Chapter 12 – We Move Along
His feet hurt and he was starting to sweat, both consequences of spending too much time in the Hokage's office. The first because his frame was too big for the rinky dink chairs they used to decorate (with the amount of damage irate ninjas inflicted upon it, it just wasn't worth it to use quality furnishings). The last time he'd attempted to have a seat on the stuff was 10 years ago; his ample physique had squeezed into the chair with relative ease but refused to dislodge itself afterward. As he'd stood up the lightweight seat had stood with him as it clung to his backside. Inoichi had teased him unmercifully for months and subsequently he had always remained standing while in the Hokage's office. As he'd been waiting in said office for over an hour, his feet were starting to get a little sore. Secondly, he was sweating because Hokage tower while aesthetically pleasing was stupidly designed, well in his own humble opinion anyway. First, it was insanely tall, making it a prime attraction for an enemies first strike, and on top of that it was always miserably hot inside the damn thing. In an effort to make sure the hokage could see all of Konoha from his desk yet remain relatively safe the room's walls were composed mostly of large windows made of 60 millimeter thick polycarbonate glass for: great for protecting the Hokage; bad for ventilation, as there was no way to open them. Being on the top floor of the tower, in full sun, all day, in the Land of Fire, no matter how high the air conditioning was turned up the damn room was always an inferno.
"Hokage-sama is ready for you Akamichi-san," the receptionist announced, at long last opening the door to the inner office.
Upon entering, Choza noticed Hyuga Hizashi, Aburame Shibi, Rock Haruko, and Namiashi Raido sitting with the hokage.
"Choza-san! Good to see you, why don't you have a seat? I'm almost finished up with these guys, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, besides some of these gentlemen will be part of your assignment," Minato explained. Turning back to the group of jonin he smiled widely. "So which one of you wants to help me out? Since we lost Hourousha Maiko on the Iwagakure border last week I need one of you to take over what was to be her genin squad. Now who is it going to be?"
"Hokage-sama," Aburame Shibi began most respectfully. "I believe the honor should go to one of my esteemed colleagues. They are all much better suited to teaching and relating with genin aged shinobi. I believe I can better serve Konoha by taking on solo missions."
Minato nodded and then looked pointedly to the next contender. Rock Haruko squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze, effectively avoiding eye contact by picking her cuticles and feigning absentminded ignorance to his unasked question. Awkward silence hung in the air for almost a minute before she caved to the pressure and blurted out, "Sumimasen, sumimasen, Hokage-sama, but please don't choose me. I'm having so much trouble with Lee-chan. I know he's a year old already, but they're having trouble locating his chakra coils, even saying that he may not ever be able to mold chakra, and he'll never be a ninja, and I don't know what to do. I'm feeling very stressed, and I'm just worn out. I hate to admit it, but I just don't think it would be fair to the students if my head and heart weren't both equally invested in their training. I will gladly take on a team when this is all figured out, but please don't ask me to do it right now."
"It's okay Haruko, I understand, I won't ask this of you right now, you can go now. You have my best wishes for Lee-chan."
After Haruko's departure his eyes moved to Hyuga Hizashi. "I request permission to speak freely Hokage-sama," the stoic Hyuga inquired.
"Certainly, say whatever you wish," Minato affirmed.
"While I would be extremely privileged to have the opportunity to take on a genin cell, after looking at the files on this particular group I would like to decline. They are all mediocre graduates at best and will never be more than sub-par chunin at most. They lack any significant skills, nor do they possess any signature techniques. Gekko Hayate lacks body weight and muscle; he is too small to be a shinobi. Uzuki Yugao has no chakra control, it spikes erratically and behaves inconsistently, and as of yet she has still not managed to even complete the tree climbing exercise. And Umino Iruka is too soft, while he has the physical potential for greatness, he lacks the mental toughness needed to get there. If I were to take on a genin squad, it would most certainly not be this one.
Minato turned to look at Namiashi Raido, whom Choza noted looked more serious than he had ever had before, the teenager was usually the one wearing the biggest grin and the first to tell a joke. At this moment in time however there was no joy in his voice.
"Hokage-sama, when I say this I mean no disrespect to your wisdom, and I'm flattered beyond belief that you would even consider me for this position, but I don't think I'm ready for it. Having only achieved jonin rank three months ago I don't feel I have the experience necessary for what the job entails. And while it would boost my ego quite a bit to be in charge of a genin squad at this age, the last thing I would ever want is for something to happen to those children because I was too green for the job."
