Christmas break
Naruto groaned as he woke up. He was currently in one of the guest rooms of Bee's holiday house on Turtle Island. They had arrived two months ago after a four month journey. One month getting from Konoha to the coast and the other three at sea sailing towards the island. The boat ride had been a lot more enjoyable than the walking, mainly for two reasons. Number one, no walking, simple as that. And number two, Guy and Bee were both incredibly seasick, so the two loudest party members had to be quiet the entire time. After he had perfected the seal on his left hand, Naruto had been able to write frequence letters back to the others, since it was connected to a pockeet space Sasuke also had access to. Speaking of the seal it pulsed for a moment, telling him Sasuke had sealed something away. Pushing his own chakra into it he held a small note in his hand.
He's going to grab you and the others in five.
Five what? Five minutes, five ho-
"Merry Christmas!" Izuku cried,
"AAHHHH!" Naruto screamed as he leapt to the other side of the room. Five seconds is what Sasuke meant then. Looking at his brother revealed he was wearing somethign very un-Izuku. That was to say, something not green, black or a shade between the two. In fact he was wearing the complete opposite of green and black: red and white. A red Santa hat with a white puffle and a white strip around the base. A bright red jacket with white highlights, a black belt with a golden buckle held up a pair of red trousers with white cuffs. Black snow boots completed the outfit while the white beard and moustache mask finished the look, even if they clashed horribly with his green hair. The blond glared at his brother, who was laughing whole heartedly.
"Motherfucker I will end you!" He growled
"Language," They both said, Naruto grinned at getting his own back. "Alright anyway, so in your last letter you mentioned about a chakra isolation chamber or whatever?"
"Yeah,"
"Awesome take me to it," In a poof Izuku was back in his regular clothes, dusting his arms off. "Then we'll all head back to Konoha," He placed a temporary formula on the nearest wall. Naruto swiftly walked out of the room.
"Fine but I'm getting breakfast first,"
"This is the space?" Izuku looked around the colourful area, neither of them stood on a discernable floor, "Trippy,"
"Yeah I know," Naruto shook his head "But anyways, why did you want to come here?"
"All shall be revealed dear brother, let's go see Kurama shall we?" The world around them darkened until the pair stood before the great gates, sealing Kurama away. "Heya Tiger!"
"What is it kit?"
"Well, I was wondering about something, Naruto told me about this thing that happened while you were trying to do this thing with the seal," The greenette walked away from Naruto and climbed up to Kurama's ear. The blond frowned as he watched the two conspire silently.
"Naruto?" A voice startled him "Are you trying to weild the full power again?" He turned around to see a red haired woman smiling softly at him "I won't be able to help much this time, I'm afraid that if I don't let what little of my,"
"Ah, excellent you're here too," Izuku landed without a sound, "Kushina Uzumaki correct?"
"And you are?"
"Has he not told you about me at all? I'm Izuku Uzumaki, adopted pseudo-older brother of one Naruto Uzumaki, I'm the guy that's helped him keep smiling, we've learned tonnes together, he's even helped me crack fuinjutsu, we've come up with a jutsu for him as well!" Kushina's eyes widened, "I guess that technically makes me your adopted son, so, hi ma?"
"Naruto, you never told me you'd found a family," Tears fell down her face, "I'm so proud and happy for you Naruto," She held the blond, "Izuku, please, continued to keep looking after him, I, there's no way I can," Izuku grinned,
"I was always going to, he's my first real family too," A quick shake of the head, "Look anyway, Naruto gave me this little idea, I'm going to need your help with it Kushina,"
"H-how do you expect me to be able to help you?"
"It's a bit hard to explain in full, so for now I'm just going to say, I'll be borrowing your chakra from the seal,"
"You, wait, you, what?!" Naruto shook his head, "I, dud there's no way you can,"
"Only a master sealer can perform such a task, even then the chakra required is immense, you're either incredible at fuinjutsu or you're taking a very big risk young man," Izuku grinned coyly,
"I'm going for both," He grabbed Kushina's wrist and pulled her down to whisper in her ear. Naruto still didn't hear anything but his mother's face changed to one of shock, disbelief and then determination. "Think it's possible?" She stood back up,
"Well, after hearing your plan and being able to follow everything, I'd have to say that, yeah, it's more than possible, but it'll be a difficult task,"
"Nothing's ever fun if it's easy," Naruto chirped in "Can you guys explain now?" Izuku cackled, like an evil genius,
"Nope! Now I hate to say this but I'm borrowing your mother Naruto!" Izuku was overtaken in a blue glow that encompassed Kushina too.
"Don't worry Naruto, I'll see you soon!" Her smile seemed to pause all of his worries. Kurama laughed as the two disappeared from the mindscape.
"Oi kit, have some faith in him, he knows exactly what he's doing, now go enjoy this celebration, I want to enjoy some turkey!"
"You got it big guy!" Naruto held up a thumb as he crossed back into the chamber, shaking off the vertigo as he stood on air. "Let's get going Izuku!" The greenette grinned and the two darted out of the room before disappearing in a single green flash.
The group landed on grass in a training ground. "I-Izuku?" Naruto looked around, "This isn't home?"
"Isn't it? Ah shoot," There was a smug grin, "Better take the others back and try again, you can find your way home right?" They disappeared, leaving Naruto alone.
"Oh you little asshole," He seethed before something leapt from the bushes. He was barely able to identify Rock Lee before avoiding the high speed kick.
"COME NARUTO, LET US SPAR IN A FESTIVE HOLIDAY BATTLE!"
"I, what?" He was confused, mainly because Lee had been yelling and barely anything was understandable, but also because what he had been able to discern was confusing at best, "Spar, festive what?!" He repeated, avoiding another kick, "Woah, Lee, come on now, give me a second to breath,"
"THERE IS NO TIME NARUTO WE MUST BATTLE WHILE THE WINTER HELPS COOL OUR BOILING BLOOD OF YOUTH!"
