Chapter 122 - Friendly Enemy

The announcement that Orochimaru had been defeated and detained went out over the speakers later in the afternoon. Sakura ended up putting together the best public explanation for Hashiki's involvement: that she was a survivor of one of Orochimaru's experiments, and decided to bravely come forward and intervene once she heard the announcement over the speakers.

"That'll be enough to cheer the public up, I think," she said. "Murasaki-chan's involvement might be a bit too complicated to explain in broad terms right now, so we'll figure out how to handle that later."

Hashiki was fine with that explanation, anyways. "Painting myself as an ordinary survivor is probably for the best. I don't think it would be proper to say that an urban legend just popped up and decided to help you!" she said, with a laugh.

("You sure weren't kidding when you said she knows what she's doing," Hashiki added, quietly, to Naruto, afterward. "Was she your major competition for Hokage?")

(Naruto just laughed in reply.)

The involvement of the Uchiha children in the rescue of their father, it seemed, would be best kept as a private wonder for the staff that had been asked to protect them. What mattered most was the immediate in this aftermath, anyways, and that included taking care of the Uchiha family themselves.

And the first matter of business was Takeru. Naruto and Sakura found the family in the lobby (which had emptied quite considerably, with the injured treated and finally able to go home) later in the afternoon; Inoichi was there, and had brought them all dinner.

"He's out of surgery," Sakura explained. "He'll be unconscious for a while, but he's out of the woods, for the most part. Once he's awake, we'll be able to assess his pain levels and the full extent of the damage, so we can decide what to do about therapy."

"Therapy?" Ino said.

Sakura kept her eyes down for a few moments too long. "His back was broken, Ino. And with more surgery and physical therapy we'll probably be able to get him to walk again. But there's been… irreversible damage, and even with our best efforts, he'll probably never be able to work as a jounin again."

Ino didn't say anything, only exhaling, moan-like, and covering her eyes with her hands. Inoichi put an arm around her shoulders.

"But we're optimistic! He's alive, and the physical therapy we have available now is excellent," Sakura continued, stretching a smile over her mouth. "Thirty years ago, injuries like this used to be a life-or-death matter, even with Tsunade-sensei, but now it's much easier to recover from. All things considered, Takeru will probably only need a wheelchair for the first year of therapy. Less if he heals well and sticks to a consistent regimen…"

Ino didn't say anything, exhaling again.

So Sakura reached forward and held Ino's hands in her own. "He'll be okay, Ino. And I'm gonna be with you every step of the way with this, okay?"

Ino nodded a few times and took a hand out of Sakura's grasp to rub at her eye. "And Sasuke, how is he?"

"Oh, he's… recovering well. He has some fractures in his ribs, arm, and ankle, and he's got a nasty concussion, but he's resting and will be free to leave in a few days, I'm sure…"

"Oh, that's… great, I'm glad." Ino's voice wavered.

"And the rest of us aren't that injured at all, Mom!" Karai added, tugging on her mother's collar from where she sat beside her, smiling. She had a bandage on her forehead and another on her cheek, for the leftover bumps and scrapes from her encounter with the Riverman.

(Hajime's lip still hadn't fully healed, and he had an angry bruise on one side of his brow. But those weren't from the Riverman.)

"You have to stay optimistic, Ino," Sakura added. "Everyone's being cared for, and nobody's in danger now."

"For now…" Ino said, quietly.

"Hey, hey, that Riverman guy isn't going anywhere, y'know," Naruto said, waving his hands. "Actually, I'm gonna head off with Hashiki-san in a bit to check out the, uh, seal she put on him, just to make sure, okay?"

"Ah, sure…" Ino said.

(Though both he and Sakura knew who she was really worried about. Almost everyone present did.)

"I think the best course of action for now is for you all to go home and get some sleep," Sakura said. She put her hands into her pockets, adding an air of professional opinion. "I imagine you're all exhausted."

