Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 30: The Hearing Part II

Flashback

"Thank you, Shikaku," he smiled easily at his dark-eyed and dark-haired advisor.

The head of the Nara Clan nodded. "I'll see you after lunch if there's nothing else?"

"There's nothing else." He put aside the small stack of ANBU candidate forms. It still remained the most prestigious department in all of the village. His ears registered the opening and the closing of the door.

He rose to his feet. His eyes settled on the rectangular box wrapped in a dark green furoshiki with white spirals that was sitting on his desk. It had been a while since they ate lunch together. The week kept him busy with coordinating the last-minute details for the chunin exams. They were taking place in Konoha this year. They were about a month out.

Sakura was busy with yet another project at the hospital. The children's mental health clinic just hit its two-year mark a couple of weeks ago. She was looking to start out the third year even more aggressively than she had the first two. She was vetting and training new faces to join the ranks.

They were both swamped. It felt like they must have only spoken to each other for twenty minutes in the past few days. Minato reached for the neatly tied knot of the cloth. He tucked the bento under his arm and made his way to the door. The white cloak with red flames remained resting on the back of the purple chair.

It was a cool mid-April day. Most of the cherry blossoms had separated from the trees and were embellishing the ground like light pink confetti. He could not help but smile as he remembered how beautiful Sakura looked at the spring festival a couple of weeks ago in her red kimono with pink and white flowers.

Through some scheduling luck, they were both able to make some time to attend the festival and see the cherry blossoms. It had been really nice day. He was already looking forward to next year when they would have either a son or daughter to enjoy the festival with.

He walked leisurely through the dirt pathways of his village, of his home. With each passing day, he had more and more reason to preserve what they had. He had even more reason to fight. He was doing it for them. For his wife and for their future children. Keeping the village safe meant that they in turn would be safe. And just like how he wanted to keep his family safe, he wanted to keep all the families that relied on him safe as well.

The cool wind of the air conditioner hit him as he walked through the double doors of the hospital entrance. He only stopped once in his quest toward her chakra signature, it was to say hello to Rin. He saw her significantly less frequently than Kakashi and Obito. Both due to her nature - she was not the pushy and demanding type - and their job functions so he tried to make it a point to visit her whenever he passed through the hospital.

He dipped his head as he walked to the greetings and the bows, he did not see faces. He came to a stop at her office door. He spiked his chakra and counted to three before opening the door. The smile fell from his face as his eyes scanned her office and found no traces of her.

The door swung close behind him. He walked slowly to her desk. He set his bento on the surface that was not covered with paper, pens, scrolls, and what have you. An intense smell of brine wafted up his nose.

He rounded her desk. The smell grew stronger. He pulled the chair back toward him and crouched down to peer under her desk. The smell was overwhelming. He found himself face to face with one very guilty-looking Sakura, clutching a jar of pickles to her. She had a half-eaten pickle spear in her hand. She stayed there frozen in place barely blinking.

"Sakura," he began calmly, almost as if catching his wife eating pickles straight from the jar while hiding under her desk like a troll was perfectly normal behavior. "Hi."

"Hi," she greeted back when it became apparent that he could in fact see her.

"Do you want to come out from under there?" He refrained from asking what she was doing. He knew what she was doing. He saw what she was doing.

"No," she shook her head. "What are you doing here?" She had the audacity to ask him that question.

"I thought we could eat lunch together." He stared at the mostly full jar. "It seems like you've got a head start." The amusement was clear in his eyes.

She said nothing. The position her body was in to fit under her desk did not seem the most comfortable. Her head and neck were hunched down as the top of the surface was too low for her. Her back was pressed against the panel that kept the contents of the drawers in place. One of her knees was bent. The other leg was touching the top left corner of the top of the desk. And then of course there were the pickles.

"Bubblegum, why are you eating under your desk?" He debated asking her his follow-up question if she ate like this often. He had never seen her do that before but he had read that pregnancy hormones made for some interesting scenarios. He just did not picture it quite like this.

"I'm hiding," she swallowed audibly. Her eyes darted between him and the pickle in her hand.

"From what?" He asked her with clear confusion on his face.

She bit her lip. "From you."

"Why?" He could not keep the surprise from his face, tone, or posture. He was trying to keep an open mind. She was just making it so hard.

"I didn't want you to judge me." She said sheepishly. At least she had the decency to smile at him to soften the blow.

"Why would I judge you?" His blond brow was high on his forehead.

"Because I'm on my second," she did not look him in the eye.

He frowned. Her having two pickles was not enough of an offense to warrant this level of overreaction. Oh. Understanding flooded him.

"Sakura, give me the jar." He said in a level voice.

"I don't want to." She looked devastated by his suggestion. It was the ultimate act of treachery.

"Sakura," he held out his hand.

"It's the only thing that doesn't make me want to throw up." She shielded the jar from his line of sight.

"You've had enough sodium for the rest of the week." He kept steady pressure both with his eyes and his expression.

"I like salt." She said adamantly.

"Sakura," he beckoned her to hand him the jar - the second one - she was working her way through.

Sakura pouted. "Fine, but I'm keeping this one." She referred to the one still in her hand.

"Deal," he slowly reached for the jar. She let him take it from her without a fight. He grabbed the discarded lid and twisted it back on before he put it on her desk. He held out his hand once more. "Come here," he said softly.

Sakura begrudgingly took his hand, with the hand that was not holding onto the pickle as if it were the most precious thing in her life. He helped her out from the desk and onto her feet. She all but shoved the rest of the pickle into her mouth. She chewed as quickly as she could like he would take it away from her if she did not eat it fast enough. Sakura dusted off her skirt with as much dignity as she could muster. She ignored the sounds of Akemi's laughter in her head.

"What do you say we have some of the bento I made for us?" She had not touched her actual lunch-lunch. He held the open bento box between them to entice her to consume something other than her weight in pickles.

"Trash," Sakura said simply with a blank face.

