Caught in the Whirlpool
Part XV
Kenjiro stood on the sea cliffs and watched as the predawn grayness started to develop the bright colors of sunrise. He'd spent most of the night picking his way through the old letters and after he'd finished he had been unable to sleep. Now his old eyes ached and his neck was stiff and he felt every bit of his age and more.
I should have tried reading at least one of those letters before…
The oldest of the letters had been the hardest, but the rest had been very similar to the tone of her postcards. She stated how she was doing, how her son was doing, and she would close with a few bitter comments. After the first two or three letters she never mentioned her son's father (and never named him beyond the nickname of "Sunshine", which niggled at the back of his brain for some reason) and the letters stopped before any hint of a new relationship or that she was considering marriage to her fiancé.
One of the envelopes that Asuka hadn't already opened had contained a photograph. It was of a little boy, maybe two years old, with a poliwhirl plush in his arms, chubby cheeks, enormous blue eyes, and vibrant yellow hair. On the back had been scribbled the child's name and birthday—Naruto Uzumaki, October 10th.
What an odd name, he reflected. And that hair… No Uzumaki has ever had hair that color before.
A small flock of seagulls glided overhead, squawking their plaintive cries, and Kenjiro slowly headed back to his house.
I wonder if he'd like an omanyte…
Naruto snarled dozens of words that would've caused his mother to wash out his mouth with soap as he chased Kitsune around the enclosed part of the passenger ferry. The zorua was getting really adept at slipping out of her safari-ball and her persistent escape attempts were really getting on his nerves. He'd decided to keep her with him for a while to try and start bonding with her some and give the soothe bell a chance to work, but now he was wondering if he'd met his match in this stubborn little fox.
I don't think that Demon was ever this bad! he thought as he darted around other passengers to try and keep the little beast in sight. It was never hard to catch up with him—he tended to run in straight lines and he couldn't disguise himself. Demon's biggest problem early on was that he ignored and defied me.
Sakura was tired and cranky from getting up early to catch the boat and neither she nor Sasuke were interested in helping him corral Kitsune this time. Ken-Ichi was busy apologizing to the ferry captain for the disturbance, and the other passengers were really getting annoyed. If Naruto didn't catch his fox soon he feared that he'd have to talk to police when the ferry docked in the Land of Whirlpools.
"Kitsune!" he hissed as he nearly tripped over a chair leg. "Get back here right now!"
The tricky little fox ignored his demand and slipped out a cabin door when a disgruntled passenger tried to escape the chaos she was wreaking inside. Naruto immediately followed, muttering apologies as he pushed through other people, and stumbled out onto the outer deck of the ferry. To his relief, she hadn't gone far or invoked her illusion powers again; she was standing with her forepaws braced on the lowest part of the rail and was staring rigidly into the sea.
"Would you please stop causing trouble?" he half-grumbled, half-pleaded as he scooped the zorua up in his arms. "I'm getting really, really, really tired of chasing after you."
Kitsune didn't seem to hear him—her blue eyes remained fixed on the vast expanse of ocean that the ferry was cutting through on its way to the closest of Uzu's big islands.
"…You've never seen the ocean before?" he guessed.
The zorua blinked and finally appeared to take notice of him. Her eyes narrowed in contemplation and Naruto braced himself for some new illusory trick that she would try to distract him with so that she could escape again. And then she leaned forward and licked his nose.
"Gah!" the blond boy yelped and was so startled that he almost dropped her over the side.
But instead of taking advantage of his shock and wriggling free, Kitsune remained in his grip and rubbed her head against his neck. Naruto stood stock still and waited for some trick, some attempt to flee, but she just kept on cuddling. Seconds lengthened into minutes which grew into nearly an hour, and Naruto started to relax just a little bit.
Could she finally be giving up running away? he wondered. It kind of seems too easy…
Naruto moved to the bow of the ferry and stared at the horizon, willing the island to come into view so that they could transfer to the next ferry that would take them to Uzu Town and his mother.
But it would be really great if this problem is over, because I'm really sick of running around!
