Author's Note:
I just wanted to add a small note before this chapter begins. This chapter will (finally) start dealing with stuff that happens in cannon. Yes, things will be a bit different. Some of the dialogue or events within this chapter may be slightly out of order or altered. The general idea is there though. Also, I apologise for the fact that the timeline isn't 100% accurate, since this should have actually happened much earlier, but that wouldn't have really worked for this story! It's nothing major, so hopefully it doesn't bother you guys too much! :)
Enjoy the chapter!
When they returned from their information gathering mission, Team Seven (minus Naruto) went directly to report to Tsunade about what they had found. "I hope the mission was a success?" Tsunade had asked once they'd arrived.
"We were able to locate the village, and we spoke to some of the villagers that remained there." Kakashi informed her.
"You were supposed to investigate this in secret." Tsunade commented, unsure how she felt about the fact they had decided to speak to the people there. On one hand, she was sure it provided some useful information, on the other, it means that they likely exposed something related to Kumiko being within Konoha's care.
"We didn't expect to be found so quickly once we stepped foot in the village. Maa, it worked out anyway." Kakashi explained as he started to take out the books and scrolls he'd received from Chihiro, the village's scholar. He showed the documents to Tsunade, leaving them on her desk in front of her.
"The woman we ran into happened to have been studying the demon that's sealed inside Kumiko-chan, so she was able to provide us with some information about it, as well as some of the documents about it that survived the destruction." He explained.
Tsunade looked at each of the things in front of her briefly. "What did she tell you? Tell me everything."
Later that day, Tsunade had called Kakashi back to her office. "This book seems to be documenting information about each of the 'sacrifices', as they're referred to. Of course, there's a profile about Kumiko here as well." Tsunade told him as she held up one of the books that had been brought back.
Kakashi had yet to look at any of the information inside the book, but he had already been told that one of the books was a record of the previous demon containers. He had wondered if Kumiko had already been recorded in it, but now he knew.
Tsunade opened the book to one of the pages, and Kakashi, along with Kumiko who had once again attached herself to the sleeve of his shirt, walked closer to the desk so they could see. Tsunade had rotated the book so Kakashi could read its contents. Kumiko couldn't quite see it, since she was too short to see over the desk.
It was mostly basic information, and a lot of it had yet to be completely filled out. It made sense, though, considering Kumiko was still young. The only indication that the information on the page belonged to Kumiko was the date on it, and the fact that there was not yet a date of death listed. Understandably, there was no name.
It would have been natural to assume that in an information page such as this, the date of the person's birth would have been mentioned, but that isn't the case here. The only two dates the document finds worthy of mention are the person's death date, and their 'sacrifice' date.
"'Sacrifice date'? Could that be the day she was born?" Kakashi found himself wondering aloud.
"I doubt it. I imagine they would want to ensure there are no major issues with the child's health before choosing to seal the demon inside them, so leaving some time just to monitor their condition would make more sense." Tsunade responded.
Of course, it made sense. They don't know when the next suitable container will be born, so it's doubtful they'd want to risk transferring the demon to a container that would be likely to die or have serious health complications within their first few years.
But that meant that they were once again left without the knowledge of Kumiko's birthday. They did, however, have an idea about her age. The sacrifice ceremony is apparently held while the baby is still fairly new, likely no more than a month after their birth, if Kakashi had to guess, so the year of the sacrifice would be the same year that Kumiko was born. Comparing it to the current year, Kakashi was able to determine that Kumiko is five years old. He had guessed she was likely around that age anyway, considering her appearance as well as how she acts, but it was nice to finally know.
Most of the information listed so far were basic, yet often important, things. There was a section about any health complications or allergies, there was a section that described her physical appearance, likely as a way of being able to identify her, et cetera.
There were also bigger sections that had yet to have very much information filled in for Kumiko, due to her young age. One of them was any information about changes to her seal, and seemed to be a record of every time it was weakened, strengthened, and the symptoms that followed. The other one was a log of events that happened with her involved.
Kakashi didn't really have much time to look at the information yet though, since he was still speaking to Tsunade, who had only given him the time to briefly scan the contents of the page. "Since you are the one currently responsible for Kumiko, I'm giving you this book for now. It should have any information you need about her that her village was able to collect. Also," she continued as she grabbed the scrolls from the side. "I will leave these with you as well. They contain the information about the seal, and how to alter it. I'm sure it will be useful."
"I have yet to properly analyse the other book, so I will hold onto it. I will admit, maybe it was a good thing you were found by that woman." Tsunade commented before dismissing them.
It was a few days later when Kakashi had thought of an idea, suddenly, that could help Naruto with his training. Naruto had been trying to get stronger, especially after what had happened a bit ago when he'd found Sasuke while on his first mission with Yamato and Sai. Kakashi had had to think of ways he could help the blond improve, and he had now managed to come up with something. He had told Naruto he had an idea without having explained it to him yet.