"…well, um, Sakura-sensei… we don't really have a home to go back to right now…" Karai said, quietly.

"Karai, what do you mean?" Hajime said. He, of course, was sitting

"The Riverman destroyed our house, while he was looking for Dad. Not… Grandpa's house, ours."

Ino's head just lowered slightly.

"…sorry I didn't mention anything earlier…" Karai continued, more quietly.

"I'm really sorry, you guys," Naruto said. "I'll see if there's any way I can help with that, I promise."

"And you can stay with me as long as you need to, sweetheart," Inoichi added, rubbing Ino's shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Mm…" Ino said.

"Will you take them home with you, then, Inoichi-san?" Sakura said.

"I want to stay, the rest of you go home," Ino said, her voice like thick glass. "I need to be here."

"…Ino, are you sure?" Sakura said.

Ino just nodded. "I'm sure there's a place I can stay here. So I can be near my hus…" The words dried in her mouth. "Be near Sasuke. And Takeru."

"…of course, I can find you a bed," Sakura said. She cleared her throat. "Besides, Nadeshiko-chan's in Yakata-kun's room, and I don't think she'll be leaving any time soon…"

"Thank you," Ino said. She adjusted her shoulders, sitting up straighter. "Well, Daddy, can you take the kids home? You all should get some rest."

"Mom." Inou was frowning deeply, where he leaned against the wall with a can of soda. "C'mon, I don't wanna leave you alone here…"

"Oh, hush, I won't be alone. I have Sakura, and… Nadeshiko will be with me here, too. No reason for you to be moping around the hospital just to keep me from being lonely." A burnt-sugar smile was on Ino's face. "You've done enough today, besides."

"Come on, son," Inoichi said. He began to stand, kissing Ino on the head before he went. "You need me, honey, I'm there."

"Thanks, Daddy…" Ino said.

"Ino, why don't you come with me, and I'll get you situated?" Sakura said, extending a hand as Inoichi began gathering the children around him. "I'm sure I can get you a nice bed in the general ward…"

"I'll be going too," Naruto said, wiggling his fingers at Sakura to get her attention. "Gonna go, uh, check on some things."

"You do that," Sakura said, though she sounded distracted.

Naruto, shrugging, and waving goodbye at Karai before leaving, went to go find Hashiki.

There was a tree he needed to see.

But he had to find Hashiki first, and he did.

He found her somewhat occupied in the lobby of the hospital; two boys and a man were with her, all of which Naruto somewhat recognized.

"Go'on-kun, you'll have to tell me more! I mean, really, are you serious?" the paler of the boys was burbling.

"Kyou-kun, please…"

"Kyou, son, we ought to be getting home. We can talk to Hashiki-san and Go'on-kun later," the man was saying. He had one arm in a sling.

"Oh, really, I don't mind." Hashiki waved a hand dismissively. "If you need to go home, though, don't let me keep you."

"Yeah, we can, uh, talk tomorrow, Kyou-kun, okay?" Go'on added.

Naruto stood back and waited for Kyou and his father to leave before going up to talk to the mother and son himself.

"What's this, is that Go'on-kun?" he said, in approaching. "When did you get here, y'know?"

"Oh, um, well, see, Hokage-sama…" Go'on's mouth was tangled.

"It's okay, sweetheart, he knows what I'm capable of," Hashiki said, squeezing him affectionately. "I sent a sign to him, to where he was staying in my Forest, to come find me. He hasn't been here long."

"Huh, cool," Naruto said.

"Is everything all right?" Hashiki continued.

"Oh yeah, I just wanted to know if you could bring me to that, uh, tree, y'know. Where you sealed the Riverman."

Hashiki nodded. "Of course. Go'on, you can come with us."

"Where are we going?" he asked. He held her hand as they stood and began to walk.

"Where I've been today, sweetheart," she replied, and very little else was said the rest of the way.

Naruto had to whistle as they entered the Uchiha Memorial, however. "Dang, it's almost unrecognizable, y'know," he said.