"What?" He was slightly taken aback at the rather rude comment. She loved his cooking. She loved it when he cooked. He had even made sure to take extra to include most of her favorites, well the favorites that were not comprised of just sugar and food dye.

Sakura pressed her lips together into a thin line. She brushed past him rather quickly and abruptly. He watched wordlessly as she grabbed the trash and unceremoniously emptied the contents of her stomach.

"Are you alright?" He asked her grimly as he rubbed her back. The lid was back firmly on the box. He even went as far as putting it on top of his own lunch which was at the diagonal corner of the desk from them.

"Should have just let me have my pickles," she scrunched her nose and put the trash bin back down on the ground. She opened her bottom drawer and pulled out a roll of clear plastic bags. She triple-wrapped the current trash liner and set it aside before she replaced the liner in the trash with a clean one. She cleaned her hands with a disinfecting wipe before throwing it in the trash. She popped a couple of minutes into her mouth. She looked up at him just in time to see the hurt expression still on his face.

"Sorry, that was too soon."

"You ate everything without issues just last night," his tone was both confused and apologetic.

"It's more of an hour-by-hour thing. You couldn't have known." She offered him a small smile. "I'm sorry that I can't eat it. It means a lot that you took time out of your crazy-loaded week to cook for me." Her demeanor was the picture of remorse.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said absentmindedly. "What do you think you can keep down? What sounds good right now?"

Sakura eyed the jar on her desk. "Darling, it's fine. I don't want to be a bother." This was why she kept a jar of pickles on hand in her office. Okay, she kept two on hand. She would need to replace the one she already ate soon. Olives sounded good too.

"You can still eat lunch here if you're still hungry after all that. We can open the windows and I'll breathe through my mouth." She offered helpfully. He could sit on the couch and she could pull up a chair on the other side of the coffee table.

"No bother," he brushed aside her reluctant protests. "I'm the one who asked. Name it."

"Egg and cheese sandwiches." She said without having to think too long or hard. "Extra cheese, please. Oh, and orange juice."

"Give me fifteen minutes. I'll be back." He did not wait for her to say anything. He was gone.

Sakura brought a hand to her hip. She looked down at her flat belly. She pressed her palm against her belly button.

"Already causing trouble, Baby?" She asked with a scowl. "Your dad put a lot of work and love into that bento. I wanted that bento. We're going to have a problem if you pull the same stunt with the sandwich your dad is making us. Be good." She patted her stomach gently.

Her favorite foods she could live without. What she could not do without was him. If she woke up one day nauseated by the smell of him, she would be very, very, very unhappy with this whole situation. She could more or less deal with everything else. Even giving in to the intense ramen cravings she was having. As long as the baby cooperated with the one condition she had, she would not complain. Too much.

Sakura looked at the bagged vomit. She pulled out a pouch containing a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. She took the toiletries in her right hand and the bag in the left and headed towards the door. Minato had said fifteen but she would be lucky if she realistically had ten. She did not want to waste another minute of their lunch hour.

End of Flashback

She had long polished off the nutrition bar she had brought with her. She walked back and forth in the courtyard. It was quiet. It was what she needed. She slipped through the herd of her friends. She could not face them just yet. She had just admitted that she lied to not only Minato but Sarutobi. They were both beloved and respected by them. She had been lying to them too by keeping everything a secret.

Thankfully they had not pressed her. Maybe they saw her mood or they were still processing. She had left them with Kushina. The redhead needed them more right now. She was up soon. Right now she was too in her own head to be much help to Kushina. Besides, all the sitting had caused her ankles to swell up. She needed to move. She needed to think.

So there she was for the past ten minutes moving but going nowhere. It was just like her mind. It was thinking, thinking, and thinking but nothing changed. Nothing happened. Obito was next. There was no doubt in her mind that Shun would grill him about his mission with Kushina to Hacho Village and what he saw. She could only hope that he handled it better than her.

She had underestimated Shun. It might prove to be costly. It could cost Kushina her home and cost Sakura her closest friend and her husband. Her heart skipped a beat just thinking about it. She did not know how she would handle it if it ever came to be. She supposed life went on. She would find a way to make the time pass in jail. She never did get to ask Ban how he managed it.

She ground a small pebble into dust with her heel. Shun still had not pulled out his ace, his eye witness. She supposed he was saving them for the end. He seemed to have a thing for theatrics. He hedged his bets. If the Uchiha claim was not strong enough on its own he had his motion. If he could convince the panel of her deception the Uchiha would gain custody of Tukiko regardless of Kushina's appeal.

He was smart. He was thorough. He was cunning. He was everything that he accused her of being. He pointed the finger at her first so that if she pointed it no one would believe her. He had hit her with his best shot. He tried to completely ruin any and all credibility she had. He could have torn down in mere minutes what took her nearly a decade to build. He was quick. It was breathtaking just how he operated. If he was not so evil she would have even gone as far as to say that she admired his talent.

He was devastating. He had even gotten her to pause and think about it. He showed her another perspective, another explanation for why she worked so hard. It was demoralizing and completely fabricated but she could see the points he was making. It did look suspicious when viewed from that lens - the lens of a clan with a powerful bloodline. The Uzumaki and Uchiha clans could both claim that to be true for themselves.

First, it had been the Hyuga that she royally messed up. The brothers were still not on good terms. The attempted kidnap of Hinata never happened. She had made sure of it. She could not risk anything happening to her just to bring the brothers together. Hizashi did not need to die for peace. The Cloud Village had been dealt with. It had been Minato to think of a way to settle the feud between the clan and the neighboring village. Once again, it was Minato cleaning up the mess she made. Just like he did today. It was always him saving her. Sometimes even from the consequences of her own actions.

And all she could do in return was make things even worse for him. He probably had a not-so-pleasant conversation with the Elders waiting for him. Whatever goodwill Minato had cultivated with Hiashi by fixing the feud with Cloud, she destroyed it today. That was how it worked. She crashed and broke things. He built and put things back together. It was not fair to him. And to make matters worse she had criticized how he handled the Bat situation. Directly this time. He was human. He was allowed to make mistakes.

