Konoha children's crusade Chapter 7 part 1

Chapter Seven: Nightfall

"Thank you again for helping me with my ninjutsu studies. You were a great help," said Kusumina to Mibuki. They walked down the darkening street. One by one the street lamps flickered and came on, lighting their way. "I never imagined that the ritual used in the summoning jutsu was so complex." She smiled and looked at Mibuki. "You are not going to get into trouble for staying so late to help me are you?"

Mibuki shrugged. "Maybe a little, but it will definitely be worth it."

"Oh?"

Mibuki glanced at her. "You know how my mom is leaving tomorrow to visit Grandma Tsunade? Well, before she leaves to go on trips like these she usually likes to cook dinner for everyone. She says 'It makes me feel like I'm saying a proper goodbye' you know?"

"Ahh...I have always found your mother's cooking to be very... interesting," said Kusumina delicately.

Mibuki glanced at her. "That's very polite of you to say so. I heard a story once that the interrogation squad had caught an enemy shinobi. For three days they questioned him with no result." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "On the fourth day they brought the shinobi a bento that my mother had made, and forced him to eat it. They said he would get a bento like that morning, noon, and night until he talked. Ten minutes later, they had all the information they needed."

Kusumina giggled. "That's was funny. That sounds like something Jiraiya would say."

Mibuki smiled. "Thanks. It's an honor to be compared to your brother's wit. So what is all the study for anyway?"

Kusumina looked away shyly. "Well, you know how Hishyota has mastered shadow clone jutsu and the jukken forms?" Mibuki nodded. "And how Jiraiya is working with his wind and water nature chakra and is trying to master the rasengan?"

"I'm sure you will find your own area of expertise as well," said Mibuki.

Kusumina smiled at him. "Oh, I'm sure I will, but with my siblings working so hard and doing so well, I didn't want to sit around and wait for some specialty of mine to show up. So I started looking for something unique."

Mibuki stopped. "Uhm, Kusumina, if you are thinking of trying to learn the summoning jutsu on your own, I should warn you that trying the summoning jutsu without entering into a contract with an animal is really dangerous."

Kusumina giggled. "Oh no, don't worry, I wouldn't try anything like that. Thank you for worrying about me though." She winked at him. "I have something else in mind."

Mibuki looked puzzled. "Like summoning objects off of a scroll?"

Kusumina just smiled. "You are getting warmer, but I don't want to tell anyone unless I can make it work. Okay?"

"Can't you at least give me a hint?" asked Mibuki.

Kusumina thought for a moment. "All right," she said. "Here's the hint. It's an old family jutsu."

"Hmm… Is it from the Hyuga family?" asked Mibuki thoughtfully.

"I'm not saying anything else," said Kusumina playfully. "If I can get it to work you'll be the first to know. Okay?"

Mibuki shrugged. "I guess. Let me know if you need any more help." They had arrived at the street where their ways home diverged. They stopped and turned to each other.

"I will," said Kusumina. "Thank you again for your help."

"Anytime," said Mibuki. "I'll see you tomorrow."

They parted ways. Kusumina happily strolled on home. She watched the fireflies twinkle in the air. Reaching the front entryway to her house she sat down and took off her shoes. Then she walked inside. She found Hishyota lounging in the living room, reading a book. "Sister," she called. "How are you this evening?"

Hishyota grunted in response. Kusumina reached out to slide open the door to the hallway. "I'd wait if I were you," said Hishyota. "Mom is kind of upset right now."

Kusumina slid the door back closed. "What happened?"

Hishyota turned a page. "From what I heard, Jiraiya took Sasuko out for ice cream, and stuffed him full of free samples. Then the people at the ice cream place got upset, and Jiraiya got into a fight with them and caused what the ANBU declared a 'breach of the peace". They caught Jiraiya and Sasuko and brought them home. Mom got upset and started yelling at Jiraiya. So Jiraiya showed mom where dad was hiding his secret ramen stash."

Kusumina cringed, and glanced at the decorative urn. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh is right," said Hishyota, turning another page. "It gets worse too. So mom is in the middle of raving about dad and his ramen addiction, when Sasuko starts puking all over his bedroom." Hishyota looked over the cover of her book. "Apparently, stuffing a three year old full of ice cream, and then have him run away from the cops is a recipe for nausea. Who knew?"

Kusumina looked down. "I see." She slowly slid the door open. "Thank you for the warning Hishyota." Her sister nodded once and went back to reading. Kusumina stepped through the door way and slowly padded down the hall.

