Ch. 39

Village Interludes

Tsunade frowned as she checked the ovum sample that Moriko had finally given to her.

With a higher security hospital and Tsunade mentoring Moriko's clones in the healing arts, Moriko had finally handed the sample back to Tsunade to run tests on.

And she was not liking these results.

The first ovum was picking apart the sperm she had introduced, but it wasn't fertilizing. If anything, the sample was starting to die. She used medical chakra to keep it alive as she tried different things, but she wasn't having hopes for a positive result. This really wasn't looking good.

...

Naisho growled in irritation before losing his temper as he crumpled up the scroll he had been writing in, ripping it apart before he threw his ink brushes to the side and jumped to his feet to stomp away, clearly furious. Sakura and Sasuke shared a concerned look before rising to follow him.

"Maa, he's fine leave him be," said Kakashi as he read his book. The two kids traded a speaking look before Sakura piped up.

"Not to be rude Kakashi-sensei, but we've known him a lot longer then you have; we know what we're doing," she called before they continued after their friend. He sighed as his team left him, now frowning as he thought over her words and the way the kids acted around him. To be honest, they didn't act like he was someone to listen to. In fact, they spent a lot of time asking him first, looking at each other in silent communication when he answered, then leaving to find someone more 'reliable' to speak to. He snapped his book closed, now a bit irritated. They barely took his advice, like just now. If anything his team tended to just disregard him. With a huff, he rose to see what the three preteens were up to.

He found them by the river as Naisho sulked on the bank, his friends sitting on either side of him not speaking as they leaned against him, offering silent comfort. Kakashi settled in his tree to listen in, curious now at the dynamics of his students. Finally, the redheaded boy spoke.

"Moriko-nee came back to the village to train me, but I've barely seen her and its been months. I know she's important, but she's had no time for me since she arrived. It's been one thing after the other and I never get to see her. I... I'm angry because it feels like I'm not important enough for her to make time for, but at the same time, I know how hard she's working right now. I know I said I wanted to prank her because those guys were chasing her but I think a part of me was upset she wasn't paying me enough attention, and I started doing more pranks. I don't know what's going on, but I can see how stressed she's been getting lately. When I pranked her the other day, she just... She broke down in tears. Next thing I know she's gone from the village again. I... I think I've made my sister hate me," He confessed, shoulders shaking as he began to cry, his friends hugging him on both sides.

"I think she's working on a really big project Naisho and I think the Hokage and Jiraiya are putting a lot of work on her. I don't think she hates you, she's just too overworked to be able to handle any more pranks right now," said Sakura as Sasuke jostled the other two.

"Yeah, what she said, idiot. She loves kids and she loves you Naisho, as dumb as you can be at time," said Sasuke as the boy scowled before he sighed.

"You don't think she's trying to replace me with Hinata?" he asked hesitantly. Sasuke scoffed to show his opinion of that idea and Sakura hugged Naisho tighter.

"No. I think she took her in because she's one of the strongest ninjas out there. You saw what happened the other night, that the Main branch went to steal Hinata back. It was twelve on one odds, and she sent them all packing with their tails between their legs, too scared to come back. She didn't have to do anything but let them feel her chakra and killer intent. Not many ninjas are that strong Naisho. Is this because she called Hinata her daughter?" Sakura asked as the boy chewed his lower lip.

"Maybe," he muttered as his friend sighed. After a moment of silence, he spoke up.

"I don't even remember my mother. As far back as I can remember I can only remember Moriko-nee's face. She's the closest thing to a mother I've got, but I'll never be her son," he said softly. His friends traded looks, not sure how to handle this bit of news. Kakashi, exited the tree to sit beside the puppy pile of kids. They stiffened at his sudden appearance, their eyes wide with alarm. They really hadn't expected him to seek them out. Maybe he needed to reach out more to his team if they had no expectations for him to be interested in their well-being like that.

"Maa, I'll see what I can do to get you some time with your sister but no promises; I know she's very busy," he said as Naisho perked up, eyes bright.

