A most felicitous greeting to you, (NAME OMITTED)!
We are writing to congratulate you on your recent successes in restoring the Araragi clan through your work in selective breeding and gene engineering. The children you have helped create are priceless treasures to the government, and your work is therefore of great value to us.
This taken into account, we write to inform you that you have been placed into a new assignment. The government has considered these recent accomplishments of yours and decided that you are a prime candidate for one of our most pressing scientific endeavors: restoring the Yuki clan, one of our most treasured and beloved bloodlines.
While the Yuki clan is officially extinct, we believe that, using your research into cross-breeding techniques and gene therapy, you should be able to succeed in creating a new clan with identical, or at least similar, gifts. For your purposes, we have gathered tissue, sperm, and egg donors, and surrogates with both natural wind and water release bloodlines in the hopes that they may contribute towards reproducing an ice release. All materials are viable and entirely at your disposal.
You will be relocated to your labs and new quarters immediately; you shall be given twenty-four hours to gather your personal effects.
We look forward to your inevitable results.
- A letter from the office of the Mizukage to an unidentified scientist, 25 AU.
ACT 10
CONNECTION
Chapter 90 - Pickup Knit
The chuunin exam tournament was on a Friday.
The Taki clan arrived on a Tuesday morning, via transport. Naruto was immediately informed, and the clan was kept at the station, awaiting his arrival.
He hadn't expected to feel that nervous. At all. And yet he was.
But of course, it was natural to feel so nervous. Especially with everything that had been going on.
The week before, there had been Orochimaru-now-Ooda, and all the panic he had brought with him, explosions of information and everything. And Yakata had only arrived home the day before, or so Suigetsu had reported, over the phone.
And as always, the masses and masses of preparations to be made for the tournament, and all of its guests, and the security needed for the guests, and the permits for the vendors around the stadium, and…
Yeah, there was a lot to think about, but Naruto never got nervous over it, the chuunin exam preparations especially. Maybe a little stressed, which always caused him to eat too much and laugh too loudly, but not nervous.
He decided to bring Andou with him to the station. "Why, what's going on?" Andou replied, after Naruto told him.
"It'll… look good," Naruto replied, nodding, nodding. "B'sides, maybe you'll… need to take notes, y'know. Or something. For posterity. Okay?"
"Sure, okay," Andou replied, shrugging, and patting his jacket pocket to make sure his favorite notebook and a spare pen were at the ready. "Whenever you're ready."
(Andou wasn't his mother, but he was a close enough presence for a placebo.)
They set out and into the warming day.
In approaching the transport station, Naruto kept his mind buzzing with distraction by waving at people as he went by—and there were many people. As he did so, his eyes scanned the crowd for a scrap of bright red hair, or a fire-spark smile.
But Kiine found him first. And she let him know by cheering at him through the crowd, her voice sounding like a clear bell through the din.
"Naruto-san!"
And before he could turn around and see her, she had launched herself at him, wrapping her arms over his arms and squeezing so, so tightly.
(The sensation felt strangely familiar.)
"Dude, I freakin' missed you, yeah?!" she said, her voice high with a laugh, as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. One of her sandals had come off.
Naruto stumbled, his breath escaping him in one large reverse-gasp.
(Why did this feel so familiar?)
He didn't hug her back, not yet. But still, he found himself saying, "Y-yeah, me too, y'know…!"
(And he wasn't lying, he knew this.)
Kiine let go, but placed her hands on his elbows, stepping back. She wore finer clothes than she'd brought with her during her last stay, but they were no less feminine. Her smile was like a bright half-moon, and her hair was shorter than Naruto remembered. "Man, how have you been? It feels like it's been forever!"
"Yeah, forever! Wow," Naruto replied, with a mock-sheepish shrug. "Um, yeah, been busy, been busy… But how are you, y'know?"
"Freaking awesome, that's what," Kiine replied. "Man, I have so much to tell you!"
"Sure sounds like it, from your letter," Naruto said.
"Kiine!" A man's voice, loud, and growing louder.
"Oh, whoops, I guess I sorta left my family behind, yeah…" Kiine said. She let go to scratch her temple in embarrassment. "Here, you wanna meet 'em?"
"Y'don't have to ask, haha," Naruto replied. And with Kiine leading, slipping her lost sandal back on as she went, they met the Taki clan halfway.
Naruto could feel his heart thudding in his throat, but he swallowed, smiled, and tried to ignore it.
