Chapter 91 - Openwork Lace

Naruto returned to Hokage Manor to find Andou polishing a sword at a small folding table that someone had brought into his office.

Well, this was new. "Hey, uh, Andou-kun, where'd you find that?"

"Evidence room," Andou replied, swiping a white cloth over the blade once more. "I thought we could use it to get us on some good footing with the Taki syndicate." He paused. "Giving it to them as a gift, I mean."

"Uhh… that's, uh, a great idea, Andou-kun, but I think it's kinda illegal to give away evidence like that, y'know," Naruto said, scratching his head.

Andou's tea-saucer eyes blinked, and he shook his head. "No, no, this belongs to the Taki clan already. You see?" He balanced the blade on the palm of his left hand, covered with the cloth, while holding the handle with the right. "There's a seal stamped on the blade near the guard."

Naruto bent over and narrowed his eyes and, indeed, the kanji for "Taki" was stamped there. "Well, huh. How'd you know to get it?"

"I went back and looked at the records from when Kiine-san was first visiting. The complaints and the incident reports," Andou replied, returning to his work. "Some man named Honda had his sword confiscated and I don't think we ever returned it. So I think this would be an excellent opportunity to do so."

Naruto paused, the plan rolling lightly through his mind.

(And he realized something completely separate.)

(Andou, didn't he count, too?)

(Even knowing where he came from, and how he had been born, Naruto still treated him like he was just Hinata's son. Because that was what he was.)

(He wasn't anything else.)

(Knowing this gave him confidence.)

"I take it this is a good plan?" Andou said, not looking up, but seeing Naruto's smile growing overlarge.

"A super idea," Naruto said. "Bring it with you when we go to dinner, okay?"

"You… want me to come with you?"

"Well, duh. You're sorta keeping this whole operation together, y'know, Andou-kun. I don't think I could keep half this stuff straight without you."

Andou gave a shrugging, shy smile. "Well, okay. The reservation is at five, correct?"

"Pfft, you tell me, buddy," Naruto said.

So, of course, Andou did.

The Hokage and the boy departed from the Manor at 4:30 to collect their guests at the inn. Andou had the sword sheathed and held firmly in his hands across his chest. Taking a bold move forward, he presented it to Boss Tensho shortly after Naruto made do with some sort of greeting.

"Before we departed, I wanted to have this returned to you, sir," he said, evenly. "I believe it belongs to one of your men, with the surname Honda. It was left with us during your clan's previous visit and never returned properly." Holding the sword out with both hands, Andou bowed low, at the waist.

"That moronic egghead," Nobuhiro mumbled, from his place behind Boss Tensho and Mikan. "He wanted that stupid thing replaced."

Tensho's mustache bristled, but he reached out and took the sword regardless, and nodded. "Thought this was missing for good. Didn't expect to have it returned."

There was a stiff silence.

"On behalf of my husband," Mikan said, as Tensho turned to a servant and told him to put the sword away, "let me thank you for your thoughtfulness."

"Anything less would not do our country's virtue justice, ma'am," Andou replied, with a polite smile. Nobuhiro and Tensho both scoffed somewhat, but were ignored.

"Gosh, where can I get one?" Shin whispered, from behind his fingers. Kou, nearby, covered a cheek and ear with his hand.

"So, uh, you guys hungry? We should probably get going, y'know," Naruto said, waving his hand. "It's a short walk but our reservation will be kept no matter what, so."

"Lead the way, Hokage," Boss Tensho said, shifting his shoulders.

"Of course, Boss Tensho. Follow me!"

A private room had been booked for them at the Red Kitsune, a sumptuous music-box of a place full of folding screens accentuated with gold leaf, and dark wooden pillars forming small, private dining rooms for each party of customers. Normally, reservations had to be placed a week in advance. During chuunin exam season, that period was extended to one month, three if you wanted to be sure.

But Naruto was the Hokage.

…and he'd made the reservation the month before, so whatever. He was fine either way.

"Order anything you want, I'm covering the bill!" Naruto said. He sat on the far right edge of the table, allowing Boss Tensho and Boss Shin to sit at the center with Mikan and Hikawa, where the best food would be placed when it arrived. Of course, Kiine sat beside him, with Kou and Yuki. The bodyguards and Andou took the other side of the table, though Andou was forced to the edge by Nobuhiro, who didn't want him so close to his master.

Kiine went for the menu immediately. "Ooh, what's good here?"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, everything, I guess!"

"Kiine, look at these desserts," Kou said, getting her attention by batting her arm with his fingers and pointing at his own menu. "Gosh, I wonder how they taste."

