Preparation
Naruto woke up tired. That wasn't normal. He began to remember the events of the night before. How everyone had shown up in their hut, Izuku had introduced the other members of Tayuya's team. Orochimaru and Jiraiya had stayed in the main room since they were just too tired to move. Tsunade and Shizune with them to make sure no issues occured. Itachi had stayed to assist and guard the women while Kakashi had gone to his own hut, leaving Shisui to bunk with Izuku and Katsuki. The Snake five: Suigetsu, Jugo, Jirobo, Kidomaru and Sakon (Only called that because they all followed Orochimaru) had gone to their own hut as well, too polite to take up any space for the night. Grampa had gone home to his own family as well. Temari and Tayuya had bunked with Sasuke while Ino and Sakura had joined Naruto on his way to bed. The two girls now laid either side of him, holding an arm each. Carefully he slid his arms out of the grasp before climbing off the bedroll. He couldn't wait for the day he could lay back down on a mattress. Neither girls stirred as he quietly made his way from the room. Closing the door softly he could see Tsunade sandwiched happily between Jiraiya and Orochimaru, both of them with their arms around her. Off slightly to the side Itachi was holding Shizune protectively in his sleep. He nodded in approval, Naruto had noticed the way the two would flit around each other, not always making eye contact but smiling everytime. Sensing someone at the door, the blond moved over quickly before the person could knock. Kakashi stood with a raised fist and eye wide in shock. Anko stood just behind him, equally as dumbstruck. "Morning Kakashi," Naruto whispered, "Good morning Anko, are you here together?" Anko blushed and Kakashi didn't move. "We don't mind, Kakashi everyone in this building wants you to be happy,"
"I, it's just,"
"What? Didn't want her to meet the family just yet?"
"Well, you see, I," Naruto was having a powe trip, no denying it.
"Come on sensei, in ya come," Grabbing both of them he silently dragged them into the hut. His eye once again displayed his shock as he saw Itachi snuggled with Shizune, "It's a slow one this morning, you'll get introduced to everyone in time," He whispered to a mortified Anko. "You'll already know team seven and Ino, it's just the rest to go," A pack of cards appeared from somewhere. "Shall we play a few games before getting breakfast going?" They sat down in a triangle as he dealt the cards slowly.
Sakura and Ino were first to rise, immediately sitting with im for warmth. Both had gone into his chest of drawers and taken one of his jackets because apparently they were the most insular clothing in the village. Of course the size helped as well, Naruto stood almost an entire head taller than either girl, so the sleeves fell almost to their fingertips and the hem fell halfway down their thighs. As soon as they sat down he'd dealt them into the game of Go Fish the three had ended up playing. Their presence seemed to soothe Anko who became a lot less worried about meeting the rest. Shizune and Itachi were next to wake. Shizune before Itachi and trying to worm from his grasp with a beet red face, only for him to roll and take her with him, causing her body to further press into him and arouse him from his slumber. Naruto wished he had a camera to forever capture the embarassment on Itachi's face when he saw Shizune on his chest. They quickly looked in opposite directions, yet neither tried to move away from the other. Silently Naruto had beckoned them over and space was made for the duo. Kakashi gave Itachis a reassuring look before Shizune unconsciously leant her head on his shoulder. Those two were a team then and he dealt the cards accordingly. Izuku appeared next, coming through the front door with bags, silently leaving them with the cooking pot.
"Alright, what we playing?" His hands rubebd together.
"Go Fish, where did you go?"
"Morning jog, cleaned up at hot springs and went to grab stuff for breakfast, it's only porridge I'm afraid," The group shrugged, Anko nervously peering at the greenette, "Anko, it's perfectly fine if you're with Kakashi, I've seen how happy you make each other, plus a fact, I'm the one who set you up on the blind date remember? Well, I helped Ino and Sakura do it," She paled before relaxing and nodding, shifting closer to Kakashi. Next up was Sasuke, who seemed panicked as he closed his door.
"You let them sleep with me?!" He whispered shouted at Naruto and Izuku, "Really?"