"Kiine, now what was that about?" The voice, it seemed, belonged to a man with a red mustache, and ragged, severe eyebrows. He had his arms crossed within his red-gray kimono sleeves.
"Sorry, Papa, I shouldn't have done that…" Kiine said, bowing slightly in apology.
"Ah, so you must be… ah, Kiine's dad, Boss Tensho, right?" Naruto said. His face wrinkled slightly as he tried to remember the name. "Uzumaki Naruto, seventh Hokage of Konoha. Great to meet you!" He reached out a hand for Tensho to shake.
Tensho didn't take it, his expression just growing more severe. "The same," he said.
"And this is my mother, Mikan, Naruto-san," Kiine said, pulling on his sleeve in her direction.
"A pleasure to meet you," Mikan said, taking his hand anyways. She had a mirthful, almost Buddha-like smile, painted apple-red, and her pleasantly thick body was encased in a beautifully-made kimono of dull, rose-colored silk. "Kiine's told me quite a bit."
"Wish I could say the same! But then again, Kiine-chan wasn't exactly in a position to say much when she was here, y'know," Naruto said, trying hard to keep his laughter casual. "But, hey, nothin' we can't fix."
"Surely," Mikan replied, warmly. Tensho said nothing.
"An' this is my, uh, fiancé, Hakaza Kou!" Kiine said, pulling Naruto along further, and pushing forward another person with her free hand.
The boy, dressed in a well-tailored khaki vest that complemented the navy blue shirt beneath it, looked far too young to be a fiancé.
(And he looked nothing like Naruto's father.)
"A fiancé!" Naruto said. "Huh! Really!"
"It's sorta complicated, yeah…" Kiine said, and made a groaning, laughing noise. "But, hey, he's not so bad."
"Very nice to meet you…." Kou said quietly, bowing.
"And I'm Shin, Boss of the Hakaza clan," a man said, stepping forward and in front of Kou. He was robed in sumptuous, cold shades of gray, and had very pale, almost glass-like skin and yellow eyes that tickled the back of Naruto's memory. "Kou is my son. Wonderful to meet you, Hokage-san."
"Uh, sure, same to you!" Naruto said, and shook his hand. "And you can just call me Naruto, y'know?"
"Ooh! Do you treat everyone like this?" Shin said, tittering with his hand poised girlishly by his mouth. "So delightfully casual."
"Dad, please…" Kou mumbled.
Kiine was already tugging Naruto to the next person in the group, in familiar, lavender-colored robes. "An' this is-"
Naruto already knew. He would never forget that face.
Though the name associated with it was different, now. But he knew that name as well.
"Yuki-kun, right?"
Yuki blinked slightly, in surprise. "You, ah, remember me?"
"Yea-ah! 'Course I do, why wouldn't I, y'know?" Naruto replied. "You're, uh, Kiine's… brother, right?"
"…bodyguard," Yuki said, his face turning slightly pink, perfect lips tightening.
Naruto's stomach twisted slightly. Right, right, that was a mistake, he was only thinking that because-
"Dude, you are totally my brother, yeah," Kiine said, leaving Naruto to cheerfully throw her arm around Yuki's back. "We were practically in diapers together, you know?"
"Whatever you say, sir," Yuki said, looking up, though smirking lightly.
The knot in Naruto's stomach eased, slightly.
Slide, click.
Oh. And behind Yuki.
Naruto made an attempt. "And you're, uh… Nobuyuki?"
"Nobuhiro," the man replied. Slide, click.
"Ri-ight! Right, sorry, I'm bad with names, y'know," Naruto replied. He received a slight eye-roll, a swell of disrespect with it. "Boss Tensho's guy, right?"
"Sure," Nobuhiro said, flatly. His expression and tone were much like Boss Tensho's had been.
But at least there wasn't any animosity expressed by either of them. Just annoyance, if anything.
That was a start.
"Well, uh, this here is Hyuuga Andou!" Naruto said, stepping back a little to address them all. "Andou-kun, this is the, ah, Taki clan! And Hakaza clan, I guess."
"A pleasure to meet you all," Andou said, and bowed with practiced, traditional composure. "Allow me, on behalf of my clan, the Hyuuga, to also bid you welcome."
"Jeez, Andou-kun, no need to be so formal," Naruto said, shoving him slightly. "Andou-kun's my assistant, y'know. He practically helps run the place."
"Yeah, I remember you," Kiine said, leaving Yuki. "You got cool eyes."
"Thank you," Andou said, though his smile was diminished at the edges.
