"We could not see our ancestors as we climbed up
To the edge of destruction
But from the dark we felt their soft presences at the edge of our mind
And we heard their singing."
Exile of Memory, American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
"Yo, yo it's time to go!" Bee sensei says as he walks up to our table. Team ten, now Team Asuma had dragged me and Naruto out to dinner with them. Naruto pouts in his seat across the table and Ino hits him over the head before she pushes him out of the booth. Shikamaru sighs beside me as he slips out of the booth. I quickly wrap my arms around Choji in a tight hug before I follow Shikamaru out of the booth.
Their team was leaving the village first thing in the morning. Like all the other non-Kumo shinobi. Tomorrow is the last day of preparation before Día de los Muertos.
I feel tears burn at the back of my eyes as Shikamaru pulls me into his chest. His arms wrap around my waist firmly as he kisses the top of my head.
"Don't blow up the village," he finally says.
"Yeah, I'll wait till I'm back home and you can help me."
"Gonna pretend I didn't hear that," I hear Asuma's gruff voice behind us and burst out into watery giggles.
"Gonna miss you," I say quietly to Shikamaru as Naruto starts to say his goodbyes.
"I'll miss you, too," he says. His voice sounds gravelly and I try to get closer to him. He smiles against the top of my head before pulling my head back from his chest. He bends down and kisses my lips softly before he starts to pull away and I pout.
"Be careful getting back to the village."
"We will," he says gently. "I'll write to you as soon as I get home."
"You better. And tell your uncle, dad, and mom I miss them." I cross my arms and he snorts as he tugs at one of my braids. He pulls me closer to him and kisses me firmly.
"Your mom would kill you if she found out you were so shameless," I whisper when he pulls away.
"I know, so don't tell her," he says quickly. "Have fun with your training, don't let Naruto do anything too crazy alone."
"You know us so well," I say as I finally smile up at him. His lips quirk slightly as he flops back down into the booth. I turn to his other teammates, "Thanks for the dinner, Asuma! It was good talking with you again, Choji. I've found some new recipes I'll bring when I come back to the village!" Choji smiles widely and nods as I turn to Ino. "And it was good to see you actually have boobs now, Ino!"
"Uzumaki!" She screeches as she jumps out of the booth and tackles me. I ignore her screeches and wrap my arms around her as we fall to the ground.
"I missed you," I say quietly and she deflates.
"You could've just asked for a hug you know?"
"Yeah, but then the boys couldn't have their bro hugs without us watching." She snorts and lets me sit up. I think Ino and Choji were the ones I missed the most from our academy class, outside of Shikamaru.
"Boys are fucking stupid," she says as we start to stand up. I nod.
"Does that mean you're going to finally ask Sakura out?" Ino blushes and stutters as she hits my shoulder repeatedly.
"Stupid Uzumaki!"
"That's Shikamaru, dattebayo!" Naruto grins as he moves from hugging said annoyed stupid genius. I snicker at the pout on Shika's face and pat the top of his head before I turn to look at the front door of the small restaurant we're in.
Sensei leans against the wall next to the door, his book covers his face as he writes in it furiously and I thank all the Kami that he raps and doesn't write books like Jiraiya.
"Alright, lets see what sensei wants! We don't normally train this late ya know!" Naruto says as he stands next to me.
"Be good," I wave at the table before I turn to go see sensei. As I walk by, Shikamaru grabs my hand briefly and we both hold on for dear life for a second before Naruto pulls me away.
"Alright, what are we doing Octopops? Are we gonna go train?"
"No," he shakes his head as he slips his journal into his pocket. "We're going to get tattoos." My heart stops for a second.
Sensei in Kumo only take a student for tattoos once they've completed their training. Naruto and I look at each other with wide eyes before we look back at Bee who has a wide grin on his face.
"Well what are we waiting for? We've got appointments, let's get out the door!" Naruto giggles as we follow Bee out of the restaurant and through the streets of Kumo.
I already miss Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. I close my eyes and focus on their chakra signatures even as the distance grows between us. They're alive, safe, and happy.
