Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 26: Changing Form

White walls. White halls. White floor. White doors. Lifeless. Everything was so sterile and cold. The place was in some sore need of color, some vibrancy. It needed life. She tapped her foot impatiently. She stared at the boring gray and white painting in front of her. The air even felt wrong. Like the very life had been sucked out of it too. She read the face of the clock. She had another forty-five minutes. She stared at the door. The door Karin had come out of and Tukiko went into.

Karin was now at the daycare playing with Naruto. She was probably having a ball of time. Kushina crossed her arms. It had only been two days since the confrontation. Sakura had gone back home today. It was just her and the girls. She felt better knowing Wolf was still posted outside just in case.

She had decided it was better not to wait. Thankfully Mai had been willing to move things around to fit the girls at the last minute. She felt like a caged animal. She got up to her feet. She looked at the clock again. She had forty-three minutes, which was plenty of time.

She spared one last look at the door before she walked down the hall in the opposite direction. She did not know if what she was setting out to do would be a mistake. She did not know if it would help or hurt. But she did know that she had to try something. She was never one for being passive and waiting around.

She ignored everything going on around her. Her gaze was fixed unwaveringly on her path. She wanted this. Not just for herself but for Tukiko and Karin. She loved them. She hoped they could come to love her. At the very least tolerate her. They would have a good life together. She would make sure of it.

She took a deep breath. She paid no heed to the glances. She knocked firmly on the wooden frame. She waited for what seemed like a lifetime. She supposed in a way she had. The door slid open. She was face to face with her former best friend.

"Kushina," Mikoto's voice was low. "You shouldn't be here."

'Neither should we.' She could not help but think bitterly. "Mikoto, I'm sorry for what I said. It was over the line. I am upset because it was clear that the people I care about are hurting. I'm sorry."

Mikoto looked so uneasy at the sight of her that it made Kushina's stomach lurch. Her eyes kept darting to the faces that were starting to gather.

"Kushina, I appreciate your apology. You're forgiven. Please go," she made to close the doors. Kushina moved her foot in the way. "Kushina," Mikoto pleaded.

"Mikoto, I've never judged you for your life choices. For your decision to become a housewife. I don't understand it if I'm being completely honest. I just figure it's not for me. I don't have to understand something fully to support a friend. And that's all I wanted to do; support you. Be there for you. Just like we supported each other during the academy all the way up to our jonin years." Her expression was solemn. She was speaking clearly and in a level voice. She was as serious as could be. "I miss that. I miss you. I wanted to be there for you but it felt like I was the only one trying to keep it going."

Mikoto could count the number of times, on one hand, she had seen Kushina like this. So determined, so calm and so decisive. Her eyes softened despite her reservations.

"The adjustment was tough," Mikoto admitted. "It was lonely. There were so many times I wanted to reach out to you. To tell you how I felt. How much I missed you." She swallowed. "But seeing you thrive along with hearing the stories of what you were doing, I could not help but feel inadequate. You were out there having adventures and I was picking out pots and pans."

Kushina's eyes softened. "I'm sorry if I ever implied that your life was not exciting or made you feel less than for your choices. And I'm sorry for not noticing sooner." She had been so focused on herself that it all fell by the wayside.

"I'm sorry too." Mikoto smiled sadly. "I have missed you too." She tugged at her sleeve. "Can we leave it at that?" She already knew the answer. It was only out of formality she asked.

Kushina's heartbroken expression said it all. "Mikoto, I need to ask something of you."

She straightened. She closed her eyes. She knew what was coming. "What is it?" Her voice was perfectly composed.

"I need you to talk to Fugaku. He can't file for custody on the clan's behalf. The girls can't be separated, Mikoto. They need each other. Please don't go through with it." Kushina begged. It was pitiful the way her voice sounded. She had not heard that tone in nearly a decade. "Please, Mikoto. Give them their best chance. Think of what's best for them."

Mikoto swallowed. She fought back the emotion that was threatening to tighten her throat. "You can't ask me that of me any more than I can ask Fugaku."

Kushina looked at her, taken aback. "Mikoto, please." She blinked back the tears. "Don't put them through this."

Mikoto ignored the pang in her heart. She took a breath to steady herself. She steeled her soul. "There will be a clan meeting later today. There it will be decided if the petition will be filed. Please do not come to the compound again until after this matter is resolved."

Kushina clenched her jaw. Her eyes were a dark, dark purple. "Did you do this?"

Mikoto kept the disbelief off her face. "I have nothing more to say to you." This time Kushina's foot did not pose a resistance when she closed the door.

Kushina bit the inside of her cheek until she bled. The tears stubbornly remained in her eyes. She walked out of the Uchiha compound with her head held high even if her heart had been smashed into a thousand pieces. She walked back to the hospital in a daze.

She came to sit in the same gray chair she had previously occupied. The clock ticked the seconds away. She bowed her head. Her eyes looked at the black of her baggy cotton pants. She swayed slightly.

She lost track of time. She sat up with a start when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Her wide eyes came into contact with a pair of kind brown orbs. "Rin," she furrowed her brow. "What are you doing here?"

Rin smiled at her easily. She took a seat next to her. "It looked like you could use some company."

"Does anyone actually do any work in this place?" Kushina asked dryly. She was grateful for the distraction.

