Chapter Text
"Akane!" I was confused to say the least. I just…stared at my mother.
Mother?
I sat up in a flash, staring at her in shock. Mom…she had died a long time ago. She couldn't…be in front of me.
"Honey?" I shook my head and jumped out of bed. I just fell however. I got on all four, shaking my head. I stared at my hands for a second. They were so…small. Like a child.
I looked around and found a mirror. When I saw my reflection in it, I almost screamed.
I was…I was a child. Maybe five, but I was a child and…I remembered this room. I looked around. It was the room I had when I lived with Aunty Kushina and Oji-chan. Yet, the last thing I remembered was…
Summoning the Shinigami to protect my twin children, the most precious reminders I had of Itachi.
"What happened?" I asked to myself quietly.
"You don't remember honey?" I looked up at my…mother. My mother who died when I was sixteen by the hand of the Akatsuki. Sasori, exactly. "You saw me and suddenly, you…fainted with a heavy fever when we were about to leave the village yesterday." I was shocked.
I put my hand on my stomach. Something…felt warm there.
"Bathroom," I mumbled.
"Of course, go honey." I did and locked the door behind me. I climbed on the lid of the toilet, right in front of the sink and mirror, and lifted my shirt. I had a seal on my stomach, similar to Naruto's, except that the symbol for 'death' and 'shinigami' replaced any indication of a bijuu. I limply let go of my shirt and sat down.
I read through Oji-chan's notes about the Death Reaper Seal. You summon the Shinigami, who takes your soul for eternal damnation and in exchange, you can seal basically anything. I used it on someone about to kill my children near an unknown and unstable seal. On the body of the summoner, a seal was left on the stomach.
I had that seal, except I was alive and if I had the timeline right, five. I went from thirty-eight to five. I raised my head to the mirror and pinched my cheeks. Baby fat was very much present and any curve I had were gone, so was my height and the scar on my hand due to a bad fuinjutsu accident.
I left the bathroom to find my mom there, worried. I looked at her crying.
"Oh honey, it's alright."
"I missed you!" I cried in her arms.
"I missed you too."
"What's going on?" Aunty Kushina inquired, yawning and a hand on her huge belly. "Oh Akane, you're awake baby!"
"Yes, we can lea…"
"No!" They both looked down at me. "I want to meet Naruto!"
"You can meet him lat…" I shook my head and my mother frowned, flaring her nostrils in frustration.
"See Aki-nee, Akane agrees. There's no hurry for you two to leave." Aunty rubbed her belly lovingly. "Please stay."
"…I'm going to ask Minato but…"
I had no idea how I got here, or if it was reality but…my seal indicated it was real. I needed to research it and I couldn't do it anywhere else but Konoha. And…if Naruto could grow up with his parents this time…
Naruto was not born yet, meaning the Kyuubi attack had not happened and the Yondaime, as well as Kushina, were still alive. Itachi looked up at the cloudy sky of September, Sasuke in his arms as his mother was in a store.
So far, what he was sure of was: he was five years old again, his knowledge intact and, even if in theory his skills were still here, his body could not follow yet. His sharingans and Mangekyou were not there yet, but he hoped his Mangekyou would still be here. He did not want to witness Shisui killing himself.
Seeing him alive and grinning after he recovered from his sudden 'sickness' was disturbing enough.
"And this is the shopping district Akiko-san!" Itachi looked to his right. Shisui was there with a red-haired woman.
"It's a lot more than I thought." He could not pinpoint why, but this woman seemed oddly familiar. When she smiled at Shisui, he looked down.
She reminded him of Akane. Akane who had just left Konoha. He didn't want to wait twelve years to see her again, and who knew if he would? He wanted to change things. If Minato lived, maybe there would not even be a plan for a coup and…
"Restaurants are behind." He froze at the voice and glanced back at them.
Akane was there, the woman holding her hand. She was pointing to the restaurants a street behind the one they were in.
"Mom I'm hungry." Oh. It explained the resemblance.
Wait, why was she still here? She should have left two weeks ago.