Goro Kurohi frowned slightly when he found his assistant waiting for him outside of his office when he turned up to work. Seeing how exceptionally anxious the nervous man was his frown deepened. He unlocked the door and stepped inside first, summoning the man inside with a silent gesture. The lanky man's eyes darted all over the cluttered room and did a slight double-take when he noticed that the gargoyle statue that sat in the corner of the room was missing.
"What is it, Shinrou?" Goro demanded without preamble.
"There was…a problem last night at our local warehouse," Shinrou gulped, wringing his hands.
Goro's eyes narrowed. "What problem?"
"S-some stock t-transferred from East Uzu…escaped," Shinrou stammered, looking sweaty and pale.
Goro's expression darkened and mutely demanded further explanation.
"A blitzle broke loose, managed to evolve, and freed five others before fleeing into the wilderness. It happened during the storm so there should be no witnesses—"
"Thank the powers that be for small favors," Goro growled. "Organize some men to track them down and recapture them, but if the police or some local finds them first, back off. And regardless of whether or not we retrieve the lost merchandise, find out who was responsible for this debacle. I think it's well past time for me to make an example that will keep my employees properly motivated."
Shinrou almost turned gray and nodded jerkily. "Right away, sir!"
Goro turned away from him in a gesture of dismissal and fled the office so quickly that he failed to notice that the gargoyle statue that had been missing was now in its customary place.
"…Genkurou," the Kurohi said after running through a breathing exercise to help rein in his broiling temper. "It looks like I will be needing your special talents once more. Be ready."
The dragon-like gargoyle statue's eyes flashed and a faint eager growl seemed to emanate from its snarling marble jaws.
A wintry parody of a smile briefly graced Goro's features before he reached for the latest paperwork that he had to review for the day and got down to business.
The zorua trotted at the blond boy's heels as they debarked from the ferry, looking every bit the loyal and happy human slave. But behind that façade, she was looking for the perfect opportunity to escape. She needed some kind of distraction that wasn't the direct result of something that she'd done—a loud one that would cover up the sound of the stupid bell around her neck—and then she could flee.
It seemed that the houndoom hadn't been lying to her after all. There was an ocean—a body of water far vaster than anything that she'd ever seen or imagined—between her and home. But luck it seemed had been with her, the human that sought to break her will and enslave her had boarded a boat that was taking him across the ocean and so home was within reach.
The only obstacle to returning home and not being exiled now was how to shake her captor. As she'd stared into the ocean on the boat that morning, she'd realized that she'd made too many failed escapes. The human expected her tricks and kept an eagle eye on her that he refused to relax.
So she gave him what he wanted. She fawned over him and stopped trying to bolt at every opportunity. Even though it made her fur crawl she stuck by his side and obeyed his commands. And bit by bit she could see his guard lowering to the point where he was letting her run loose by his side as he entered a human settlement along with his companions.
I'm almost home, she thought as she studied her new surroundings. All I have to do is sneak away. Nothing flashy like before, I'll just slip away and by the time he notices I'll be long gone! Then all I need to do is make it out of town and into the wilds where Mommy will be looking for me.
"So this is Uzu Town?" the stupid blond human asked.
"Yep," the oldest human nodded.
"It seems…historic-looking," the pink-haired female remarked.
"Hn," the black-haired boy grunted.
"You mean 'out-dated and broken-down'," the oldest male snorted.
"No—"
"It's alright," the red-brown-haired human shrugged. "I'm not offended."
"Is Professor Utatane's lab close by?" the blond boy asked.
"She's set up outside of town, about an hour's walk from here," the oldest human replied.
"An hour?" the blond human frowned. "Can we get lunch first? I'm starving!"
"You're always starving," the pink-haired girl sighed.
"But it's after noon!" the blond protested. "Aren't you hungry?"
"If you're not in a rush we can stop for some take-out," the oldest human said. "I know a few good places…"
The zorua only half-listened as she followed them down the narrow stone-paved paths between buildings, doing her best to appear attentive, happy, and free of any thought of escape. Her nose twitched as she started to smell the exotic and alluring scents of human food, but she fought the need to drool. Getting free of the humans was more important than enjoying the rare treat of human-made edibles; she could always steal human food later once she was safe.