"Well! Uh! Now that we got our introductions outta the way, uh, why don't I show you to your accommodations, y'know?" Naruto said, clapping his hands together. "Then I can take you for a tour around the city, if y'want."
"Ooh, that'd be awesome!" Kiine said. "I mean, you already showed me around but I'd love to show Yuki an' Kou all the cool stuff, yeah."
"I thought we were just here for the tournament, I don't feel like sight-seeing," Boss Tensho said.
"Papa, you can just stay in the room, if you're gonna be like that," Kiine said. "We should have some fun while we're here!"
"Just tryin' to be a gracious host, Boss Tensho," Naruto said, shrugging apologetically. "If there's anything you'd personally like to do then I can totally see if I can fit it in, y'know."
"Thanks," Boss Tensho replied, curtly.
The accommodations had been chosen long before, after Boss Tensho's letter had returned, confirming their attendance to the chuunin exams. It was the Tenjou Inn, a traditional affair perhaps a block or two from Naruto's own house, with baths and an excellent kitchen.
It also happened to be an inn chosen by many of the Kages during their visits, year after year—Gaara and the Tsuchikage making the most use of it, by far. True, they had embassies that they could use—which Terumi Mei and her retinue always used, with increasing frequency over the years—but that always reduced the chance that Naruto could sneak in for drinks and jokes in the evenings and reduce themselves to old friends, and no longer Kages. For that reason, Bee frequently booked his rooms there, as well, so he could join in.
Putting the syndicate guests there was something of a preventative measure. If they felt like causing trouble, they would be causing trouble in the full presence of Naruto, at least two other Kages, and at least one other, active jinchuuriki. There was very little room left for disturbance.
It was a really nice inn, besides, and fully suitable for housing such high-profile guests. They wouldn't be able to complain about the service there, at least.
Kiine talked practically the entire way there, leading the group with Naruto, Kou, and Yuki. The adults and the other bodyguards and the baggage-carriers followed behind.
There was a lot for Naruto get caught up on.
"So what's with the new hairstyle?" was Naruto's first question, however. It felt innocuous enough, and didn't make his heart beat any faster. "It's shorter than when I last saw you, y'know."
"Ah, this?" Kiine fluffed a section of her bangs with the back of her hand. "It was gettin' too long, so I decided to cut it myself. Sorta didn't turn out as well as last time, yeah… But Kou fixed it! He's a whiz with scissors, you have no idea."
"I only trimmed it a little, you're really exaggerating," Kou replied, though Naruto saw a gleam of pride in his marble-like eyes.
"Eh, c'mon," Kiine replied, smiling. "I tried to make him do Yuki next but neither of them seemed too interested, for some weird reason."
"I like my hair how it is, sir," Yuki said, primly.
"You ever try wearing it up?" Naruto said.
"Excuse me?"
Naruto made a little motion above his head, as if he were making a ponytail, or a bun. "Y'know, like this. It's pretty long, y'know. It would keep your hair outta your eyes, I think."
"I do that for kendo practice, already," Yuki replied, his head tilted in mild confusion. "I don't like it, though, it… makes me look too much like a girl."
"I don't think it makes that much of a difference, Yuki," Kiine said, with a good-natured dig. "Though if you ask me, it looks more manly when you tie it back, yeah."
"That's… just your opinion, sir," Yuki replied.
Naruto's mouth, however, was pressed tightly into itself as his own words rebounded on him.
He had wanted to agree with Kiine, that loose hair made Yuki look more feminine, but…
(Was he only saying that because of that one day, in the clearing, thirty years before?)
("Do you have anyone that's precious to you?")
(Why had he even brought that up in the first place?)
He shook the memories out of his mind like water from his hair. "So you do kendo, Yuki-kun?"
"Since I was five years old, sir," Yuki replied.
"Really! I remember your, ah, fancy swordplay from the last time you were here, y'know," Naruto said. He threw on a smile. "You must be pretty good."
"I'm as good as I need to be, I suppose," Yuki said.
"Don't sell yourself short, Yuki," Kiine said. Yuki just tilted his head blithely back at her, in reply.
"Anything else you're good at?" Naruto asked.
"What do you mean, sir?" Yuki replied.
"I dunno, just any sorta other talent, I guess." Naruto shrugged. "Like, hmm. Like, uh, can you do magic tricks or anything?"
"Magic?" Yuki blinked. "Well, ah…"
"Uh-oh, Yuki, please don't let this turn into a repeat of that night, yeah," Kiine said, with a stretched half-smile.
"Which night?" Yuki said.
