Hey everyone, it's me again. Jess still doesn't have a computer, and as such I have to post this lovely chapter for everyone. Afterall we can't leave you guys without an update now, can we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. This is just for fun, no profit will be made from this (and I don't want to either). This is purely for my and the entertainment of Naruto fans.

Dedication: To my beautiful, amazing, intelligent, girlfriend Phillipa (Shadow Spirit Dragon-wolf) for being there for me through not only my writing (both fanfiction and my original story) but real life in general. You have been my inspiration and my support through everything.

Warnings: Violence, explicit sexual conduct (no rape!) homosexual relationship, relationship with a large age gap, struggles with belonging, self-hatred, obsession, self-harm, self-experimentation, human experimentation, mental disorders, a dark view of the "afterlife", (bonding of) pain and isolation, self-worthlessness, and male pregnancy.

Pairings: OroNaru, canon pairings (except, obviously, NaruHina).

Summary: Sometimes, the deepest scars are the ones no one can see, but in a world moving into the light even the oldest inner wounds can be seen

Enjoy! :)

Chapter Twenty-three: Bonds

Kabuto

Urushi and I sit outside, staring up at the stars. The children have been put to bed. How ironic it is that Urushi and I are the ones tucking in instead of being tucked in.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?"

I turn to look at him. "Of course I do. It's your birthday."

"Damn right it is! You got me a gift?"

"Absolutely not," I grin.

He punches my arm and rolls his eyes. "I expect a nice day with you tomorrow. After all, we do have to make up for loss time."

"Yes, yes we do. And we both know what else tomorrow is."

We both stare up at the stares, a gentle breeze blowing through.

"Yeah."

That day…. It changed my life completely. It was the journey of discovering myself. Through the pain and suffering. Killing Mother, and finding my idol. And losing so much. And now, now I have so much.

"I knew you'd come back. There were a few who believed you had died, but I knew better. You were much more skilled than any of us."

"You have skills too, Urushi."

"Well, I'm not denying that, but let's face the facts here."

The corners of my lips twitch. "Perhaps you should do more training instead of letting me show you up."

"Says the man who has to be forced to say 'thank you'. The children are following your example now," he teases.

I take my glasses off, cleaning them with the edge of my robe. "Is that so? And what have you been doing about it?"

"Me? Why do I have to do everything?"

"Well," I say, putting the glasses back on, "you're the best at telling people what to do."

"Hey, don't make me sound like an ass, Kabuto. You were just being rude. Someone had to teach you."

I smile. "It was nice. I never did thank you."

He waves his hand in the air and scoffs. "No need. We're brothers, after all."

"We sure are."

"Umm… Father? Uncle Urushi?"

We turn to see Tsurame standing in the doorway. She's the newest member to the orphanage. Her parents dying from an illness. She has it as well, but with medication and medical ninjutsu, she's able to survive.

"You should be in bed, Tsurame. Have you not learned how to tell time?" Urushi asks as he and I walk inside.

"Yes, Uncle Urushi," she says, looking down and shuffling her feet.

I kneel down so I'm eye-level with the six-year-old. "What's the matter, Tsurame?"

"My tummy hurts and Miku keeps snoring."

"Urushi, can you…?"

"Yeah, I'm on it," he smiles and leaves.

I pick Tsurame up gently and walk through a tunnel and into the hospital. After the war and I found myself, Lord Sixth thought my idea of having a hospital near the orphanage that I ran would not only help bring money in for the orphanage but the village as a whole.

With more medical ninja popping up, it helps to have more than one hospital. One on one side of the village and the other on another side. Things became slow in the main hospital due to Sakura and Tsunade being away. Now Sakura is back and has her hands full with babies and pregnancies. If their mother dies or the parents just aren't able to care for the child, they are sent to the orphanage for Urushi and me to care for.

I set Tsurame on the medical table and begin checking her vitals. I frown. Her disease is getting worse. It hurts to see such a sweet little girl be so sick. But, I suppose that's why there are medical ninja."

