Chapter 158 - Liquorice Allsorts

Time passed quietly, and without fuss.

The Uchiha clan grew and changed, and Konoha followed.

Nadeshiko was, as expected, a competent mother, but in the spirit of convenience that she carried with her, she survived on bites and stitches of sleep, tending to Han's erratic wake-ups in the meantime.

Ninako, eventually, stepped in, being her immediate neighbor and witness to Han's wailing in the middle of the night. On her days off, with Kumori at school, she'd go over to Nadeshiko's and take over the baby-tending for a while.

"You? Get some sleep. Seriously. You need it. Now." Ninako handled the orders with the authority and severity of an old general, and even Nadeshiko could hardly have refused. Her general health and disposition greatly improved from then on, until she and Ninako both had wrestled Han's sleep schedule into submission.

And despite all the expected behavior - only the bare minimum of care, just enough to keep a child alive - Nadeshiko was gentle and affectionate with her son, who grew up energetic and runny-legged, given free reign of his mother's gardens and elsewhere.

And with this, Nadeshiko's life seemed to grow warmer. She smiled more, and spoke less of responsibility and expectation, and more of honest delight at her son's mistakes and mishaps and miracles.

Takeru, now-married, learned of his new nephew through a letter from his father, which got him to talking with his wife about the business of an offspring of their own.

The problem, which wasn't usually a problem for them - they had many other (and in their opinion superior) means of getting their jollies - was that Takeru was a bit on the impotent side, and his back couldn't handle much physical strain besides.

"Well? So what," Takeru concluded. "Not like I have anything much, gene-wise, to pass along. Might as well pick from the best instead."

"And the last thing I want is a baby ruining my figure," Saya also concluded.

The two took to orphan-shopping, shortly thereafter. And while there was no shortage of children to choose from, they were all either too snot-nosed, or too simpering, or too… immature. The whole affair left them very bitter-mouthed, until, one day, they found their son.

He had sand-colored, uncombed hair, and wide-set eyes that were the color of green-glass bottles, with many freckles between them. He had been sitting at the back of a orphanage playroom, his knees up to his chest, sorting buttons that he'd spilled out from a nearby jar. He was very deliberate about the whole thing, grouping them first by color, then by shape, then by size.

Takeru watched him from a distance, at first, before coming closer, and leaning thoughtfully on his braces. "What's that you're doing?" he said. The boy didn't respond. "Sorting things?"

"Shh!" The boy hissed, keeping his eyes down.

"I see you take this very seriously," Takeru said.

"Oh, you won't have any luck with this one…" One of the aides approached him, holding her elbows.

"And why not?"

"He's… well, the doctors aren't quite sure what's wrong with him, but there's some sort of brain disorder involved," she replied. "Very difficult to work with. He doesn't like being touched and he's very particular about his food, and good luck getting him to talk… He just sits and does things like this all day."

"What's going on, Takeru, darling?" Saya craned over the both of them, trying to get a view of the boy.

"Seeing what this little fellow is doing, Saya-love," Takeru replied. "Help me sit down, will you?"

Saya supported Takeru as he lowered himself to the boy's level, sitting on his knees. "So, then, I see you've gone and sorted by color and size, what's in mind next?"

The boy didn't say anything, remaining fixated on his task.

"Might I suggest the number of holes? Multiples of two are the most common, but, look there." With a thread of puppet chakra, he lifted an odd, triangle-shaped button with three holes inside it. "Where do you suppose this would be sorted?"

"Holes? Three holes," the boy replied, looking up only briefly. "Holes don't matter. Don't like 'em mixed up."

"The buttons, you mean?" The boy nodded. "How would you prefer them?"

"Not," the boy replied.

"Let's see, here." Takeru looked around the playroom, and noticed a set of toy nesting boxes nearby, which he brought to them with some chakra threads. "Would this help? Keeping them separate."

The boy studied the boxes, and lifted one out with his own hands. "Hm." He quickly set to work separating the boxes and sorting the buttons as before, but with the boxes as containers. The triangular button, which didn't seem to fit anywhere, he set down next to Takeru with the certainty of a Go player. "This one's no good," he said to Takeru. "Take it."

"Thank you, I think I will," Takeru said, and held the button in his fist. "Saya-love, some assistance up?"

"Of course, darling," she replied, and got him to his feet. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That he's perfect?"

"And then some," Saya replied.

"What, him? Surely, you don't mean that," the aide said, laughing. "I mean… this boy, he's… highly difficult."