"Kiine, I don't see any soup anywhere, so I think we're safe," Kou said, gently.
"Oh. That night." Yuki's voice was clipped, but as though hiding laughter.
"What are you guys talking about?" Naruto said. His eyes narrowed in confusion, automatically.
Kiine chuckled. "So we had this big engagement banquet like a month ago, yeah, and Yuki froze a bowl of soup for Kou 'cos I asked him to, only it unfroze right when Kou here was holding it above his head! It got everywhere, yeah."
"Yep, sure made a mess…" Kou said.
"Froze, huh?" Naruto said. "So, like, you turned it to ice? How? Or is that a, uh, magician's secret, y'know?" he added, hastily.
"It's just something I've always been able to do, I suppose," Yuki replied. "Do things to water and liquid and such."
"It's pretty cool, honestly, yeah," Kiine said. "When it works, anyways."
"Excuse me, sir," Yuki replied, with mock-offense on his face.
"So you learned to use that, huh…" Naruto said, trying to keep his voice low and to himself.
"Learned to use what, exactly?" Yuki said.
"Ah, nothing, nothing, just talking to myself, y'know," Naruto said, waving it off with his hand.
(But punching himself in the face, in his mind.)
(Why did he keep doing this?)
(Didn't he tell himself that knowing didn't make a difference?)
"So tell me more about this engagement thing," Naruto said, making a leap for safety. "I mean, aren't you guys a little young?"
"Our parents are sort of… traditional," Kou said.
"Understatement, yeah," Kiine said. "But, hey, we're trying to work with it."
"And by that you mean we're sabotaging things left and right." Kou made an attempt at a rebellious smile, but his face was too soft and kind.
"Well, or at least trying," Kiine added.
"Sabotage, huh," Naruto said. "Mind elaborating?"
"Oh, I do not mind at all," Kiine replied.
The conversation stayed safely away from the shadow-casting past until they reached the inn.
And though Naruto's nervousness felt reduced, his uneasiness and insecurity with himself remained.
The tour went well. Tensho stayed in the room, as did Nobuhiro and Mikan. Shin wanted to go, but Mikan advised against it with a waving hand.
"Let the kids go out and have some fun by themselves. They'll be stuck with us for a while afterwards, after all."
Shin agreed, cheerfully, and suggested that drinks be ordered for them all. Tensho couldn't disagree, though his obvious discontent only wrinkled with the alcohol.
The kids went out, and they did have fun—though Andou was dismissed (by his own suggestion) to go assist in the preparations for the tournament, so that Naruto wouldn't fall behind. Kiine added nearly as much commentary as Naruto did, on occasion; and when they stopped for lunch at Ichiraku, she made suggestions.
"Yuki, you don't like hot soup much… I dunno, maybe there's something with tofu that won't be so bad, yeah?"
"I think I can get over my sensitivities for this meal, sir," Yuki replied, with a graceful (far too familiar) bow of his head.
"And Kou, gosh, um, maybe the chestnut would be good for you, yeah? You like sweet stuff," Kiine continued.
"Ooh, if you like sweet stuff, the barbeque pork bowl is really good, y'know," Naruto chimed in, just a bit too loudly.
"…um, I think I'll try the blossom bowl, actually," Kou said. "That sounds good."
"Oh, I didn't think of that," Kiine said, pounding a fist on her open palm. "Well, salt ramen for me!"
"And a Hokage Special, too!" Naruto added.
"Comin' right up!" The owner's grandson was working that day, his yellow tip-dyed hair pushed behind his handkerchief.
"Ah, Yuki-san didn't order, yet…" Kou said.
"Chestnut, please," Yuki replied, with a slight, curling smile in return.
But after the (many bowls of) lunch, Naruto returned the kids to the inn and excused himself. "I'll see you guys again at dinner, I got us a reservation at a real great place, y'know. Okay?"
"Sure, you know where we are, yeah!" Kiine replied, and waved at him as he went.
Naruto retreated to his own bedroom, flopping down, back-first, onto the bed, and exhaling deeply.
He realized, in spreading his thoughts out, picking through where the anxiety was coming from, that Kiine wasn't making him as nervous. He'd lapsed into chatter with her almost automatically, which came as a great relief to him. She was just a friend, and a dear one, and he didn't even need to remind himself of this.
(There wasn't much he remembered that he could compare her to. Just a faint memory of a water-born conversation, nothing more.)
