"Do you know a lot about the demon?" Kakashi asked the woman. She considered the question for a moment.
"I know a bit. I happen to have been the village's researcher and historian. My main topic of research was the demon and its history. That's why I was authorised to read the related documents, and why I'm the one in possession of them now." As she answered, they arrived at her house and she started leading them to the basement, which was her study area.
The whole basement was filled with various books, scrolls and artefacts. Not far from the staircase was a desk with a couple open books and scrolls resting on it.
The woman stepped away from the group so she could gather the books and scrolls she had mentioned. It didn't take her long to find and grab them all since she was sure to keep them in a safe place after they'd survived the destruction.
"This is all that survived. Honestly, it's a miracle that some of it managed. Though, I suppose there was probably some kind of protective jutsu around the more important documents." The woman commented.
"Can you tell us what you know about it?" Kakashi asked the woman.
"There isn't much information about the demon, really. We don't know where it came from, how long it's been alive, how it was created, or what it was created from. It was a long time ago that the demon first attacked, so there isn't much history about that either." She started.
"However, there is mention of the first time it was sealed inside a person. For a long time, the people of this village tried sealing the demon in various objects, and even tried to seal it within a person, but the person died before the seal was complete. The first person to ever successfully seal the demon was the village's priestess at the time. She sealed the demon inside her own body, and she was able to survive it."
"When she was nearing her death, the village discovered a new child capable of containing the demon had been born with the same birthmark the priestess had had. I'm not sure why the priestess was able to hold the demon, nor am I sure why the child was. I'm still investigating the significance of the birthmark as well. Or, I was, anyway. Right now the priority is helping the others remaining in the village."
"There's really so little information about the demon?" Sakura asked. The woman nodded.
"The demon was too great of a threat for us to take the time to investigate what it was at the time, and it's not like there are similar beings we can gather information from." She explained.
The group of shinobi accepted that that was as much information as they were likely going to get from this woman. And so, they moved on.
"What's the information in these documents then?" Kakashi asked.
"One of the books is theories about the identity of the demon, as well as the small bits of information we know. The other book is the information about the containers from the past couple centuries. The scrolls contain information about the seal."
"I didn't get very far studying the scrolls. I don't really understand much about chakra and jutsu, so I can't help you with figuring it out. The only one that really understood it was the priestess, but unfortunately…" The woman trailed off, not wanting to finish the statement.
"What happened?" Sakura asked.
"She was killed in the attack while protecting the container. For generations, the bloodline of priestesses have been responsible for the demon. They are the ones with the ability to use the sealing jutsu needed, and they are the ones tasked with making sure nothing happens with the container." The woman answered.
That was not very good news. It seems the only person that really knew how to fix Kumiko's seal is gone. Upon hearing about the priestess, Kakashi was reminded of the well-dressed injured woman from Kumiko's memory. It was likely that was her.
With that information, the team decided they would leave so they could continue with their investigation. However, once they left the woman's house, they were stopped by yet another voice.
"Chihiro, why are you giving those documents to them? You were entrusted with them to keep them away from the hands of others." An old woman's voice asked. When the group turned to face the woman, they saw that she seemed as old as her voice suggested. Her hair was completely grey, and she used a walking stick to help hold her up.
"Elder Nahako-sama." The blond woman, Chihiro, seemed surprised to see the elder woman, along with the two other people that walked with her. "They're shinobi from Konoha." Chihiro tried to start explaining.
"Well, they're a little late, aren't they? If they would have decided to care about our village a month ago, we may not have faced such a tragedy." The elder woman commented, her bitterness at the shinobi clear.
"I assure you, ma'am, if we had known of what was happening here, we would have tried to help. Unfortunately, this village is far enough from other places that outside missions aren't often likely to bring any of us here to know the situation." Kakashi responded, keeping his tone as respectful as possible.
"Whatever. What has passed has passed. But that does not mean you are suddenly welcome here to grab whatever documents you want." Nahako told them, still not pleased about the situation.