"Yes," Izuku nodded "Because they just went with you and none of use saw reason to stop you guys, besides all you did was sleep right?" Sasuke exhaled and joined the game. Tayuya and Shisui emerged at the same time but with different looks. Shisui had ink on his finger and was holding back cackles while Tayuya seemed embarrassed to the nth degree. She slowly shuffled over to the group and sat down next to Sasuke, leaning her chin on his shoulder with a red face. Naruto didn't deal her any cards. Shisui disappeared from the building for a minute, returning while wiping his hands on his trousers. He was dealt in as Temari joined the larger group. The Sannin woke up at the same time, the two males quicky rolling from Tsunade. Naruto let out an almost silent snort and all three looked over to them horrified. Izuku held up a hand and waved them over. They were dealt one hand as a group. Last was Katsuki, who kicked open the door in a rage.
"Shisui," He growled slowly. Everyone puffed their cheeks not to laugh at the ink drawing of glasses and a silly moustache on his face. The Uchiha in question put his cards down and stood up, gunning for the door.
"Whoop, wh-whu-whu-whoop," He cried as Katsuki gave chase into the rebuilding Konoha. Everyone sighed and finished up their large game. Izuku was first to get up, relighting the fire under the pot and filling it with water.
"Alright, gimme five to clean the pot and we'll get breakfast going,"
The morning was atmospheric, chatter began in earnest after the snake five arrived. Katsuki and Shisui had come back both drenched but cheery. Naruto was happy they made their peace without destroying anything. The blond served up steaming bowls with Izuku, "Oh, by the way, Tsunade, Rasa wishes to speak with you about preparations," Tsunade sighed.
"I understand, I just wish we had more time,"
"Time for what?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. Izuku took a deep breath,
"Kakashi, this is going to be hard to here but," The silver hair jounin nodded "Obito is alive, he was healed by someone unknown and manipulated into being the puppet master of the Akatsuki, we hav e suspicions he is working with Danzo and ROOT to collect the jinchuuriki," Anko grabbed his hand reassuringly, "He appeared at the summit and declared the Fourth Great Ninja War, so far nothing's happened and the jinchuuriki haven't called for help,"
"I-," Kakashi put his bowl on the ground, "I understand, Obito had been a friend before the mission failure, when Rin jumped in front of my," He choked slightly, "I felt as if I'd failed him," IZuku sucked on his teeth,
"There's also a chance that he saw the ending of that, but not Rin moving in front of you," Everyone stopped, Kakashi took an unsteady breath,
"I, this is a lot to process, I don't, I'm going to need time," He mumbled, Tsunade nodded,
"See to it, Anko you're going to make sure he rests and doesn't bottle anything up," The kunoichi nodded in agreement. "Now I received word for Killer Bee, there's an island in Lightning country that will help Naruto control all nine tails of chakra, Turtle Island,"
"Sounds good, when do we leave?"
"You leave in a few days, while we are preparing for war," Naruto stood up, dropping his bowl,
"What? No, I'm not leaving while you guys are fighting," Izuku quickly stood up and pulled him out of the building, closing the door behind them. "Izu-,"
"We won't be fighting," He turned on his heel, "We will be training, studying, doing reconnaissance, we won't have the war without you alright?"
"I'm not running while,"
"You won't be running," The greenette snapped, "Nor will we be fighting, you are going to be training to be stronger, if you haven't guessed by now, you're our ace in the hole," Naruto just shook his head, "You and Kurama are the strongest of all jinchuuriki, who are stronger than anyone else in all the villages, do you know what kind of power you'd possess?"
"Nothing on you,"
"No dude, I can't do that,"
"Why not?"
"Do you know how lazy all of us would've gotten if I unleashed everything ever? Everyone would just hide until I left and then attack the weakest versions of you all," Naruto stepped backwards "If I wanted to I could've wiped Pain off the map, but then Obito would've just gone into hiding and attack while I'm gone,"
"Y-you let yourself,"
"Of course I didn't, but I wasn't fully aware of the Rinnegan's power set, I didn't expect to be pulled in, even before I unleashed I was impaled," The blond just closed his eyes, "Look I know you don't like it, no-one does, but you need to go, without us," He could see how much it hurt Izuku to say it, "I know we only just reunited and now you have to go again but,"
"I'll do it, how long will it be?"
"Depends on how quickly you get there, master the chakra control and then get back, if we exclude getting back because, y'know Flying Raijin," Izuku shrugged "Maybe four months lowest, if you master it immediately,"
"It'll take four months to get there?"
"Dude it's a turtle so massive it classfies as an island, be grateful I'm giving you enough credit to get there in four months," He fixed the blond with a stare before they walked back into the room.