They disappeared out of his sight. The very next day, when Shisui arrived at their meeting spot in the woods, Akane was following him. He felt a blush creeping up his neck he quickly hid behind his high collar.
With him losing the light in his eyes, Akane had sadly become a blurry figure by the end. Seeing her so clearly now…She really was adorable. She had the regular shinobi sandals, but also dark green overalls over a white tank top, her hair in two low ponytails. Her bangs were framing her face, the baby fat on her cheeks making him want to poke them.
He wanted to squeeze her because of how cute she really was.
"Hey Itachi, I hope you don't mind Akane's here today." He shook his head. Akane stared at him and for a split of second. Her eyes did not look like those of a child.
No, they reminded him briefly of the Akane he knew and loved. Still, she was analyzing him and seemed content with what she found.
"She sucks at shurinkenjutsu," Shisui continued. Itachi knew that already. It was a mystery how she could…be that bad.
"Shisui…" she groaned, flushing in embarrassment.
"Don't worry Akane, we're totally gonna make you awesome at shurikenjutsu!"
She was not receptive to Shisui's instructions at all, Shisui not understanding why. He stood up and walked over to them.
"Can I try?" Akane glanced at him for a few seconds and nodded. "The foot opposite from the throwing-hand is in front of the other." She changed that. "You need to be stable." She nodded. "Then, make sure your grip on your shuriken is tight but still flexible. The moment your arm is straight, you let it go." She did. It landed beneath the target, but it landed in the tree. "It's not bad."
"I'm notthatbad," he heard her muttering.
She kept practicing. Shisui came over to him at some point, a grin on his face. He threw his arm on his shoulders and crouched, their back to Akane.
"So, how does it feel to be so close to your crush?" Despite himself, Itachi blushed a little.
"Shisui, I'm trying to help her. Nothing else."
"Sure, sure. I'm just glad she's up after the fever she had." This caught his attention.
"Fever?" Shisui nodded.
"On the day she was supposed to leave, she suddenly had a bad fever when she got up from bed. They couldn't leave when it was planned, and Akiko-san was convinced to stay until Kushina-sama's baby is born."
Akane had suffered from a bad fever as well? He remembered her leaving without any issue before.
Was it a coincidence? It was a big coincidence that the two of them, at the same time, were stuck in bed with a fever but maybe?
Was there a tiny chance that maybe, the feeling he had had when Akane looked at him was the right one? Was there a chance than in this tiny body washisAkane and not a five-year-old?
If it was…
No, he couldn't get his hopes up. In any case, whether Akane was five or an adult, someone was going to unleash the Kyuubi on Konoha and if he could prevent it, he would. He was five, but he could talk and maybe try to change things, even just a little bit. He didn't want to put her in danger.
Baby Naruto would be here soon. As I had my ear on Aunty's belly, Mom and Oji-chan talking at the table, I was marveling at the fact Naruto, Seventh Hokage and War Hero, was such a small and fragile being right now, still in his mother's womb. I smiled a little when he kicked. He was already a fighter after all.
"Aunty, it's okay if I'm his nee-chan, even if I'm not really?" She ran her fingers in my hair with a gentle smile on her face.
"Of course, baby." I put my mouth near her belly.
"I'll do my best to be the best nee-chan to you, Naru-chan."
I would.
Just like I had wanted to do my best to avoid baby Itachi. Seeing people, I had mourned a long time ago was…strange, and reopened wounds that had closed a long time ago. They were not bleeding, but raw, and exposed. I would try my best to be on my own, but I was five, they were not keen on letting me do that. The only person in this house who didn't die…wasn't born yet.
Ironic, wasn't it?
Point was, I had been dreading seeing Itachi, but Shisui had not given me a choice. When I did see him though, it was…strange. He was a kid, nothing like the man I had come to love. His voice wasn't the same, his face…
I was numb. He was a child, an innocent one at that. The only thing I felt when I saw him was the will to keep him from following the same path as the Itachi I knew. He was a very cute kid though; I had forgotten that.
