A/N: Hello and welcome to the fourteenth installment of Home! Wow, I know it has been quite some time between updates to this fic, and while I want to apologize, I know that it is not entirely required. As I'm sure you all know, life has a funny way of interfering with a lot of our hobbies and passions. I have spent a lot of the past year preparing for a huge life change, and I am truly just thankful that I've been able to carve out some time to write at all. This fic is loosely based off the events of Naruto, Shippuuden, and eventually Boruto (ish). I do not own a lick of this franchise, but Akuri has been mine for a long time. Any current-tense scenes will have a header looking like this: X Naruto X. Any flashbacks will have a header looking like this: Akuri (Spanking the Ramen Slurper). Any character's dreams, thoughts, or words of emphasis will be Italicized. This chapter is unbeta'd, I am lazy today. Let's go!
X Akuri X
The formation and sight of robed white woman on our plane of existence brought forth more dread than I thought I could handle in the instant she appeared, I stood facing her with Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. Our numbers did not bring a feeling of safety as I looked into her lavender eyes, white locks of hair spreading around her in an endless bodily halo as the crimson Rinnegan her forehead pierced my gaze. She stared down at us as though she were scrutinizing a few ants that had strayed a little too far from the safety of the colony, and a felt a single bead of sweat roll down the back of my neck in apprehension. A look of displeasure crossed her face and she sent forth vines of her hair, aiming for both my twin and my partner.
Their rebuttals were nothing more than that, the strange woman looking rather dull as she began to descend from her place in the sky. Sakura and I froze as she floated between us, only our eyes moving to track her as she approached Naruto and Sasuke. Our pupils briefly met, and an unspoken question was shared.
Who is she...how did Madara become this person?
"What are your intentions?" Kakashi's question cut the air, his voice firm.
"It's futile to explain that to you, shinobi, was it?" She intoned, "this place is my nursery, please...let us stop this fighting. Here, that is."
The world around us became rather warm, in both color and temperature and my stomach flopped at the feeling of falling. The sensation was cut short, my body thumping down heavily on the back of a hawk that Sasuke called forth. With frantic eyes, I searched for the rest of our party and righted myself, fingers gripping my twin's shoulder. His hand covering mine clasped lightly, his fingers squeezing three times like they always had.
"I've got you...look to the right, there's Kakashi and Sakura," Sasuke assured after noticing my wandering gaze, "he's even got Obito pinned up there, a little higher up. Naruto is-"
"I'm down here, 'Kuri," the blond in question piped up from below us, "don't you worry about me!"
Sasuke leaned down to grab my partner's hand to bring him up and onto the back of the hawk, Naruto's glowing form illuminating us both. I looked over my shoulder at the Jonin and pinkette dangling from a scroll just in time to watch Sakura's headband slide off of her, dropping down to the liquid below before bursting into a very brief little fire. We shared a brief stare across the distance before Naruto's warm hand briefly touching my forearm made me face him, our arms circling around one another to squeeze tightly before separating again to return our focus to the situation at hand.
A gasp from Kakashi drew our attention to the pair of them, the scroll ripping as we looked over and the two careening for the magma below. The Sage on the back of the hawk thought quicker than either of us could, one big hand of orange chakra springing forth to catch the two shinobi before they could meet their end. The white-haired woman took this as her chance to move, vicious winds rushing forth only to be stopped by a wall of violet chakra my twin threw up to protect us.
"Shit!" I yelped as the hawk below me began to teeter in the air, noting that our vessel had been struck by her onslaught. Gravity came into effect for another short while before two more orange appendages appeared, stopping our fall as Naruto levitated above. He rose the hands up closer to himself to have all fighters present for any further assault. The woman approached quickly, her chakra a pastel blue that shone bright like a spearhead as she came for us. Naruto's energy held her off for a long while before her strength came to be too much and he was blown away, finding purchase on a wall nearby.
"Try your Susano'o," Sasuke offered from beside me before he vanished in a blink, reappearing in the air near our assailant. His great purple warrior sprouted out of nothing and I followed suit, the pair of us launching forward to take her on ourselves. Our most powerful offensive capabilities were regarded with apathy, the woman's Byakugan eyes narrowing in some amusement at our failure.