"We happen to like difficult," Takeru said. "And beyond that, he's a boy with standards. That suits us perfectly."

"Do you suppose he'd have an easier time with the adoption process if we had a trial period in our home?" Saya continued. "Routines are best slowly changed instead of suddenly."

The two of them sent low, critical eyes at the aide when she didn't immediately answer.

"May we speak to the head of the establishment?" Takeru said, in a tone that was not argued with.

The boy - whom they learned was named Kizuna - was eased into their home with periodic visits, as they got his bedroom set up, and learned his rules and routines, the foods he would and wouldn't touch. Saya was almost giddy towards the prospect of deceptive cooking, to get the boy to eat the fruits and vegetables he despised. "I never liked eating my vegetables, growing up, so this should be such fun."

Kizuna's room was full of labeled drawers and containers, with a roll of tape and a marker always in reach, so he could find and organize his possessions and toys as he pleased. His rules meshed with Takeru's and Saya's, in time, and though he rarely gave any indication towards it to them, he felt safe in their home, and appreciated. Takeru and Saya never expected anything of him of that sort, anyways; neither of them were huggy-touchy-feely types, and Kizuna's quiet affection was absolutely to their liking.

(Of course, if either of them had been told, in years before, that they'd have not only met and married each other - a sour cripple, and a bitch with a drunken reputation - but also adopted a "deficient" boy, they'd have thought it a terribly-executed joke.)

(But things had changed. Takeru was now more likely to lecture Kumori on the importance of self-confidence than anything else. "You're an Uchiha, Kumori, you understand? That is a name to be proud of. And nobody has the right to deny that to you, even if you're different.")

(Kumori got fairly tired of his little pep-talks, which came with every visit, as he got older, but he at least had someone ferociously behind him if anyone ever teased him for his eyes or his cane.)

The Uchiha family wasn't the only one experiencing change, or growth. Naruto suddenly found his home filling with family, and he was happy to receive it.

Yomena made her biannual visits, at first, but stopped over with increasing frequency as the years went by. Part of it was to converse with the Hokage on political manners - always her excuse - but also to visit with Murasaki, whom she saw as something of a mentor. Her natural sensing abilities made her a quick study to Murasaki's channeling - in theory, at least. Whether or not it was working was a mystery to Naruto, but he was enthusiastic about it all the same, as he was about her other hobbies and occupations, which she now shared with him willingly and even proudly.

Yomena's room would always be open and ready for her, but as time went on, it started becoming someone else's room: his godchild's.

More specifically, his goddaughter's.

Osato, at the age of three, after being told to "be a good boy" during a tantrum, yelled back, "I don't wanna be a boy, Mommy, I wanna be a girl!"

Osato had been showing a preference for pink clothes, and toys, and especially tutus, but Karin hardly expected to be told this so early. So once Osato had calmed down, Karin reassured the child, "I'll call you a good girl from now on, then."

And once it was apparent that this wasn't a phase - Osato would occasionally reaffirm her identity, through tantrums and upsets, or little questions - Karin bought some new, more feminine clothes, and made certain with her family that the change would be respected.

"Wait, so… I thought Osato was my little brother," Shingetsu, now thirteen, and his father's partner and bounty-tracker, said.

"Was, honey. But Osato's finally gotten old enough to speak her mind, and let us know who she is, okay?"

Shingetsu thought on this for a brief moment, before tapping his fist into his palm. "Imoto-sato. Fits perfectly."

Suigetsu was outwardly neutral on the matter - it wasn't like Osato was his kid personally, anyways - but his love showed through in the smaller things, like allowing himself to be Osato's model during dress-up on his visits home.

(Karin had expected all of this to happen to Ooda, given her experience with Orochimaru, so it was almost like she was over-prepared when Osato began expressing herself so. She made sure that she had female hormones stocked and set aside, for in case Osato wanted the help when she was older and approaching puberty.)

With the neighbors, she was less open. "It's a family tradition to raise our girls as boys for the first three years, so they'll be tougher women," Karin said, whenever neighbors asked. "I myself still prefer pants to skirts." Karin was respected enough in the village that she was never questioned on this.

Of course, Naruto was another story. But when she finally told him of the changes, over the phone, his reply eased her fears significantly: "Huh, okay. She still coming over on Friday, then?"