"Well Raido-san, I will certainly take your thoughts on the matter into consideration before I make my choice, and since none of you actually volunteered I'm going to have decide all on my own," Minato responded to the unusually somber jonin. He picked up the contents of the genin files strewn across his desk, depositing all three folders into one larger one. Choza had to bite his inner lip to keep from laughing as he handed the package directly to Hizashi.
"While I understand your concern Hizashi-san, I disagree with what you think will be the ultimate outcome. Since you are already aware of all their weaknesses you'll be able to work around them, and turn their deficiencies into strengths. As I see it, you, Hyuga Hizashi, will not let them be mediocre, the pride of the Hyuga will not allow it. As their sensei you will keep them from stagnating and push them to be the best that they can be. When your students walk up to take their chunin exam they will be representing the teaching of Hyuga Hizashi, and that is what is going to make all the difference. I know you will push them to excellence, with you mediocrity is not an option, which is why I know you are the perfect man for the job."
Choza resorted to digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands in order to keep inappropriate laughter from bubbling over at the sight of the gaping Hyuga. Obviously the man was not expecting such an outcome and was temporarily stunned; Hyuga's were not accustomed to not getting their way.
"I understand Hokage-sama, and I will do my best not to fail you," Hizashi finally managed to choke out. "I will go find my students and inform them of this new arrangement."
"That won't be necessary Hizashi-san," Minato chirped happily. "I told them they would be getting their new sensei today, so they're waiting for you down at training ground 14. They're very excited to meet you. Good luck!"
"Arigato, Hokage-sama," Hizashi bowed respectfully and made his exit.
"Okay now, sorry again for the long wait Choza, but now I can get down to business. You three will be going on a scouting mission. I would have liked to send Hizashi on this, but well things didn't work out quite like I was hoping. Anyway, there have been reports of a strange ninja in the area. I say strange because as far as any of the witnesses could tell he was wearing a leaf hitai-ite, but they did not recognize him, he failed to respond to any of the Konoha safe words, and disappeared when they moved to intercept him. I need you three to find out who he is, his threat level, and his location, and if at all possibly I'd like you to do it without an altercation. The mission specifics are in the ready room. Good luck gentlemen."
Choza left the office followed by Shibi and Raido, thinking about how he would have much rather been on the mission in his usual Ino-Shika-Cho formation. He also wished he didn't have to go on a mission at all. His pregnant wife was due any day now and he really wanted to be there for the birth of his daughter. Shibi and Raido were both good ninja and Choza had no problems with them, but at this particular juncture both Inoichi's and Shikaku's wives were expecting and they could empathize with his plight. Honestly, Choza didn't know if his baby was male or female, but he was really hoping for a girl. He knew Inoichi was pining for a boy; the man had made his wife have sex only in certain positions since he'd heard they were the key to having a boy, and throughout her pregnancy he'd insisted on a strict diet that was also said to insure the birth of a boy. Shikaku could care less what sex his child was, as long as it was a healthy Nara, the shadow user had no complaints, but Choza really wanted a girl. In all the dreams he had about being a father he was always carrying around a cute little girl with pigtails, she was daddy's little girl and he pushed her in a carriage and showed her off to all the neighbors.
It would have been nice to discuss his upcoming foray into fatherhood with his teammates, but looking around he didn't think it was going to happen. At 19, Raido was unmarried and not at all interested in having children yet, and while Shibi's wife had just given birth about three months ago, Choza knew the quiet and reserved man would not discuss any personal matters. All of which meant Choza would just keep his thoughts to himself and hope they found this mysterious ninja quickly.
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Rin had been gone for three months now, Kakashi had been completing solo missions about to start training for ANBU, and Obito had been left alone, stuck training exclusively in no chakra taijutsu with Gai, a hell he had begun to feel he would never escape. Today however was the end of it, he was about to step back into the light, today he was finally getting out; his chakra ban was lifted and Minato-sensei would be removing the chakra inhibitors around his wrists. He was back on active status and psyched to again be a productive member of society. Practically skipping through town Obito wondered if he would be assigned to a new team or maybe given solo missions like Kakashi, in any event it didn't matter so long as he was going back to work.