"Alright Tsunade, let Bee know I'll go with him, I haven't got much to pack anyways,"
"Wonderful, now with that out of the way, Temari, your father has sent Kankuro over to assist with rebuilding, despite our protests," The Suna kunoichi smiled,
"Yeah, Kankuro is like a walking workforce, his puppets can do tonnes," They all heard Izuku strike his own forehead,
"Why didn't I think of that?" He groaned, causing everyone to chuckle. Tsunade continued,
"Everyone knows their roles, so it'll be the same for today, Naruto, your Shadow Clones will work while you pack, Katsuki, Izuku, you can do Shadow Clones too right?" Both nodded, "Good, I want as many as you can muster, help everything and everyone, we'll begin working again after we're all done with breakfast, Shisui, if you could go around the village and wake everyone up after you're done,"
"On it Tsunade," They shared a nod. Naruto served himself more porridge and stared into it quietly. He'd made the right choice, hadn't he?
"Alright Nine, it is time," Killer Bee stood in his door, did the guy ever not rap? "Call me Eight-o, that's my name yo," Clearly not, going with him was Kakashi, Might Guy and Yamato Tenzo. The latter was a Wood Style user Orochimaru had expiremented on while under Danzo's control. The man had Hashirama cells impanted into his body to gain Wood Style when he was a baby. Yes, Danzo was really that disgusting to kidnap infants from their cribs. He'd been one of the only to survive and considered himself one of Kakashi's self imposed friends. "Time to fly, Nine my guy,"
"Oh sweet Kami," Temari cried, "Get him out of here before I shove a scroll in his mouth!" Naruto deadpanned.
"Not a fan? it's alright man, after long, you'll love ma song," He stiffened and ducked under a book. "Ha too slow, gotta be fast don't y'know?" A second book promptly landed in his face. Naruto tossed the book back into the room and quietly stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
"Is there a reason you're always rapping?"
"It's just ma style, give it a while, we'l travel a mile, and you'll wear a smile," Naruto doubted that, "We'll grab ya friends, and the jounrey begins!" He doubted it very heavily. Kurama had seemed to connect with Gyuki the Eight tails and the two were talking while tuning the humans out. Wonderful, so Naruto had to suffer through this awful rapping alone. The two began walking through the village, Naruto trying to get a normal conversation.
"So what's Kumo like?"
"High up the sky, the Cloud is home to a great guy,"
"That you?"
"Of course ma man, I am the best wham!" That, that wasn't even an attempt. Naruto just took a deep breath.
"I know ya love to rap, but man you are crap, I can freestyle top of the dome, and I can beat ya to take it home," Bee just stared at him,
"So you wanna fight, come with all ya might, my rhymes are tight I'm way outta sight!"
"Look, Eight, ya think you're great, but really ya ain't, rhymes so cold they'd freeze paint,"
"Oh such disses, shame they're all misses, can't hit me, I'm too clean,"
"Not even a rhyme, wasting my time, ya need better lines, or get off ya shrine,"
"I got ryhmes for days, just check my shades, I spit such fire, I'll leave ya dazed, yo gonna get razed best remember my name!" The blond mentally face palmed.
"You got a problem getting called shit? Think you got skills, chief this ain't it, gotta try harder or else just quit, if you're gonna try rap, you gotta commit cause right now, you're just couterfeit, need a quick wit if you're gonna swing, so get some practise, licketysplit," He smiled smugly as Bee looked at him in shock.
"Alright yo, you got a point yo," Naruto groaned, this man just never stopped. "Grab your friends and we'll go,"
"No need," Kakashi appeared with a finger in his ear, "I can't believe we have to deal with two of them,"
"Two of?" Naively the blond opened his mouth,
"KAKASHI MY ETERNAL RIVAL, LET US EMABRK ON THIS MISSION AND CONTINUE OUR FATED RIVALRY OF MEN!" THe willpower began visibly leaving his body. No, anything but this, please, anything but this. Guy let out a barking laugh, Yamato appeared quietly next to Kakashi, at least there was two other sane people on this trip. The five arrived at the exit where the gates were being rebuilt. They had a small send off party apparently as everyone from the big night in and Anko (Who had now become a regular dinner guest with Kakashi) were collected with smiles. Izuku had several Shadow Clones obviously taking the piss, with hats, big foam hands and flags with a cartoon rendition of his face. They all disappeared in a puff,(along with the merch too, shame he wanted one of those flags) and Naruto embraced his oldest brother.
