Author's Note: Can you believe we're already this far in? I'm really enjoying all the free time I have had to write lately. My file for this story is rapidly approaching 100 pages! I'm feeling incredibly accomplished. Thanks to everyone for all the support in the reviews. Couldn't do it without you all. I think this arc will end up being a little bit shorter than the first one, but I'm not sure. I think for sure fewer chapters, but total word count is less sure.

I went back and corrected a few more hilarious typos in the first few chapters. My favorite one was "Kakashi's weapon ouch." Please feel free to point out any spelling, grammar, or syntax errors if you see them. I always end up missing something when I re-read my work. I think my brain just auto-corrects it, because I already know what it says, and I can't catch everything 100%.

Anyway, see you after the chapter.

Human

Whirlpool Arc

Chapter 8

Rin

When the ship docked, Rin could feel the tension that followed Kushina around like a cloud. She'd never seen the usually exuberant and friendly woman like this, and it was strange to see her so melancholy. Rin gathered her things, of which there were few, and hovered near the ramp that would take them to shore while Kushina thanked the captain, and handed him a small pile of money.

Kushina led Rin from the worn wood of the dock that still stood, and down an overgrown path into the wildlife of the island. "The Village Hidden Among the Eddies used to cover most of this island," Kushina said. "It's name, obviously given for the difficult to navigate whirlpools that surround the island, has not been uttered here in a long time."

Rin said nothing, but followed, sensing that Kushina was saying these things more for herself than anything. The path forked and Rin was surprised by how dense the trees were. Foliage towered above and around them, and Rin was certain she would have become hopelessly lost if not for her guide.

"We'll be staying here for at least a week," Kushina said. "I am hoping to have your seal figured out by the time we leave. And certainly by that time, you will have an adequate knowledge of Fuinjutsu." Kushina grabbed her by the arm with one hand, and made a strange seal that Rin had never seen before with the other. The world around them shimmered for a moment, and then Rin was standing in the middle of an empty street, looking at the broken and run down buildings that had once been a hidden village.

"Where did we go?" Rin asked, eyes wide, looking around, wondering suddenly why the dense forest path was so far behind them.

"We didn't go anywhere," Kushina said with a wistful smile. "Some of the seals that protect this place still function. The illusion of the overgrown paths keeps out any curious travelers that may stop on this island. Only those who know the art of sealing can see this place for what it is." And then Kushina looked at her, answering the unasked question. "This is one of the things I plan to teach you while we're here."

Rin flushed. This was Kushina's home. Or at least, it had been. It felt somehow disrespectful that she would be learning how to come here whenever she pleased. But perhaps that was the point. Kushina was trusting her with the knowledge and ability to come here, and also trusting her not to abuse the privilege. Rin certainly knew she'd never take another person here.

"Well it doesn't do us any good to stand around," Kushina said, dropping her hand from Rin's arm and instead grabbing her hand. "I'll show you around, and then we'll settle in and get to working on that seal of yours. Have you managed to align your chakra with the chakra in that seal in your chest?"

Rin shook her head and allowed herself to be pulled forward. Kushina's grip was just tight enough to be uncomfortable, but Rin didn't complain. It was obviously hard for her to share this, her history, with Rin.

"I, er, well…" Rin struggled to find the right way to explain. "I have been meditating like you said, but I haven't actually tried to use my chakra… because it hurts… so… I…" Rin looked at the ground, embarrassed, as her explanation slowly became incomprehensible mumbling.

"It's no big deal, Rin. We'll find a safe place for you to try tonight. I'll be with you, so there's nothing to be worried about." Kushina offered her a smile that made Rin feel like she was safe from the world. It was the same smile Kushina had given her when her mother had died, and again when she'd moved out of her father's house.

Rin nodded. "Thank you. For not pushing me about it. It's been hard."

"I know," Kushina said softly. "Believe me, I know how terrifying it can be to suddenly have more chakra than you know what to do with, and to have no idea how to control it in a safe way."