Obito reached the top of the stairs with a grin on his face and not a breath out of stitch. He had to admit that while his eternal rival was a tad bit extreme in his tactics and his ideas for training were completely insane, he had achieved amazing results. There was in actuality a method to his madness, the Uchiha had never been in better shape. In fact, he was pretty sure he could now run circles around Kakashi, a fact that thrilled him to no end. Gai could still trounce him in the running department but seriously the dude was a freak; he couldn't imagine wearing those ridiculous leg weights everywhere he went. Out of the 127 contests he had competed in against his relentless opponent Obito was the winner of 63 and not a single one of them had come to him because of his fleet feet.
"You can go right on in Obito-san," the receptionist waved him toward the door. They're all waiting for you."
Inside sat Minato-sensei, Kakashi, and a tiny girl he didn't recognize. "You're 15 minutes fucking late!"
Stunned by the gruff obscene words coming from that wisp of a girl it took him a minute to answer, "I'm not late I just decided to change my schedule to make it more convenient for myself."
"What the fuck? Are you shitting me? Who is this guy?" That nasty mouth continued to spew rudeness his way, and he already knew he hated her. Hopefully whatever this mission was, it would be finished quickly and he wouldn't have to spend any more time with her then absolutely necessary.
"Anko-chan," Minato spoke playfully to the girl despite her crude vocabulary. "This is Uchiha Obito; you've already met Kakashi over there. Obito, this is Mitarashi Anko, and she is going to be the third member of your team."
"What?" Obito hissed venomously. "We don't need a third member for the team, we already have one. Rin is coming back sensei, how do you think she'll feel if we replace her? No way! She can't be on the team! It's not going to happen."
Anko scowled at him, "Well whoever the fuck Rin is, I feel bad for her, stuck on a team with an idiot like you. Who would want to be on a squad with you anyway? Your family doesn't even want to be around you and I certainly don't. Hokage-sama, there is no way I'm working with this okama."
"Okama? You bitch! I'm ten times the shinobi you will ever be. You're not even big enough to kill a fly, I can forget about making jonin with you on our squad."
"Hahaha," Anko laughed devilishly. "You are pathetic; I am so far beyond your skill level its ridiculous. If Oroch—if my sensei hadn't want to keep all my techniques a secret I'd have already taken and passed the jonin exams. You on the other hand can never even hope to get past the written portion."
Just about to respond with another vicious volley of insults Obito saw Minato's face and decided against it. His sensei's normally tan face was white with rage and Obito knew Konoha's Yellow Flash was about to explode.
"Both of you shut your mouths!" he erupted. "In case neither of you noticed, your Hokage is in the room, and last I checked the Yondaime Hokage was not named Obito or Anko. Maybe I've been too lenient with you up till now, but I promise that's over, it ends now! I'm the hokage! When I tell you something that's the way it is. Contrary to what you believe, it is not a starting point for negotiations. When words come out of my mouth they are orders. Orders that you are to follow. I'm in charge here. When I say jump, you say "how high," you do not tell me your back hurts or that you don't feel like jumping today. Do you understand me?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama!" a stunned Obito and cowed Anko answered simultaneously.
"Now, from this moment on, until I say otherwise, the three of you are a team. I've discussed this with Kakashi and as none of you have any family you will all be living together at the Hatake house. Anko will be moving in with you tomorrow, and your first mission as a team is to move her things from the village housing into her new home in one afternoon. When that's done you will report here and I'll give you a new mission. Is that clear?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama!" the trio responded as one.
"Good, I'll see you tomorrow when you're finished. You are dismissed."
Exiting Hokage tower Obito started off left to go home, while Anko turned in the opposite direction, which was just fine with him. As far as he was concerned the less time he spent with her the better.
And then his jaw dropped to the floor and he hated someone else even more then Anko.
"Yo, Mitarashi-san," Kakashi called out. "Can we walk you home?"
"Fuck you! I can get home all by myself. I'm a big girl, and guess what I'm even a fucking shinobi, I think I can make it on my own. So, no, I don't need you ass monkeys to walk me home."
"Gomen nasai, Mitarashi-san. I meant not offense," Kakashi responded, making Obito's skin crawl. Why was he apologizing to this crazy bitch? "I in no way doubt your skill as a ninja. I only asked with the intent of knowing the location of your home to speed up tomorrow's mission. After today's debacle I think we should try to impress Hokage-sama and get you moved as quickly as possible."
Anko's piercing gaze studied him for a moment, weighing and measuring him with her eyes; she smirked, apparently Kakashi had not been found wanting. "Alright Hatake, you're right. You can walk with me. Hokage-sama has been good to me, it's about time I try not to disappoint him."