"Elder Nahako-sama, these shinobi found the container. I gave them the documents because it would be best to provide them with as much knowledge as possible to deal with it." Chihiro explained to the woman.
The woman seemed to think, though her face kept a bitter, skeptical expression. "How can we be certain they're telling the truth?" Nahako asked, clearly lacking trust for the group.
Kakashi sighed. "When her chakra increases, parts of her seal weaken, and it can cause harm to her body. A sign that her seal is weakening is an increased need for both food and sleep to make up for the energy she uses trying to hold together the seal." Kakashi said informatively, hoping his access to such information could serve as proof that he really did find 'the demon's vessel'.
"You have the scrolls with information about the seal. How does this prove anything?" Nahako continued to doubt.
"You can confirm with Chihiro-san that we haven't opened the scroll whatsoever since we received it. And I'm not sure the physical symptoms of fatigue and hunger would be mentioned." Kakashi countered.
"And if that isn't enough evidence… I've seen a piece of her memory from the attack, which is something I would only be able to do with her present. The priestess that Chihiro mentioned had died protecting Kumiko-chan, she had long blonde hair, and a deep shoulder wound, correct?" Kakashi added.
"They really didn't open the scroll, and I only told them about Yuriko-sama, nothing about her appearance nor her injuries." Chihiro confirmed. Nahako remained skeptical, as she considered everything, then sighed.
"As you can see, our village has already suffered enough. Don't cause any trouble while you're here, and leave as soon as you're finished." She eventually said. She still didn't quite seem to trust them, but more evidence pointed toward them telling the truth than otherwise and she couldn't deny that. Nor did she have the spirit to. She was tired of being involved in things like this, and part of her was just hoping all ties to any of it would soon be gone from her life, or as much of it that still remained.
Kakashi thanked her as she turned to leave with the two villagers that accompanied her. "You've permission to stay now, but is that even necessary? You should have all the information you can get, now, right?" Chihiro asked once the elder was gone.
Kakashi shook his head, and even Sakura was confused as to why they still needed to stay. "We have the information about the demon and Kumiko-chan's seal, but there may be some information we can gather about our enemies as well. We'll need to stay to investigate that tomorrow." Kakashi explained, although directing the explanation at Chihiro, it was really meant more for his confused teammate.
Seeing as the village was a wreck, and therefore there was no inn for them to stay at, they found a mostly clear space to set up camp for the night.
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, then continued when he turned his attention to her as they finished setting up a fire. "What do you mean by 'there may be some information we can gather about our enemies'? I doubt these people know much about them."
"Hmm." Kakashi hummed as he appeared to consider the question, though he already knew the answer. "We know pretty much nothing about them, so any bit of information we can gather can be helpful." He started.
"Since there are so few people still alive within the village, the destruction has barely been cleared, and most of it has been left as it was a month ago. There are some things we can learn from the destruction, such as possibly determining what types of jutsus the enemy uses, and the potential to determine how many of them attacked the village that day. Really anything." He explained.
Sakura wasn't quite sure if she fully understood, but she trusts that her sensei must be right. After all, she was sure he was the one who wanted to get back to the village the most, and she was also sure he was the one most invested in this mission. If he says that staying an extra day or two can be beneficial, Sakura will decide not to argue.
Meanwhile in Konoha….
Kakashi had just left Kumiko with Naruto then left, and Naruto suddenly became unsure of what he was supposed to do. He wasn't sure where to go or what to do while he had a child with him. He'd never had to babysit before, after all.
And so, he decided to just start walking around Konoha, hoping something would give him inspiration. He needed to do something, else he would die of boredom more than he would just from not having a mission, but his options of things to do were now limited.
They walked toward the main part of the village until Naruto heard a small voice behind him and paused to listen. "Um, Naruto-Oniisan?" Kumiko had spoken up.
Naruto turned to face the girl to listen to what she wanted to say. "What is it, Kumiko-chan?"