"You take care of yourself alright? You got Kakashi and Yamato to keep you all there but don't you dare slack on training," He laughed,
"Like I would bro,"
"I mean it Naruto, I remember how you got when you had my Shadow Clone instead of me and now you're going off without even that," His brother held onto his shoulders as they faced each other, "You haven't got the deaf old man looking out for you this time, you have to look after these punks," His eyes flicked over to Kakashi, who was embracing Anko. "And make sure they all get back alive, even if you gotta whack them around the head,"
"As if I'd ever let them get hurt,"
"Good," Izuku let his brother go, "Don't forget, I'll be whipping you away for Christmas if you're still stuck out there,"
"I won't take that long," He chuckled before moving over to the Uchiha, "Don't worry guys, I'll be back soon, for now try keep Izuku from training too hard, he gets reall stressed when I'm not around," Sasuke laughed as Shisui smiled, Itachi simply nodded,
"I'll do my best Naruto, but think of it as incentive to get back here and cause trouble again,"
"Hey I don't- was that a joke?" Itachi smirked
"I'll never tell," He embraced each of the Uchiha and moved onto the Sannin,
"Try not to burn the place down will ya Tsunade? I would like to come back to a house,"
"Alright brat," She snorted before hugging him, "You come back alive alright? I'm not losing you again,"
"Don't worry Aunty, I'll be back before you know it,"
"If it's anything like your last return, we'll know you're back before you do," Jiraiya chuckled before hugging the blond too.
"You better hurry back Uzumaki," Orochimaru smiled "Otherwise I may take Danzo for myself," Naruto stared at him before hugging the white skinned man.
"I know we didn't start on the greatest terms Orochimaru, but you're family now, alright?" The Sannin stood in shock before gently returning the hold.
"Alright Naruto, you best return on time then, because we aren't celebrating your birthday if you aren't here,"
"I'll take that as a threat," He joked before moving towards Ino and Sakura, "I'll be back before you know it alright?"
"You better be, I'm not going three years without a decent night's sleep again," Sakura stomped her foot before hugging him, "Please come back soon, I don't know how we're going to cope if you die out there," Gently he wrapped one arm around her before pulling Ino into the fold. She simply held him silently, resting her head against his chest as if she'd never hear his heartbeat again. "Alright you big dummy? You better come back!" He laughed gently hodling them both tightly.
"I'd take you with me if I could girls, but this is something I have to do on my own," Holding them he almost broke and changed his mind, he wanted too so so badly. But Izuku's words reminded him, he needed to get stronger, the world was depending on him. It wouldn't take long right?
Right?
A week or so after travelling Naruto had passed the stage of being homesick and was just focuing on getting back. As it turned out he quickly developed the ability to tune both Bee and Guy out while conversing with Kakashi and Yamato. The latter enjoyed teasing Kakashi as payback for the cycloptic ninja always calling him 'kohai'. It took one accidental find and Naruto was in. Of course he helped Kakashi prank Yamato back. He was as you'd say, 'playing both sides', so that he'd always come out on top. Guy and Bee would alternatively make loud random noises the soon became background noise. One mystery four of them banded together on however, was the mission to catch Kakashi without his mask. Even while they ate, the man simply turned away before turning back in seconds, with the entire meal eaten. And so their journey was one of easy going friends, simply heading to a vacation. In fact the trip was almost entirely uneventful; they helped one village with a gang problem, saved another from invasion, had a couple rogues attack for bounties, just basic, run of the mill events in shinobi life. There was one incident however, that Naruto would never speak of again.
Word about his fight against Pain had apparently spread fast, because his name was recognized as the hero that beat the Rinnegan. Once people knew who he was, things were often discounted or thrust at him with requests for signatures, people asked for pictures too. It also happened that with the fame, came impersonators. He had to expose many a scammer to clear his name, and it irked him a lot. But one in particular, bothered him the most. A large rogue shinobi blocked their pathway with a large sword over his shoulder. "Halt!" He barked at them, "I am the Great Uzumaki Naruto," The blond's eyebrow twitched, "I demand you hand over your possessions or I shall unleash the Nine-Tails upon you insects," The three shinobi behind him tried suppressing their laughter.
"Oh?" Naruto's voice seemed to have developed it's own twitch, "You're Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Yes,"
"Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails?"
"Of course!"
"You journied with the Toad Sage Jiraiya for three years?"
"I did and if you don't hand over your,"
"You sure don't look like him," Naruto folded his arms as 'Naruto' frowned.