Osato stayed in his home, on the weekends, starting when she was a toddler. And Yomena's bedroom became Osato's - with Yomena's permission, anyways. Naruto painted it cake-frosting pink-and-white, and the closet filled with her clothes, and the floor with her toys. Ooda accompanied her on the transport over, dropping her off and picking her up, stopping by the flower shop sometimes to take Yakata out to lunch and talk about things.

(The more often he traveled, the less he became embarrassed of his appearance, and more about the frequency of people mistaking Osato for his daughter, rather than his sister. The age difference did make it plausible, but still.)

As even more years passed, Osato was joined by a third girl: Kiine's first child, a daughter named Sakuya.

Kiine was named Boss of the Hakaza clan on her twentieth birthday; Kou passed on his father's decision to her as a birthday present, which resulted in a great many kisses and even more revelry. Though they'd been married for seven years, by then, their daughter wasn't born until they were both twenty-three. Kiine had to make sure that the way she wanted things run was firmly in place before she could even think about babies.

Sakuya had her father's round face and her mother's fox-sharp eyes, and her hair was a muddy shade of purple that couldn't decide if it was more blue or red. Naruto met her early, and loved her long before then, but she became a more permanent fixture of his life after a certain discussion had taken place.

Mikan had decided with Karin to tell Kiine of her heritage, when she came of age, if only in a way that would keep her as emotionally stable as possible. Kiine had long known that she had been born from a surrogate, but the further details were clouded to her. Mikan, of course, now knew that her close friend Naruto was also her relative, and given that they'd only become better friends instead of drifting away over the years, things were as safe as they ever could be.

Naruto found out about this when Kiine called him, shouting with explosions, with all the birthday news. The familial connection had come to her second, after all the Boss celebrations, but it was what she mentioned first to Naruto.

And, admittedly, in an unorthodox way. "YO, UH, SO, DID YOU KNOW I'M KINDA YOUR MOM?"

Naruto hadn't been prepped by Karin in the least, so he erred on the side of caution. "Uh… say what now?"

"Your mom! Like, she was where my blood-stuff came from, yeah? Like, my genes? When my mom wanted to have a baby! She was the donor! Your mom, I mean! I'm freaking out, here, yeah!"

"Well, uh… this is the first I've heard of it, y'know!" Naruto said. "I mean, I've had a feelin' we had some family in common, but not like this."

"Yeah, 'pparently I got your mom's genes an' some of her looks in the process!" Kiine continued. "My mom wanted red hair like my dad, an' Karin-sensei had your mom's stuff on hand for the egg or whatever, 'cos she had some wicked red hair, and here I am!"

"So… what, are you, like, a clone of my mom?" Naruto said, as jokingly as he could.

"I guess? Like, I know I've got some of your mom in me, but I'm not your sister, so..." She paused. "Hey, so, if I am your mom, does that mean I can call you 'sonny' like I'm some sorta old lady, yeah?"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, I'm older than you, y'know?"

"No difference! You eat your vegetables when I tell you to, sonny!"

"You can't tell me what to do, you're not my mom!" Naruto said. "Oh, wait, I guess you are! Kinda."

"Yeah, and you gotta respect my authority!" Kiine replied. "Oh, speaking of, I'm also Boss of the Hakaza clan now. It's official, yeah."

Naruto didn't have to fake his surprise towards that news, though he knew it was a long time coming. Kiine was the sort of person that made thrones fit her, rather than the other way around.

After he knew she knew, Naruto took some time to gather the things he had left of Kushina, to see what Kiine thought of them. Pictures from Konoha's archives, and pictures of his father, and the picture on his bedside table, which he'd rescued from between the bookshelf and the wall. The next time she came over to visit, to watch a chuunin exams tournament unfold with her young family, he sat down with her at his kitchen table and told stories to her.

Her conclusion, after all this? "I think I got the better deal, husband-wise."

(Kou wasn't in the room, at this time - he was out with Yuki somewhere - but he would have turned a warm, fleshy pink, hearing this.)

But what Kiine was especially fixated on was the passdown of jinchuuriki from mother to son. "Was that, like, a tradition with your family?" she asked. "Like, because of your blood bein' good for that, yeah."

"No, with me, it was kind of… an emergency choice. My mom would have probably stayed the vessel, had things not gone… south, y'know," Naruto said. "But yeah, if a vessel's health goes bad, then we gotta make sure a replacement's ready, so things stay safe."

"So what would happen if you got sick?" Kiine said.

"I don't get sick," Naruto said, laughing to smooth the worry over.

"Yeah, but, you do have a plan, right?" Kiine said.