"Order them if you're so curious," Yuki said, though the snap in his voice was not malice but playfulness.

"I don't know where to start, Yuki-san," Kou replied.

"An appetizer, maybe?" Yuki said.

"I dunno, dessert for dinner is startin' to sound pretty good, yeah," Kiine said, her mouth stretching into a playful smirk.

"Kiine, dear, order at least one thing that could count as a real dinner," Mikan said, from her side of the table. Boss Tensho was studying the menu with an intensely displeased expression, his hand poised on his mouth. Or he could have just been concentrating.

"Okay, Mama, I will," she replied, nodding. "Hey, Naruto-san, you think the noodles here are as good as Ichiraku?"

"…I think saying anything would get me in trouble with someone, y'know," Naruto said, eyes shifting, mock-conspiratorially. "Let's play it safe and keep away from the noodles."

"Good idea, yeah," Kiine said, lowering her voice to match his whisper. Kou giggled, his round cheeks growing slightly pink, Yuki discretely smiling behind his menu.

Choices were, eventually, made. And plates made of beautiful chocolate-and-cream-colored laquerwork were delivered, bearing glistening steaks, tempura in batter that looked like gold ore, mountains of still-steaming dumplings. The food smelled and tasted as good as it looked.

Conversation bloomed from the ashes of hunger. Andou, of all things, had gotten into a conversation with Kou's one-eyed bodyguard, Shankusu, over alliances between pirate bands in the Northern Seas, or something like that. The Bosses Tensho and Shin kept to themselves, though Mikan was checking around the table with little sparks of conversation every few minutes: "Oh, isn't this chicken breast divine, Hikawa-san?" "Are you enjoying your salad, Yuki dear?" "Naruto-san, this is truly remarkable food. I'll have to send my compliments to the chef!"

"I'm sure it'd be appreciated, Mikan-san!" Naruto chirped back, before returning to his conversation with Kiine. Naturally, the two of them had gotten started as soon as drinks had been served, and hadn't stopped for anything.

Though Kiine seemed to be shifting the subject, subtly. "Hey, so, Naruto-san," she said.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You're the Hokage, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And there are other Kage-people, yeah?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Well, I was wondering." She put down her chopsticks to gesture outward with her hands. "See, we had some trouble this summer with some Cloud ninjas, and their leader-guy is the Raikage, yeah?"

"Yeah, Rotsuki-san," Naruto replied, though his brow was lowering. Yuki and Kou, he noticed, had stopped eating and were leaning in slightly.

"Well, d'you suppose you could arrange for a meeting for our families with him? 'Cos we got some negotiations started with his people but they didn't get too far, and we kinda wanted to talk to him ourselves, yeah."

"About what, exactly?" Naruto said.

"Eh, trade routes that our families use, whether or not aggression is so-badly needed, what to do about our less-than-legal goods, yadda yadda," Kiine replied, rotating her hand around in a circle with the list. "I mean, we agreed not to bother each other for the time being, yeah, but it'd be great if we could get this settled here."

Naruto thought, tilting his head, eyes closed. "Eh… I dunno, Kiine, that seems like it's sorta abusin' my power, y'know. Rotsuki-san's pretty busy with his own stuff, too, and I don't wanna bother him if I don't need to…"

"Please, Naruto-san. It's really important that you at least ask him, yeah," Kiine said, leaning forward and putting a hand on his upper arm. "Because if we keep putting this off it'll be bad for both of us. And I don't want either of us to get desperate again."

"Again?" One of Naruto's eyebrows rose.

"They, um…" Kou was speaking. "They… kidnapped me and tried to hold me hostage to force my… clan to enter into… talks with them…" He had his head lowered, rubbing his fingers over the top of his left hand. "Kiine, um… Well, her and Yuki-san… They had to rescue me, see…"

Some sort of history rubbed against Naruto's memory. His eyes flitted to Andou, sitting across the table from him.

(His personal tragedies had been untouched by Cloud. But his mother, his honorary uncle, had been unmistakably changed by such things.)

"…well, I'll see if I can talk to Rotsuki-san and see what the deal is, y'know," Naruto said. "I suppose if he's interested, even if right now doesn't work out, exactly, we can at least get something started."

Kiine's face lit up, her eyes glowing like dark, polished sapphires. She dove into a half-hug, wrapping her arm around Naruto's shoulders. "You are seriously the best, yeah. Thank you so much!"

"Hey, just doing what I can, y'know!" Naruto replied, shoving her back. "Hey, uh, and Kou-kun?" he added, a bit more softly.

His head snapped up. "Ah, yeah?"