Hashiki's shoulders rose with a nervous smile. "Yeah, you can definitely notice my influence, huh…"

"You made all these, Mom?" Go'on said.

"Yes, my dear."

Go'on's head tilted upward, eyes in the pink-washed canopy of the trees. "I like it."

She laughed. "Thank you, Go'on." She gestured towards Naruto. "His tree is this way, up a ways."

Naruto knew he was looking at it long before Hashiki pointed it out.

It was incredibly thick, and much taller than the trees that surrounded it. The wood of the trunk was almost bleached in its paleness, and twisted deeply and tightly into itself. Leaves drifted, here and there, from the night-like green of its branches. Naruto stood away from it with his hands in his pockets, his mouth somewhat open.

(There was nothing but sleep within that tree, enormous and curled, like a bear or some other great, dormant animal.)

"So this is it, huh," he said.

Hashiki let go of Go'on's hand and ran her fingers over the smooth wood. "Yes, he is at rest here," she said.

"Who is, Mom?" Go'on said.

"Your uncle, I suppose," she replied, still focused on the tree.

"You have a brother, Mom?"

"A long time ago, yes, I had a brother." She rested her forehead against the wood, now, closing her eyes.

Go'on went up to the tree, at first beside her, then trailing his fingers on the horizontal grooves of the trunk, walking around it.

"How long d'you think it'll last? This tree, I mean," Naruto asked.

Hashiki looked back at him. "He'll sleep in here for as long as I can manage."

"And… how long is that, y'know…?"

"The roots of all these surrounding trees that I made went into his tree," she replied. "It's strong, and unless I say so, it will not yield, if he should ever wake. But I highly doubt he will."

"Ah, good!" Naruto said. "So he's not going anywhere."

"No, again, not if I can help it," Hashiki replied. She sighed, deeply. "I can only hope he doesn't struggle, really. He was in such pain when we fought."

"He's at peace, Hashiki-san. I can feel it." He smiled slightly as he went up to touch the tree himself.

"Feel it…?"

"I got a… friend with me that lets me feel what others are feeling," he said. "A fox, y'know. He doesn't say much these days, though."

"Ah, wait! The nine-tails, you mean." Naruto nodded, and Hashiki smiled warmly. "So you're like Mito, then. I understand, now."

"Mito…" Naruto's face pinched in thought. "Wait, the First Hokage's wife, right?" Hashiki nodded, her smile growing. "Yeah, you would remember her, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"Who's Mito, Mom?" Go'on had walked entirely around the trunk, now, and poked his head out sideways.

"A very dear friend of mine from before you were born, my sweet," she replied.

"Oh, okay," he said, and went back to tracing his fingers over the wood of the bark.

"If you don't mind, though, I'd like to stay here and… watch over my brother for a while," Hashiki said, returning to Naruto.

"Stay as long as you want," Naruto replied. "I think I'll be back in the morning to make sure he's still, uh, sleeping, y'know."

Hashiki nodded. "That sounds like a fine idea. You ought to get some rest yourself, anyways. Those injuries of yours don't look pleasant."

"What, these?" Naruto touched the bandages visible through the collar of his t-shirt. "Oh, I'll be fine by tomorrow, honest."

"Are you sure…?"

"Trust me. I'll be fine, y'know! I've been worse off," Naruto replied, waving a hand.

"I'll take your word for it, then," Hashiki replied, and leaned against the tree, waving. "Have a good night."

"You too, Hashiki-san, Go'on-kun," Naruto said, waving back.

"Good night, Hokage-sama!" Go'on seemed to have climbed into the upper branches of the tree, and had extended an arm down to wave.

He could hear them talking to each other, once he had gotten a ways away: "Are you hungry, dear?"

"A little, Mom."

"How about some fruit, does that sound good?"

"Ah yeah, could I have a pear, please?"

A laugh. "As usual. A pear it is."