"Does it hurt when you use the Kyubi's chakra?" Rin asked.

Kushina shook her head. "No, it doesn't. It has never caused me physical pain to use the Kyubi's chakra. It can be harmful to others, but I think the pain you feel is caused by the seal, and not by the chakra within you. It's something we'll need to confirm before we start altering that seal." Kushina glanced at the buildings they were walking past. "Ah, first stop." Kushina pulled them to a halt, and vaguely gestured at the wreckage of a house. "This is where I lived when I was a little girl."

Rin studied the building. It was in no better shape than the other houses on this street, which was to say, much worse shape than the row of buildings that Rin had first seen when she'd been allowed inside the effects of the protective seals. "You lived there with your parents?" Rin found herself asking, looking at what remained of the roof, curiously.

"And with my older brother and sister," Kushina said, voice far away.. "They were active duty ninja when I was… selected by the village elders to take Lady Mito's place as the Kyubi Jinchuriki."

Active duty ninja likely meant they had been killed in the fighting when the village was destroyed. Rin wasn't trained as a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but the guilt that Kushina must have lived with was hard to overlook. Being the only one not in the village. Not that it was her fault, but she'd dealt with her fair share of ninja in the field after missions gone wrong during the Third Great Ninja War. Survivor's guilt was a hell of a mindfuck.

"You had a brother and a sister?" Rin asked.

"I don't remember what they looked like. I was a stupid kid and didn't take any pictures with me when I was sent to the Leaf Village," Kushina hung her head. "I've never gone inside."

Rin didn't know what to say. She could empathize, certainly, but she could never understand how it felt. "But you come here every year," Rin found herself saying before her brain could catch up to her mouth.

"I set the date every year and send the information to every village that I can in the hope that someone will show up. In the past, I've only ever come for the one day. Then it's back to the Leaf." Kushina looked at Rin, eyes dark and shining with tears that did not spill. "I'm too much of a coward to do more than that."

"Kushina-sensei, we don't have to stay here," Rin said. "We can go somewhere else."

Kushina held up a hand to stop her. "This place is the safest. It's not just for your own protection, Rin. If we mess up and accidentally release a tailed beast, it's best that nobody else is around. The village is still well hidden. It has to be here."

Rin swallowed, suddenly feeling very small. At least Kushina had a contingency plan for failure. Rin had done little more than accept death when Kakashi had rescued her. This was better. Optimism tempered by realism.

"Shall we move on?" Kushina asked, dragging Rin away from the house.

Rin didn't protest, understanding Kushina's need to be away from the house. Why did she tell me all that? Rin wondered. Was it just something that Kushina needed to get off her chest? Was it a request for Rin to enter the house? She didn't think it was that, but it was impossible to know for sure.

They turned up another street, and stopped in front of the burned out husk of a building. The whole thing was little more than charred wood and ash. "This was our library. Generations of knowledge about sealing, countless other shinobi arts, history, art, fiction… all of it gone," Kushina said.

Rin's eyes scanned the wreckage. Nothing could have possibly survived. "That's so sad," Rin said.

Kushina sniffled. "Yeah…" She said thickly.

"Why are you showing me all this," Rin asked, taking a step towards the building and turning to face her mentor. "It's obviously hard for you. And while I appreciate it, I don't want you to have to reopen old wounds for me."

Kushina considered Rin for a long moment. "How many streets have you walked on?" She asked.

Rin opened her mouth in disbelief. "What?" She asked, stupidly.

"How many streets have we walked down?" Kushina repeated.

"What does that have to do with-?" Rin started.

"Answer the question," Kushina interrupted.

"Four," Rin said in exasperation.

"Right," Kushina said. "And I've shown you a landmark on every other street. There are seals still left untriggered from the battle that took place here. The path we've walked is the one I know is safe. The rest of this place is potentially fatal." Kushina shrugged. "Minato came with me the first time. We made sure it was safe to walk from the shore to the town square and back. That's why I'm showing you. So you'll be safe if you wander around."

