Chapter Text
Five-year-old Bakugou Tsubaki sat on the swings in the middle of the empty playground, petulant and angry at her twin brother Katsuki for a great number of reasons, not the least of which was being a big ‘poopie-head’ and not letting her play with him and the other boys during their scavenger hunts and his treatment of their best friend Izuku who had just recently been declared quirkless, hence her brother’s mean behavior towards the boy that might as well be their triplet. Rather than follow them from afar, she decided to go to the playground, the cellphone her mother entrusted to her just in her backpack waiting for the alarm to go off until it was time for her to go home. No need to let her parents know that she had a big fight with her twin.
“Stupid Kacchan! I-kun isn’t a deku!” She muttered angrily as she gently kicked her feet on the ground to let the swing move, her backpack just on the base of the frame by her side. “Stinky breath goblin!” She grumbled.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the men coming up behind her until it was too late. The hand on her mouth and the sensation of being pulled off the swings made her heart stop until she remembered what her grandpa had taught her. Tsubaki held her breath before kicking and punching back until the man dropped her, she knew that she was strong, the crater in her backyard that had been turned into a sunken garden came from a temper tantrum before her quirk had even appeared was a testament to that.
She screamed her loudest, eyes catching sight of a man on the phone who immediately turned to her in shock before rushing to them as she, in turn, rushed to him, unfortunately, the other bad guy was faster and caught her. She got hit on the head and as the world darkened around her, she saw the man, heavily scarred, burst into blue flames.
Todoroki Touya was on the phone with his classmate discussing the project that had been assigned to them while he had been at the hospital when he heard the shrill scream of a terrified child. Head immediately turning to see a little blonde-haired girl running to him while being chased by no less than three masked men told him enough. Touya might have been discarded by his father in favor of his baby brother for being born a failure but he wasn’t so far gone in his bitterness and anger that he was just going to abandon the little girl who looked to be around Shoto’s age.
“Rin!” He snapped out as he rushed across the street, barely even glancing to see if there were any incoming cars. “Call the police, call the heroes! There’s a little girl being kidnapped!” He snapped out as he dropped the call.
Hellfire engulfing his body as his teeth ground against each other at the feeling of burning from inside out. He only had a few moments to stop them before his quirk caused him irreparable damage and as he fought, he mentally counted down until he hit his limit, but he kept on fighting. Just when he thought he'd won, a few more men showed up and as the pain became too much, he fainted.
Bakugou Mitsuki glanced at the clock as she waited for her children to return. They had gone exploring with a group of other children in the forest near their home. She was trying to give them some independence and had wanted Katsuki to start trying to mend things with Izuku-kun. Inko had been at the forest too but had watched over them from a distance. Her two children had left in the morning the short walk was one they knew well. The sound of the door opening and the shuffle of small feet alerted her that her children were home. She went out of the kitchen, ignoring the dread that had been growing in her in the last hour or two as she waited for the sound of another set of tiny feet. Frowning as she noted the absence of her daughter’s voice, she greeted her son with a smile.
“Welcome home, Katsuki!” She greeted. “Where’s your sister?”
Katsuki stared at her. “I told her to go home hours ago, I didn’t want a girl around while we were exploring. She left before Auntie Inko had even arrived with Deku.” He said with a shrug.
“You did WHAT?” She yelled out, her volatile temper getting the best of her as she slammed her fist onto the table, breaking it in half. “Katsuki! Why didn’t you go with her? She hasn’t come home yet!”
Her son paled before fear began to sink in. Her husband walked in through the door right after that. The cheerful smile that their daughter inherited falling immediately as his eyes caught sight of her. “What’s happened?”
“Katsuki sent Tsubaki home right after they got to the forest, she hasn’t arrived yet!” Mitsuki explained frantically.
Masaru’s eyes flew wide as he turned back towards the door, keys in hand. “Stay with Katsuki and call the police. I’ll drive around and see if I can find her.” He was out the door in no time.