(If he'd have looked over his shoulder, then, Naruto would have seen a little tree joining the great seal-tree, and Go'on leaving his perch to pluck his snack from it.)

But instead, Naruto walked back to the hospital, taking his time on account of the stiff, mending pain in his shoulder. And he updated Sakura on the Riverman situation, stepping briefly into her office, and wishing her a good night as well.

And then he inhaled deeply, and went to do something he'd really been putting off—half out of discomfort, half out of the problems of others taking priority.

Sasuke had been given his own room, and was already in a hospital gown beneath the sheets of his bed. He had bandages around his forehead, and a brace on his wrist. Both eyes were turning a deep, ghoulish purple around the sockets, where the swelling hadn't subsided.

Naruto stood in the doorway, just looking at him, before finally talking. "Hey, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't say anything back, of course. But Naruto went to his bedside, and kept talking anyways.

"How you feelin'? You took quite a beating, y'know." Naruto laughed a little during his pause. "Just thought I'd, uh, update you on some things, y'know. We got that Riverman guy sealed away, finally. He won't be hurting anyone any more, so that's good news…"

Sasuke continued to breathe, evenly, where he was lying.

"And your family's all safe. Ino's staying at the hospital to look after you an' Takeru-kun—has she stopped by already? Ah, well." He cleared his throat. "An' Sakura told me that Takeru's surgery for his injuries went well, so he'll recover soon. That'll be nice, right?"

No response.

"Everything's just getting back to normal, really," Naruto continued. "Though, uh—well, we're gonna try our best with Yakata-kun, y'know, to get Orochimaru out of him. I'm sure we'll be able to manage, poor kid…"

Sasuke inhaled deeply, but the deep blue misery-sleep with him didn't change.

Naruto put a hand on his shoulder, and patted him. "Things'll get better, man. I promise, y'know. You just focus on getting better yourself, all right?"

A pocket of air passed between Sasuke's lips, making something like a "Pff" sound—if he were conscious, a dismissal.

"Take care of yourself, Sasuke. I'll visit you again soon, y'know," Naruto said, and left.

(Though after Naruto had gone, Sasuke's eyes creaked open through the bruises, and he sighed for a long while.)

And in the lobby, on the way out, however, Naruto ran into: "Yomena?"

She looked over her shoulder at him from where she'd been drifting in the lobby. Her purple overcoat had disappeared. "Hokage-sama?"

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Naruto walked with light, little steps over to her. "I thought you'd gone home by now, y'know."

"I decided to stay until everyone that wanted to go home was able to, of course," she replied. "I was an escort for some. But it seems everyone has gone."

"Yeah, thank goodness," Naruto said.

And a light, little suggestion came upon him.

"Hey, you wanna walk home with me?" he said. "I mean, we're both headin' the same way, y'know."

(He held a shallow breath, waiting for her response, remembering all too clearly how she had rejected him the week before.)

But Yomena tilted her head. "I don't see why not. I'd be… glad to walk home with you, Hokage-sama."

(There was a small turn of emotion within her, like a fish cresting just below the water.)

"Hey, great! Now I won't feel so lonely, y'know," Naruto said, his smile gold-plated.

And she, of all things, smiled back, a gleam in her lapis lazuli eyes.

They talked a bit, along the way—well, it was mostly Naruto that did the talking. He told her everything that had happened that day in the best order he could remember, about Orochimaru the body-stealer and the bravery of Ooda against him—though Naruto was careful to keep Ooda's speech about him being a creation of Orochimaru's intact. He figured it was the best protection for the boy he could offer, especially since Gaara and everyone else knew it and believed it.

It wasn't until he got to the part about Murasaki the body-lender and the twin enigmas of Hashiki and the Riverman that Yomena began asking questions, which Naruto answered to the best of his befuddled ability.

"Why the sudden interest in this part, y'know?" he asked, to follow up one of his answers. Before Yomena could speak, however, he continued: "Oh, wait, it's because you're, uh, a priestess, right? That's your job to know 'bout these things, huh?"