They're all future clan heads, including Asuma. Danzo won't touch them. They'll return home to Konoha to their families. They'll be safe in the village until we get to go back, too.
And that's all that matters.
"Woah," I whisper to myself as I look around the tattoo shop. The black walls are covered in thousands of different illustrations. There's everything from dragons, to chakra natures, to fish.
My eyes land on a paper that's covered in symbols of Uzushiogakure. There's marigolds, the whirlpool symbol, and there's even a bottle of Pulque, a home made alcohol that's been made by descendants of Uzu before we ever settled on the island.
"So the first tattoo you normally get is your chakra natures," Bee says and I pout. I really wanted to get that marigold on my arm over my Calavera seal.
"If you can handle the other two tattoos you can get the flower, mija!" A new voice says. A woman with purple hair pulled back in at least a hundred perfect braids says as she leans against the counter. "What natures you got?"
"Wind and water," I say as Naruto is pulled by the arm to another part of the shop.
"On the top of each of your arms?" She asks. I look over at Bee sensei and see his tattoo. I think of Darui's tattoos, too. I nod at her and she grins as she grabs my wrist. "These won't take too long, the flower will take the longest, you know?"
"Okay," I say as I slide into the leather seat. Music fills the shop as I sit in the chair nervously. I hear the buzzing of a tattoo gun and look over to see Naruto giving me a thumbs up. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. He has way too good healing powers because of Kurama. I can't trust him to say if something hurts or not.
"Alright, you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, I guess."
"That's the spirit!" She grins as she rubs my arm with a wipe. Soon she places a paper on my arm and sprays the back of it before rubbing it with her hands. A second later the paper is pulled off and there's an outline of the kanji for wind. She holds a mirror up for me, "is this good?" she asks.
"It's good," I nod. She puts down the mirror and picks up the tattoo gun. I turn my attention back to the walls when I feel her hand on my upper arm.
"I'm going to start slow, stay still."
"You're about to pierce my skin with a ton of needles, of course I'll stay still."
"Mmhmm," she says and a second later I hear the buzzing noise a lot closer to me. And then I feel the pain. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's like someone's slapping sunburnt skin.
Getting stabbed is way worse.
"You good?" She asks.
"Yeah," I say as I look over at Naruto. He's chatting animatedly with Bee-sensei and I smile. I'm glad they have each other now. Sure, I was treated as bad as Naruto was in some aspects while we were in the village.
But I'll never know what it's like to be a jinchūriki like them.
"It's about time you finally got these done," a voice says. I turn my head to see the Raikage lean against the wall beside us.
"Almost done with this one," the woman says and I nod at her before turning back to the Raikage.
"Don't you have paperwork to work on?"
"Don't you?" He raises an eyebrow as he crosses his arms over his chest. I smirk at him.
"Mountains of it." He lets out a bark of laughter and tilts his head back against the wall. "That's why I have a clone working on it, ya know?" He slowly moves his head back down and sighs.
"I'm such a fucking idiot."
"You said it, not me," I grin up at the man and he sighs as the tattoo artist wipes my arm before wrapping it with plastic.
"You can use the chair, Raikage-sama," the woman points towards a chair beside hers before she moves her cart and her own chair to my other side. A sits down in the offered chair and lets out a breath.
"Have you heard about the Akatsuki?" He asks as the stencil is placed on the top of my right arm.
"What do you mean?" I ask. He knows I know about the Akatsuki because I told him about Kisame helping me. It's only now that I remember Shikamaru's letter. Just one line about me being safer in a hidden village with the threat of the Akatsuki. I thought it was because I'm an Uzumaki, but is there more?
"There's rumors spreading," he says quietly. "Apparently they've been hanging out more around the borders of Iwa. There's rumors they're going to go after jinchūriki." I hear the tattoo gun buzz for a moment and the needles dig into my arm before I respond.
"What?" I say as I force myself to remain still. "Why the fuck are they going after jinchūriki?"
"I don't know, but the old bastard is even worried."