Mitsuki lunged for the phone, ignoring her son’s attempts to talk to her. She didn’t wait for the person on the other end of the line to greet her. “My name is Mitsuki Bakugou and my five-year-old daughter is missing.”
Masaru drove around frantically around the neighborhood. His daughter wouldn’t go far, not when her own world was so little, spanning just a few blocks. His eyes caught sight of the flashing red and blue light of the police cars clustered around the playground his children played in quite frequently. Heart stopping as he pulled to the side, his eyes caught sight of his phone and he remembered the phones that he and his wife had presented to their children just the day before.
He tried calling Tsubaki’s phone but received no reply, so he turned on the tracking app that he and his wife had installed only for it to direct him into the playground. He got out of the car, shaking like a leaf as he approached what looked to be a battlefield, scorch marks on the ground and melted metal and stone to the side. An officer stopped him as he tried to get in, his fingers on the call button for his daughter’s number.
“Sir, you can’t be here. Please step back.”
“What happened?”
“Sir please…”
“What happened?” He asked as he grabbed the officer, the phone set to auto redial. “My daughter hasn’t come home, and her phone says she’s here.”
The officer looked at him grimly but before he could even reply the call connected and Masaru felt relief as he hastily shoved the phone to his ear. “Sweetheart, where are you?”
“Who is this?” It was a man’s voice, and just like that his relief was ripped from him. “This is Detective Tanuma. Who is this?”
“This is Bakugou Masura, where is my daughter?”
“Where are you Mr. Bakugou?” There was something apologetic and sorrowful in the Detective’s tone.
“Right outside the park.” Masura whispered softly as he caught sight of the Detective on the phone holding his daughter’s orange backpack.
The detective approached him but Masura couldn’t take his eyes off of the backpack and the little fox and toad stickers decorating it. He wanted to run away, he wanted to fall over, to wake up from this horrible nightmare.
“Mr. Bakugou?” There was sympathy and compassion in his tone but he didn’t want it.
“What happened? Where’s my baby girl?”
“I’m sorry but we believe she’s been taken but we’re doing everything we can to find her.” The man said as soothingly as he could.
Masura turned to stare at him, his heart felt as though it was being held in a vice-like grip. “How do you know?”
“We received a call about a kidnapping in progress about half an hour or so, a middle schooler called the department after his classmate who he had been on the phone with had told him to. From what we could figure out, it seemed as though the boy had tried to interfere and was taken as well.”
Masura’s world shattered.
Fuyumi picked up the phone absentmindedly as her eyes tracked Shoto’s silent steps to his room with Natsuo ushering their baby brother through the hallway. The house was very quiet and seemed to be quite empty. Their mother was in that place, their father was out working, and Touya-nii still hadn’t arrived home. “Todoroki residence, how may I help you?” She answered.
“Is Touya there? Is he okay?” The questions were spat out in a panic.
Fuyumi felt her world standstill. “No, w-why?”
“He told me to call the police because there was a little girl being kidnapped before he dropped the call. I haven’t heard from him since.”
“He hasn’t come home yet.” She said before dropping the call and hastily dialing her brother’s number.
“Touya-nii where are you?”
“This is Detective Tamura, who am I speaking to?”
“Todoroki Fuyumi.” She answered as calmly as possible. “May I speak to my brother, please?” She forced herself to use the manners her mother had instilled in her. If the Detective was there then Touya was probably just being held up for using his quirk to save the little girl.
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible. I’d like to ask you to call your parents please.”
“They aren’t here.” Fuyumi said, heart thudding so fast that it felt like it was ready to leap out of her chest.
“Understood. Thank you for telling me, and please tell them to get in contact with the police as soon as they can.”
Fuyumi slid down to the floor as she tried to call her father’s phone but he wasn’t picking up. ‘Too busy being a hero and trying to get the number 1 spot to even be a decent father.’ Fuyumi thought spitefully as she thought of her little brother’s tears and the burn on his face, of her mother’s frantic attempts at trying to mitigate the damage as she rocked Shoto and uttered hysterical cries of Imsorrysosorrypleasesorry over and over again, of Touya-nii’s body covered with burns and eyes filled with bitterness-hurt-anger.