He reminded me of my children when they were his age. My children I would not see ever again. This would send me in a spiral or sadness.
Still, there was something…off with Itachi, or at least I felt something was off.
It was probably just my imagination.
October 10th arrived quickly; all of my nerves ready to bust. No matter the knowledge and skills I had, I was stuck in my five-year-old body. I couldn't use them. I had not awakened my kekkai genkai yet.
Overall, I could not help what would happen. I stayed at Oji-chan's and Aunty's house with Mom and Kakashi. I refused to go to bed but Mom forced me, which was humiliating in a way. Being treated as a kid was humiliating but I couldn't just blurt out I was an adult stuck in a child's body, could I? I didn't even know what I had turned myself into after all.
"What happened Akane?" I blinked at Mom. "You're…different since that fever."
"I'm okay Mom, I'm just worried about Aunty and the baby. Why did they leave so far?"
"Aunty is special, that's all." She crouched in front of me and frowned. She stared at me in the eyes for seconds that seemed like hours and widened her gray eyes. "Don't tell me…" She lifted my shirt out of sudden, my seal appearing.
"Mom?"
"Oh no, honey no…" she started to mumble, taking her head in her hands. Red locks of hair were slipping through her fingers.
"Mom? I'm sorry, I didn't…I didn't do it on purpose, I don't even know…"
"How old are you really?" I pursed my lips at her heartbroken gaze.
"Thirty-eight," I said in a small voice.
"Why…no, no…if you're that age then why…why did you make us stay?" I bit my bottom lip. "It's Kushina, isn't it?" I nodded weakly. "The Kyuubi?" I nodded again. "Honey, tell me what happened in your past."
"They were attacked, the Kyuubi released," I told her quietly. "Oji-chan sealed in Naruto but…"
"But?"
"They both…" I looked down, the tears I had suppressed until now starting to appear. Mom understood, horror taking over her features.
"Oh my God…" She grabbed my arms with an alarmed look in her eyes. "Listen to me Akane, listen to me carefully. What is in your head, your knowledge, you cannot share it with anybody, understand?"
"I…"
"Just promise me you won't tell anything to the wrong person!" I nodded quickly. "Good. It's…good." She kissed my forehead before hugging me. "Mommy loves you so, so much. Never forget that, okay?"
"Mom, what are yo…" She knocked me out.
"Goodbye honey," I heard her say before completely passing out.
I woke up later to a roar outside. I barely had the time to stand up that Kakashi came in my room, his shoes on. He gave me mine, that I put on automatically, my eyes not leaving Kurama in the distance, wreaking havoc and death in Konoha.
"Kakashi…Aun…"
"Your mom told me to protect you, so we're going to the shelters."
"But Mom and…"
"Shelters!" he almost barked at me, scooping me up in his arms. He jumped from the windows and landed in the street. He didn't waste time to run toward the shelters.
My eyes wouldn't leave Kurama. I knew him as…Naruto's friend and partner, not the hateful beast he was known as before. Yet now…he was controlled too, right? It was…
Old Kakashi had told me everything, the revelations in the war. He had told me about Obito being behind Aunty's and Oji-chan's deaths. So, he was the one pulling the strings right now.
"Wait Kakashi stop…"
"No."
People were running in the streets, screaming. Kakashi and I went through another district that had been severely impacted by Kurama's wrath already. I gulped at the body crushed under the buildings, sometimes half coming out of them. There was blood, and bones, screams and the smell of ash and iron in the air, making it almost impossible to breathe.
sh*t, I had to go! Mom…she knew things and the way she was talking…
"Kakashi-san we have to go!"
"Are you cra…" I took a seal from my pocket and put it on him. He stopped moving, enough for me to get back down. I removed the seal and jumped away from him. "It's not funny Akane, it's a serious situation!"
"I know that, but do you want them to die without doing anything!?" He glared at me.
"Of course not but…"
"We have to go!"
"I can't put you in blatant danger like that! Not…" He didn't finish his sentence.