"You'd do that Sensei?" Kakashi nodded only to find his arms full of a happy child as the boy nattered on a mile a minute. Kakashi sighed and endured it as he patted the child on the back. He pulled out his scroll to Moriko as Naisho hung off his neck, still talking as Kakashi began writing.

Naisho thinks you hate him now and is moping because you've been busy for months and he misses you. He was crying about it a few minutes ago.

And Kakashi waited.

Not ten minutes later there was a flash as Moriko appeared the blonde hair and purple eyes her out-of-village disguise. She snatched up the surprised child and hugged him tight murmuring to him as he blinked in shock before returning the hug fiercely. Kakashi waited for the two to calm down a bit before he spoke up.

"Weren't you out of the village?" he asked as she scowled.

"Maybe," she hedged now looking like she had just realized something important as her eyes went wide and she bit her lower lip.

A moment later there was a boom as an oblong object shot over the village before it disappeared revealing a large crow that was already homing in on their location. She winced if in trouble as something dark darted off the bird, the shadow zipping across the ground until the form of Ryusuke snapped into being, lighting crackling over his skin as he took a defensive stance in front of the young woman, his body tense as he scanned for a threat. The crow pulled out of its dive buffeting the team of genin and their teacher as Itachi darted off the bird, his red eyes taking in the crying child in Moriko's arms before he scanned the area for threats, heading for his brother and Sakura. Sasuke and Sakura yelped as they were snatched up before being deposited beside Moriko as Itachi but his back to the kids, clearly looking for threats.

"Status," he snapped out.

"Uninjured. No threat. False alarm. Stand down," said Moriko as she began signing in Anbu to verify her identity. The two men seemed to take a moment before they relaxed in tandem, taking in the teary child in her arms, eyes silently demanding an explanation for earlier where she had taken off like a bat out of hell towards the village, scaring the crap out of them. She winced but Kakashi held out his scroll for Ryusuke and Itachi to read, pointing to the part he had sent most recently. The two men read swiftly before their eyes met; they traded a look before they looked at Kakashi contemplatively.

"Are you entering your students in the chunin exams?" Ryusuke asked as a look of understanding crossed Itachi's face.

"Maa, it would be a good experience for them," said Kakashi uncertainly as Itachi nodded.

"Very well. This will be a good opportunity for them to train unofficially. Officially, we are commissioning your team as runners for us while we complete a brief mission for the village. It will be a B rank," said Itachi as he began scribbling a swift message to the Hokage using his scroll. A moment later it buzzed, and he used Anbu hand signs to message 'mission confirmed.' He sent a clone to inform his parents and Sakura's as well as to gather the children's items for the trip, and a third clone heading out for food for the group.

"Maa, I'll go pack then," said Kakashi before he took off, his mind churning.

He hadn't known Moriko had finished the Hiraishin. Seeing the flash of blonde hair had nearly given Kakashi a heart attack with how she had appeared but thankfully she hadn't registered as a foe to his senses. It had taken his sensei six years to figure out the seal from the Nidaime's notes. It had taken her almost three months and he was pretty sure she had been handling many other projects at the same time. It was a bit terrifying to realize, but what had startled him more was her Anbu guard. And he was pretty sure by now Itachi and Ryusuke were her Anbu guards with how they had reacted like Anbu on a bodyguard detail. Despite being back in the village for three months she hadn't taken a single mission out of it on her own and yet was always busy. Just what was his friend tangled up in?

...

Hiruzen frowned as he looked over the report from Ryusuke of what had happened with Main branch Hyuga last week. Hiruzen had altered the directive to where the official Main Branch members could not approach the old clans' district any longer, considering what they had tried to do using legal loopholes of the minuscule variety.

They had tried to claim the Hokage had not kept to the agreement made to the clan, trying to claim the child had been handed over to the Branch Clan which would negate their deal. They had been spying on the girl and had gone to take her from the Branch Clan, attempting to use his own verdict for them to do no damage to one another to create a difficult situation.