Yuki, however…
His shame for his actions and words earlier stuck into his chest like nails. It wasn't supposed to matter that he knew where Yuki had come from, and yet…
And yet, unlike Yakata, who was stuttering and weak; unlike Ooda, who was selfless and insecure; Yuki far too closely resembled Haku, with his gentle, glass-smooth words and impeccable manner of moving and speaking. He was even the same age as Haku was, in Naruto's memories.
As much as he wanted to believe that this was just an outlier, that he didn't have to worry, Naruto worried.
Especially when he began thinking of Kurunari.
But Kurunari was different too, and always had been different from Jiraiya. But he was due to arrive the following day, along with many of the other jinchuuriki.
And besides, these things didn't happen with Yakata or with Ooda or with (thank goodness) Kiine. He didn't treat them differently.
…still, he worried. Especially because the very existence of the clones wasn't public information yet, nor did Naruto want it to be, at that point.
One slip, in front of the wrong people—and there were lots of wrong people to slip around—could be disastrous.
Another deep breath in. Naruto's ceiling was bare, yet cluttered with thoughts.
…Hinata was always there for him, with green tea and her gentle voice…
…no, he didn't want to bother her with things that were probably beyond her means.
Who had the means, anyways?
…what were the means, anyways? Naruto's face pinched together, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
The means were… well, anyone that had experience dealing with these children, knowing who they were, but managing to keep it all in.
Now, who the heck did that cover?
Naruto sat up with the revelation. "Suigetsu-san!" he said.
…only, Suigetsu was in Tamina, keeping an eye on Yakata. Oh, right…
He flopped back down on the bed again, resuming his thought.
If not Suigetsu, then, who?
…Karin, maybe?
(A fluttering, butterfly-in-the-stomach ripple coursed, once, through his body.)
…well, he didn't want to bother her much.
Who were the guardians that knew? She'd said something, earlier that week…
His memory spun.
That guy named Juugo, who was also at the hospital… But Naruto didn't know him that well, so…
And then Mikan, Kiine's mom. She had a firm handshake and a rose-like, trustworthy air about her. But she was young, too, and Naruto highly doubted that she had ever even heard of Haku…
Naruto groaned and squirmed on the bed, flopping over onto his stomach.
If he didn't want to mess up, he had to talk to someone. Because messing up would mean more than just trouble for him.
So much more.
So he started on his way to the hospital, hoping he was making a good decision.
He kept thinking of turning back, on the way over. Making up excuses, reasons for not bothering her, assuring himself that he wouldn't make any further mistakes.
Yeah, sure. Not with this much at stake.
He snuck into the hospital without much difficulty, greeted by a few of the nurses with crisp choruses of "Hokage-sama." He didn't check in with Sakura, even though he could have found out where she was, because, well, he didn't feel like bothering her, either. And he knew where Karin's room was, anyways, so he didn't need to ask.
Her door was closed, however. He knocked, gently. "Hey, Karin-san…?"
No response.
He knocked again, a little louder. Was she gone…?
(No, she was there. His heart fluttered with the edge of each ripple pulsing out from behind the door.)
He lifted his hand for a third knock when the door opened, and a figure covered in a blanket covered the door. "Mm…?"
"Oh, Ooda-kun…" Naruto said, almost whispering.
Ooda lifted his head, and some of the blanket fell away from his face. He made another, closed-mouth noise, his expression otherwise still obscured.
"Is your mom in there?" Naruto asked.
There was a simultaneous pang of comfort and unease in response to the words. "Mom's sleeping," Ooda finally mumbled.
"Oh! Oh, sorry, then, um, should I come back later…?"
"Why do you want to talk to her," Ooda said, leaning forward, but not stepping forward. A white hand was clenched tightly at his chest, keeping the blanket over him.
"Oh, just… advice, I guess, I'm havin' a little trouble with some… things, y'know," Naruto said. His smile stretched and exposed teeth in an improper way.
"Oh…" Ooda said. "Does it have anything to do with… Yakata?" His voice rose only slightly with the question.
Naruto's smile stretched into a grimace. "Well… kinda. Um, really, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you guys at all, y'know, I can always come back later…"
Ooda shook his head. "You lie badly. I can wake her up for you…" He turned around and went further into the room.
"Oh, no, Ooda-kun, really, it's fine." Naruto followed him, his voice diluting into a whisper with each step. "And it's okay, it's not… exactly to do with Yakata-kun, it's not really that urgent…"
Ooda turned around near Karin's bedside. His profile was sharp against the hair falling in his face. "Then what is it."
"Erm, well…" How to put this…? "I… ran into Kiine and Yuki-kun today. And I think I'm… sorta messing up in dealing with them, y'know."
