Returning Home

Kamado Akina’s POV

Tsunade, Shizuna, Jiraiya, and a few young girls that they introduce as Tsunade’s students all seem to think that what I’m doing is complicated - in this world, it is called ‘ The Sealing Arts ’ and was apparently used primarily by the Uzumaki clan.

In the Demon Slayer Corps, it’s called Spell Tags, and while I specialize in it, others can create smaller, less ornate ones on the fly for smaller things like illusions, invisibility, or a small, pocket dimension, usually used for food storage, occasionally used for corpse storage, or medicine.

I have no idea if anyone else can make one as big or as complicated as what I’m doing.

“ And this will make it stop ? ” Rengoku asks, his voice bordering on a whine, I pause as I write his name across his chest and meet his eyes.

“ Careful , otouto, you’ll sound like you’re doubting me .” I tweak his nose gently, but even as he smiles at me, I see the pain in his eyes.

( When this thing appears, I will be burning it. I don’t care what it is, or what information it has. I’m going to kill it. )

“Mom, er,” Genya looks over at the other students anxiously, “Should we go back to using titles since they know what they mean now?”

“If it makes you feel more comfortable, then you can, Genya.” I state calmly, “But I will be bullying through your adoption papers in this dimension as well, just so you know.”

“I mean, we don’t know how long we’re going to be stuck here, so it would make sense to get all the legal stuff put through, but how would we handle Inosuke, Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Tanjiro’s adoption papers, then?” Genya makes a humming noise, and I notice him touching his face out of the corner of my eye, and Rengoku wilts onto the floor.

“ And I thought Zenitsu’s overthinking was bad… ” Rengoku mutters, I snort softly at him, “ How do so many of your children have such bad anxiety, Akina? You’re a fantastic mom. ”

Something warm and fuzzy and very fucking distracting blooms in my chest.

“Thank you, otouto, but I can’t steal you and Senjuro away yet, your father’s still alive, unfortunately.” I state calmly, Rengoku seems to startle before letting out one of his roaring laughs. “ Oh, goddammit, you wiggly little- ”

“ Sorry, sorry- ”

“ You are not! ” Rengoku continues to roar with laughter as I lean back and plant my hands on my hips, pouting at him at the long, ruined smear. “Does anybody have a handkerchief? Or a napkin?”

“I have a bandana?” A soft-spoken, sweet-looking girl with strange, white-ish eyes - I think she said her name was Hinata , earlier - steps forward carefully, and offers me a blue rag with strange designs. “I washed it this morning, but forgot to put it back in my first aid kit.”

“ Aw , that’s such a good idea!” I compliment her as best I can as I accept the bandana, “Genya, can I use some water from your water bottle?”

He hands it over easily, and I mop up the still giggling Rengoku.

“ Alright , are the giggles over or do I have to tickle you yet?” I mock him ruthlessly, and the blonde snorts loudly, then bursts into giggles as I roll my eyes at him. “ Different dimension, same tricks . C’mon Rengoku, you’re the last thing I need to ink over. Giggle it out, already!”

I pinch his cheeks, and he squirms.

“ God, I miss Nawaki, ” Tsunade mutters in the corner,

“Come help me tickle him, then!” I call, she blanches, but shares a look with Jiraiya, who sets the journal he’d been using to take notes on the table.

“ No! No, don’t! ” The entire room pounces on poor Rengoku, who shrieks with glee, but the small amount of ink I managed to get on him is dry, and the floor dried a while ago.

“ Alright! I’m done!” I sit back, the ink complete, the lines connecting under Rengoku - who had been thoroughly tickled and was now dozing , he’s lucky I love him - “You ready, Kyoujuro?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“- in here- ” I gently pulse power into the lines, using the ink as net, easily and immediately setting it up before activating the Invisible World to see the brown-black sentient sludge oozing its way through Rengoku’s soul. “ -what the fuck, Tsunade!? ”

“ Get in here, both of you! ” Jiraiya shouts at someone, “ For God’s sake shut the door! ”

“You’re new,” I murmur, poking at it warily, it hisses, and Kyoujuro jolts with a pained groan. Yellow eyes open up, glaring at me with unbridled hatred . “ Oh! No, you’re not new, you’re old , very, very old.”

“ Godslayer. ” It rises out of Kyoujuro’s chest, and the room gasps before falling deathly silent as Rengoku groans weakly. “ Kamado Akina - you killed the Ten-Tails and it’s Team. ”

“ Hm .” I narrow my eyes, looking at it and recalling the last time I saw a ‘ Zetsu ’. “ I see that some form of cross-dimensional communication has been established by the Otsutsuki Clan at some point. Should I bother saying ‘yes’ to what you already know is the truth? ”

It screams , a noise like nails on a chalkboard, high and thin and tinny and wailing -

Everything I’ve heard before.

I stare it down as everyone else screams in pain and hits the floor. I feel a vein throb on my forehead as Kyoujuro groans again, and I wind up my arm, slapping the Zetsu.

