Ch. 15
Summons
2 years later, Year 6 the Elemental Nations
It was always nice to return to the village and catch up with friends. Having dinner with the Uchiha clan heads was always an evening well spent as well. It was a good meal, filled with delicious food, laughter, and sake for the adults. Moriko giggled as she took another sip.
"Remember that time we lost that bet to Gai?" she asked Fugaku as the man grinned.
"That was a good festival," he said as the table chuckled.
"It was. I still can't believe you had the whole clan join in and turned it into a whole festival, it was awesome," Moriko said with a laugh as Fugaku smirked.
"It was the only way for the clan to save face. Besides, if I'm going to suffer, they are going to suffer with me," he said with a grin as the tables' occupants laughed.
"Sensei, we should do a festival," Moriko said excitedly as she shook the toad Sannin's arm. Jiraiya groaned before sighing.
"I'll do a festival when you get a summoning contract," he finally said with a smirk. Moriko paused mid-sip before putting her sake glass down. When she stood and bit her thumb the table's occupant's eyes went wide.
"What no no no, I was kidding!" Jiraiya yelped as Moriko began doing hand signs.
"Don't worry sensei, I've been needing to get one anyways," she said with a wink as she finished the signs and slammed her hand on the floor. There was a poof of smoke and Jiraiya sighed wearily.
"Never a dull moment," the toad sage groaned as the other occupants shared surprised looks.
"And yet, you would miss her dearly," Itachi said quietly, having seen the sage's face when she had talked about not being there anymore, earlier in the night.
The day for her to start living fully in the village was only two years away when Naisho left the academy.
A series of emotions went over the man's face before he managed to school it while Itachi's mother sent him a reproachful look. Naisho went over to the Sannin to squeeze his hand. Jiraiya grinned before giving the boy a hug and Naisho squeezed back tightly. The Uchiha shared fond looks. Clearly, Moriko's penchant for hugging was contagious.
"You could spend more time in the village when she's living here full time," Mikoto suggested gently as the sage sent her a thankful smile before pulling back to rub the boy's red hair.
"I just might," he said quietly as little Naisho grinned up at him.
…
Three days later the Uchiha family was eating dinner when a puff of smoke startled three ninjas and one ninja in training. There was a blur of red as Moriko dodged the kunai and hail of shuriken before the red hair registered as friend not foe.
"Whew! Long time no see," she said cheerily as the other occupants relaxed with relieved sounds. Grinning she twirled three kunai around her finger as the group shot her rueful looks.
"Well, I'm assuming it went well?" Fugaku asked dryly as she beamed at them. Her hair was windswept, and her clothes were ripped with blood dotting it.
"I got Peregrine falcons; can you believe it?" she cried before doing a happy little dance as the group smiled in bemusement.
"Are those… good?" asked Sasuke as Moriko continued her happy dance. Itachi's eyes were getting a glazed look to them that had Mikoto kicking the sixteen-year-old lightly under the table. He flushed scarlet before averting his eyes.
"Are they good? Sasuke, they can fly at almost 200 miles per hour at top speed! They are amazing!" she cried before dashing outside. The group traded surprised looks before getting up to follow.
"Can I summon one here Fugaku-sama, Mikoto-dono?" Moriko asked, looking gleeful. Knowing most first summonings were small he looked to his wife for approval before nodding. She ran to the center of the huge courtyard before going through hand seals in a blur, slamming her hand to the ground. There was a large burst of smoke, and a two-story falcon appeared the reflection of light glinting in its eyes, Moriko on its back. The family stepped back in alarm at the size.
"You did as requested. Good," it said, readying its wings. A few curious Uchiha poked their heads out of their homes.
"Wait wait wait! Can some of my people come?" Moriko called causing the bird to hesitate.
"Very well," it said before settling down to wait.
"This is my summon Yamagata. He's one of the larger summons," Moriko explained as she hopped off to come face-to-face with her summon. She gave a bow of respect, and the male dipped his head. The family came to her side along with Shisui and a few of the clan's more curious members. Fugaku moved to the front before issuing a deep bow that the rest of the clan outside copied.
"It is an honor to meet you Yamagata-dono of the Peregrine Falcon Clan," he said as the male issued a bow back.
"An honor to meet you as well Uchiha-sama. I did not think you part of the Uchiha clan girl," it said as Moriko grinned.
"Need there be blood for them to be my people?" she asked, causing the bird to chuckle.
"Very well, I will allow it."
"So who wants to come? Yamagata-sama is one of the fastest falcons, and they can move at almost 200 miles per hour," Moriko asked still very excited. A few people now looked hesitant to go.
"I want to go!" said Sasuke excitedly. Mikoto and Fugaku shared a look before the clan head hesitantly stepped up to join Sasuke. Itachi moved to join them as well as Shisui and a couple more Uchiha. Beaming Moriko leaped to the falcon's back and the rest followed.
Once they were all settled, Moriko moved people into position before activating a specialized barrier seal. It would prevent people from flying off the bird's back when he moved at top speed and keep them from getting hit with debris but would allow for wind to flow through so as not to mess with the bird's lift. It would also store oxygen for when they got very high, and the air got thin. Then she started talking about wind currents and gravitational forces that would be felt in fast turns.
Moriko explained as much as Yamagata prepared to lift off the ground. Fugaku caught some of the confused faces from his clan at her talk of thin air, and gravitational forces. He turned to find Itachi watching him, eyes curious but lit with the understanding that his father knew something about Moriko that the others did not. Fugaku hesitated for a moment before signing SSS Secret were only his son could see. The heir's eyes widened slightly before his attention turned to Moriko's back where she sat behind the falcon's neck.
With a powerful leap, the falcon was in the air and steadily climbing. There were startled exclamations and gasps of awe as the earth disappeared below them, the wind blowing through their hair. When they got high enough there were cries of delight as the village was clear in the setting sun.
The falcon climbed even higher and some of the clan started having difficulty breathing, though Moriko seemed just fine. Fugaku tapped Moriko's shoulder gesturing to the wheezing clan members. Her eyes widened in shock before she tapped a seal. The relief was instantaneous for the group and the falcon began climbing higher as it moved further south. Yamagata suddenly let loose a series of screeches that had the clan covering their ear.
"Lie flat!" Moriko called and the clan swiftly obeyed. Suddenly gravity seemed to disappear for a moment as they floated before they began to fall picking up insane speed, a few people yelping in distress at the speed they were going at. At the first turn, someone was detached from the bird only to be stopped by the barrier an inch from their back that pulled them back to the bird. By the third turn, only Itachi Shisui and Moriko had managed to hold on, the young woman whooping with glee at the bird's acrobatics as it shot straight up into the air, the barrier now holding everyone flat to the bird.
"She's crazy," Shisui yelled with glee as the bird went into another dive this one faster than before, Moriko whopping in delight. Itachi looked a bit green, but he managed a rueful smile to his cousin as the falcon continued to plummet. It evened over the village as it gave a few chittering calls before it gave a small dive and landed lightly in the Uchiha courtyard. The seal was disengaged, and the group seemed to have to take a moment to recover before they woozily got to their feet, Moriko unaffected as she began helping people down. The falcon extended its wing so people could slide off, still unsteady on their feet as Moriko followed, looking a bit concerned as she looked over the woozy group, all their hair ruffled or sticking straight up at odd angles.
"That was amazing!" Sasuke suddenly yelled before running over to the falcon to talk with it. A relieved smile crossed Moriko's face as someone started chuckling. Before they knew it the who group was laughing uproariously at the thrill of the experience and at each other's hair.