"Um… Is it okay if I hold your hand?" She asked. They were nearing one of the more populated areas of the village, and Kumiko wasn't comfortable walking there without being assured she wouldn't be accidentally separated from whoever she was with.
Naruto had to consider the question for a moment, since he didn't actually understand why. After all, it's not like he had people to hold his hand when he was younger, so he didn't understand the fact that it was comforting to this child. But eventually, he decided he didn't mind either way. "Sure." He answered.
Kumiko smiled as she ran over to his side and grabbed onto his hand. "Thank you, Naruto-Oniisan!" She thanked. Without Kakashi around, she was grateful for any bit of comfort she could find while in the village, and being around someone she was fairly familiar with by now, like Naruto, was definitely comforting.
They proceeded to walk through Konoha until the pair was stopped by a loud voice calling to them. "Hey, Naruto!" The voice called as Kiba came into view. "Who's the kid?" He asked once he was closer, and once he had noticed Kumiko.
"She's the one Kakashi-sensei's been taking care of. I got stuck with babysitting duty while the others are on a mission." Naruto answered, clearly still not enthusiastic about having been left out.
"Oh yeah, I heard that there was a kid following Kakashi-sensei." Kiba commented as he remembered what he'd heard from the others. He found himself wondering why it was only their team that had yet to actually meet her until now.
Kumiko found herself mildly distracted as the two were talking. She noticed Kiba only for a moment when he arrived in front of them, but then she couldn't take her eyes off the giant dog that was beside him. The only thing she could hear were her own thoughts of how fluffy the dog seemed, and it took all her childish self-control to stop herself from giving him a hug.
Akamaru, of course, noticed Kumiko looking at him so he walked slightly closer. "It's okay, he's friendly." Kiba told Kumiko when he noticed this, and Akamaru essentially invited Kumiko to pet him. She happily gave the dog a hug. Seeing as he was taller than she was, Akamaru had bowed his head somewhat to allow the girl to hug him.
It was the first time Kumiko had been allowed near a dog, and she was overjoyed. She loved animals, even though she never really had many chances to be close to them. At least, not that she can remember, but she has a feeling that this really is her first time.
"Since you're stuck in the village while your team is out, you can come train with us. I can show you just how much stronger I am!" Kiba invited then challenged. Naruto enthusiastically accepted.
It was then that the others from Kiba's team came into view, though they hadn't actually been far this whole time, so they were aware of what was happening. Shino walked to be closer to where the four were standing, and Hinata stayed a little further back.
"This is the child Kakashi-sensei has been watching? Why would they leave her with someone like Naruto?" Shino asked when he got there.
Naruto would have been offended by the suggestion that he can't take care of a child if he had actually bothered to acknowledge that part. Instead, he found himself agreeing that he didn't want to be the one staying behind, though for different reasons.
Team 8 plus Naruto then decided to go to one of the training grounds. Kumiko, Hinata and Shino ended up going to the side so they would be out of the way while Kiba and Naruto sparred. While they were separating from the other three (Akamaru included), Hinata and Shino introduced themselves to Kumiko.
Kumiko had been hesitant to let go of Naruto, but she didn't want to be too much of an inconvenience to him, and she accepted when Hinata offered her her hand instead. She could tell that Hinata was a nice person even without really knowing her, so she didn't find she had much trouble trusting her right away.
"Why are Naruto-Oniisan and Kiba-Oniisan fighting?" She asked as she sat with Hinata by the trees, while Shino stood nearby beside them.
"They're not fighting for real. This is their way of expressing their friendship. They're trying to help each other get stronger." Hinata explained in her naturally gentle voice. "Don't worry, they won't actually try to hurt each other." She reassured.
Kumiko didn't really understand it, but she didn't exactly have friends her age, nor was she really one for fighting, so she supposes that could be why. She nodded anyway, to say that she acknowledged the explanation.
As the two fought, it wasn't long before the combat had created strong gusts of wind in Kumiko's direction, which caused her long hair to fly right into her face. She kept trying to move it aside, only for it to go in her eyes again.
