Spider and Fox

From the time his canid siblings had been able to walk, Mama Kōri had instilled the need for routine into them. It didn’t matter what they did through out the day as long as at specific parts of the day they were with her for hunting school or returning to the den by dusk. Though the routine had changed in the last few months as reading lessons came into play then Naruto’s interest in seals and Gumo’s training with sand increased, there had always been some kind of routine even in the loosest meaning of the word.

Now Naruto and his siblings found their routine changing once more with the addition of Shisui’s lessons. Their wake up time was always the same, when the morning sun bled through the eastern window they were up and getting ready for the day.

By the time they left the den, Shisui-sensei would be waiting with Mama Kōri, ready for their morning chakra exercises. All of which involved sitting under a tree and pinpointing where the chakra sat within their bodies. 

On the third day, they’d identified it. Themo said his felt like the fire in the irori. Diapha’s a pond on a green-time day. Kirum’s was like sitting in a clearing in the forest. So when Naruto discovered his, he’d been expecting something of the ilk. Not the ball of storm winds that nestled deep in his chest. 

The blond knew he wasn’t alone, though. When Gumo discovered his, he’d said it was like staring at a mountain of sand. That didn’t make it any easier for the next step of their Sensei’s training. 

“Remember, you don’t want to grab the entire thing, you just want to pull on a vine’s worth.” Easier said then done when the wind kept sliding through his fingers. 

Naruto gritted his teeth, anger rising from his belly and tinging the ball with an orange color. He’d noticed that too, now that he was paying attention. Any time he was angry or upset his blue-gray chakra would take on an orangish tinge. 

It just made him angrier. 

“Naruto, breathe. Gumo, the sand stays in the flask.” Again, easier said then done. But the blond sucked in a breath, counting to ten before he let it go over a count of seven. That, at least, made the orange recede. 

Over Sensei’s soft voice, Naruto could hear the leaves fluttering as the wind blew. It was one of the warmer days where even the shade felt hot but the breeze kept the heat from settling. Inside the den would be hotter, they hadn’t bothered to open any of the windows to allow air flow…

“Wait.” Blue eyes snapped open, staring at the den as a thought formed. His chakra was a ball of storm winds. Contained storm winds, so what if he…Closing his eyes, he once more focused on the source of his frustration. Instead of trying to grab something that couldn’t be caught, maybe he just needed to redirect it? Poking around, he found the answer he was looking for. There were almost like—he wanted to call them windows—in the vessel containing his chakra.

He pushed, prodded, snarled, then a flash of orange had the window budging. It slammed open and Naruto outwardly gasped as a flush of summerstormwind flooded his system. All at once, it was everywhere and nowhere before it flowed back into the ball. 

The blond leaned forward, clutching his shirt at the overwhelming sensation. He couldn’t hear anything save the beat of his heart, his sight was blurred, and then the colors changed. 

A pressure on his shoulder gave Naruto something to latch onto and he remembered to breathe. With each breath, his world became more evident, birdsong and Shisui-sensei’s voice filtered in.

“Easy, breathe, Naruto. That’s it. Like we’ve been practising.” Black eyes searched his, worry in the man’s brows. “Naruto, talk to me, kid.”

He nodded, reaching up to wrap his hand around Shisui’s wrist. The sensation was settling, redirecting his attention outward. As each sensation returned, the pressure lessened until he felt no different then normal save a buzzing beneath his skin that made him to want to run.

“S-Sensei, what was that?” he asked quietly, worry and wonder fighting for control. 

Shisui-sensei sat back on his heels, biting his bottom lip as he thought. After a moment, he sighed. “I was afraid this was going to happen. It’s your clan’s legacy at work is what it is.”

Clan? Like Sasuke’s clan? But…he and Gumo were orphans. They didn’t have a clan. Did they? When he voiced this to Shisui, their teacher settled on the ground, looking at him and Gumo, who’d apparently been pulled from his meditation by Naruto’s reaction. Glancing to the other side proved their siblings were watching just as intently. 