Whatever drugs Lee was on right now, Naruto wanted not one piece. Mini Guy ran at him headfirst. "DO NOT RUN AWAY NARUTO, SHOW ME THE POWER OF YOUR YOUTHFUL SPIRIT!" Pulling himself out of the way Naruto dodged him like a charging bull. This was either going to end hilariously or very very painfully. He wanted to avoid the latter as much as possible.
"Lee, can you please explain to me why you are charging me for no reason?!"
"YOU HAVE BEEN TRAINING ON TURTLE ISLAND, I WANT TO SEE JUST HOW HARD YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING!!" The blond ducked under a punch before hopping above a sweeping kick, grumbling tom himself. Lee sent a straight punch to his face. His hand rose up, the back of it striking Lee's wrist, knocking his attack off course. Naruto followed up with a flat palm strike to his ribs and finishing with a knee into the gut. Lee stumbled back slightly and began grinning. "LET US IGNITRE THE AIR WITH OUR PASSION NARUTO," He rocketed forwards with a flying kick.
"Oh my god, shut up!" Grabbing his ankle he swung Lee around and sent the boy into the cliff makring one edge of the training field. He rested in the small crater for a moment before falling out and smiling.
"Excellent spar Naruto, I can already tell you've been training hard," He gave a signature thumbs up, "Merry Christmas Naruto!" The blond shook his head and leapt away.
He began walking through the reconstrucing village, taking in the progress, houses had been built up, shops were getting set up. Paths were being made. Something came into his vision. "Oh, hey Sakura!" He took the pinkette in his arms, spinning around a few times. "How has everything been going?"
"Oh, so so, we've had the Akatsuki attempt a few thigsn but normally Saskuke, Naruto and Katsuki can fend them off, I'm sure Sasuke told you right?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry I wasn't here to help," He rubbed the back of his head as Sakura took his other hand.
"So what's it been like on Turtle Island?" Shaking his head, Sakura frowned "That bad huh?"
"Well, three days of the week I train, three days I just spend meditating, there's no ramen and I have Guy and Killer Bee as company," A small grin "But it's not so bad, I mean there's tonnes to explore on the day I rest and I have my own room, I can still talk to everyone," She smiled,
"I'm glad you're not finding it unbearable,"
"Although I have had a bit of a problem sleeping, the bed is far too big," He leant forwards, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I wish I had some company," She patted his cheek teasingly. He huffed and nibbled her ear in retaliation. "C'mon let's get home," There was no missing the microscopic freeze and panic befoer Sakura protested,
"How about we go explore the village first?" She pulled him in the opposite direction to the house, "We can go have some Ichiraku,"
"Sold!" Laughing good naturedly he let her lead him through the growing crowds. "So what's goign on at home?"
"Oh, just," She began fumbling for an answer, "Hey we're here," They had arrived in the rebuilt ramen stand, moving the curtain away to enter and sit on a stool each. "Can I have my regular please?" Distracting either herself or him wasn't working.
"Yeah, I'll have the usual too please," The blond didn't look away from Sakura as she smiled and began talking to Old Man Teuchi and Ayame, carefully and tactfully dodging his question. He didn't listen to a word they said though, not his fault they talk about things like business and foot traffic and whatever. Although he does manage to tune in when Teuchi talks about business booming because of Naruto's known love of the noddle shop and that they may be able to upgrade the shop be more indoor seating. He grinned, after all these two had doen to help him, they deserved some success. Chuckling slightly he grinned to Teuchi, "I'm glad you guys are getting more attention y'know, it's high time you deserved it for helping the three of us for so long," Sakura smiled warmly to him as well.
"The fact they do the best ramnen in the vilage has absolutely nothign to do with it then?"
"I never said that," Quickly lifting a load of noodles into his mouth Naruto silently ate for a moment before he had finished the bowl. "Alright, home bound,"
"Hold on Naruto, I'm not even half done yet!" She grabbed his hand, "Come on, you wouldn't leave me behind would you?" Sighing he sat back down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder.
"No, no I wouldn't, but normally you put it away faster than I do!"
"We haven't spent time together I ages Naruto, I wanna take my time with it," Kissing her temple he smiled softly,
"Oh alright," Relenting he relaxed on the seat and kept his arm around her.
"Naruto! You're back!" Ino ran over and hugged him, "Izuku said he'd go get you, come on, let's grab some hot chocolate at the flower shop,"
"But, we were just about to head to our house Ino," He grinned as she took his free hand.
"Oh, I just came from there, I wouldn't head over just yet, it's a mess decorating, you'd just step on a glass decoration or something," She giggled "Plus I think Katsuki started fighting with the lights so," Naruto let out a laugh as Sakura quietly hummed in amusemet. "So let's get out of the cold and get some hot chocolate," Grinned, his face quickly fell into shock when he realized.
"You guys are wearing my jackets?" Both girls were in fact, clad in black and orange jackets. The same black and orange jackets they had stolen from his drawers after reconstruction had begun. They both flushed from embarassment as he grinned, "You look great in them," Stepping back from both of them he feigned curiosity, "Except Ino you've got something, there," He kissed her cheek "And Sakura you've got something," He kissed her forehead "There," Ino adorably clutched the collar of the jacket, lifting it up past her nose while sakura mumbled something about being 'unfair'. Laughing at how shy they were he grabbed their hands and led them towards the Yamanaka flower shop. "Y'know you two are really cute when you get embarassed, almost like you don't quite believe how I feel," Sakura just squeezed his hand.