"Want me to braid it for you?" Hinata asked, noticing the girl's struggle. The girl wasn't actually sure what a 'braid' was, but she agreed, understanding that Hinata was trying to help her manage her hair.
Hinata sat behind the girl and lightly grabbed all of the girl's currently crazy hair then started gently braiding it. She often kept a hair elastic with her, for when her own hair would occasionally get in the way, so she used that to tie the girl's hair. While braiding Kumiko's hair, Hinata noticed the small crescent shaped birthmark near her right ear. She thought the fact it was shaped like a crescent moon was adorable, unaware of the fate it had brought to the young girl.
When the braid was done, Hinata moved it to rest on the girl's shoulder to show her. Kumiko was excited to see her hair styled. She stood up and started twirling in place with a huge smile on her face, loving the way her newly bound hair followed the motion. She loved the way her hair moved together with her. When she decided to stop spinning, she smiled brightly at Hinata. "Thank you, Hinata-Oneesan!" She thanked happily.
Hinata didn't know that a simple braid would make the girl so happy, but the bright smile directed at her from the child warmed Hinata's heart, and she found herself smiling back. Kumiko then decided to sit back down, glad that her hair would no longer be in her face as it was before.
Kiba and Naruto's fight had lasted for quite a while, and eventually Kumiko found herself getting hungry, as was evident to the others when her stomach growled. Realising that it was, in fact, lunch time, Shino and Hinata decided it would be best to get some food now.
As Naruto and Kiba were about to attack each other again, they suddenly found themselves stopped by a group of Shino's insects. Barely a moment after, the insect user stood somewhat in between them as they had been forced to pause.
"What the hell, Shino!?" Kiba shouted, unhappy about the interruption, especially since it came in the form of god knows how many bugs holding him in place.
"You two likely wouldn't have stopped without the interruption." He answered simply.
"But why did you stop us!?" This time it was Naruto's turn to raise his voice.
"Because it's lunch time." He answered. Before either of the two could protest, he then added, "Kumiko-chan is hungry. Isn't it your job to take care of her?"
Naruto wasn't enthusiastic about the reminder, but when both he and Kiba realised that they, too, were hungry, he decided to keep quiet and agree that they should eat. And of course, as per usual when Naruto is involved, they went to Ichiraku's. Hinata ended up helping Kumiko to her seat, as she still couldn't reach it on her own, and the child sat beside both Naruto and Hinata, finding the most comfort in being near those two.
Naruto and Kumiko ended up spending the majority of the day with Team 8, until it was time for them to go back to Naruto's apartment since Kumiko was tired. Since the apartment was already set up the day before (since Kakashi would absolutely not allow otherwise), Kumiko already had a place to sleep set up. They had made a makeshift bed using several blankets, and of course a pillow. Kumiko had her bag with everything else she needed, including pajamas and her favourite (only) bunny.
The next morning, Team 8 had been sent on a mission as well so Naruto could no longer rely on them to pass the time until his own team returned. And so, he once again found himself wandering around Konoha while Kumiko held onto his hand.
In all honesty, the girl didn't really care what they did during the day. She only wanted Kakashi to return, so she couldn't be bothered to care about boredom. Though, she didn't find wandering the village boring. It's not like she remembered what 'fun' was anyway.
As they walked, they somehow managed upon another surprise encounter, though this one was far more shocking to Naruto. After all, who would have expected to see the Kazekage walking the streets of Konoha on a seemingly random day?
So, of course, he approached him. "Gaara!" He called as he waved to his friend. Gaara, and his two siblings who accompanied him, all turned to face the loud blond that was walking toward them.
As Gaara was about to return the greeting, he noticed the child holding onto Naruto's hand and paused in confusion, though his face didn't really show it much. "Who's that?" Temari asked, which proved that the other two shared his confusion.
"This is Kumiko-chan. Kakashi-sensei has been taking care of her, but I'm stuck babysitting while the others are out on a mission." Naruto explained. He had had to explain the same thing yesterday, and he feels like he might be starting to understand one of Kakashi-sensei's struggles since he started looking after the kid.