Well, now Rin felt stupid. And like a bitch. "You didn't have to answer all my questions if you didn't want to."

Kushina gave her a look that Rin didn't know what to do with, and then Rin found herself wrapped in a hug. "I know I didn't have to. But I'm not really good at hiding things from people I care about. Makes life too hard, ya know?"

Rin nodded into Kushina's vest. Her eyes were suddenly blurry with tears. "Thank you for trusting me with this."

"You're a good kid," Kushina said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

They stayed like that for a moment, more for Kushina's sake than Rin's. When they did break apart, Kushina said, "Come on. There's one more landmark and then I'll show you where we'll be staying."

"Right," Rin said.

The final landmark was the administrative building, which was a blown out husk, too, but was structurally sound. It looked more abandoned than destroyed. Kushina eyed the building with longing and reverence. She would have taken missions from here, Rin realized.

This time, they were silent, and Rin allowed herself to be led away when Kushina was ready.

They set up camp in a house that was almost entirely intact, save for the broken glass of the windows. One of the rooms had no windows, and Kushina and Rin were able to drag some old mattresses that were in decent shape from a house next door into their temporary lodgings. Kushina unsealed some field blankets to cover the mattresses, and then unsealed their sleeping bags to lay on top of those.

It wasn't perfect, or even particularly comfortable by the standards of a warm bed back home, but it was better than the ground.

After their sleeping area was prepped, Kushina sat down with Rin, each of them on a mattress. "We should lay out a schedule. I want you studying Fuinjutsu and working on those katas to help regain your strength as often as possible. And we need to set time aside for me to try and help you with your chakra, and to try and fix or move your seal." Kushina considered for a moment, before crossing her arms. "Katas first thing in the morning, and before bed. Seal studies after your katas in the morning, until lunch. Then we'll meditate, and you'll be free to rest for an hour or two when we're done. I'll monitor your seal, and in a few days, we'll see if we can make it easier for you to use chakra." She smiled at Rin. "We'll throw in some kenjutsu training, or elemental jutsu to keep things interesting."

"My chakra nature is fire," Rin said.

"Well it was," Kushina said ponderously. "You might have two chakra natures now, or a different one entirely. Sealing tailed-beasts into people can change their chakra. Of course it's entirely possible that your chakra nature hasn't changed at all."

Rin considered that, wondering if she'd have power over water or something equally strange because of the turtle. If the turtle was what was sealed within her, and not just a manifestation of whatever had occurred on that mission.

She supposed she'd find out.

"Do you know which tailed-beast is sealed inside me?" Rin asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't. The Kyubi wasn't any help, either." Kushina said.

"You can talk to it!?" Rin found herself asking.

"Well of course. From what I know, all Jinchuriki are able to interact with their tailed-beasts. It's just a matter of finding a way to coexist. It's nearly impossible to have a copacetic relationship with a tailed-beast. In my experience, they are proud, quick to anger, and resentful of humans for imprisoning them," Kushina said.

"Well that makes sense," Rin said. "I would be angry, too, if I was trapped inside a seal forever."

"Tailed-beasts are dangerous. They were sealed away to keep people safe," Kushina said matter-of-factly.

"Still…" Rin said. Curse her bleeding heart. She hated when anything was miserable. "How do we find out which one I have?" Rin asked, steering the conversation back on track, and away from a philosophical debate.

"Have you tried talking to it?" Kushina asked.

"I… maybe?" Rin said. "I remember talking to a really big turtle when I passed out after - after killing all those Mist Ninja."

"A turtle, huh?" Kushina said. "It could be the Three-tailed beast. It's supposed to be a turtle with three tails. Did it have three tails?"

"It did," Rin said. "I don't think it liked me."

Kushina snorted. "Why would it?"

"I want it to?" Rin said, waving a hand as if that explained everything. It made sense in her head. "I want us to get along if we're stuck with each other. Or can you take it out of me?"