Rin laughed. "Sometimes." She pulled out a fruit bar from her pocket. She offered it to Kushina.

"You got any chocolate in there? Or better yet booze?" She asked without much hope.

Rin shook her head. "Sorry. I thought you couldn't get a buzz." She said as she took a bite. She might as well make the most of her impromptu break.

Kushina sighed. "I can't get drunk. I can get buzzed. It doesn't last very long but it's better than nothing." She leaned back.

"That sounds rough," Rin said after a brief ponder. "But hey, you don't know what it feels like to be hungover. So that's kinda nice."

Kushina snorted. "I suppose."

They sat in silence. Both women got up onto their feet when the door opened. Tukiko and Mai stepped into the hall. Kushina took three steps to meet them. Her eyes moved from Tukiko to Mai. The girl looked more or less how she usually did. Reserved and solemn. Kushina's violet eyes met Mai's deep blue ones.

Mai's short hair - an anomaly for her clan - was styled in an asymmetrical bob. She could see three hoop pieces on her left ear. The gold seemed to sparkle against the platinum blond locks.

Kushina licked her lips to moisten them.

Mai's face did not give anything away. "I'd like to talk to you." She looked at Kushina.

Kushina nodded. "What about Tukiko-chan? I can't leave her."

Mai's eyes darted behind Kushina. Kushina was surprised to see Rin standing there. "I can watch her." Rin smiled kindly. "If that's okay with you."

Kushina looked at the woman in surprise. She looked at Tukiko. "Tukiko-chan, this is Rin-chan. She'll wait for you while I go talk to Mai-san, okay?"

Tukiko looked at Rin with apprehension. "Hi there, I'm Rin. It's nice to meet you, Tukiko-chan." She smiled warmly. "I was just on my break. Want to go pick out some snacks from the vending machine with me? They have lots of goodies." She asked her brightly.

Tukiko looked at Kushina unsure. Kushina smiled at her. "Go. It sounds like fun. I'll be back in no time, promise." She watched as Tukiko took a couple of steps to fall in line with Rin. It was not until they both had turned the corner that she looked back at Mai.

Mai held the door open. "After you."

Kushina stepped inside. Her eyes took in the bright spots on the walls. They were butterflies cut out of construction paper of different colors. There was almost too much to look at. It immediately put her at ease. She followed after the Yamanaka.

She took a seat in an over-stuffed caramel brown leather chair. The wood felt cool against her palms. "Just give it to me straight."

Mai nodded. She took off her black-rimmed glasses. Kushina watched as she set them down on her desk. "We'll start with Karin."

Kushina nodded mutely.

"She does not understand that her mother and grandmother are dead. She does not even understand why her father is no longer around. To her, she's convinced that this situation is temporary. She believes that eventually, her mother will come back for them. Even while she is comfortable with her current environment, she will not fully start to adjust until she understands that this is her life now. That her parents, her grandmother are not coming back."

Kushina swallowed audibly. She stared at the stoic face of Mai. She focused on it. She had thought Karin would be the easy one. Maybe she was. The situation was not new to Kushina. She understood that there was an adjustment period.

"We can work out a plan together on how best to break the news to her. I recommend having weekly sessions for her. I can monitor the progress along with Haruno-san. I think initially we should carve out a six-month program. We might not need the full six months, we might need more. But as we get into it we can have a better gauge of where she stands."

Kushina nodded. "So she really doesn't remember much?"

Mai sighed. "It's not that she doesn't remember. She does not understand what she saw, or what she experienced. She moved around at least two other times in her young life. She never had a stable home base. Her brain does not know how to process it. We have to work to make her understand and deal with it in a safe way."

"If she doesn't understand, why make her? Isn't it better to just leave it behind?" Kushina asked with hesitation.

Mai folded her hands. "That is one approach but I wouldn't recommend it. She's young. If she can work through it now it won't have a hold over her for the rest of her life. Otherwise, these memories will come at different times and the trauma will hit her in different stages of life. And she won't have the tools she needs to recognize and manage it. We should be giving her a foundation so she can build off it."

Kushina rubbed her arms. "Okay." It all sounded doable. She had savings. They could live off of them. She would stay in the village until Karin got the hang of things. She did not have to worry about making money through missions for eight months at least. So they were golden. She knew how to stretch her dollar.

"And Tukiko?"

Mai leaned back in her chair, she sighed deeply. Kushina instantly felt sick to her stomach. She had never seen Mai with the current expression on her face in all the years they worked together. It could be good.

"I'm worried about her," Mai admitted. "You wanted it straight here it is, she's incredibly traumatized. She is still deeply rooted in her flight or fight response. To her, the danger is not over. She's still living it each and every day. She's feeling it. To her, it's like the ground is always being ripped from underneath her. She's never known stability. She would not know how to even recognize it."

The woman tucked her hair behind her ears. She had several more gold earrings in her right ear. Kushina counted them. Four. She focused on them. She could not float away.

"She needs to come in at least twice a week. You know how I feel about medication. I want to get a baseline and see if the program is making any difference. If we do not see anything moving in either direction in three months' time we might have to consider it."

Kushina's mouth went dry. "No meds." Tukiko was too young.