"You should tread carefully weakling before I unleash the Toads and the Fox on you, how would you know what Uzumaki Naruto looks like?" The shinobi behind him began outright laughing, Kakashi falling to the ground and slamming his fist against is as Yamato wiped tears from his eyes. Bee began leaning against a tree and clutching his stomach while Guy oculd only hop on the spot.
"How could I?" He closed his eyes, his eyebrow twitching wildly, "By looking in the mirror,"
"What?"
"I'M UZUMAKI NARUTO YOU JACKASS!" He quickly planted his fist against the top of the man's head, causing him to cower. A new figure entered the fray,
"Finally I found you!" The figure knocked the larger shinobi out. "I must apologize travellers, this one has been eluding capture of the hidden Grass for a while," A kunai landed in his hand,
"Yeah no, I've seen this ploy before, big guy sizes up his opponents, new guy jumps in and takes the so called corpse away before they return, kill the travellers and make off with the score, rinse and repeat," The blond straightened himself, "Either fight us now or leave us the damn hell alone,"
"You would,"
"You have no hitai-ate, you are not wearing any ninja equipment and you look too sleazy to be a shinobi, so I'll say again, fight now or leave us the hell alone," The smaller man growled as he pulled out the kunai.
"Y-you little bas-," He charged Naruto, only to recieve a calm kunai to the gut.
"Noo, Boss!" The larger stopped cowering and held his blade ready, "Alright squirt, now you done," He was quickly killed by Yamato with several shuriken. Once they had disposed of the bodies the group continued on their way.
It took many more days for them to reach the shoreline, where they checked in and were quickly guided to a boat. Naruto happily climbed aboard and claimed a cabin as his own. Taking the time to finally have some quiet and work on his fuinjutsu. Izuku had suggested that he and Sasuke share a seal space. It was a complex idea, linking two seals to the same pocket space, it could mess up all kinsd of ways, from mixing chakra to limb swapping to one of them losing a limb while the other gained it! Naturally Sasuke had the seal applied first, to the back of his left hand. Naruto was doing it to the same hand and needed to pen the seal in exactly the same pattern for them to link up. If it worked it meant he and Sasuke could communicate over long distances. Izuku had opted out of it, stating that the two needed something exclusive to them. Izuku and Naruto had massive chakra while Izuku and Sasuke had the Sharingan, so Naruto and Sasuke needed something between them. The seal had been the final conclusion. Tracing the seal with ink carefully he allowed it to dry before running some chakra through it. Now it would successfully work he quickly wrote down a message.
Hey Sasuke
Is this working? I just finished writing the seal on my hand, we're loading onto a boat now.
Rolling it up and sealing it away he waited for a few minutes before the seal pulsed minutely. Quickly he unsealed it and read the message.
Naruto
Yes it's working. You should see Izuku now, he's dancing around the room like an idiot, cheering that his idea worked. Jiraiya admitted he's impressed and the girls look like they're planning to use me as a direct messenger to you. Next time you send a message, don't address it inside the note, roll it up and then put the name on it. We debated who should open it for five minutes.
The blond laughed quietly to himself before writing out another message.
Alright alright, but if I I write a story or something I want Shisui to narrate it, he always does funny voices.
A response took seconds.
You got it, how has your travelling been?
Not bad, there's a few stories I'm going to send you but the boat's is about to hit rough waters and Guy already looks seasick, so it might be a while before I can send another readable message through. Pass on my love to everyone. Yeah I said it, what you gonna do bitch?
As the boat began rocking he felt one more message shrink into the seal. It contained two words, well, a word and a signature.
Language - Izuku
That got a good laugh from him. Using another seal on his body he pulled out a small notepad and a stick of glue. He attached the parchments to different pages, delicately placing an extra sheet between the writing and the page that would lay on top to prevent smudges. Closing the book gently he set it down in his hammock before walking onto the deck. Guy was leaning over the side, already spewing chunks at the wildlife. Bee didn't seem to far that much better, his dark skin getting a green tint as a hand rested on his mouth. "Yo dude I don't feel so," That was all he could manage before joining Guy at the edge of the boat and hurling himself. Silently the Uzumaki cheered at the promise of peace and quiet while they were on the boat. The seal buzzed on his hand and he quickly puffed the item into existence. A small photo of everyone gathered together smiling. It had been taken in between the days of his packing, so everyone was there. turning it over revealed a small message.
You left this behind brat.