She found her mother wearily sitting in the kitchen. "Mother?" she asked politely. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Hinata waved her over and gave her a hug. "Just tell me that you didn't get into any trouble today."

"No Mother."

Hinata sighed. "Good. Some days, the men in this family are too much for me." She stood up and brushed down her formal clothes. She frowned at a suspicious stain on the sleeve of her jacket. "Kusumina, could you please get dinner started? We need to eat healthier apparently, so could you just start the rice cooking and cut up some fish and vegetables? I need to change and get these washed. I'll be back down as soon as I'm dressed." As she was leaving the kitchen, she turned to Kusumina. "Thank you dear, for always being such a big help."

Kusumina smiled. She got out the big pot and filled it halfway with water and set it to boil. She pulled out the vegetables and began to wash them. "Psst!" hissed a voice. She did not even turn around.

"Jiraiya," she said in a cool voice. "You should really come here and help me."

Jiraiya slunk out from behind the corner and into the kitchen. "Hey sis," he said glumly.

"Go get the fish out of the refrigerator," ordered Kusumina. Jiraiya did as he was told. He placed the fish sheepishly next to Kusumina on the counter. Kusumina still refused to look at him. "Now, go get a knife and scale the fish." Jiraiya pulled a knife from a drawer and got to work. "You need to apologize," said Kusumina coldly.

"Sorry," murmured Jiraiya.

Kusumina turned. "Not to me! To mother! Do you know what an embarrassment that was for her to have you brought home by the ANBU? What were you thinking anyway?"

Jiraiya turned red. "I was thinking, Hey! Free samples."

Kusumina glared at him. "And how many free samples did Sasuko eat."

"A lot," said Jiraiya.

"Do you think he would have been sick if you had only bought him a small ice cream cone?" she said in an acidic tone.

"No," said Jiraiya in a small voice.

"Do you think he would have been sick if you had paid the shopkeepers and hadn't run away like maniacs and needed the police to chase you?"

"No."

"Did you help mother with the clean up?"

"No," whimpered Jiraiya.

Kusumina snorted in disdain. "You need to apologize."

"Sorry," Jiraiya muttered.

Kusumina glared at him. "Not to me... You need to apologize to Mom."

Jiraiya sighed. "But I was just trying to..."

Kusumina held up a finger. "Ah?"

Jiraiya closed his eyes and exhaled. "Fine." He started to fillet the fish. He tossed the strips into the wok and added the vegetables that Kusumina had chopped. A cloud of steam and a savory smell filled the kitchen.

Hinata walked down stairs dressed in loose fitting pants and a top. "Kusumina something sure smells delicious! Did you?" She caught sight of Jiraiya standing sheepishly in the kitchen and paused.

Jiraiya stared down at his feet. "I'm sorry mom," he said quietly. "I really screwed up this time."

Hinata stepped up to him and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have gotten as upset as I did." She squeezed him close. "I love you."

"Ack!" said Jiraiya, who was getting smothered.

Hinata smiled at him and mussed his hair, then she turned. "Kusumina have you seen your father? I hope he's not going to be late."

Kusumina shook her head. "I didn't see him on the way home,  Mom."

Jiraiya raised a hand. "I saw him this afternoon... I think he was going somewhere with Sasuke."

Hinata sighed. "Well I hope he doesn't take too long." She narrowed her eyes. "I need to have a talk with him."

*******

Ichisui thoughtfully walked back home. He was replaying the afternoon in his mind. "Hishyoni definitely did seem upset, that I was out on a date with Karua." he decided. He pulled out his copy of The Art of Getting Any Woman You Want and leafed through it. "Chapter Five," he read, "Setting the Bait. By now you will have attracted the attention of your quarry. The next step is to lure them into a successful romance. In order to accomplish this you will have to find the perfect balance of what the woman desires and finds scary. Another way to look at this is yin and yang. Too much desire (yin) and the woman finds you boring. Too much scary (yang) and the woman finds you unappealing. Women are constantly seeking the what I like to call the 'sensitive warrior'. They want a challenge, but they are also looking for potential. This is best summed up in the following true story that happened to yours truly. This one time I..." Ichisui bumped into someone and dropped the book.

"Hey, watch where you're going Uchiha!" an angry voice snarled.

Ichisui bowed. "I am terribly sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. Next time I shall be more careful."

There were three chunin crowding him, a tall one, a fat one, and a short skinny one.  The tall one grinned a feral smile at him, and casually stepped on the fallen book. "What's the matter Ichisui? Are you trying to pick a fight here?" he asked.