It wasn't the time to remember how my older brother died though. I knew in this era, Fubuki had died maybe a year ago only, and that Kakashi was fresh from losing both his teammates but…
"They're going to die Kakashi-san, die!" I screamed from the top of my lungs. I coughed, having inhaled too much smoke. "Please, please I'm begging you…" He stared at me, then Kyuubi who had just disappeared from Konoha itself.
"I don't know what's going on with you Akane, but don't play me."
"Promised, now can we…" He scooped me in his arms again.
"Hang on tight." He sprinted away, the wind whipping my back. I held onto him tightly, seeing the village moving fast around us. He jumped high in the night sky and I thought I heard someone screaming at us.
I closed my eyes when I took note of the Sharingan down there, most likely an Uchiha in charge of evacuation. Still, Kakashi and I fled the village. He was not as fast as the Kakashi I knew, but we reached the scene quickly.
They were in a barrier made by Aunty, who was weakened. Mom and Oji-chan were around her and Naruto, on an altar. None of them noticed us, too busy with sealing Kyuubi.
My eyes widened when Mom stepped back and made a barrier around them.
"Aki-nee!"
"Seal him quickly Minato! Kushina might need the energy boost as well!" Minato nodded.
He sealed half in Naruto, who was wailing. Kyuub did not like that and tried to use his claw to kill Oji-chan. The barrier repealed him.
He turned his head and ferocious eyes to my mom. My heart missed a beat when she stopped the claw coming at her with Adamantine Chains, yelling at Minato to hurry up. Almost in slow-motion, I saw Kyuubi free one of his other claws and Mom was not quick enough to dodge as it went through her body in the back.
I couldn't say anything, Kakashi's hold on me tightening as he knelt and pulled me against him, other people behind us. Aunty yelled in anguish and Oji-chan finally finished the seal, Mom keeping Kyuubi stuck by wrapping Adamantine Chains around the both of them.
Kyuubi soon disappeared. The barrier was dispelled, and I got rid of Kakashi to run to my Mom. She was still alive, but barely. I fell to my knees next to her, knowing from the size of the wound that I could not do anything.
"Mom…Mom you…"
"Family…is precious…" she managed to say, blood running down her mouth. She looked at me with weak, gray eyes, her hand opened. I took it.
"I'm sorry…I'm…I didn't think that you…" I stuttered, shaking.
"Yuurei…" I sniffed and she smiled through the pain. "You're a…Yuurei…watch ov…over…them an…and Naru…to…" I bit my bottom lip and nodded.
"I swear Mom, I swear…" She closed her eyes.
"Lov…yo…" Her hand became slack around mine.
"Mom?" I knew she was gone. I had seen enough death before to know. I had seen her cold body before.
Yet, this body was five and had the reactions that came with it. I knew she was gone, but the child in me refused to believe it and was hoping that by some miracle, she would wake up. There was nothing though.
I raised my head and looked toward the new family. Aunty was crying in Oji-chan's chest, Naruto in her arms. Oji-chan looked at Mom, then me and looked down in pain, holding Aunty close to his body.
He…just wouldn't look at me.
I looked up at the moon high in the sky. The smell of blood was still strong, my pants becoming red from the blood coming from my own mother. I heard people behind, saying to take care of the Yondaime, but they were background noises.
My mom was gone. Again. But Naruto had both his parents this time around.
I couldn't bring myself to be happy because of how hollow I was feeling. I touched my mother's cheek. Had the universe planed for death tonight and took whoever was close when it couldn't take Minato and Kushina?
Did I kill my mother by asking her to stay?
I gritted my teeth to keep my lips from shaking. Yet, my whole body started to shake, something bubbling in my veins. I widened my eyes when I realized what it was.
"A…" I jumped to my feet and ran off as quickly as my legs could, not hearing Kakashi behind me.
That feeling…
I looked down. Frost was appearing on the ground when I'd put my feet down.
sh*t, not here…not…
I ended up in a clearing, out of breath. I had no idea where I was compared to Konoha but…there was a stream and a pound.
