Fate and It’s Woes
Two weeks of normalcy before a storm came over.
Chikako was back and there was a village wide announcement. All those who unlocked their chakra were to report to a location for testing at a certain date. Each family was assigned a time, dropped at every door. There was no other information given.
Kushina didn’t know what was going on, but she heard whispers from the people in town.
“Konoha was looking for another Jinchūriki.”
She didn’t know what a ‘Konoha’ or ‘Jinchūriki’ was, so Kushina employed her best informant: a fed up looking Ren.
“Konoha is a village, an ally to Uzu in this god forsaken war.” He rubbed at his temples. “A Jinchūriki is basically like a human storage scroll. They have a highly complex seal placed on them to hold a tailed beast.” Before she could even ask, Ren continued. “A tailed beast is a sentient being entirely made of chakra. What you heard was probably correct. The current holder of the Nine-Tailed beast in Konoha, Mito-sama, is getting old. The bastards are probably starting their search for the poor sap having to take her place.”
He held her shoulders firm, “Be careful,” and trudged away muttering something about a bad feeling.
She didn’t completely understand what Ren told her: What about a beast? Human storage scroll? But, she got the gist that it was probably a bad thing. They were looking for someone. She would do her best to avoid standing out.
As the day came that her family was meant to report in, Kushina found that to be increasingly harder than it seemed.
In the makeshift waiting room, her family and many other men and women alike sat in silence. Kushina was not the only child in the area, but they were a minimal appliance and she looked like the youngest one.
Kushina turned her back to the rest of the room and wound her arms around Chikako’s neck. They were only able to find a single free seat; Chikako had taken it and hugged Kushina into her lap. Shig stood nearby.
The tense atmosphere of the room was starting to really get to her. The event was shady; there was little information given. The adult’s face’s were hardened as if they were ready for battle and she could feel everyone’s nerves dancing. Despite the minimal information the others knew, Kushina knew even less. Someone was going to be taken away to act as a replacement, she understood that much. Konoah had to be far off their island nation, it was likely the replacement wouldn’t return to Uzushio unaffected, unchanged, if at all.
Kushina didn’t want anything in her life to change. She wanted her family to stay together forever.
Her Kaa-san was only able to sooth her jittery form by stroking her let down hair.
“Shig-san,” a younger man called. He had a metal plated headband over his forehead, a spiral carved upon it. Kushina remembered seeing the same one in her parent’s wardrobe.
Shig and Chikako exchanged a glance and both began towards what she figured was another ninja, Kushina still held in her mother’s arms.
The three of them were led to a room with no windows. The walls were blank and the room was empty besides two chairs that sat in the middle. One was already occupied. Another man with a headband sat in one; he gave their group a tired smile after writing something on the clipboard in his hands.
“Which one of you would like to go first?”
The couple held eye contact, glancing here and there then back again. At the end of their silent conversation, Chikako huffed and passed Kushina off to her husband.
Shig smiled sheepishly.
She sat down, crossing one leg over the other, and extended her hands at the examiner’s instruction (he was an examiner, right?). The man met the hands with his own in a gentle fashion. He closed his eyes and Kushina could feel a shift in the room’s atmosphere. She shivered, an analytical presence overwhelmed her senses. She felt the slimy prying eyes that weren’t even directed at her.
She looked forward to sitting in that chair even less.
The examiner opened his eyes back with a disappointed grimace. Chikako took that as a go ahead to vacate the chair and claim her daughter in an embrace once again.
Kushina lightened for a moment, laughing a little when Shig looked disheartened as Kushina was snatched out of his arms. He sulked, but took the chair next.
The process ended up the same; Shig let out a breath of relief.
Kushina gulped silently when Chikako walked her over to the chair. The woman positioned herself behind it, softly leading Kushina’s butt to the seat.
“Age?” the man asked with little delay.
Kushina looked up to her mother for confirmation, pinching her eyebrows together when she received a nod. Kushina took a couple seconds to grumble, fumbling with her fingers to stick up the right numbers as a cover.
She didn’t really want to tell the random man (that scared her just a little) her age or really anything about her. What happened to ‘Stranger Danger’ and ‘The three things you should never tell anyone you don’t know’? Kushina breathed an internal breath of frustration.
She held up the fingers anyway. “Three.”
The man chuckled and spoke lightly to her, giving the same instructions he gave her parents. Chikako never left her spot, hands hovering close by.
He closed his eyes, unleashing a whole new view of the force she felt before. She felt it crawl up her sides and slither through her clothes. Kushina tried not to give anything away, keeping her face slack. She cursed the bead of sweat that slid from her forehead and squashed down the squirm that threatened to unleash.
What was going to happen?
The examiner’s eyes snapped open and he choked in disbelief. The look in those eyes startled Kushina, even more when he unconsciously pulled her closer.
“Amazing…” he muttered, grip tightening on her hands, the space between them getting smaller and smaller. She wanted to shriek at the way he gazed through her.
Kushina struggled, trying to wiggle out of his hold.
She was saved by her favorite hands, the soft and calloused ones that secured their way around her waist.
“I assume we’re done here?” Chikako glared coldly at the man, snatching Kushina back into her protective hug. She looked down at him with a ferocity Kushina was sure a lion would run from.
“Y-yes…” he muttered in confirmation, a terrified stutter escaping without intention.
Kushina’s kaa-san was scary. For once, she was grateful for it as she held onto the woman for dear life. Kushina wanted to get those eyes out of her head as soon as possible.
◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌
Kushina’s family was anxious. They all showed off their nervous ticks they didn’t realize she picked up on. They tried to act the way they normally did, like something terrible couldn’t possibly be hanging over their heads. But it wasn’t hard for her to pick it up.