They approached a small building from which dozens of strong food smells was emanating and—
"Ken-Ichi!"
The oldest human in the pack froze and cringed. An adult female with black hair, cold blue eyes, and a basket of fruit and bread stormed up to the group, her pale face reddening with anger. The zorua struggled not to dance with eagerness as the entire group's attention was grabbed.
This could be my chance!
"Hey, Mom—"
"Where have you been?" the woman demanded shrilly. "Hayato and Katsuro returned home without you!"
"They just got ahead of me," the red-brown-haired boy shrugged nervously. "And I'm home now…"
"You're lying to me!" the woman snapped. "Katsuro told me that they left you behind and that he had no idea where you were going!"
"But Mom—"
"Don't you 'but Mom' me!" the woman cried. "You're coming home with me right this instant! And you're grounded!"
"What?" the boy sputtered. "Why?"
"You promised me that you would be safe and stay with your group and you broke that promise to me!" she responded. "And you just now lied to me!"
"But—"
"No excuses!" The woman thrust her basket into the oldest boy's arms and grabbed his shoulder. "Now come along."
"Dad wouldn't—"
"You don't live with your father," she scowled. "You live with me."
"Mom, I was helping these kids get here—"
"Children?" she blinked, finally taking notice of the three younger humans present. "What are you doing escorting young children around? You're not old enough to be their chaperone! Did their parents give their permission for this?"
"They're on their pokémon journeys," the oldest boy practically growled. "They don't need to get permission from their parents."
"Nonsense!" the woman scoffed, and then her eyes fell on the pink-haired girl. "What about her? She can't be on a pokémon journey. What are you doing taking this little girl far from home, Ken-Ichi?"
"Of course she's on a pokémon journey!" the blond boy cut in with a frown. "Why wouldn't she be?"
"Because if girls want to associate themselves with the filthy creatures they focus on Contests close to home," the woman sniffed. "Not that I think that girls should do that. Those animals are dangerous!"
The blond boy stomped his foot angrily. "Pokémon aren't filthy!"
The zorua scowled at the stupid woman's foul attitude, but smiled when she noticed how all attention—even that of unrelated passers-by—was captured by the confrontation. Fighting the urge to bolt, which would cause the stupid bell to make lots of noise, she crept away from the blond boy's heel and slunk up along the nearest building wall until she was able to duck into a dark little space between buildings full of garbage cans. There were some odd cat pokémon with golden ovals on their foreheads that she wasn't terribly familiar with picking through the trash for scraps and she used their appearance for a new glamour, making sure to include the bell so no one would wonder about the jingling sound when she walked. And then she slipped back out onto the stone path in her new disguise and continued along, leaving the human argument behind her without drawing a shred of attention.
I did it! I did it! I did it!
She wanted to sing and dance, but there were humans everywhere. If she did anything other than walk like she belonged there, they would notice and wonder. She needed to keep up her disguise until she found a way out of this human den.
Now where is the wilderness? she wondered as she took random turns at every intersection. And where can I get rid of this dumb bell? It'll be so much easier to hide without—
A flash of red in her peripheral vision snapped her head around. She saw the back of a human woman with long red hair walking down a side path. It looked identical to the human disguise that her mother favored when humans had been detected on the fringes of the tribe's territory.
:Mommy!: the disguised zorua cried and sprinted after her. :Mommy, I'm over here!:
The red-haired figure didn't seem to notice her until the zorua latched onto its leg.
:Mommy, I'm sorry for running away! Let's go home—:
"A meowth…that barks?"
The zorua's nose only smelled human scents instead of zoroark musk, and she looked up to see a human woman's face that didn't match her mother's disguise at all.
This isn't Mommy…this is a human!
"It barks?" A man with blond hair that strongly resembled the boy that had captured her peered around the woman. "Really?"
"It sounded like it was barking," the red-haired woman replied.
