Chapter 8
Keigo was extremely comfortable that morning, buried under the blankets and with his face buried in the pillow.
Wrinkling his nose he tried to sink deeper into the warmth.
His return to sleep was interrupted by a deep laugh that came straight from his pillow.
Keigo shot up into a sitting position with a bed head, dried drool on his cheek and arms flying everywhere.
When he saw what, or rather who, his pillow was, his face turned the same bright red as his hair.
Shikaku-sensei was looking at him with a spark of humor in his eyes and behind him Keigo could see Tenzou shaking his head at him as if he had just witnessed his social death.
"Well, look at the time, I'm late to jump off a mountain so I hope you won't mind if I just take my things and go my way"
During his speech he was packing his backpack and once he put it on his shoulder and was about to turn around he was intercepted by Shikaku's hand who lifted him by the scruff of the neck and with a warning look sent him towards the right path.
During the third day of walking Keigo and his teammates needed a bath as soon as possible.
Well Keigo wanted one and for the sake of his nose his companions needed one too.
Fortunately for them that afternoon they stopped near a river.
"Please, I'm begging you to let me bathe in the river"
Keigo begged Shikaku-sensei.
He had put on the face that always managed to get him what he wanted from his father, eyes wide with a hint of tears and lower lip slightly trembling.
Shikaku tried not to be bribed, turning his head slightly to the other side but the Keigo effect had already won.
"Just for this time, alright?"
With a cry of victory Keigo stripped down to his boxers and dragged Tenzou with him by the hand, the poor boy didn't even have time to protest even though he had a slight smile on his face.
In the water Keigo was like a fish, the water bent in unnatural ways so as not to hinder him, an involuntary use of chakra on his part remarkable, and his movements were almost better than when his feet were on dry land.
All of this helped him immeasurably when a splash war broke out between him and Tenzou.
Jutsu were used to hinder or send waves at the other.
Keigo could effortlessly form whips and small tidal waves and Tenzou did his best to build small wooden shelters and use his mokuton to deflect attacks.
Their game didn't last long before they were called back.
"You two rugrats better get out before you run out of chakra or get pneumonia"
It was finally the last day of the journey back to Konoha, and they had estimated that they would arrive in the early afternoon.
That day everyone was calmer than usual, even Keigo had lowered his chatter by a tone.
There was something wrong, the air was too still.
Keigo had a strange feeling in his stomach, he knew something was coming, he could see that his companions felt the same thing too. Shikaku-sensei's eyes were wandering in every direction in search of something or someone and Tenzou's micro expressions showed that he was waiting too.
They could only hope that the situation would not break out for the few kilometers that separated them from the village.
A little less than an hour before the end of the mission Keigo sensed seven chakra signatures.
"Seven unknown individuals approaching from the south, very fast, intentions unknown, enemies until proven otherwise" he reported to his teammates.
"Be ready, but act as if we hadn't noticed their presence" was the only order given.
Three kunai fired at them was what started the fight. The seven enemy shinobi, Kumo nin Keigo guessed when they appeared before them.
The three weapons thrown separated them. Two of the seven showed up in front of Keigo.
Timing was everything in a fight where the odds were against him so without wasting time he used a water jutsu against one of the two. Extracting all the water he could from the air he formed three spheres of water which he sent towards the first Shinobi.
Taken by surprise, the latter was unable to dodge and was knocked out when he hit a tree.
The other, seeing that Keigo was not just a defenseless child, charged at him without restraint.
Keigo, having a smaller size and greater speed than his opponent, was able to dodge all attempts to hit him well and using his sensor ability he could sense when a jutsu was directed towards him.
The fight was getting longer and the Kumo nin becoming more and more whipped began to leave holes in his guard.
Keigo took advantage of them and began landing several punches.
When his opponent lunged at him with one arm raised to strike him, Keigo ducked beneath it, leapt from behind him and twisted around to thrust a kunai into his throat.
He had killed him.