Hell, he never held her mistakes against her, there was no shortage of opportunity for him to do so. He never did. He made one mistake to her ten and she rubbed his nose in it. She felt awful. She felt like the worst person on the planet. So much so that Shun's assessment of her felt accurate and true. She was a liar. She was a manipulator. She was in the wrong. She had a lot of apologizing and making up to do once this whole custody thing was over.

They had to win. Otherwise, he would never forgive her for what she had planned. She would never forgive herself for what she did to him. She was desperate. She did what she thought was right, what she had to. It did not make anything easier, not even remotely. She had seen the end of the world. She had faced it every day. She fought a losing battle against it day in and day out for the better part of four years. She did not want that for her children. She did not want that for anyone's children. It was so much bigger than her and her happiness. She was responsible for making sure it never happened.

Just like how she was responsible for everything that happened to Tukiko. Once or twice, at her lowest, she wondered if she did the right thing that day. If she should have just ignored the cries. If she should have just saved Kohana and let Tukiko go. She wondered if she actually did the little girl any favors. Her brain could not help but take her to that dark, dark place. It scared her.

When she did find herself there she reminded herself how Kushina was with the girls. She was amazing. She was a natural. She was everything she remembered Naruto telling her. She was kind. She was patient. She was fun. She was strict. She was protective. She was all they had. She loved them with all her heart.

It terrified Sakura that it could all be taken away from Kushina all over again and that she would be the one to blame yet again. Once again she dangled happiness in front of Kushina and gave her a taste of it only to potentially rip it all away. She was being cruel just like nine years ago. Not much had changed after all. She kept hurting the people she cared about most. Kushina and Minato continued to suffer because of her. She had done this to all of them. A hell of her own making.

She looked at her watch. She had another ten minutes or so before the proceedings continued. She felt eyes on her. She looked up. She let out a breath. She walked to the tree he was sitting in slowly. She tilted her head to look at him.

He was the picture of ease. One of his long legs dangled from the branch he was resting on. His other leg was bent at the knee, his arm resting on it. His face was missing his smile. His expression was serious. His eyes were fixed on her. She had no idea how long he had been watching her. She brought a hand to the small of her back. She shielded her eyes with the other.

"What are you doing up there?" She asked him lamely. It was an underwhelming question.

His frown deepened. "What are you doing all alone?"

She pushed her lips to the side. "It's my personality. It can clear a room."

He raised his brows. He did not believe her as far as he could throw her.

Sakura sighed. "Did you hear everything back there?"

Jiraiya nodded. "I did." He said levelly. "Every last word." He added gruffly.

It affected her more than it should have, his admission. "You must think I'm an idiot." She said in a small voice.

He kept his expression impassive. "Not any more or less than what I thought prior."

She furrowed her brows. Her mouth parted slowly. "Seriously?"

He shrugged at the surprise in her voice. "You could only give part of the story so it is no surprise that you came across as a nosey, unhinged, self-righteous, busybody know-it-all with a savior complex."

Her brows shot up. "You had that loaded and ready to go for a while didn't you?"

He ignored her question. It was rhetorical anyway.

"You had and still have a lot of pressure on you. It's okay to remind yourself of that every now and then."

She blinked up at him. Not really quite sure what to say in response. This was the longest she had seen him this serious in a while. If it went on much longer she would really start to freak out. Maybe Tsunade had hit him one too many times over the head. He had a thick skull but still, Tsunade packed a nasty punch that was only second to one of her kicks. She should know.

"Do you regret what you did?" He asked her.

She took a second to ponder it. She had asked herself that not too long ago.

"I regret hurting people," Minato's face came to mind - not that it ever went far. "But if I were in that situation again I think I would do the same thing."

He nodded. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree. He crossed his arms. She was now presented with his side profile.

"You did the best you could with the information you had at the time." He sighed. "There is no use beating yourself over it much more."

She swallowed thickly. She was starting to feel lightheaded from the sun's heat. "You mean that?" She asked him with hope in her voice.

He looked at her with slight annoyance. He pressed his lips together. "I don't believe in saying things I don't mean." He snorted. "Unlike you, I don't worry about people not liking me."

She ignored the dig. She was too busy feeling grateful to call him out on it. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama. I actually feel much better."

He scoffed. "Don't act so surprised. They call me the heart whisperer for a reason. I'm a natural."

She rolled her eyes. There he was and not a moment too soon. "I don't know who 'they' are but I worry for them." She smiled cheekily.

"You worrying about something, geez, color me shocked." He muttered as he rolled his eyes heavenward.

She rolled up onto her toes before rocking back on her heels. "You know I've been thinking that if the baby is a girl, to name her after the main character of your first book." She said sweetly as she closed her eyes.

Jiraiya straightened quickly. He nearly lost his balance. He grabbed the branch to prevent himself from falling out of it.

"You mean it?" He asked her with wide eyes. It would be an honor.

She peeled an eye open. "No." She deadpanned.

Jiraiya's face fell. "Still such a tease." He grumbled darkly under his breath.

"And you're still such a perv." She grinned.

He blinked in surprise. "You heard that?"

She turned around. She waved her hand dismissively. "I hear everything. We should get back inside. It starts back up soon."

He shook his head. A small smile tugged at his lips. There was a pep in her step that was not there before. She had not been lying. For whatever reason he had been able to help. And he was glad. Minato was not the only person he had come to support. Not that he would ever tell her that.

She sat in the front row. In the same seat. She was directly parallel to the hot seat, the seat in the middle of the table. The one across from the panel. Her leg bobbed up and down. It had been nearly impossible to stay seated to remain quiet as the bastard grilled Sakura. She looked so small up there. So vulnerable. It caused something inside of her to come to the forefront. Her hatred for Shun had grown tenfold today.