If the Branch Clan defended the girl, the Main Branch would claim that the Branch Clan broke the Hokage verdict first. If the Branch Clan did not protect the girl, they would destroy any form of trust with Moriko, cooling any further growing friendship between the Branch Clan and the future Uzumaki clan head.

The Main Branch had already stated that since Hinata hadn't been given the caged bird seal, they didn't recognize her as a Branch Clan member; hence their actions towards her could not be called out by his decree of separation unless he had given the girl to the Branch Clan, which would negate their original contract. They had been lucky Moriko happened to encounter the group because any other response would have ended in a slippery technicality-filled legal battle. Whereas a parent defending their child was defended by the law.

What slippery bastards. If he had slipped and tried to use the decree of separation they would have jumped all over that and tried to cancel the contract. There had already been paperwork submitted the night of the confrontation to petition to have the girl returned to the Main Branch.

It had been hastily retracted and Hiruzen shook his head, knowing that Moriko had had her clones following the Main Branch Hyugas around, just enough to freak out the Main Branch Clan as they spotted her watching them in the distance wherever they went now as if she was the one with the Byakugan. He had already been sent complaints and he had already shuffled them off to the side. They had been actively spying on the girl and had tried to take her while she had been at a friend's house. Now the entire old Clans district where Hinata and the other clans lived had already been sealed against any of the Main Branch Hyuga so they couldn't get anywhere near their home even if they tried.

He knew that because three days ago, a Hitori Hyuga was noticed by Anbu attempting to approach the old clans' district with stealth, despite his directive not to. On the first attempt, he had gotten thrown back. The second he had gotten zapped unpleasantly and thrown back. On the third attempt he had been electrocuted and a hawk had been summoned. Its screeches had brought everyone out to see the bird dive bombing the man who had turned tail and fled with there now being witnesses.

Hitori, Hosuke, and Kanta Hyuga.

Ryusuke had reported the real source of strife between the Branches to mainly be those three members of the Clan, one of which was already in jail for murder. Originally, the clan had been given the impression that an Elder had killed Hitomi, since such a young member of the clan was forbidden to do such a thing. To think they were sabotaging the poor girl to limit the Branch family...

Hitori and Kanta had been spotted trying to enter the old clan district a few more times since then, breaking the directive further. At that point, an alarm had gone up and they had been stuck to the ground with high gravity seals while being electrocuted every now and then if they tried to form hand seals to get away, or to use their chakra. They had been taken into Anbu and interrogated and were currently in prison. The Main Branch seemed to have washed their hands of the two, leaving them up for whatever fate the Hokage deemed fit.

Considering Inoichi had to be restrained after doing a mind walk on them, Hiruzen was debating if he should hand them over to Moriko to make an example of or if he should do it himself. While they had not molested the child, they were fixated on her and had definitely enjoyed her pain and suffering far too much to be allowed to run free through the village.

They would try for the girl, and Moriko would kill them for it; it was only a matter of time since even now they had no intention of changing their behavior. It was best to do so in a legal setting so such instances would not look bad publicly for either him or Moriko. He was duty-bound to protect his ward and the two men were the type of sadist that could not be reasoned with, unlike others in the village who allowed their demented tendencies to be directed productively. They weren't like Ibiki with the self-control needed to be utilized by their village.

What was that saying she used at times? Strike while the iron is hot?

He signed off on the execution papers and had them sent to the Main Branch to sign off on. He didn't think they would stick their neck out for those three any further. Those three had cost them their clan everything and had kept going after the child even under the pain of death after their Clan head had ordered them not to.

Hiashi's face had been bone white when he had been called to the tower to answer for the two intruders. Good.

Now it was time to make good on those death threats that had been made the other day.

...

The kids were in good spirits as the group flew over the forests below, Yamagata's large back a familiar place to them. Moriko and Naisho were talking about his progress, the young woman listening attentively as the child spoke.

Sasuke was doing the same to his brother Itachi and the young man was listening intently. Sakura turned her attention from the other two to the huge Nara who was relaxing on the saddle as he looked out over the forest. He suddenly looked at her and grinned as she looked away, the girl a bit uncomfortable being caught staring at him.

