AN: New chapter.
Twenty-Two Years Ago…
"Go away already! I don't need you to follow me around anymore!" With all the anger a twelve-year-old could possess, Kushina Uzumaki slammed the door shut behind her. It didn't get rid of the squad of ANBU Black Ops that had been following her all day but it made her feel a little better.
They at least couldn't see inside right now.
She had at least this moment to herself.
She slid down against the door, dragged her knees up to her chest.
"It's not like you guys aren't scared of me too…" Today had actually become the undisputed worst day of her life. Her first day back at the Academy since the Hidden Cloud had tried to take her and she was back to wishing she never went back there ever again. "I didn't even do anything wrong this time."
It was like the entire village distrusted her now, thought she had been the one behind her own kidnapping.
"I didn't…I would never try to leave…" She refused to cry.
She refused to give them the satisfaction even if none of them could see her.
She angrily dragged the end of her sleeve over her eyes, wiped away the budding tears.
She tried all she could to think of the words of Mito, hold them in her heart.
"She never told me it would be this hard…That they would hate me no matter what I did…"
"Umm…kid, you alright?"
The voice almost made her jump.
It took a moment to remember what had happened.
That she now had a houseguest.
"I'm fine Jade." She was quick to get back to her feet, quicker to not meet the red eyes looking at her with clear concern. She was still where she had been when she left for the Academy, where the Hokage had drawn a seal on the ground around her 'as a precaution' and 'for her own safety'. Despite him knowing less about sealing than her. "I…Today was just…" She couldn't bring herself to lie. "Today just sucked."
"I had days like that." Jade glanced to the circle at her feet.
Both her and Kushina knew it did nothing to keep her in place.
"…You need a hug?"
"…I-I could use one."
Whoever was observing the circle never knew Jade left it to wrap Kushina up in her arms. She silently sat down with the girl, let silence fill the room for a few minutes.
"Bad day?"
"Yeah. Really bad."
"Want to talk about it?"
"…No. Not right now."
"Ok. When you want to, we can. How about some ramen? You're hungry, right?"
"…Can I have it for dinner too?"
"As much as you want."
Present Day…
"It was all so horrible Minato…the way they treat him…I-I don't think anyone could endure that and stay sane…And he's so young. He's eight and he's going through all of that."
"I…I wish there was something we could do but you know the situation Kushina. We can't interfere in the internal affairs of another village."
"I know and I still want to go there and beat some sense into that asshole."
"He would deserve it."
His words earned a tearful laugh, Kushina almost desperate to feel something beyond this terrible heartache. Minato only held her all the tighter, wish he could take all of this heartbreak from her, spare her the pain that was so familiar.
The pain all Jinchuriki were forced to know well.
"…Is it wrong?"
"What?" His heart ached at the pain in her voice, at how quiet it was.
"Is it wrong…" Her tears came fresh. "Is it wrong that I'm glad Naruto…that he's not going through the same?" A fresh sob spilled from her lips. "Does it make me as bad as them?"
"No." Minato couldn't stand for her to think such a way, gently turned her face towards him. "These feelings, that you even ask that, proves there's too much love in your heart to ever be like the Kazekage." If his words didn't reach her, he hoped the earnestness in his eyes when he met her tear-filled violet ones would. "You are nothing like him. And you will never be anything like him."
He didn't know if his words gave her strength but she tightened her hold on him, didn't try and drive him away.
All he could do was be there for her when she needed him. Whenever she needed him.
Jade didn't know what to feel.
She was being overwhelmed by Kushina's emotions, had done her best not to do something extreme as tear the apartment apart as she tried to keep herself together.
Taking a plunge into the Shadow Realm was too risky, could cause bad things to happen with how messed up Kushina was and, by their connection, how messed up she was. She could unleash Armageddon by accident with the way she was now.
'This…This is awful.' She didn't know if the Shadowkhan felt her emotions this strongly but she felt Kushina's. It was a brutal cocktail of sadness, anger, bitter helplessness, and more that swept through her. It was almost enough to be physically painful, enough to make her find a place on the floor instead of standing up.
She knew the shadows around her were writhing, that Shadowkhan surrounded her, but she couldn't do much else.
'What happened back there?' She felt like curling up in a ball and sobbing, felt that was more Kushina's feelings than her own. 'She looked fine when I picked her up…She was just mad.' Mad she could deal with. Kushina had been mad plenty of times back in the Academy, had been mad at her teachers, the other students, sometimes at the Hokage himself.
Her being mad just meant that she could cut loose more.
But this. This was so much worse.
It felt like something was tearing her chest apart right now, that it was impossible to do anything but cry.
At the present, all Jade could really manage was to roll onto her back and even that took effort.
'I didn't even know I could still cry.' One blue hand came up to her face, came away not wet but dark. It was a facsimile of tears, a creation of Shadow Magic.
A remnant of her human nature. She was sad so she had to cry. Even if she couldn't cry anymore. She had to cry.
It was just the way of things.
"Jade…are you ok?"
'Naruto.' She thought he was asleep.
Glowing red eyes looked into bright and worried blue. And she caught sight of the red eyes behind him.
'What?' A Ninjakhan had brought him to her.
Naruto joined her on the floor in his pajamas, worry clear on his face.
"I-I'm just…" A fresh wave of 'tears' came down her face. She didn't know what it would do if it touched Naruto so wiped it away, wished she could turn it off. "I've been better kid." She tried to smile.
A sob tore out of her throat before she could stop it.
She didn't know if she felt like screaming because of Kushina or because she just wanted to.
All she knew was that Naruto, somehow, wrapped his arms around her.
"You don't have to be sad alone Jade."
"Naruto…"
Her emotions were a mess.
She wrapped her arms around the kid.
"T-Thank you."
She didn't think she was still human enough for this but, with Naruto in her arms, it didn't hurt so much anymore.
AN: Well this was definitely a chapter of all time.
Review/PM if you want.
Peace.