The garbage that was coming out of his mouth. She could not believe that she was forced to listen to it. His accusations - and there had been many - each one invited a fight. But Sakura had just taken it. She let him talk down to her. Sakura let him paint her to be something she was not. Kushina could barely stomach it.

There was more than one occasion in which she almost stood up. But either Shikaku or Joben stopped her each and every time with either a hand on her shoulder or a squeeze of her hand, respectively. No amount of glares or sharp looks dissuaded them. They kept her grounded. She did not know if she should have been grateful or outraged. She chose something in the middle of the two extremes.

She did not know how she would fare. Especially with him right there, within punching distance. The temptation might just be too damn great. Her leg moved frantically. Up and down. Up and down. Up and - a hand on her knee stopped her. She looked into the eyes of Joben. He was calm. She looked to her left as Sakura came to sit down next to her.

"Are you alright?" Kushina whispered. She searched the pinkette's face.

"That's my line." The woman smiled back at her. "Listen," she leaned in closer to Kushina's ear.

"If you get really angry I want you to look over at me, okay?" She whispered in a much quieter volume than Kushina had.

Kushina nodded. "I just want to get this over with already."

"Do it just like we practiced. It will be okay," Sakura reminded her firmly. "Keep your head straight."

"Just like we practiced. Keep my head straight. Right," Kushina tapped her fist to her thigh with each uttered word.

"Remember to use fewer words. Fewer is better than more." Sakura continued to coach.

Kushina nodded again. "Less is best. Less is best. Less is best." She repeated like a mantra.

"Just be yourself," Joben offered.

Sakura and Kushina both turned to look at him like he was an idiot. He clamped his mouth shut before he leaned back in his seat and avoided their eyes.

"Just be yourself," Kushina repeated in a mocking tone.

"No rambling." Sakura reminded her.

"Stop it already, you're really starting to freak me out, dattebane," she whined.

Yoshino's voice called out from behind them. "She'll be fine."

Kushina turned around to pin her with a look of gratitude. "Thank you, Yoshi. For believing in me." She glared at Sakura.

"Just don't do that thing you do with your face," Yoshino muttered quickly.

Kushina furrowed her brow. Her lips pulled downward. "What thing?" She asked in a slight panic.

Sakura spared her a sidelong glance. "Where you look kind of constipated but not." She explained unhelpfully.

Kushina scrunched her face. "What?" She exhaled sharply.

"You're doing it right now. I don't even need to look at you to know that." Yoshino grabbed the back of Kushina's chair.

Sakura nodded. "She is. She really is."

Kushina turned in her seat. She glared at both of them. "Not. Helping." She said through clenched teeth.

"That face isn't any better," Yoshino said flatly.

Kushina groaned into her hands. Sakura nudged her with her elbow. Kushina straightened as she looked at the door. The clan heads of the panel had just entered. She squeezed Sakura's hand.

"You'll be fine." Sakura and Yoshino muttered in unison.

Obito fidgeted with the collar of his shirt. The lights were too bright. He was sweating up there. He guessed he learned why they called it the 'hot seat' today. He poured himself a glass of water. He got more water on the table than actually in the glass. He swiped the water off the tabletop. It landed on the tile with a splashing sound. He cringed. He downed the half-full glass in one go. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

He looked at Shun. He did not look impressed. His dark eyes darted to the faces behind Shun. They too did not look impressed. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He wondered how bad it would look if he just started to shed layers right then and there. He was burning up.

He had just recounted that he learned of his mission objective from the Hokage and how Kushina and he made their way to Hacho. He narrated how Kushina got information about Kohana from a woman at the fish stall in the marketplace. He had just shared how they went to the only noodle joint in the village. He made sure to add that he thought that was super weird. Only one noodle place in a village the size of Hacho? It was madness in his mind. Anyway, he digressed. He then told them that they met a sleazy old lady. Only he did not know she was sleazy at first. He just thought she was a normal, nice, regular old lady.

He explained how Kushina asked about the Kohana. He went into detail to describe what the lady said. He emphasized that he, as a feminist, did not agree with the old lady's archaic views of how two people need to be married in order to have children. He did not understand why both Sakura-sensei and Rin rolled their eyes. It was spooky. They both had done it at the exact same time. He even went as far as calling Karin's father an asshole and trash who deserved what he got. He conveyed just how shocked and angry he was to hear their story. Anyway, he then said that Kushina had asked to use the bathroom.

Only she was gone for a like, a really, really long time. At first, he thought maybe the change in the elevation was giving her stomach problems. But she was gone for so long that he was beginning to get concerned that she was coming down with something. He told them how the old lady was getting curious too. But he did not want to seem weird so he kept asking her, like, all these questions. He could see that she was getting visibly frustrated.

He tried to talk to her about all the cool things to do in Hacho Village but the woman was not having it. So he tried to ask about the ANBU that had been spotted in the area. She told him she did not know anything. The old lady then up and left. He followed after her in case Kushina had fallen and hit her head or something. He was surprised when the old lady went straight to the basement. He even reminded her that Kushina had gone into the bathroom.

So there they were at the top of the stairs looking into the basement. He described the shock at seeing Karin there. He then explained how Kushina started screaming at the sleazy old lady. That was when he realized that she was sleazy. So the women were yelling, blah blah. He then said that unknown to them Tukiko snuck in and took Karin. He explained how Kushina paid for the girls to keep the old lady from accusing them of being kidnappers.

He explained that they chased after the girls and how they searched for hours for them only to not find them. He then recounted how he, being the proactive person he was, suggested they call it a night. He explained how he vowed they would search for them first thing in the morning. So morning comes and they stake out the restaurant in case they come back. He recalled feeling a spike in chakra and how they ran to it.

He described how they entered the fray and how Kushina told the girls to run away. Obito went into great detail about how he killed his two foes. He then went on to say that Kushina told him to go back to the motel and that she would be back with the girls. He told them he waited and truth to her word they all showed up. He explained how Kushina dressed their wounds. The girls had taken a bath. And how she gave them some food and they left Hacho Village as soon as they could. He mentioned that they stopped in a neighboring village to grab a real meal. And just like that they were in Konoha.

