AN: Re-written June 15th 2024
I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to get this up today thanks to ff not letting me sign in. Thankfully it finally worked!
Hope you enjoy~
Chapter XXI: Interpretations
Maki blinked in confusion. Why was there three small mountains of clothes in the middle of the bedroom? Why was Minato still pulling clothes out and muttering to himself?
Why did he even have that much in the way of clothes when more than half of it was the exact same track suit, though in a few different colours? How was the mountain of clothes for him still growing? Where had all this come from? And weren't they supposed to be going to the park? If this kept going they'd never make it.
It seemed he'd already picked out clothes for her and Masato, as next to their smaller clothing heaps there were some carefully laid out garments. But mixed into those piles she spotted various orange hues. Minato had also just thrown an orange jumpsuit into his pile without seriously considering it.
Glancing over at Masato told her he thought the same thing as her. With twin grins they crept over to the piles and rifled through them to pick out sufficiently orange garments. Orange rompers. Well hers was a little closer to salmon while Masato's was definitely a vibrant, near highlighter orange. But these would do.
Then they walked over to Minato's pile, holding their rompers in one hand. She pulled on the sleeve of the track suit jacket while Masa took hold of a pant leg.
"Ni-san! Match match match!"
Minato turned his attention from the closet that was still somehow not empty to look at them, before his eyes fell to the cloth in their hands. For a moment she could see unbridled horror. Well it was a rather florid orange colour… why did he even have it though, if he never meant to wear it?
"Well, uh…. yeah, you can wear those rompers today," Minato spoke, clearly trying to avoid the prospect of wearing the tracksuit that they'd found. "Ni-san would look better in blue though, don't you think?" He reached almost blindly but thankfully pulled out a blue tracksuit from his closet… well he did have more blue or white ones than any other color it seemed. This one however was nearly as vibrant as the orange one, and upon seeing it his plastered on smile visibly faltered. Still he seemed to think it preferable to the orange one. "What do you think?"
She scrunched up her face. "No match. Want to match!"
"Ni-san match!"
Minato was starting to look pale, and he furtively looked into his closet as if it would offer him salvation. Then he paused, and dropping the bright blue tracksuit with its obnoxiously bright pink stripe, he grabbed something else from within.
"What about this one then?"
It was technically orange, she supposed. A dark orange. With a blue stripe that was reminiscent of the blue that had been on their old tracksuits as kids. Still, should they cut him some slack?
Well… why had he piled up so much clothes?
Maybe it had something to do with Kushina perhaps?
If that was the case, then…
"Sorry boss, I've got nothing," The great brown dog nearly whined, tail lowered as he looked back at Sakumo and Jiraiya. It was the latter who sighed heavily, though his attention turned to the object in his hand.
"Damn it," Sakumo cursed lowly. His entire pack had lost their quarry now.
"We may have lost him, but we're not empty handed," Jiraiya stated firmly. He looked around the water logged clearing again, in case there was anything he'd missed, but it looked like he'd gotten everything. "It could be enough to give us an idea where they're basing out of now. Especially this." And he held up the small object.
Sakumo's eyes narrowed. "Your not suggesting that…" He trailed off, seeming unwilling to finish.
"I'm suggesting nothing," The other Jōnin answered the unfinished question. "Just the fact that the scroll I snagged off our quarry in that last altercation having this symbol on it has got to mean something. He tried to singe it off for a reason."
"Can you open it?" The other white haired man questioned. There was no point denying that Jiraiya was right. The scroll was significant.
"Maybe, but it could take weeks, or even months for me to figure it out given the surface damage done."
That was unfortunate. Jiraiya was quite the seal-master already… if he couldn't open it easily, then who could?
"I think its best we send it to Konoha ahead of us."
Sakumo wasn't sure if he agreed, as there weren't that many seal masters around in the world now, let alone in their village. Still, he had to admit it was better than them wasting time here… working on two fronts was more efficient. There might still be some clues in the area that his dogs hadn't been able to pick up… somewhere where Jiriaya's toads would be more suited to search. Either way it was a little premature for them to leave and head back. At least another half day of casing out the area was in order.
"Give it to Orokku…. as fast as your toad messengers are, it won't be as fast as dismissing him back to Konoha."
"True," was all the other man offered in response.
Obligingly Orokku padded over to Jiraiya to take the scroll in mouth. "Orokku…. straight to the hokage when you arrive."
The dog gave a muffled yip in understanding, and then disappeared with a puff of smoke.
