*rising like Mushu in Mulan* I LIIIIIIIVE.
Hello everyone! :D I hope you're all doing fine!
Do you know this feeling, when you see a scene just like a movie in your head, but when you try to write it, it's... Not like a movie? Yeah. That's what I've been feeling this whole chapter. Whenever I wanted to develop a scene, I'd finish it in 5 lines. And then I'd write 2 whole pages that I hadn't predicted at all. Ahh, the fine and very confusing art of Writing.
Huge thanks to Yasumin J for beta-reading this chapter! :D
.
Chapter 7
.
Rays of sunshine were filtering through Naruto's window, illuminating her room with a soft light, while the sounds of birds chirping reached her ears as she slowly came to consciousness. She groaned quietly, her eyes fluttering in a sleepy daze, and she wondered if her alarm clock had rung that morning. She didn't remember hearing it, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time that she would have missed it.
Rolling on her stomach, she realized that her arm had been tingling ever since she had woken up, and when her eyes trailed on it, she caught sight of dots of black on her tanned skin.
She blinked slowly, her mind having trouble registering what she was seeing.
And then, she opened her eyes, fully awake.
I'm back. Good morning, Soulmate of Mine.
Her heart started to beat profusely, the words on her arm imprinting in her head. She read his message, again and again, a wide grin spreading on her lips, and she let out an excited squeal as she buried her face in her pillows, laughing and wiggling one leg up and one leg down alternatively.
I'm back.
He was back. Finally! Finally!
Good morning,
She wanted to wake up to this message every morning.
Soulmate of Mine.
She squealed again and screamed in her pillow, her smile so wide and bright that her cheeks hurt.
These were her new favorite words.
Hurriedly, she grabbed a brush on her nightstand, and with a delighted smile, she wrote down the answer she had always dreamt of saying.
Welcome back!
.
.
.
"Why the library? It's so boring!" Naruto whined. "Do we really have to go?"
Ino was rolling her eyes from behind her, and with her hands on Naruto's back, she pushed her even more forcefully at the front of the building. "Yeah, we do."
Beside them, Sakura let out an amused giggle. "It won't take too long," she reassured. "At least, I'll try," she added as an afterthought and threw an apologetic smile at the spiky-haired blonde. "I just want to check some information about ninja specialties. You don't have to come, you know."
Naruto pouted, her arms crossed. "Of course I'm coming, dattebayo. Let's just not stay too long, I don't like this place," she muttered.
"I'll just borrow a book, I can read in the forest!"
With a nod, Naruto followed after her, Ino walking right behind her.
She never went to the library. It was uninteresting and dull, she couldn't make any noise, and reading was tiring. Training was much more fun! She didn't understand how Sakura-chan could eat that many books willingly and actually like it. Although Ino-chan did take the reading seriously, she much preferred practicing, just like Naruto. Sakura-chan was incredible.
When they arrived at the front desk, the librarian smiled at them. Her eyes seemed to stop for a moment on Naruto, but she turned back her gaze eventually to Ino who was standing before her friends.
"Hello," Ino greeted, "we're academy students and we'd like to borrow some books on ninja-specialties, please."
The woman nodded. "A moment," she asked before she opened a drawer beside her and took a huge book from it.
Naruto stared at it with wide eyes. She was getting a headache by just looking at it. It couldn't be the book Sakura-chan was looking for, right?!
"Your names?" the lady inquired as she grabbed a pencil and opened the book.
Oh. It wasn't.
As Ino answered her, Naruto realized that because she hadn't come back since the beginning of the year, she had forgotten that they had to sign up their names at the entry of the library every time they set foot in there. And if she recalled correctly…
"First year, class B, Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. You may come in," the librarian informed before raising her head. "However, there is no Uzumaki Naruto. Did you mean Naruko?"
Naruto cringed. She could see Sakura's and Ino's confused expressions, but she pretended not to notice them. "Yeah," she muttered, "that's me."
With a nod, the lady wrote in her book and told them that they were all allowed in, and Naruto obeyed hurriedly.
"Wait up!"
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Naruto, ninja-related books are on the other side!"
Sakura's last sentence made her stop in her track. Ugh, she really never came here.
Turning back to see her friends who had stopped right in front of her, she tried to smile and let out a sheepish laugh.
"Eh, 'that so? Where is it then, dattebayo?"
Ino put both her hands on her hips and stared at her with a serious expression. "First off, you have to explain to us what happened at the front desk."
Of course, she wouldn't let it slide, huh.
"Your name is Naruko?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows knitted in confusion.
Swallowing, Naruto looked away and buried her hands in her pockets. "It's not important. It's not interesting."
Sakura approached her and grabbed one of her arms in a supportive manner. "Naruto, it's about you. We're friends, so we have to know. It doesn't matter if it's not interesting."
"And it's about your name," Ino insisted as she leaned towards her earnestly.
Feeling a familiar warmth spreading in her body, Naruto started to relax.
It wasn't a subject that she was used to talking about, but these were her friends. She had no need to be so shady about it, right? It wasn't like they would mock her or make fun of her. Since she had first become friends with them, they had always been supportive after all.
Reasoning with herself, she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, and she finally looked up at the girls staring at her curiously and yet, they were still patiently waiting for her answer.