"Please," said Ichisui. "I will apologize again, but I would like to have the book back. It doesn't belong to me you see."

"Book?" said the fat one innocently. "I don't see any book. Do you see a book?"

"Nope," said the skinny one. "No books here. Just a little Uchiha who has forgotten his manners."

"I'll tell you what," said the tall one leaning over. "Maybe, just maybe if you get down and apologize properly for bumping into us, we'll help you look for this book you lost." He ground the book into the street with his foot. "What do you say to that?"

Ichisui sighed and knelt down. He touched his forehead to the street. "I am terribly sorry for bumping into you sirs. It was my fault and I shall be more careful next time. Please do I have your forgiveness?" Silence was his only response. "Please do I have your forgiveness?" he asked again. Slowly he lifted his head and looked around. The street was empty except for his book lying in the middle of the road. "Huh," he said. He reached out and picked up the book. He looked around and got to his feet. There was no one around. A little worried he started to walk home again at a much faster pace.



The tall chunin opened his eyes. He was standing on hard packed black sand that stretched as far as the eye could see. Overhead bright white stars gleamed in the nighttime sky.  "What the hell?" he asked as he turned around.

His companions were there as well, looking equally confused. "Where did the village go?" asked the skinny one in a quavering voice.

"Where are we?" muttered the fat one. A cool breeze began to blow across the black desert, driving a fine cloud of stinging sand with it. As the breeze died down the crunch of approaching footsteps could be heard.

"Stay close," whispered the tall one. He and his companions drew kunai and stood together back to back, in a tight triangle. The footsteps grew closer. "Who's out there?" called the tall one. "Show yourself!"

The footsteps stopped. A figure cloaked in black could be barely seen, outlined against the stars. "What's happening?" asked the skinny one. "Who are you?" The figure remained silent, watching.

The wind began to blow again. But this time, as it shifted the sand, it carried with it the sound of voices. "Who... Are... You?" the wind and sands seemed to echo back.

"What do you want?" called out the fat chunin, trembling.

"What... Do... You... Want?" murmured the breeze.

The tall chunin maintained his courage. "We are ninja of the Hidden Leaf village! If you mean to harm us, know that we will defend ourselves."

"Harm... Harm... Harm..." The shadowy figure raised its head and began to step forward again. This was too much for the skinny chunin. He hurled his kunai at the figure. The shadow raised one arm, and the knife froze in mid-flight. It hovered for a second and then clattered to the ground. The other two chunin threw kunai and shuriken as well, but the cloaked figure dismissed these as well with a wave of its hand.

The fat ninja performed a series of hand signs. "Fire style, great fireball jutsu!" he called out. The figure made the fire ball vanish with a snap of its fingers. With the second snap, ice began to form around the fat chunin. It crackled around his body and left his mouth frozen in a silent scream.

"Earth style, stone spears jutsu!" called out the skinny chunin. A hedge of stone spikes erupted from the ground towards the dark figure, but it kept on walking. As the stone points touched the cloak, it crumbled and turned to dust. The shadow slowly raised one hand. The fine sand swirled around the skinny chunin, plastering itself to his skin, clothes and hair. When the swirl of dust had passed the he looked like a skinny statue carved from black marble.

"Keep back!" the tall chunin called out. "I mean it!"

The black figure stopped walking forward. It tilted its head as if looking at the tall chunin up and down. "Leave... Uchiha... Alone..." whispered the wind.

"What?" gasped the chunin.

"Leave... Uchiha... Alone..." was again whispered on the breeze.

The tall chunin narrowed his eyes. "Leave the Uchiha alone?" He glanced quickly at his companions. Then he looked quickly at the landscape. "This is a genjutsu," he smiled cruelly. "Nice try Uchiha," he laughed. "You managed to snare my buddies, but you'll never beat me." He closed his eyes and focused his chakra. "When I get out of this, I'm going to beat seven kinds of hell out of you. Release!" he called out. He opened his eyes.

The dark figure was still there on the sand, looking at him quizzically. The tall chunin tried again. "Release!" he called out. Nothing happened. "Release" he called out more desperately. The figure stepped forward again. Crunch, crunch crunch, went its feet on the sand. "Release!" cried the chunin one last time.

A dark tentacle snaked from the cloaked figure and yanked he chunin from the ground. It hung him upside down in front of the shadow's face. The tall chunin could see a pair of red eyes glowing under the hood.