"If you got nightmares or anything 'cos you got kidnapped, we can help you with that, y'know," he said. "S'not your fault that that happened to you."

"Oh, uh, okay, but I'm fine, mostly…" Kou replied, now tapping the knuckle of a finger with a shy smile. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"Hey, sure thing!" Naruto beamed and grabbed his chopsticks. "Now, let's see, what's left…"

There was a gentle rapping noise on a wooden beam outside the booth. A woman in a mask shaped like an ox's head had appeared. "Hokage-sama."

"Oh, hey there," Naruto said, though his expression tightened slightly. An ANBU, here? "What's going on?"

"I was sent to inform you that your daughter, the Lady Yomena, has arrived," the ANBU replied. "Since you were unable to receive her, she was sent to your residence."

…oh.

Her.

"Ah, I, uh, I see," Naruto replied, nodding a few more times than necessary. "Well, I'll be, uh, right with her after dinner's over and I've taken my, uh, guests home y'know."

The ANBU nodded. "Very well, sir." She departed, her coal-colored cape rippling slightly behind her.

"So… your, uh, daughter, huh?" Kiine said, after the awkward silence had left the table with all the other couples—even Yuki and Kou—returning to their conversations or starting new ones. She had her drink glass in her hand, the rim of the cup poised against her mouth. "Didn't I stay in her room while I was here?"

"Yeah, that's… her room," Naruto replied. Had he even cleaned it for her? He hadn't really touched it since Kiine had stayed there…

"Any chance I'll get to meet her while I'm here?" Kiine asked. "How old is she, anyways?"

"Uh… sixteen, I think..."

"Whoa, cool, so she's the same age as me, yeah?" Kiine's forced casual air broke into a smile. "Now I have to meet her."

"I… dunno if she'd be so cool with that, Kiine…" Naruto said.

Kiine set down her drink. "Why, what's up?"

"She's..." He looked up, pulling his thoughts together. "Yomena is sort of… hard to get to know, y'know. She's not really… into talking much. Much less with me."

"What, really? You'd think that she'd be a huge chatterbox, if she were related to you, yeah," Kiine said.

Naruto snorted through his nose, involuntarily. "Well, I guess some stuff is weird like that, y'know."

"Well, either way. Why wouldn't she want to talk to you, at least, though? You're not so bad, yeah."

"We're just…" He shrugged, heavily. "Different people, I guess. She's never shown an interest in gettin' to know me, really, and I sorta go on automatic around her, so…"

"Automatic? The heck does that mean, yeah?" Kiine said.

Naruto shrugged again. "I just… treat her like a stranger, I guess," he replied. "Since I dunno how the heck she wants me to act around her, y'know."

"Well, you're her dad, aren't you?"

"Only in the… generic sense of the word, really," Naruto said. "I got to see her when she was a baby, an' then when she was five or six they started doing these visits where she stayed at my house. It was part of the deal I made with her mom, apparently. And by then she was already…" He waved his hands in the air for lack of a word. "S'quiet as she is now, y'know. Not so much into getting t'know me."

"Ah. Huh." Kiine went for her cup again. "Does it bother you or anything?"

"What bothers me?"

"The fact that you dunno how to act around her, yeah."

"Hey, I never said that, y'know."

Kiine swallowed, exhaling loudly as she put her cup down. "Um, hello, the whole automatic mode?"

"That, uh…" He pursed his lips, tightly. "That was just a figure of speech, y'know."

"Sure, sure," Kiine said. "I dunno, it just sounds super uncomfortable to me, yeah. Having to share a house with someone you know is related to you, but you hardly know them. Reminds me of this thing my papa told me once, about having to deal with rival Bosses. Only, I don't think your daughter wants to secretly kill you, yeah. If she does, then, jeez, you made some bad decisions, buddy."

"That… hey." Naruto pulled a teasing, laughing grin over the axe of anxiety that struck his stomach. "Don't go talkin' about killing people, that's bad dinner talk, y'know."

"Okay, okay," Kiine said, laughing in reply. (Good, she hadn't noticed his slip.) "Still, I dunno, maybe you could try and see if she wants to get to you know you at least a little, yeah? I mean, that's bound to make things a little more bearable."

"I never said it wasn't bearable," Naruto said. He crossed his arms, trying to make it look like a joke.

"Yeah, but it sure don't sound pleasant," Kiine replied, smoothly. "Just a suggestion, anyways."

She returned to the food and a discussion with her mother, but Naruto didn't eat anything after that, his stress, tightening his stomach, stifling his appetite completely.