"We, we, sometimes we don't," Ino looked at the floor as they entered the shop, "It's just, we, there's," She took a deep breath and seemed to centre herself "You saved the village y'know, that's made you a hero in a lot of people's eyes," Naruto snorted "And you could have almost any if not every girl in Konoha wrapped around your finger if you wanted to, so it's just," The blond remained silent as he walked over to the door, flipping the open sign over and locking the door.
"I could, you're right about that," He admitted casually, "If I wanted to I could take almost any woman in Fire country to bed because stories travel far," The two girls looked crestfallen, "And if you can give me one good reason why I should, I'll consider it,"
"Because, because there are people more deserving of you, y'know?"
"I said a reason, not bullshit Ino," He folded his arms, "Do you know how long it took me to convince myself that you two weren't just falling for me because I'd spent months training the two of you?" They both gazed at him, "Hell I was sure that when I returned after my trip with Jiraiya that neither of you would have those feelings anymore, I convinced myself you'd moved on and gotten partners and I don't know," He waved an arm, frustrated, "I, look, I could walk out of this place right now and wake up in someone else's bed if I wanted to, the fact I'm here should tell you everything," His arms began gesticulating, "I don't want to wake up in someone else's bed, I want to wake up in our bed, holding the two of you, I don't want some meaningless fling with this random girl that deluded herself into thinking I was her prince charming off of a, probably wildly inaccurate, story, I want the relationship I have with the two of you," Their eyes glazed over, "I," Dropping his head, he sighed heavily, "Look I understand that you're probably feeling insecure because of how much attention you think I'm getting, but I'm not going anywhere, when I come back from Turtle Island for real, I will be coming back to you," A soft smile to them both, "So no more worrying, okay?"
"Naruto!!" They both cried, jumping into his chest. Taken by surprise the blond yelped as they crashed to the ground. They cried into his chest with heavy relieved sobs as he rubbed their backs in gentle slow circles. Kissing their temples in turn he laid his head back and smiled. Even if it was for the day.
It was good to be home.
They bumped into Sasuke next, who seemed very panicked. "Guys!" He called out, hurriedly making his way over, "You gotta help me," He almost whispered "I've really dropped the ball this time,"
"What did you do Sasuke?" Naruto sighed, knowing he'd not likely get home before it went dark at this rate.
"I haven't managed to find a present for Tayuya or Temari yet, they're going to kill me," He clutched his forehead, "I haven't been this stressed since I set fire to the kitchen,"
"So last week?" Ino jokingly ventured,
"Not the time please, I just need help finding presents for them, please,"
"You got it man, who's first,"
"Tayuya, she likes playing the flute a lot,"
"She already has her flute though," Sakura rubbed her chin, "Maybe if we got her something to battle at close range with,"
"Yeah, and you could give her personal lessons," Naruto teased as Sasuke went pink.
"Don't test me Uzumaki, I will break you little man,"
"I'm the same height as you,"
"Like a twig," Sasuke threatened, "A close weapon might work, and something she can hider her flute in, alright, let's go to Blades in Knaves quickly!"
"Blades in, you mean the store Tenten's family runs?" Naruto shook his head in confusion, "They only do really custom weapons, it'll take a few hours before," Sasuke began dashing through the crowd. "Sasuke wait up!!" The three quickly began following him into the village, the girls weaving through the crowd while Naruto greeted people and began smiling at strangers that called his name. He began to duck and darted into an alley. Leaning against a wall he took time to recollect himself from the verge of his anxiety, sure the people were cheering for him, but they were still shouting for him in a crowd, people still turned to look around for him whenever they heard his name. He couldn't escape the still present fear they were just going to start chasing him again. So he quickly got onto the rooftops and pursued from there. Sasuke was easier to find from the top as he was the one leading Ino and Sakura through the crowd and Naruto could pick out his two girlfriends from anywhere. Bouncing between the buildings he leapt up and across the main street in the village, clearing it with ease. Sasuke was continuing his charge through people, zipping between and flipping over oncomers. Naruto smiled and hopped into the air, rolling perfectly to land on the wall and run along it. He arrived at the store first, standing on the sign and glaring down as Sasuke broke through the crowd. "Next time, don't run off," The ravenette just nodded as Naruto dropped to the floor, Sakura and Ino quickly appearing from the crowd. They all walked into the store behind him and began looking at the stocked goods.
"Ah, hey guys!" Tenten greeted from the front counter. Naruto raised a hand while looking at different shortswords, maybe something for Katsuki? "Sasuke, are you here for the," He made a strangled noise before quickly interrupting,
"Yes I am here to place and order that may take a few,"
"But you came in like, four days ago," She reachde below and pulled out a box, "Gift wrapped and every," Naruto came out of his aisle, staring at Sasuke, "Oh,"
"Yeah no shit oh!" Sasuke bit, it was the blond's turn to lead the chase as he bolted for the door, Sasuke sweeping up the box and calling "Thank you for the item!" Sakura nd Ino bid hurried farewells as they gave chase too. Naruto burst into the air and leapt to the rooves.
As he approached the door Ino jumped onto his back, "Wait!" He stumbled forwards, slowing enough to let Sakura in front of him.
"We, we can't let you in yet Naruto," She stood with her arms out, trying to block his path, he just hooked his arms under her armpits and lifted her from the floor. Squaking indignantly, Sakura went red from her failed attempt to stop him. Sasuke somehow slipped past him and grabbed his wrist as he reached for the door.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but we can't actually let you go inside, not yet anyway,"
"Well, I'm telling you to let me inside, right now," Pulling his arm away, the blond briefly lost his balance from the two women clutching him. Pivoting hard on his heel he somehow remained standing. Getting grumpy he looked pasted Sakura at Sasuke, who briefly faltered before griting his teeth and straightened up.