The figure gave a small chuckle. "This is indeed a genjutsu," it rasped. "You are very clever. But not clever enough to escape. Consider this a warning for you and your friends." The tentacle shook him and the chunin yelped with fear. "Leave the Uchiha alone." The tentacle dropped him on the sand where he landed with a thud. The shadowy figure began to walk away. "As a punishment, I will leave you here for twenty four hours. If you do not listen to my warning, next time I will leave you here forever."

"You can't do this to me!" shouted the chunin. "You can't leave me here alone! I will figure out who you are and I will make you and Uchiha pay!"

The figure stopped. It snapped its fingers. The fat and skinny chunin immediately unfroze and collapsed to the sand, gasping for breath. "You are quite right," rasped the shadow. "I give you back your companions." A tremor shook the ground. Far away, against the stars, something raised its huge head and screamed into the night. Rows of teeth gleamed in the dim starlight. "I also leave you a friend of mine." The shadow gave a rough chuckle. "Be thankful, this nightmare will last for only twenty four hours." Its footsteps receded on the sand. "If I hear that you bother Uchiha again... I will pay you another visit." The earth trembled as the huge beast drew closer. The chunin turned and started to run.



In an alleyway, Hana stared at the three chunin lying amongst the trash. They moaned with fear and their legs twitched as they ran from their nightmares. She gave them a cold smile as they lay there. Hana pulled up the hood on her cloak, carefully checked to make sure no one had seen her, and headed for home.

*******

"...So smile! Stand tall! Let's do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Bacchikoi bacchikoi baybee! Hooo!" sang Sasuke and Naruto as they danced down the street. Naruto tripped over a loose cobble stone and sprawled face down. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"You are such an idiot!" chuckled Sasuke.

Naruto smiled. "Hey, if the Hokage can't walk down the street singing bad karaoke, than what's the point of being the Hokage?" He stood up and brushed himself off. A pair of elderly women were gaping at him from the other side of the street. He gave them a big smile and an extravagant bow. "Ladies," he called out. "A lovely evening for a stroll isn't it?" The pair glared at him disapprovingly, and stalked off. Naruto dissolved into the giggles.

"You my friend are drunk," Sasuke pointed out.

"I most certainly am not," Naruto said pulling himself upright. "A tiny bit tipsy perhaps, but not drunk. Are you insinuating that I can't hold my liquor?"

Sasuke smiled. "No, not at all, I'm sure that the street jumps out in front of you all the time, seeking revenge."

"Hmp," said Naruto turning up his nose. "Well if I'm drunk it's because I whipped you so bad in my sparring match that you had to buy the extra drinks."

Sasuke smiled and shook his head. "That's not how I remember it. Besides, you bought me way more drinks than I bought you."

"Oh yeah? Prove it!"

"Okay, I will!" said Sasuke. He pondered for a moment. "Okay! We'll have a race, if you win, that means that I'm drunker than you and I won the sparring match, because I drank more. If I win that means I'm the better runner."

Naruto nodded once. "Right! I've got you beat here." He froze for a moment. "Hey, that doesn't make any sense!"

"The finish line is the clock tower," said Sasuke, ignoring him. "Ready, set go!" he yelled and took off running. Naruto sprinted after him.

They raced through the streets. Naruto grabbed the back of Sasuke's shirt, slowing him down. As Naruto passed him, Sasuke stuck out his foot causing him to stumble. "Later slowpoke!" Sasuke called over his shoulder as he sprinted up the side of a building and cut across a rooftop.

Naruto growled and charged after him. They leaped from rooftop to rooftop through the evening air. Around chimneys and over water towers they dodged and weaved. An old man leaned out his window and bellowed, "Go home you rotten kids!" at them as they ran by.  

Sasuke glanced back. Naruto was ten or so paces back. "Heh. There's no way he'll catch me now," he thought. He looked ahead and gaped in surprise. He had run into a huge flock of pigeons roosting on the roof for the night. The pigeons let out a huge squawk and took flight. Sasuke covered his face with his arms as he was bombarded by flapping wings. The rooftop was thick with pigeon guano, and his boots had no traction. He slipped and skidded and somehow found enough purchase to come to a halt. He looked down through the cloud of feathers. He was teetering right on the edge of the roof.

Naruto barreled right through the cloud of angry birds and crashed into him. They both screamed and went over the edge. Sasuke twisted in the air and managed to grab the gutter on the roof. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's foot. They hung there as the cloud of pigeons fluttered around and made a ruckus.