"Seriously?" A second man with limp brown hair and a tiny stick in his mouth stepped around to the other side of the woman. "…Why is it hanging on to your leg?"
"No idea," the woman shrugged. "It's got a bell on its neck so it has to belong to someone…"
"Let's turn it in to the Pokémon Center," the man with the twig in his mouth suggested and reached down to grab her.
Jolted from her shock, the zorua released her grip on the strange woman and bolted. She ran and ran, desperately seeking a way out of this awful human place. She was so upset that her disguise almost collapsed and her eyes stung.
Mommy, where are you?
Kushina frowned as the odd barking meowth streaked away down the street and vanished around a distant corner.
"That was really weird," Genma muttered.
"Yeah," Minato agreed. "Are you sure you weren't hearing barking from somewhere else nearby?"
"Do you see any dogs or dog pokémon around?" Kushina asked.
All three of them glanced around, but the street that they were standing on was empty.
"How strange," Minato murmured.
"Well it's gone now," Kushina said. "So shall we continue?"
Both men nodded and they returned to walking down the narrow street.
They'd already had lunch and Kushina was taking Minato to the shop where she'd bought the rope for Kyuumaru. He was interested in getting another to replace the one that had been ruined in the fight with Kyuubi and hoped to use it as a peace offering. Genma was tagging along in the hope that he'd find something interesting to do along the way.
Genma was a nice enough guy, Kushina thought. He was a flirt, but a smooth one that knew when to quit, and he seemed competent enough. She decided that she liked him and was glad that Minato had managed to find him to manage his schedule and wrangle the media for him.
"Eh?" Genma paused and squinted at a poster taped to a lamppost. "What's this?"
"An advertisement for a kabuki play," Kushina said after glancing at it.
"They have kabuki plays here?" Genma blinked. "I thought that that form of theater was dead."
"The old styles of theater are the only kinds of theater in these parts," Kushina replied. "You won't find anything modern outside of the occasional school play. Everything is either kabuki, noh, or bunraku puppetry."
Genma fidgeted with his toothpick. "I've always wanted to see a kabuki play."
"Well there are two big theaters in town, compared to the one dinky movie theater," Kushina said. "There's usually at least one show a day, and several on weekends. There's an office off the main square that has all the schedules if you're interested."
"I might as well check it out," Genma nodded.
They moved on and chatted amiably as Kushina led the way through Uzu Town's quaint streets. Genma shared stories about negotiating with companies that sought the minimal endorsements that Minato gave and misdirecting nosy reporters so that the blond could get some peace. Minato told tales of dealing with star-struck fans that had won some contest or sweepstakes and got to spend a day with him or team up with him in a double battle. And Kushina mainly laughed.
But then, barely a block from the store that they were aiming for, a small roadblock in the form of a bunch of locals appeared. A pack of men, probably on the way to some bar, came into view from a side street and quickly changed direction when they noticed Kushina and her companions. She recognized Gin and Kasshoku from the previous day at the gym and scowled.
"Hey there, Runaway," Gin greeted with a smirk. "Consorting with the victorious champion?"
"What do you want?" Kushina demanded with a glare.
"Nothing much, we just wanted to share some thoughts that we had," the silver-haired man replied.
"We discussed the gym battle and what you said afterwards with our friends here," Kasshoku said, gesturing towards his other companions. "As pleased as we were to see Kenjiro Uzumaki defeated, and defeated soundly, it all seemed…too neat."
Kushina narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Oh?"
"Just what are you implying?" Genma asked.
"There were video cameras there—lots of them!—and Mr. Champion-of-the-Land-of-Fire here is a real big thing where he comes from," Kasshoku drawled. "And it's no secret that Kenjiro needs money—he wouldn't have done the exhibition match at all if he wasn't desperate!"
"So he threw the fight," Gin declared. "To get more money and keep Golden Boy looking golden. It makes perfect sense."
Kushina really wasn't sure if she should curse at them or shake her head and laugh in disbelief at their idiocy.
"That's ridiculous," Genma snorted. "That battle was completely legitimate."