Holding back the want to huff in annoyance, she settled on tapping her foot in impatience. He was late! Well… technically he wasn't actually late yet. He had five or so minutes. But it wasn't polite to keep a lady waiting. He should have been here before she was! She'd only arrived a few minutes ago, so that shouldn't have been so hard.
Seriously, how much longer was he going to keep her waiting!
With Dai-san. Who was in the middle of another lecture on youth because one of the kids had taken up bullying… or rather tried to. She doubted he'd want to be mean to the other kids after this lecture, at least for a while.
She was going to punch Minato for this. After they left the twins with Dai, so they didn't see. They were young and impressionable after all.
Actually… was it such a good idea to leave the twins with Dai? Being young and impressionable and all?
"Kushina-chan?"
The redhead jolted a bit, the frown that had formed on her face deepening even as she looked over towards the entrance to the park where the familiar voice had come from. "Uh… Sensei, what are you doing at a park?"
"I could ask you the same thing brat," the blonde woman replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her ample chest. Couldn't she wear a shirt that covered it more? That father over there was absolutely staring at her.
"I asked first," she shot back. The woman narrowed her eyes in response, before casting her glance out over the playground as if looking for someone. Then she sighed before making her way over to where Kushina was waiting. "Are you waiting for someone or something?"
"I guess you could say that," the Jonin replied a little absently as she was once more looking over the inhabitants of the park. Notably looking over the children. "Minori-san told me Minato was bringing his little siblings here today. I wanted to see how they've been holding up health wise."
Ah. That made sense. Her sensei was the first medical personnel to look at the twins. It made perfect sense she'd be curious how they'd got on in the time they'd been here. "They looked pretty good when I saw them yesterday," she told the woman with a smile. "They've gained weight… you'd hardly believe they'd been so thin before. And they were full of energy too… almost started a food fight at lunch."
Tsunade raised a brow. "You spent time with them yesterday? I would have thought you'd want a break after being on border patrol for weeks. The boys still seem to be 'recuperating'."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course they were. They were somehow more wussy than Minato! That took doing. He was the meekest boy she'd ever met… though he seemed pretty durable she supposed. So maybe it wasn't exactly that hard to be wussier than him.
Maybe he wasn't that big of a wuss.
"Don't compare me to the boys, sensei. I had a good night's sleep and that's all I needed," she declared with a sense of sureness. It was true. She had slept well last night, and she felt totally refreshed today. She could go on another mission right now. Though she was glad it didn't seem like that was in the cards yet.
"You could go register with the Genin Corps to take on a mission or two while your wimpy teammates are recovering," the woman casually suggested. Or it would have been casual if it wasn't for the amused glint in her eyes.
"Just because I'm well rested doesn't mean I've got nothing to do on my days off," she muttered. "I've got plans today."
"That so? Waiting for someone?"
"I am, actually." There was no point dancing around it. Or trying to be vague like the woman had earlier. "I'm meeting Minato. The twins' birthday is soon and I doubt he'd manage to pick out appropriate gifts on his own."
"Shopping huh," the woman murmured, and then snorted, much to her confusion. "Sure you want to be seen with him looking like that?" The woman tilted her head in a gesture towards the other entrance to the park. She spotted Dai there immediately, with two orange clad toddlers hanging happily from his raised arms and giggling.
Looking just past him she caught a sight of eye blindingly fluorescent orange and green.
"I take it your lingering means you've got something worth reporting," Hiruzen regarded his Jōnin commander once the door to his office was safely closed after the council had left from their last meeting. It was perhaps stating the obvious, so it was no surprise when Shikatsu's only response was a curt nod.
"I've solved the puzzle of Haruka's report and its hidden message," the man stated. "There were Fibonacci numbers throughout the combined sequence. Assigning each number a meaning based on the key that corresponds to nearest of these numbers to follow it yielded three sentences."
That was certainly progress. All other attempts made by both him and Shikatsu had yielded only incomprehensible strings of words.
"I believe Haruka intended to bring some sort of betrayal to light, while also issuing a warning. Though who was betrayed, who did the betraying, and who she was trying to warn are not obvious."
The Hokage would have sighed had he been alone. He needed some tobacco…this job was stressful without mysterious warnings from questionable sources. Still he could ill afford not to listen to whatever this message was. Once he was sure that no one could overhear.
He stepped out from behind his desk to place his hand on a seal tag near the window of the office, sending his chakra through it to activate its effects. It wasn't entirely foolproof he knew… but this was the best security they could get without him asking the aged Mito to perform a severely complicated sealing jutsu that was just as likely to backfire due to her age rendering her memory on seal intricacies a little questionable.