"Nice move there Hokage-sama," said Sasuke.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who stopped right on the edge of the roof in the middle of a race," grumbled Naruto.

"I wasn't the one who decided it would be a good idea to run through a cloud of birds into something I couldn't see!" yelled Sasuke.

Naruto looked sheepish. "I thought it was some secret move of yours… I didn't want to let it slow me down." He looked up at Sasuke. "What are you waiting for? Pull us up already."

"I can't," said Sasuke. "The roof is covered with crap. It is too slippery. It's all I can do just to hang on here. Can you swing over and reach the wall? Oof!" Sasuke groaned as Naruto swung out and kicked his feet at the wall.

"Nope," said Naruto. "It's too far."

Sasuke looked around. The birds were still flying around him making a fuss. "Well, at least someone will be bound to see us up here."

"I hope they hurry up, my arms are getting tired," grumbled Naruto.

"Your arms? How do you think mine feels?" retorted Sasuke. "Hey get off!"

"Are you crazy?" called Naruto. "It's a ten meter drop!"

"I'm not talking to you," said Sasuke grouchily. Naruto craned his neck to look up. There was a pigeon roosting on Sasuke's head, cooing quietly to itself.

"Dad?" called up a voice from the street.

Both Sasuke and Naruto looked down. "Hana!" called Sasuke. "I am glad to see you!"

Hana raised an eyebrow at the pair of them. "Dad, why are you hanging from a roof?"

"It's a long story sweetie, do you think you could... Ack! I said get off!" Sasuke yelled at a second pigeon that had landed next to the first one.

"Dad, is that the Hokage holding on to your foot there?" asked Hana.

"Hi Hana!" called out Naruto. "How was school today?" He tried to wave, and almost slipped off Sasuke's foot. He scrambled madly to regain his hold.

"Arg! Quit it Naruto!" groaned Sasuke in pain. The gutter he was holding on to gave an ominous creak. "Hana, do you think you could… Get lost you stupid birds!" Two more pigeons had stopped their flapping and landed on him.

"Dad?" said Hana. "Why are there a bunch of pigeons on your head?"

Naruto giggled. "That's because your dad is a chick magnet! Get it?"

Sasuke sighed as another three pigeons landed on his shoulders. He looked down at Hana. "Sweetie, I really need you to…" There was a screech of tortured metal as one end of the gutter gave way. The gutter slowly bent down under the weight of Sasuke, Naruto and seven pigeons. There was a sharp 'ping' as the other end broke, and dumped them all very unceremoniously in a pile of trash on the side of the street.

"Hmm," said Naruto sitting up. "That was smellier than I was expecting. But it was softer too, so I guess that it's okay."

Sasuke groaned. "I really don't want to know what I'm lying in do I?"

Naruto looked over. He poked at the oozing trash bag with one finger. "Nope, you really don't want to know."

Hana took a few tentative steps towards them. "Dad, why are you here? Shouldn't you be heading towards home?"

"Oh god." Sasuke pulled himself upright. "Your mother is making dinner tonight isn't she?"

Hana's face looked carefully blank. "She said she wanted to make something special for her family before she has to leave."

Sasuke nodded. "Well, we can't be missing your mother special dinner then can we?"

"Hey!" called out Naruto. "What about the race?"

Sasuke shrugged. "We'll have to finish it another time. You of all people should know what Sakura is like when she is mad."

"I think you're just afraid you'll lose," said Naruto

Sasuke turned. "I was in the lead! There was no way you could catch me. Look, I just need to get home so my wife doesn't get angry at me!"

"Sasuke is a chicken! Cluck cluck cluck!" called Naruto.

"Oh, like an angry Sakura doesn't frighten you." Sasuke folded his arms.

Naruto stood up, folded his arms and stared back at Sasuke. "The Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village fears no man!" he declared.

Hana covered her nose and took a step back. "The Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village needs a bath." Sasuke laughed. "It's not funny dad," said Hana. "You need one too. You smell as bad as he does."

Naruto grinned. "That's us Hidden Leaf shinobi for you: Fearless, but stinky." He turned to Sasuke. "Come on Sasuke, let's just finish the race, it won't take long the clock tower is right over there." Naruto turned and nodded at the clock tower. He did a double take when he saw the time. "Crap! Is that the time? Hinata is going to kill me!"

"I thought the Hokage feared no man?" asked Sasuke, amused.