"…yes, actually." Yomena's eyebrows had risen slightly. "I've never heard of such things happening with souls, of course. I would like to speak to this Murasaki woman sometime."

"She's a student of mine, y'know," Naruto said, grinning with unmistakable pride. "I could introduce you two, easy."

"Is that so," Yomena said. "Well, I shall keep that offer in mind, of course."

"Just let me know whenever. I'm sure she'd love to meet you too, y'know. I might tag along, though, just letting you know," he added.

"Hm? Why's that?"

"Well, I'm tryin' to understand this stuff Murasaki does better, now that we know it's real—but I'd also sorta like to hear about what you do, Yomena. I mean, unless that stuff's secret, y'know." He shoved a hand behind his neck with the smile.

And Yomena actually laughed, slightly. "I would be glad to discuss what I do with you, of course, Hokage-sama."

"Over dinner?" There was a jest at the end of his words.

"…perhaps, yes. But at a later time, of course," she replied.

"Sounds cool. Let's make a date for it," Naruto said, and she laughed again.

They had only a short while to go before reaching Naruto's house, so there wasn't much more conversation. But they both said "Good night" to each other before returning to their bedrooms, and Naruto fell asleep feeling actually at ease with everything. Not just the situation with Karin and Ooda, or with Sasuke's family, or with the Riverman—but also with Yomena being in his house.

Maybe something had changed in her. He didn't want to presume, or anything, but his natural optimism and actually hearing her laugh was certainly proof of something.

He slept for a long while, and woke to the smell of her incense, like a welcome. And after unwinding the now-useless bandages from his chest and shoulders—the wounds had all but disappeared, as expected—he ate breakfast alone, as usual, but stuck his head into Yomena's room to wish her good day, and to tell her he'd be back in the evening. She waved gently back, the tips of her fingers forming a crescent in the air.

Things had kind of exploded by the time he got to the Hokage Manor, though.

The local newspaper had, of course, covered the events of the previous day. The headline: "Orochimaru's Last Victims Become Heroes."

The cover page, while lacking in photographs of either of them, was all about Hashiki and Ooda.

And the heads of the Taki clan—meaning Tensho, Nobuhiro, and Mikan—were at the Manor, wanting very much to know what, exactly, had gone on.

"Where's this Ooda guy, I wanna shake his hand." Nobuhiro was rustling and fidgeting madly in his search for Naruto.

"Naruto! Could you help with this, please?" Andou had been trying to answer their questions to the best of his ability, having arrived in Naruto's office before him, and looking rather like a drowning otter—normally so proficient, but overwhelmed here.

"Hey, hey, guys!" Naruto approached them with upheld hands, and a lightbulb smile. "What do you need?"

"We read the news this morning, 'bout the people who took care of the Orochimaru problem yesterday." Tensho pushed to the front of the group. "And consid'ring the trouble we've had with the guy in the past, we wanna find a way to reward 'em."

"Trouble, huh?"

"He gave us a bad opinion of ninjas 'cos of some stuff he did to… things, an' for that we… apologize." It was Nobuhiro, this time; his face was slightly flushed. "So this is the least we can do."

(There was healing pain, pink, like new flesh, underneath Nobuhiro's words. And pale, honey-golden affection, shimmering like gloss above it.)

"Ahh, I see, I see!" Naruto said. "Well… hm. Andou-kun, d'you think there's a way we could form a fund for this, an' split up the money later? A way to keep it, uh, organized?"

The magic word. Andou's smile was very fine in reply, like a perfect brushstroke. "Considering all the people we've gotten already asking about the 'heroes' today, I believe that a donation pool is just the thing we need," he said. "Boss Tensho, Nobuhiro-san, you can come with me, and we'll get some paperwork done."

"Sounds great," Tensho said, and the two of them followed the Hyuuga boy into another wing of the Manor.

