leap across the table and choke the life out of the old warhawk, who the hell does he think he is asking about our son's personal life?
"Well the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage seems to have taken a liking to him last time we were in Iwa, and I know that he is quite close to Gaara, and his sister, of Suna as well. Plus the Raikage keeps sending me updates on all of the girls of Naruto's age to try and tempt us into a union with them as well." he lets out a 'defeated' sigh, "the difficulties of being a parent to a babe magnet..."
I can see more than a few humorous smiles from the Ninja clan heads, at least they find the situation as ridiculous as I do. It doesn't help that Minato can make literally anyone smile.
***Fugaku Uchiha***
This is bad
No, 'bad' is dealing with a group of enemy ninjas intent on assassination. This was borderline catastrophe.
A marriage between the future Lord of Uzu, if not the future Uzukage, and Iwa or Kumo would spell disaster for Konoha. Uzu was currently the strongest, and usually only, ally that they had. If their future leader was married to a foreign Kunoichi...
The future of the entire nation could be at jeopardy.
My glare towards Danzo is anything but subtle, "fix this".
"Perhaps, Uzukage-Sama" A good start, perhaps a bit of respect given towards the Kage would be enough to show our 'humility', "we could begin looking into other possible candidates for your son here in Konoha. I am sure that you are aware we have more bloodlines than any other village of the Shinobi Nations."
"Second"
Now everyone glances over at the red-haired woman in curiosity.
"You have the second most, I believe Uzu currently has more than the other nations... combined."
"Indeed..."
Once again Danzo is pushing the woman's control, and I am curious as to what effect allowing her to kill him would have on the alliance.
I am also curious as to whether or not I care if the old bastard dies at this point. There had been a guarantee that the plan would work, that everything would come to fruition, but now... it almost seems like the blonde bastard has figured out that the attack on his son wasn't by accident. Of course we couldn't really force the young Hyuga to attack the boy, but put the correct circumstances together and the outcome will most likely be as planned.
Now all of that was falling apart, our goal of getting control over the Uzumaki bloodline was slipping through our fingertips as time went on.
"Well like I said, Uzu does not endorse marriage contracts. If our son is interested in pursuing a relationship with someone in Konoha he is more than welcome to."
"Surely such a decision should not be made by a child. They are far too ignorant to do such things."
"Oh most likely, but we want him to wait until he is older anyway. Kushina was thinking early twenties but I managed to talk her down to late teens."
"But he would be able to have children as early as..."
At this point even I know that Danzo is digging his own grave, as well as Konoha's if the murder in Kushina's eyes is any indication.
"My son will be having children if and when he decides to, not before that. What you are suggesting sounds more like a plan that Kumo would purpose which is quite... worrisome."
"Ladies, gentlemen I believe we will be taking our leave now. There will be no sanctions imposed upon Konoha for the actions taken against our son so long as this is not repeated. For now we will be returning to his hospital room. Good day."
With that the two Ninja stood and left, leaving an awkward silence behind them.
***Konan***
"How is he..."
The girl is about as timid as a mouse, and I smile despite what I know she has done. She certainly does not look like a killer... but still...
"His heart rate is steady, and his vitals are improving."
"Will he... ever wake up?"
"Of course he will!" Anko snaps from nearby, her face contorted in anger at the question. If 'Hinata' was shaken before she looks petrified now.
"O-of course..."
"Anko..."
"What!? I don't understand why Kushina-Dono let this... this... girl into Naruto-kun's room. I know that you and Lady Tsunade are here but still!"
"Do you think I would be incapable of stopping her should she try and attack him again?" Although my voice is flat and toneless the teen winces back.
"N-no of course not Lady-Konan..."
"Then perhaps you should worry less about Hinata and more about our surroundings. If you wish to be a Kunoichi one day you must learn to separate your emotions from the situation."
The young apprentice of Orochimaru nods, before going through the exercises with Karin once again. Closing ones eyes, ignoring the other senses, and focusing on life itself.
Despite my own unique form of Ninjutsu I have always found myself a bit jealous of the Uzumaki. Blessed with incredibly strong life force, Chakra Chains, talent in Fuinjutsu, and being natural sensors makes them quite fearsome.
With Anko sufficiently distracted my attention focuses back on Hinata. She had taken to sitting next to the bed, watching over the injured heir like a guardian angel would.
I feel sorry for the girl, I heard what had happened to her and her training to prevent future kidnappings end up harming an innocent boy rather than doing any good.
"You know Hinata..."
She turns up to me, and I can see she is still trying to hold in tears.
"I heard that those who are in comas can still hear and feel the outside world, it is sort of like a dream to them. I bet it would help if you held his hand and just talked to him."
If there was any doubt that the young Hyuga found Naruto to be 'cute' then it was promptly crushed by the shade of red she had turned. Regardless though, it looked as though she had fought through her embarrassment, and gently took the boy's hand in her own before softly whispering out to him.
"N-Naruto... my name is Hinata Hyuga. I am the one who hurt you and I just wanted to say I am sorry..."
A slight glance in my direction makes it seem like she needs confirmation that what she is doing is okay.
I give a nod, and coax her on.
"I-I have a younger sister named Hanabi and a father, who is the leader of the Hyuga clan. My favorite color is..."
***Minato***
"Well that could have gone better"
A slight chuckle escapes my lips as I glance over at my wife, even with almost no sleep and stressed beyond all belief she is beyond beautiful.
"Oh I don't know about that, we got quite a good deal of information from the old geezers."
"Would have been better if we just did it my way."
"Oh?" a teasing smirk forms on my face, "would that be the patented 'chain them to the walls and start beating them until they talk' method?"
"I'll have you know that I was only planning on threatening to beat them this time."
"Truly, you are chivalrous beyond compare."
She flashes me her smile, and I swear that the clouds part just a little bit in the process.
"We should be heading back to Uzu soon, Tsunade told me that as long as we take our time Naruto should be able to be moved today."
The hospital is in sight now and I feel just a bit better, things were finally looking up for once.
"Sounds good, I will be happy to be back in..." anything else that I have to say is interrupted as the window denoting my son's room explodes outward in fire.
***Whirlpool***