It went to voice mail. She took a deep breath. “Dad! Call me back! I’m heading to the police station. Something’s happened to Touya-nii!”
She dropped the call and stood up. “Natsuo! Stay here and watch over Shoto, I have to go somewhere.” She yelled as she slid her shoes on and grabbed her bag.
Inko arrived at the Bakugou residence with her son in tow, letting herself in with her key and saw her best friend crying in her husband’s arms as Mitsuki’s parents, Akio and Haru Nara sat on the opposite couch, faces grim and eyes red. She ushered her son forward before pointing upstairs. Izuku nodded and her baby ran up the stairs with their clothes.
Her best friend needed her, so she wasn’t going anywhere, neither was Izuku. Right now, the Bakugou’s needed the Midoriyas’ for support and she had no intention of letting them down.
“Kacchan.” Izuku’s voice called out softly as the light from the hallway streamed into his room from the open door.
Katsuki curled up tighter. “Go away Deku!” He said but there was no real heat to his words. He didn’t want to be left alone but the awful feeling of guilt was drowning him. ‘It’s my fault! Oh, Kami! What if I don’t see her again! My fault!’ Kept going round and round in his head as he held his tears back.
He felt Deku’s arms wrap around him and felt the other boy shake before the torrent of tears began and Katsuki’s resolve faltered and he began to cry. “Do you think she’s okay?” He asked quietly.
“I don’t know, Kacchan.” Deku said. “But I hope so.”
“This is all my fault.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I shouldn’t have sent her away.”
“Kacchan didn’t know this was going to happen.” Deku insisted. Why was he still here? Katsuki couldn’t understand it. He was horrible to his best friend but the other boy was still here. ‘I hate you, Kacchan! You’re a big meanie!’ Tsubaki’s voice echoed in his mind, those had been the last words she had said to him before she turned around and ran away crying. He had just smiled when he saw her leave but he didn’t feel like smiling now. He rubbed his eyes again and again, trying to stop the itching and the stinging he’d been feeling. Deku finally looked at him and his eyes widened.
“Kacchan, you’re eyes.”
Tsubaki woke up shivering from the cold as unknown voices flitted through the air. She whimpered as she realized that she wasn’t in her room. She glanced around the room and saw the man that had come to help her, he looked horrible with fresh burns around his body. She crawled to him, hand gently touching his forehead, the only part of him that didn’t seem to be injured. Blonde hair set in twin tails and honey colored eyes flashed before her eyes. ‘This is how we heal, Naru.’ She said tiredly as her hands began to glow a soft green.
Tsubaki took a deep breath and gave in, felt the strong hands guiding her and reached deep into her, trusting the guiding voice’s instructions as her hand hovered over the burns, watching with wide eyes as the wounds began to heal but the skin was still raw. ‘If all else fails, you’re still an Uzumaki, share your chakra with them.’
Teal eyes fluttered open and she smiled but continued to heal.
Touya groaned as he dazedly eyed his surroundings before freezing as he caught sight of the little girl sitting beside him with glowing green hands and the memories snapped into place. ‘I guess I was kidnapped, too.’
He eyed the little girl and watched as her hands hovered over his left arm, the pain subsiding as new skin began to grow on it, pink and healthy but still sensitive. A healing quirk, no wonder she had been taken. “Are you alright, Mister?” She whispered.
“I am now, little one. Thank you.” He eyed her again. “What’s your name? How old are you?”
“I’m Tsubaki and I’m five!” She said as she held up the appropriate number of fingers. So just about as old as Shoto. Touya’s heart ached as he thought of his little brother and his tears after each training session with their father.
“My name is Touya.” He told her before he sat up and pulled the shivering little girl close. His lips pursed as his eyes scanned his surroundings, trying to find a way out of the situation he had found himself in.