I fell to my knees, my hands clenched around the grass on the ground and yelled, letting it go. Cold filled the area and the water froze quickly. Not just the water that was visible, but even the moisture in the ground, just anything. The clearing turned white, frozen in ice from head-to-toe.
I was on my back, staring at the starry sky, drooling. Awakening my kekkai genkai at five…was not…I had not thought it could…happen but…
I didn't have enough stamina yet to use it safely and…I couldn't feel my fingertips or my toes.
"Akane!" Kakashi was in a field of vision, blocking the moon and the stars. "sh*t, Akane, are you…are you okay?"
"…cold…" He cursed and took his jacket off, leaving him in a tight, black undershirt. He put his jacket on me, which was way too big, and left my arms inside.
"Hospital."
"Mom…" I whispered, tears finally falling from my eyes. "Mom…" Kakashi just picked me up as I started sobbing. "Mom!"
"I'm sorry," he whispered with sorrow, his eyes on the frozen grass. "I'm…so sorry…" He picked me up and I sobbed in his chest.
My eyes were dried after a while spent crying. By the end, I was quiet against Kakashi, the ice slowly melting around us.
"Fugaku-san." I looked up, numb. Fugaku-san looked serious, if not a little mean, from my angle. He glanced around with a frown with his Sharingan. He deactivated it before looking down at us, and me.
"Did you steal a kid from the Hidden Mist Yondaime-sama?" Oji-chan appeared next to him, a conflicted look in his eyes.
"Not exactly." I stopped listening to them. They could sell me off to Kiri to fend for myself, I wasn't sure to care about that either.
I had shortened my mom's life and…
I knew I was a failure of a daughter already but now…
Minato and Kushina had survived. Last time, the village had heard about their deaths before the funerals, the news spreading like wildfire when they were still in the shelters because of a shinobi who had talked too loudly.
When Itachi did not hear it, he was relieved. The Yondaime was a good man, he could change things. He could keep his clan from meeting a cursed fate. On the day of the funerals, he shot the Hokage and his wife a look. Naruto was in Kushina's arms, sleeping.
How much would change in him if he was raised by his parents and not as the village pariah?
Itachi kept looking around, his stomach twisting when he did not see Akane. She had to be alright though.
She had to. The Uchiha glanced at the pictures of the deceased. All had pictures except one, when there was only a name.
"Father, who is that person?" he asked his father.
He had isolated himself at first, from his parents and his own clan. Memories of what he had done kept flooding his mind, day and night as he would walk through the first house he remembered growing up in. He still was not okay, how would he be after all. Being surrounded by people he had killed to save Konoha before was nerve-wracking.
He would do better this time, and they would live. He would not let things reach the point of no-return, and with Minato alive, he had real hopes for peace this time.
"It is for Uzumaki Akiko, Kushina's cousin. She died that night. I believe you have met her daughter already," his father replied, looking at the mourning Uzumaki.
Oh, so that was how they had survived. Someone else died. His father did not say Akane had died though.
Reading the silent question in his eyes, his father continued.
"The girl is in the hospital. She is in shock and hardly responds to anyone." She was alive then.
Her being in shock was more than understandable though. Her mother had just died, not long after her brother so…
It was normal.
He would try to visit, hoping Shisui would drag him along so he would not go on his own. They were not well acquainted yet, visiting her on his own might just stress her out even more.
As expected, a few days later, as they were sparing, Shisui asked him if it was okay to cut their session short to go to the hospital. Itachi agreed and he stopped on the way to buy a maneki neko in chocolate. Shisui had raised a brow at him, and he had shrugged in response. Maneki nekos were symbols of good luck and Akane loved milk chocolate. Hopefully it would get some reactions out of her.
Itachi was surprised to see Kakashi in her room. He knew they knew each other but he did not know the extent of it. From Kakashi reading her story, he could see they were relatively close.
Akane had lost her bond with him by leaving Konoha back then.
"Senpai!" Kakashi looked back at them and closed his book.