"Hey," said Naruto. "When Sakura gets mad, she punches you once and then it's all over. When Hinata gets mad, she doesn't say anything. She just does this angry stare thing, and I have to go through every little thing that I might have done, until I find what ever it is that I did that made her mad… Then, she bursts into tears until I apologize, and make it up to her. I'd rather deal with one punch any day." Naruto bowed to Sasuke and Hana. "Hana it was good to see you. Sasuke, I'll have to kick your ass next time." He jogged off.

"Naruto! Your house is that way," Sasuke called.

"I know!" Naruto called back. "I'm going to go jump in the canal real quick. I'd rather come home wet than smelling like this!" Off he ran.

"Huh," grunted Sasuke thoughtfully. "That's not such a bad idea."

Hana shook her head. "I wouldn't dad. If you want to clean off, find someplace else."

"Why not use the canal?"

Hana shrugged. "It's goose mating season. They are really territorial and freakishly aggressive." She smiled a little. "There are also about three hundred of them swimming in the canal right now."

*******

Hana walked home with her dripping wet father. "So, you aren't worried about exposing your daughter to your life of petty crime?" Sasuke had scaled the wall of councilor Akihiro's villa. It had an ornamental duck pond in the back. Hana had very quietly kept watch while her father had quickly rinsed off.

Sasuke shook his head. "Nope. I'm sure that as far as petty crimes go, that was one of the smaller ones you've ever taken part in."

Hana looked away. "I don't know what you mean."

Sasuke shrugged. "Kakashi-sensei quietly asked me once if I knew anything about a series of genjutsu assaults that had occurred in the village. He said something about how they tended to go beyond the usual pranks and tricks. He said they pulled stuff straight from your nightmares."

"Really?" asked Hana in a quiet voice.

Sasuke nodded. "Yup. He was asking me if I had ever had any encounters with this long list of shinobi. All of them were younger than I was, but I said I recognized some of the names from my children's classes at school. He asked if I knew that most of these ninja's were known bullies, or were observed to have picked on Ichisui, you, or Mibuki. The ANBU are treating it as just a regular tussle between kids, but Kakashi wanted to give me a little warning to pass on. He said it was real high-level genjutsu being used. He told me the ANBU medics were quite impressed." He glanced at Hana. "He said that if the genjutsu had been just a little bit more powerful, some of those kids would need some serious medical attention." Sasuke stopped at looked at Hana. "He asked me to make sure that no lines were crossed."

"So? What am I supposed to do? Let everyone just keep on picking on my family?"

Sasuke smiled. "My daughter the avenger," his smile faded. "I'm asking you to maybe cool off a little bit. Your brothers are from the Uchiha clan. They can take care of themselves. They don't need some mystery vigilante fighting their battles for them."

"Fine. Whatever." Hana rolled her eyes.

Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder. "Hana. Kakashi is trying to give us a polite warning here. We are lucky we have friends in such high places. If not for them, many of the villagers, councilors and shinobi here would be very happy to see us gone."

Hana frowned. "Why are we here anyway? If everyone wants us gone so bad… Why don't we just leave?"

Sasuke smiled at her. "Not everybody hates us. We've got our share of friends here as well."

"Things would be a lot easier if we were all alone. The friends we have don't make up for everything else," Hana fumed. She looked up and saw her father smiling softly at her. "What?" she asked.

"You just remind me of someone."

"Who?" she asked.

Sasuke looked around the street. "This almost looks like the place, you know?" he said half to himself.

"What place?" asked Hana confused.

Sasuke smiled. "The place where your mother first told me she loved me," he said quietly. Hana looked at him quizzically. "It wasn't really here. That street was destroyed along with the rest of the old Leaf village. But Tsunade-sama tried to keep as much of the plans and designs for the new village the same as the old one." He nodded to the new street. "Same benches, same cobblestones, same cherry trees lining the way."

"Wait. I thought you were still gone when Pain destroyed the village."

Sasuke smiled at her. "I was. This was before all that." He took a deep breath and inhaled the air. "The cherry blossoms are blooming. Do me another favor and keep an eye out as I go on a crime spree." Sasuke hopped up on a stone wall lining the street. Standing on tiptoe, he could just reach one of the low hanging branches.

"So when was this?" asked Hana.

"Hmm?" Sasuke was busy sawing away on a branch.

"When did all of this happen?"

Sasuke smiled. "Oh… A long, long time ago." He glanced at Hana over his shoulder. "It was when I left the Leaf Village. Your mother was smart enough to figure out that I was going, so she lay in wait for me on the way out of town."

"So what happened? Did she beat you up to get you to stay?"