So now, Kakashi and Naruto, along with Yamato and Kumiko, are standing in one of the more isolated parts of the village, in a clearing in the forest so they could start with the training.
The silver haired jonin had explained to his blond teammate one of the features of using shadow clones by showing him an example, seeing as this was one of the key parts of this training method. He then proceeded to explain the rest about chakra types and such.
Naruto seemed to understand well enough for them to continue. But first, there was one thing he was wondering about. "Why is Yamato-taichou here?" He asked curiously.
"Here's here because he's capable of keeping the Kyuubi sealed inside you somewhat in control. This training method forces you to use a lot of your chakra, which therefore increases the risk of the Kyuubi's chakra leaking." Kakashi explained.
Kumiko had been fairly unaware of the conversation this whole time, seeing as she doesn't know much about jutsu at all, but there was one part that caught her attention. "Naruto-Oniisan has a seal too?" She asked, suddenly very interested and curious. She hadn't known that there was someone else around with a seal. Though, she also didn't entirely know what it meant either.
Naruto responded simply with a nod, confused at the girl's sudden interest, while Kumiko stared at Naruto with starry eyes, filled with wonder at the fact there is someone who shares her unique trait.
Seeing the interaction forced Kakashi to come to a sudden realisation. He was forced to see just how similar the situation had been for his blond student and this young child, past merely the fact of both of them containing a seal. The way they were treated by the people around them growing up, though different when you look at the fine details, was fundamentally similar. They were both hated and feared for what was inside of them, instead of seen as who they are outside.
The ideas behind these views were, of course, different. While Naruto was viewed as the demon that caused disaster within the village years prior, Kumiko was viewed as an object with no need for the respect a human deserves. No one could see past the Kyuubi inside Naruto, and no one could see the humanity in Kumiko. Both were ignored, mistreated, and disrespected due to things beyond their control.
Kakashi had known just by speaking to the survivors from Kumiko's village that they had treated her poorly, but he hadn't seen it, so he hadn't understood quite how bad it must have been. But he had seen Naruto's childhood, and he understood how bad that must have been. Comparing the two, he was forced to come to the realisation that Kumiko had likely not had a very good life in that village.
And perhaps… Perhaps it was a good thing that she forgot it. Now, of course, Kakashi doesn't believe that having amnesia due to a traumatic attack, with that being the only revived memory, is a good thing. Not in the slightest would that be a very easy thing to go through, he's sure. But… If the memories from before that moment are bad, maybe it's best that they're gone?
Kumiko had been able to smile now. She had been given a chance to view the world as a child should be allowed to. She had been welcomed into a new village that would be willing to become a home for her. She's still young, so missing those first five years of memories might end up being for the best if it means she can be allowed to continue to live as a normal child deserves. Right?
Of course, whether her memory comes back or not is out of Kakashi's control. He's not sure what might trigger a sudden revival of her memory. He's not even sure exactly what caused the memories to be lost in the first place. Maybe all it would take is for her to see someone from her village to remember? If that's the case, it's doubtful she'd be getting the memories back anytime soon, seeing as it's best she stays within Konoha. Maybe she can make enough happy memories before that time that they cancel out the bad ones?
But either way, these were thoughts for another time. For now, he had promised to help his student become stronger. He would help him train to change the elemental nature of his chakra for the purpose of hopefully enabling him to create his own jutsu. At the moment, Naruto's training should be the priority, not debating whether or not Kumiko would be better off without her memories.
Seeing Kakashi decide to come back from his thoughts, Yamato determined it was likely they'd be starting soon so he decided to start setting up his jutsu, preparing himself for if he'd need it. Though he was sure it would be fine in the earlier stages, this was a potentially necessary precaution.
As the wooden pillars came up from the ground around him, Kumiko's attention shifted from her wonder at Naruto having a seal to amazement at Yamato's jutsu. "Wow! How did you do that?" She asked, her eyes sparkling in awe.
"It's a type of jutsu." Kakashi tried explaining simply, only to be met with confusion and curiosity.
"Jutsu?" Kumiko asked, unfamiliar with the term. She'd been there while his team trained, so the fact she didn't know… Although, she was normally asleep during training. Even when she had been awake, it's not likely she had understood enough to decide to pay much attention, anyway.
"A jutsu is something you can perform with chakra. Everyone has chakra, but it requires proper control and knowledge to use various jutsus. And you would need to know the hand signs." Kakashi explained. As a demonstration, Yamato performed a few hand signs to use a Mokuton jutsu, creating a tiny tree from the ground.