Mai bit her lip. "That's for Haruno-san to decide but I agree. We should be aggressive with how often she comes here." She paused. "It's a long road, Kushina. Longer than anything we've dealt with before. She needs structure. She needs a routine. She needs stability. She needs to feel safe so she can come out of her hyper-alert state. She needs someone there for her constantly. Who is emotionally strong. She needs someone to ground her when everything feels like it is shaking. She needs a solid support system."

Kushina was numb. She did not know what to feel. Everything Mai was saying was like another stake was going right through her heart.

"Her brain is trying to block out the things she's seen. It's trying to protect her. But we both know that never holds up. Even if we sealed her memories, it is not a permanent fix. It is not the right fix. The slightest things can set her off. Only time and consistency can help now."

Kushina was watching Mai's mouth move but it was as if her brains and ears were on a time delay.

"The custody battle."

Mai looked at her sympathetically. "Is there any way to avoid that? It will only add more for her to deal with."

Kushina shook her head. She bowed her head.

Mai sighed again. "That's unfortunate." She stood up. "I should have my recommendations and plan for Haruno-san in a couple of days. Bring Tukiko in with you then. The sooner we get started the better."

Kushina got up. She nodded. She took a breath and plastered a large smile on her face. Maybe its size could make up for what it lacked in genuineness. She opened the door. She saw two pairs of eyes look up at her.

"Ready to go, Tukiko-chan?" She asked her brightly.

Tukiko nodded. Rin said nothing at the tightness in Kushina's eyes. She turned to Tukiko. "I had a lot of fun. Come visit me anytime, okay?" She gathered the empty wrappers and put them in her pocket. She squeezed Kushina's arm as she passed. Kushina spared her a small smile.

"Let's go find your sister." She gently led Tukiko by the shoulders as she made the turns toward the daycare.

Mika - the daycare attendant - smiled at Kushina when they approached the counter. "Would you like to go back there? I'm sure Naruto-kun would love to see you."

Kushina looked at Tukiko. "What do you say?"

Tukiko nodded slowly.

"Great, you know your way." Mika held open the door behind the desk.

Kushina nodded in thanks. The sounds of rambunctious laughter reached both their ears as they entered the playroom. The blue carpet with green and purple spots was making her dizzy. The stickers and pictures that lined the walls were too overstimulating. Her eyes darted from table to table as she tried to find a familiar head of red or yellow hair. She should not have bothered.

"Kushina-Obachan!" Naruto exclaimed. She only had around five seconds before he came running at her.

"Naruto," she smiled. She hugged him back. Her eyes landed on Karin who had just joined them. "Karin-chan." She put her hand on the girl's head. "Did you two have fun?"

They both nodded empathetically. "We finger-painted and played with blocks!" Karin said in excitement.

"I can see that," Kushina saw the dried splotches of yellow and green paint in Karin's hair. "Karin-chan go get your things, it's time to go."

"Oneechan," Karin looked at Tukiko. "I made you a picture. Come see." Karin grabbed Tukiko's hand and all but dragged her to one of the tables. Kushina watched after them.

"Obachan," Naruto tugged at her hand.

"Hm?" Kushina was caught off guard by the serious expression on his face.

"Is that mean man still bothering you?" His face was enraged at the memory of yesterday.

Kushina shook her head. "Not right now." She answered honestly.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. He was beside himself. "I'm going to kick his butt!" He vowed.

She sighed. Maybe she was too honest. Kushina crouched down. She put her hands on his shoulders." Why would you do that?" She asked him.

"He was yelling at you! And he made you sad." Naruto insisted. "Yelling is bad."

Kushina felt her heart warm. "Yelling is bad. It is very bad. I'm not sad, Naruto."

Naruto looked at her, not fully convinced. He kissed her on the cheek. "There. Now you can't be sad."

She felt her lips tug into a smile. She pulled him close. She felt him warp his arms around her. "I'm not sad anymore, Naruto. Thank you."

He rubbed the bottom of his nose. He grinned at her. "You're welcome."

She led the girls back home. Her mind was looking ahead to what was to come. She could not get Mai's assessment out of her head. A support network. Tukiko needed a lot of help. More help than just she could provide. She needed a family. She needed someone who was mentally and emotionally strong. She needed constancy. She needed parents.

The writing was on the wall. What Tukiko needed she could not provide. She simply was not enough. She was outnumbered. She had a dangerous profession. She was on her own. She did not want to admit it to herself then but Mai's words forced her to address it.

She claimed that she wanted nothing but the best for the girls. Both of them. Maybe that was not her. She was standing in the way. Tukiko could be with blood. She would have a whole clan to look after her. How could she deny her of that and still claim that she wanted the best for her?

She herself was an orphan. Furthermore, she was an orphan in a village where no one knew her initially. She only had Mito. And that had been enough. The woman was her kin. They had a connection. Their customs and their ways. They understood what it meant to be an Uzumaki.

Tukiko was being offered that with the Uchiha. She would be taken care of. She was sure of that. She had a lot to think about. What it meant when she said she wanted the best for the girls.

She still had some time before she figured it out.

She felt someone tap her from behind. She turned around. Her eyes landed on a magenta mask. "Spider?" She asked in surprise.

"I'm glad I caught you." She called out. She held out a brown wallet. "You dropped this."