Mikan, however, stayed in Naruto's office, seemingly unnoticed. Naruto, who had gone to his desk to read the morning letters, didn't notice himself until he'd reached for the thin letter-opener in a jar on the corner.

"Uh, did you need something else, Mikan-san?"

"Well, pardon me for assuming, but the mother of this Ooda fellow in the paper wouldn't happen to be named… Karin, would she?" she said, her candy-apple lips puckered into a smile that was trying to knot into itself.

A wrinkled crisis of a memory tapped Naruto's mind, gently. "…yeah. Don't you two know each other, y'know?"

Mikan nodded, her eyes wrinkling with her smile. "Indeed we do. I had no idea she was here until the story this morning. Is she all right?"

"Oh, yeah, I saw her yesterday," Naruto replied. "She, uh, had her baby, actually! I was kinda worried, y'know, but things turned out fine for both of 'em."

"Did she! Oh, I'll have to visit her now," Mikan said. She flipped her hand, housewife-ish. "Plus it's been so very long since I've seen Ooda-kun; I can only imagine how much he's grown."

"You know him too?"

She nodded again. "Yes, though my husband seems to have been unaware of him until now. Probably the best way he could have found out, what happened recently. Especially with Nobuhiro being so progressive lately!"

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Naruto said. He leaned forward on his desk. "It feels like he's… turned over a new leaf lately, y'know."

"Call me a gossip, but I think he met someone while he was here," Mikan replied; she positioned her hand by her mouth as if she were whispering. "And she's been changing his mind on some things, I think."

"Whoa, like, a ninja woman?"

"It can't be anything else," Mikan replied. "I've never seen him so even-headed."

"Well I'll be. Good on him, then! An' whoever his lady friend is, y'know." Naruto laughed with his mouth open, after that, and Mikan joined him.

"Yes, I'm happy for him too," Mikan said. "But, anyways. Do you suppose anyone would object if I went to visit Karin?"

"I'd bring it up to Sakura, first—she's a friend of mine an' Karin-san's, and she runs the hospital—but I don't see why not, 'specially 'cos you and Karin-san already know each other so well."

"Sakura… A lovely name, I'll be sure to remember that," Mikan replied. "Thank you for your time and your help, Hokage-san."

"Please, just Naruto."

She chuckled. "I've always liked informality in a leader. It keeps things smooth. All right, Naruto-san. Thank you."

"You take care, Mikan-san," he replied, waving, and went back to his business.

The donation pool that Andou set up that morning ended up being far more useful than intended. Money went into it, yes, from the Taki clan, but also letters forwarded from the newspaper, whose staff had no idea how to contact Hashiki or Ooda or anyone else—the story was written purely on official reports and press releases, after all.

"We should have these sorted and delivered properly once the flow slows down," Andou said, stopping to place a small box of the letters in Naruto's office. "I'm sure that it would be appreciated."

"Yeah, definitely," Naruto replied. There was a pinkish-red blotch on his forehead from where his palm had been propping his head up.

He'd been reviewing damage reports since morning, and though the destruction truly wasn't that extravagant, there were lots of small businesses that needed their buildings fixed, and that required signing paperwork that would transform the requests for repair into D-rank missions for genin to do. The reports were annoyingly thorough, and the writing would get blurry unless Naruto remembered to rub his eyes every few minutes and shake his head to get his bearings again.

Sometime after noon, he managed to finish the rush of orders and escape for lunch and other pressing issues.

The first matter was checking the progress on Yakata's recovery.

"A Hyuuga nurse was able to block off Orochimaru's chakra at his neck and shoulders, so it can't flow into his arms and legs again," Sakura reported, when he came by and asked. "But no sign of Yakata himself coming through. Torture and Interrogation's sending a mind-diver in this afternoon, though."

"Hey, that's great. I'm sure they'll be able to make more progress, y'know," Naruto replied, with his usual confidence, and Sakura sighed as she nodded in return. "By the way, did a woman named Mikan come by earlier, asking to see Karin-san?"