"Ōnoki? Worried?" When the Raikage nods I feel a weight in the bottom of my stomach. That's not good. That's not good at all. If there's anything that's constant in the shinobi world, it's Ōnoki's blind confidence in his own abilities. No matter his age.
"Mierda," I say as I let my head fall back to rest against the chair I'm sitting in. "Do all the Kage know?"
"Now they do," he says. "I knew you had a lot going on this week and I didn't want to chance the letter getting intercepted."
I nod my head mechanically. I can't even feel the burning in my arm anymore.
"I've talked to Ōnoki, the Mizukage, and the Kazekage," he says.
"Not the Hokage?" He just raises an eyebrow. "Jiraiya, then." He rolls his eyes.
"You know you love me," I grin as I feel the cool towel move against the top of my arm. When I look down I see my skin is bright red around the new tattoo.
"Are you okay with going for one more?" The tattoo artist asks.
"Yeah," I say as I look down at the seal on my right forearm. "Can you cover that with a marigold?"
"Psh, can I cover that with a marigold?" She starts muttering in Uzu under her breath as she starts to draw around my seal and I can't help but smile. This is the way that seals were covered in Uzu. The artist would draw around the seal, there wouldn't be a stencil like the other tattoos.
"Gracias, precioso."
"Keep calling me that and you won't need that Nara anymore," she grins up at me. I feel my cheeks heat up with the look in her eyes and I look away quickly. The Raikage rolls his eyes.
"Honestly, any older woman that even shows a bit of cleavage turns you into a blushing mess."
"I'm not as bad as sensei!"
"Sure," the Raikage says.
"So mean to me," I pout.
"He has a point," the tattoo artist grins up at me before she starts to pour some ink into one of the empty wells on her station. "But don't worry, you've got everyone of all genders looking at yours, too."
"No me diga," I whisper as I close my eyes. She and the Raikage laugh as I feel a towel rub against my forearm that's soon followed by the tattoo gun.
"What are you guys teasing my little sister about dattebayo?" Naruto asks as I feel his chakra move closer to us.
"Nada!" I say quickly and I hear Naruto huff.
"You're lucky I know that means I don't want to know, imouto. I would've pushed it if I didn't know."
"There is a god," I say loudly.
"You've met one, pendejo," the tattoo artist says.
"Wait really?" Naruto asks and when I open my eyes he's bouncing up and down, excited.
"I'm going to kill Jiraiya-ojisan."
"Oooh does that mean a prank?" The tattoo artist asks.
"Glitter?" Naruto asks at the same time.
"Yes," I say and Naruto cheers. I know the last thing I need right now is to add more work to my plate, but pranking Jiraiya after telling Naruto about what it really means to be a Calavera is necessary.
When Naruto's Hokage, he'll have to learn to deal with this type of darkness on his own.
But I'll protect him for as long as I can.
Naruto, my lovely, excitable, hyper brother.
Naruto has gotten better about being more present. Especially with his letters.
But he never takes hearing about the darker parts of Uzushiogakure well. From its destruction to the existence of the Calaveras. I suppose it makes sense.
Naruto has always been the sun.
And I've always been the night.
The two stark sides of Uzushiogakure.
The bright sun that shines down on the beaches. The strong, burning life forces of the Uzumaki.
The dark caves of the mountains that guard Uzushiogakure. The darkness that draws some of us deeper into it.
Naruto doesn't handle death well.
I've always handled it too well.
I'm not surprised that he's not here with me right now. But I am disappointed.
Naruto has been so helpful to the rest of our familia. He's watched the simmering pots filled with mole that line the streets. He's helped line the streets with lanterns to guide our path throughout Little Uzu. He built the platforms for ofrendas, carried huge baskets filled with flowers from casa to casa.
He sat at the front steps of Abuelo's small casa to listen to the songs and stories of our ancestors with me and our little cousins.
What would this have been like back in Uzushiogakure? Would mom have sat on the front steps with us as the sun began to set and the hum of the insects would rival the sounds of the crashing waves of the ocean that surrounds our island? Or would mom have been with our tías? Spending hours in kitchens filled with warmth, laughter, love, and plenty of homemade alcohol?