In all honesty, he had more or less forgotten that the girl, Yomena, his daughter, had even existed until the ANBU's arrival. And this wasn't due to the chuunin stress, nor the panic of the week before.

This was just how things were.

She was such a minor part of his life that, most of the time, his day-to-day thoughts glided by as usual without tripping over the few solid memories he had of her, like it did with so many other people.

He kept the door to her bedroom closed, in his house. There was no need for it to be used, normally. Kiine-then-Yukio had been a rare exception, and even then, Naruto had found her occupation of the space far more…

Appropriate? Fitting? Welcome?

The room felt more like it belonged to Kiine more than it had ever done for Yomena.

Normally, Naruto took on the visits with tolerable discomfort. They only really saw each other sparingly during her stay, especially given how early she awoke to meditate in her room and then cook her own breakfast. Their only face-to-face encounters tended to be in the greeting and the leaving, and that suited Naruto and, as far as he knew, it suited her as well.

But what Kiine said, about how awkward it felt.

…nah, it wasn't awkward, it was just…

…well, duty, he supposed. It wasn't supposed to be fun.

(It certainly hadn't been fun when he had been asked to make her, a barely-remembered promise dredged to the surface and plied into legitimacy through the offer of rare, raw materials for Konoha's use.)

(It hadn't been fun, sitting, alone, in that clinic, with a plastic cup and an overly-cheerful order to masturbate into it.)

(Every ounce of his effort was put into keeping his mind away from everything that was happening below his elbows, and well away from his cleaner memories, of people he held in higher esteem than Lady Shion.)

(It was better than being a traitor and actually sleeping with her.)

(But it wasn't fun.)

And, hey, it was better than when Yomena had first arrived at his house, right? When she was five, maybe six years old.

He thought of her as an invader, back then, but didn't dare complain.

She had a nanny in those days, anyways, an older priestess with a face like a bald cat that tutored her in the meantime. Naruto didn't have to take care of her, didn't have to cook for her or tuck her into bed or anything. If he'd had to do that now, he'd have been fine, since chores were easily-done, but Yomena took care of herself now.

But back then.

That was ten years ago.

(A memory, like the small shoot of a plant, nudged its way out and into his consciousness.)

"Hey."

(Had he once been almost happy to see her?)

"Na-aruto-san."

(Before that boy, the one who was more like his child to him than she was, was taken from him?)

"Oy, hey."

(…did she still deserve that cruel apathy, if it was true?)

"Naruto-san, seriously, are you gonna eat that?" Kiine was nudging Naruto on the arm, strongly now, gesturing to a peach-shaped bun on his plate with her chopsticks. "'Cos if you aren't, I'm going for it."

"Huh? Oh, no, sure, you can have it," Naruto replied.

"Sweet, thank you!" She dove for it with needle-fast movements, but it slipped out of her chopsticks and rolled across the floor, where it was picked up by Yuki's chopsticks in a barely-visible movement. "Dude, hey!"

"Your lips were not made to touch such filthy food, sir," Yuki said, and popped the whole bun in his mouth. "Awwow me."

"Aw, come on, Yuki, that was the last one, yeah! Traitor."

Yuki swallowed. "Too slow, I suppose, sir," he said, biting his lower lip with his smile, his mouth curling upward cartoonishly.

"I'm gonna make you cough that up, punk."

"Oh, so you like your food regurgitated, sir? Sounds like something new to try cooking with, Kou-san." Yuki leaned sideways, lowering his mouth appraisingly.

"Oh yes, that must taste in-te-res-ting," Kou added, nodding in mock-posh agreement. "I must try it."

"Gross, gross, gross, yeah," Kiine said, though she laughed, and they laughed in reply.

Naruto, however, had sunk into his thoughts again, unable to take any pleasure out of the exchange, full of unfitting mischief that Haku surely would have been mortified to have taken part in.

He was thinking of making an effort. To maybe make the duty easier to bear, or even to eradicate it altogether.

Because this wasn't all Yomena's fault.

(And if it was his fault, for rejecting her that one year…)

(…well, maybe this would make up for things a little.)

Naruto dropped off the Taki clan and their associated guests at the Tenjou Inn with Andou, after dinner was finished, but instead of parting ways with the boy there, they went together to the Manor to see if there was anything that could be tied up by the end of the day.

Hawks and other messages had been received from the Lands of Wind and Lightning; Gaara and Rotsuki and their related parties would be arriving the next day. The Tsuchikage had already been received, but upon being told that Naruto was busy with other guests, a note was cheerfully and simply left for him instead, saying that a meeting could be arranged the next day. Which suited Naruto very much, since an informal meeting of the Kages was scheduled for the next day anyways.