Tsunade
He smiled, putting the picture into another storage seal on the underside of his wrist. That picture reminded him of what he was doing, and how important it was. "Kakashi," The silver haird jounin turned. "Sasuke and I have a communication seal active now, so if there's anything you want to send back to anyone just label it for Sasuke and I'll pop it into the space," There was a smile from Kakashi.
"Thank you Naruto, oh and there's something I wanted to talk to you about, come with me quickly," The blond was led into a cabin, where the door was shut and locked. "I know you guys have wanted to see my face for a while now, so," He lifted up his headband and pulled down his mask, revealing the chizeled chin to Naruto, who stared in shock. A sweet smile and Kakashi covered his face again.
"Why did you do that?" He hissed at the older shinobi, who smiled again, this time more sadistically and spoke slowly.
"Because no-one will ever believe you," The blond stared in shock as Kakashi left the room. Realisation struck as the door closed.
"You sick bastard," As if on cue, the sound of Bee and Guy puking could be heard. This trip was shaping up to be much more fun than before.
Enri Todoroki was a heroine of focus and determination. She walked her patrol routes diligently and made sure that villains were put away with swift action and minimal property damage. Which was actually harder than you'd think with her pyrokinetic quirk Hellfire. Her diligence was, in part, why she chose her hero name, Endeavor: to try hard and achieve something. Which is why she had quickly risen the ranks. Now she sat comfortably in the number two spot on the charts. Not that she actually cared anymore. Had you asked her ealier in life, she would've gone made with rage and jealousy, but that would be before she met Rei. Rei who, ironically, had a cryokinesis quirk. Yes, the white haired woman had been the one to quell Enri's raging heart and see that life wasn't just about being the strongest, or the most powerful hero. Whether intentional or not, Rei had managed to sway Enri away from the might makes right ideology. It was like a sappy fairytale from one of the movies her wife had convinced her to watch on more than one occasion. With that, came a whole host of attitude changes. Enri now found herself much more patient and understanding to those around her and working with her. Despite her workaholic nature she was always excited to go home to her four children. Touko her eldest, Natsumi and Fuyumi the troubemaking twins, Shoko the one born with a pefect balance of both mothers' quirks and Shoto, her only son. Shoko and Shoto were twins as well but Shoto was much quieter than the rest. Rei and Enri did everything they could for the boy but society seemed insistent on crushing him down. Even his own sisters were horrible when neither mother was around and with Shoto unwilling to talk about it, Enri was stuck unable to help her suffering child. Alright, maybe she wasn't the one to carry them (Rei had insisted since Enri was a heroine, pregnancy would be too dangerous for her) but she stilled adored all of them. Even if she and Rei were alone in believing Shoto could do great things, they loved their son just as much as their daughters. Thinking of her family, Enri wished she could be with them now, but unfortunately she'd had to work a late shift into the night because a fellow heroine had suffered an illness that left them bedbound. Her heart went out to the poor woman, as anyone's would, but why was she the one stuck covering the shift?! The night's were always so boring and,
Wait.
Did, did that body just cover six rooftops in a single bound? And was that a fucking dragon made of fire raising into the sky from where they had been stood?! Enri smiled, maybe the shift would be more interesting than she thought. Quickly hopping from her rooftop, she activated her quirk on her feet. One of the many abilities she'd perfected as a student of UA was flight through propelling herself with her flames. The figure seemed clad in shadows and was carrying a teen girl in their arms. Despite the phenominal speed of the individual, the girl seemed oddly safe. They landed in the Yaoyorozu estate and the two owners came rushing out to greet them. The conversation was quick with the figure handing something to the girl, who Enri identified to be Momo Yaoyorozu and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Enri looked around the cityline for the figure before "Is there a reason you followed myself and young Miss?"
"I saw you leave an alleyway and clear six rooftops as a torrent of flame that almost seemed to be alive raced skywards from your position,"
"A signal, to draw attention to police, it will lead them to four criminals I apprehended and bound," Alright, so this was clearly a person of morals.
"Do you have a name?" She turned aroudn to face the figure.
"None you know, none I shall share for now," They spoke from under a hood, their face hidden by darkness, their body by a black cloak, a flicker of green hair was the only colour she could see.
"Then I think Kage will do nicely," She was not stupid, rumours and stories of a duo clad in shadows circulated the internet every few weeks for the past three years. It was a low risk this wasn't Midorikage. "Where is your partner? Orenjikage was it?"