It was at least a sight better than getting into this without any sort of preventative measures aside from his personal Anbu. It would have to do. "Go on."
Without any preamble Shikatsu did just that.
"Winding River dried from within. Spawning fish to the depths, that the Mountain may drown. Memory take heed, lest sin be twofold."
It was weirdly poetic… but he could see why Shikatsu was confused. It was brief, and a little nonsensical. Taken at face value that was. Which he was sure Shikatsu hadn't… he'd have his own conjecture. Him not immediately offering it only meant he had no evidence to prove it to be fact.
However Shikatsu's conjecture usually got close to the mark even when he didn't hit it dead on.
"Cryptic of her…. what would you suppose she meant in plain speak?"
The slight narrowing of Shikatsu's eyes told him he doubted that he didn't already have an idea of his own. He happened to be correct… but he wasn't certain either. If Shikatsu was also thinking something along the same lines then it was that much more likely that he had riddled the cryptic words out correctly. "Humor me, if you would."
There was no visible reaction to this, but Hiruzen hadn't expected it.
"As the River and the Mountain are geographical features I believe the two could refer to a similar thing, or perhaps allies." The dark scarred man began in a bored drawl. Though Hiruzen was certain his companion was far from bored right now. "The Fish then would be the perpetrator who dried the river from within, and now seeks to drown the mountain. Perhaps by using their progeny… or perhaps by passing their charge on to successive generations." Then Shikatsu crossed his arms, now allowing himself to scowl. "The warning would suggest that drowning the mountain would also be caused from within."
In so far none of what Shikatsu shared was hard to intuit, or, in Hiruzen's mind, in question. This was likely the correct interpretation of what this warning meant. He was fairly certain that the River and the Mountain were allies himself, and that the mentioned progeny would be a tool… if he was correct in what the two geographical features referred to in any case. Still, he was sure Shikatsu had more insight than this to share. "And?"
There was a long drawn out silence, but not once did the two men turn their gaze away from the other.
"Given the origins of this cryptic warning, the means of delivery, and the warning given to Minato by his mother, I do have a theory," Shikatsu finally offered after a near minute of the two staring at each other. "The River could have referred to the Namikaze clan, as they traditionally transported their goods over river routes. This is still a possibility, but given that the new target of the fish is described as a Mountain I doubt this is the case."
This is the same as his thoughts on it, to be certain, but this interpretation could still be the proper one. "We can't dismiss it outright however… The new target could be another powerful clan. We have no clan that I would liken to a mountain however." Of course Iwa had several… but none of them had ever been on amicable terms with the Namikaze as far as he knew.
"Agreed," Shikatsu intoned dryly. "However I find it more likely that the River and the Mountain refer to an organization bigger than one clan. Shinobi villages to be precise. Uzushio sat on a winding river."
That it did, and was his self same conclusion. "This would most likely mean the mountain was Kumogakure, or perhaps Iwagakure."
Which they were not allies with. So then why would Haruka give them the means to unlock this message? Unless she'd leaked the two keys to one of those villages and meant for the twins to end up there… but then she would not have given a warning to Minato. It was possible she meant for it to benefit that village indirectly, that it was meant to lure Konoha into some sort of trap, or perhaps it was information that could benefit Konoha in some way.
"I would agree, if it wasn't for-"
Their eyes were drawn simultaneously to the seal tag that had just gone up in flames, both of them tensing. Tense and ready for combat… but not obviously so. It could just be someone coming to knock at his door.
Still Hiruzen kept an eye on the window as well, just in case it was an intruder.
A shape blurred through it, and he was half way through pulling a Kunai from its pouch before he realized just what it was.
People had definitely been staring at him and his garish attire. He just knew it. And it wasn't like he could slink away into shadows and pass unseen. Not with a toddler holding each hand. It was a very small relief that Dai hadn't made a comment on his current attire. Not with the children pointing at him and whispering to each other. Or at least he thought that was what they were doing.
As he spoke to the genin man while his siblings were busy using him like a jungle gym he cast a glance about for a head of red hair and blessedly didn't see one. It looked like he hadn't arrived yet. So maybe he'd have time to rush back home and put on something less notable. Or at the very least henge himself into something not so obnoxious. That seemed like quite the waste of chakra though, and any shinobi they passed would know…
He wasn't sure he could handle the embarrassment much longer. Why had he let them convince him to wear this? I mean yes they had looked at him with big willful eyes that looked like they'd brim over with tears if he said no and the cutest little smiles when he'd said he'd wear it. They'd surely cry or kick up a fuss whenever he returned if he wasn't wearing it… but it wasn't like they'd notice a henge right? He could just henge his clothes back to… this. And suffer through the walk back home where he'd be safely out of sight for the rest of the day.