But like many of the harder moments in my life, I'm alone now.
The ofrendas beside the empty one in front of me are filled with different drinks, flowers, papel picado, candles on each of the many layers of altar, and other trinkets that those family members would love.
Most will add their favorite foods and fresh drinks during the ceremonies tomorrow.
I wish I was able to set this one up earlier, but tonight will have to do. Some families spend quiet time at their altars tonight. I can hear their whispers to their loved ones.
Tonight is especially hard. It's not as well known as Día de los Muertos, the day our loved ones come back to the land of the living when the veil between the living world and death is thinnest.
It's Día de los Angelitos. Day of the little angels. Our stories say that the little ones are far too excited to wait, so they come early.
My hands shake as I begin to cover the ofrenda with the table cloths.
This altar will be for our immediate family like most of the others. But it will also be for those who haven't been able to leave me since I buried them in Uzu.
Most nights I'm able to sleep now without their faces haunting me. But whenever I walk around Uzu alone. Whenever I feel like giving up, there's always a quiet giggle that I can barely hear or a small gust of wind to knock me out of my rhythm.
"I had a feeling you would be here," a quiet voice says. I look up to see Abuelo, in one arm is a basket filled with toys and the other is a basket of a menagerie of other items for altars.
"I thought you already set up your altar?" I ask, just as quiet as he kneels down beside me.
"I signed us up for a family ofrenda, mija." When he smiles, the skin beside his eyes crinkle.
"Gracias, Abuelo."
"Maa, none of that," he waves his hand after he puts down the basket of toys. "Let me help you with that," he grabs the other end of the yellow tablecloth and helps me cover the top part of the wooden altar. As soon as those are placed we both kneel back down and Abuelo starts covering the bottom level of the altar with the toys in his basket.
"Kazumi-hime always decorated our altar right before the sun set on Día de los Angelitos," he tells me as he places a small painted block on the altar. "The little ones are always anxious for today, the little ones would try to come early just to get a peek at the altars."
"Really?" I ask, not caring about how watery my voice sounds.
"I think she would have understood you the most, even more than her sister despite her not being a guardian," he murmurs. "She remembered everyone she lost and always looked forward to seeing them again."
"She's probably got her hands full taking care of all of them now," I sniffle. Abuelo's answering laugh is watery, too.
"I bet you she's helping them sneak up on us, too. Probably just as impatient about getting ahold of some of the candy."
I smile at him and start dumping some of the candy from my pockets onto the altar. The look on his face is priceless before he pulls me into a hug.
Ichika told me that Abuela always had some type of candy in her pockets. For the little ones and for herself. I made sure to stock up on candy after that, always keeping some in my pockets like Abuela.
Soon our tears have dried and we get back to work on the ofrenda.
We carefully add the candles, photos of both our immediate family and some of our cousins. Abuelo adds a scrapbook Abuela had filled with her patients that are no longer in the living world with us.
I add the incense Shikamaru had bought. I place a burning stick right beside a photo of Kahana and Shinya. Both smile happily at the camera as they stand in front of a fireplace, undoubtedly on a cool night on the island.
Abuelo pulls out a scroll and the altar is suddenly covered in food and drinks. We won't add the alcohol until tomorrow night when the adults can keep the children away from it.
Although from the way the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I have a feeling that there's an adult with the children tonight.
Abuelo turning around every few minutes and smiling fondly at the empty street cements my belief that we're not alone anymore as the sun begins to set.
The streets are dark, only the candles and lanterns give off a soft glow of light. We're the only people left on this portion of the street. Abuelo's warm arm is wrapped around me as I rest against his side.
When I hear a warm laugh followed by cheerful giggles I fall fully into Abuelo.
He muffles my sobs as he pulls my face into his shoulder.
I'm not alone anymore.
Part of the scene with Shikamaru and Kikuko was inspired by Destiny's Captive by Beverly Jenkins (one of my new favorite authors).
These lines immediately reminded me of Shikamaru and Kiku, so I had to have some form of it in the fic!
"Does your mother know how incredibly shameless you are?"
"No, so don't tell her."