Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Nor do I own any of the characters I borrowed from there. I did, however, create Shoku. Isn't she delightful? I think she's delightful.
Short note: I have over double the visitors to chapter 15 that I do to chapter 14, which was published in the same month. Please make sure you didn't skip it! It's the one where Kushina wears a kimono and is still alive D=
Chapter 16
Two months had passed since the tragedy of October 10th. Things had been tense for a while, but the Sandaime had managed to keep it from devolving into a war. Much as the Tsuchikage was raring to go, the fact remained that Konoha had emerged from the last war decisively victorious, and sparking the flames of war without casus belli was liable to provoke the other Hidden Villages to take the opportunity to stab him in the back.
That, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had been in a downright scary mood at the moment. Jiraiya had seldom seen his old teacher emit so intense a killing intent as when he'd stared Oonoki's envoy down; in fact, the Toad Sage was pretty sure the man had had a "code brown" right then and there.
Jiraiya's own presence in the village was also a factor. All humility aside, he was a known powerhouse. He just wished he'd been here earlier, in time for the birth of his godson–not the least so he could have helped contain the kyūbi. He was Konoha's second- first most experienced fūinjutsu specialist, after all. Now, however, he was useless. He knew nothing about raising a kid.
He stared at Kakashi across the table. The white-haired shinobi had refused to take in his teacher's child, much for the same reason Jiraiya had. Duty, inexperience, and pain. Yet both felt positively shitty for it.
At least Kakashi can say he's already taking in one brat, said a part of him, very disappointed with himself. It sounded like Tsunade.
At the insistence of the Nohara kid, he insisted weakly. Also, that one is easy. All she does is sleep and stare at the wall with those creepy red eyes of hers. It wasn't even the crimson red of the Sharingan. The kid's eyes had burn scarring all over them, and all around them. Jiraiya had seen some crazy things while on duty, but that injury of hers was something else.
You mean she's traumatized. And has a war wound at five. And don't tell me it's not. You know this was enemy action. One you weren't there to help with.Okay, this was starting to sound positively accusing. Damn right it is. Now haul your ass out there and help!
He got up. There was still no way he could take in a kid–despite what he might feel, his function as spymaster required him to be mobile and untethered. What he could do was check on the girl. Get her an eyepatch, if nothing else. A double one.
Jiraiya found Hinote sitting on her bed, handling some papers. On close inspection, he found them to be lurid drawings of men and women. Some of them were… anatomically correct. Legendary shinobi or not, he nearly shouted in surprise. No one told me about this! Did the kid find Minato's stash or something? ...calm down. She can't see what's in them. Play it cool.
"I'm never going to draw again, am I?" The girl asked. Her voice was hoarse. It was a voice he knew, from two World Wars. The voice of someone who had lost so much their body had given up on crying. Her voice.
"You draw?" He returned, sidestepping her own question.
She nodded. He sat next to her on the bed.
"Are those Minato's? Or Kushina's?" She flinched at the names, and he wanted to slap himself.
"No. These are mine. I drew them." A five year old drew these? What did you do to this kid, Minato? He wanted to flip a table, but this was the most the girl had talked in a while.
"Those… aren't what I'd expect a kid to draw. Are you sure those are yours?"
"Yes." She had a defiant expression on her face. "You got a problem with that?"
Jiraiya stayed silent. He'd long since learned this was the tone which preluded getting his face smashed into the pavement. It took a minute until she broke it.
"I was learning fūinjutsu, you know", she told him. "I couldn't use ninjutsu, not once, but I could do this. Now I can't read, I can't write, I can't draw. I can't fight, I can't even run outside by myself. I'm useless."
He slapped her lightly. She may have been a girl, and not his daughter, but she needed it, and there was no one else here to do it.
"You're useless? Girl, I've seen ninja lose use of both legs and keep fighting. Some people are born blind. Some of these people died out there so you could live. Don't spit on their sacrifice and say you're useless. The only useless shinobi is the one who lays down their blade when their comrades are in danger."