"Gone home, I have too but I have the ability to be in two places at once, he does as well but I didn't tell him I was hanging around,"
"Well, I'm sure you'd be willing to answer a few questions vigilante?" Kage thought for a moment before sitting on an AC unit.
"Of course, you've been civil through this entire meeting, I see no reason not to return the gesture," A hand appeared before flicking upside down rapidly, a small object had suddenly appeared in the hand, "Cookie?"
"Thank you," Enri took it as Kage flicked their hand again and began eating one herself, "Let's get the one I know you won't answer out of the way, what's your real name?"
"I don't have one," That, that was not an answer she was expecting, "At least, here I don't, because here, I don't exist, any record of my birth, death and disappearance has been scrubbed clean, it would tarnesh mummy dearest's reputation, even though I am," Kage paused, "Anyway, I doubt even if I told you my name, that my family would admit I was ever born," As previously stated, Enri was not an idiot, she knew Kage cut themself off before they could expose themself.
"Because you are quirkless?"
"Because I am male," If Enri hadn't already finished her cookie, she would've choked on it and dropped whatever was in her hand.
"You are male, and you cleared six rooftops, you cleared a city block, in one leap? No, wait, you're a male and you made a dragon of living fire?!" Kage waved a hand in a circular motion,
"Yes I know, unbelievable, I should prove it or,"
"No I believe you,"
"Wut?"
"I believe you, this isn't disbelief, this is vidication, validation, I have a son, I am fighting to keep him away from the government once he turns eighteen, even asking my alma mater to give him a spot in their general education course, your mere existence proves I am not fighting a losing battle,"
"Honestly, not what I was expecting, no offence but I expected you to try incinerate me after I declared my sex," Enri waved a hand, "Your son, how old is he now?"
"Sixteen, might I ask why?"
"If you wish to win your battle, I will help, but I can't just yet as I am needed more elsewhere, I shall be busy for a long time here too, so for now I will give you a small piece of advice, any training you are doing with your son, increase it, if he is doing five laps now, have him do ten, if he is lifting twenty-five kilograms, make it twenty-six, have him do as much balance training as possible, if I am to help, he will need to fight you to a standstill with one hand behind his back, otherwise my job will be much, much harder," Kage stood up, "Do not be afraid to break him Endeavor, his quirklessness allows him power beyond what you know, his muscles will evolve beyond any standard you are used to, while you are at it, teach him, the education system will fail him, so it falls to you to fill the gaps, but there is one more thing you must do, it will be the key part in his development, even now,"
"What is it?"
"Do not allow him to feel alone," And just like that, as she blinked, Kage had disappeared from her sight, this time not speaking from any direction. He had completely vanished. Enri quickly checked the time and began making her way home. She had a regime to make.
Momo held the kunai in both hands. Kage's cloak was draped around her shoulders again. Clutching it tightly she focused on the blade. Her quirk glowed in her hands but she didn't create anything. "I must ask you to stop calling me outside, young Miss" Kage was behind her again, the light bathing his back, "It's not good for your health to be out in the cold so frequently,"
"I...I did it?" Momo gazed at her hands, "I did it,"
"You did, but barely," Kage took out a hand from his own cloak, "I'd advise you keep trying every night, it never hurts to visit,"
"What do I,"
"Practise, focus, there's not much skill involved in it," His hand waved, "I have almost perfect control at the skill, a friend of mine has a natural talent and it means they have perfect control," A soft blue emanated from his hand, "That control allows me abilities such as this,"
"What are you controlling?"
"Trade secret, is there a reason aside practise you called me again young Miss?"
"Why do you call me that? Young Miss,"
"Because that is who you are to me, unless you'd prefer a different name, Ma cherie," She blushed at his blatant flirting "Is there a problem with it?"
"You're the same age as me!"
"And that makes any difference?" Kage stood quietly, the cloak gently bending in the wind. "I have killed people twice and thrice our age, I was twelve when I fought and bested a man that was twenty-six, I outclassed most of my allies, sempai and peers by the time I turned thirteen," Momo stepped back against the balconey railing, "If there was ever something that I qualified for, it was calling you young Miss," A hand came from her cloak to rest on the side of his hood, gently pressing into his cheek.
"What have you done? Have you seen?"
"Stuff that would give the monsters under your bed nightmares, I fought in a civil wore, coating my hands in blood, I have saved lives and lost them as I tried forcing a dead heart to beat," His hands rested on the railing either side of her, "I have killed a man without him even realizing I was closing in, I have so much blood on my hands I could flood paint the sky red, I have killed so many I lost count and I have saved nowhere near enough to save my soul,"
"Why?" Her eyes were watering at his pain, "Why would you do that?"