"Mikan? Yes, one of the nurses sent her to me. I wasn't sure what to do until she mentioned that she was Kiine's mother, and I remembered that Karin had brought her up, and-"

"Great, just wanted to make sure that she was let through! She wanted to visit pretty badly, y'know," Naruto said, and laughed a little.

"Huh, okay," Sakura said, laughing awkwardly as well.

"How's Karin-san doing, by the way?"

"Recovering well. And little Osato's doing fine, as well. We have him in an incubator just to be safe, on account of his prematurity, but he's otherwise very healthy."

"Thank goodness," Naruto said, sighing, his shoulders relaxing. They sprang back up a second later, though. "Well, I'll be back later!"

"Where are you off to?" Sakura said, catching him midway through her door.

"Gotta make sure that Riverman guy's still asleep, y'know."

And that was exactly where he went.

Hashiki and Go'on were both there, as expected, but there was one person there he did not expect.

"Yomena? Hey, what are you doing here?"

Yomena had been inspecting the trunk with both hands held still and finger-spread over the wood, and her head snapped back at his voice. "Oh, Hokage-sama. Is this that tree you were telling me about yesterday?"

"Yeah, how'd you know to find it, though?" Naruto continued, joining her.

"The spiritual air of the area got me extremely curious, of course. I've never felt anything like it before."

"She just wandered over here all by herself," Hashiki added. Go'on was hanging, shyly, behind her. "You know her, Naruto-san?"

"Yeah, she's my daughter," he replied, and the ease in which the words came out of him took him by surprise. "I mean, uh—Yomena, this is Senritsu Hashiki-san, she's the woman with the Wood Release I told you about yesterday, and her son, Go'on, y'know."

(There was a molten, golden bubble of recognition within Yomena, at his words, and it widened her eyes and flushed her cheeks.)

"A… pleasure to meet you both, 'course," Yomena said, bowing.

"Same goes to you. I had no idea you had a daughter, Naruto-san," Hashiki said.

"Yeah, well, I'm a surprising guy, what can I say, y'know," Naruto replied, slapping on a grin, and a quick set of words. "So you felt something here, huh, Yomena?"

She closed her eyes, returning to the wood of the trunk, closing her eyes. "Two souls here, and they're… clinging to each other, sapping off each other—like… a parasite and a host, only they're both parasites, drinking each other's souls…"

"…you can feel all that?" Naruto said.

She opened her eyes, leaning back to look at him. "I've been trained to feel such things since I was a child, of course. But this is something I've never felt before."

"Your daughter was just talking to me about how she might be able to… perform rites and allow him to rest in peace," Hashiki nudged in, stepping forward once.

"Can you do that, really?" Naruto said. "I mean, or is it just a ritual for ceremony's sake, y'know…"

"I'm capable of performing exorcisms and other related rites, of course." There was warm pride in Yomena's words. "I'm fully capable of dismissing spirits from where they do not belong."

"If you're able to do that, please, put my brother to rest by sending his spirit off," Hashiki said, with another step. "All I could think of last night was his pain. It would be best for him."

"I would be glad to perform such a duty for you, Hashiki-san. Whichever spirit resting within his body is the true parasite, I'm sure I will be able to remove, of course." She bowed slightly.

"Please, if it ends up being… both of them, don't hesitate to send them off."

"Absolutely, ma'am. I could get started right now if you wanted."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, you're gonna do this exorcism-thingy now, y'know?" Naruto said.

"It's Hashiki-san's decision, and I have the materials I need with me, of course," Yomena replied. She opened the front of her jacket and took out a slim stack of paper. "My prayer slips, and my prayer beads. This should do fine."

"You sure nothing's gonna go wrong?" Naruto said.

Ember-like ambition lined the corners of her eyes. "I have no reason to believe anything would."

"If there's a struggle, though, I will confine it," Hashiki said. "Everything will be all right."