She seemed shocked. No one's treated this girl seriously since then, eh? Jiraiya took the time to study the rest of her room. It was austere; the girl had probably not wanted to bring much from Minato and Kushina's house. There were two stuffed animals, a fox and a cat; three racks of scrolls; a small dresser; and two framed scrolls on the wall.
Jiraiya inspected them closer. One was a letter of recommendation, signed by his own teacher, declaring she had apprenticed under him and was to be dismissed from academic subjects at the Academy. This is one precocious kid. He'd heard about it from Hiruzen-sensei, but could hardly believe it. Still, the Sarutobi elder wasn't one to spend his praises lightly. Damn Uchiha prodigies.
The second, more recent, commended her as a casualty of the October Tenth tragedy. It wasn't as high a commendation as those borne by the shinobi who fought and died, or were maimed, in the incident, but it was still a high honor. She had kept the Sanbi contained, after all, in the middle of the attack, while she went blind. A five year old.
This is one fucked up world we live in. And Minato had left his kid in it, for this world to raise and take care of. For me to take care of. I am his godfather. Yet he couldn't. His duty wouldn't permit it. And I can't raise your kid, Minato. I can't. I told you I would be a terrible godfather, dammit!
"Mister? Are you crying?" Came the voice, and Jiraiya found his legs enveloped in a small hug. I was supposed to be the one comforting you, dammit!
"Hey girl", he said, wiping his tears. "If a pretty lady like you keeps- keeps hugging me like this, I might misunderstand, you know?"
"Sure." She winked, and Jiraiya found he didn't mind her eyes so much. They were the eyes of an exemplary shinobi.
"Tell you what, Hinote-chan. Let's make a promise between shinobi, you and me: I'll get you a teacher; someone who knows what you're going through, who can get you back on your feet. In return, when I come to Konoha again, you show me what a splendid ninja you've become. Deal?"
"Sure!" She finally smiled, and he saw she could be beautiful, some day.
"Well then, you better deliver. Otherwise, you'll never be a great ninja like me!"
"What great ninja? ...you haven't told me your name yet." Jiraiya fell on the floor. Ugh!
"I am Jiraiya, the great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku! You better remember it!"
"Sure, sure."
Hyūga Shoku was cooking dinner when she heard the footsteps approaching. She reached for her tantō. No one approached her corner of the compound, especially not at this hour. Sure, sometimes one of the youngsters would knock at her door in one of their dares, but this was someone big. Someone who was advertising their presence–no shinobi walked so loudly, and no civilians came so deep into the compound.
A moment later, she relaxed. She knew this gait. Not a very welcome visitor, but also not a hostile. She exchanged the short sword for a large wooden spoon. At least he's not trying to catch me during bath time, she thought irritably. Three. Two. One...
"Hey, Shoku-san! Long time no see!" Jiraiya burst into the room. She hit him with the spoon.
"Sixteen years. What do you want, old pervert?" She folded her arms.
"Old? You're old enough to be my…" She hit him again. "Ouch! I mean… What, no love for an old friend?"
"As I recall, back then I warned you that if I caught you, I would kill you."
"Ooh yeah… man, so many beautiful ladies in one sentō!" His voice turned dreamy. She hit him. This time, the wack was particularly sound.
"Ouch! Lay off of me, lady! Haven't you heard about forgiveness? I was merely sampling nature's, eh, more pleasant sights! What's wrong with that!?"
Satisfied that his head would swell, she put down her spoon.
"Well, old pervert, what made you come all this way? Surely you haven't come to share my… my food", she finished hastily. Drat! I forgot!
"Oh yeah, the team back then used to call you Shokuji-taichō, right? Oh man, this brings back memories!"
"...what do you need?" She suppressed a smile.
"Well… Shoku-san, what do you say about taking an apprentice?"
"No."