This woman released another gale, the force of the winds blowing me further away from the pair of boys I held most dear. I reactivated my Susano'o to suspend myself inside, reaching one ethereal hand over to bring both Kakashi and Sakura inside it with me. At the silver-haired man's request, I pulled Obito's unconscious form within the armored torso of my avatar. As the smoke cleared, relief set in at the sight of Sasuke and Naruto upright and in the air of this space. Naruto free-floated and Sasuke remained standing on some sort of black disc, and I wondered if it was a part of Naruto's sage mode. As though he knew I was thinking about him, he tilted his head to offer me a wink and summoned a shadow clone, his double making his way over to us easily and entering the shimmering cage of my Susano'o.
"We got this," the clone assured, his fingers circling lightly around my hand. Despite the fact that the shining man beside me was a clone, I could feel the original's confidence through touch. "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you.
I felt frozen at the sight of the pale woman slowly coming to the two of them, her clawed hands outstretched to hold their chins in a way a parent would. The clone's promise of safety faded as consternation rooted itself deep within and my skin crawled at the motherly stare she imparted on my twin and partner. I inspected the tears glitter as they rolled down her cheeks, and my breath hitched in horror as a black slime began to coat half of their bodies, reminding me very clearly of Black Zetsu. With a nearly precise gaze, I noted that this slime was beginning to siphon the chakra from their bodies.
"We need to stop her," I gritted to the other leaf shinobi within my avatar, "now."
"Not yet," the clone persisted, brows furrowing in concentration and digits trembling against my own, "she's showing us everything, her life...we need to see this, 'Kuri."
Naruto (Kurama's Feelings)
The moment the bond was forged between me and the tailed beast sealed within my belly, I became privy to any thought he wished me to hear and he meddled my own wanderings more than once. It felt as though I now had a best friend to bring along on every adventure I dared to take and I reveled in that joy, his words and insight becoming more familiar as his voice boomed in my head. Kurama was clever, as expected from a fox. He was curious and, at times, intrusively inquisitive about the choices I made or thoughts that crossed my mind. I often wondered if he was just that analytical of the day-to-day of human life.
"You think quite frequently of that dark-haired woman," his treble lilted between my ears, "your mate?"
That's a good word for her, yeah. I just can't stop wondering where she is, even in the middle of all this.
"I noticed as much," Kurama laughed pointedly, "do you remember what that Uchiha told you before? He would return her to you, and I should think he'd hold that promise. They were kin, were they not?"
They are...were? That was her oldest brother, and he looked like he meant business. He couldn't have been tricking me...right?
"I noticed no deception, but I've learned to never trust any of the members of that red-eyed clan."
A prickle of anticipation caused the hair on my arms to raise as I began to wonder what lead to his unease surrounding the Uchiha, why his words dripped with disdain. I tried to think about every member of the clan that I'd come across, and considered only the remaining siblings. One of them was the love of my life, her absence noticed almost every moment. The second was my rival, my best friend, and the boy I used to admire all those years ago. The final Uchiha being the one that pulled both twins from their native village when he'd instilled their desire for his death, the one who ended the lives of almost every other person who shared the Uchiha name, the one who now promised my love's safe return.
Why not?
"It is not a story to share with you now, Naruto," the fox rejected, apprehension pluming between us both, "I can bore you with the details once we've eliminated this threat, you need to focus on the battle ahead."
I continued bounding forward to the battlefield, but the expectancy of some sort of summary never escaped me. Almost deliberately, I began to prod at the fox with my questions and desire to understand the contempt he held for the humans capable of wielding the Sharingan, the want likely becoming incessant and annoying as I heard him release a sigh. Which Uchiha had wronged him? Who planted the seed and fostered this mistrust? I was beginning to wonder if the clan itself was cursed as I thought about the legwork involved in the advancement of their prowess, the banishment to the most outward part of Konohagakure, and the eventual downfall of the Uchiha. Was the curse of the clan what caused my future to fail, my child to pass into the world of the unborn?
"There is still so much for you to learn about this village, this war, and of life," Kurama mused, the octave resonating with melancholy.
And you'll tell me all about it once we're through here, right?
"I will impart that it is not wise to dwell on the kits you've lost, as I see you are doing now." The fox's words cut deep down, and I wasn't expecting it. "I lost many young over the years that I hadn't been imprisoned, but I dared not spend but a moment pondering their fates. Destiny deemed me to be the only nine-tails of the lands, and I've accepted it."
I guess that's where you and I differ, Kurama. It wasn't just his fate, it was a future for myself. I could have been the world to someone who was the world to me, in a totally different sense. I could have taught him everything we know, and shared all the joys of this world with him. He could have grown up to be excellent, had he been given a fighting chance. I wish we were able to recognize the signs and take a moment to evaluate. It could have saved them both, if I'm being honest with myself. She might not have left.