He had looked into the audience. Sakura-sensei was rubbing her temples. Kushina was blank-faced. The dude next to her, who kind of looked like he could be an Uchiha, was staring at him slack-jawed. Rin had her forehead in her hand. He thought he did a great job.

He licked his lips. "What was the question again?" He asked Shun with a furrowed brow.

The slightly older Uchiha sighed in frustration. "We are supposed to believe you let an almost eight-year-old with a four-year-old in tow outrun and hide from the two of you?"

He pushed out his lips. "She's really fast!" He said defensively.

Shun rolled his eyes. "Right. So when you were, in your words 'beating the shit out of the collector bastards' did you notice if the girl's Sharingan was activated?"

Obito tapped his chin. "No. I don't think I saw it."

Shun placed his palm on the desk. He leaned forward. "This is important, Obito. Think hard."

Obito frowned. "I said no, Shun."

The older Uchiha leaned back. He sighed. "Did the Collectors say anything?"

Obito's eyes narrowed. "They said they were going to add a Sharingan to their collection and an Uzumaki. I thought they were talking about me and Kushina - I mean Uzumaki-san." His eyes darted over to Sakura and Kushina. Neither looked visibly upset at him sharing that tidbit.

"You said that the girl was 'messed up'. So she must have been scared. You're sure you did not see the Sharingan even if only for a second?" Shun pressed.

Obito crossed his arms. "What, do you have short-term memory loss or something? I told you twice already."

"Obito," Minato said in a warning tone. "Just answer Uchiha-san's question."

"No," Obito said.

Shun frowned. "Why were the Collectors after the girls?"

Obito's eyes narrowed once again. Anger danced in them. "They wanted Karin, the younger sister. She has some kind of special ability or something. Her deadbeat-no-good-asshole-father sold them out to the bastards."

"Obito," Minato said in a low tone.

"Right. No bad words. Sorry, sen-Hokage-sama." Obito rubbed the back of his head.

"They weren't after the older sister's Sharingan?" Shun asked, eager to keep this thing moving.

Obito frowned. "I don't think so. At least I didn't get that impression."

Shun sighed. "And you did not see her Sharingan at any point?"

"No." He said tightly.

"Did the girl say anything to you?" Shun asked him.

Obito gawked at him. "She doesn't talk, jerk. Not after what happened. You didn't even know that?" There were murmurs all around him. Even Minato did not correct him for name-calling this time.

Shun blinked. He looked caught off guard. He recovered quickly. "I was referring to the younger one."

Obito looked at him disbelievingly. "She can't even pronounce Sharingan and you expect her to know what it is?" He scoffed.

"Thank you for that, Obito," Shun said after clearing his throat. He looked at the panel. "Any questions for this witness?"

The panel could not shake their heads fast enough. They had more than enough with Obito's rendition of just what happened on the mission.

"You're done." Shun dismissed him.

"Wait, I have something more to say," Obito said stubbornly, not caring that nearly everyone in the room seemed to deflate at his words. He looked at Kushina. He set his jaw.

"I may not know what's going on half the time and I may not be an expert on these things but I do have eyes. I know what I saw. Tukiko and Karin trust Kush- Uzumaki-san. They're doing so much better. It would be a mistake to take them from her. No one in this room cares more about those girls than Uzumaki-san. I can guarantee that." He glared at his clan. Some faces looked down. He looked at Kushina. She looked surprised. A slow smile broke out on her face, He swiped the bottom of his nose with his index finger in satisfaction.

"Thank you, Obito," Shun said tightly. 'Leave now,' his eyes seemed to scream out.

Obito got up and walked back to his seat. He registered the pride on Sakura's face. He spared her a grin before settling down next to Rin. Her warm brown eyes looked at him with admiration.

"You did good," she smiled at him. "Got kind of lost in the middle there but you finished strong."

"Story of my life," he muttered back at her.

She shook her head. She rested a hand on his knee. "Baka," she whispered affectionately.

She stared at him. She was convinced that her hair was pulled back so tight that it was causing her headache. She looked at the impassive faces of Hiashi, Shibi, and Murakumo. She briefly wondered if it would kill them to smile or show a little more emotion than the faces of Hokage Monument. They were giving her nothing.

She thought things were going okay for her. It would be nice to have some sort of hint as to what was going on in their minds.

"Uzumaki-san?" She looked back at Shun. She did not trust his calm expression. He was the enemy. Her guard was all the way up. "Are you ready to begin?"

She nodded her head.

"Good. Can you please tell us how you came to know about the girls?" Shun asked her in a level voice.

Kushina tugged at her sleeve. "Haruno-san approached me in February. She told me she needed my help to find someone. She said it would have to be discreet because she did not want the woman's - Kohana's - name to get out there. I told her I would look into it."

"Just like that?" Shun asked her with mild surprise.

Kushina set her jaw. "I trust her. She never asked me to do something like this before in the seven years I've been running the orphanage. So I figured it was important." She said flatly.

"Even if it broke protocol and procedure?" He asked lightly.

Kushina shrugged. "I'm allowed a handful of missions out of the year to explore and visit various parts of the Land of Fire or if I have written permission from other lands. It was not too out of the blue. The nature of my work is dynamic. I rarely have all the details before setting out." She did these missions without taking pay. It worked out both for her and Konoha.

Shun looked at the paper in his hand. "The dates I mentioned earlier when speaking with Haruno-san were more than just a handful."

"Half of those were missions that Wolf was going on anyway. The others corresponded with trips I had planned for the twins I was looking after at the time. The only mission that was out of bounds was the one to Hacho Village and even that was sanctioned." She held his gaze as she explained.

His lip turned upwards. "I see." He seemed to be contemplating something in his head. "So you are looking for the girl's mother, discreetly, as you mentioned. How did you come to find her? From what I understand she moved around quite a lot and even changed her name?"