"Because, if the only way I may save a thousand lives is to take one, then I shall do so, if there is a person, planning on killing hundreds, I will kill them before they harm anyone," His hands gripping the railings, "I will collect names and doom my soul because it is the right thing to do," Gently she slipped her hand under his hood, his skin warm under her hand. "If it is how I can save as many as possible, I will sell my soul to death itself, I chose the name Kage for a reason y'know?" Momo tried looking into his eyes, "Because I am a shadow of what I used to be, I tried to save everyone's life, now I take them daily,"
"To save even more lives," She whispered to him, "You save thousands at the cost of one, you rescue families at the expense of a single life, you can't quantify how many people you save just by looking at it directly," Her hand was slowly gliding to the back of his head, she could feel his tangle of curly hair. "You save those mothers and fathers and brother and sisters the heartache of loss, you protect those lovers, sons and daughters from the pain of never saying 'I love you' again," Her other hand rested on his chest, sliding past his cloak.
"And yet I still hurt people, still hunt them, I do not rescue people, I doom them to live in fear of the next maniac," His heart beat under her hand.
"You saved me," Her voice was barely above the wind, "You rescued me that night on the street, and again when you landed here a few nights ago," His wrists touched either side of her hips. "You came back when I called you despite having better things to do and no need to be here, in case I was in trouble," She leant forwards, "Would that be because you wanted to be here?"
"You don't want this," He whispered "You don't want me," She paused, "You don't want any of this, it will destroy you, I won't be here,"
"Then why give me the chance?"
"Because I can't help but want it," Her arms clenched and she pulled him into her, finding his lips almost naturally and kissing him. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she felt his hands finally hold her back delicately. Letting her fingers get caught in his hair she felt him lift her up and sit her on the railing, still holding onto her waist. Breaking apart for breath, she rested her forehead against where his should be. His breath was hot on her cheeks.
"Convinced yet?" She smiled, even though inside her heart was breaking. Why? It was simple really, even if Kage revealed himself to the world, even if he proved valuable enough to be kept out of the government facilities that protect men, he'd still be a man. Meaning that he'd have to take multiple wives, and Momo would just become one in a dozen. It stung as a thumb came up to wipe away the tears she didn't know she spilt.
"I know the laws of this world, I have studied them religously to help my fellow men, so I know why you are crying young Miss," His voice soothed her ache, "And I want you to know, if you decide to stick around, you will not just become a face and body to me," She hiccuped a laugh out, "You will always be, my young Miss," She threw herself into him, "This is why I didn't want you to let me in, because it would just seek to hurt you,"
"So you wanted me to stay away, even though it would hurt you, just to protect me?" There was a selfless motive in there somewhere.
"As I said before, I doom my soul to an eternity of pain if it means saving a life," The shadow on his face receded just enough to show a pair of crimson eyes, with a four pointed spinwheel with a diamond centre, the eyes carried emotions that she couldn't understand, weight no-one should ever bare. It seemed to crush her just by being near him. "Even if I am saving someone from hurting," The eyes disappeared into blackness again and with it the weight. "I do not wish to drag you into my mess, so for now I ask you to wait for me,"
"Will you still come here?" Momo was scared. Scared to lose Kage, scared to never see him again. Scared that the next she'd hear of him would be his death.
"Whenever you call me," His words swept her fear away in one moment, the way he had spoken, the chesire smile in his voice. Kage wasn't going to go anywhere. "I'll be right by your side, unless I'm fighting, then I'll be with you once I'm done," Stepping backwards and lifting her off the railing he sighed, "Well, I suppose it's time for you to go to bed, next time, please call me somewhere inside, I'd hate for you to catch a cold," The hood was pulled up over her head with one hand and the other simply dropped to his side. Momo just smiled as Kage hopped onto the barrier with ease, turning on the ball of his foot. "Now I must be off my young Miss, is there anything more I can do for you tonight?"
"No," She giggled as he bowed,
"Then I shall take my leave, stay well young Miss, for you shall see me soon," His body fell backwards and Momo leant over to see the leaves falling again. With a soft smile she began making her way back to her room, with a weight of her shoulders and a smile in her soul, she couldn't smile with her heart.
For Kage had stolen it.
And he had given her a piece of his.