"You aren't getting past me Uzumaki,"
"You wanna bet Uchiha?" The two glared silently, Naruto one as Sasuke quickly broke down laughing.
"Do you know how dumb you look right now? Trying to look angry while you have two girls clinging to you," Naruto pouted but shortly joined Sasuke in laughing good naturedly.
"So why can't any of you let me in?" Once the humor had died down Naruto tried the diplomatic route. Sasuke shrugged,
"Izuku didn't tell us, he just said, and I quote, I'll be dropping him in a random training field, do not let him here until past nightfall,' and then said if we didn't we would have to sit at the kiddie table with plastic cutlery and paper plates," The ravenette shivered, "Are, are they asleep?" Peering at his left shoulder showed that Ino was resting her head against it with her eyes closed, on his right revealed Sakura's neck as she curled with his neck.
"I believe so,"
"Man that was fast, they really must not have slept well,"
"To be far, neither have I," Naruto yawned, "I could take a nap right now, if only I could get to my bed," Sasuke laughed,
"Yeah nice try, I'm not letting you in, maybe go for a walk or something,"
"But the girls are asleep and I don't wanna wake them up," He whined, "Plus I really just want to sit down inside and have turkey,"
"Well, tough, you can't," They heard hinges creak.
"You can come in now, people are beginning to make bets on how long your standoff lasts," Izuku had a flat face, "Naruto, you weren't supposed to be here yet, you're ruining all the effort people put into your gift,"
"My gift?"
"Is a surprise but you're insistent on not listening to anyone so you may as well come inside. we've managed to hide it for now, you stay in the dining area and that's as far as you go, capiche?" He nodded and entered the house behind Sasuke, "Floor plan is the same as it was before, furniture is all new so don't break it and we finished painting the walls yesterday, don't get anything on them," The blond nodded numbly and made his way to the chairs, lowering Ino onto one before gently taking Sakura from his front and laying her to rest in another. Izuku returned to the kitchen, talking with Itachi and oddly enough Kakashi, as the three began cooking what appeared to be enough Christmas dinner to feed a small army. Mind, with so many people in his family now, it wasn't really that far off. Taking a seat for himself he watched Sasuke walked over to Tayuya and greet her with a peck to her cheek, the box hidden behind his back. Temari was smiling at the pair as she walked over, snaking a hand around Sasuke's waist. Oh, so those three were like that then? "Oh and you should know Naruto, Rasa, Gaara and Kankuro are visiting for the night too, Hinata's gone back to her compound for dinner but she should be over just as we get ready for the pudding and Karin will be joining us with the other three," He grinned wider than before and adjusted himself to sit more upright. Shisui giggled lightly at him and they quickly had a non-verbal argument where Naruto won by sticking out his tongue. His gaze returned to Tayuya as she opened her present, gasping and smilling excitedly, lifting the blade out of the bod delicately. Sasuke was talking to her and took the blade, quickly turning it over to reveal a hollow handle, perfectly sized to store her flute. Turning it back over he pointed out several holes near the joint between the handle and blade. Naruto wasn't sure what he was saying but he figured it'd just make the flute louder. She put the blade in the box and jumped at him, hugging him tightly. Temari smiled and the two had a quick conversation about using the tools Sasuke got them, making Naruto wonder what Sasuek could've got the fan weilder. Until she snapped open a smaller version of her fan, snapping it shut again, Naruto keenly saw her thumb slide up a hidden switch and a blade ejected from the top. Tayuya nodded to whatever Temari said and they smiled at each other. Shortly after the Kazekage himself came in, greeting everyone warmly, Shisui, Itachi, Kakashi and Anko and Tayuya all bowed. Temari gave him a hug while Naruto, Katsui, the Sannin and Sasuke gave him a hand shake, Izuku called out a greeting before walking out of the kitchen to give the man a welcoming hug. "I take it the journey was cold?"
"Of course Izuku, it's the middle of winter and we travelled through a desert," Gaara's level voice brought a smile to Naruto's face as he made his way to the door and hugged the redhead. Karin appeared in the door shortly after Kankuro made his quiet entry and greetings. She gave Naruto a hug before suggesting a prank for Ino and Sakura, which he quickly shot down. Gaara stepped towards the kitchen, "Do you need any help cooking? We considered bringing some additional food before realizing it would've gone cold,"
"No, not at all Gaara, you just help Naruto and Sasuke lay the table, we're still expecting the Sarutobi family to drop by, Asuma's finally out of the hospital,"
"That is good to hear," Rasa sighed "It is always wonderful for a shinobi to recover, Karin's teachings have advanced our medical knowledge beyond what we could've dreamed of," He smiled "Rebuilding has gone well then,"
"Thank Kami," Tsunade waved a hand, "We've had some rogues try con us and some minor villages make threats, but Izuku and Katsuki are quick workers, I don't think I ever saw a supposed war end quicker,"
"Someone tried to declare war?" Naruto sat up in his seat, Katsuki laughed,
"Yeah, they tried to, had one fight last a few hours against some of their best and the brown flag went right up,"
"You mean the white flag?"
"No, the brown flag, cus they used someone's soiled undies!" He cackled, "Barely had time to stretch, Izuku was happy with it though so he gave me a good spar when we came back," A knock at the door and Naruto answered to find Konohamaru, Hiruzen, Asuma and Kurenai stood wrapped warmly, Asuma was beign supported by Kurenai while Hiruzen kept glancing towards him.
"Come on in guys, we've been waiting for you," He guided Asuma to a seat and made sure the man was alright before letting him rest in the chair.
"Lots of people tonight, I daresay a few more than the last great gathering,"
"It that what we're calling them Gramps?" Izuku chuckled from the kitchen, "Well, if it pleases the council, dinner is going to be ready any minute, table's big enough, room's got plenty of space, you're free to eat at the coffee table if you want to feel a bit more relaxed and we have a tray for Asuma to save him getting up again," Everyone made small cheers at the thought of food before relaxing small talk ensued.