"…you didn't tell them who they are, did you…"
A great expanse of coldness started growing from behind Ooda, and the grip on his blanket tightened.
"No!" Naruto's voice spiked, then fell. "No, no, of course not, I just… well, Kiine I'm fine with, I just started acting all weird around Yuki-kun. 'Cos, I mean, I knew, uh, Haku myself, an' I still… sorta remember him, and Yuki-kun's so similar an' stuff, so…"
Ooda hunched a little further into himself. "I see…"
"And well, see, I just wanna make sure I'm doing the right thing, y'know, and I wanted to talk to your mom about it…"
"I really don't think she could help you…" Ooda said. "My mother… makes a point about not getting attached, so she'd probably have nothing to share…"
"Oh, I see…" Naruto said.
"…you… knew my 'father,' though, didn't you…"
"'scuze me?"
Ooda crossed the room and pulled a chair out from a table pressed against the furthermost wall. "You know, Orochimaru…"
"Oh! Uh, yeah, I mean, not personally, y'know…" Naruto said, taking careful steps to the table, half-prompted by Ooda's reluctant, miserable tone. "We ran into each other a few times, I mean…"
"Then why do you treat me differently."
Why wouldn't he? The man half-standing in front of him wasn't Orochimaru, that proud, slithering creature with pearly confidence. This was a young man whose every movement spoke of someone that felt ashamed to even exist.
"Well… because you're not him, that's why," Naruto replied.
"But you had trouble with Yuki." One of Ooda's hands emerged to lean against the chair, his head still bowed low. "You knew his father too."
"Well… yeah…" Naruto creaked out. The memory of the beautiful, young Haku seized against the added, artificial role of "father." ("Sister," maybe, but not that…)
"Then what makes me different…?"
"Well, you're… well, you act differently. I mean, when you're, uh, not… in disguise, y'know…" Naruto's face pinched as he tried to think further.
A bare echo of a chuckle floated away from Ooda's lowered head. "And Yuki doesn't, hm…"
"Well… yeah, that's the thing," Naruto said. "He's just… a lot like Haku, so I just sorta… started treating him like he was, I guess…"
"Maybe you're just… focusing too much on the similarities." Ooda finally sat down, his blanket-draped arms folding on the table's surface. "Yuki… well, I… obviously never knew Haku, but... I'm sure he's not as similar as you think he is…"
He disguised the plea well.
"You think I'm just… judging too early, huh?" Naruto said.
"Possibly…" A shift of a shrug. "I'm just speaking from…"
The unfinished phrase dropped into Naruto's stomach like a lead weight.
"…well I'm just… afraid of messing up, is all," he said, after lightly clearing his throat. "Y'know, blowing the cover… I mean, I don't want this whole thing to fall apart just 'cos I can't control myself, y'know…"
"I think you'll be all right…" Ooda said, softly. "We're all… different, I think… Well, even though I know next to nothing, that's what I'd like to hope…" His voice faded.
"Eh, I… think you're right. I'm just not smart enough to figure it out for m'self," Naruto replied, finally cracking a genuine smile.
The blanket slipped a little further off of Ooda's head as he looked up, and a thin smile of his own spread its way over his face like an ink drawing.
"It's all about differences, right?" Naruto said. "Focus on those, yeah. And shut up if I think I'm getting too… close, y'know."
"That sounds like a fine plan," Ooda said.
Naruto continued to smile, the stretched pang of "You're outstaying your welcome!" as usual, drowned out by happier, more relieved thoughts.
Yakata was different, and Kurunari was different, and Ooda was definitely different. Kiine was, too, though there was little for him to compare her to. Which was probably for the best, because he liked her too much for stupid things like memories making things awkward.
And Yuki was probably the very same. For all Naruto knew, he probably hated flowers and bunnies and loved doing manly stuff! He liked kendo, didn't he? Yeah!
"Thanks, Ooda-kun. You were a huge help, y'know," Naruto said.
"Just… doing what I can," Ooda replied, lowering his head, like a bow.
With a shrug-like wave, Naruto left.
Alone in the room, Ooda's grip on his blanket loosened, no longer feeling quite so cold.
There was a rustle from the corner of the room. "Ooda, who was that…"
"…nobody, Mom," Ooda replied.
(Her back facing him, Karin's face folded into a warm, sleepy smile. She'd heard everything.)
(But she smiled the most at the fact that it was the first time she had heard Ooda speak so clearly since his ordeal.)
(The wounds were healing.)