"It's, um, it's a bit complicated. On the papers, my name is Uzumaki Naruko. The old man told me once that it means "thunderstorm" and he's the one who chose the name for me. So, I asked why my mom and dad didn't name me," she stopped to bite the corner of her lower lip. She was thinking of them a lot lately; usually, the old man would shush her immediately whenever she would mention them. "I annoyed him a lot so that he'd tell me-ttebayo, he doesn't like it when I talk about them, but he said that he only knew the name they chose for a boy. He told me that if I was a boy, my name would be Naruto, which means "maelstrom". So, he chose a name for me that sounds alike and has a similar meaning, but, well… It's not the name they gave me…" She trailed off and drew out her hands to cross her arms and hug herself. "So, um, I told him that I wanted to be called Naruto and that's the name I use now."
She wondered if it sounded stupid. Being so hung up on a name that wasn't really hers would probably make no sense, but she couldn't help it.
"Now that I think about it," Sakura responded carefully, "on the first day, Iruka-sensei called you by the wrong name and you kept correcting him."
"But Naruko's girlier. Don't you like it?"
Naruto shrugged uneasily and looked down. "I have nothing from my parents. At least, I want the name they chose for me. I don't care if it's not girly."
Seeing that her eyes were focused on the floor, she just saw their feet moving before she was engulfed in a tight double-hug, which drew from her a squeal of surprise.
"Alright, Naruto, then!"
"What about Naru? Is it fine if you're called by a nickname?"
Naruto blinked. Huh?
"It's short for both Naruto and Naruko. This way, people won't wonder about it when they see your name on the paper, and it's still a nickname for your parents' name!" Sakura-chan explained.
"Oh…" Naruto eyed them in wonder. "Yeah… That's fine, dattebayo."
She just got a nickname.
She liked that.
They both let go of her before they proceeded to drag her to the side of the library they were aiming for.
"By the way, who's this old man you're talking about?"
Naruto glanced at Ino and shrugged, nonchalantly this time. "Just an old man that brings me my allowance each month and takes me out to eat sometimes. Though we went to the theatre too, and the Hokage mountain, and we fished in the forest once, it was fun. Oh, and," she added as she grabbed her chin with her forefinger, "he's the Hokage."
She hadn't expected the gasps that greeted her answer.
"Hokage-sama?!"
"The old man you hang out with is the Hokage?"
"How come you know him so well?"
"Uh… I guess he does that 'cause I'm an orphan, dattebayo?"
Sakura opened her mouth in amazement. "You think he does that with every orphan?"
"I… dunno?" Naruto's answer sounded more like a question.
The old man didn't really talk about other children, but he usually told her long speeches about the village and how it's family and she should respect the villagers. (Even if they were bastards sometimes.) So, she had guessed that he visited not only the orphans but every other villager? Now that she thought about it, she didn't know him that well. She didn't mind it though; she just liked spending time with him. Most of the time, he was nice to her, he'd get her food and he'd listen to her with a smile. That was nice and it always made her feel warm and safe.
"What about your parents? Were they ninjas?"
"Oh, yeah," Naruto replied, glad that it was at least an answer that she had. "They died when I was a baby, during the Kyūbi attack. I don't know anything else about them, but Gramps says that they're heroes."
Ino's frown told her that she wasn't satisfied with her explanation. "Nothing else? What about their names?"
"Um, I dunno that… I've stopped asking though," Naruto stated, before turning her head to Sakura in an attempt to change the subject of their conversation. "Anyway, where's the book you're looking for?"
"Oh, right! It should be in the Organization Aisle!"
After granting her answer with a nod, Naruto followed after her.
She didn't notice the thoughtful gleam in her other friend's eyes.
.
.
.
When Inoichi had suggested to Shikaku and Choza to have a picnic on the Nara grounds with their kids, the Nara Clan leader had merely raised an eyebrow at the unusual request. When Inoichi had forgotten to bring Ino with him, Shikaku's whole being went on alert, hoping that his friend was just being a drama queen and that the news that he had to share wasn't as bad as his mind was telling him they would be. Consequently, they had left both Shikamaru and Choji in the main family's garden, probably to eat and to watch the clouds, and the fathers had headed to the Nara Forest. Being located on the Nara Clan's territory, no one was allowed on them without the clan's permission, not even Konoha's higher-ups. The fact that Inoichi had suggested to have a meeting there spoke volumes of the secretive nature of the matter that he wished to discuss.
And it was, indeed. Secretive, considerably dangerous and highly disturbing.
First, learning that Shimura Danzo was raising children together before ordering them to kill each other as a test had made him feel cold, although it didn't exactly surprise him coming from the war hawk. Shikaku had been elected as the Jonin Commander not only for his sharp mind, his strategist abilities and his ways of commanding his men to victory, but also because he never counted on the sacrifice of his men and he valued all of their lives equally. His role as a leader was to ensure that they could protect their home effectively, and come back to said home. Every death was a huge failure to him, one that he wouldn't be able to sleep with for some time. How exactly would Konoha be any different from Kiri if they used the same barbaric ways of training their ninjas as the Mizukage had established, despite promoting the Will of Fire and the importance of teamwork? Even if it did fit the councilor, Shikaku couldn't fathom the fact that the Hokage would tolerate such an attitude. Either Danzo was acting in secret, or they didn't know Sarutobi Hiruzen as well as they thought they did.