Sasuke laughed. "Sakura was a very different person back then. She wasn't the chief of surgery, she wasn't the student of the fifth Hokage. Believe it or not, there was a time when your mother wasn't able to destroy a building with a single punch." He paused and wiped sawdust from his face. "She was incredibly smart, had fantastic chakra control, but other than that she was a completely average genin." He made a small snort. "I also thought she was annoying as hell."

"What?" asked Hana, shocked.

"Keep in mind, I was a twelve year boy at this point." Sasuke changed his grip on the branch and started sawing the other side. "Sakura was always saying 'Ooh Sasuke, let's go on a romantic walk!' or 'Sasuke let me help you with that!' Or trying to talk to me about some silly thing I couldn't really care less about. All I really cared about was getting stronger, and building a name for myself and…" Sasuke frowned. "Well you get the idea."

"Anyway, Orochimaru had made me an offer. 'Come join the Sound village and I'll give you all the power you will ever need.' I was angry. All I could think about was getting my revenge." Sasuke paused.

"Was this about Itachi?" asked Hana.

"Itachi, yeah," said Sasuke. He stood there balancing on the wall, one hand holding on to a branch, staring at nothing. "I wanted him dead. He was stronger that I could ever imagine back then. So I took Orochimaru up on his offer. I decided, who needs friends? I packed my things and left. On the way out of the village I stopped to look at each of the places that should have meant something to me... the academy, the Hokage's office, pictures of my teammates... I convinced myself that all of them meant nothing to me. All that mattered was my revenge on my brother. If I was going to be successful... I needed power."

"Your mother figured out I was going. She was the smart one on our team. She waited for me on the road here and told me not to go. I told her to keep her nose out of my business. She tried to remind me of all the good times we had in our squad, she told me that revenge wasn't the answer." Sasuke sighed. "All that proved to me was that she just didn't understand, no one would understand. I tried to tell her that this was the path I had to take. This was my choice." Sasuke stopped and looked at the street.

"Go on," prompted Hana.

"She said that I had shown her that loneliness was a terrible thing, and here I was isolating myself again. She said she knew how painful it was to be lonely. She said she might have a family, and friends, but if I left she would feel all alone." Sasuke looked up at the stars, just starting to appear. "She said that she loved me. Since my parents died, no one had said that to me. There was always a crowd of girls following me around, vying for my attention, being annoying. For the longest time I thought she was one of those." He smiled. "At the start she was one of those. But she slowly proved herself to be something more. I almost stayed. Almost." Sasuke surreptitiously wiped his face.

"So what happened?" asked Hana quietly.

Sasuke shrugged. "I made the wrong choice. I left. I decided that the one goal I was fixating on, my revenge, was more important than everything else in my life... And it almost cost me everything." He started sawing on the branch again. "Thankfully, I was lucky. I got a second chance. It wasn't as good as it might have been, but I decided to make the most of it." The branch broke with a loud crack. A rain of cherry blossoms floated through the air and drifted down to the street. Sasuke caught the branch and looked at it critically. "What do you think?" he said holding it up for Hana's inspection. "Too Big? Too Small? Will your mother like it?"

"It's good." said Hana. "So... Dad. Why did you come back here?"

Sasuke looked at the branch. "It is a good one," he said happily.

"Dad," said Hana quietly. "I asked you a question."

"I came back because Naruto brought me back," said Sasuke. "And before you ask me for more details, I will tell you now, I haven't drunk enough to tell you." He started to walk back to his house. "Come on, your mother is waiting for us."

Hana followed him. "Does Mom know why you came back?"

Sasuke shrugged. "She knows that I love her enough to endure hell for her. I think that's enough."

*******

Naruto jogged down the street. He was covered in bruises, and dripping wet. Bits of garbage were still stuck to his back, and feathers were clumped in his hair. He quietly eased open the gate to his house, and snuck down the pathway to the front door. The door was wide open shedding a long rectangle of light into the yard. Hinata's shadow stretched out onto the lawn. Naruto gulped. Then he put on his brightest smile and stepped forward. "Hi beautiful!" he called cheerily. "Sorry I'm late! You would not believe the day I just had at the office!" Hinata stood there in cold silence, one foot rhythmically tapping on the ground. Naruto's smile faltered. "Well, I'm not really late because of the office, Sasuke and I had a sparring match and it went a little late." Tap, tap tap, tap. "...And well, then the winner of the bout had to buy the drinks for the loser, only we couldn't quite figure out who won, so we ended up buying drinks for each other." Tap, tap, tap, tap. "...And then we went out for karaoke?" he said in a nervous voice. The tapping continued. "...And then we had a race, only we were attacked by pigeons and fell in a dumpster." Tap, tap, tap, tap. Naruto looked down at his feet. "...And then I tried to clean myself off by jumping in the canal, but then I was attacked by a flock of geese, and that is why I'm late," he mumbled. "I'm really really sorry," he said quietly.