"Alright, grub is up!" Izuku laid the table with Itachi and Kakashi. People began getting into seats, Naruto was again at the head, with Gaara on his left and Izuku on his right. Next to Izuku was Katsuki while Sasuke was opposite Gaara. Hiruzen sat opposite Kankuro next as the three Sannin sat Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru, with Temari, Rasa and Karin respectively, Tayuya sat opposite Konohamaru, Kakashi and Anko after that. Itachi with Shizune and Shisui with Kurenai sat at the edge of the table. Ino, Sakura and Asuma still slept in their respective chairs, a premade plate covered by a bowl sat on a tray next to each sleeper. No-one made a move for anything. "Uh,"
"You're the head Naruto, you go first, grab a cracker," Izuku explained slowly, the blond nodded and eargerly grabbed the shiny item in front of him. "Right, shall we all do it at once? Going around would take a lot of time,"
"Alright," Naruto nodded and every grabbed their crackers, "Oh but just quickly, when you're in this household, or on the compound at all, we're all equals at the table, so don't stand on formality, at all, ever," Several postures relaxed and crackers were grabbed. After several small bangs, Naruto gazed down the table, opposite him, directly at the end of the table was an empty chari, not unusual by itself. No, the strange part was that it was set for somebody who clearly wasn't there. A plate, complete with cutlery and a cracker, "Are, are we missing anyone?" Izuku smiled as Naruto just looked to him, Rasa and the visitors from Suna all looked to Izuku along with the Sarutobi at the table. The greenette calmly got up from the table and began walking upstairs. "Does any," Those that had looked at Izuku, watched him leave, while the rest remained silent. Creaking and then a muffled conversation. They heard footsteps as the stairs began to creak and Naruto felt his eyes widen as a second set of creaking paces joined the first. Cursing himself for sitting out of view of the stairs, Naruto tried leaning, only for Katsuki to grab his arm and shake his head. He huffed and leant back in his seat as Izuku reappeared, clearly with someone hiding behing him.
"I suppose now is a good time for you to open your present I guess," The greenette moved out of the way to reveal a familiar figure. Dressed in a white sleeveless blouse and a green dress the figure smiled sweetly to Naruto, who slowly climbed from his chair, Hiruzen and Kurenai gaped slack-jawed at the woman. Rasa quizzicallt gazed to the woman and leant towards Temari, after quick whispers his eyes also widened in shock as he relaid the message to a curious Karin. The redhead gaped first at the woman and then to Izuku and back. The woman had a bow stuck to her forehead comically as he stepped tentatively towards her.
"M-m-mom?" She smiled gently at him. "Is it really you?"
"Real as can be Naruto," He hugged her as tears pricked at his eyes. "I'm back my baby boy," Her arms draped around him and something in him broke at how complete it made him feel. Gently he let her go and wiped his eyes, turning to Izuku.
"Y-you," He began, his voice threatening to break, "How did you?" Izuku grinned knowlingly.
"It took a lot of studying, some seal work, a really fancy jutsu Lord Second didn't finish along with a few notes of Orochimaru's, your," He scratched the back of his head, "Or our I guess, mom's chakra, a bit of chakra borrowed from Sasuke to give her stores, Katsuki and Sakura for chakra nature, a bit of help from Ino with a mental step, and the tiniest piece of luck," He grinned boyishly, "Basically we resurrected her!" The greenette took his seat and donned the paper crown which was, ironically, a bright orange. "I'll give you a better explanation later but for now let's eat!" Kushina took her seat opposite a surprised Kurenai. Naruto sat at the head of the table quietly.
"Wait, mom's going to be the same age as when I was born," He muttered, Izuku leant over as he added turkey to his plate.
"Actually, thanks to the chakra she sealed with you, her age increased when we managed to give her solid form, Kushina Uzumaki is now forty years old, she looks younger because y'know, lack of stress, lack of physical aging and the like, but you can see the effects of her older chakra have had on the body," He grinned, "Her hair is already substantially longer than recorded close to her death," Kakashi began talking animatedly across Itachi and Shisui to Kushina. Naruto began smiling as he realized, he had his mom back! Gently falling into laughter with Katsuki and Sasuke while Izuku spoke with Gaara about whatever he couldn't remove the grin from his face.
Sakura and Ino woke up just as the others finished dinner, Asuma halfway through and joining in the conversation from his seat. The man was still in disbelief about Kushina when the girls woke, looking at Kushina and getting upset because they had missed the reunion. Naruto promptly kissed them both and thanked them regardless if they missed it or not because they had helped Izuku to bring her back. His mom and quickly misunderstood and assumed the blond a womanizer, until Izuku pulled her aside and explained the situation. Hinata eventually appeared and greeted Kushina in shock before immediately going to Gaara for comfort. He watched the green eyes of his brother knowingly look at the pair like a plan coming together. Resolving to scold him later about it Naruto just enjoyed the festivities as people began playing completely non-Christmas games. Cards was chief among them, with snakes and ladders another, some Shogi boards and Chess boards were also introduced and Izuku introduced a game called Othello that he'd gained from his world on a trip back during his and Katsuki's Samurai training. Something else to question him about later. While the games went on, Izuku, Sasuke and Katsuki went on to divide bedrooms and floor space up, two excess rooms and a host of new people didn't divide easily. Eventually it was concluded that Sasuke, Temari and Tayuya would share a bed while sharing the room with Naruto, Ino and Sakura, who would also share a bed. Izuku and Katsuki would host Shisui, Kankuro and Gaara. Hinata, Tsunade, Karin and Kushina would bunk together in the third, Shizune and Itachi would share a room with Kakashi and Anko and Asuma and Kurenai. Rasa, Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Hiruzen would bunk in the last room. Konohamaru was unfortunate enough to get a futon with Izuku and Katsuki, but he didn't complain, instead just grateful to not be stuck on the sofa. Once the plan was approved by all, Izuku and Katsuki set clones to work. Itachi began heating some mulled wine for the adults and much to Naruto's dismay, Kushina and Izuku both stopped him from getting a glass. Tsunade was quick to take Kushina aside and talk to her about more personal topics than the light hearted chatter. Eventually it decended into a massive game of poker, made up of several teams. Groups began breaking off to get ready for bed until it was just the Uzumakis left. Izuku dealt the hand out. "Izuku how did you revive Mom?" The blond checked his cards. Izuku flipped over the first two cards before explaining.