Kushina looked at the wallet. She looked down at her purse. The zipper was open. "Oh, thank you." She took the wallet and put it in her green purse. She closed the zip. "I was so in my head I didn't notice."

'I can't even keep my wallet secure.'

"Don't mention it." Kushina could hear the smile in Spider's words. "I should get going."

Karin reached up and grabbed Kushina's hand. "I know her."

Kushina smiled at the redhead. "She seems nice."

Karin turned her head. "Sometimes."

Kushina furrowed her brow at Karin's statement. She did not know what to make of it. Karin was always saying the strangest things about people. "What are we thinking for dinner?" Kushina asked the girls.

Karin tapped her chin. "Ramen!" She cheered.

Kushina crinkled her nose. "Yeah, today seems like a ramen kind of day." She looked at Tukiko. "Does that sound good, Tukiko-chan?"

The girl nodded.

There were at least seven heads gathered in the room, not counting him and his wife. They were prominent heads too. They belonged to the major families within the clan. The one that grated on his nerves the most was the one belonging to Shunsuke. He was the assistant chief. It made sense as to why he was here on the surface level but it did not make it any easier. Fugaku could not help but feel that the man was hellbent on making his life as difficult as possible. First with Itachi and everything he was planning and now with this.

"Fugaku," Wakato's stern voice pulled him from his thoughts. "The girl is one of our own. We cannot let another raise her. Especially with her Sharingan being active."

There were low murmurs of agreement. He kept his chin to his chest and arms crossed as Mikoto finished serving yet another round of tea. She came to sit behind him. He knew the expression that had to be donned on her face, the one of masked concern.

"Fugaku." Wakato spoke again.

He opened his eyes. He looked around the room. He looked at Shun. "I agree that is a problem. One we cannot ignore." He thought out his words carefully. "I also cannot ignore the fact that she has a sister. Are we sure she is not an Uchiha too?"

Shun shook his head. "Different fathers." There was something off with the look in his eyes. "The youngest's father was a nobody."

"And the eldest's?" Fugaku asked.

"We don't know." His lips pressed into a firm line.

"They have lost much already." Fugaku pointed out what should have been brought up an hour ago when the discussion started.

Wakato frowned. "This much is true. But it does not change the decision."

Fugaku sighed. "It is unanimous then?"

The seven heads nodded. He had no choice. If he went against their decision and did not file he would lose more support. He would be seen as weak. He would be fueling the fire. His hands were tied.

"Very well. I will bring up the matter with the Hokage tomorrow."

"Why wait? There's still daylight outside." Shun pressed.

Fugaku looked at the barely masked eagerness. It personified everything that was wrong with Shun's generation. They were quick to fight, quick to anger, quick to strike and kill. Not too long ago he had been like that. The war had taught him a few things.

"The boy is right," Wakato spoke up. "We are already behind. The sooner it is filed the sooner we can resolve the matter."

The solemn faces in the room echoed the sentiment. Fugaku sighed. "As you say. I will leave at the top of the hour."

Shun stood up. "I will go with you."

Fugaku stared at him with his stoic mask in place. "Do you not trust my ability to make the case on the clan's behalf?" He did not believe the audacity of Shun to openly challenge him in his own home.

Wakato got up as well. "It is not that at all, Fugaku. The boy knows more about the girl. He would merely be there as support." He tried to defuse the situation.

Shun smiled. His eyes shone. "Let me be your backup, Chief."

Fugaku held his gaze. The only thing Shun would be there for was to stab him in the back. That much he knew. But he could not say that. So he merely nodded.

"Don't be late."

Shun nodded. "I wouldn't dream of it." He made a show of bowing.

Fugaku dipped his head in acknowledgment. He repeated the gesture six more times as they all filed out of his home. He could feel her eyes.

"What?" He asked her with more irritability than he meant.

"Dear," she began gently. Her arm was on his shoulder. He felt the guilt churn in him at his shortness with her. "Is there really no way we can keep them together? Take them both?" Mikoto asked.

The hard lines of his face did not relent. "No." He said simply. He turned his head. He could not bear to witness her disappointment. "There is nothing I can do." He muttered. He leaned forward and began to fill the form that was in front of him that the seven heads had brought with them.

His blue eyes scanned the document. Everything was perfect. Just as he expected from the head of the Uchiha Clan. Minato stamped the petition to denote when it was complete and processed. He pulled out Kushina's petition. It was full of crossed-out letters and smudges. It was barely legible. It too had been stamped but it was dated two days back.

His eyes briefly flickered over to Shun's. "I'm sure as you're already aware, Uzumaki-san also filed for a petition of custody. She completed hers on Monday." Their expressions did not change. "Since there are two petitions the procedure is to hear both sides and to make a decision on what is in the best interest of the child."

They said nothing. It was not new information for them. The rule had been on the books for years.

"Do you understand what I am saying?"

Fugaku nodded. Shun frowned. "Hokage-sama, with all due respect," he paused. Minato had a feeling that what was to come out of his mouth next would not be entirely respectful. He nodded to let him know to proceed. "I have concerns."

"Concerns?" Minato asked lightly. Fugaku stubbornly looked at the spot over Minato's head.

Shun seemed to hesitate. His eyes landed on Shikaku. Minato folded his hands. "Speak freely, Assistant Chief. We're amongst comrades here."