“ That’s enough of that. ” I order as it blinks at me, the entire room breathes heavily, and someone swears quietly in a surprised tone. “ I will give you two options. ”

“ How benevolent! ” It sneers, flipping up some approximation of a lip as black teeth glitter in its black-brown ooze-flesh.

“ Willingly be incinerated - it will be a swift and painless execution, I assure you, and I will not hunt your cohorts with any prejudice. ” I offer, it tilts its head, yellow eyes narrowing at me, “ Or you can flee, I know this Seal is weak, improper, and cannot hold you well enough. There isn’t enough of you in Kyoujuro to Seal you entirely. If you flee, however… ”

My power builds, abruptly, suddenly - a silence befalling a forest, a landslide settling, an avalanche coming to rest, a glacier resting against a boulder, the silence of a predator entering an open field, a tiger yawning and stretching over a rock - and I feel people, animals, rise to meet me. The Zetsu shrinks slightly, settling slightly back into Kyoujuro as my roots spread, my branches begin to shadow the land and my leaves begin to shade people.

“ ... it’s been a while since I hunted. ” I lick my lips before I can think about it, but my swords rattle in their sheathes, and I feel someone startle near them by the door. “ I think I would enjoy the challenge of having an incorporeal prey again.”

“ There’s no way you could catch me! I’m a thousand years old! I have lived lives you could never even begin to conceptualize! ” Zetsu puffs up, tries to pull himself up like a little wave - tries to intimidate me - and I smirk as I tilt my head down at him.

“ Aw~ You think you’re the first incorporeal prey I’ve had. ” I place a hand down next to Kyoujuro’s hip, leaning over the audacious sludge that dares to lay a singular drop of ooze in his soul, in his mind . “ Flee , little Zetsu~ Didn’t they tell you? I. Am. Death~”

Zetsu stills.

Zetsu turns to the shadows, and vanishes without a trace, removing the control tags from Rengoku on his way out.

“ Have I told you you’re scary lately? ” Rengoku mutters tiredly, “ Cause you’re fucking terrifying when you want to be, nee-san. ”

“Let’s get you dressed, and fed, Kyoujuro.” I state firmly, “Then you can whine about how much scarier I am than you, okay?”

He lifts his arms up demandingly.

“The ink is itchy, nee-san.”

“You’re such a pampered little shit, you know that, right? I spoil you too much. ” But I pick him up anyway and turn to a mildly green-looking Tsunade.

“Bathroom is that way down the hall. Can’t miss it.”

“Thank you, Lady Hokage.” I jerk my head in Genya’s direction, “C’mon, son, you get to help. Got a comb? Or do we have to break my brush again?”

“ It was one time! ”

“Did you see what happened to my hairbrush, Kyoujuro?” I tease, but Genya pulls a comb out of his backpack. “I’m sorry, Hinata-kun, but I’m going to have to steal your bandana for a few minutes more. I’ll wash it when we’re done.”

“ Of course! ” She splutters, turning slightly pink in the face, the blonde girl - did she say her name was Ino? Surely her parents weren’t that cruel - elbows her gently. “ If you need to, you can keep it you know! I have plenty! ”

“ Oh! That would be so rude! We only just met!” Kyoujuro tries to sit up in my arms and something pops loudly in his legs, “ Ow, oh, that was a bad idea- ”

“Aren’t you a little young for joint problems mister? We’ll return your bandana, anyway, Hinata-kun! My mother would be rolling in her grave if we didn’t! ” I assure Hinata, and then I drag the boys to the restroom. I barely manage to get the door closed before I round on Kyoujuro. “ How bad? ”

“ Not… ” He pauses, looking up at my face. “Okay, bad , but-”

“How much movement did you allow in the prison?” He goes quiet and looks away from me, and I share a look with Genya.

( When the Total Concentration Breathing is used, your blood gets a boost in oxygen and an assist in flow to certain areas that might otherwise be ignored or lessened. If he wasn’t allowed to move through katas or exercise appropriately, then… )

“ Rengoku- ”

“ I’ll live! ”

“ But will you be happy? ” Genya murmurs, sounding guilty , of all things, and Rengoku flinches , “ Hashira Rengoku - will you be happy, with what your body will be capable of? ”

“ Is anyone happy with what they're capable of? ” Rengoku mutters, a strange bitterness clinging to his voice, “ Always good , but never great . Always an angel , but never a god - ”

“ Grit your teeth and look straight ahead, even if you stop and crouch down, time won't wait for you or snuggle you and grieve along with you. It's precisely because we age and die that our lives have value and nobility. If you are feeling disheartened, that you are somehow not enough, set your heart ablaze. ” I grab him by the cheeks, my fingers digging into his jaw as I force his face up to stare into my eyes. “ Is that not what you told me when I returned? Is that not what you told me when I said I would be useless because of what my brain did at night? Don’t you dare say that again, Rengoku Kyojuro, you are my friend, and that is all that matters to me.”

“ But that won’t save anyone, will it Akina? ” Kyojuro mutters and I feel my temper flare wildly, and the walls crack around us. “ If I can’t fight, if I can’t stand , then what use am I to the Corps? What use am I as a Hashira? ”

“I will rehabilitate you, myself, if I have to. ” I snarl lowly, “ And we’ve already had this talk about the Corps not being the entire world with Shinjuro, dammit, don’t make me give it to you too!”