“You do,” he started softly, then quickly amended, “or you did. There’s too much history to go into right now but the Uzumaki were widely known for their massive chakra reserves, their longevity, their insane healing abilities, and their sealing knowledge. I’ll go into the other things later, if you’re interested, but for now we’ll focus on the relevant topic, their chakra.”

Kirum nosed his elbow and, out of habit, Naruto lifted it, allowing the wolf to slide into his lap. Diapha did the same with Gumo and Themo slid in between them, a whole show of support.

Shisui-sensei smiled at the act before he continued, “Uzumaki were renowned throughout the elemental nations for their massive chakra reserves. It allowed them to go for days at a time without rest and any who chose to go into ninjutsu could throw some of the most badass, destructive jutsu known to humankind around like they were leaves.”

“What does that mean for us?” Gumo asked. Moon bless his brother, because Naruto didn’t think he could ask the questions right now. They’d had a clan. They weren’t just some children abandoned at the orphanage. 

“I won’t lie,” he sighed, “You two are going to have to put in a lot of work. Uzumaki chakra is incredibly potent. What would be a vine’s worth for you would be equivalent of a tree’s for your siblings. Some of the things your siblings could do now, if I chose to teach them, would take you twice, if not three times, as long to learn. Where as, I’d be teaching them to hold leaves with chakra, I’d have to do the reverse with you and teach you how to tree-walk or possibly water-walk first.”

“Does that mean they don’t have to meditate anymore?” Did Themo look jealous? Naruto did a double take, eyeing his brother’s body language warily. Yes, yes he was.

Shisui-sensei barked a laugh, shaking his head, “Yeah no, if anything they’ll have to meditate twice a day in order to keep up with you three. Great power comes with great responsibility. Like I said, you’re going have to do a lot of work if you want use that Uzumaki blood to it’s full potential.”

They had a clan. A clan of kickass Shinobi that had super chakra. They had inherited that super chakra. A glance at Gumo proved he was thinking the same thing. This wasn’t something they were just going to let slip through their fingers. 

“Shisui-sensei,” By the time he had the man’s attention, Naruto knew what he had to do. “How many times do we need to meditate through the day?”

Their Sensei hummed, eyeing them both. “Because of your reaction, I’d say start off with three times a day and we’ll go from there. Because you’re starting so young, it won’t be long before we can drop that back but for now,” he rose to his feet, clapping his hands. “Back to meditation. We’re not done yet. And Diapha, don’t think I didn’t catch you dozing off. Meditation is not an excuse to sleep.”

Besides Diapha’s whining about being caught, his siblings went back to their positions without question. Naruto folded his legs back into the position their Sensei had taught them, and fell back into his meditation. 

Now that he knew what he was looking for, it became easier to identify each of the windows. He mentally marked each one and went about the difficult task of prying them open. Some were easier then others, a little nudge and they popped open. Those were rare though. Most he had to push and prod until they gave. But he’d also learned from the first. After each one, he took the time to observe the way it flowed through his body and only when it had returned to the source did he move to the next one. 

By the time Shisui-sensei finally called the day’s meditation to an end, Naruto was familiar with over half of them and the buzzing beneath his skin was a familiar hum. 

After that, they retreated to the den for food, and then moved into the next lesson: Reading. While they’d become adept at it, Mama Kōri wanted them to continue. It was something Naruto found he enjoyed, as long as it was a subject he enjoyed. Something like The History of Konoha: The Extended Version did not interest him. So when they laid down in the grass outside the den, he traded with Diapha for How To Fool Your Followers; which he found entitled liberal use of things like paint and glitter as well as mentions of something called a Henge. 

But reading time typically lasted only a short time. While Mama Kōri lead the lesson, she was still a wolf. Interest only went so far. Sometimes they would sit for a chapter, other times, they would sit for half a book. It always depended on their Den Mother’s patience for the day. 