Shun's expression remained neutral. There was a glint in his dark eyes that Minato did not overlook.

"My initial concern has to do with your ability to be impartial given that you've had a prior relationship with the other party."

No one visibly reacted yet the air in the room became thinner.

"It was in the past," Minato stated calmly. "I can assure you that it has no bearing on my ability to be impartial."

"All the same, Hokage-sama, I would like to bring it to the Clan Council. Seeing how it is such a delicate matter and it will set a precedent moving forward." Shun insisted. He rolled back his shoulders. His wide stance reminded Minato of someone who was alert and ready to deal with an altercation within seconds.

"You're suggesting a vote?" Minato asked him evenly.

"I want to invoke the panel of three rule." Shun clarified.

"Why?" Fugaku looked at him. "The panel of three has only been enacted a handful of times. A clan vote is much more commonplace for things of this nature."

"Given Uzumaki-san's relationship with the other heads and their spouses, I worry we will not receive a fair decision," Shun said matter-of-factly.

Fugaku felt his anger rise. "First you accuse the Hokage of bias and now you are pointing the finger at the other leaders?" He could not believe it.

Minato held up his hand. "It is alright Fugaku-san. Let him finish." Minato studied Shun with scrutiny.

Fugaku brought his hands behind his back. He resumed glaring at the glass.

"I would like to suggest the three clans if that is alright. They have no ties with either the Uchiha or the Uzumaki." He continued as if there were no objections. "The Hyuga, Aburame and Kurama clans."

"Your clan will accept whatever outcome comes from this hearing?"

Shun held Minato's gaze. Fugaku spoke. "We will, Hokage-sama."

"Your request has been granted. Murakumo, Shibi, and Hiashi will receive the summons by tomorrow. I will set the date. Look for early next week." He pulled out three empty scrolls from the top drawer of his desk. His eyes flickered between Shun and Fugaku. "I shouldn't have to remind you that the meeting with Tukiko or Uzumaki-san is forbidden until the hearing."

"Of course," Shun nodded.

"Good. Dismissed." He turned his attention to the scrolls. He did not look up to see Fugaku's bow or how Shun's head barely moved. The door closed.

"That was unpleasant," Shikaku said with a sigh.

Minato nodded. "But not unexpected." He handed Shikaku the scrolls. The Nara did not even blink. He had long learned to stop being surprised with anything Minato-related. He was not called the Yellow Flash for naught. "Thank you, Shikaku."

The man waved without looking back.

She had not sat down for more than five minutes since the minute she walked through the double doors of the hospital. Something was constantly vying for her attention. First, it was the hospital manager that wanted to get approvals for updating the HVAC system. The estimate had been more than what she was expecting but it had to be done. She had to dip deep into their rainy-day fund. She supposed it was appropriate since it felt like everything was coming down on her head all at once. It was a downpour of misery.

Next had been her meeting with the exterminator. The construction has exposed a rodent problem. She had a list of complaints as long as her arm from various doctors and nurses about the headaches they were facing with the expansion.

She felt like a chicken who was running around without a head. She wanted nothing more than to shut her office door, lock it, and scream until she felt human again. But that was a luxury she could not afford. She had planned on waiting with Kushina, to be there for Mia's assessment of the girls but an emergency consult was called and she had to deal with it. She did not even get a chance to glance over the initial high-level summary yet. The files were sitting on her desk. Waiting for her.

And now she was dealing with probably the worst of it all. She held his hands gently in her own. "Naruto, why did you bite Kanato-kun?" She asked him. Her tone was gentle but her eyes held a seriousness in them.

Naruto turned his head. His pout grew in size. He tapped his feet together. His legs were outstretched in front of him. He was sitting on a table. She no longer could crouch down to his level. She would never make it back up without help. She heard the noise of other children playing in the adjacent space. Naruto was put in exile for his actions. At least that was what he was acting like. The timeout room was also known as the staff break room.

"Naruto," she moved his chin so that he was forced to look at her. "I'm waiting." She reminded him.

"I don't know." He mumbled out in one breath. His blue eyes still contained traces of anger. It was woven in with the shame he felt for being caught.

She pressed her lips together. "Naruto, you know it's wrong to be dishonest right?" Her patience was waning but it was not his fault. Her staff was acting like petulant children but that was not on Naruto.

He dipped his head. She sighed. She brought a hand to rest on the small of her back. "Was it an accident?" She asked him even though she was not sure how someone could accidentally bite someone on the arm. She was just trying to get the dialog flowing.

"No," Naruto crossed his arms on his chest. There was no remorse on his face. All that was missing was an utterance of 'and I'd do it again'.

"Then what was it, Naruto?" She kept her frustration from manifesting physically.

"He was being mean." Naruto looked at her enraged.

"Naruto, you know you can't hit or bite people for being mean to you. You have to use your words." Sakura scolded him.

"I tried! I told him to stop but he just laughed and kept calling her the name!" He snapped indignantly. "So I bit him. He stopped then." There was satisfaction in his tone.

Sakura furrowed her brow. "Her? Who was Kanato-kun being mean to? One of your friends?" It did not make it better but she could be lying if she said she was not a little proud of him for standing up for his friend. They would just have to work on how he chose to do it in the future.