"Sure," Kasshoku sneered. "Claim whatever you like if it helps you sleep better at night."
"My father would never throw a fight," Kushina growled. "And if you don't believe me, why don't you both try your luck against Minato yourselves like I suggested yesterday? Or better yet, how about you buzz off and do that other thing that I recommended that you do with a sharpedo!"
"I'm game if you two are," Minato shrugged, his expression unbothered but his blue eyes hard and cold.
Gin and Kasshoku glowered at the blond man but seemed hesitant to put their money where their mouths were.
"Count me in," Kushina declared. "Let's make it a two-on-two!"
Kasshoku grinned nastily. "That sounds good to me?"
"It does?" Gin blinked. Kasshoku gave him a significant look and Gin slowly smiled as he caught his friend's train of thought. "Yeah, it does. Let's make it a two-on-two." The silver-haired man glanced at Minato. "…If you don't mind fighting alongside a woman, of course."
For a moment, Kushina's vision turned red as she realized exactly what the chauvinists' 'logic' was. They saw her joining Minato's side as an advantage for them because she was a woman. Women didn't fight real pokémon battles; they dressed their monsters up in costumes and had them perform dance routines. Minato therefore would be forced to split his attention between fighting both of his opponents and protecting her pokémon since they'd have no idea what they were doing. And if Minato got offended by the idea of being paired with a female and refused to fight them, they could back out and save face since they'd specifically agreed to fight two-on-two instead of two-on-one.
"I don't mind at all," Minato responded coolly. "A two-versus-two it is."
But then she smiled coldly as a wicked plan flashed into her brain.
They think I'll just be an anchor around Minato's neck. They'll underestimate me and dismiss me as a threat. And we'll kick their asses so hard they won't know what hit them!
"Let's take this to the town square," she suggested.
"Is battling allowed there?" Minato asked.
"Yep," Kushina nodded sharply. "There's plenty of room." And there will be plenty of witnesses to this ass-kicking!
"That's fine with us," Kasshoku agreed.
"Let's go then," Minato nodded. "Lead the way."
"Is this a good idea?" Genma asked Minato quietly as they followed Gin and Kasshoku's posse.
"Relax," Minato reassured him. "Everything will be fine."
It won't just be 'fine,' Kushina thought gleefully. It'll be great! It's been way too long since me and Minato teamed up to really kick butt!
Feeling more human than the previous day, Inaho tried to pass the time by exploring and window-shopping. The few clothing stores that she'd ventured into weren't to her taste as their selection for women was decidedly old-fashioned, consisting of house dresses, yukatas, informal and formal kimonos, and costumes for participating in Contests. Other stores that she'd seen were filled with Contest props, pre-made pokéblocks and poffins, fishing gear, pokéballs made from apricorns, and berry-growing supplies. None of them really caught her attention and she'd stopped at a rustic little café for lunch before returning to wandering aimlessly with her chatot, Chatty, riding on her shoulder.
What a backwater, Inaho sighed. No department stores or shopping malls… I don't think that these people have even heard of such things!
She eyed a little corner bakery and wondered if she should go inside and look for dessert—
"Ch-wark!" Chatty squawked and nipped at her ear.
"Ah!" Inaho squeaked and ducked away from the chatot's beak. "What?"
The parrot monster urgently gestured with his wing down the street behind her. Inaho craned her neck to find a group of about ten people—several local men and one woman, along with Champion Minato Namikaze and his agent-assistant Genma Shiranui—heading towards where she remembered the town square to be. There was a certain silent tension that hung over them that she picked up on instantly and made her think that they were heading off to a fight.
Inaho hurriedly fumbled around inside her large shoulder bag for one of her cameras. Early in her career she'd learned to always carry a still or video camera everywhere that she went as there was no telling what she'd stumble across. When she pulled out her cheap digital video camera—a rugged model that was easily concealed, but its video quality was poor compared to professional cameras—she grinned and stroked the bird's note-like head crest.
"Good catch, Chatty!" she said and started to follow them on the far side of the street. "This could be really big! Let's see what they're up to…"