Grudgingly, Obito followed the pair to Anko's home in the village housing. Having been a member of the prestigious Uchiha clan Obito had never actually entered the gated community affectionately known as "fuujikomeru chitai," the containment area. The gates on this particular area were designed to keep its inhabitants inside, rather than keep others out, and now he knew why. The buildings, if they could even be called buildings, looked more like dilapidated shacks that would collapse on the first person unlucky enough to actually brush against them, they were close together and filthy. On the houses that actually had steps drug addled derelicts sat huddled and shaking while others just did the same only lying in the gutter instead. Large groups of miscreants gathered at corners and attempted to stare down anyone who walked by.
Unable to sense any chakra signatures coming from the hoodlums Obito relaxed a little. Bully's like these couldn't hope to fight evenly against shinobi, and despite the large numbers of them Anko marched right past them without even a second glance, Kakashi, always unflappable followed suite, and Obito had no choice but to do the same. He'd be damned if he let either of those two bastards show him up. A few more blocks through fuujikomeru chitai and they'd finally reached Anko's home, which while still as poorly constructed as those in the area was devoid of vagabonds on the stoop and no garbage other than what was located in the trash can.
"Would you like to come in for some tea?" Anko asked feeling slightly obligated now that they had walked her all the way home.
"Hai."
"No."
Kakashi and Obito responded with perfect synchronization, and Obito scowled. All the times their sweet and beautiful Rin had invited the two of them for tea Kakashi had refused, and now that they had this loathsome and scrawny girl on their team the bastard decides it's time to be social.
"Sure, we'd just love to come in for tea," Obito drawled sarcastically.
Anko's lip turned up in a sneer as she pushed open the door; waving her hands exaggeratedly she bowed with flourish. "Welcome to my humble abode gentlemen," she expounded disparagingly. "Please, do come in."
Obito was about to laugh when he remembered who she was and caught himself before he gave her the satisfaction. He followed Kakashi inside to what served as both a living room and bedroom; Anko slid past them into the small kitchen to make tea. Looking around Obito realized they wouldn't need to make more than one trip to move her. In all honesty, he thought he might be able to move her all by himself. The futon she used for a bed was old and dilapidated, with most of its stuffing long gone, and she had no dresser. Instead her clothes were hung on an exposed pipe suspended from the ceiling, and other then the enormous weapon chest there wasn't another piece of furniture in the entire place. Even after being disowned Obito had more possessions than this. Anko came out of the kitchen holding two battered mugs filled with tea while looking at them strangely.
"Is something wrong Mitarashi-san?" Kakashi asked as he took the offered cup.
"No," she said with a small smile. "It's just that you two are the only people to ever come in here. Before Oroch—well just before, I didn't have to live here, I lived with my sensei, but after, nobody wants anything to do with me. You're my first and last visitors."
"Thank you for having us here Mitarashi-san," Obito said bowing his head in respect.
Much to his surprise Anko began laughing loudly. "This is just too much," she cackled. "I've got a high and mighty Uchiha bowing to me while standing in this shit hole, while the son of Konoha's legendary White Fang sips on my shitty tea. It's just too much; Hokage-sama has one sick sense of humor."
Obito looked at her laughing, and then over at Kakashi who was indeed delicately sipping his tea and even had his pinky extended femininely, then he too began laughing, eventually even Kakashi joined in and they all sat on the floor laughing until they could compose themselves.
When they had calmed down sufficiently Anko announced, "Look, if we're going to be teammates I want you to call me Anko. Enough with this Mitarashi-san crap. From now on it's just Anko, okay?"
"Hai," Kakashi nodded.
"Okay, Anko it is. Please call me Obito, unless of course you want to call me Supreme Lord and Master, because that would be fine with me too."
Anko smirked at him and asked Kakashi, "Is he always like this?"
"Yes. Always." Kakashi deadpanned, complete with his patented eye roll.
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Far away in the land of wind Baki clenched his fists tightly in an effort to keep his temper in check. It would not be wise to anger his Kazekage, even if the man was completely wrong.
"Baki, this is the last time you come to me with this request. I have already shown you leniency in allowing you to continue being the guardian for Temari and Kankuro when your abilities could be of far greater value on the battlefield. But you will not bring my children anywhere near that monster. Is that clear?"
