My teammates left not long after Pop Pop had arrived as it was obvious that there was a big conversation that needed to occur within the Sekitangara family.
"Dad, where the hell have you been?" Pa asked, having sat everyone down at the work table inside.
"My grandson takes his first kill, and in doing so calls my wife back from the pure world. I was not prepared to confront that." Ryunosuke spoke softly,
"For two weeks?" Ma cut in, "Isshin went to the Land of Wind and you still didn't check on him!"
"He was in good hands with Nanako. She's an exemplar of a Shinobi." Ryunosuke continued to defend, only for his words to die in his throat as the temperature dropped and I felt an increasingly familiar presence make themselves known at the table.
"It wasn't just me, Ryunosuke." Nanako spoke, and Shion's spectre moved to stand in front of Ryunosuke.
Pop Pop stared at her for a moment, not fully believing what he'd been seeing until Shion brought up a translucent hand to cup his cheek. He brings up his own hand to try and grasp at it, but it phases through.
"I thought I wouldn't be able to see you again until I found myself in the Pure World." He speaks softly, and Shion taps him on the chest with her finger firmly.
"She says 'not yet', Grandpa." I relay, softly, earning a nod.
"I figured that, Isshin…this gift you have. It's a wonderful, terrible thing." He speaks, Shion smacks his shoulder indignantly, to which he takes in stride. "But it's true! He's propped open a door to the other side, it has wonderful and terrible connotations."
"My Son is simply more in tune with his spiritual side, Eh Pop?" Dad snarks, earning a deadpan look from both Pop Pop and Nana Shion.
"That was a terrible joke, Yoroi." Pop Pop groaned, and Shion once again tapped him on his chest, "Yes, I know he gets it from me, dear. It was still bad."
"My jokes aren't any better, usually. I guess it's a Sekitangara thing." I chimed in, earning a few chuckles from the patrons of the family.
"The curse of the Sekitangaras, increased likelihood of losing a body part, and a bad book of jokes." Dad chuckled,
"Then it's a good thing Isshin's only part Sekitangara, us trader folk have to have good humor, you think I can sell to Sand without having to crack a few jokes?"
"Don't you think us monkey-folk don't have jokes?" Nanako quipped, leaning back in her seat with Shion shifting over to her side in a cloud of mist.
"Throwing soap at people doesn't count as a joke, Nanako." I deadpanned,
"It's funny to me." And of course Shion was right there next to her nodding her head.
It was another good chat.
The next few months came and went in an emerging routine of experimentation, then missions, then training. It was a decent system, I hammered out another revolver, and a decent amount of ammunition for the rifle. I'm gonna be honest, once we got into the swing of things, our team worked good.
D-ranks went by in a matter of maybe an hour or two, C-ranks stacked up, and before I knew it, a year passed.
Itachi and I were Seven now, Itachi was getting taller, and I was keeping up, if a little slower.
Not that there wasn't some significant developments that occurred during this time period, mind you, 'Maru, in fact, it was during this time period where I first tried to threaten an ANBU.
"I just wanna talk to him." I had said, loading some shells loaded with rock salt into my shotgun. Nanako at this point was showing just a little bit of a baby bump, and Asuma and I decided to handle the oldest and most honored of family traditions.
Scaring the boyfriend.
"Do you honestly think you're going to rough up an ANBU, Isshin?" Nanako had asked, an exasperated smile on his face.
"What do you think I'm coming along for, Sis?" Asuma snarked, and I instantly bumped the offered fist he gave me.
"Like I said, I just want to talk to him." I accentuated my words whilst snapping the weapon shut. "I mean, he's probably in the walls or rafters right now, but hey. That just means I don't have to track him down."
A near silent set of footsteps rush from the rafters.
"JIN! Are you serious?! Running from a Genin?!" Nanako shouts, and I see a kunai with a message wrapped around it's handle thunk into the windowsill.
"'I was on the autopsy team for G. I don't want none of that'." Asuma reads off with a chuckle. "I'll give the man credit, he's smart."
"You think I'd let him do this to me if he wasn't?" Nanako quipped, settling down in her seat with a sigh. "He's already got Dad's blessing, y'know."
"Uh huh, and we haven't even heard of this guy, why?" Asuma asks, and I'm nodding in agreement.
"I didn't expect to get pregnant during my first year as a jonin Sensei, Asuma. Jeez." Nanako huffed, "Speaking of, we're waking up early tomorrow, Isshin. Team Meeting, Mom's going to be helping in your training once I get too big to serve as a proper Sensei."
"And the Daimyo Mission?" I asked,
"That's why you wanted me to help your team out during the visit." Asuma spoke, snapping his finger,
"And It'll help your bid for a Guardianship slot, so I'm sure that helps."
"How did you even know about that?!"
"Asuma, I'm ANBU."
Of course, there was another big fish that Team Nanako had to deal with rather consistently before the Daimyo debacle.
"Chunin Nii Yugito, Serial Number 24601." The jinchuriki of the Nibi spoke as we sat at a table in a tea house, Grunkle Sarutobi and Jiraiya sitting across from me and on either side of the teenager. Nanako sat next to me nursing a cup nonchalantly.