Kushina shook her head. "I can't. And even if I could, I wouldn't. The process of removing a beast from it's container has always been lethal. You'd die."

Well, that sucks. Rin hung her head, heaved a sigh, and rubbed her temples. A solution to her predicament was not forthcoming.

"Shall we get started on trying to use my chakra, then?" Rin asked. "You said we'd try that tonight."

Kushina nodded. "We can if you want. Or we can eat first."

"I'd rather do it now, if that's okay. If this goes bad, the pain will make me throw up anyway. I'll eat after," Rin said.

"Okay," Kushina said, getting to her feet. "Let's do this in the living room."

Rin followed.

Kushina sat Rin down and had her begin with meditation. For a full hour they sat in silence, Rin trying to align the chakras within her. "Feel your chakra. Know it as only you can," Kushina said. Rin, with her eyes closed, felt for the flowing river of energy within her. It was warm, familiar, safe. "Let it flow freely," Kushina instructed. "It is yours. It is safe."

Rin reached for her chakra, and felt her heart rate quicken. She grimaced. No. I can do this. I can control it.

"Deep breaths, Rin," Kushina said. "Go slow, take your time. Just gather the chakra in your stomach, where it's easiest."

Rin did so, her body trembled, it was like liquid fire. It was uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt like before. She could feel the sweat forming on her brow. She sucked in a pained breath. Her pulse was racing. "I can't-" Rin started to say, but Kushina interrupted her.

"You can. You must."

Rin nodded, breathing shaky, but continued to mould her chakra in her stomach. She was covered in sweat a minute later, and the pain was building. I can do this, Rin thought.

"You're doing well, Rin," Kushina said. Rin could hear her moving around the room, but she didn't dare to open her eyes and give up her concentration. "Don't allow the chakra from your tailed-beast to interfere. Keep them separate."

It was a lot easier said than done. Rin could barely contain her own chakra in a small quantity. The tailed-beast chakra pulsed through her, battering against her control, making her heart race, her temperature rise, and her veins burn. She held the chakra in her stomach for thirty more seconds, and then the dam broke, and she saw white.

The scream that was ripped from her throat barely registered as she convulsed and lost control of her chakra. It hurt.

But just as fast as it came, it was gone. Rin blinked. She was in the living room of the house in the Whirlpool Village again. She was panting, drenched in sweat, and exhausted, but she was there. It didn't hurt.

She tried to move, but found she couldn't. Rin frowned, and tore her eyes away from the ceiling. She was wrapped in glowing, golden chains that were coming out of Kushina's sides and back.

"How are you holding up?" Kushina asked.

"I'm okay," Rin said, voice hoarse. "What is this?"

"Chakra chains. An Uzumaki bloodline ability. It was rare, even when there were many of us. The chains are powerful, and can contain and suppress chakra. It was one of the reasons I was chosen to host the Kyubi," Kushina said. "I wrapped you up the moment your control slipped."

"Thank you," Rin said.

"That's why I'm here, Rin. To keep you safe and healthy. Plus, you did well." Kushina retracted the chains, and Rin took the opportunity to unstick her hair from her face.

"I don't feel like I did," Rin said. "I could barely touch any of my chakra at all, and it was so difficult." She watched in wonder as the chains slowly sunk back into Kushina's body.

"I wasn't expecting you to manage it at all, from the way you talked about your chakra hurting you. This was good. I think I understand what the seal is doing to you." Kushina sat down beside Rin, who was still laying on her back.

"How can you understand from just that?" Rin asked.

"Well, a seal that contains a tailed-beast has to be designed a certain way. There are certain elements that have to be there, ya know? Which means that I can use that as a starting point. And judging by the way the seal affects you, we can conclude that it has a trigger. The seal wants to give way to the chakra of the beast, which would overwhelm you and force the beast free. It explains why the chakra hurts you so much," Kushina said.

"It does," Rin said, blinking. She didn't follow at all.