By his side, Choza, on the other hand, was fuming. Out of the three of them, he was the most sensitive to children's well being, and knowing that they were being broken on purpose for the 'sake' of the village was inadmissible.
Secondly, the part about Yamanaka Fuu, who had been put under Danzo's wing a few years ago, hadn't surprised Shikaku that much either, although he understood his friend's concern. After finding out about Danzo's dubious schemes, Inoichi had wanted to obtain information from Fuu about ROOT. The boy's behaviour had somehow ticked off his Clan Head, and after investigating more thoroughly, being the expert of the mind that he was, Inoichi discovered that a forbidden seal had been placed on the teen's tongue to enslave him to the Councilor. Even if Fuu worked for ROOT and answered to Danzo, it was badly frowned upon to have a clan member be controlled by a seal. A ninja had to obey their leader no matter what, on their own free will. If a seal had to be placed on them to command their behaviour, it could be tolerated if the ninja had agreed to it; but in the case of clan members, the Clan Head's agreement was required, and such a request would most likely be refused because it questioned the member's and, by extension, the clan's loyalty. If Shikaku recalled correctly, Shibi's nephew had also been taken under Danzo's wing; he would have to dig into that.
Aside from the grim news though, the hardest part to process was the fact that everything had started through Ino's Soulmate Link.
For the sake of his sanity, he decided to come back to that special detail later, and discuss the most pressing news.
But before that...
"You do know that you are trespassing on the Nara Clan's land, don't you, Kakashi?"
The sound of foliage resonated in the clearing, and the silhouette of the silver-haired jōnin in ANBU gear seated on a tree branch, his back against the trunk, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Tch, how many times would he have to tell him that the ANBU uniform wasn't supposed to be worn outside of work. What a troublesome brat.
Kakashi tilted his head towards him, and he actually had to nerves to look confused. "Hm? Did I get lost again?"
He was so lucky that Shikaku had a soft spot for him.
Beside him, his teammates had tensed, but that was to be expected. Other than the fact that the Nara Forest was usually a secure place, and thus that both Inoichi and Choza had the tendency to lower their guards there, Kakashi was also one of the most skilled people when it came to chakra suppressing. But the Nara Forest was special in the fact that every shadow within it was embedded in chakra, and Shikaku had each signature memorized, be it of trees' or deers'. Therefore, as soon as Kakashi's shadow superposed against the tree's he had landed on, the Nara Head had located him.
No one could hide from Shikaku on his own territory.
"What do you want?" Shikaku asked, his stare evaluating every micro-expression the trespasser could let on. He wasn't one for beating around the bush.
Kakashi dangled his feet in a seemingly nonchalant way, but the way he straightened his back told Shikaku that he was getting into some serious business. "A cute little flower told me some interesting information, but I didn't understand all of it, and I thought: who better than a Yamanaka Florist could show me how to decipher the language of flowers?"
.
.
.
The day had started well.
"I don't want to see you here again, you hear me, brat?!"
Until it had happened again.
Seated on the ground, Naruto stared in shock at the shopkeeper.
She had been walking down the street with Ino and Sakura when her attention had suddenly been drawn by masks showcased in a shop window. She had let out a squeal without realizing it and tried to decide which ones she could get for a future course of disguise at school. Kunoichi classes were focusing more and more on making the girls learn how to look pretty and unnoticeable. Although she didn't really understand why a pretty girl would want not to draw attention, she definitely understood the concept of not letting anyone recognize her (to prank them better).
She had been so focused on the choices of masks that she hadn't noticed the man coming out of the shop, and he hadn't lost a moment to scold her vociferously. When she had tried to explain that she was just looking, he had thrown one of the masks at her and told her to scamp off. She had been so surprised that she had fallen backwards, the mask landing right before her feet.
Why did this happen again?
"Naruto!"
The voices of her friends made her focus on them, and she blinked, perturbed about how she was supposed to react.
Both Ino and Sakura had run back to her and were looking at her with worry; Sakura-chan had crouched beside her and Ino-chan was helping her stand up.
"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, her voice quivering.
Ino turned towards the man who was still standing at the doorstep of his shop and threw a fierce glare at him. "What's wrong with you?! What was that?"
If the shopkeeper first seemed startled by the children's intervention, he quickly sobered up and frowned at the blonde heiress. "You should go back to your parents, kid. Don't approach that," he scowled before going back inside of the shop without further addition.
Naruto winced, a hot, disagreeable feeling spreading in her back. Usually, she would have screamed, thrown insulting comebacks and tried to defend herself before running away, angry and frustrated, but… The fact that the girls had to witness it this time made her feel… ashamed, somehow.
A warm sensation wrapped her hand and she suddenly noticed that Sakura was holding her hand tightly in hers. Her lips were pinched downwards and she had her gaze fixated on her, full of concern and confusion.
Standing in front of them, almost protectively, Ino was throwing a dirty look at the shop, her fists closed and shaking. "Just what is his problem? That reaction was Ami-level!" she cried, her eyes burning in anger.