As long as he didn't have any visitors.
Yes. That's what he'd do. He thanked Dai and then turned to leave. Only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw a familiar but wholly unexpected child being pushed towards the playground by a woman he assumed was his mother.
The black haired boy looked very uncomfortable, and maybe even a little upset.
"Kawazo your father promised I could take you to have fun once every other week. There's nothing to be so worried about. Go on. Play." The woman was saying while trying to get him to move with a hand on his shoulder that didn't seem quite that gentle anymore.
Kawazo looked infinitely frustrated. "Ka-sama you rushed me out before I could grab my cali-"
"Oh hush you, it's a playground, not a library. It's for playing not books or calligraphy or whatever. So go play." The woman looked very insistent… but she was barely looking at the boy and instead glancing towards a group of other women who seemed to be impatiently waiting for her. "The other mothers are waiting for me. Now be a good boy and just go have fun or something."
He narrowed his eyes as he watched this exchange. He could be imagining it, but it almost seemed to him that the woman didn't really bring the boy to the park to play but as an excuse to meet with these women waiting on her.
Kawazo seemed to huff, and then looked around. To the genin's horror the boy's eyes landed right on him. Trying not to look as embarrassed as he felt he smiled and waved. "Kawazo, surprise to see you here."
The boy looked him up and down, tilted his head in confusion, then seemed to come to some conclusion before he walked over to him. His mother sighed in relief and turned immediately to go join the group of women.
"Minato-taicho, what are you doing here? You're already a genin…" The question lacked some of his usual deadpan attitude however, instead sounding like he was about to laugh… which was almost as refreshing coming from the boy as it was embarrassing. "You're not trying to train in going unseen with those bright colours are you? If you are, I'd say you're not doing a very good job of it."
Well… now what. Did he admit that he was wearing this because he let toddlers convince him too? Somehow he couldn't bear to admit that to Kawazo… the respect the boy seemed to have for him now might just be completely ruined. Where would that leave him? He may have managed some sort of reconciliation with Kotome yesterday… but there was still the explosive conflicts with Tsume to be worried about. It may become even more difficult to do anything about that, if Kawazo thought him nothing but a fool who could be manipulated by toddlers.
"Uh… Well in order to know how far I have to go to keep concealed in this I've got to get a feel for how obvious it is first. Though maybe these are a bit too bright for a first try." He pulled at the jacket a bit and then tried to laugh it off.
It would be a weak excuse, so to speak, to anyone else… but Kawazo was still an academy student. A young one at that.
"I guess," the boy murmured. "But why a playground?"
Right. Well it wasn't like it was a bad thing for Kawazo to know that part. He pointed to Dai and the twins who the man was bringing over to the sandpit where their new friend Rythm was waiting for them with a big grin. "I brought my little brother and sister. Dai-san there is going to watch them for me while I do some shopping."
Kawazo was still frowning as he looked over where he pointed. He expected he would comment about not knowing he had siblings or something along those lines, but that turned out not to be it at all. "Why didn't your parents or a caretaker bring them instead?"
Caretaker.
Well maybe Kawazo figured since he had a clan name they'd have one or two… he was from a clan big enough to have staff for more prominent families. But that he didn't know Minato didn't have parents was a little surprising. In hindsight it shouldn't be however. Kawazo was quite young. It shouldn't be surprising that he didn't know.
"The Namikaze clan is just the three of us actually. Since I'm the only Income I don't have the funds to hire staff," he explained it as evenly as he could while still smiling.
Kawazo looked at him utterly shocked. "I didn't know clans could be that small. Tou-sama says any good shinobi clan has several families at least… I don't think Minato-taicho is a bad shinobi so I thought your clan must be at least that big." He seemed almost apologetic.
It was hard not to let the anger he felt towards the boy's father surface, as it often was when he was mentioned. "Well… He isn't wrong per say," it was hard to admit that. Still it was true. "The smallest a clan can be to be recognized legally is three members. But with so few shinobi out in the field such small clans aren't usually considered indispensable to the village's strength. Most have to make due without whatever such a small clan could bring to the table after all. Even if those few shinobi are good, or great, at being shinobi."
Kawazo listened quietly, and then turned his attention back to watch Makiko and Masato as they played in the sand. Then he looked a little alarmed, looking back at him worriedly. "Are you sure you want to leave your siblings with that man? He is being buried under a mountain of civilian kids… would it not be irresponsible to leave the only other two members of your clan with someone so easily overwhelmed? How can you make your clan a good one if you lose them to his irresponsibility?"