"Then, can I do that too?" Kumiko asked, the sparkle in her eyes brightening once more at the idea. Kakashi was about to speak up, finding a way to tell the poor child that she wouldn't be able to use the same jutsu. But the girl had already stopped paying attention to him for the moment, copying the hand signs she'd seen Yamato do a moment before. Before Kakashi could say anything, a small tree hand sprouted from the ground in front of Kumiko.
Everyone remained speechless for a moment as Kumiko smiled happily at her accomplishment. If only she knew just how amazing it really was.
The first to break the silence was Naruto, as he had been more confused than shocked. "I thought only Yamato-taichou was able to use Mokuton." He commented, still confused.
"That should be the case. It was the kekkei genkai of the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama. No one has been able to use it since him, with the exception of Yamato, but even his situation is unique…" Kakashi commented in thought. The only reason Yamato is able to use Mokuton is because of human experimentation. From what he knows, Kumiko had never gone through that.
The only other possibility is that she was somehow born with the kekkei genkai, but that doesn't seem very possible either. After all, what are the chances there was an unknown descendant of Senju Hashirama in some unknown village, and that Kumiko would be closely enough related to have developed the same kekkei genkai? It just didn't seem likely. But what else could it possibly be?
"How did you do that Kumiko-chan?" Kakashi asked the girl. She thought for a very short moment before answering.
"When Taichou-san did it, his energy went whoosh," as demonstrated by an exaggerated hand motion. "So I did the same signs with my hands and my energy went whoosh, and then fwoom and a tree appeared!" Kakashi wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to say, but he understood that she probably read the flow of Yamato's chakra, then copied it. He considered it for a moment longer before continuing.
"Ne, Kumiko-chan? Can you do that again?" Kakashi asked after a moment of consideration. Kumiko was confused, but she did anyway as Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate to uncover his Sharingan. He just had to confirm that it was indeed Kumiko's chakra that had performed the jutsu. And, as it turns out, it was.
Yamato kept silent in shock, trying himself to consider how it could have been possible. He had never heard of anyone else being able to use Mokuton, so for a random child to be able to… Something just wasn't adding up.
Kakashi felt the same way: unsure and confused. The only other possibility he could come up with for Kumiko to have this ability is whatever is sealed inside her. Or at least, he had thought that until he saw it with his Sharingan. It was clear that the chakra being used was Kumiko's alone, so unless her chakra has so completely blended with her demon, it had nothing to do with it.
After another moment of unsuccessful consideration, they decided it was time to move on. They wouldn't likely figure anything out right now anyway. This was something that needed some investigating, but right now is not the time.
And so, they decided to continue with starting the training. Naruto created enough shadow clones to completely clear a tree of its leaves, then proceeded to learn to cut the leaves in half using just his wind-nature chakra.
Kumiko peacefully went back into her state of not knowing enough to pay any attention. She just sat in a spot near where Kakashi was, happily admiring the tiny tree she had made.
Time had seemed to pass quickly, as now hours had passed since the training began. Kumiko hadn't had much to do, but she was perfectly content just sitting there as long as Kakashi was around. She had been warned beforehand that she might be bored if she joined them, but how, exactly, is boredom meant to feel? She didn't know, and so she didn't seem to feel it. As such, she could happily do nothing for hours and be alright.
But, of course, a lack of ability to feel boredom doesn't mean she won't act when curious. And as it happens, there happened to be one thing that awakened her curiosity, so much so that she wasn't thinking properly when she decided to act.
She had noticed a small movement from the corner of her eye, and so she looked to see what it was. She was met by a beautiful pair of purple eyes in the distance that belonged to a cat with an equally beautiful black coat of fur. The cat seemed to look at her for a moment, before elegantly turning to walk into the forest.
Kumiko couldn't help but follow it into the trees. Her mind thought of nothing but the cat, and the cat's strange resemblance to the woman in her dreams. It was just the general eye colour and the colour of its fur that matched the woman's hair, but it was enough of a resemblance for Kumiko to have taken notice of it.
She walked for a bit, trying to follow the cat that was far enough ahead of her, until she lost sight of the cat completely. She gave a small frown, a bit upset that she had lost it. But she would get over it. And so, she turned to leave the forest she'd wandered into.
That was the plan, at least, but the poor girl hadn't realised soon enough just how far she'd gone. When she turned around, all she saw were trees organised in no particular way. She couldn't see the edge of the forest, nor could she see a notable path to take. Gazing at the seemingly endless amount of trees, she started to feel a bit overwhelmed by how big the forest seemed.
Kumiko was lost. She didn't know where she was, nor did she know how to get back to Kakashi. She regretted having ever decided to leave in the first place, but she wasn't in her right mind then. She was too curious.
She looked around for a bit, anxiety slowly creeping in with each passing second, and with each tree her eyes landed on. She looked, desperately hoping to find some way to figure out which path she had taken to get there until it just became too much for her. She couldn't handle this, especially on her own.