She turned round towards her friends, and a look of determination crossed her face.
"We'll avenge you, Naru," Ino promised. "He doesn't know what he just got himself into."
.
.
.
Ino had never been to the Konoha Police Station. She knew that it was run by Sasuke-kun's family and that the Konoha Military Police Force had to protect the civilians and keep order within the village; but she had never been arrested, since she had never committed any crime, and apparently, vandalizing a shop by throwing paint at the windows and at the merchandise and drawing in hungry cats with treats inside the shop constituted a crime.
However, she thought that Konoha should review the rules of criminality, because the only criminal there had been the man who had attacked Naruto when she was only observing the very displayed products. Ino was angry right now, and her frustration kept growing each time her friend was confronted with another unfair treatment. First, Sakura's parents had said that she shouldn't befriend her at all, the annoying bullies always attacked Naruto verbally by repeating apparently whatever their parents had said, and now a merchant had dared to attack her physically? No. She may not understand what was going on exactly with those people, but she wouldn't be the Yamanaka Heiress if she let anyone lay their hands on one of her best friends!
So, even if she had never committed a crime before, and she had never been taken to the Konoha Police Station, she had followed the policeman who had summoned her, her head high, and she didn't regret her actions in the least. And if they had any comment to make, she would show them just who they were dealing with.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see that Sakura had ducked her head, her cheeks red, and her hands crossed behind her back. She could understand that, after all, she was still a shy girl, so it was expected that she would feel nervous and put out by the situation. Moreover, Sakura was from a civilian family; they didn't take the fact of being summoned by the Uchiha Police lightly. Well, Ino didn't either, but she was headstrong, and she knew that she took that after her dad. If she explained the situation to him, he would stand by her side, she was sure of it (he better!); she wasn't so sure about Sakura's parents' reactions though, seeing that they had already told her to cut ties with Naruto.
On the other hand, Naruto seemed to be a regular guest of the Police Station.
"What did I tell you about your pranks?" the chief asked, blasé, his eyes bore into Naruto's.
Letting out a cheeky laugh, Naruto rubbed the back of her head and grinned sheepishly. "Um, a good ninja doesn't get caught, 'ttebayo?"
"And…?" he waited, his arms crossed, staring strictly at her, but for some reason, he didn't look angry.
"Uh, I got distracted, I think?"
"You think," the man repeated in a monotone voice, before closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly. "You'll have to work harder on your concentration if you want to be a good ninja." Then, he turned his attention to both Ino and Sakura. "You, however, are new heads around here. Did she drag you into her unconventional plans?"
Sakura's blush deepened, and so did Ino's frown.
"It was my idea," Ino corrected. If he was going to blame Naruto for no reason, she would throw a tantrum. And her dad always said that she had been graced with the sweetest, shrillest voice that he had ever heard.
The policeman focused on Ino. "Explain."
Ino crossed her arms and raised her chin, mirroring the man without letting his hard look deter her. "He was at fault. He insulted an innocent customer and threw an object at her when she was looking from outside of the window shop. I decided to teach him a lesson." After a pause, she added, "Naruto just helped slightly because I asked her to."
She wouldn't drag Sakura in this case if it would cause problems with her parents.
The man seemed to be thinking about her words as he glanced silently at Naruto, but his gaze suddenly shifted to the door of his office; and when she looked in the same direction, all the tension in her body vanished.
"Daddy!"
Her father greeted her with a smile, and she grinned back at him before he exchanged a nod with the policeman; some kind of Man Greeting?
"Inoichi-sama."
"Fugaku-sama."
Oh! Her dad and the chief knew each other apparently. Obviously, Ino mused; her father most likely knew every shinobi of Konohagakure.
"My apologies for the impromptu summon," Fugaku (the police chief, then) began, not really sounding sorry in Ino's opinion. "I thought that you'd be interested in your daughter's vandalization acts."
Ino cringed. Oh, no, he wouldn't make her be the bad guy in the story, she wouldn't let him! She could already feel her father's disapproving stare, but she knew that she was right.
She didn't have the time to defend her position though, before Fugaku-sama, the Shodai Hokage-sama's ghost bless him, came to her rescue. "However, it would seem that she was defending a civilian who had been unjustly abused and your daughter just happened to use… a peculiar way of doing so."
Inoichi blinked in surprise. "I… see," he answered hesitantly. "My deepest apologies for the trouble Ino has caused you." He bowed his head in respect, apparently troubled.
"There won't be any charges this time, not even for you, Naruto," the chief added as he glanced at the spiky-haired blonde.
Ino's blood boiled at the special aim. "Why Naruto specifically?" she shouted. She was having absolutely no patience with this treatment. "And here I was thinking you were a cool guy!"
"Ino!" Inoichi gasped in concealed horror, or surprise, or amazement; whichever, she'd deal with that.
Fugaku raised an eyebrow at the intervention but focused his attention on her nonetheless. "Naruto, specifically," he repeated calmly, "because I gave her way too many warnings already, and most of the time, her pranks are done as a pastime."
"Hey!" Naruto whined, "I got better lately, 'ttebayo!"