It took her father hours to call her back and to make it to the station and even then, it wasn’t Todoroki Enji that entered but Endeavor. She answered his questions as succinctly as possible before sending him to the Detective in charge of the case. She was too young in the eyes of the law for them to answer her questions.
“Fuyumi, head home. I’ll handle this.” Endeavor said. She eyed her father before nodding tiredly. She wondered if he really cared for one of his failed children or if this was all just an act but she couldn’t really bring herself to care right now.
The days dragged on for both families with Endeavor tearing apart the city for any clues and Fuyumi keeping both of her siblings at home. Groceries were delivered and the doors and windows shut to the swarm of the media. The same could be said for the Bakugou household, the television shut off and the phone lines unplugged. Their phones programmed not to accept any calls except pre-approved ones. Inko went in and out to run the errands needed by the family, glaring at the reporters that just wouldn’t leave them alone.
Cry baby she may be, but she had a spine of steel when necessary. She ignored all questions thrown at her as she counted the days since she had last seen her niece. She glanced around and saw the tighter than usual hold that parents had on their children and she knew that the people of their neighborhood was just as shaken as her surrogate family were. Something like this was unheard of in their area.
She closed the door to the Bakugou residence and listened to the unnatural quiet in the usually lively and explosive home, hearing only the sobbing of Haru and Mitsuki in the background. ‘Please let this nightmare end, please bring her back safely.’ She prayed.
A week into their kidnapping, Touya finally found the perfect opportunity to escape. Despite not being in prime condition yet, he knew this was likely the only chance they would get. He shook Tsubaki awake and gestured for her to be quiet. He lifted her up, wincing a bit as her clothes rubbed on the raw skin. “Nii-chan hurt?” She asked softly.
“I’ll be fine.”
She shook her head and eyed him speculatively. As he opened his mouth to assure her that he was okay, she shoved her arm into his mouth accidentally biting it. She held it still and despite seeing her flinch she kept it there, hand going to cover his nose, he tried to breathe with his mouth but something else rushed through him and a soft blue glow engulfed him, she let go of his nose but didn’t push his mouth away, his eyes drifted to his arm and saw that the skin was nearly completely healed, just slightly discolored but there was no pain anywhere.
The arm dropped and his eyes snapped to her face, sweat covering her face as she panted and dropped her head on his shoulder. Right, healing quirk. He felt better than he had in years and definitely more energetic. He held out his hand and let out a controlled blast of his hellfire and watched the bars melt. The capture tape melting off as he began to silently walk out of the door, keeping his senses on alert and trying to hear if there were any other captives. He walked past empty cells and clenched his jaws. There had been at least four other children here the day before.
Tsubaki lifted her head up and pointed down one of the hallways. Had she been awake when they were brought here? If so, then she would have seen where the exit was. There were multiple doors along the way but she shook her head at most of them except for one. She gestured him there and he found himself in an office.
Hands covered his mouth immediately. “Nii-chan, People come in here and disappear there.” She said as she pointed to a door at the end of the room.
“How do you know?” He asked her quietly.
“Sense it, saw it.” She said with a frown. “Light go this way then go out and lots of lights walking by.”
Okay. What? Whatever, Touya just wanted to get out of there as soon as he could. Eyes darting around the office, he opened a drawer and swiped a few of the folders. “If you can… uh… sense it, you said no to the other rooms. Are there people there?” He asked. She nodded solemnly. “Bad people, light is icky, feels yucky.”
So maybe her quirk wasn’t specifically healing but something to do with lifeforce manipulation? That was a terrifying thought. He walked to the door that supposedly led outside before an alarm sounded and the sounds of footsteps rushing their way could be heard. f*ck it! Touya summoned an even hotter flame to blast out the door and the wall while simultaneously forming a ring of fire at their back to separate them and the men that had just stormed in.
He didn’t feel the least bit guilty when he realized that the wall had collapsed on a few of the kidnappers. He ran out to the alleyway as fast as he could avoiding the bullets and the attacks sent by the villains as people dodged and screamed. His eyes caught sight of Eraserhead and Sir Nighteye rushing to the scene as people quickly fled.