"You look curious. Go ahead and ask," he said as she chewed her bottom lip and crept closer.

"How do you know Moriko-nee? How tall are you? Are you in love with her too? If so why isn't Itachi-nii trying to kill you like he tried to with that other guy? You look like a Nara but also very different, why is that? Are those marking makeup or a tattoo?" she suddenly whispered as she came closer, eyes alight with interest. Ryusuke chuckled, entertained as he patted her head.

"Well, she showed up and my compound while really out of it three months ago and fell asleep on me while I was napping outside. I'm 6 feet 6 inches tall. I care deeply about her well-being, and I consider her a close friend. Who knows; maybe one day soon it will be more than that?

"And Itachi already tried to kill me a couple of times when I first made my intentions clear to be part of her life. But I'm a little better and we were able to come to an agreement. All he cares about is that I will keep her safe," he said as Sukra gapped at him. She knew how strong Sasuke's older brother was he was even part of Anbu. This guy was a bit better? But Itachi was Anbu; did that mean this guy was Anbu too?

He chuckled and Sakura snapped out of her thoughts with an embarrassed flush. Seeing he had her attention once more he continued speaking.

"As for my looks, my father is a medic-nin from Kumo. He was given a lot of grief because he doesn't like fighting and didn't want to be a ninja despite being so big and strong. The village didn't treat him well since he had the start of a kekkie genkai but wouldn't use it to fight or sire a bunch of kids for the village to use as cannon fodder.

"He left the village to learn to be a medic and traveled the lands. While on his journey, he saved my mother's life by hiding her from enemy nin and patching her up so she wouldn't bleed out. He spent the next few months protecting her and helping her recover her wounds.

"She knew he didn't like to fight, but he did it anyway to protect her a few times and she fell in love. To be truthful he had fallen for her a while ago, so when she had recovered enough they left for her village, and she retired from Anbu due to her injuries. She now works in Intel.

"While here he's become a very skilled medic, and he works at the hospital. I look a lot like him, just a bit paler. And the eye markings are actually something I get from my mother, on the Nara side of the family. My uncle Ensui has them too, but his are a dark green," he said with a smile as the girl gapped at him in awe.

"That's so romantic! Your mother and father sound amazing Ryusuke-san!" she whispered, eyes full of hearts as the young man laughed patting the top of her head, eyes warm.

"They are. I will introduce you to them sometime. My father teaches Moriko a bit of healing every now and then when they see each other while Mom and I catch up. I hear you've been working on the basics of healing?" he asked, prompting the girl to start talking about herself as he listened attentively. At the back of the bird, Kakashi was subtly watching the three different groups to learn how to interact with his genin.

At the same time, he was learning new things about his students he had never bothered to learn before.

He blinked as Sakura's hands glowed green for a second as she spoke with the large Nara, the man examining her technique before his hands glowed green as he explained the mystic palm technique in more detail.

Sasuke's hands sparked for a moment as Itachi began walking him through the first steps of lightning nature chakra.

Naisho pulled out an ink brush as he and his sister spoke, and the boy started drawing a seal that was already more advanced than what Kakashi could make. The copy nin looked away from the preteens as he frowned at the skyline. Was he really so neglectful a teacher he didn't even know his students' capabilities? Perhaps they had had a point in ignoring him to go look for other people. He supposed the next big question would be if he decided to do anything about it or to leave things as they were. After all, they didn't really need him, they had other people to fall back on. And yet, he had solved a growing issue on his own today without his team's prompting. Maybe he'd start to give this sensei thing a try.

"Kakashi, stop being lazy and come teach your student about earth nature transformation," called the Nara, Ryusuke causing Kakashi to look up. The other man's eyes were intent as they met his and the Nara began signing in Anbu hand sign.

I will teach you how to teach. Pay attention and take notes.

Oh, thank god. Some of the tension in Kakashi's frame bled out as he moved over to take note of Ryusuke's teaching methods. Maybe with some help things wouldn't be too bad.