"Yeah!" Kushina said excitedly. "Since the seal is on your heart, it leaks chakra whenever you touch yours. Since the chakra circulatory system works much like the cardiovascular system, you are literally pulling the chakra of the beast to every one of your chakra points when you use chakra. It's clever, devious, and cruel, but also effective."

"I'm doomed," Rin said.

Kushina poked Rin's nose, but nodded. "The way the seal is now, you'll never be able to use your chakra safely without running the risk of breaking the seal and releasing the Sanbi."

"So my career is over?" Rin asked. "For good?"

"Did I say that?" Kushina asked.

Rin shook her head.

"We need to pull the chakra out of that seal and into another, more stable seal that is safe for you to have," Kushina said. "The seal on your heart needs to be removed entirely."

"But you said removing the beast from a seal would kill the host!" Rin shouted in fear.

"I know I did. That's why we have to move the beast without it ever leaving your body," Kushina said.

"How are we going to do that?" Rin asked.

"I have no earthly idea," Kushina said cheerfully.

Rin closed her eyes. She was going to die, she just knew it. She wasn't meant to survive with this monster inside of her. She didn't want to die. It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair! She felt bitterness roil in her stomach, and choked on the air she breathed.

When the tears came, Rin didn't fight them. Nor did she protest when Kushina pulled her into her lap, and cooed softly to her. Instead, Rin snuggled into Kushina's warmth while she sobbed, hoping and trusting that Kushina would figure something out, because Rin wanted to go home, she wanted to see Kakashi again and apologize for hurting him. She wanted to see her friends Kurenai and Anko. She wanted to keep studying medicine, and keep training to be a ninja.

Rin let all her frustrations out, gripping Kushina's shirt desperately.

"It will all work out, Rin. That's a promise. I can fix it. I can fix it." Kushina's voice was gentle, and Rin thought distantly that she'd make a good mom. She certainly made an excellent older sister. Everything about Kushina was warm and welcoming. Rin really believed that Kushina could fix it, but she was still frustrated and terrified.

When she could cry no more, Rin sat up and rolled off of Kushina's lap, rubbing at her puffy, swollen eyes. "Sorry," Rin said quietly, feeling embarrassed at breaking down in front of Kushina.

"No harm done, Rin," Kushina said with a warm smile, and rose from the floor. She brushed the dust from her pants and stretched. "I'll be back with dinner in a little while, take as much time as you need to work through it, Rin. There's nothing to be ashamed of. We're here to get you back in shape, and I'll be in the other room if you need me."

While Kushina busied herself preparing dinner for them, Rin collected herself. I need to get myself together. I can't be crying and giving up when I need to be learning how to control this. But if she couldn't control it, or if Kushina couldn't fix it… Rin felt her lip tremble with worry. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Curled in on herself she felt safe. If she wasn't exposed to the world, then she couldn't be hurt, right?

She rocked herself back and forth and stared at the wall, not really looking at it. Her mind raced with negative possibilities. In the absence of Kushina's comfort and warmth, Rin felt herself spiraling into panic and darkness.

She tried to steady herself with dee, measured breaths, but it wasn't nearly as effective as she wanted to me.

Rin wondered if this was her punishment for being captured on the mission that had claimed Obito's life. The universe surely was punishing her for being weak, for being unable to keep Obito safe. The universe was punishing her for hurting Kakashi.

Rin felt so pathetic. So useless.

She put her forehead on her knees and squeezed herself tighter. Maybe if she pretended she didn't exist for a little while, she'd calm down.

"Everything okay, Rin?" Kushina reappeared with a steaming cup of soup, interrupting Rin's self-destructive line of thinking. Rin raised her head, blinked, and accepted the cup. The warmth of the soup spread through her hands immediately, and she inhaled the warm smell of the steaming food. She blew on it.

Kushina sat beside her, offering companionship and support. Rin was grateful for it. When she wasn't alone, her traitorous thoughts seemed so much farther away. It had become so, so easy to doubt yourself.