“Stop!” Eraserhead called out but he just kept running past them.
“Can’t talk now! Too busy running for my life. You’ve got this right?” He yelled out as he ducked into a building six doors down.
He watched by the window still holding Tsubaki in his arms as the heroes battled against the villains. He only stepped out when the police arrived. One of the officers took one look at him and stared at him in shock before his eyes turned to the little girl clinging to him.
“Y…you are…”
“Todoroki Touya and this little one is Tsubaki. I need you to contact our parents.” He said as stoic as he could. If there was one thing his father’s training was good for, it was for projecting an unaffected air.
The officer nodded. Touya tuned him out as he sagged in relief, wincing as his skin chafed from contact with his clothes. He might’ve overdone it again.
The phone rang in the Bakugou household breaking the oppressive silence that had been present for a week. Akio Nara answered the phone for his daughter. “Hello?”
“Is this the Bakugou Residence?”
“Yes.” Akio confirmed.
“This is Detective Tanuma, we have Tsubaki, their taking her to Musutafu General Hospital to get her checked out but she appears to be fine.” The man said happily.
“Thank you, we’ll be there soon.” Akio said, voice thick with relief.
“They found her.” He said as he turned to everyone. “They’re taking her to Musutafu General for a checkup, but they said that she seems to be fine.”
And just like that, life was breathed back into the home as everyone rushed off to get ready, changing from the sleep clothes that they’d all been wearing for what feels like ages and rushing to their cars.
“Mommy! Daddy!” Tsubaki squealed as her parents ran into her room. She had a hard time breathing after that as they practically crushed her under their hugs. Her eyes turned to her brother and I-kun. She smiled brightly at them and they scrambled to her bed for a hug.
Her brother’s eyes flickered, a tomoe appearing as they stared at each other. “Kacchan’s eyes are weird.” She said before it flickered away again. A voice whispering in her ear. ‘Sharingan.’
She saw her grandparents pale as they stared at Katsuki with wide eyes. “Katsuki… you… you unlocked the Sharingan?” Her grandfather said with apprehensive awe.
“What now?” Masura asked.
“I’ll explain everything when we get home.” Akio assured them before turning to the doctor that had just walked in.
“Well, that won’t be until tomorrow. We want to keep her here to make sure there aren’t any late-onset quirk injuries.” The doctor said before she led her parents away for a talk.
Shoto stared up at Touya-nii with wide eyes as he patted the bed beside him. “To-niisan?”
“Hey Shoto, why don’t you come up here and give me a hug?” Shoto stared at his brother, it had been a while since his brother had willingly gone near him. Not since their Father had begun training him. He nodded and climbed onto the bed.
His eyes caught sight of the little girl in the other room. She was peeking out the door and staring at his brother. “That’s Tsubaki, she was along for the whole adventure.” To-niisan explained as he waved at the girl who smiled back and gave an energetic wave before being picked up by a woman with green hair. Red eyes sparkling with joy as she was drawn into a hug.
That night he dreamt of cold and scornful gazes, bloodthirsty whispers of kill, blood, drench the sand, my son do it for me. Mother wants blood. Shoto shivered and whimpered in his sleep before his dreams showed him golden blonde hair and sky blue eyes, whiskered cheeks, and a warm sunshine smile, his breathing evened out and he calmed instantly.
Tsubaki stared at her savior from where she stood by the door, he was surrounded by his brothers and sister, but her focus was on the scarred little boy with red and white hair. Something about called to her as red hair and teal eyes lined with dark circles flashed in her mind. Regret and longing shot through her before she pushed it away. She saw Touya-san wave to her, so she waved back and gave a bright smile before Auntie Inko pulled her into a hug.