At the same time, Sakura was eyeing the two men intently, knowing that Kakashi-sensei used to be Anbu and those hadn't been standard Konoha sign. So this guy was an Anbu. She met Sasuke's meaningful look, and she refocused on the two men, Ryusuke speaking and subtly signing to Kakashi-sensei the entire time. He's teaching him, she realized with awe as the Nara subtly curated Kakashi's interactions with her until the white-haired ninja had her full attention as he spoke. Maybe this trip would be helpful for all of them, not just her teammates and herself.

...

Hidden in the Mist Village

At the Mizukage's mansion, two people sat sipping sake together on the veranda as they watched the full moon, a woman with fiery orange-red hair, and a man with short spiky brown hair. They both still sported a few bandages from their recent battle, the one that had ended the Mist Civil War. Mei Terumi sent her companion a fond grin as he gave a sharp-toothed grin back, the man filling her sake cup.

"You should let me do that Mizukage-sama," she demurred as Zabuza scoffed.

"You're much stronger than me. I don't know why you turned down the position to be the next Mizukage," he muttered. She made a so-so gesture.

"You funded the resistance when it faltered. I might have power, but you managed to negotiate successful trade agreements with Wave, trade agreements that helped supply our army when food ran low. There is more to being a leader than having power Zabuza, and you demonstrated that by stepping up when we all needed you," she said as she blushed lightly, not wanting to meet the intense eyes that were now boring into her. She cleared her throat and sought to move the conversation along.

"I've been hearing rumors out of Wave recently, now that their trade is booming again," she said as she began to sip her sake.

"Oh?" asked the man, his eyes now on the moon, but his head cocked in interest.

"Some terrifying woman with red hair called the Ghost of the Uzumaki. You heard of her?" said Mei, looking for small talk to rid them of the silence that had started to fall.

"Oh, you could say we've met before." Mei's head whipped towards him, highly surprised. Uzumaki were a big deal. Why hadn't he said anything? Mei frowned in confusion.

"So, you two fought?" she asked. Zabuza laughed shaking his head ruefully.

"Fought? Ha! I wish you could have seen her. Hair like blood, a smile as sharp as a razor, and eyes that danced when we fought. The thrill of battle…" Zabuza took another sip of his sake, eyes distant in reminiscence as he smiled up at the moon.

"She's why we got those funds for the Civil War. I couldn't have taken out the army of ninjas Gato had otherwise but between the two of us-," he paused to meet Mei's wide eyes. He smirked. "-It was a piece of cake," he finished as he began to sip more of his sake, not seeing the way his companion's frown deepened even further.

"So she could match you then?" she asked. He barked a laugh before downing the rest of his drink, face now grim.

"She can use wind ninjutsu, invisibility, and is a sealing master. You asked how Kubikiribōchō got its upgrade? Yeah, that was her putting three seals on it. But before that, she nearly killed me with ease," he said with a hearty laugh as he toasted the moon, dark eyes alight with annoyance and excitement.

Mei's hand clenched on her cup, now knowing what the look on his face meant, why Zabuza hadn't shown much more than a passing interest in her, why his eyes would occasionally linger on her red hair.

The quiet realization of why the man hadn't put a bounty out for the redhead filled Mei with silent fury. He would put his own countrymen at risk, fighting that titan by not telling them details on her fighting style, because he respected her, liked her… pined after her, his eyes distant and warm as he gazed up at the moon drink in hand as he thought of her.

By choosing silence, he was showing her loyalty over his own country, and it was sickening, after all they had worked for, all they had bled and died for. But knowing better from Yagura's reign, she didn't show her anger or distaste. She would just outmaneuver him, make sure he couldn't stop her. Instead, she raised her glass in mock salute to the new Mizukage and Zabuza's grin was sharp as he did the same.

AN: this was hard to push myself to write, and it only turned out meh. Sorry if it wasn't the best chapter.

EDIT: There was a bit added on to the end of this chapter!