The silence between us was comfortable as I entered the battlefield, finding a section where I felt I could be of most help. I was filled with glee when I could catch a glimpse of friends on the field, their eyes glittering with determination while sweat dripped from their brows and their forms showed the wear of war. Their spirit refreshed me in a way I didn't know I'd been in need of, and I weaved a few signs with my hands. I spread the red cloak of the fox over myself and delved a little further into the large chakra reserves I held, willing it to spread across the entirety of the allied shinobi forces.
"Well played," Kurama complimented, and I could feel him pour a tad of his own massive energy into the cloaks that formed around each ally.
Before long, each member of the force was enshrouded in a cloak of vermillion with ears that wriggled with the bubbling energy that surrounded them. Singular tails made of both mine and the fox's chakra sprouted healthily from each human form that was now under our protection, and a grin split across my face.
We've got this now!
The battle raged on across multiple different plains and terrains, each platoon seeming to face a threat of varying severity that I could not help but aid. The power that I felt thrumming under my skin with the aid of the tailed beast felt second to none, like I'd been the one to invent cloud nine and rest on the throne itself. Fewer things brought me more joy than being of service to my home, and all those who stood with us.
The Gedo statue proved to be an entire different entity that had made me doubt my ability to end this skirmish, and the dread that tingled in my spine did nothing to help me cope. It wasn't until Kurama spoke up that I felt different, and I did what I could to cling to each syllable.
"Someone powerful this way comes," he rumbled succinctly.
From where?
My question was answered as a rod of alabaster pierced the Gedo statue, it's booming call replaced by a wail of agony and frustration. I whipped my head to the skies, scrutinizing the clouds to find any further indication of the weapon's firer. Tiny moments passed by before the largest Uchiha avatar broke through the cirrus design, her body lithe and the armor decorating her torso covered in what appeared to be floral ironwork. The helmet atop her head wasn't as bulky as the others I'd seen, only a curved slit allowing the glowing eyes to examine the fight that lay before them. The tell-tale green and blue orbs stationed at the front of the helmet set my heart ablaze, and I drew tight as a bowstring.
"The powerful one I mentioned is now here," Kurama announced, "and it would appear to be your mate that I felt coming this way. Her speed was remarkable. Did you call that phasing, for a time?"
She phased here with this...I wonder if she was thinking about me too?
"She was."
Akuri (What Might've Been)
There were so many nights since I'd learned of the future I lost that sleep eluded me, so often that I'd developed dark circles and heavy bags. Sometimes, Naruto would join me on the porch and we'd sit shoulder to shoulder as we looked at the stars. The silence between us was never uncomfortable, as we wordlessly stewed in our thoughts and drew comfort from our bodies brushing on the occasional breath. The nights where sleep finally pulled me down deep enough to reach dreams, the scenes that played behind my eyelids were almost always the same. I dreamed of what my life could have been if I'd paid closer mind to the symptoms I'd sported.
Restricted duty wasn't something I thought I'd ever be forced to face outside of mortal injury, and I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it as much as I did. The hours I spent at a desk and typewriter should have offended me, but the monotony of it was more soothing than one might come to realize. Tsunade had forbade me from going on missions the moment my thirtieth week of gestation had arrived, which she'd delayed upon my request. I'd accepted the quietest of C-ranks up until the moment I could no longer bend to pull my shoes on.
"The files have been looking great since you've set up shop here," Shizune noted kindly when she passed by that afternoon, another thick stack of file folders in her arms that were likely up for the Hokage's inspection. Tonton followed her closely, but perked up and squealed happily at me, her snout rustling forward under my desk to press a piggy-kiss under the surface to my shin. "And clearly you've been missed around here."
"I missed being here," I admitted, leaning to my right and wiggling my fingers to catch the small swine's attention. When her small head was within touching distance, I began to stroke lightly and scratch softly around the beaded collar the pig wore. She grunted and squeaked with joy a few times before ushering back to the Hokage's assistant's heels, the both of them dipping their head in good bye as they continued on their way.
I resumed working on the filing of shinobi records and re-writing anything that happened to be getting worn in the reporting system held in the Godaime's branch, the work taking me into the very-late afternoon before I'd realized the time. Sakura's approaching form pulled me out of my focus and I took hold of my desk to help get to flat footing, standing to greet her and whatever the basket in her arms held. She kindly waved me back down, and I cupped my belly as I lowered back into my seat.