"Oh, the little boyfriend." Shisui rubbed the back of his head, Itachi hiding his scowl behind his collar. "I guess I can leave for a few minutes." He got up and left, leaving his book on the nightstand. The Uchiha boys watched him leave, then looked at Akane. She was out of view, completely hidden under the bed covers.
"Akane, it's Shisui and Itachi," Shisui said, going to her bed. He patted the lump on the bed whereas he put his present on the nightstand.
"Don't rush her," he heard himself saying quietly to his best friend.
"I do…" Akane's hand left the covers, her finger pointing at Itachi's present.
"What is it?"
"Chocolate," he replied immediately. Her hand made a grabbing gesture and he put his present in it. It disappeared beneath the covers. There wasn't a sound for a few seconds and finally, she came out of the covers.
The dark circles and the paleness of her skin immediately caught his eyes. He had always known when she was neglecting her health and it had not changed.
"Thanks Itachi," she said quietly.
"How do you know I'm not the one who got it?" Shisui asked her, offended. She looked at him and showed the front of the present.
"It's too thoughtful for you." Shisui pouted at that, and he hid his smirk.
Shisui did most of the talking, on a mission to cheer her up. She would nod, sometimes smiled a little at one of his jokes but did not speak much. Neither did he. He accepted the piece of chocolate she handed him, Shisui complaining he wasn't getting any. He thanked her quietly and accepted it.
It was not the best chocolate there was in Konoha, he knew that, but this particular candy shop was the only one making various shapes and characters.
"Shisui, how is the Academy?"
"You're going?" She nodded and Itachi couldn't help but be happy.
The Academy was boring in his memories. It was easy and the kids there were not the brightest in terms of what was right or wrong. He had no interest in having those kids following him again, or girls watching from the window squealing his name.
He would have to see Izumi again. He had saved her again during the attack but seeing her was so weird. On their last encounter, he made her live a long, happy life where she got married and had children, grandchildren, all of that withhim. He was thirteen, he did not know better than to give her what she wanted. He wasn't sure if her feelings for him would have stayed with time, but she had thought highly of him for years and was his friend, so he…gave her that.
It did not feel right now as he had wanted the same thing with Akane.
They wouldmeet.
If Akane was going to the Academy, it would be less boring and he could rekindle their relationship, at least friendship. There would not be more than friendship for at least a decade, but as long as she was part of his life again, he would wait. Last time, she had been the one doing most of the talking. Now things were different…maybe she would not be interested in being his friend.
He was secretly hoping they could be friends through Shisui, he was the extraverted one after all.
"I don't know. They don't tell me a lot of things about…what's going to happen to me."
"Well, they're going to keep you, obviously!" Shisui retorted, standing up. "Where would you go otherwise?" She shrugged, the piece of chocolate between her fingers slowly melting.
"Don't know, don't care." She put the chocolate and her fingers in her mouth.
"Akane…"
"Do you want us to leave you alone Akane-san?" he asked her as gently as possible. She nodded without looking at him.
"Thank you for the present."
"It was nothing."
He sincerely hoped she would leave the hospital quickly. She looked too small and fragile in that bed to his taste.
I spent a month in the hospital after Mom's death. The doctors said I had suffered from an important emotional trauma that threw me in an almost apathetic state. The thing was, I was fully aware of what was happening around me and could talk if I wanted to. I did, with Shisui and Itachi because they were kids, there would not be talks about anything too important.
The emotional trauma part was true though. With Mom's death, the whole life I had had for a month was thrown into my face. I had summoned the Shinigami and died. I would never go home. I would never see them again. My mom was dead once more and…
I bit my bottom lip. I vividly remembered how Minato just hugged Kushina and Naruto tighter when I looked at him, broken from having witnessed my mother's death. It broke something in me.
He had died when I was five before and the memories of him were of someone loving and who cared about me, protected me. Here…he hugged his family.
Maybe it was selfish of me to want him or Kushina to comfort me when they had a newborn with them but…I had wanted to. Because I had lived with them for months at that point and they were Aunty and Oji-chan, they…they took care of me because I was family.