The change in her moods couldn't possibly be healthy, Rin knew, but she was not at all prepared to face the reality of her mental state. It could wait until her body was healed, couldn't it?

She needed to get control of this thing. Nothing would work out otherwise.

When she finished her soup, she placed the cup down beside her and looked at Kushina, trying her best to sound collected and confident. "Can we try again?"

Kushina studied her face for a moment, but nodded. "If you're ready. We can always wait until tomorrow if-"

"No!" Rin said, maybe a little too loudly. "No. I want to try again now." Her voice cracked.

"Rin…" Kushina said.

"I'm terrified. But I don't want to be. I want to beat this thing." Rin looked at the floor, tracing the lines with her eyes while she tried to stay strong. "I want to do this."

"Okay," Kushina said. "You're right. I won't try to stop you. I'll just be here to keep you safe, and to study your seal. In fact, do it without a shirt on, so we can monitor if the seal manifests itself visibly on your skin when you use chakra."

Rin grinned at her, and removed her shirt. Kushina could fix anything, if given enough time and ink. Minato-sensei had said that once.

Rin moved back to her meditating position, legs crossed, fists together, and closed her eyes. She focused on her breath. In. Out.

She focused on the way her chakra naturally flowed throughout her body. She breathed in.

She focused on the beating of her heart. She breathed out.

I can do this, Rin told herself.

Again, she moulded the smallest amount of her chakra and held it in her stomach. She grunted when the chakra from her seal started to leak into her system. She forced her breath to stay steady and even. It hurt, but she was in control. It hurt.

A ninja could push through the pain. She could push through the pain.

She held the chakra for five minutes, then ten. She channeled more of her chakra into her stomach. Her pulse was racing. Her skin was on fire. She held the chakra in place, and pushed back against the chakra coming from the seal.

It wavered for a moment, before pushing back. Rin's control slipped and everything went white with pain.

Before she could scream, Kushina had her wrapped up in chakra chains, and Rin was panting for breath, completely spent.

"You held it longer than last time," Kushina said. "But what happened? Last time you slowly lost control. This time it looked like your control snapped."

"I…" Rin gasped for breath. "I tried to use my chakra to force the chakra to go back into the seal." She wiped the sweat from her face. "The three-tails didn't like that. It pushed chakra pulled back and then smashed away all my control."

Kushina unraveled the chains, and knelt beside Rin, who was content to just lay on the floor forever. Fighting against a tailed-beast that was trying to kill you from the inside out was exhausting. Kushina's hands were on her. Kushina felt her forehead, checked her pulse, and then started poking around where her seal was.

"Find anything?" Rin asked, face twitching when Kushina's fingers found a particularly ticklish spot on her ribcage.

"Nothing visible when you were meditating," Kushina said with a frown. "But I think I have an idea."

Rin blinked. "Already?" That was fast. Kushina hadn't had even the makings of a plan the last time Rin had tried to control her chakra.

"Well it's just an idea. And it's dangerous," Kushina said. "But yes, I already have an idea." She shot Rin a smile and a wink. "Let's get you in bed. I need to draw out some seals to see if what I'm thinking about is even possible, and you look exhausted."

Rin nodded, but didn't move. "The floor's fine."

Kushina laughed. "No. You're going to sleep in those beds we set up. You've been sleeping on the ground for long enough. A real night of rest is what you need."

Rin was hauled unceremoniously to her feet, and found that her legs were very wobbly. She almost fell over, but Kushina steadied her, and guided her to bed. She struggled into her sleeping bag, and was asleep before Kushina left the room.

Author's Note: Tell me your thoughts? I think that feedback really keeps the motivation up, even though I'd be able to write without it, ya know? I'm hoping to have the Whirlpool Arc finished before the end of October 2020. If my schedule remains the same as it is now, I think it's possible. And that would likely put the story over 50k words! For those of you who do read these, and who do leave comments, which of my other fics should I update next? I have chapters started for all of them, but I've been laser focused on this lately. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about that, and of course about this story!