"Lord Second designed many a jutsu, almost all of them were left incomplete, you remember the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu Orochimaru used to bring First and Second back?" He nodded, of course he remembered that, it had been a massive day, beating Neji then Shukkaku and finally Lord Second. "Second designed it, it's a forbidden one like the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but we used some notes and made a modification of it,"
"You what?!" Kushina exclaimed, forgetting about her cards, "Izuku do you know how dangerous that is?!"
"We didn't managed to find a body, so that was out, luckily when we introduced her chakra into the world it began to take weak form," Izuku continued calmly, "I had to put some seals up to stop it dissapating, Sasuke helepd with some of his chakra to boost hers, Katuski used Wind release while Sakura used Water release so help the chakras blend into hers, once we had done that Ino connected to my mind as I held onto the tiniest fragments of Mom's chakra," Everyone was enraptured, "She took the mind aspect of the chakra, the part that allowed the chakra to be her when you met her in the isolation chamber, taking it with her back into her mind, before transferring herself into what effectively was just a husk of Mom, if it's a bit hard to follow, Mom had her soul sealed with her chakra, when I took her from the seal, I took her chakra and the soul, while we used her chakra to reconstruct her body I held onto the soul, which Ino took from me and then put into the body while I kept the chakra stable enough to be a host," Rubbing the back of his neck he hissed "It was dangerous, incredibly risky, but it was a calculated risk, something er were able to minimize, this time, the only reason we were able to pull it off was because she had so much chakra stored in you, if we tried it with a different person, like Second, it'd be a damn sight harder because we wouldn't have his chakra, so we'd have to find people with each Release, nine to be precise because even Katsuki can't use two Releases without them combing, using just five would mean chakra exhaustiong and we'd be looking at possibly five lives to revive one, the next issue would be using taht chakra to recreate the body and finding Second's soul which we just don't have," Naruto nodded, following, if only barely. It all made a sort of sense and honestly he was just glad to have his mom back.
"So I have three sons and two nieces now?" Kushina lifted the corner of her cards, taking a quick glance before leaving them flat. "Tsunade gave me a brief story and I'm greatful to you Izuku, for taking such care of Naruto, I know we haven't known each other long, but I'm proud to call you my son,"
"Careful any further and I might start showing emotions," The confident smirk of the greenette cleverly hid his watering eyes.
"And Katsuki, I understand you joined the party late, but you've also shown to be such a wonderful person, again I am proud that you are a son of mine," Katsuki was less subtle about his reaction, wiping his eyes and muttering about 'damn dust' before sniffling and looking at his cards.
"You really mean it?" He quickly looked over to her, hope sparkling in his eyes.
"Of course I do Katsuki, why wouldn't anyone be proud of you?" The teen smiled as his eyes watered,
"Deeprooted psychological issues prevent both he and I from fully accepting kindness, praise or anything positive without reservation, doubt and disbelief," Kushina looked over to Naruto, who just leant to her and quietly whispered,
"Abuse, by a lot of different women in their own families, I'm sure they'll explain later," He summarized neatly. Kushina just made an 'O' with her mouth before getting furious.
"There's nothing you can do about it Mom, our old lot were just acting as normal to the world we come from, I'll explain more at a later date when the isn't a mood to uphold," Izuku almost choked when he called her mom and Kushina didn't miss it, getting almost twice as made before calming down. "Technically we also have Gaara as a brother too, he's of the Suna branch of the Uzumaki, but clan doesn't mean much in Sunagakure, so we don't worry about it much," The redhead had long since gone to bed, having become a long heavy sleeper after thirteen years of insomnia. "However as you've probably guessed, he's still family and nothing will ever change that," Kushina nodded and gaped at Karin's cards, before Tayuya smirked and revealed a Royal Flush. The cards were swept away, "Right, everyone up to bed now, we've had a late night tonight as is, Naruto's heading to Turtle Island early tomorrow morning with Kakashi so he needs sleep," The greenette tucked the cars away as Karin and Tayuya trudged away upstairs. Kushina gave each of the boys a hug, noticing how Katsuki and Izuku both froze up at the gesture for microseconds before hugging her back. After hugging Naruto, she held onto his shoulders, looking him in the eye and smiling supportively,
"Merry Christmas Naruto,"
"Merry Christmas Mom," He was close to crying again,
"I love you," His knees almost gave away as he began crying, Izuku and Katsuki looked on bittersweetly until Kushina pulled them back again, "I love you two as well," Even Izuku began breaking at the words, "I know I haven't known you that long, any of you really, but I do know you are my sons, by blood or not, and I could not ask for three better boys than you, who have faced demons, that some adults I knew would flee from, and come out stronger gor it the other side, who are so closely knit that you can converse without opening your mouths," All three boys began weeping with joy and relief as finally, they all had the one thing they'd truly, dearly needed.
They finally had a parent.