There’s a soft knock at the door.

“ K-Kamado-s-san? Ah, L-Lady Tsunade sent me to, er, f-fetch you and, ah, ” I open the door to Hinata, who’s very pink in the face, blushing to her collar. “ She wants you to come back immediately, I’m very sorry, but I can help Genya-kun and Kyojuro-Kun if they need it and- ”

( She’s cute, training to be a medic, soft-spoken, and sweet. BINGO! )

“ Rengoku’s being stubborn, ” I warn, calmly lifting her under her armpits, she’s squeaks, but I grab the damp bandana from where I tucked it in my back pocket. “ Don’t be afraid to scold him. ”

“ I’m being logical- ” Rengoku yelps as I pull his ear, and Hinata jumps a little bit, but leans forward earnestly.

“ That won’t hurt him permanently though, right? ” She almost whispers at me, and Genya snorts .

“Aren’t you a shinobi?”

“ I just watched her pull something out of his soul , okay? ” Hinata snaps anxiously at Genya, then recoils into herself slightly, “ I’m sorry, but that-that thing scared me. It-it didn’t, those eyes , they didn’t have any emotions in them, like at all - ”

I nod approvingly.

“ Yes ,” I decide, “ You can protect the boys while I speak with Tsunade. ”

“ Huh!? ” They all sound nervous, unsure, and mildly indignant, but I drop the bandana in Hinata’s hands.

“ Don’t kill my boys, alright? Yanking their ears is allowed, but no strangling, no matter how tempting. ” I wink, “ They can be pretty annoying sometimes, but they’re good boys. ”

“ I-I don’t, what - ”

I knock and allow a strange, white-haired, masked man to open the door to Tsunade’s office.

“ Hi. Sorry for the chaos earlier. I’m Akina.” I offer him my hand as I step in beside him, he raises an amused eyebrow as he closes the door silently.

“I’m Kakashi. Nice to meet you.” We walked over to where the other new person was sitting, “Anybody care to explain what Uchiha Itachi is doing back here?”

“He came forward, willing to act as a spy inside the Akatsuki.” Jiraiya deadpans, “With the information Akina provided, I’m starting to believe that the Uchiha Massacre might’ve had some…heavier external factors than we previously believed.”

“Explain. ” I order, crossing my arms, Jiraiya flinches gently, and ‘ Itachi ’ looks up at me in surprise as the students all double-take. “ Jiraiya, this child is in his early twenties , at best.”

“I’m aware.” Jiraiya sighs heavily,

“He did try to talk me out of it.” Itachi states blandly,

“And you didn’t listen to him?” Kakashi growls lowly,

“ Kakashi, ” Tsunade warns, Kakashi shifts his weight, but I look between the two of them, then shift my weight and plant my shoulder against Kakashi’s hard enough to make him grunt. “ Susano’o give me patience… ”

Tsunade trails off into muttering for a moment.

“ Itachi ,” Tsunade takes a deep breath, “I’m going to need you to be very clear on the why , the how , the when, and the who were involved in the Uchiha massacre - do you understand why?”

“A little bit.” Itachi admits blandly, “I mostly am drawing the conclusion that some form of a failed clone of Hashirama Senju wished to fight some form of Demon , but that seems a little bit illogical, even for me. So I’m waiting for a chance to ask more questions before anything else.”

“I’m Hashirama Senju’s twin sister , apparently.” I admit, and it feels odd. Strange . Like I’m speaking about someone else when I say it. I don’t feel connected to the other name at all. “But you were close enough.”

“ How the hell was that close, at all? ” Itachi wonders, his eyebrows drawing together as he tilts his head slightly, looking at me like someone would look at a two-headed cow. I smile and shrug at him blandly. “No, I’m serious - how the hell is that close at all?! ”

“Clones and twins are both an identical pattern of DNA, right? One is made artificially, later in life, sure, and hypothetically, could be sped up to the appropriate age, if you had the right equipment, but that’s a hypothetical situation. So we’re still talking about identical DNA patterns and-”

“ Nevermind, nevermind! ” Itachi throws his hand up in an unfamiliar sign, and Kakashi lets out an explosive snort as Jiraiya gasps. “ I take it back! I don’t wanna know- ”

“ Did you just surrender !? ” Jiraiya sounds thrilled and horrified at the same time, and I tilt my head slightly as I look over at him. “ Itachi never surrenders! ”

“He retreats occasionally, but unfortunately, Jiraiya-san is correct here.” Kakashi mutters, he seems amused by this for some reason. “ Holy shit , please tell me we can get her into the Shinobi ranking system.”

“Only if she wants to be.” Tsunade deadpans, “ Now can Itachi start explaining what started the political- ”

“ Okay, okay! I’m explaining! ” Itachi jerks away from her as she lifts the clipboard threateningly in Jiraiya’s direction.

( Oh. Oh, people will be dying. )