Kushina licked her bottom lip. "I have an extensive network. I had reached out to a particular contact for help. I had given them a description of Kohana and asked for any details on her whereabouts. I stressed that it was to be kept between us."

"Them?" Shun asked.

Kushina frowned slightly. "I never actually met this contact face to face." She took a breath. "But we've worked together for many years. I trust them." She said in a louder voice over the murmurs that had broken out - mostly from the Uchiha side.

Shun's eyebrows shot up. "Do you even know their name? Where do they hail from? What their loyalties are?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "No." She darted her eyes to Sakura's face. The woman nodded at her slightly. "But I trust them with my life. Their intel is always top-notch. They have never let me astray once." She said firmly.

"Hm, curious," he said dismissively. She clenched her teeth. "So what was their intel?"

"They said that Kohana had changed her last name to Uno and that she worked in the fish market in Hacho Village. It was enough to request a mission. So I did." She scratched the corner of her mouth.

He nodded. "Yet in the official mission report the objective was to bring back children? If Haruno-san is to be believed she did not contact the mother after leaving Kaori. How could she have possibly known about the second daughter? How could she have known that you would ultimately have to bring both to Konoha?" He asked calmly.

Kushina swallowed. "Sakura told me to lie about the true nature of the mission to Min-Hokage-sama." She closed her eyes as there were angry murmurs. "I just made up the line about a couple of kids to get Hokage-sama to agree to send me out."

Shun clasped his hands behind his back. He walked back and forth twice seemingly deep in thought.

"So Haruno-san once again not only lied but she asked you to partake in the lie," he did not wait for her to answer. "So you leave on the mission to Hacho Village."

Kushina nodded. Her lips were pressed in a tight line. "Would you like to hear my recollection of what happened?" She asked evenly.

Shun shook his head. "I think we all got a vivid picture from Obito." He looked back at Kushina. "Can you explain how you found the girls after Obito went back to the motel to treat his leg?"

Kushina sighed. "I remembered the lady at the fish stall describing the house. She said it was still boarded up. Hacho is a small village. It was one of only a handful of vacant houses. It was the only one that had a board over the door. Didn't take long to find it. I found the girls' room. They were both hiding under the bed." She swallowed. Her voice was laden with emotion.

"I sat on the bed. I pulled out the photograph that Kohana had left for Haruno-san. I told the girls I had something to show them. They eventually came out. I asked if it would be okay to take them back to Konoha. They agreed. Their mother mentioned Sakura's name often enough that Tukiko recognized it. Same with Konoha." The words were almost too heavy to get out. They took a lot out of her.

She did not realize just what a toll this whole thing had taken on her as well. She had been too busy worrying about the girls and thinking of them to worry about herself. She looked at Sakura, her eyes wandered to Joben's face. He was looking at her encouragingly.

"We got back to Konoha without incident. Haruno-san examines them. She tells me Tukiko has gone mute as a response to trauma, what she saw in that house. It lined up with what the old lady had said and with Yamanaka-san's diagnosis. We've been taking it day by day since." She finished a little sadly. "A routine is really important for both of them."

"You took them straight to the orphanage?" Shun asked in a light tone.

Kushina shook her head. "I took them home."

"Is that standard procedure?" Shun's eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's not. Nothing about the girls' situation is standard procedure. They had people actively after them. I could not leave them in the orphanage where they could pose a risk to the twins who were still living there at the time or Mako, my staff." She explained thoroughly and calmly. Just like Sakura and she had practiced.

"Just to clarify," Shun said slowly. "You did not bring them straight to the orphanage because you knew of Tukiko's bloodline?"

Kushina shook her head. "No," her violet eyes did not waver.

"Why did you move them back to the orphanage if you were so worried?" Shun asked in a calm manner.

Kushina scratched her head. "It was on the advice of Haruno-san," she fell back on the carefully curated answer Sakura had come up with. "She recommended that the girls be around the other kids - the twins - at the orphanage so they could get used to their new reality more easily by seeing first-hand it was not scary. She said that watching the twins get adopted would be beneficial for them as well. It would give them hope that the same happy outcome awaited them. Also, the orphanage has more resources than my home."

"So we are to trust your word and the advice of Haruno-san that this was done purely for their girls' benefit and not for other reasons?"

"Haruno-san did a quick assessment of the girls the day she did their checkups and filed their paperwork. It is more or less corroborated by Yamanaka Mai-san's more thorough assessment. She is a neutral third party." Kushina answered flatly.

Shun's nostrils flared slightly. His dark eyes darted over to Sakura's face. It gave him nothing to leverage.

"From the aviary logs," he walked to the panel. He handed them two pieces of paper. "You sent one correspondence and you received one back. That is significantly less than the correspondence you both sent and received during the dates the twins were at the orphanage. Even if we factor in the same duration of time, for the twins you received seven messages and sent out ten. It seems like you did not try all that hard for the girls. Can you explain why?"

She stared at him with hard eyes. "The girls' situation is different." She said adamantly. "They were being hunted. I had and have no way of knowing if anyone is still out there for them. So I chose to take a more conservative approach in finding them placement. It had nothing to do with the fact that Tukiko has Uchiha blood. That was not a factor. At least I did not know it to be one."

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Shun asked her through narrowed eyes.

"I'm telling it like it happened." She said through gritted teeth.

He saw the determined look in her eyes. They were getting nowhere fast.

"Let's backtrack to their first night in Konoha. At that point did you see the Sharingan?" He asked her. He watched her keenly.

"No," she said firmly, not backing down from his challenge.

"When was the first time you saw it?" He asked her.

She bit her lip. "A couple of weeks later. When Tukiko had a nightmare." She admitted. She looked over at Sakura's surprised face. She did not know if she was making the right call by being honest or not. But she could not wait for Shun to trap her. Not the way he had done with Sakura. She would be much less patient in that situation.