"I made you some things for lunch, but I just couldn't get away from surgery to bring them on time," she began to apologize before fishing a small bento out of the bag she toted, holding it out to me. Without much thought, I accepted it and began to sniff the contents through the box. "There are a couple small hand rolls in there, some sausages, and a few different rice balls. Plus some sauces for you. Lady Tsunade mentioned a few different vitamins and minerals you could be using now, and I wanted to be sure the ingredients had most of those. But I know you've been loving those tiny spicy octopus sausages, too."
"To this day, I still wonder why you are so incredibly kind to me," I marveled, opening the box and taking the present chopsticks in hand to snatch one of the mentioned wieners. I could barely stifle the moan than rumbled through me, the salty and spicy seasoning on the tidbit of meat I'd swallowed felt heavenly as it slid down my throat. "What did I do to deserve the most fabulous lunches?"
"First, it was that you knew what it felt like to have Sasuke leave," she stated after taking a seat in a chair across from me at the desk, fishing her own bento out to begin munching on her own meal. She began with a handroll, the coloring of her own leading me to believe that there was a mixture of fish and veggies in at least one of the rolls she provided to me. She dipped it into the dark brown liquid she'd packed into a small side cup before biting off a healthy swallow, chewing thoughtfully before she continued. "Now you're pregnant with his tiny little nephew, which might be my in-law one day, if I'm lucky. Besides that, you've been working so closely with us the last few weeks that I thought we could share lunch like we used to, back when Naruto was gone."
"I still felt really lucky when you brought me lunch then," I told her gratefully, taking a rice ball in hand to take a few hungry bites. I could taste the tuna, cucumber, and cheese that she'd rolled into one and sighed happily, opening my own soy sauce cup to dip it in there for another large bite. The fetus inside of me rolled at the combination of flavors, and I made a noise of surprise, drawing the pinkette's attention. I swallowed the mouthful I had before addressing the cock of her head, "He's moving now, if you want to feel it."
Sakura dropped to her knees in front of me soon after the mention, her strong hands softly feeling around the lump that occupied my front end. I took her wrists and led her palms to where the kicks were, the baby inside clearly working on any bicycle kicks he would have to deliver to foes in the future. Her sea foam green eyes misted before they glittered with emotion, no tears reaching her waterline and no wobbling of the lip to signify anything.
"What a beautiful thing to experience," she breathed softly, "he's growing so quickly, Naruto probably feels him move all the time."
"Literally all the time, he's so active lately. Especially when he hears his dad."
"It's going to be so fun meeting this little guy," Sakura said with a smile, withdrawing to return to her seat and resume working on her lunch. "Only about ten weeks left!"
The nearness of his arrival brought a tendril of emotion through my core, and I could only depict it as nervous excitement. We were nearly ready at home to welcome the new human, only a few finishing touches needed to personalize and sanitize the space. But I worried about my own parenting ability, wondering if I'd ever be half the mother my own was. How would Naruto know what to do, having had no parents at all?
"I see that look on your face, and I think you're worrying too much," the medical kunoichi across from me advised, placing her meal down once more to focus. "It's coming up soon, but you two have got this. There are so many people around us that would jump at the chance to help if you two got overwhelmed. Lean on each other, sleep when he sleeps, and make sure you both eat and drink whenever you can. It'll be okay."
"I wasn't kidding when I said I felt lucky to be your friend."
I would always wake before I ever got the chance to hold or see the child I'd been expecting in my dreams, and a bolt of grief would strike so hard that some mornings brought forth tears. There were mornings after waking from the glorious world I'd been in that hurt so badly, all I could do is roll over and cry into Naruto's strong chest. His arms would circle my body and stay wrapped tight until the anguished cries ended and the tears dried, his lips pressing soft kisses to the crown of my head and his fingers rubbing in soothing circles.
"Same one?" He would rumble tiredly, sleep still thick in his voice. At my nod, he would softly shush me and nuzzle himself closer. "He just sent you his love my showing up in your dreams, 'Kuri. He knows you feel the same, that's why he's visiting, ya know?"
I could never explain to him that I didn't see these dreams the same way that he did. I never woke from them feeling love, only loss and a deeply-rooted hatred. Every time I had that chance ripped away from me, I only pictured the face of the man who took it the first time. My most primal self screamed to have his head, make him pay. It was only the look that my partner's cerulean eyes held that staved off the drive to go, the love that glittered in his irises being enough to calm the fire raging within for now.
X Sasuke X
The free fall I should have been experiencing was out of control, and I located the source of uneven weight distribution. In the blazing sun, I saw my twin clutched tightly to my left calf as we careened through this new time-space that Kaguya had dropped us inside of. With a blink through the space using my new Rinnegan, I brought the two of us down to the hot sand below, my sister safely in my arms to be deposited on her feet.