Despite his harsh words, it seemed to him that Kawazo was genuinely concerned. Which would have certainly been the last thing he expected before what he'd witnessed last night. That was the first time he'd seen something that proved the boy had such a capacity, although he was still very awkward about it.
Looking over at Dai he found him to indeed be buried under several kids, but he also could tell the man was focused despite how he was easily entertaining the children. He wasn't worried. Unless a chunin or someone of equal or greater skill came to snatch his siblings, they'd be fine.
Looking back at Kawazo and his intense frown and worried glances towards his siblings the blonde realized he wasn't going to be able to convince him the twins were safe though. But an idea did come to mind. Perhaps the twins were just what Kawazo needed. Yesterday evening he had proven that he did have the capacity to show empathy. And He'd watched the serious Ibushi play a childish game with them just the other day. If they could get a practiced T&I captain to loosen up to that extent then surely they could help Kawazo just be a child.
"He's been very reliable until now," Minato told the boy easily, smiling brightly, though he made himself look like he was hiding a touch of troubled feelings. "But he's never been quite this busy before either… maybe I should get someone to help him out…. I really do have to get my shopping done soon though."
"I could do it!" The boy declared without missing a beat. He hadn't expected him to be quite so… enthusiastic about it. Especially given how he'd handled that one babysitting mission they'd had. Not that it had been bad… he'd saved the kids from being hurt from Tsume's carelessness actually. But he clearly had been very uncomfortable with 'babysitting' kids who were just around his own age.
"Are you sure Kawazo? That would be helpful, but I thought you didn't want to be involved in anything like babysitting again, after that mission?" He looked at the smaller boy 'worriedly'. "Makiko and Masato can be even more of a handful then those kids were. Besides… I think Rythm-san can help out. She's a little older and they like her."
Kawazo looked like he was almost pouting. "I can do it Taicho!"
"If you're sure," he replied, fighting to keep himself from grinning. "Let's introduce you to them then. They won't likely listen to you if I don't tell them they should." That was a bit of a lie. But it was true that he didn't have to worry too much about stranger danger with them. When it came to adults at least. Masato might hold a conversation with just about anyone, but if he wasn't told by him or Minori-san that he should listen to a particular adult he'd already shown that he was prone to yelling at the top of his lungs if an adult tried to get him to take their hand. Unless he was already familiar with them of course.
"Okay… but… uh… which is which?"
He almost laughed. They were dressed in matching rompers, though in different shades, so it wasn't surprising that from here Kawazo couldn't tell them apart. "Makiko is the one with a white streak and dressed in the paler colour. Masato has the brown streak and is in bright orange."
Kawazo nodded, and then took a deep breath before he started over. "Lets… go then…"
Clearly he wasn't so sure about watching them after all. Cute.
He was doing his best not to appear to be breathing heavily, despite how winded he was. Something was clearly going on. It couldn't be coincidental that in the two hours since they'd lost the trial they were following that they'd been attacked a dozen or more times. Or that the attacks had started after they'd sent Orokku to the Hokage. That they came whenever Sakumo tried to summon another ninken. He had eventually been able to do so, telling Jiraiya that there weren't so many of them that they could keep up their vigil and pestering constantly.
But there remained enough of them to try and almost herd them. Away from Konoha.
In a moment of respite he and Sakumo shared a worried glance. The likely reasoning for these assaults was to keep them from finding their original quarry again… or prevent them from returning to Konoha. Quite possibly both.
It was also clear however that they didn't want to confront them directly. Any time Sakumo himself managed to pinpoint one of them they'd scatter, using stink bombs and sound bombs to try and prevent the men from finding them before they hid again. It was more likely a game of delay for them, as if they could kill or capture them up front they would have done so. A game of delay and attrition. Wearing them down.
They couldn't afford to play this game much longer. They'd have to break out… or force them into a head on confrontation. The latter might be easier to accomplish, but it also meant delaying their return even longer. It was clear in Sakumo's eyes that he agreed with him… they needed to get back as soon as possible.
Or at least one of them did.
He could have himself reversed summoned to Konoha… but he couldn't bring Sakumo along with him. None of Sakumo's dogs could do that for him. Hashuro's old pug was the only Hatake ninken who was capable of that, and there was no guarantee the man was in the village now. If he left, that meant leaving Sakumo to fend their attackers off on his own. Could he handle that? Would he be leaving the man to his death if he went?
The toad sage glanced discreetly as he could at the other white haired man, meeting his eye and trying to gauge what he wanted.