It is understandable though, because neither Naruto nor Kakashi are normally people you'd expect to see walking around the village with a child. Of course people would question it, but does he really have to keep explaining it and reminding himself that his team is on a mission without him!?
"Kakashi adopted a child?" Gaara asked.
"Not really. We just found her, so now it's his job to look after her for now." Naruto answered. Of course, he was unaware of Kakashi's attachment to Kumiko by this point, so he found himself repeating the same reasoning Kakashi had used whenever someone suggested that he had adopted the girl.
"But why would they trust him of all people with a kid?" Kankuro asked, then considered for a moment. "And why would they trust you with a kid?" He asked, realising the potentially worse idea.
"Hey, I can take care of a child!" Naruto defended, this time having taken notice of the somewhat insult.
Temari wasn't buying it. She looked at the child, who only looked back at her curiously in response. Kumiko then smiled, having caught up to the content of the conversation. "Naruto-Oniisan is great!" She responded to Naruto's defense, despite the fact he wasn't even the one looking after her for most of the day before. Though, admittedly, he didn't mind babysitting her as much as he thought he would. The only part he dislikes was being excluded from the mission.
"Anyway, why are you here, Gaara?" Naruto asked.
"I'm here for a meeting with the Hokage. There are a couple political things to discuss." He responded, though by his tone, it was clear it was nothing major. Naruto decided that the reason made enough sense that he didn't feel like further questioning it.
Since the meeting was soon, the trio had to excuse themselves to continue on their way to the Hokage tower, deciding they could meet again later since they were staying in Konoha for the night before returning to Suna.
The next couple of days seemed to pass by quickly. Having finished their investigation of the destroyed village to the best of their ability, Kakashi, Sakura and Sai decided to return to Konoha.
Meanwhile, the pair left in Konoha found that there wasn't much to do without the others around. Naruto in particular found himself quite bored, while Kumiko only found herself missing Kakashi. She hadn't been separated from him for so long since they had first met, so it couldn't be helped.
To say she was excited when Kakashi, as well as the two others from his team, found them while they were once again wandering around Konoha would be an understatement. The moment Kumiko spotted the silver haired jonin, she ran over to him, immediately giving him a hug before going to grab onto the sleeve of his shirt once again, finding more comfort in that small action than she had felt the few days he was gone.
"Hello Kumiko-chan." Kakashi had greeted, happy to see her as well. Although he wouldn't admit it to others, he missed her too. Of course, the others knew without him needing to admit it. Since they were all together again, they decided to get some lunch. Naruto wanted to hear if anything interesting happened on the mission while he was stuck in Konoha, and the others (as in, mainly Kakashi), wanted to hear about what the two did in Konoha while they were gone.
Author's Note:
I feel like I should probably mention this sooner than later...
Small note about how some of the words are spelled: Well, I should start by reminding (or informing?) you guys that the spelling of certain English word differs based on where you live. An example would be colour and color. I'm hoping it hasn't been much of an issue for you guys reading this, but I can understand if people see frequent spelling mistakes and get somewhat annoyed by them... Since I'm not from the U.S., I use a different spelling for some words. I haven't noticed it causing any issues, but I wanted to mention it. It only came to mind since (for some reason) the document I initially type the story in and where I go to edit the story use different spellings for some of the words, and it made me think that maybe I should clarify it for you guys! I think the most common example of this is with words that are often spelled with a 'z' that are instead spelled with an 's' here. Again, not sure that anyone cares, but I wanted to explain it anyway in hopes it helps people not get too annoyed by the spelling!
I know this chapter doesn't really progress the plot much, but I hope it was still enjoyable to read anyway! Thank you for reading the story so far, and I hope you will continue to enjoy it in the future! (Also any feedback or suggestions, about either the writing or for the story itself are welcome! Any ideas about things you would like to see are also welcome!)