That day turned out to be one of the moderate ones. He only made it a couple chapters, well into the idea of using trash cans and re-flek-tive surfaces to confuse an opponent when their mother called an end. 

While he and Gumo packed up the books and scrolls, storing them inside the den to not get ruined, their Den Mother disappeared into the woods with their canid siblings.

Once the reading materials were put up, Naruto pulled out a pouch the Lone had left for him filled with inks, brushes, and enough slips of paper to make a miniature book. Along with that came a scroll that was kept separate from the others they were working on or that would be returned to the library come their next foray into enemy territory. 

It would be returned as well, but because Naruto often spent extra time pouring over the wording and devouring the contents, these scrolls were never sent back in the amount of time the others were. 

With his supplies in hand, he left the den, coming around to jump up on the engawa. The porch was empty save for a large metal container that had shown up one day. Naruto sat on the far end, as far away from it as he could. He knew how his brother was when he went to work with his element. 

As he laid out the contents of the pouch, the blond looked across the field. Shisui-sensei was speaking to Gumo, his brother nodding along a few times. When their teacher stepped away, Naruto braced himself. Not long after, a subtle tremor shook the engawa. From the metal container, a few grains of sand floated, that number gradually growing as Gumo took control. 

Once the sand slowly floated away from the container, out over the clearing, and the porch stopped shaking, Naruto unrolled the scroll, uncapped the ink, and went to work. 

It was slow going, partly because he didn’t understand some of the words on the scroll, and partly because he was continuously distracted by the seals sketched beside the text. To him, reading the seals was easier then reading the text they belonged to. An innate part of him just seemed to know what part of the seal did this, or that. Which was the timer, or the connecting array. Which would blow the den sky high or freeze something solid in the middle of growth-time. 

And those were the basics ones. 

The seals he’d found most interesting were the—“Whatcha looking at?”

“Oh shit,” Naruto yelped, sending a line of ink across the seal he’d been replicating. When the whole thing began to glow, he crumbled it up. “Gumo!” 

His brother looked over and Naruto threw the seal paper. Already well aware of the dangers, sand wrapped around it as soon as it was high enough in the air. There was a moment of silence, then a soft sound resembling a fire catching came from the ball of sand. It expanded, light showing between the granules before the ball shrank back to it’s original size. 

With the threat neutralized, Naruto glared at their teacher. 

XxX

A chill went down Kakashi’s spine. In his time as a shinobi, he’d come to learn that meant one of two things. He’d been made—unlikely but it happened—or someone he knew, somewhere had fucked with the universe—that occurred more often then he liked to admit. As in, if he ever told Inoichi, he’d probably be retired on the spot for burnout. Considering, he was currently sitting in the middle of a bar surrounded by mercenaries and no one was aiming for his head, the silver-haired Jounin would put good money on the latter. 

Somebody was being a moron and if it were someone he was particularly close to, he’d say it was probably a teammate. As to who…He couldn’t bet on that without being back in Konoha. All three of them had their idiotic tendencies even if Tenzo didn’t want to admit it. 

It still didn’t settle his hackles on whatever they might’ve done. “Guess I’ll need to find out when I get back,” which…wouldn’t be for another week but tomato, tomahto. 

When a body took the seat beside his, Kakashi cast a glance before his gaze returned to the glass in his hand. “Demon of the mist,” he greeted the man cordially. If Momochi Zabuza wasn’t willing to cause a scene, then neither would he. 

“Sharingan no Kakashi,” the man grunted. “Ain’t seen ya round since that debacle near Ishi no Kuni. Konoha finally let you off your leash?”

“Maa,” he waved away the question with a shake of his head, “Got two brats back home that take up my time.”

Zabuza chuckled, waving down the bartender for a drink. “Ain’t take ya for a family man.”