Naruto stepped away, feeling the mysteries welling up around his feet. "You don't mind if I watch, then, do you…?"

"Not at all," Yomena said. "Hashiki-san?"

"Please, stay," Hashiki said.

So Naruto did, and he watched.

Yomena took the prayer slips and posted four of them around the trunk of the tree; they were covered in winding, incoherent calligraphy, each character seeming to form the borders of the other. Once that was done, she took her place at the front of the tree, with Hashiki. Go'on stepped back, much like Naruto did, watching with his chin tucked near his chest.

"Keep your hand near him, if you must," Yomena instructed, and Hashiki did so.

With her left hand, Yomena rotated a small string of wooden beads, and kept her right hand firmly upright, the thumb pressed against the palm. The words she was chanting were as incoherent as her prayer slips, but they vibrated with power, and quivered as they traveled through Naruto's ears down into his spine.

Then, the ground below them began to glow. Lines formed, tracing a perfect series of intersecting circles around them, casting blue light against the pale trunk of the tree. As the light intensified, so too did Yomena's voice, her murmuring increasing in volume and speed. Hashiki closed her eyes tighter.

There was a stiff, creaking sound that followed: the tree, which seemed to be straining against itself. Hashiki spread her fingers further, and Naruto could see the trunk twisting slightly more tightly into itself, drawing itself up taller.

Naruto held his breath.

The light rose to a blinding climax, and Naruto could barely see Yomena thrust out her bead-covered left hand, pulling her right hand back to her chest.

And all of a sudden, it was over. Yomena was gasping for air, bent over. "It is… done…" she said. "The spirits are… dismissed…"

Naruto ran up to support her long before she was able to lean against the tree in tiredness. The prayer slips seemed to have burned off in the burst of light. "You okay there?"

"I've never… had to expend so much effort…" Yomena replied.

"Let's sit you down." Naruto guided Yomena to the trunk of a nearby tree; she was already catching her breath, however.

Hashiki was running her fingers across the tree with strange delicacy, before she spread both arms wide, as if she were drawing curtains. The tree seemed to unwind upon itself, the smooth grooves making up its trunk loosening and reverting to individual vines. A hole appeared in the middle, growing wider as the vines parted.

And a very small body tumbled out, and into Hashiki's arms.

He was wearing tattered, skin-colored clothes, and ashes and paper shreds fell away from him freely. His arms ended at the elbow, and his legs were severely pale and emaciated, but dry, and clean, lacking the rot of a corpse.

"Oh, Zaku, I'd forgotten how small you were…" Hashiki said. "You poor thing. I'm so sorry…"

She held him, without words, for a while.

And then, to Naruto's mild surprise, she returned his body to the tree, placing it in the hollow and tucking his legs to his chest, like a mother returning a child to bed.

"Hashiki-san, what are you doing…?" he asked.

"He's at rest now. And I can think of no more beautiful a grave than this, for my brother," she replied.

And as the tree closed around the body of the boy who had once been a monster, Naruto sighed, and nodded. "It's definitely a beautiful place to rest, Hashiki-san."

There was great sadness, in her smile, but also relief. Wiping her eyes, she bent down, pushing her hair back over her shoulder. "Oh, Go'on, come here and give me a hug."

Go'on was more than willing to oblige.

Yomena had caught her breath, in the meantime, and was standing again. "I'm glad to have been of service, Hashiki-san. May your brother rest in peace."

Hashiki, her head nestled into Go'on's shoulder, nodded. "I can only hope."

And Naruto, in the meanwhile, seemed to have had an idea. He nudged Yomena's shoulder. "Hey, that thing you just did, y'know—normally, with like… an exorcism or whatever, it's taking away a bad spirit from a person and the person's left okay in the end, right?"

"…yes, I suppose?" Yomena replied, blinking.

"How soon until you can do that again?"

"…whenever, it's not usually terribly taxing for me, of course," she replied. Her eyebrows were knit in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I know someone else in need of your services, y'know."