"You did," Fugaku agreed with a slight nod, "until Satoru brought you back here. Again. Your criminal record is getting quite full, young lady."
"Oh." Naruto looked away and straightened her back, an innocent expression appearing suddenly on her face.
Ino blinked repeatedly. Oh, indeed. So, Fugaku-sama wasn't being unfair. This was good then. If she noticed any other real criminals abusing a civilian like he had said (namely, Naruto) and her dad wasn't available, the Police Chief would definitely hear about it. She would just be helping him doing his job well anyway.
"I won't be so lenient if there ever is a next time, though," he warned. "Understood?"
No problem. The police would be doing the job for her. She was fine with that.
"Yeah, dattebayo!" Naruto agreed with a grin.
"Understood," Ino smiled with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
Sakura just nodded with a smile. Speaking of which…
"Did you also call Sakura's parents?"
At Ino's question, the Chief's attention turned to Inoichi, an unspoken conversation seeming to go between them.
"About that," Fugaku began, "since this is your first time, I considered calling only one parent to pick you up. I believe that Inoichi-sama is familiar with the three of you. Seeing that you are free of any charges, Sakura-kun's parents aren't required this time."
If Ino had to give her opinion about the matter, she would say that her dad was blinking very slowly, just like when Shikaku-ojisan would be talking about stuff that he didn't understand at all but he wouldn't want to admit it.
Instead, she focused on Sakura who let out a sigh of relief. Although she was determined to keep her friendship with Naruto, she could get in trouble if her parents ever found out about it. So, for now, they had agreed that it was better to keep it a secret from them.
Good. Sakura was still a sprout that hadn't bloomed yet. She had to take the time she needed to build up the confidence to take over the world with the beauty of the flower she'd become. Until then, Ino would make sure that nothing would tarnish her growth; not even her parents' wrong judgment.
.
.
.
When an Uchiha policeman had come to fetch him because, somehow, Ino had gotten involved in a matter that included the police, Inoichi had almost fainted. If Danzo had found out about his daughter's knowledge of his affairs, he couldn't predict his future actions.
Thankfully, his only worry had to be his daughter's sense of justice that had pushed her to take action against a civilian, who didn't wield the arts of manipulation and killing, and the situation had been solved rather quickly and with no lasting consequences; at least, not at first glance.
He wasn't exactly surprised by Ino's behaviour. She had first befriended Sakura by defending her against bullies. Now that she had also become friends with Uzumaki Naruto, of course, she wouldn't stand back if the bullies so happened to be adults and their victim was the resident jinchūriki of Konoha. Still, to see her talking back to the Uchiha Clan Leader in order to defend her friend was a trial for his heart. Deep inside, he couldn't help his pride from swelling at the realization that Ino was already so fierce and loyal to her friends, but she definitely had more guts than he did at her age. He wasn't so sure that he would have gotten this defensive for Shikaku or Chōza when he was six.
However, what had surprised him the most in that meeting was probably Fugaku-sama's reactions to the children. In hindsight, he was most likely used to Naruto's situation and to dealing with the issues her reputation brought, but he hadn't expected him to avoid calling up Sakura's parents just because civilians were renowned for acting more exceedingly at her condition. (Well, not all ninjas were that much better most of the time, but his friends were just indifferent to her, so he comforted himself by thinking of their attitude instead).
In private, Fugaku-sama had told him that the Hokage would be informed by this little incident and that he would probably take action in that regard. Which meant that he might hear about this event from Hokage-sama soon enough; after all, he was sure that their leader would always be interested in the jinchūriki's relationships and he had been waiting for the conversation ever since Ino came back home one day telling them that she had made a new friend while she was searching for her soulmate. That had both been the best and worst day of his life. Ino had finally given up on her crush on the Uchiha kid, but she had also apparently found the one that Fate had chosen for her. Why his mother had corrupted his daughter so, he had moaned; she had also told him about this story of Soulmates Bound For Life, but in a world where death and territory limitations prevailed, a perfect partner that the world linked them to had little importance; their experiences in life were what forged their deepest bonds.
On the other hand, Ino's newfound friendship hadn't posed a problem to him. As long as her companions were as faithful to her as she was to them, he was glad for the bonds she made; and Naruto seemed to be a sweet child.
As he walked beside the girls, having agreed to take them all back home, he listened with a distracted ear to their conversation.
"What kind of punishment does he usually give you?" Sakura asked, her shyness evaporated.
Naruto scratched the back of her head, her pupils directed upwards as she pondered her question. "I usually have to sit and copy the rules of the code of criminals, from the Konoha Police Book."
Inoichi snorted silently. The criminal code. Not a bad idea.
"But I get food too, there's always a box full of onigiris and sweets on the Chief's desk."
His eyebrows shot upwards at the confession. Fugaku-sama was more soft-hearted than he had first thought. Now that he thought about it, he did have a soft spot for Uzumaki Kushina. Most people thought that they hated each other and couldn't bear to be in the other's presence, but Yondaime-sama had been fairly adamant in the fact that they got along too well and that he envied their close friendship. Most people had only heard of Kushina's constant pranks in the Police Station or her loud threats and insults for the Uchiha Clan Head, and of Fugaku-sama's prayers for his wife to finally see the light about the Habanero's madness and his tendency to lose his temper whenever she was in the vicinity. But, in retrospect, Uchiha Fugaku wouldn't be openly vocal about any kind of feeling he could arbour towards anyone he didn't feel close to and, despite Kushina's usual friendliness, she wouldn't go out of her way to annoy someone for whom she felt no fondness.