Most of the other affairs had been taken care of, by either Andou or other interns, so Naruto signed a few papers and went on his way, saying goodnight to Andou.

"And give your mom my best, okay? Tell her I'll write back soon, y'know."

Andou smiled warmly, much like she did, and nodded. "I understand. Goodnight, Naruto-san."

However, Naruto was slow in going home. He shuffled, hands in his pockets, past fences and trees and lampposts soaking everything in yellow light. When he passed the Tenjou Inn on the way home, he considered, for a moment, going in and seeing if there was anyone that wanted to share a snack and a drink with him. But he shook his head, strengthening his stomach.

He had to get this over with. Come on, man, he told himself.

So he walked on, and towards home.

The lights were already on in his house, though they were few and kept low. A spicy smell cut through the usual, chicken broth air of the kitchen. She'd lit incense, probably.

Naruto swallowed as he approached her bedroom door. He knocked. "Yomena?"

There was a very light rustling beyond, and the door opened slightly.

Yomena's hair was loose, for once, falling over her shoulders in kinked waves. It was a bright, bright red, though it looked almost brown in the half-light.

Her eyes, a dark, nearly-violet blue, were dull as she looked back at him. Half-sleepy, half-disinterested.

(But they still looked like his.)

"I see you have returned, Hokage-sama."

"Uh, yeah. Just got back."

She nodded, eyes closed, her shoulders slumping in a slight bow. "Welcome back, then." She returned to her half-open gaze. "I was told you were entertaining guests. I trust you had a fulfilling time."

"Yeah, it was pretty fun," Naruto replied. "Did you, uh, get settled in okay? The trip over all right?"

"It was sufficient. I've been meditating in your absence," Yomena replied. "I will try to remain unobtrusive from here on out, of course."

"Oh, hey, you don't need to worry about that, y'know," Naruto replied, raising his hands and waving them at his chest. "Actually, uh, you hungry?"

Yomena's expression tightened slightly. "Not particularly."

"Oh, well, uh, 'cos I was gonna ask if you were interested in getting some dinner with me."

"…weren't you just at dinner?"

"Well… yeah, but I sorta have a bottomless stomach, y'know." He laughed, and tried to make it sound natural.

Yomena's face grew more pinched. "I had my meal on the way over, of course."

"Ah, yeah, 'course…" Naruto nodded a few times, looking sideways as he thought. "Well, hey, I'm busy with lunches and dinners tomorrow, but d'you wanna grab breakfast with me or something? I could prob'ly squeeze in a dinner thing after the tournament's over, if you'd prefer, y'know…"

"I don't want to be a bother," Yomena said, flatly.

"Oh, you're not a bother, honest! I wanna make sure you have a good time here, y'know," Naruto said.

Yomena just shifted her position, slightly. "Of course."

"Just let me know if there's anything you wanna do, okay? Let me cook breakfast tomorrow morning at least." He tilted his head with the offer.

"That won't be necessary," Yomena replied. "Thank you for the offer, of course, but I doubt our schedules will line up. Please eat whenever you need to."

"Ah, sure…" Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, uh, I still would like to treat you to a meal, y'know. While you're here."

"I will consider it, of course," Yomena replied, with a graceful nod. "I'm going to return to my meditation, now. Have a good night, Hokage-sama."

"Yeah, uh, you too."

Yomena closed the door behind her.

Naruto breathed in, deeply, and sighed.

The entire exchange, and he hadn't felt a single emotion from out of her. No fondness, no joy, no affection.

(No hatred or anger or annoyance, either, but…)

Maybe it was because he'd interrupted her in her meditation, or whatever it was she was doing in there. That her emotions had drained out of her in her concentration.

(Murasaki had once been like that. Sometimes she still was.)

But then again, in what memories he could scrape up of her, she had always seemed that way. Lukewarm and flat.

...well, he'd made an effort. And she was going to be there for a week or so.

He'd get other opportunities.

He left her doorway, after lingering for a while longer, to try and look forward to something better.

The next day, he'd be seeing Kurunari, and Bee, and Gaara. People that wanted to be around him.

Ah, yes.

But as he lay sideways in bed, the photo of him and his students on the table caught his eye.

Naruto, of course, was smiling in it, his face barely younger, even with the ten year difference.

Masao, to the left, was glancing worriedly with his copper-gold eyes at Murasaki, on the right. Her own eyes were closed, her head tilted slightly forward; she was nodding off.

And in the middle, there was Shusuke, grinning as brightly as his sensei was.

Naruto took the photograph and turned it face-down.

He wasn't going to let this get in the way.

Not this time.