"Am I gonna die, Father?" Tsurame gasps weakly, coughing up blood.

"I won't let you."

XXXX

Kurotsuchi

I sigh, gripping the old man's hand, and watching his chest slowly rise and fall. Age is certainly creeping up on him. Yet, he refuses to accept it. It was only because he is bedridden that I was even able to become Tsuchikage. I truly hope I can live up to Grandfather's legacy and expectations.

"Shouldn't you be filling out paperwork instead of watching me sleep?" he asks, opening an eye.

"I had that done hours ago, Gramps," I grin. "It's not like back in your day."

"Hm. Or perhaps you're letting your advisors do all your work so you can watch me?"

"Well, I did give them some," I admit.

"Ha! I knew it! Get your ass back to that seat, young lady. You have a village to protect."

"Can't a girl just spend time with her grandpa before he falls out?"

He laughs. "I have so much life left in me. There's no need to worry about me, Kurotsuchi."

"You know when you tell me that, it makes me worry more," I say, crossing my arms.

"Hm. Well, you were always a worry wart."

"Someone has to worry about you, Gramps. If it weren't for Lady Tsunade, you'd be still crawling into the Tsuchikage seat and demanding we make the stones sparkle with your reflection" I tease.

"You stopped that tradition?"

"Not of keeping a stone there, no."

"That is only a small portion. Not even the main reason."

"I know what it represents, Gramps," I smile, squeezing his hand.

"You better remember it. I didn't drill that in your head so you could forget."

I smile. "I don't think you would have given your position up if I hadn't."

"Hell no. I can't have some moron running the village. We may be at peace, but there are still many dangers out in the world. People aren't so easily persuaded to the righteous side."

"That is true, but now all Five Great Nations are working together to ensure that peace."

"Yes, it's truly a blessing to grow old. I think back on all the chaos and destruction I caused. The hurt I caused others in and out of the village…"

"You shouldn't dwell on that, Gramps. Things are different now. We can't change the past. We can only forge ahead into the future. You were a leading factor in us winning that war."

He scoffs. "Perhaps a bit, but you can't compare what I did to what Naruto did."

"Well, none of us can. But let's face it, Naruto needed us. He said so himself. We're his comrades after all."

"Speaking of which, have you heard from him or has anyone in Konoha?"

I shake my head. "Lady Tsunade said something about him being on a special mission but that was over a year ago."

"Hm. I wanted to see him."

"Well, I can see if Kakashi won't send him up here."

"After his mission, of course."

"Of course. Just don't go dying before he can get here."

"Ha! I have a lot of life left in me, Kurotsuchi."

I smile. "Yeah, I know."

"And you do too," Gramps says, squeezing my hand and looking at me. "I'm proud of you, Kurotsuchi. You're a great Tsuchikage. I only wish I could watch you rule this village with kindness and strength I just didn't have."

"You do have kindness, Gramps. Sure, you're stubborn and old and need to lie down and take it easy, but you're strong, kind, determine… you make people believe anything is possible. You spark the will to grow within us all. I'm proud to be your granddaughter and to be able to follow in your footsteps."

"Yes, well, even so, I couldn't keep my promise to Naruto…"

I frown. "You mean in the war? Madara was just too strong. It's not like you threw in the towel."

"I just wish I could have done more. It was because of that snake bastard that I'm even alive today. That all of us Kage who ruled during the war are alive…"

"Is he as weird as people say he is?"

"No. He's weirder."

Preview

Naruto

"Why did you choose one of those freaky things?!"

"What choice did I have? Besides, this body is pretty sturdy and resilient. The fact I'm getting sick like I am boggles my mind."

"Well, I'm not sure about all that, but there is something that's very concerning to me."

"And that is?"

"How the hell are you not a tree?!"

Next update date: Dec 2nd

I hope y'all enjoyed! Until next time :).