At the thought of those few burrowed memories, a wistful smile crossed Inoichi's face.
Who could have thought back then that their beloved Yondaime and his wife would leave the world so abruptly?
His focus was subconsciously drawn to the last remnant of their legacy. Actually, he was more grateful for his daughter's relationship with their child than he had first realized.
After dropping both Sakura and Naruto at their respective homes, Inoichi started to walk towards the Yamanaka compound, Ino trailing soon after him. She seemed to ponder for a moment before she grabbed his hand timidly.
Raising an eyebrow at her caution, he watched her silently, waiting to hear whatever was on her mind.
"Daddy… You know, I still think that what I did was right," she started, before continuing hesitantly. "But, you're really not… angry with me?"
Inoichi's gaze softened at her question, and he squeezed her hand tightly in his. "Ino, darling, my days have become infinitely busier lately thanks to your blissful existence, but I am proud of you," he reassured her. "This being said, I expect you to act less on impulse next time, and actually go look for help if such an incident ever happens again." At her nod, he promptly added, "So. Do you care to explain to me how exactly you managed to get that much paint inside the shopkeeper's clothes in such a short time?"
Her eyes lit up at the request. "Oh, that was Naru's idea! You have to hear about this!"
.
.
.
The sounds in the busy streets of Konohagakure were like a sweet melody to Shisui's ears. Kusagakure had been nice to discover, but he was definitely glad to be back in his home village. He had missed the feel of the rays of the sun warming up his skin, the fresh wind blowing in his hair, the smell of leaves and trees and nature. But more than anything, Shisui had missed his family.
Upon returning to Konoha, he had spent all day long with his mother, helping her around her shop. Despite being a retired kunoichi, Uchiha Ryoko couldn't stay still. It was understandable; seeing that she had been an active woman her whole life, she had to keep herself busy; and when Shisui had become old enough to go on missions (at the old age of six, during the war), she had decided to start up a small business, by selling out handmade bento boxes. She had quite a few regulars, be it children whose parents were too busy to cook homemade meals for, bachelors who didn't take the time to cook for themselves, or orphans who had found themselves alone after the war and didn't have given caretakers, living either in the Uchiha Orphanage or by themselves. Most of her customers were from the ninja profession though, and being a kunoichi herself, she knew the perfect rations to put in a meal. She sold her bento boxes quite cheap, working more as a hobby than to truly earn her life, and sometimes, she would give culinary lessons to the most motivated ones.
The day when he had come back, she had to cook early in the morning, as per her usual schedule, and since Shisui's team had taken the time to rest the day before coming back, he had been well-rested upon his arrival in the early morning. His mother had been so delighted to see him enter the shop that she had promptly dragged him in the kitchen backdoors, and Shisui had followed after her with a grin. Even if she called him her minion and pretended that she wasn't leaving him a choice in working with her, Shisui knew that she would feed him more than she would make him cook. He did like cooking anyway; from time to time, Shisui joked with Itachi about opening a restaurant, with Shisui preparing the meals and Itachi taking care of the pastries.
Now, three days after his return, he was walking down the shopping street in a quest for The Perfect Gift for his favorite cousin. Itachi's birthday had been two days ago, but he had been away on his own mission that week. According to Shisui's informant (namely, Sasuke-chan), Itachi should be back in the night.
He had already gotten a set of shuriken for him back in Kusagakure; they may not be as renowned as Iron Country for crafting weapons of good quality, but their work was still one of the most meticulous in the Great Nations. Besides, on the day before, he had also bought a book on How To Train Your Summon. Since Itachi had signed a summoning contract with crows a few months ago, despite having been familiar with some of them for a few years now, he had been wondering how he could strengthen their bond, how he should treat them and try to understand them, whether they were rather closer to typical animals or to humans, and all the theory and history behind summoning contracts, the blood links and so on. When Shisui leafed through the pages of the book, he found that there was even a chapter about the compatibility between the summons and their summoners' personalities, and examples of some summons and their most suitable partners. Anyway, it was instructive, fun to read, and quite interesting in Shisui's opinion; Itachi had to love it.
But, just in case, he thought that dangos would still be his safest bet. Which was why he was heading to the locals' favorite dango shop, praying that Anko wouldn't be there. She still hadn't let go of the whole paint-on-the-face incident, seriously!
Shaking his head slightly to clear off his thoughts, he spotted the shop a few meters away. As he entered, his shoulders sagged of relief, noticing the lack of demonic snake tamer, and he approached the counter in order to place his order.
In the line right in front of him, the blond hair of a short kid drew his attention.
"And a box of konpeito, please, thank you-ttebayo!"
Shisui tilted his head to take a better look at the child. Yep, definitely her. A grin stretched his lips, and he leaned imperceptibly towards her.
"Wouldn't that happen to be our future First Female Hokage?"
Naruto, he recalled, jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice and turned towards him, an expression of awe on her face. She stared at him for a moment, her lips parted as she evaluated him, before her eyes lit up in recognition.