Touya sighed as he eyed his siblings. Could they last without him there? He had been contemplating running away for some time now, but this latest adventure had shown him that things weren’t as safe as he thought it could be. Shoto walked home from school more often than not, nowadays and it could have just as easily been his baby brother that had been taken. And Fuyumi, his only sister had taken on their mother’s roles. Natsuo was too young to really be of help and the less said about their father’s form of parenting the better. No, it was better for him to stay and take care of them, at least until Shoto was older.
A man with vulpine features walked through the streets of Tokyo before he sighed. His siblings were going to meet him here for their 10-year reunion as they’d done for the last few centuries. This was the only time that they allowed themselves close to Ashura, no Naru, and Sasuke’s final resting place.
As he walked past a partially collapsed building, he froze. The familiar feel of chakra use humming through the air but it was the presence that had him wide-eyed. That had been Naruto’s presence. Could it be? Could she really have reincarnated… again? He reached out to the mental link shared by all his tailed siblings and called those that were already in the city to investigate the chakra presence. He needed to know that he wasn’t just going crazy.
“You’re doing much better than I expected.” Recovery Girl said as she eyed him. “I thought your body had already reached its limits from your quirk use and yet your skin simply looks like it’s been sunburned.”
Touya cast a small smile before his eyes flickered to the room next door. “My little adventure buddy healed me before she would even let me execute our escape plan.”
“Healing Quirk…” Recovery Girl said contemplatively as she eyed the closed door. She shuffled through the paperwork she had with her before frowning. “The girl’s quirk is limited as chakra which is apparently a form of energy manipulation quirk. It doesn’t say anything about healing.”
He blinked and tilted his head as he eyed the woman again then the door and back to the pro hero. “Could she have been manipulating my cells? Infusing energy into it to speed up the healing?” He asked hesitantly.
Recovery Girl sighed before shaking her head. “It’s possible but I won’t know until I speak to the girl and her family.” She eyed him again. “Get some rest, boy. And don’t even think about using your quirk for at least a week.”
“Got it.”
Katsuki was asleep, curled around his twin on her hospital bed, he pitched a hissy when they tried to separate them earlier to go home and he didn’t allow Deku to go home either. He let the other boy sleep on the other side of the bed. The adults had simply shrugged at them, too tired to really care and in their eyes, too adorable to be separated. So Katsuki may have played up the cute factor a little too much, Tsubaki and Izuku playing along to the point where the adults in their life were left cooing messes but you do what you gotta do.
He dreamt of red eyes and purple eyes. Of war and bloodshed, a little girl with dark hair that looked at him so trusting, so awed that it made him want to be a better person. He dreamt of a sister that was and wasn’t his. Blonde hair and blue eyes with whiskered cheeks and a smile always at the ready. He dreamt of…
“Sasuke, it’s worse than the rise in chakra null children. Time is collapsing in on itself.” Tired blue eyes and an out of place frown greeted him. “The last act of the Otsotsuki clan was to set off a device that has begun to destabilize time. Chakra null children… well… we should have seen the signs with Lee, this one was a long time coming. We’ve abused it to the point where chakra’s nature itself had become twisted and turned on itself… I don’t know if we can fix that, but we can survive without its presence in our world… we can’t survive the complete erasure of time.”
Katsuki’s hands flexed as he stood straight. “Understood. Do you want me to form a team?”
A grateful smile, ‘she hasn’t slept in weeks.’ Whispers a voice in his head. “Take Shikadai with you. My eldest was the one to figure out what was happening.”
“I’ll leave at once.”
“You’ll leave tomorrow.” The tone told him that there was no point in arguing. “Spend some time with your family.”
Katsuki jolted awake as his sister’s leg hit him in the stomach. He groaned before falling asleep as she pulled him closer to cuddle, his dream forgotten.
Bakugou Mitsuki stared at Recovery Girl and her assessment that perhaps her children needed some trauma counseling after this. Yeah, no sh*t. She had already looked up the best of the best and had booked them an initial visit. Not just for the kids, oh no, it’ll probably take Masaru and her awhile before they’re able to be completely confident about not monitoring the children 24/7.
“Can you tell me more about your daughter’s quirk?” the Pro Hero asked.