The fighting near him disappeared because he had just killed someone.
Keigo knew he was dead because he felt the precise moment when the chakra simply disappeared from the body and a black hole was left in its place.
A hand on his shoulder made him jump and look towards his sensei.
"You did good kid, let's go home now"
The bodies were stored in scrolls to be dropped off at T&I and the journey home began again as if the fight had never happened and the new injuries were not even present.
Keigo, however, couldn't help but think of the feeling of emptiness he sensed.
Without even realizing it they had arrived home.
Tenzou was heading to his apartment in the chunin dormitory and Shikaku-sensei was about to return to his house.
Keigo knew that at that time there would be no one home waiting for him, it was too early.
Not wanting to return to an empty house he spoke before thinking too much about it.
"How about that promise you made about showing me your herd of deer?"
Shikaku looked at his student in disbelief. He knew why he had made that request at that moment, being the son of a shinobi wasn't easy and being the hokage's one was even worse, not knowing if anyone would be there.
"Forget I said anything, I'll just go home" Keigo murmured as he began to walk home, already regretting the words he had said.
"Hold your horses, I never said you can't come now" Shikaku-sensei called before he got too far away, "if you promise that you will put up with Yoshino and Shikamaru..."
Keigo jumped in happiness at the answer, a small smile growing on his face.
He trotted to his sensei's side with his hand entwined with the bottom of his jonin vest ready to follow him home.
The Nara complex was surrounded by a high wall that once passed revealed an estate nestled in the forest.
His sensei's house was the furthest inland. It was of traditional construction with the entire building developed on a single floor.
As soon as they entered they took off their sandals and were immediately greeted by a brunette woman. That had to be Yoshino, sensei's wife Keigo thought.
He wasn't usually a shy boy but something about her reminded him of his mother so he hid slightly behind the imposing figure, compared to him, of his teacher, always without releasing his hold on him.
The slight movement alerted Yoshino to his presence and her eyes focused on him.
"And this must be the Keigo I've heard so much about huh?"
He was brought forward by his sensei's hand on his head and he embarrassedly lowered his head.
"Nice to meet you, thank you for having me"
"There's no need for these good manners, after all the team is like a family, right?" Yoshino said with a kind smile "Come on honey, I'll fix that nasty cut of yours uh? And Shikaku go get Shikamaru, would you?"
"Troublesome woman"
Keigo heard his sensei muttering as he entered the house, meanwhile Yoshino guided him to the bathroom and made him sit on the counter. He watched her look for the first aid box, and once she found it he watched her stand in front of him with the disinfectant in her hand.
Cupping his cheek with one hand Yoshino began to dab at a cut on the bridge of his nose. Keigo didn't even realize he had it, only now he felt the burn of the alcohol.
When she finished treating him she took him back to the kitchen to make him sit in a chair and serve him some rice balls.
They no longer exchanged words other than those of introduction but the atmosphere remained light, Keigo felt that Yoshino understood him without having to exchange words.
Once the late lunch was over he was taken to the living room where Shikaku-sensei was sitting on one of the two sofas with his baby in his arms.
They made him sit on the other sofa and when he was comfortable the baby was placed in his arms. Shikamaru looked at him with an intelligence that Naruto lacked, and after a thorough inspection he rested his head on Keigo's chest and went to sleep. For a long time Keigo watched the baby snoring sweetly and slowly he too began to doze off.
The last thing he felt was that he was being led to lie down on the sofa still holding the little one.
A gentle rocking woke Keigo later.
The ground flowed before his eyes, his head nestled in the crook of the neck of who he felt was his father, an arm under his butt to support him and a hand behind his head.
His slight shift made his father look towards him and meet his eyes.
With a sweet look his father silenced him and began to rock him to sleep again, like when he was a child.
"You did good bubba, so good, but now it's time to sleep okay?"
Minato began humming a tune he had heard Kushina sing so many times to their baby to help him sleep.
And like when he was little, Keigo fell back asleep as soon as he heard the song.