"Didn't you say she would only be let out of confinement when she'd been acclimated properly?" I muttered, earning a glare from the Chunin.
"Chunin Nii Yugito, Serial Number 24601." She snarled.
"Uh huh." I responded, sounding as unimpressed as I could.
"Simple, kid. You got to get her to say something other than that or you don't get paid, and we import some of her luxuries." Jiraiya spoke, chewing on a toothpick.
"Wouldn't just giving her the luxuries help her be more comfortable here? She's not a prisoner but a Ward, Right? Antagonizing her helps no one." I questioned, earning a few nods of agreement from Yugito, who gestured at me with her hands as if to say 'See! The kid gets it!'
"Do you want the Beluga Caviar and Bluefin Tuna taken out of your paycheck, Genin Sekitangara?" Grunkle Sarutobi spoke around his own teacup, and I hit Yugito with a deadpan stare.
"You've got an expensive taste, tovarka." I muttered, earning a raised eyebrow.
"Chunin Nii Yugito, seriynyy nomer dva, chetyre, shest', nol', odin." She snarked, huh, whaddaya know.
"When did you learn Lightning Cant, Kid? One hell of a language to pick in class." Jiraiya asked, interest peaked.
"That, My student, is an S-rank secret." Sarutobi spoke before standing up and dusting off his robes. "Well, Genin Sekitangara, Jonin Nanako, I'll leave you to your escort duties. Report to the Hokage Tower at 1800, good day."
With that, he, and Jiraiya, Sunshine away. Leaving us with the Nibi jinchuriki who just sat there, daintily sipping some green tea.
"So…Caviar huh?"
"Chunin Nii Yugito, Serial Number Two, Four, Six, Zero, One."
"That's going to be real annoying later on, ain't it?"
"Chunin-"
"Yeah, yeah it is."
When the day came for the Daimyo escort…I was on edge.
The curse of premonition struck me again, I knew that today, perhaps sometime in the next two hours that Obito would be pulling some of his bullshit, which in canon would lead to the death of one of Itachi's teammates.
I'm one of Itachi's teammates, Yara's one of Itachi's Teammates, yeah I'm not going to let anyone die today.
Okay maybe the fire Daimyo's Double we've got following us. Guy's a dick.
"You've been working overwatch for a while there, Isshin, doing your best impression of an ANBU overseer?" Asuma had taken control of the team for this mission, with Nanako feeling Konohamaru kicking pretty hard that morning.
"I'm doing what a sniper overwatch is supposed to do, I keep an eye out for suspicious persons, report via radio, and if anything too insane happens, I punch a hole." I spoke, keeping watch with my binoculars and a plan in place already. I even catch a hint of an orange mask, I'm launching a red flare and unloading both pistols into his ass.
It didn't turn out that easy. Not at all.
"Eagle, report in." Itachi called through the radio about an hour later, and I grit my teeth. Damn.
"Incoming, Weasel, hold position." I muttered, standing up off of my perch on Minato's head only to be set upon by the man himself.
"CONTACT! CONTACT! CONTACT!" I shouted, weighing my options for a split second before I hurled myself off of the monument.
Good news, I didn't get stabbed this time. Bad news, he stabbed my radio and was hurling shuriken at me whilst I fell a not inconsiderable amount of stories. I hit the roof of the Academy with a hard impact and Launched the Red Flare.
I was set upon once again, but I had backup this time.
"FIRE STYLE: GREAT FIREBALL JUTSU!"
Itachi, that there's my BOY! He launched a fireball the size of one of the Mountain's Heads into the air to intercept Obito, and Yara got to work dragging my busted ass into cover. Unfortunately I'm being literal.
The fall from the Hokage Monument to the Academy's concrete rooftop cracked my tailbone. Still, Yara got me on my feet and I had my pistol in my hand in an instant.
"Where is that Orange Masked Fucker!" I growled out, going back to back with Itachi and Yara.
"He vanished, it's not a genjutsu, stay on your toes." Itachi spoke firmly, Yara and I nodding.
Black blurr with a flash of that orange mask, sword drawn and swinging towards Yara.
Not this time, FUCKER!
-CLK-BANG-CLK-BANG!- Two shots in less than a second. The blade of his sword shattered in two places, but the bullets were deflected away from him.
His head tilted in the direction of his shattered sword for a moment, before he spoke.
"Interesting."
Before I could put a bullet through that damn mask he jumps away, a trio of ANBU tearing after him with malicious intent.
Moments passed, and we stood there in Defensive Formation Charlie for probably an excessive amount of time.
"Everyone Green?" I finally asked, earning a pair of nods.
"I'm whole…just shit my pants a little." Yara muttered, finally relaxing a little.
"I am unharmed…are you okay, Isshin?" Itachi spoke, turning to face me, and I caught sight of his eyes for the first time in this encounter.
The crimson Sharingan with a single Tomoe met my own gaze.
I'm awful flattered bud.
"I'll be fine bud, don't you worry." I spoke, decidedly ignoring the pain growing in the base of my spine.
"And for the record, that was a hell of a fireball."