Shun looked at her in shock. "That was more than a month before the day in the park where the witness saw it."

Kushina nodded. "Yes."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why did not tell anyone? The Hokage? The Uchiha Clan? It was your duty to report it."

She looked down at her hands. "I saw firsthand what lengths people were willing to go to get those girls. The Collectors in Hacho slaughtered their whole family. They were so close to kidnapping them. I did not trust anyone else with them. That's why I only sent out one letter stating I was taking a break from seeing new kids. The girls are traumatized. They need my attention. They need help. They need stability. They need each other. That's why I did not rush to find them placement. That is why I did not tell anyone. I worry about them. I was afraid that I would always worry about them. I could never trust anyone's true intentions." Her eyes blazed in certainty.

Shun's face went blank. "So you intended to keep them for yourself?"

Kushina shook her head. "No, I did not plan for it. I did not plan for anything. It just progressed that way. I didn't even figure it out for myself until a week ago."

"Where are they now?"

"Staying in my house with me. Because of what you pulled." She accused with indignation. "This whole thing could traumatize them all over again."

Shun ignored her outburst. "Do you deny that you kept valuable information to yourself?" He pressed.

"No. I did it not to hide. I did it to protect them," she said firmly.

"Protect them or yourself?" He challenged. "Did you tell Haruno-san that she was an Uchiha then?"

Kushina shook her head. "Them. You only want Tukiko because of the Sharingan. You're no different than the people who have been after her this whole time. You would not have cared at all if it wasn't for the Sharingan." She glared at the clan. "All of you," she turned back to Shun, "only want Tukiko because of her eyes."

"She's more than just her eyes. She's more than what you're reducing her. You want her for all the wrong reasons. Just like Konoha wanted me. I understand the situation she is in more than you will ever know. I was and am more than just a vessel. Tukiko is more than just a bloodline." She said emphatically.

He scoffed. "You should understand that we cannot let the Sharingan fall into the wrong hands."

"I offered you a way to keep her. I offered a compromise, a solution, but you said no. You said you would only take one. You don't care what happens to them!" She raised her voice.

Shun furrowed his brow. "Who are you referring to?"

"The Clan! Fugaku!" She said exasperated. "All I asked was that they stay together and the clan said no. Fugaku said no. He said that you could only take Tukiko!"

The air was sucked out of the room. She looked at Sakura. The woman was as white as a sheet. She saw the unbridled fear in her eyes. Kushina spared her an apologetic look. She turned back to Shun.

"You don't care what is best for them. And I knew that on some level. I was just trying to protect them. Protect them from more tragedy." She looked at the faces of the panel. "It would be a real tragedy if the girls were split up." She looked at them pleadingly.

Shun looked at Fugaku. The man had not moved a muscle. He was sitting there with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He could not believe it.

"When did you tell Haruno-san about the Sharingan?" He tried to regain control of the room.

"I never did." Kushina all but spat out.

"How else did she know that the girl was an Uchiha?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"You told her, along with half the village when you stormed the orphanage ready to rip the girls apart." Kushina was half-standing. She pointed a finger at him in accusation.

"Uzumaki-san, please sit down." Minato's calm yet firm tone filled the still. She reluctantly listened.

"If any of us lied, it was to avoid this, this circus." Kushina bit out. "None of this is for our benefit. Believe me when I say I want nothing more for Kohana to still be alive and raise her two daughters as she intended to. But that's not happening. I found them. I'm responsible for them. They need to stay together." She said with determination blazing in her violet orbs. "That is it. I lied to protect them. Them. Not myself and not Sakura."

Shun paused. He stared at her with a stony expression. "That may be true but it does not change the fact that you withheld information."

She pressed her lips together. "Have you even once mentioned Tukiko's name? Have you ever asked how she was? Could you pick her face out of a lineup of dark-haired, dark-eyed girls?" She asked him coolly. "Can any of you?!" She looked at the solemn faces of the Uchiha.

He shook his head. "I think you misunderstand how things work here, Uzumaki-san. I ask the questions."

Kushina sucked her teeth. "Right. My mistake." The ice in her eyes froze her tone. "Do you have any other questions for me?"

He ran his tongue along the bottom row of his teeth. He could see the defiance in her eyes. Every question he asked she would find a way to throw back at him. She had nothing left to lose. He looked at the panel.

"Any questions for this witness?"

Kushina watched them. She hid her surprise well when they all shook their heads. She furrowed her brow. She did not know what that meant for her and the girls. She looked at Sakura, the woman looked like she was about ready to pass out.

"You may go," Shun said through clenched teeth.

She spared him one last look of contempt as she walked by him. Sakura said nothing as she sat down. The faces of the people behind her were unreadable. She nearly jumped in her skin when she felt Sakura's hand in hers and Yoshino's hand on her shoulder. Maybe just maybe they would be okay. They stared straight ahead as Fugaku took the stand.

He unclenched his jaw just enough so that he could open his mouth to answer the questions. He kept his dark eyes focused on the spot over Shibi's head on the far wall. He remained unmoved by the proceedings. It had not come as a surprise that the Uzumaki had revealed her attempt to avoid the hearing. She had every right to do so.

The truth had a way of coming out. Now the whole room knew what previously only four people knew. He felt Shun's eyes. There was heat behind them. It was not completely different from having residual heat from the fireball jutsu. The way it heated all the ambient air around it. That was Shun's glare.

"Is what Uzumaki-san said true? That she offered a resolution prior to the hearing?" Shun asked him in a low, even voice. He was seething with anger but he masked it well.

Fugaku nodded. "It is."

The room erupted into angry shots from the younger Uchiha in the crowd. There was a chorus of shushing and hands reaching out to calm them. He ignored it all. He knew he would be questioned about it later. It was mostly the youth who were too hot-headed and hot-blooded to see past the basics.

"Why did you not agree?" Shun asked him with a voice devoid of emotion.