"Wait! Look, she was learning from Hiruzen-sensei–yeah, I know, I couldn't believe he got an apprentice again either–but she er… she lost her sight saving a comrade, two months ago. So, I thought maybe you could..."
"No."
"Please, Shoku-sama! I owe her parents a huge debt! I don't know anyone else who could help her more than you!" He kowtowed. Impressive. I guess even little Jiraiya can learn new tricks. Still...
"No."
"I didn't want to resort to this, but you made me."
She heard a new set of footsteps approach. Oh no he didn't.
"Baa-san? I heard you wanted to see me?" Shoku's empty orbits widened in surprise. He did. "Oh my, you have a guest! Thank you for coming. It's so rare for grandmother to get visitors, I worry she'll be lonely."
"Oh, come in, Yomogi-chan. I was just talking to your kindly grandmother, and she told me she was going to mentor your friend Hinote, who, as you know, was recently injured in the tragedy. Such a dreadful thing..." And there she was, her adorable granddaughter, heavy with her baby yet still making time to visit her grandma.
"You are? Well, she is a rare talent, though her impairment would make it hard for her to make it as a kunoichi…
"She did save Rin-chan's life, you know?" I could have strangled him back when he was in my squad. Missed opportunities.
"I hadn't heard. Guess I owe her a debt for that, don't I?"
"Don't worry about it – your grandmother is going to help her, after all. Right, Shoku-chan?"
Shoku looked between her former subordinate and her adorable granddaughter. She sighed internally.
"...of course." You crafty old pervert.
Two weeks later, she found out she'd agreed to train a five year old Uchiha.
Damn you, old pervert!
Extra: Adoption Blues
"We can't do this, Kakashi! He's Minato-sensei and Kushina's son! We can't leave him out there, without a mom and a dad, to be raised by strangers!" Rin was fuming, a rare sight. Kakashi was taken aback, but stood his ground.
"I know. I know. But could we take care of him? We're not precisely well-suited for it. We're teenagers, you're still recovering from the incident last year, and I-"
"We can. We'll find a way; we have to. We owe Sensei that much. A lot more. And I'm getting better! We can do this."
"You're the iryō-nin. Would you allow a patient in your state to exert themselves?" He lowered his tone. "Besides, we already have to take care of her. You know her clan won't take her back; no orphanage will, either. At least Naruto has options." He looks so much like them.
"Options!? He's a newborn, Kakashi. He doesn't choose anything. We do, and what you're proposing is condemning him to grow up abandoned by those who should be there for him when he needs us most! You should know better than anyone what growing up without a mother and father-" She stopped midsentence. "Okay, that came out wrong. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that."
"I know what you want to say. But Rin, this is what's best. We are shinobi. We need to take on what we can, and not let ourselves be blinded by despair. We're not abandoning him, but as it is I am unsure we can manage. Better to pace ourselves, instead of trying to do everything and fail catastrophically." Cruel, using it like that.
"How do you manage to keep your cool? This is the kid Sensei left the world! I just think about that poor baby, who isn't at fault for anything, but has lost everything in a single night. Why are we so weak? Aren't we supposed to be war heroes?"
"We'll do something about it. We're not abandoning him, just pacing ourselves."
Excuses, weakling.
A/N: First, to answer some of my reviewers:
Moonacre BunBun, that, plus the search for immortality, the old man Big Good teacher, sticking their souls in other people... there's a bunch of connections there. Weird, huh? It's almost like they're both based on some archetypical character traits. As for what Hinote sees to connect them, they're both pale, connected with snakes, and have no nose.
Kayo-san, thank you very much!
Lady Syndra, well, here it is... hope you enjoyed it!
Reviews are awesome! Please keep them coming.
Note: I am a sighted person. If anyone out there feels offended by my description of a blind person's life, or believes it is inaccurate to a point that can't be explained by "chakra did it", please let me know. I will do my best to write this as well as I can.