Naruto shook his head. "No."

"Who then?" She asked him.

He extended the bottom row of his teeth out past the top. "Obachan." He grumbled. "He was calling her a monster. He got some of the other kids saying it too."

Realization hit her. Her expression softened. "That must have been really upsetting."

Naruto nodded. "I told him to stop. He didn't listen."

Sakura brought her hands to his shoulders. "I'm sorry that he didn't listen to you. And I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Was your Obachan around when he was calling her names?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, she left. With Karin and Kiko."

Sakura found herself thankful for that fact. "Okay. We have to apologize to Kanato and his Okaasan now."

Naruto's mouth opened. "Why? He was being mean!" He looked at her in disbelief.

"What Kanato-kun did was wrong." Naruto puffed up with validation. "But what you did is wrong too. Maybe even more so." He deflated. He looked at her, devastated. "We can't go around biting, hitting, screaming at people for when they are mean or wrong. You asked him to stop. That was the right thing to do. That was all you could do. By biting him, you made your wrong bigger than his. Even if it came from a good place."

He blinked back tears. "But Obachan is not a monster."

"I know. I know, Baby." She dried his cheeks. "It's not fair. People are scared of your Obachan for something that is not her fault. They don't even know her. By lashing out in anger you became closer to the thing that Kanato-kun tried to make your Obachan. You understand that it was wrong, right?" She asked him gently.

He nodded. "Yes, Mama."

She smiled at him. "Good. So we'll apologize. And in the future, what will you not do the next time someone says something upsetting?"

"Not bite." Naruto said crestfallen.

"And?" Sakura held up her brow.

"Not fight or scream." He added reluctantly.

"That's my boy." She hugged him. She helped him off the table. "You ready to face the music?" She asked him solemnly.

Naruto nodded. She held his hand as they walked. She came to a stop near a woman and her son. The pair of brunettes looked at them. Sakura nudged Naruto towards the sulking boy.

"I'm sorry for biting you," Naruto muttered. He did not make eye contact with him.

Kanato looked at him with his orange eyes. "It's okay." He looked at his mom.

The woman frowned at them. She made to brush past.

Sakura furrowed her brow. "Isn't there anything Kanato-kun would like to say?" She asked the woman.

Kanato's mom stopped midstep. She turned to look back at Sakura over her shoulder. "No. There isn't." She looked at her son. "Let's go."

Sakura took a step forward. Her anger propelled her. "I'm sorry if I didn't make myself clear Eda-san, I wasn't done."

The woman turned. She looked incredibly agitated. The small hand in hers reminded Sakura to remain mindful. She was setting an example for Naruto.

"Kanato-kun said some unkind things and we would appreciate an apology." She pressed.

The brunette's eyes bore into hers. "I'm sorry Haruno-san but not everyone shares your views. I will not have my son apologize for what we believe."

If her anger was a simmer before it had reached full boil. "I'm sorry to hear that Kanato-kun is being fed bigoted views." She tried.

The Eda's eyes flashed. "I think it would be best if we end it here. Kanato will not be coming back."

Sakura set her jaw in a hardline. "How sad. We all could have been such good friends."

The woman's lip curled in disdain. She took her son and walked off.

"Mama?" Naruto looked at her.

"Yes, Baby?" She asked him.

"What's bigtoed mean?" He scratched his face.

She sighed. "I'll tell you when you're older."

"Again?" He complained.

"Again." She said solemnly. She looked at the watch on her wrist. It was not even noon yet. "You'll be good?" She asked him suspiciously.

He nodded. "I will."

Sakura smiled. "Good because Mama and Dada really rely on daycare. We can't afford to have you kicked out for being a hooligan."

Naruto looked offended. "I'm a good boy!"

"You really are." She rested her hand on the top of his head.

"When the poison changed its composition it completely changed the structure of everything in the container. The half-life of the compound changed completely. It's all homogenous." Tsunade stated.

Minato frowned. "Isn't that kind of expected? Since the whole thing changed?"

Tsunade grinned at him. "No. The whole thing did not change on its own. It was forced to change. With the introduction of something."

Minato blinked at her in confusion. "Introduction?"

Tsunade nodded. "The batch was tampered with. My best guess is a different sample was introduced and that caused the whole thing to overwrite itself."

"I'm confused." Minato voiced.

Tsunade sighed. "Your culprit, the ANBU, must have broken into the room where the sample was being kept and forced it to change by adding to it. The fact that just an addition of a new substance can change the whole properties of the existing compound is incredible. It's not like mixing two things together to make a new thing. It's the second thing mutating the first to be just like it. It's amazing." Her eyes sparked with excitement.

"She's been like this since yesterday," Jiraiya deadpanned as he pointed at her with his thumb.

Minato's brow shot up. He spared Jiraiya a look. The white-haired man pretended not to notice.

"So it was compromised." That did not sound like a good development to Minato. "Why would they go to such extreme lengths to do that? They could have risked being caught."

Tsunade nodded. "My guess was to throw me off, to buy some more time." But in doing so they had to tip their hand. They had to reveal the nature of the compound in order to do it.

"For what though?" He could not help but ask.

"Minato you're not listening," Tsunade snapped. "This all but confirmed the seal theory. There is no other way to facilitate the poison and support its transforming capabilities. Why go through all this trouble of having an alterable poison if you're not going to use that?"