"And you thought phasing was weird," she commented with a small smile, stepping back to examine our surroundings with her own red irises. She wandered a few feet forward before bringing one hand up to act as a visor, the sun almost too bright in this world. "Where the hell are we?"
"It looks like another one of Kaguya's worlds, and it's just us here. I don't sense anyone else." I surmised, taking a few steps further and motioning with my hand for her to follow. "Let's look around, try to find a way out. Do you notice anything, did we leave a trace that you can see?
She furrowed her brows and looked all around, even squinting up in the general direction we'd fallen from to check for any particles that were amiss. The line her lips made across her face was enough to indicate that she didn't see anything, and I tried not to let that bring me down in the moment. We were two highly capable shinobi, and we would see ourselves out of this desert with our skills and wits about us. The two of us continued to walk for long minutes, both pairs of enhanced eyes scanning every new piece of world we could see.
"Why did you follow me?" I asked, not turning my eyes from the land ahead. "You were with Naruto again, but you dove in after me. How come?"
"My body just moved without a second thought, I had to make sure we didn't get separated again," she shared with me, breaking her concentration to gaze up at me. "You're my big brother, the other half of who I am. I can't lose you like that again. You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not, 'Ske."
I turned and crushed her to me in a hug, my body moving of it's own accord, the love and gratitude I felt for her loyalty overwhelmed me in that moment. If there were anyone on this planet that would stand by me until the world itself ended, it would be my twin sister. I resolved in that moment that I had to do the same, I had to stand by her too.
"You won't have to worry about that again, okay?" I promised, holding her back to examine her face.
"Sasuke, Akuri!" A familiar voice called, and both of our heads snapped to the left. "Hurry!"
Sakura and Obito called for us on the other side of a portal, the walls of it trembling and unstable. I took a hold of my sister by the wrist and began to run full speed toward the opening, her quick adaptability resulting in only a few stumbles before she ran full tilt beside me. The sea foam eyes of the medical nin were the only points I focused on until our window began to shrink, quickly studying the minimizing image of them that we could see.
Her flack jacket!
I yanked Akuri even closer to me, throwing my arm around her shoulders and blinking the two of us forward as fast as I could. With a rush of air and energy, we stood behind the pinkette where her vest had been and I released my sister to quickly catch the Kunoichi in front of us. I held her close to me and craned my neck to peer down into those shimmering green eyes, noting the signs of exhaustion on her face.
"How did you..?" Obito's question tore me away from my stare.
"It's one of my new abilities, I can travel through spaces." I stated, turning my gaze back to Sakura to study her. "I'm still learning my distance limits, I'm glad we made it close enough to get back."
"Thank you for showing us the way," Akuri piped up, coming near to take Sakura's hand and squeeze it softly. She cast a kind glance toward Obito, the look sending her thanks. We all sat down in a circle to recuperate for a short while. "You two did amazing."
The four of us spent a few moments catching our breath and trying to recover, the time seeming to pass by too quickly before the urgency of return stuck through all of us. All four pairs of eyes met as we recalled the two we'd left with this mysterious Goddess-like humanoid, all soon turning to face the eldest Uchiha in the quartet.
"We need to get back there," I reminded, shifting to stand and offering my hands to both of the seated women. They graciously accepted and braced themselves to stand, Sakura's knees buckling slightly and causing her to bump into me. She began to apologize before I shook my head, effectively silencing her. "I've got you for now. Lean on me while you can, we're heading back."
The light that glimmered in her eyes wasn't an unfamiliar one, I'd seen it many many times over the years we'd spent in each other's presence. I knew it to be adoration, and I allowed myself for the briefest moment to return the gaze. I couldn't deny the joy her smile brought me, but resumed an expression of neutrality. She didn't bother following suit, but leaned her head on my shoulder to enhance the sensation for us both.
"If you two are ready, so are we," Akuri said softly, her voice holding nothing but warmth as her crimson eyes caught the glimpse of us. "Let's head back and kick some ass."
We all gathered around Obito and placed a hand on him, sharing any chakra we could spare with him to return to the frigid world we'd been inside of previously. The whirl of matter before us slowly began to suck our foursome into a void, every cell in my body vibrating as it began it's descent through time and space. I wanted to pull Sakura even closer, prevent her from somehow slipping away from me in our travels and protect her once our battle resumed.
From now on, I'll keep you safe. I promise.