Her father stepped in, Mitsuki didn’t have the family’s quirk which meant that she had a lesser understanding of it than her father did. “It’s called chakra or energy manipulation and conversion. Katsuki has also shown some of it to a lesser extent. It can be used to manipulate the elements, and given a person’s affinity and skill, perhaps even heal someone. We had an ancestor a few generations back before registrations happened, that could heal people.” Akio explained before he hmmed.
“Katsuki is more prone to the offensive type of energy manipulation while Tsubaki is flexible in that she probably has the potential for offense, defense, and healing but this type of quirk is one that could kill the user if they use up all the energy in their body.”
“I see, so it has some drawbacks.” Recovery Girl mumbled before staring at the four adults gathered in the family room, the green-haired woman was watching the children. “I would like to help your granddaughter foster the healing aspect of her quirk and to mentor her…”
“No.” Masura said immediately as everyone turned to him. “Not right now, at least. I’m not going to push my daughter into a hero course when she could just as easily have her own dream. If she decides she wants to be a hero, then you can present your case to her but… not until she’s old enough to make informed decisions.”
Mitsuki smiles at her husband, usually so soft but right now he was speaking in a curt and strict tone. Laying down the terms and arguing for their daughter to grow up as any normal child would. She sees the old hero open her mouth and Mitsuki’s temper rises before she shoves it down, refuses to punch the wall and chance a hole appearing and… knowing her luck it would be a load-bearing one too. Thankfully, her mother steps in.
“Rather than you mentoring the children,” Her mother emphasizes the fact that she has two grandchildren, three if you count Izuku (which her mother does), capable and probably as willing and eager to become heroes. “Wouldn’t it be better for them to learn from my husband how to control it rather than risk their lives due to chakra exhaustion? My mother in law told me that a person could just drop dead after one technique despite being okay one moment because of poor control.”
The Pro Hero sighs and shakes her head. “Very well. Would it be alright to at least check-in and see if the girl does have an aptitude for healing and medicine?”
“Should she show an interest, we will call you.” Mitsuki tells the old woman calmly. “I believe it’s best if I get back to the children. Excuse me.” And with that, she turned around and walked back to her baby’s room.
“I should say congratulations but you and I both know that it will be as insincere as Sai’s complements.”
Naruto turned around, steadying herself as she shifted her wedding kimono, to meet the teal eyes of the Kazekage. “Hello, Gaara.” She said with a soft sad smile.
“You look beautiful as always.” Her friend eyed her with just about as much longing as she probably felt.
“Gaara… I…”
Her friend shook his head. What did he think about her marrying his dead sister’s fiancé? “It never would have worked between us. Especially not from the moment you were made Hokage Elect.”
“I know, the needs of the village and the clans must come first.” Her mouth tasted bitter at her own words. It wasn’t fair to anyone but at least she was marrying a friend who respected her, and they had the misfortune of falling in love with two remarkable siblings.
The redhead gave her one last smile before turning around. “I should go find my seat.”
“Gaara.” She called out before he could open the door. “Thank you, for coming.” He didn’t turn back but he nodded all the same.
Sasuke was standing right outside the door and he glanced at the two of them before stepping inside and closing the door. “Are you sure about this?”
“Needs must and all. Do you not trust Shikamaru? Are you angry about this?” She asked as she cast a worried glance at her brother in all but blood.
“No.” Sasuke said. “I trust Shikamaru, I know he’ll be good to you and whatever children you have together but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re not marrying for love.”
Naruto sighed as she glanced out of the window. “Love can grow. Right now, we respect each other and we’re fond of one another.”
“Fond as friends and if love hasn’t grown between the two of you in the years you’ve known one another then love might not grow at all.” Sasuke stepped closer. “If I could give you a chance at marrying the man you love, I would.”
She shook her head. “Don’t do this now.” She pleaded as her eyes met his dark and sad. “I… thank you for agreeing to walk me down the aisle.”
“I’ll always be here for you, little sister.”