"Oh! You're Sasuke's brother!"
Shisui's eyebrows shop up at her words. Then, a chuckle came out of his lips as an easy feeling settled in his chest. Right. That little misunderstanding brought him more joy than he would have thought it would, and if he had to be honest with himself, he didn't feel like correcting her. After all, he had even told his soulmate that he did consider both brothers as his own.
"That would be me. I'm Uchiha Shisui, it's nice to see you again." He winked at her, a smile lifting the corner of his lips. "I'm Sasuke's cousin, though."
"Huh?" She tilted her head in wonder. "You're not his brother? Oh, and I'm Uzumaki Naruto-ttebayo!" she added quickly, having seemingly forgotten that she had already introduced herself.
He nodded politely when he noticed the vendor coming back. "It would seem like your order is ready, Naruto-chan."
She turned back towards to counter and thanked loudly the vendor as she grasped a bag apparently full of refreshments.
"You've got a lot of candies here," he commented.
"Yeah." Her eyes brightened. "I'm gonna meet with my friends so we can train together today because we have an exam tomorrow, so I'm getting some snacks for us!" she beamed, a deep blush spreading on her cheeks, and her eyes closing made her resemble a happy kitten.
Shisui could have squealed on the spot. She was adorable! The sight of the joyful child made him remember just why exactly he was working so hard as a shinobi, why his missions were so important, and why he needed to get better to help keep the peace within the village.
"You buying snacks too?"
"Yeah, actually-" an impish grin parted his lips "-I'm getting a birthday gift for my girlfriend. You know, the one you met last time with me when we came to pick up Sasuke," he sing-songed.
"Ohhhh," she awed. "I remember her! That's nice!" she smiled, before adding quickly, "But I still won't let her be Hokage! The hat's mine!"
A pleasant laugh bubbled in Shisui's chest. "I'm letting both of you deal with this special matter. Do your best in your training though, it won't be easy," he advised.
Naruto nodded energetically. "Yeah, I will. Later, Sasuke's brother!" she exclaimed with a wave, before she left, hopping happily, her bag of sweets held tightly in her fist.
"Wha-" Shisui blinked. "I'm his cousin! And my name's Shisu-" he corrected hurriedly, but she was already out of sight.
He let out a snort and shook his head in amusement. What a lively kid, he mused. Somehow, she reminded him a bit of his soulmate.
.
.
.
As Kakashi jumped from one roof to another in the darkness of the night, a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind.
The day he had learnt his soulmate's identity, he had put in a corner of his head various information that he wanted to analyze after getting drunk and forgetting that apparently, Fate had decided to match him with a baby.
These pieces of information being that Sakura was friends with Yamanaka Ino. That Yamanaka Ino's soulmate had almost lost his life. And that it was all due to an order he had been given that was somehow related to the world of ninjas.
He had first thought of warning Inoichi-dono, in case he wasn't aware of his daughter's conversations and the possible link that she had with dangerous individuals. He didn't doubt the fact that as the head of T&I, he would notice any variation of behaviour of his own child, but he was never too sure. Establishing a link with a soulmate in this kind of world was risky, and usually advised against. He was indeed lucky that his was part of Konoha; at first, he had started answering them because, somehow, he kept hearing the ghost of Minato-sensei fawning over him and pushing him to at least try to get to know them; and after all, why not? As long as they never learnt who he was.
So, when he had undertaken to follow Yamanaka Inoichi, ending up on the Nara Grounds hadn't been his first plan. But at the sight of the Clan Heads together, with Sakura's revelation at the back of his mind, Kakashi's guts had screamed at him that there was a correlation. And if the clan heads decided to have a reunion about such an event, it had to be quite serious. Of course, he knew that walking on the Nara lands without permission was quite illegal, but Kakashi was a ninja, nosy and curious, and he was sure that his jōnin commander wouldn't mind asking for his services if he could be of any use.
The mention of Danzo had instantly put him on edge. Despite himself, he was reminded of his, dare he say, attempted coup d'Etat on the Third Hokage right after Minato's death. When Shikaku had prompted him about whatever information he had (if he didn't want to be sued), Kakashi had dropped a few hints about what he had found out during his time in ROOT, but he couldn't talk in detail since he had been ordered to keep quiet by the Hokage himself. However, Shikaku was one of the few people that Kakashi had the utmost trust into, and the main subject was that of comrades who had immoral upbringings. They may be ninjas, but even they had rules; and if his father and Obito had taught him anything, it was that a ninja shouldn't lose their humanity over a mission. Comrades came first and foremost, teamwork was Konoha's ninjas' way of operating, and acting otherwise was disgracing those values.
In the end, they had agreed that if there was more going on underground that was possibly putting Konoha shinobis in danger, they had to act, find more substantial proofs and inform the Hokage as soon as possible. Sarutobi may have decided to spare Danzo despite his treason, but he was the main person involved. If his men also became victims of Danzo's machinations, Kakashi doubted that their leader would stand for it. He had even set Kakashi on the right path once again and given him a second chance when the young ANBU had started to doubt his own Kage. Sarutobi Hiruzen was a forgiving man, but he was also a protector to all.
