Chapter Six — Like Father, Like Inexplicable Childhood Trauma

The one constant in Kagami's life was that seeing and holding his children made him happier than anything else in the world. And so with the exhaustion and injuries from his mission dragging him down, there was nothing he wanted more than to see his kids. Because of that, he kept going even though it had been so tempting to take the doctor's suggestion and just sleep his mission off at the hospital.

He slid open the door and toed off his shoes, calling, "Mikoto-hime, I'm back!"

"Tousan!" There was a loud clatter and then Shisui was careening down the hallway. "You're back!"

Kagami laughed and decided that picking his son up was worth the strain it put on his injured shoulder. "I sure am." He moved down the hall, hugging Shisui to his chest. When he reached the dining room, Obito hopped up.

"Tousan! I learned a new move from Minato-sensei! I've gotta show it to you. Uh, not here, though, because Obasan said I might break something."

Kagami smiled and reached out to ruffle Obito's hair. "Probably best to wait until we make it to a training ground, then." He glanced towards the sink where Kyoko was standing on a stepstool, scrubbing away at the dishes. "Helping out, Kyoko-chan?"

Mikoto smiled, shifting Itachi in her arms. "She insisted."

Kyoko shut off the water and looked back with a soft smile. That smile almost immediately faded. "Tousan, are you hurt?"

Kagami paused. His bandages were all under his clothes, and really there wasn't any way she should have been able to tell. He moved to set Shisui down, suppressing a wince as he did so. "Ah, not badly enough that the doctor didn't let me go."

Mikoto frowned. "Oniisan." Then she sighed. "I can help. Obito, Shisui, Kyoko, why don't you go outside while I heal up your father."

Kyoko looked up, eyes widening. "But—"

"I need you to hold Itachi so that I can use both hands."

Kyoko snapped her mouth shut and nodded. She wiped her hands off on her shirt and hopped down from the stool. "Shisui, Niichan, c'mon." She brushed past them and down the hall.

Mikoto gave Kagami a terse smile. "I'll be right back." She followed after the children.

Kagami took that opportunity to sit down with a groan. He tugged off his shirt. The iryo-nin at the hospital were good, of course, but he already knew that his cousin's superior skill would help ease away the pain radiating through his body. When Mikoto returned, he breathed out a sigh of relief. "You know, you should really think about doing some training for the medics at the hospital. They could learn a thing or two from you."

Mikoto gave a noncommittal hum at that, moving to stand behind him. As her chakra started to sooth his injuries, she said, "Kyoko started expressing an interest in iryo-ninjutsu this week."

"Oh?" Kagami twisted to look back at her. "She's always been more interested in taijutsu."

"Shisui is more interested in taijutsu," Mikoto pointed out. "I think it's good that she's exploring interests for herself. Now turn back around. I'm not done."

"Sorry." He turned back and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "How was she this week? Anymore nightmares?"

She wasn't quick to answer that. In fact, it almost seemed like there wasn't an answer coming. Kagami straightened.

Mikoto paused her hands, pressing down onto his shoulders. "Kyoko broke a mirror the night after you left. I found her sitting it front of it with her knuckles bleeding in the middle of the night."

"She, she what?" Kagami moved to stand, but he found out immediately why she'd kept her hands there when she gripped his shoulders to keep him from getting up. "Mikoto—"

"You need to be calm when you talk to her. I don't know if she's gotten more sleep since Obito's returned, but she didn't sleep here at all. She's gone to watch Obito's team do training the last few days instead of staying here with Shisui. And Souma told me that she tried to get into the archives."

"The archives?" He frowned. "Why would she try to get in there?"

"There are medical texts in there. Maybe she wanted more than the few I gave her."

"You gave her medical texts?"

"I wanted her to do something other than sit and hold Itachi all day. She didn't even play with Shisui. Though she did seem to like watching him, she never actually joined in with any of his games." She finally pulled her hands away and picked up his shirt from the table. "Be careful when you talk to her," she said, handing the shirt back to him. "She's looked brittle."

Kagami groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Shit. Okay. Thank you for keeping an eye on her for me." He got to his feet and tugged on his shirt.

"Of course." Mikoto waved down the hall towards the front door. "Go ahead."

When Kagami stepped out onto the engawa, he immediately looked for Kyoko. She was sitting on the edge, watching Obito and Shisui wrestling in the street while holding Itachi in her arms. She glanced back as the door closed and smiled brightly. "Tousan. Did Obasan manage to help?"

"She did," he murmured, sitting down next to her with a grunt. "Based off what she said, maybe you'll be able to help me in the future."

Kyoko lit up at that. "I want to be able to help," she said firmly. "When people get hurt, I want to be able to heal them."

In her arms, Itachi gurgled at her voice and started trying to blow bubbles. Kyoko looked down at him, her entire being softening as she smiled. Kagami watched for a moment and then reached out for some of the hair that'd come loose from her braid, tucking it behind her ear. Kyoko looked up at him again.

Kagami smiled. "I'm proud of you for wanting to do that."

Her shoulders lifted, and the smile she'd had for Itachi broadened into a grin for him. "Thank you."

"Was there something in particular that made you want to learn iryo-ninjutsu?"

That grin faded immediately. Kyoko looked back down at Itachi and started carefully bouncing him in her arms. She only smiled again when he giggled. "I had a nightmare," she murmured. "That's all. It was scary."

"Oh? What was scary about it?"

"Just . . . bad thoughts about you mission. I dreamt that you died."

"Oh, no, Kyoko-chan," he murmured, shifting closer so that he could wrap an arm around her. "I'm fine. Your old man is too tough to go down like that. I promise."

"Okay." She leaned into him, her hold on Itachi tightening. "Thank you."

Kagami took a deep breath and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered. "Tousan?"

"Yes?"

"I want to go to the Academy."

He pulled back a bit so he could look at her. "You'll go in a couple of years. Just like Shisui will. Just like Obito did."

Kyoko looked up, and there was something hard in her eyes. "I want to go now."

"You're not old enough yet."

She frowned and jerked her gaze away, looking back at Itachi.

"Kyoko-chan," he said, keeping his voice quiet. Calm, like Mikoto had said he needed to be. "Can you tell me why you want to go now?"

"I want to be a shinobi," she said softly. "Like you. And Niichan. And Obasan. I want to be able to heal people and protect people."

"That's noble."

"Besides, Niichan's teammate entered the Academy at four."

He sighed. "I'm not sure the fact that Hatake did it is enough of a reason for you to. You're only four. We should wait."