It got worse when they were called again a couple days later.
‘Uzukage’
That was apparently what the man who summoned them was called; at least, according to Ren.
The man with that title was old. He had a fairly long beard with a twitily mustache. His hair was long and white, yet she could just barely see its previous shade of red.
Gahn, she was told his name was. Uzumaki Gahn, the Fourth Uzukage. The second longest living Kage of Uzushio.
Kushina and her parents stood before the man in an office-like room. Two other men stood with them as well as another family with a child (a girl she noticed) who looked a couple years older than herself.
Gahn held a presence, a very heavy presence. Authority was showered over the room (obviously with intention), sending a shiver she didn’t want down her spine. “The four of you are the best possible candidates to become the next Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. You should feel honored.”
No matter how her danger senses were tingling because of the man, Kushina couldn’t help but scoff at his words. In her head of course.
The Kage passed his shadow over the men, herself, and the child more than once. He looked each candidate in the eyes as he raked his force over their souls. She meant it literally, Kushina could just about feel him at the tip of her soul.
He was so much worse than the examiner guy.
Fate did not seem to be in her favor, yetagain. The man– the strong, fucking terrifying man– noticed the cracks in her indifference.
He gave her a longer look than the others, adding onto the adrenaline popping through her bloodstream.
Kushina wondered if running away right then would count as insubordination. She was ready to try it but scrapped the idea when she factored what she could lose.
Kushina decided she really, really hated authority.
Gahn pointed outright at the other three, waving them off. “Dismissed.”
They scurried out with a breath of relief she wished she could join.
Kushina felt it was too easy of a decision, her eye twitching.
God damn it.
◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌◌
She was told she was going to be the next Jinchūriki. Not many were happy about it. Well, in regards to the people she knew as well as if ‘not happy about it’ was equivalent to saying ‘downright opposed’.
Her parents were upset. Shig stopped smiling and treated her more and more like a child. Chikako had periods where she was irritated by everything, unable to keep her temper restrained. Kushina could tell they tried to keep it under control.
“Kaa-san, Tou-san,” she beckoned them over. They curiously compiled when Kushina locked their necks in her hold, forming something close enough to a hug. “I love you~!”
She said it with enough of their ‘normalcy’ that she could feel their posture soften. Kushina strode up to each of them with a hug and a grin whenever they couldn’t contain themselves. She hoped it made them feel a little better.
Minori and Keiichi were livid.
“Well son, I think we have a mutiny to start.” Minori smiled serenely as she flipped one of her hair sticks around her fingers. The smile was relatively sweet, though it rolled with an eerie aura.
“I’m inclined to agree,” Keiichi responded, cracking his knuckles.
Kushina was touched how much they cared about her, but quickly shut down the idea. No matter how strong they looked to her, she doubted a whole village of ninja couldn’t defend against them. Kushina gave them their own hug and grin in exchange.
Ren was the most surprising. Kushina didn’t see him until she was called to the Uzukage’s office again; alone that time, her parents specifically told to wait at home.
When she opened the large doors, Kushina was met with the sight of four people.
One: Gahn himself, dressed in his normal stuffy looking robe. His presence was down, 110% less scary than when she first met him. All he looked was an old man with a foot stubbornly out of the grave.
Two: a man with extremely dark red hair, looking more on the black side, and a noticeable stubble. There was another metal plated headband around his forehead. He tapped his foot, face twisted in annoyance.
Three: a woman with the same shade of red as the man before. There was a kind look to her but she had that same headband around her neck.
Four: the damn bastard himself. Ren was clearly uncomfortable, but it seemed his displeasure was carefully taking over. His appearance was a mess as usual, apparently it was acceptable even in front of their village leader. But, the bags under his eyes seemed deeper.
Kushina placed herself in the middle of the room, directed there by the secretary who escorted her. At first, she tried to catch Ren’s eye, but stopped when she was spoken to.
“Uzumaki Kushina, right?” the second man gruffly asked.
The girl turned to him but gave no verbal response. It seemed to irk him a little more.
The woman took over with a smile when the man didn’t continue. “We’re here to tell you about what you're gonna have to do as a Jinchūriki, okay?”
Kushina already didn’t like her. She didn’t like her tone nor her nonchalantness at the situation. Though, she was sure she’d hate pity even more.
Kushina again gave no verbal response. She admitted it was a petty act of defiance, however little it looked.
The lady sweatdropped and her smile faltered just a little, but she tried again. “Do you know what a Jinchūriki is?”
Kushina pointed dryly at Ren who had the face he made when he desperately wanted to erase his presence. Kushina figured he must not be a very good ninja if he couldn’t complete that feat, with their magical chakra and all.
The unrecognized man and woman continued to talk to her, playing good cop, bad cop it seemed. They eventually got to the point.
3 years.
3 years she had left in the village, then she’d be sent off to Konoha.
Kushina did everything in her power to bite her tongue.
She was told she would have to learn and prepare and learn and learn. Then, she had to do more when she got there. She’d be a ninja of Konoha, not Uzushio. She’d attend their academy a year late, when she was 6.
It was more like she had less than 3 years.
More and more and more Kushina was told to do. Be responsible, a big girl, a hero. She was supposed to develop herself here into the perfect vessel. She was supposed to sacrifice herself for people she cared little about.
Kushina didn’t want to do it. She didn’t want to be responsible, a big girl, or a hero. How stupid did they think she was? She’d read books before. The hero always got the short end of the stick, no matter if they get their own happy ending and save the world. Kushina didn’t care, but she wasn’t given a choice.
Well, Kushina mused silently, she supposed teenage rebellion was coming early.
Kushina snuffed a wicked grin.