"With all due respect kazekage-sama," Baki began hesitantly, he'd saved the Kage's life a few months ago, which was why he'd been given the opportunity to speak with his leader at all, but the man was volatile and vengeful and the teenager did not want to antagonize but he'd made a promise to a dying woman that he could not forget. "Gaara is just an infant, and Temari and Kankuro could help to familiarize him with being around others. A baby should be around other kids, besides if he attaches to them at a young age he'll be more likely to care about them when he is older."
"He's not just an infant, or a baby, or a child. Or any of the non-threatening words you've used to describe him and you'd do well to remember it. Gaara is a jinchuriki, a monster, a beast. And he shall be treated as one. He will be Suna's finest weapon, but first and foremost he is a demon and Temari and Kankuro will not be in his presence. Is that understood?"
"Hai, Kazekage-sama," Baki answered defeated. He just hoped the hateful Yashamaru would not harm the boy.
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Five months along and Kushina's baby "bump" was becoming a full on mountain. It was hard for her to bend down and she was sick of being too large to sit comfortably on Minato's lap. Not that he ever complained but she just knew she was crushing her precious husband beneath her gigantic body. On top of feeling like a giant cow, she was increasingly bored each day the pregnancy dragged on.
Kushina was a woman of action, and adventure seeker, a kunoichi, and pregnancy was driving her stir crazy. It was a well known fact that women from Whirlpool country often had difficulties with pregnancy, miscarriages were commonplace and there more women died during childbirth then any of the other nations. As such, when pregnant Whirlpool's women were treated like delicate crystal and handled with care. Kushina more so then anyone else, as the wife of the Hokage she was being treated like she could shatter at any second. When her pregnancy had first been discovered she had immediately been taken off the active roster, and three months in she'd been forbidden to even carry anything. Now at five months she was barely allowed out of bed, and she was getting damn sick of it.
This was not to say she didn't want to be pregnant. Quite the contrary she'd wanted this pregnancy so badly. Having Minato's child was bringing her more joy then she'd ever dreamed of, and even though he wasn't born yet, Kushina loved her son more than anything in the world. Knowing that soon she'd be able to hug him and hold him was the only thing that kept her in bed some days. The thought that she could easily lose him because of her poor heritage made her wish she'd come from any other village, and being cooped up in bed was making her want to pull her hair out.
Recently she had been getting more and more visitors, which certainly helped to pass the time, but she was starting to wonder if her loving husband may have been ordering shinobi to stop by. She thought nothing of it when Hyuga Makoto stopped by with a basket of ponkan. Three months pregnant herself, Hiashi rarely let the poor woman out of his sight, but Makoto had been Kushina's friend since her arrival in Konoha, long before she'd become Lady Hyuga, and visiting the Hokage's wife was not an activity he would prevent. Tighter bonds with someone so close to Konoha's leader could only be beneficial politically. So Makoto stopped by as frequently as possible and almost always brought a basket of ponkan, the sweet citrus fruit was Kushina's favorite and were without exception all eaten in one day. Makoto's visits were always fun, and she and Kushina often joked about wedding contracts for their unborn children, not that they knew Makoto was having a girl.
Kakashi and Obito, and now Anko, were frequent visitors as well, but that never seemed odd. Since being assigned to Minato, Kakashi had always visited, making Kushina into something of an older sister, and with the addition of Obito and Rin the four of them frequently spent hours at mahjong. Most frequently Kakashi was the winner, although Kushina managed to beat him occasionally, and even Rin pulled out a few wins as her skill improved. As far as Kushina could remember, Obito had yet to claim a victory, and actually performed even worse than Anko the first and last time she played. She and Obito's volatile comradery did not lend itself to playing games and the Uchiha's less than stellar execution had led to teasing, which escalated, then concluded with the shattering of Kushina and Minato's glass coffee table. Anko and Obito had replaced the table, but mahjong was no longer an activity they could do together. Now when the three visited they attempted friendly conversation, often recounting their latest missions. Inevitably, Obito would embellish his role in the heroics exponentially, much like he had always done, Kakashi's eyes would roll back in his head, much like he had always done, and Kushina would chuckle lightly, much like she had always done. However, Anko, as the new variable in the equation, was nothing like Rin who would just smile demurely and ignore his blatant attempts to boost his battle prowess, she instead would smack him upside the back of the head and declare him a liar. Chaos would ensue and their visit would conclude.