He pondered the question. His mind was drawing a blank, not that Tsunade expected an answer. It just bothered him that he could not think of something to disprove it.

"Did you find out more about the seal from it?" He asked her.

Tsunade shook her head. "I need to see Bat. I'll learn more then."

"Hold off on that just yet." He felt the full weight of their bewildered gazes.

"Have you been listening at all?" She asked him incredulously. Her palms were flat on the desk as she leaned forward. He might have even been intimated if he was not used to seeing the look on her face.

"We have four names. That's too long of a list. We need to narrow it down to at least two before we examine the seal. We could risk setting off the ANBU that we are onto them." Minato reasoned.

"They are already onto us," Tsunade shot back. "They sabotaged the sample I had. I'd say they know."

"But they don't know what you've learned. What you've figured out about the seal. We need to know what type of seal we are dealing with. The best way to do that is to let Wolf work. If we go in there blind it could backfire. The seal could kill Bat. The seal could alert the ANBU. The seal could trap you in it." His tone conveyed that he could not be budged from his stance. "We need to learn about the seal. Either through the poison or through the investigation. No one is inspecting Bat until we have an idea."

Tsuande sighed. Seals were tricky. She had to give that much to him. If she went in like she was planning, her chakra could be enough to set it off and they had no idea what was waiting for them.

"Wolf is working on that now?" Jiraiya asked.

Minato nodded. "He is. All four ANBU have very distinctive signatures. We just have to be patient. Being thorough takes time."

"It doesn't bother you in the slightest that this ANBU has been one step ahead of us this whole time?" Tsunade asked in frustration. She had been livid when she figured it out. As time went on she had come to almost admire the planning that went into this. Some days she did not even know what she was doing for lunch much less thinking so far ahead.

"More than I care to admit." His eyes hardened. "We are making progress. There is no harm in feigning ignorance a little while longer." He looked at Tsunade. "Please keep working the poison angle."

She nodded reluctantly. It was an order. What could she do other than follow it?

"What about Bat?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'll make sure he's not allowed any new visitors," Minato answered.

The Sannin nodded.

She had a couple of hours before she could call it a day, a work day at least. Somehow things had gotten even more hectic for her since lunch. Her feet and back were killing her. She just needed to sit down and put her feet up. That was all she asked. She rearranged the stack of files in her arm. The potential candidates for the lion's mane Alzheimer's study. She was optimistically hopeful that they would have a fully viable crop of mushrooms by six weeks' time. That gave them two more growth cycles to work out all the kinks. They could have a study up and running right around the time she came back from maternity leave.

She did not fight back the groan that ripped through her throat at the sight of a too-familiar mask in her office.

"Spider, what now?"

The ANBU laughed. "Should I be offended?"

Sakura shook her head. "Is someone dying? Is something on fire? If the answer is yes, I am not the person you should be talking to."

Spider shook her head. "No one is dying. No fires." She looked very comfortable on Sakura's couch. The very couch she had been daydreaming about all damn day.

She sulked over to her desk. She sat down with a loud sigh. She set the stack down. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked almost testily. She hoped the ANBU would take the not-so-subtle hint.

"You seem to be more stationary these days." She said offhandedly.

Sakura looked up at her, taken aback by her comment. It seemed almost like an insult. She thought back to their last conversation. She had not done anything to warrant it. She took a breath. She did not know Spider all that well. ANBU tended to be on the socially inept side.

"I'm just taking everyone's advice. Focusing on my work here." She said pleasantly.

"Must be nice," Spider noted breezily. "To have someone to rely on. That you can count on to not drop the ball."

There was a weird sensation in her gut. "I trust him." She fought to keep the defensiveness out of her tone.

"I just find it hard to believe the same woman who stood in front of all those clan heads would just give up," Spider said almost dismissively.

Sakura's jaw clicked. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Did I do something to piss you off, Spider?" She asked her outright.

"I'm just trying to understand, is all." Spider shrugged. "Make sense of it."

Sakura snorted. She could have fooled her with her tone. "Bat will be saved. There are incredibly talented, smart, and capable individuals working on clearing his name." She rubbed her forehead. She was beginning to feel a headache prick behind her eyes. "I'm just doing what I can to help the village. Just like everyone else." She rearranged the papers on her desk loudly. "Listen, Spider. Right now is not the best time. I need to get through these reports…" she trailed off.

Spider looked in no rush to move. "I guess I'm having such a hard time because I've never seen or experienced it. My mom did everything on her own. Same with me. I never considered the alternative. I've never had an alternative."

"We all need help sometimes." This time her tone did sound defensive, very much so.

"Did I ever tell you about my father?" She looked at Sakura.

Sakura froze. There was something in her voice that made her stomach turn. "No."

"It's a long story." Spider began.

"Well, maybe we'll save it for another day. I really need to get back to work, Spider." She said firmly.

"She got involved with a married man," Spider said, completely ignoring Sakura. "The affair lasted years off and on."

Sakura's face fell. Her heart skipped a beat. Despite herself, she started to be pulled in. She was not a gossip. She dabbled in gossip occasionally. She, like the next person, did not mind hearing a juicy story. She was human.