Naruto glanced up. Hinata was still glaring at him, tapping one foot. Naruto raised one eyebrow. "You're not mad because I'm late? Oh!" he said, relief in his voice. "Well, let me take a shower really quick and I'll join all of you for dinner." He took a step towards the open door.

Hinata blocked him with one upraised arm. Pinched between her thumb and forefinger was the paper lid attached to a cup of instant ramen. Hinata tapped her foot again. Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Naruto looked from the cup, to his wife and back again. "Oh no," he breathed.

"Oh yes," said Hinata very quietly. She turned and shut the door very softly. She stepped towards him, so close that they were almost touching, and burst into tears. "I can't believe that you would do this to our family," she said in a hoarse whisper. "Is this… This cheap cup of ramen really worth more to you than us?" She shook the cup in front of his face. The dry noodles rattled. "You know what Sakura said. You need to start eating healthier and exercising more! It's not much of a problem now, but if you don't change your habits it's going to get worse!" Hinata prodded Naruto in the chest with her finger.

Naruto hung his head. "But it's just ramen…"

"Just ramen? Just ramen?" cried Hinata, raising her voice. She shook the instant noodle cup again. "This is loaded with cholesterol and sodium. According to your doctor if you keep eating this you are looking at a heart attack in ten years." Hinata buried her face in his chest, sobbing. "I love you more than anything in the world Naruto. I want to be with you, I want to grow old with you and play with our grandchildren, but if eating ramen is more important to you than that… I'll do my best to accept that."

"Hinata I… I'm really sorry. I just…" Naruto sighed. "I'm making excuses now," he said to himself. He hugged her. "I'm sorry. I'm being stupid and selfish." He tilted up her face. "I promise no more instant ramen."

Hinata wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I've just had a really hard day."

"Tell me about it." Naruto reached out and wiped a tear from her nose.

Hinata sighed. "Preparation for the clan meeting is going horribly. Honan Hyuga, you know the shipping merchant?" Naruto shrugged.  "You call him 'the guy who looks like a pirate'?" she said to Naruto's blank look.

"Oh, yes him."

"Well, he's apparently making a big fuss about holding the meeting out at the beach resort where father is. He says it's pandering to the old ways when we should be embracing the new. He says he wants to streamline the way that the Hyuga family does business. He wants to make it more modern and improve its profits." Hinata looked down. "I think he's making a play for becoming the head of the Hyuga clan"

"Don't worry, you can handle the likes of him." Naruto smiled at her.

Hinata smiled back. "I'm not worried about him." Her smile faded. "It's the rest of the clan. Honan has a lot of money, and a lot of influence these days. Many members of the clan are already allowing him to speak for them."

"Is that so bad?"

"He wants to do away with the traditions of the clan."

"You did that," said Naruto.

Hinata hit him playfully. "I got rid of the caged bird seal binding the branch families to the head family. That was causing problems for years." She frowned again. "Honan wants to stop doing business with many of the craftsmen we have been dealing with for some time. He wants to end the clan support network. He wants to drop the quality of many of the things we make or import, but still charge the same amount. He calls it maximizing our profits. He wants the clan to be more like a business," she sighed. "I want it to be more like a family." Hinata looked up at Naruto. "The worst part is that so many of the clan are beginning to agree with him."

"I'm sure they will come to their senses," said Naruto soothingly.

Hinata took a deep breath. "And then, well Jiraiya and Sasuko got dragged home by the ANBU, and then Jiraiya showed me the ramen hidden in the urn in the living room, and then Sasuko started throwing up everywhere, and then you come home late, soaking wet and smelling like garbage." Hinata wrinkled her nose and pushed him away.

"Does my earlier apology still count?" said Naruto smiling.

Hinata smiled back. "Go clean up." She opened the door and started to go back into the house.

Naruto held onto her hand. "I'm really sorry to tell you this after the day you just had. But you really should know…" he said very quietly.

Hinata looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for making your day much worse, But I don't want to tell you this in front of the children," he looked into her eyes. "I heard a rumor today…"