Rumi knew she'd find him again, obviously. With a person like Kage, you can't not run into him after a while. She just wasn't expecting it to be in a shop is all, especially a corner store inspecting wrapping paper. At first she didn't recognize him, because duh , he was covered in shadows and a cloak when they met. It also didn't help that she couldn't look at his face directly, not for not wanting to, but when she did her gaze would often go just too far and end up looking just past his head. Planning to face him after missing his face again, she ducked down as several people charged into the store and began threatening the cashier. Thugs, it was the perfect time to sow some confusion and get Kage out, now all she,
"If you could please not do this ladies, I need to get some other chores done tonight," No, you fucking idiot! Just stay low and let a heroine like her deal with it.
"OOh, some dough and a toy, Christmas really has come this year," A voice jeered "Don't worry tall, dark and tasty, we'll make sure you have some fun real soon," Peering from her spot, Rumi saw Kage challenging the group with a roll of wrapping paper. "You just stay on,"
"I really must decline your offer, you see I'm already taken," Aw shucks.
"Ha! We know guys gotta take lotsa chicks, so don't act like you're a loyal scout," Wait, did Rumi really forget that?
"Oh, no you misunderstand, I was simply trying to be polite, what I mean is, none of you are my type, and you can go burn in hell," Stifling her laughter Rumi had to admire the spine Kage had.
"Looks like we got a picky one here girls," The voice cheered, several responses of changing that real soon and Rumi felt sick that people could think so self-assuredly. A heavy sigh from Kage as a woman approached,
"I guess we are doing this the hard way," Adjusting his hold on the wrapping paper he jabbed it into the approaching woman's stomach before snapping it up. While she was still dazed he spun the roll around and whacked her down. He grabbed another roll in his free had and twirled them both while the other women growled and begn activating quirks. Rumi couldn't move, but she couldn't look away either. Kage moved like it was a dance, grace and purpose with every step. Jabbing a woman in the stomach and rolling over her as she doubled over he spun on his heel and caught two women by their cheeks, dazing them. He then jumped into the air, gaining some very impressive height, before kicking both hard enough to knock them out. Reflexively he dodged a stab and struck his elbow into the woman's face, her body crumpled. Turning around he tossed one role up and swung the other like a golf club directly into the first woman's face, knocking her out cold. Inspecting the rolls another time he put them both back before walking towards the exit, "Sorry for the trouble, Miruko, you could've helped at any point," The bunny hero cursed him as the store turned to look at her blankly, then at the bodies on the floor and back to the exit.
"You get back here!" Rumi made after him as he stood outside the door. He crouched low and Rumi hopped before jumping and following him as he jettisoned into the air. His appearance changed and he was back in his cloak, the hood pulled up. Rumi began to descend as Kage just kept gliding, soon he'd landed on a rooftop three ahead of her. The cloak whirled as he turned around to face her. "I just wish to talk,"
"If you are going to talk do so quickly, I am on a time limit," Kage wasn't rude, he was in a hurry. Rumi ran over and looked up to him. So she's a bit short, gotta problem with it?!
"How did you do that? Wrapping paper crumples almost immediately when you hit anything with it,"
"I used a trade secret to make it harder to break, while I was holding it, it could've shattered bones, how are you injuries?"
"Non-existant, you healed them up perfectly last we met, which reminds me, how did you catch my kick? Trade secret or?"
"Training, lots of it, for a long time, tearing muscles and making them grow again, twelve years of breaking limits and nine of doing it every day I could," That sounds impossible, "I can't give you the routine because your body would break before the really hard stuff," Rumi pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "If you wish to try it, I will give you a routine I did at eight years old, when I had to construct my own routine for the first time," A small notebook appeared from, somewhere and he held out a hand. Rumi looked at it before pulling out her own notebook. It wasn't used for much, just trying to figure out who Kage was, suffice to say it was very empty. "I'd give up on this by the way, you won't know who I am until I reveal myself, and I don't plan on doing that anytime soon," Handing the book back to her he'd coped over a rountine for her along with what appeared to be a wrist guard, "You don't put work into your arms, change that, this will keep help your lackluster defence," The grey material was put on her lower left arm quickly strapped into place as Kage slipped the ring of the palm protector over her middle finger. The protectors were one piece, with a soft fabric on the underside keeping the fit comfortable. "Don't die on me won't you?" Rumi opened her mouth to retort when,
"Midorikage!" A voice barked, familiar grey capture scarf landing around his ankle. The moment it tensed Kage disappeared in a puff of smoke and leaves. Erazerhead landed next to where he'd been stood, her scarf now loose.
"It is just Kage right now Erazer, a sign of respect to one of the more, civilized heroes I have conversed with," Rumi jumped as he spoke from behind her, "How has Eri settled in?"
"She's not terrified of me anymore, and she's begun to smile, but she wants to know where the green man is,"
"Tell her he is dealing with a lot of bad people, once I'm done I shall return," Kage folded his arms and stood side on to the duo. "If she asks who I am, I'm nobody,"
"That's not a good enough answer Kage,"
"Well Aizawa, maybe you could be a parent and just say I've gone home, some powerful people are threatening it right now so I'm very fucking busy," Kage strode towards the edge.
"Where is your home?"
"Classified Miss Usagiyama, it's not you could find it if I told you anyway, chin up Little Bunny, I won't be gone long," There was a chesire grin in his voice that caused the rabbit hero to smirk and the underground hero to groan. "Until then I bid you both adieu, don't disappoint me," Turning around Kage bowed before disappearing over the edge. Both women gasped and ran to the edge, only to see leaves falling in the wind.
"So," Rumi rounded on Erazerhead, "Care to tell me how you know Kage?"
Itsuka faced the wall, she'd unknowingly put herself in a dead end. Shit! She had a whole host of drug dealers after her now and she'd just cornered herself. She heared their foosteps as they joined her down the alley, dark grins on their faces.