The message seemed to be clear.
She wasn't quite sure why she decided to step behind a tree so Minato didn't notice her when he seemed to be looking. But it didn't really matter. She got some good entertainment out of it. She highly doubted that stealth training was the reason why the boy was wearing the horrid colour combination he had on now. So he was clearly too embarrassed about it to tell this boy, Kawazo, the truth.
The small boy was… well a little smaller than she imagined after hearing Minato mutter about him yesterday. But he was just as awkward as Minato had made him sound. It was in a way cute the way he failed miserably to hide his trepidation on going to meet Makiko and Masato.
The fish out of water look on his face he had when the twins tackled him was even better. He looked at Minato begging for help, and when Minato just smiled he'd put on a determined look and tried, fruitlessly, to get the twins to calm down and go back to digging in dirt, as he said it.
Minato looked fit to burst with laughter. She had no idea he had a devious streak! This was quite interesting…. she wouldn't mind seeing more of it.
"Well I've really got to get to my shopping. Thanks for the help Kawazo," He was saying with that smile still in place.
"Y-you can count on me Taicho!" came the muffled response from the black haired boy. She had to muffle her giggle with a hand over her mouth.
Minato then walked, hurriedly, out of the park. While glancing around for her. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, before leaping to the nearest rooftop.
Was he hoping to go change before they went shopping? Then why had he worn that anyway?
The twins must have put him up to it.
She sniggered, and then followed him as quietly as she could, waiting until she was behind him before she spoke. "Are you trying that stealth training now?"
He almost yelped.
She had to reach out to catch him by the shoulder so he didn't tumble off the roof. She hadn't meant to startle him quite that bad… but it was funny nonetheless. More so when she saw the look of embarrassed horror on his face.
"K-Kushina-san! Could you please stop sneaking up on me like that?" His voice was a little squeaky, as if he was forcing himself to say this through nerves. She was actually surprised he had the balls to say it at all.
"Why? It's fun." She answered with a big grin. "So, what's the real reason you're wearing neon orange and green?"
His face flushed, and she wondered if it was possible to make it go as red as her hair. Maybe. He scratched at a cheek nervously and averted his gaze. "Ah… well…. Maki and Masa wanted to… match. They were really insistent. And it was so cute that before I knew it I'd left the house like this."
She didn't bother stopping the bark of laughter. "You're hopeless! To think it just takes them being cute for you to make a complete fool of yourself, ttebane!"
But the tidbit of them wanting to match was interesting. Perhaps useful.
Minato shifted uncomfortably. "I-I guess. Sorry, I should have thought about it more… uh… I don't want you to feel uncomfortable going around with me dressed like… this. So I was just gonna ch-"
She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder again, half to brace herself as she laughed to herself, and half to shut him up. "No no, you've got to stay matching with Maki-chan and Masa-kun. They'd be absolutely devastated if they found out you changed ttebane!"
His face fell further. "Well umm… I was going to… change back. Or henge… before picking them up."
"Oh no, you can't henge ttebane! What if you got startled and came out of it! Or someone let slip that you changed. You absolutely have to wear it, Minato-kun." She kept insisting while cackling with glee on the inside. His face coloured further now, and he looked as if he was desperately trying to think himself out of it. "I mean it's sooo obvious to everyone ttebane. Even I could accidentally give it away if you changed."
He groaned, but seemed to give up his efforts to protest, shoulders slumping in defeat.
She did feel a bit bad for him. Only a little.
"Anyway. Let's get shopping for them. We can find something matching that won't make you look like such a disaster ttebane." She smiled at him sweetly now "Maybe then you won't have to do this again, okay?"
Alright… the look of thank-fullness and relief on his face at those words made her feel more guilty.
Just a smidge.
Tsunade was fit to burst after watching Kushina purposefully hide from Minato and clearly watch him as he interacted with the little boy. Danzo's son if she remembered correctly. She'd delivered the boy because that man had managed to drive his wife into premature labor through stress and then claimed she was just making too much fuss out of false labor pains, to the point she'd left and staggered out into the street looking for someone who would believe her. She'd just been passing by when it happened, and it was lucky she had been or the woman would have had her premature baby right there in the street without any trained assistance. As it was she still had her baby in the back of a sweets shop and then Tsunade had had to leave her there while another Med nin had arrived on the scene so she could get the tiny baby boy to the hospital and into the NICU.
Tsunade couldn't help but absolutely abhor Danzo for that. Even more so because he convinced his wife to defend him. Some bullshit about him telling her how sorry he was and he'd allow her to take their son out for childish activities from time to time (until he made genin) to make up for it. She was none too happy with the woman for accepting something like that either… she, her son, or both of them could easily have died that day.