"It started off innocently enough. They just started by talking. Neither thought it would go anywhere. She just saw someone struggling. She just wanted to help. He needed someone to lean on. He needed a safe place where he could offload without anyone thinking anything less of him. It was an accident. For them to connect in a way that was more than just friends. Neither expected it or planned for it to happen. It just did."

"She really fell in love with him. She really did love him. All of him, even the parts he was not so proud of. The parts he kept hidden from his wife. She saw him at his lowest and that made him all that more special to her. My mother loved him through and through. She loved and understood him for who he was and not what she wanted him to be. She always spoke so highly of him. I really think she thought he would leave his wife for her."

"I think she regretted hurting another woman but she loved him. And she truly thought he loved her back. She knew it was messy but he was the love of her life. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep him. She had this whole fantasy that they would be this perfect family. She would give him what his wife couldn't. She would support him and love him."

"What happened?" Sakura felt compelled to ask.

"He called it off for good before she could tell him that she was pregnant with me. He said the guilt from cheating on his wife was too great. He could not do it anymore." Spider said nonchalantly as if she were discussing something as mundane as the weather. "Just like that. The longest - the only - relationship she ever had came to such an abrupt end. She never saw him again after that. I don't even have a picture of what he looked like."

Sakura did not know how to respond. She felt bad for Spider. It was not her fault but the story stirred something in her. The deep feeling of shame she had. She had kissed Minato in Suna all those years ago when he was still involved with Kushina and she was with Masaki. It was a huge blot on her character. She had little to no sympathy for Spider's mother.

The woman had crossed a line. She had chosen that. Spider and the man's wife were the only innocent people in her eyes and it was terrible that they were ultimately collateral.

She swallowed. "I'm sorry Spider. That must have been really hard growing up."

"It was a long time ago. I still wonder what he must have been like sometimes." She sighed. "It's sad that my daughter will also likely do the same."

The knot in her stomach tightened. "I'm sorry." She repeated. She felt heavy.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is you're really lucky, Sakura, to have someone you trust enough to share the burdens of life with. Something like that is really hard to come by." Spider punctuated with a deep sigh.

"I am," Sakura said in agreement. "I hope you find it for yourself one day, Spider." She did not fake the sincerity in her voice. "If that is something you want."

"Thank you, Sakura." Sakura could hear the smile on Spider's face from her voice.

She could not sleep. The conversation she had with Spider kept replaying in her head. It had unnerved her for reasons she could not put her finger on. She looked over her shoulder. She could only see the green of her pillow. Sakura worked the moment by rocking slightly to sit up. She looked to her right. Naruto was lying practically horizontal across the bed. He had a foot pushed up against her pillow. He was clutching a frog stuffed animal tightly. She frowned. Minato's side of the bed was empty.

Her eyes wandered to the balcony. He was looking off into the distance. She could see the stiffness in his shoulders from here. She wondered if something had happened in the investigation. She swung her legs over the side of the bed. She shoved her feet into slippers and padded over to him.

"Is everything alright?" She asked gently, ignoring the way he had jumped slightly when she touched his shoulder. He blinked away the dazed look from his eyes.

"Pretty embarrassing that you managed to sneak up on me." He rubbed the back of his head.

"I won't tell if you don't." She promised. A frown formed on her face when she noticed that her little joke did not elicit a reaction from him. At the very least he could have breathed out of his nostrils with a little more force than usual. It really did not take much work.

He was off starting at nothing again with his intense gaze. She bit her lip.

"I feel like we haven't talked in a while." She said in a tentative voice, scared that the very ground they were standing on would shift with her question.

He spared her a sidelong glance. "We talk all the time."

She fought back against the frown that her face wanted to don. She strongly disagreed with his statement. Strongly.

"Did the Uchihas file their petition?" She leaned forward on her forearms, as much as her stomach would allow. Minato made a noncommittal sound that she took as a yes. "Did they ask for the panel of three?"

"Is this really what you want to talk about?" He asked her. She tried not to read too much into his tone. She told herself that he was probably frustrated that he could not sleep. It had to be because of that and not her.

"I want to talk about anything you want to." She did not care if it made her sound needy. They were co-parenting like pros but she could not remember the last time they talked where either of them was not apologizing for something or talking about Naruto.

"What if there's nothing that comes to mind?" He asked into the air. He tilted his head back and looked at the stars. He missed the panic that flashed across Sakura's face.

She caught herself and forced a smile on her face. "Well, that's alright." She looked over her shoulder. "Do you want to go back inside?"

Minato shook his head. "I think I'll stay out here for a bit longer." He ran a hand through his hair. "But you should try to get some sleep."

The alarm bells were sounding the alarm in her head in full force. She swallowed audibly.

"Should I be worried?" She asked him. Her eyes were as hard as diamonds.

He looked at her with a furrowed brow and a slight frown. "Worried about what?" He asked her.

"Anything." She said simply.

He turned away from her. "Go to sleep, Sakura."

She stood there staring at him in a mix of disbelief and frustration for a couple of seconds. Not once did he acknowledge her. Nor was he going to. She left the balcony without another word. She slipped back into her side of the bed. The pillow felt like it was strangling the life out of her. First, it had been Spider but now it was Minato. He was the reason why she would not get any sleep.