"Uh…"

"Jeez, man, you're the Hokage, yeah? Be a little more responsible!" Kiine said. "Here's what I think: if you get sick and this fox-thing inside you needs out, you can use me. Okay?"

"What? No, absolutely not!"

"Why not? I got your mom's genes, I'll be a good fit, yeah?" Kiine said.

"Yeah, but you're also Boss, and you're young an' just starting out in life, y'know," Naruto said. "I can't go pulling something risky like that on you, even if it isn't a sure thing."

"You have any other suggestions?" Kiine said, folding her arms, suddenly very serious.

"Well, not you, y'know…"

Kiine thought for a while. "My firstborn kid, then."

"What?!"

"Y'know, like, how it always happens in stories, yeah? It'd be a good sign of a union between my fam'ly and your country, besides," Kiine said. "'course, I'm not just gonna dump 'em on you without warning, like my folks did. You're family, yeah? So I'll have 'em live with you in Konoha part of the time, an' get schooled there real good, like a ninja. So that if things go bad for you, you'll have that. Plus, it covers both our backs."

"You haven't even had a kid yet, Kiine," Naruto said.

"Yeah, but someday, I might," Kiine replied. "If you ain't gonna choose I'm gonna choose for you."

"...if you're that serious about it, then at least discuss this with Kou first, y'know?" Naruto said. "It'll be his kid too, y'know."

"Well, duh, sonny," Kiine replied, and that managed to make him laugh genuinely.

Naruto was almost relieved when she wrote back to him, some time later, with Kou's support towards her idea. "It'll be like sending our kid off to boarding school," she wrote. "We'll still see them during the year, but they'll get their education with you, somewhere a bit far from home, but not too far. Unless you find someone else, consider this your only option."

He was fifty years old, when Sakuya finally was born. By then he'd finally admitted to himself that he was in denial about being in denial of his age, and his relative invincibility. He was the only jinchuuriki without an heir - being one of the oldest only made him more of a risk.

Sakuya visited periodically with her mother, when she was a baby, but it was well understood that she would live with Naruto when she turned five and began her studies in the ninja academy. He had a study in his house converted to a bedroom for the purpose, ready and waiting for her when she came of age, so that Osato wouldn't have to share.

She'd be raised as lovingly as a daughter - and as she learned to speak she called him Papa Naruto, to differentiate him from Daddy and Uncle Yuki - and she would meet and get to know Kurama early, so that there would be trust instead of fear between them, when the time came.

But she was three, for the time being. Any prospect of danger was very, very far off, but Konoha and the Hakaza family were already firm allies.

Other houses changed their leadership.

Terumi Mei, succumbing to either stress and old age at a suspiciously convenient time, politically, was replaced by a woman named Ichou Seika, who had begun her career as a humble researcher for the Repopulation Program and worked her way up. Seika's rule was surprisingly moderate, considering her forebears; firing nearly everyone involved in the previous leadership, she dissolved the mandatory participation in the program and instead set aside a small chunk of the country's budget to act as recompense for the donors and volunteers.

"The point of this program is to restore our country's heritage," she was quoted. "To do so artificially has proven to be a burden. We must protect and cultivate our bloodlines like individual flowers in a greenhouse, rather than mass-planting and uprooting what does not thrive, due to our carelessness."

Unsurprisingly, she was immensely popular, both to her citizens and overseas. Her supporters tended to cover up the fact that she had most of Terumi's inner circle jailed or executed, including Kurunari's former handler, Mizuno.

Andou also took his place as head of the Hyuuga clan, once he came of age, and his first act of leadership was to begin a reform of Hyuuga law and undergo a campaign of greater integration into the Konoha populace. There was only so much he could do under his mother's guidance, and when given the reins, he shone with leadership.

It was with his blessing that Hajime and Ninako were finally, legally married, with Ninako taking Hajime's last name. Takeru came by with his family for the occasion, claiming that it was in exchange for Hajime attending his own matrimony, years before. Kizuna was introduced to the family proper, and though he was hardly social, it was appreciated to finally meet the boy in the flesh, rather than over videotape.

Andou also searched, feverishly, for a means of undoing the branch family curse seal without killing the sealed person, but found nothing in the dense archives to get him on the right path. Even without results, he researched and experimented in his free time, determined to solve the puzzle before the last remaining curse-sealed Hyuuga passed on.

In this way, five years passed.

And the day came for Nadeshiko's son, Han, to start school.