Seeing the boy now, so clearly unable to act like the child he was, reminded her of that anger, as much as it was amusing to watch him struggle with the twins as he was left by Minato. It marred her amusement as she noticed Kushina pursuing the boy, likely intending to tease him and give him a bit of a scare.
He was much too young to have such a hard time interacting with other children. It wasn't like he was a Nara, or otherwise a genius. The only reason he would have such a difficult time connecting with any children, as he was clearly struggling with the Lee girl as well as any other children that came up to them, came down to how he had been raised until now. Danzo may hold most of the responsibility for that, but the boy's mother was also guilty for letting it happen.
She glanced over at the woman who was currently laughing and, probably, gossiping with some other mothers. She hadn't even glanced after her son once that she could tell since he'd left her side.
In fact most of the other mothers there didn't appear to be looking over much to check on their children either. The ones over there had a more civilian-like feel to them, and were likely just that.
Konoha had a problem. If this was how their next generation of shinobi was being raised, then they hadn't much progressed since the foundation of the village…
Okay, that was a little cynical of her to think, she realized. It was worlds better than it had been back in those days. Back when she was a child too. She'd become a shinobi at six… but that still happened on occasion in recent years…. They still had this problem. This wasn't the dream that her Grandfather had had for the village. Not yet.
They had to do better for the next generations.
With a sigh Tsunade shook her head and started making her way over towards where the twins were now trying to get Kawazo to dig a hole with them.
There was a screech overhead.
He didn't know what to think about this new boy. Kawazo. He seemed rather stiff. And the name was somehow familiar. He couldn't put a finger on what was so familiar about it. Just that it made him feel simultaneously sorrowful and furious. It was a little difficult at first to hide it, but he was managing he thought.
I didn't think he'd be quite that embarrassed… maybe we went too far? Makiko was thinking as she paused for a moment in her efforts to shove a shovel into the new boy's hand.
He had to keep himself from looking at her and continuing to dig down into the sand instead. I don't think we did. It was funny… and he'll get over it. It's just bright orange and green clothes ya know. It's not like we made him dye his hair or something. He can just go take it off and change back before he comes to pick us up.
At least if it was him and he'd somehow been made to dress in something embarrassing that's what he'd try and do. It wasn't like he couldn't just do that. Or henge if he needed to. They'd be able to tell if he did, but it wasn't like he knew that.
"Masato if you keep digging you will hit clay," Kawazo spoke up as he continued to try and avoid the shove Maki was trying to get him to take. Of course the boy didn't know that he was fully aware of that fact… and honestly was a little curious if he could dig that far down. His arms weren't that long. Besides, it would offer another medium for them to 'play' with to appear the children they were.
"Cu-lay?" He and Maki questioned together. Kawazo looked at a loss of what to say in a way of explanation.
"It's a wet sticky sort of dirt," Ri-Ri spoke up instead. "You can mold it into shapes really easily! But it might get stuck on your clothes and that's not fun."
They looked at each other as if they weren't quite sure what had been explained to them. Maki tilted her head, and then more insistently shoved the plastic shovel at Kawazo. "Show!"
"You heard Rythm-san, you could make a mess of your clothes," the boy tried, pushing the shovel back. "Why don't we play on the swings instead? They are free now."
Well now… it seemed he'd learned something in the short time they'd been together. Follow a no with a yes.
"Show!" "Swings!"
Masato blinked, having thought Makiko would follow along and let their 'fixation' be shifted. She had just expressed a concern of embarrassing their brother too much…
That's Ni-san. This is different. Kawazo deserves it… I feel. I mean who the hell is he? Why can't I remember. Her thoughts sounded infinitely frustrated. Similar to how he felt on the subject. But now they'd disagreed. So he still turned to glare at her.
"Swings!" Show!"
It was hard not to burst out laughing, as now they were clearly on the same page. Kawazo looked between them at a loss, and Ri-Ri was frowning thoughtfully.
"Can I have your shovel Masato?" She asked, holding out her hand for it. "I'll show you some clay and then we can go over to the swings. Kawazo-san can go save them for us, right?"
Kawazo looked torn. A mix of relief, and some other emotion. After a moment though, he nodded and got to his feet. "Okay, just don't take too long Rythm-san."
"Clay!" Makiko was chirping happily as Rythm dug down into the hole he'd been digging in, the pile of sand next to it growing more quickly than it had been for him. Maki clapped her hands as she watched, continuing to chant the word as if she was absolutely ecstatic she was going to see some clay.