And so, she sat against one of the trees, curling into a ball as she buried her face in her knees, soaking them with her newly formed tears. She was scared, terrified. But not just because she didn't know where she was. She was terrified of the idea of never being able to see Kakashi again. The idea of never feeling that same warm feeling of safety she felt around him. Whenever she was separated from him, she couldn't stop the cold feeling of insecurity she felt from surfacing. She didn't feel safe, especially now that she remembers having been attacked. But, has she ever really been able to feel safe?
She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, crying and praying, hoping desperately, for something, anything, to lead her back to Kakashi's side. Then suddenly, she heard the sound of the leaves rustling unnaturally, and she hoped that it was a good thing.
Guy's team had decided to train quite far into the forest that day. After all, there was a particular area in that forest that was set up like the perfect obstacle course to train, with trees spread out haphazardly around the area. They had been on their way back to the village when they heard the soft sound of a child sobbing.
They weren't sure where exactly it was coming from, since the source was hidden behind however many trees. But it wasn't something they felt they could just ignore. Thankfully, they had someone on the team with the perfect ability for this situation, one that would allow him to locate the source of the sound despite the cover of the forest.
Neji activated his Byakugan, and was surprised to find that the source of the sound was none other than Kumiko, the child that Kakashi was supposed to be watching. He led his team to where she was, wondering why she was crying alone in the forest.
The rest of the team was also surprised when they realised who it was. "Kumiko-chan? Why are you here? Where's Kakashi?" Guy asked, probably the most surprised of his group to find the girl alone in such a place. "Are you lost?"
Kumiko looked up at the group, tears still forming in her eyes as she responded with a nod. "Why are you here of all places?" Tenten asked the girl, keeping her voice light out of consideration for the child's present emotional state.
Kumiko sniffled as she answered, trying her best to keep her voice as stable as possible so she could be understood. "I-I saw a cat, and I followed it, and then I lost it, and I didn't know how far I went, and now I don't know where I am." She answered, trying her best in her teary state to describe what had happened.
"A cat?" Lee asked, having not expected that to be the reason for the girl's present situation.
Neji still had his Byakugan activated, so when the cat was mentioned, he happened to notice a cat not too far from where they were, hidden behind a few of the nearby trees. He went to grab it and bring it back. The cat didn't seem enthused to have been grabbed, but the only sign of such was the fact it gave an unhappy meow when Neji first picked it up. It didn't struggle in his grasp, nor did it try to attack him.
"This cat?" He asked as he showed the cat to the girl. Kumiko looked at the cat's eyes for a moment, confirming that this is, indeed, the same cat she had been following. She nodded.
"Why were you following it?" Tenten asked.
"It reminded me of the lady from my dreams, and I got curious and followed it." Kumiko answered, having calmed slightly now that she no longer felt quite as alone.
"It reminded you of someone?" Lee asked, mildly unsure how a cat would remind her of a person, and definitely curious to know the answer.
Kumiko nodded to confirm the statement. "The lady in my dreams also has purple eyes, even though they're brighter, and she also has black hair."
"Where did you come from? Where's Kakashi?" Guy asked, now focusing on trying to help her get back to his rival. Even Guy knows that Kakashi will be worried when he finds out Kumiko is missing, and he also can't stand to allow this young girl to feel so upset anymore!
But Kumiko seemed unsure, which should have been expected. She wasn't lost for no reason.
"Didn't Naruto-kun say something about Kakashi-sensei finding a way to help him train better?" Lee suddenly seemed to recall.
Guy thought about it for a moment. "There's a clearing not too far from here that would be the perfect spot for training. They must be there." He decided before turning to face Kumiko again. "Come on, we'll bring you there." He offered.
Kumiko was more than glad to accept their help, especially since she had already trusted them from the time she'd met them originally. And so, Lee ended up carrying her on his back so they could quickly return her to where Kakashi was no doubt waiting for her.
Author's Note:
So, I actually had 648 more words for this chapter, but when I realised it was already too long, I decided to move them to chapter 9 instead. I had thought this chapter was gonna be a bit long when I got to this point, but there was still more I wanted to add, and it would have made it TOO long. So, you'll just have to wait until next chapter! :)
There's quite a lot of different things that happened in this chapter. Sorry if it's too much, but none of it would be enough for a full chapter of its own, and it's all stuff that I felt should be shown now.
This chapter took a bit longer to write than I thought it would, and it was for one very simple reason: I couldn't figure out how to describe Kumiko's expression when she learned about Naruto's seal! Yes, it actually took me that long to figure it out. The rest of the chapter was simple enough. The problem with that particular moment is the fact that, while Kumiko is... excited? to learn that someone else has a seal, it's not actually a very good thing, so I'm not sure "excited" is really the proper word. But I think I managed alright when I figured it out!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading this far!