The first visitor she was suspicious of was Nara Yoshino. The woman had shown up with homemade vitamins for the Hokage's wife. She and Kushina had never really been unfriendly but they hadn't actually ever been friends either. So to say Kushina had been surprised by the visit would have been an understatement. Astonishingly enough her visit had been an enjoyable one. Yoshino was also pregnant, a month further along than Kushina and just as anxious to get it over with and they also shared a bond in that neither were Konoha born. Shikaku had been on a mission to Numa no Kuni, the land of swamps and became smitten with their bossy liaison. He'd traveled back there several times and eventually convinced her to come back with him, a move Yoshino has never regretted. Kushina and she had spoken at great length about the difficulties they'd had to overcome when becoming Konoha kunoichi, and before the woman left Kushina was sure they would be great friends.
At the arrival of Shiranui Genma the jig was up. The 15 year old had done a fine job at his assigned task; he'd spent over an hour with her, the majority of it spent asking for dating advice. He'd proved to be an attentive listener and was actually quite intelligent, a fact he had previously managed to hide. Kushina, much like the rest of the village, was well aware of the young man's proclivity for causing trouble, but he'd been on his best behavior during his visit and was actually very eloquent. In fact, it the boy ever grew up she was sure he'd make a wonderful man.
Tonight however, Kushina was ready to confront her beloved about his abuse of authority. As he entered their bedroom, where Kushina spent almost all of her time in bed, though unfortunately not engaging in anything fun, sex being another activity deemed too dangerous for the pregnant kunoichi, she smiled sweetly. Patting the empty spot on her left she motioned for him to come over.
"Hey baby," he said. "Did you miss me? I definitely missed you."
Sitting next to her on the bed he began rubbing her belly affectionately and cooing sweet nothings as he lowered his head to it.
"Of course not," she replied, enjoying it when his face fell. "How could I even begin to miss you with all the visitors I've had lately. And that Shiranui Genma is just so damn cute, and what magical hands."
"W-what? Why have his hands been on you? How can you say that? His hands, magic or otherwise, should not be on my wife, I'll have him doing D ranked missions for the rest of his life," he said sitting up to his full height.
"Oh relax yourself, I was just kidding. I'm just trying to prove a point."
"Which is?"
"That you are ordering people to come see me."
"Pfft… what are you talking about?" he sputtered.
"Oh, just the myriad of strange guests I've had in and out of the house this week. And I want you to know that it's not that I don't enjoy the company, I totally do, it's great having people to talk to. It breaks up the day until I get to see you again, but you're abusing your power sweetie, regardless of how good your intentions."
"I have no idea what you are talking about. If people are coming to visit it's because they love you as much as I do. You're an amazing person. Who wouldn't want to see you?"
"Minato," she stated, her voice taking on that no nonsense tone she used when scolding Obito and Anko. "Stop lying. You and I both know you're making our shinobi come visit me."
"I am not."
"Oh really? Then what am I doing getting visits from Yamanaka Iku? A woman who I've only actually met twice before, but whom decided she should bring me a giant bouquet of lilies, which just happened to be Star Gazers, my favorite."
"Iku-san is also pregnant; she probably just wanted to be around someone who could understand being a kunoichi and a mother, and the frustration of being taken off missions for nine months."
"Okay," Kushina nodded in agreement. "Then what about the frequency of Kakashi, Obito, and Anko's visits, huh? Between Kakashi and Anko I couldn't tell you which one spends more of their time training, and now suddenly they're visiting at least two times a day. Neglecting years of self imposed discipline and conditioning to spend hours gossiping with me?"
"Kushina, none of them have families of their own anymore, and I'm not available for them like I used to be, not to mention since Orochimaru left Anko's been like a lost puppy, she can't even bring herself to say the bastard's name. Being with you makes them feel like they're part of something more. I thought you already understood that."
"Okay then smart ass. Just today I got a visit from Hagane Kotetsu. Explain that one."
"I… uh… I.. fine. He came to me for advice on girls and I told him I was busy but I was sure you were free, and I may have mentioned that he could have his pick of missions next time he came in if he entertained you for at least an hour. But it was a suggestion, not an order."
Kushina beamed, she'd known she was right all along.
A/N: Thanks for reading, now this is where I beg for reviews… please please please please please review. Also I'm thinking of doing a timeskip, nothing drastic, just one or two years, and then I'd do several more, eventually ending up where shippuuden is, and I'd like your opinion on whether I should do this or just continue the way it is, or maybe just skip a year at a time. Hmmm… I just can't decide.