Tap, tap, tap
She pressed herself up against the wall as the dealers slowly stalked forwards, getting ready to kill her.
Tap, tap, tap
There was no way she'd get out of this one, even calling Kage would leave him getting hurt in her place. Closing her eyes she waited for the end, just wishing she could've met Kage one more time, and told him how she feels.
Tap, tap, tap
Wait, those were. Those were footsteps! Was there someone coming to save her? A familiar shadowy figure emerged from the corner, running at high speeds. Kage passed over the group with ease, running along the wall and leapt at her, landing with an immediate twist to face the drug dealers. "Ladies," His voice was curt, "I highly, highly advise you forget this ever happened and go home, it will end badly for you," Itsuka was close to tears with relief as his voice crashed over her. "I don't want to fight today, it's supposed to be a good day, I got my brother back, we had a nice family dinner, I don't want to ruin my evening fighting some untrained hard asses,"
"Ha, a man? Oh we'll make sure you have a nice evening, then we'll go get your brother an-,"
"Big mistake," Kage was against the woman in moments, "See I was just going to knock you out and let the police deal with you, but now you've threatened a member of my family, I'm going to kill all of you," Blood spurted into the air as he kicked off the body, which just crumpled to the floor. Itsuka lifted a hand to her mouth as she saw the single slash across the neck. Kage flipped in the air and several almost invisible needle like projectiles were thrown from his cloak and each woman hit the floor. He landed neatly on the floor and walked over to the bodies, pulling his needles out and wiping the traces of blood on the bodies. "Do you fear me yet Itsuka?"
"What?"
"I just killed six people in front of you, without remorse, without regret, in seconds, do you fear me yet?" She remembered the conversation they'd had months ago, the first time she'd successfully called him to her.
"I, no, of course I don't Kage, you saved my life, plus the drug ring just got a lot smaller, you got five dealers and the supplier," Kage turned to her as he stowed the needles away, "Uh, say, what are those?"
"Senbon needles, so fine they're almost invisible, require great skill to throw and greater vision to find," Alright, humble brag, "I spent days learning how to use them properly, all of them died without pain, in mere moments," His level tone sent a shiver down her spine. Itsuka looked at his dark figure and stepped forwards with a shiver. Before she could say anything, Kage had taken off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders, "Any reason you came without a coat tonight?" A mask was clipped in place over his face.
"Quieter,"
"Then you're wearing the wrong clothes," It was clicked into place and the hood pulled up. He sweeped her off her feet into a bridal carry again, Itsuka smiled in the dark of the hood. It had been a while since he'd picked her up like this, always appearing in her bedroom. They walked up the wall of the dead end and leapt into the night sky. Even with the wind Itsuka felt warm under the cloak and feeling Kage's heartbeat again, she felt safe. They landed by her bedroom window before they were once again in the middle of her room. He laid her down on the bed and reached for the light, turning it off before turning it on again. The only difference was the pile of leaves now sat on her bedroom floor. The shadows that clung to his body slowly drifted from his torso and arms, revealing muscluar defined limbs, his chest was covered in a black sleevless shirt that moved up his neck, underneath a grey flak jacket, his shoulders were left bare with gloves coming up halfway to up his upper arm. From his elbow down was a metal looking protector and a plate on the back of his hand. "The cloak is incredibly insulated, it will keep you a cool temperature no matter where you travel,"
"Do you,"
"I have many, many more, giving you this no issue, Merry Christmas," Itsuka sat up on her bed.
"Can you take the mask off please?"
"I can't reveal who I am to you, it would only seek to cause problems in the future," His hand struck out and another cloak shimmered into it. Swinging it on he pulled the hood up before taking off the mask, his face covered once again in darkness. Itsuka pulled him down to her face and stared at him. The tiniest of red was visible where his eyes sat. He looked away from a moment, reaching into a pocket before putting something into her hand, "This is your present, do not lose it, do not break it," She looked to find a porcelian mask over her open palm, it was white with no markings. "You are free to paint it as well, decorate it how you see fit, you'll find that it will protect you from most attacks or blows," She looked up to his covered face in shock, "If you are continuing you escapade you'll need a better disguise than some cheap carnival mask," In her other hand was put what she assumed would fix it to her face. "Keep the band under your hair and you'll be able to take it off and put it on as you need, it will just click on and off, I should warn you, you can't wash the paint off it once it is done, use a sponge and soapy water to clean dirt and blood from it, when you can, go and see Yumiko Musha, tell her Midorikage has selected you as one of the few, she will train you to fight unarmed," Setting both aside gently she looked up again at his face, "Merry Christm-mmph!" She grabbed his chest and pulled him into a searing kiss. Closing her eyes she let the action say the words she had been too afraid to say for far too long. Her hand snaked into his hair and around his back, while his gently grabbed her hips. He pulled her against his body gently. Once Itsuka pulled away she left a hand on his cheek. "Are you sure about this?" He whispered "You're sure you can do it?" There wasn't a question if the government could take him, Kage could take care of himself and then some, that only meant,
"If you have to take several wives so be it, just don't go leaving me behind," Smiling through the pain in her heart she felt the warmth from Kage's smile as he kissed her forehead.
"Like I could leave my Cuddle Bug behind," Joy sparked through her at the nickname, she let him go long enough to climb from the bed, quickly taking the cloak off to get changed before fixing it back around her shoulders. Kage had sat on her bed was she returned. Tapping his shoulder to let him know he could turn around, Itsukae laid down, pulling him with her. As he laid with a groan she huddled against him, taking in the scent, the warmth, the electricity at his touch. She took it all in as much as she could, putting it all into her soul since she couldn't lock it away in her heart.
Because he'd leave with it tomorrow. But that was okay since she knew
He'd leave a part of his behind.