He decided to let her handle the show for now, piping up in feigned excitement occasionally but otherwise concentrating on everything else around them. How many people were present. How many of the adults seemed to have some level of shinobi training. The fact that he was pretty sure Tsunade had been there a few moments ago but was just gone now.
As well as wracking his brain for why the name Kawazo was so familiar. Just where had he heard it before? He was sure he hadn't known a Kawazo, from Konoha at least, or he would have remembered it by now…
A name he'd read perhaps?
"Here we go. This is clay," Ri-Ri was saying, and he refocused his attention on her to see she had already managed to unearth a fist sized ball of the stuff. Impressive. She was even lightly pushing it into a shape… was that a rib?
He started laughing despite himself.
"Clay rib!" Maki announced through her own giggles.
Ri-ri flushed a bit, and then laughed it off. "I guess it does look like a rib. Anyway, let's go to the swings, alright?"
"Kay!"
He got up and brushed some sand off his knees as Makiko did the same. Ri-ri regarded her hands for a moment before shrugging and wiping them on the sides of her pants. Then she held a hand out to each of them. He reached out to grab the offered hand, knowing she had decided since she was the oldest she was responsible for them, not Kawazo.
Why do you think Ni-san brought him over anyway? He found himself asking his sister absently.
There was no response.
"Maki?" Ri-ri questioned, looking over to the other girl. Or where she should have been. She had just been there!
"Maki?!"
That was when the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. His gut told him of danger, and he had no idea what it was.
He screamed.
Fugaku had been making his usual rounds, checking on those who were guarding various children or injured shinobi who the Hokage had designated needed the 'protection'. Sometimes when he saw the children carelessly playing away he wondered as to why this was necessary. Or when he watched them with their clearly talented and protective parents as they walked through the streets.
But there had been a few instances where he had been thankful that the Hokage had asked them to do so. Mostly it had been unrelated to them being a minor clan and being targeted for some reason do to that. Rather drunkards. Kids getting lost. Small things like that. Things that were bound to happen and usually weren't big deals… if it wasn't for the fact that those involved were shinobi.
They'd saved one little boy a week ago from being snagged up by a drunk shinobi who had thought he was talking to a young girl and not an even younger boy. That man had obviously been arrested and held on suspicions of having predatory intentions toward a child.
Then there was the time a little girl had wandered right out of the village and had gotten lost. Or rather she probably would have been hopelessly lost if his subordinates hadn't been on her tale and the moment she started crying they'd approached her. It had taken some gentle coaxing to get her to come back to the village with them. Which was actually a good thing. They didn't want their shinobi children just going off with anyone.
Still there had been a handful of cases that had been relevant to the reason the Hokage deemed these kids needed protection. Like when the Uzumaki girl had first arrived in the village. She'd nearly been snatched right out of the Senju estate.
The time before that had been when he'd been one of those doing this groundwork protection service though. Before that, this arrangement with the police force hadn't started and this was purely anbu work.
A lot of children had gone missing. It might have been unrelated to their clans… but missing children were still missing children.
As dry as this work normally was for his subordinates, it was good work. If they handled it right it might even begin to mend the straining bonds between them and the rest of the village.
Still he hated checking up on his underlings in the field, almost as much as he hated the paperwork this job required. Nothing exciting ever happened whenever he came by. That was a good thing he knew… that their charges were well protected. Safe from abduction and any other possible harm.
But it might have been only a matter of time before someone struck out at one of their many charges again.
It had been a very routine morning. No anomalies to report. Children right where they should be. Happy. Healthy. Safe.
All of that was shattered when he heard a scream while he was speaking with officer Kurumi who'd been assigned to their latest pair of charges.
The Uchiha instantly went on high alert. Yes, children could scream and shout when they played, and they were right by a park. But this wasn't that sort of scream. This was clearly a fearful one. And it had to do with their charges, he was certain.
And the moment one of his officers appeared out of the park to report to him, he knew he was right.
"Fugaku-sama, A shinobi of at least Chunin level has snatched Makiko Namikaze. Kajitsu is in pursuit."
How the fuck had they gotten into the village, passed anbu patroles, and then passed his own police to do that?
He wanted to be furious with the man reporting to him, but now was not the time for it. "Kurumi, Otake, on the boy, Kokonoe report to the Hokage. Hento, Toriumi, with me."
"Yes sir!"
Word count: 8069
To the Reviewers:
Riku Uzumaki : It absolutely does, but before its arrival here's the smallest of tates for you, mixed with some cute and a healthy portion of tension.