I couldn't help but feel rejected. Maybe it was the case, now that Naruto was there, they didn't have to play the foster parents to me and…
I had been silly to think of them as family. The family I had in them died so long ago. Them now…who would raise Naruto they…they were not my family. Or more like, I was not their family.
I would be the parasite mooching off them until I could fend for myself. Oji-chan and Aunty had died, and I had not gotten them back. I had gotten Kushina-san and Minato-san instead.
It was the only thing I could think of as they took me back to their place. I was surprised to see Jiraya-san there, his white hair making him easily recognizable.
"Here we meet again little cutie!" I blinked at him, my hands on the straps of my bag. I had vague memories of meeting him once or twice but…nothing more.
"Jiraya-sensai, have you succeeded in contacting Tsunade-sama?" Minato-san asked him immediately. Jiraya-san, who had crouched in front of me to grin at me, nodded and stood up.
"Yes. She sends her condolences. She agrees to give you the guardianship of the kid."
"I'm more closely related to her than Tsunade-sama, it's normal," Kushina-san pipped in, carrying Naruto with one arm.
"Well, knowing Akane's connection to Mito-sama, it could have been overlooked. It's a good thing not many people know." Mito?
"Akane." I looked at Minato-san. It seemed like he struggled to look at me now as he always had something off in his eyes when they would be on me. He smiled, but it seemed fake. "We have things to discuss, let's go to the table."
We did, Naruto in a bassinet.
"From now on, Aunty and I are going to be your legal guardians," the Yondaime stated. "You will keep living with us like before…" he trailed off, shooting the table a quick look. Kushina-san took my hand beneath the table. "Next spring, you will enroll at the Academy to become a kunoichi." I looked down.
I had been a kunoichi, a long time ago, in Kiri. In the span of two years, I had gone from nothing to almost Anbu if it was not for Shisui getting me when I was on my way back from the mission. I had all of the Bloody Mist shinobi code in mind. It was the opposite of Konoha's.
I hated it but…I guess I couldn't avoid it. There would be wars, the Akatsuki, all of that…I guess it was my life goal now, that I knew about it, to do something about it as soon as possible.
"You're going to go by the name 'Uzumaki' now. Your parents had changed it when they fled the Hidden Mist but…here, having you with this last name will help you integrate better. Naruto also has it." I raised curious eyes to him.
"But you're not Uzumaki."
"I am the Hokage, I have made many enemies during the war. It will be safer for him not to have my last name when he'll go in foreign territories."
"Iwa would not miss him," the Sannin added.
"…for instance."
"Mito," I whispered. "You mentioned…Mito…"
"Yes, she's your great-grandaunt," Kushina-san informed me kindly. I widened my eyes and looked at her. She chuckled a little. "Do you know who she is?"
"The Shodai's wife."
"It makes you Tsunade's distant cousin," Jiraya-san added. "If the Elders knew about it, they could think it's more important than your relationship with Kushina, at least that's what she told me when I saw her last week. She also said these two were a better choice to raise you than she was." He was not wrong.
Still…I had no idea I was…it had to be on Dad's side. It meant Hashirama was my great granduncle though. This…was unexpected.
"Do I have to be a kunoichi?" I asked them.
"I wish I could say 'no' to that Akane," Minato-san replied. "But there are people in Konoha, like you have seen a few months ago, who could try to make you work for them because of your potential. If you're a kunoichi and under my orders…you would be more protected." I guess…it made sense.
Danzou had not waited long before trying to get me into his Foundation or whatever after all, all of that while I was not even an permanent resident of the Hidden Leaf.
"What else?"
"Nothing, that's…all…" I nodded and left the chair.
"Thank you, Kushina-san, Minato-san. Jiraya-san, nice to see you again." He raised his hand with a grin.
"Sure thing cutie!" I ignored the worried look Kushina-san and Minato-san exchanged and went to my room.
I needed to know what the rules for genin were to live on their own.
I needed to know what a Yuurei was.