During their debate, the topic of the election of the Yondaime Hokage had been brought up by Shikaku, who had just become the jōnin commander back then. Shimura Danzo voting for Orochimaru couldn't be considered a fault; after all, Orochimaru hadn't been labeled a nuke-nin at the time. Still, it didn't sit right with Kakashi and that specific information kept coming back to his mind.
All-day long, Kakashi had reevaluated the information he had about Danzo, his suspicions growing more and more. He had never questioned anything that he wasn't supposed to, avoiding to step on a line and too used to obeying the Hokage's order; but his motto was not to follow orders blindly, especially when it could endanger a comrade, and at the back of his mind, Kakashi knew that it would be considered as traitorous thoughts if his choices hadn't always aligned with the good of the village and with his leader's own decisions.
But now that faithful shinobis such as the Clan Heads of the InoShikaCho had pushed him to think more about the legitimacy of Danzo's actions, Kakashi's head was reeling with questionings.
A conversation, in particular, kept haunting him, and it was that, more than anything else, that had put him in the predicament where he currently found himself.
Outside of the Uchiha Police Station, Uchiha Fugaku was holding a pile of documents and seemed to be heading to his home when Kakashi accosted him.
"Fugaku-dono."
At the nod that he received, Kakashi pondered for a moment the way to word his questions. In the end, he decided to go straight to the point. Kushina-san had always said that with a man as composed as Fugaku, one had to be unpredictably blunt if they wanted a chance to read him. Sound advice, if it hadn't come from Kushina, and if she hadn't been infamous for loving to mess with him.
"Pardon my straight-forwardness, but something has been on my mind lately," Kakashi started, his voice controlled, his stare intense. "I always wondered why the Uchiha Police didn't fight against the Kyuubi during the attack."
Fugaku's eyes flashed red for a moment, and his jaw tensed imperceptibly, but he remained stoic, most likely used to such 'indirect' accusations.
Nevertheless, Kakashi wasn't fazed and carried on, determined to make his point of view heard. "Back then, Danzo-sama had informed me that with the Sharingan, I could have stopped it, but the younger generation had received orders not to take part in the fight."
"As did the Police Force," Fugaku interjected, visibly annoyed. "I shouldn't even have to tell you this. We received the order from Danzo-sama to focus solely on protecting the population and to lead the civilians to the shelters."
"Yes, of course, that is the mission of the Police after all." Kakashi nodded slowly, his mind racing. His heart was beating erratically as if it was trying to get out of his ribcage. "But…" But it didn't make sense. Why would this kind of order come from Danzo of all people…? He took care of steadying his voice before he resumed his interrogations. "Seeing that the Sharingan can control the Kyubi, shouldn't you have been allowed to partake in the fight?"
Fugaku's lips twitched downwards, a frown marring his face. "I would have thought so as well. But we needed men to protect directly the population."
Silence settled for a moment between them.
That wasn't an excuse.
Danzo had been the one to tell him about the special ability of the Sharingan where bijūs were concerned. He would have known that the Uchihas were a valuable help against the beast, and they could have asked genin and chūnin, no matter their age, to protect the civilians while Minato-sensei was getting help. The attempt at a coup and Shikaku's reflections resonated in his brain, a wave of cold anger began to spread in his being at the heavy implications. He could be wrong, he could be getting paranoid, but his instinct had never failed him; not since he had been set on the right path by his teammates.
"Do you think that you would have been able to stop the Kyuubi with your eyes, that day?"
When Fugaku closed his eyes in visible frustration, Kakashi didn't need to hear his answer to know what it meant.
Half-lidded eyes opened, Sharingan blazing and focused on the ground. "To talk about this today won't change the past, Hatake."
"I understand." Kakashi bowed, his hands clenched tightly into fists. "Thank you for your time," he saluted quickly, before shunshining away.
As he moved away in the direction of his apartment, he tried to reign the fury that was threatening to explode inside of him. Old feelings of regret and grief and what-ifs reawakened, clouding the reasons why he had first started to question the war hawk motives.
'Ninjas never lose control of their emotions,' Kakashi repeated to himself, like a mantra. His thoughts wandered back to Minato's soothing presence and to Kushina's lively smile, and he couldn't help but tell himself that it wouldn't be the first time that he'd disobey a rule anyway.
.
.
.
To be continued
.
Can anyone tell that I love Ino? And Fugaku? And Kakashi? And Shikaku? And Inoichi?
The parts related to the plot may not be really developed, but I just want to show the main line of action and the rest happens in the background. We're here for the fluff after all u.u
The ages of the characters may be a bit confusing since we don't really have a defined timeline in canon, so I based them on the characters' birthdays: Naruto and Ino are 6, Sakura is 7, Kakashi is 20, Shisui is 14, Itachi has just turned 12, and Sai is about a year older than Ino (since we don't know his birthday anyway). This chapter is set in the month of June, and the massacre is supposed to happen next year, at the beginning of July.
If anyone's interested, I'm going to start posting drawing of some scenes from LOYS on my Tumblr. (shunshin-no-naruko)
Also, if you want to know the advancement of my writings, I update my profile regularly!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it :) Take care everyone, I hope you're all doing fine! 3