"The laws state we cannot have an outsider with ties to another clan living amongst us. The girl, the youngest one, is simply too young to renounce her ties to the Uzumaki Clan so we cannot accept her. As per custom." He stated in his typical stern demeanor.

Shun stared at him in disbelief. He opened his mouth to speak but it was Shibi who stood up. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Pardon my interruption, Uchiha-san." He pointed his face towards Minato. "Hokage-sama, I am confused as to what is going on here. Uchiha-san is not implicated in any way in the motion. Why is he being questioned?"

Minato's eyebrows shot up. "Uchiha-san," he looked at Shun. "Do you have an answer for Aburame-san?"

Shun smiled tightly. "Fugaku-sama does not directly tie with the motion, that is true -"

"So why do you insist on wasting our time?" Shibi cut him off. "We've been here all day. We are no closer to hearing the arguments from Uzumaki-san and Fugaku-san on why they should be granted custody, nor all the character witness testimony from those gathered here today. Unless you plan on dragging out your motion until we all grow old?"

Shun looked at him taken back.

Murakumo nodded his head. "I agree. I have a couple of questions for Fugaku-san about Tukiko-chan's accommodations before I can make a decision. But I already know where I stand on your motion."

"I agree. I only need to know a few more things before I make up my mind on the ruling." Hiashi said calmly.

The three looked to the Hokage. Minato nodded. He looked at Fugaku. "Are you prepared to field questions from the panel?"

Shun sputtered. "But I still have a witness," he began.

"Uchiha-san, I would like to be out of here while the sun is still in the sky. No one is denying that she has Uchiha blood. Let's not spend any more time talking in circles. The remaining matter of hand is very simple." Murakumo said.

Shibi nodded in agreement. "I agree. I would like to hear from Fugaku-san. You may sit down."

"Thank you for your efforts, Assistant Chief-san," Hiashi said with finality.

Shun hand twitched. He bowed. He walked back to his seat. The anger was radiating off of him. He ignored everyone's eyes.

Murakumo cleared his throat. "Now, Uchiha-san, where would Tukiko-chan be staying if the clan was granted custody seventy-two hours from now?"

"They would be staying with my family and myself until we find my permanent placement," Fugaku answered.

"What does that look like?" Murakumo asked for clarification.

"It either means we find a family that wants her or we find housing for her," Fugaku answered impassively.

Murakumo furrowed his brow. "What if a family is not found for her?" There was discernible concern in his words.

Fugaku sighed. "Her needs would be taken care of communally. She will be assigned work within the compound. It could be cleaning, cooking, or watching the other children as a way to pay back her dues. She will have food, clothes, and a roof over her head. If she shows any promise she will be enrolled in the academy. Once she graduates, she would be expected to pay for her own housing in the compound as well as food and clothing."

Murakumo frowned. "Are those the only two options?"

Fugaku nodded his head. He could feel Kushina glaring at him. She was not being subtle about it in the slightest.

"Are there any families interested in raising her?" Murakumo asked with hope in his voice.

Fugaku closed his eyes. He sighed deeply. "At this time no, there is no interest."

"Does that include your family as well?" Murakumo's eyes fixed on the tabletop.

"It does," Fugaku said firmly.

"I see. Nothing more from me." Murakumo nodded curtly to the Uchiha.

Shibi cleared his throat. "Why should your clan be granted custody of Uzumaki Tukiko?"

Fugaku looked him dead in the eye. "The Sharingan, we can teach her how to use it. She is our blood. We take care of our own. She will learn our ways and our customs. She will be integrated into the clan. She will have community. She will belong."

"Will she be allowed to visit her sister? Or can her sister visit her in the compound?" Shibi asked in a quiet voice.

Fugaku pressed his lips into a firm line before speaking. "Outside contact would be minimal in the beginning as she adjusts. It would just make matters easier for everyone."

Shibi stared at him silently. His face did not betray anything. Kushina looked at him with her heart in her throat. She was squeezing Sakura's hand as tightly as she could. It was getting harder to breathe. She clutched Yoshino's hand that was on her shoulder, desperately.

She kept moving from outrage to helplessness depending on who was talking. This was torture in the worst way imaginable.

"I've heard enough." Shibi looked at Hiashi.

Hiashi nodded. Not a hair was out of place on his head. His pearl-colored eyes bore into Fugaku's.

"How did you come to learn of the girl's abilities?"

"From Shunsuke," Fugaku answered simply.

"Do you know who could have fathered the child?"

Fugaku shook his head. "I have no record of any Uchiha outside of Konoha. It could be possible her father was only half Uchiha or an unclaimed bastard himself."

Sakura winced. It was not uncommon for shinobi to go to various lands and sow their wild oats. It was a high-stakes profession. Morals were easy to abandon when you stared down death every day. She supposed there could be countless fatherless children out there. The only difference was the Uchiha had something that was desirable.

Hiashi nodded his head. "That will be all from me. Thank you, Uchiha-san."

The panel looked at each other. "I think we have all come to a decision," Hiashi stated. The other two nodded in agreement.

Panic surged through her. "Wait," she shot up to her feet. Her face was flushed red. "I didn't get to say my part." Kushina protested.

"You've said enough, Uzumaki-san," Murakumo said. "I don't think anything else can be said to change my mind at least."

Hiashi nodded. "I agree."

"As do I," Shibi said, barely audible.

"But," Kushina fought back as Sakura tried to coax her back down. "That's not fair." She said heartbroken.

"Kushina-chan," Sakura grabbed the sides of her face. Her green eyes were bright. "Sit down. It's okay." Her eyes pleaded with her.

Kushina let herself be lowered down into the seat. She blinked blankly. She looked at their faces, unable to take anything bigger than a half breath. There was something pressed up against her chest preventing her from breathing easily. She grabbed Sakura's hand in both of hers.

"It's going to be okay." The medic assured her firmly.

"Are you ready for the vote?" Minato asked the panel.

They nodded. Kushina held her breath. She was convinced she would pass out on the spot.