“I’m not,” he drawled, “they’re orphans that have a ridiculous penchant for getting into trouble.” That was putting it lightly. One crushed Orphanage caretaker, a pack of wolves, and Danzo after their hide was more then a little problematic. 

“Ahh.”

The silver-haired Jounin glanced over, taking in the man beside him with a cautious wariness. “I suppose I could ask you the same. Since when does Kiri let their Demon out of the closet?”

Zabuza barked a laugh, downing his glass in one go before slamming it on the counter. “They think I’m some kind of scout. Need to find out something or another on someone stepping on Kiri’s turf.”

“Trade?”

When the bartender came by, the Kiri-nin ordered two bottles of sake. He grabbed them by the neck and gestured in the direction of the stairs. “Lead the way.”

Kakashi finished his glass, setting it down more gently then Zabuza had done, and rose from his stool. Usually he wouldn’t turn his back on an enemy, but this wasn’t the first time he’d run into the Demon of the Mist. Several missions over the years had turned out much more enjoyable when Momochi Zabuza was involved. 

One such mission calling for the destruction of a flour mill on the border of Tori and Ishi no Kuni. That had ended with an…explosive conclusion. 

Up the stairs, the Jounin walked to the end of the hall, having specifically picked a corner room. He was a Shinobi, those instincts ran too deep to let his guard down outside the village. Once the door was shut, he activated the privacy seals and turned back to find the other sitting at the table, Kubikiribocho leaning against the wall behind him, and already opening both bottles. 

“I see you still have no patience, Zabuza.” 

“Shut it, Kakashi,” the Kiri-nin grumbled, downing a large gulp as Kakashi settled into the other chair. “You ain’t the only one with a brat to worry about. Too damned smart for his own good. I swear one day he’s gone be the death of me.”

Deciding to needle his acquaintance—he was not a friend, Kakashi didn’t do friends—later, the silver-haired Jounin jumped to the meat of the matter. “Who’s your target?”

“Some idiot named Gatō. Apparently he’s a big time merchant who recently moved into Wave and is stepping on Kiri’s toes by pinching the market trades. I’m supposed to find out what he’s up to and either convert him or take him out of play.”

With that, the negotiations began. When it came to two villages having the same target, Kakashi had found it easier simply to figure out what both sides wanted, then see if they could come to a compromise for the shared goal. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. This would be one of the former, he knew.

As they dove deeper into the bottle, negotiations flowed much more smoothly and before long the conversation turned to their brats. After that…he didn’t remember much. 

The following day, when he woke, it was to sunlight pooling through the window, dust motes spinning lazily in the beams. He stared at them, racking his mind over the end of the night before and…well the fact he was completely naked under the sheets had to entail something about that. 

Once he sat up, he discovered the plethora of aches and pains that accosted him alongside the spinning-dizzy headache that followed drinking three quarters a bottle of sake. At least he assumed, if the quarter full bottle on the table he was eyeing was to go by. 

A flash of white caught his attention, and Kakashi stumbled out of bed, picking up the note left beside said bottle. 

Target’s yours. Going on a two week vacation to Yugakure, you got two weeks or I’m breaking your knee caps. 

-Z

P.S. Last night was fun. If you want to have another go, I’m up for it.

He closed his eyes, note crumbling in his tight grip. Somewhere, somehow, he just knew Kushina was laughing at him. 

“You got laid,” He could hear her laughing cackle. See her clutching her stomach. “You finally got laid!” That settled it. If he reached the Pure Lands before Naruto was old enough to procreate he was finding a tree and hiding for a century. 

Shaking his head and ignoring that way it made the room spin, Kakashi set about gathering his things. He was going to finish his mission—the Daimyo wouldn’t mind if his target went up in flames, would he?—Go home, hide in his favorite tree, and watch the pups go about their days. Maybe his ears would stop burning by the time he got back to Konoha?

No, probably not.