The Violent Tide

The Hokage's office was kind of disappointing to Tenzo. He didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't this plain, bare, unassuming room that could belong to just about anyone. The only furniture they had in there was his desk and chair- both perfectly ordinary-looking and not at all what you'd expect a Hokage to use- two bookcases on the walls to the left and right, and a few chairs pushed off to the side- probably for civilian visitors, as shinobi never sit in front of their Kage unless injured or invited to. The Hokage himself was rather underwhelming as well; he was just an old man, grey and wrinkled with age, smoking an old-fashioned pipe. Tenzo couldn't help but stare. Shuurei told him how old people get wrinkly and their hair turns white, but he never quite believed her, even with Konan and Yahiko backing her up. This was his first time seeing an old person and it was weird. Was he going to look like that some day?

Yet, however unassuming he seemed to be, Tenzo knew better than to dismiss him. Though his body language was relaxed and friendly- every inch of him screaming 'kindly old grandfather', an image he probably purposefully cultivated- there was no mistaking the chakra that hummed in the air around him, or the aura he gave off of an iron will and barely contained, oppressive power.

The only point of interest in the room besides the Hokage- who made Tenzo's instincts light up brighter than a flash-bomb- were the leaves scattered across the floor. Why are they there? Oh, he knows that they're what Konoha shinobi leave behind when they perform a shunshin, but you'd think that, this being the Hokage's office, they'd have someone come in to sweep this up. Or maybe they do? Maybe they come in periodically to take care of them, and these have accumulated since the last time they did so? That'd mean a lot of people come in through here all the time, then, because they're seriously everywhere. Hmm… but maybe they leave them behind on purpose? Maybe they use the leaves as substitution material, for if they need to report in without anyone seeing them? That's actually an ingenious idea, leaving substitution material behind every time you shunshin so you can return at a moment's notice if necessary. Smart, but messy.

Shuurei stepped forward, drawing Tenzo out of his thoughts, and bowed deeply to the Hokage, a hand on his back forcing him to do the same. "Hokage-sama, thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

The old man smiled gently, but his eyes were wary and calculating, looking over the both of them and obviously mentally assessing danger levels and trying to guess at their origin and purpose. He frowned ever so slightly for a moment- obviously finding nothing because they were both under Shuurei's illusion seal- before slipping back into a friendly grin that scared the bejeezus out of Tenzo. "How could I do otherwise, when you use the password for Uzushio diplomats? Tell me, who am I addressing? For what reason did you want to see me?"

Shuurei opened her mouth to reply, but then her eyes darted to a corner of the room for a brief second as if something caught her attention and narrowed almost imperceptibly. "Before I do so, Hokage-sama, I must insist on the presence of Uzumaki Kushina."

"Oh?" the air in the room was suddenly much colder than it had been before, and the distracting buzz of chakra became a loud hum that was almost audible- a clear warning. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid Uzumaki-san is out on a mission at the moment."

Where Tenzo was cringing away from the killer intent in the air, intimidated, Shuurei simply straightened up, posture just as relaxed as before- tensing now could be seen as preparing to attack and would bring Anbu down on them faster than they could blink- but the look in her eyes was much colder, with a hard edge of steel. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but that is a lie. I can sense her chakra not three blocks from here."

His eyes widened for a moment in surprise for a second before narrowing thoughtfully. "Your ability to sense chakra is remarkably precise." he commented dryly. "And you're familiar with Kushina-san's signature." He didn't ask directly, but the question was implied.

"So I am." There was a pause as he waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't expand on her statement, simply staring at him expectantly. The Hokage sighed and, with a quick motion Tenzo didn't quite catch, summoned his Anbu who suddenly appeared in the corner of the room.

'So that's what she was looking at', he realized. 'Anbu. But that's not the corner she was so concerned with.'

"Boar, Crane, please fetch Uzumaki-san and bring her here at once. Tell her there is someone here to see her."

The Anbu inclined their heads with a "Hai, Hokage-sama." and disappeared, adding to the pile of leaves on the floor. Tenzo couldn't help but frown at them in contemplation.

Shuurei noticed this and smiled in amusement, recognizing that expression. "What's caught your attention this time, sapling?"

"Um…" he glanced up at her before turning his gaze to the Hokage. "The leaves on the floor are from shunshin, right?"

The Hokage blinked, having almost forgotten about the quiet little boy. "Yes indeed. It comes with being the Hokage, as shunshin is the quickest way in or out of my office."

"Well, um, why does the shunshin leave leaves behind?"

The old man blinked again at his line of questioning before his lips turned up in a wide, genuine smile at the bright curiosity in the young boy's eyes. The man didn't earn the moniker 'The Professor' for no reason, and so he couldn't just answer the question straight out. What would the boy learn if he never figured things out for himself? "Why do you think that is?"

"Substitution material." Tenzo answered promptly, surprising the Hokage. "If they leave something behind, not only can they mark their original location with the leaves- that I can sense have minute traces of chakra- but they can also substitute themselves with them, a technique that is much harder to detect than shunshin. So, if someone needed to speak with you secretly after reporting in they could pop back in later with no one but Anbu knowing about it."

The Hokage's eyes widened comically, the pipe falling out of his mouth and onto the table as he gaped slightly. He took a moment to collect himself. "You are… a very smart boy. Not many would even think to question why, so many shinobi dismiss it as just being a part of the jutsu. I can count on one hand the number of people who've asked me that question, and only two have ever come up with the correct answer themselves, neither as young as you are now." Obviously something bad happened to the both of them, if the way his grip on the pipe tightened and he hunched in on himself ever so slightly were any indication. Hopefully he wouldn't continue the trend.

Shuurei smiled at him proudly and ruffled his hair, ignoring Tenzo's squawk of protest. "That's my son. He's got quite a head on his shoulders."

Tenzo beamed, overjoyed to have made his mother proud. The Hokage looked on at the heartwarming scene with a gradually softening countenance, getting a good feeling from the mother-son duo.

The familial moment was interrupted by a large bang that had Tenzo jumping a little and sliding nervously behind his mother, who'd swiveled to face the door, one hand on her weapons holster. The disturbance was a distinctly agitated woman who'd slammed the door open and glared at the Hokage, her shockingly bright red hair seemingly moving against gravity to form nine thick strands that waved in the air independently of each other, as if they each had a mind of their own.

Any other time Tenzo would've laughed at the thought of the Hokage retreating from one of his own jounin, but the sight was truly eerie. The KI she was giving off wasn't anything to sneeze at either, so he didn't blame him for not-so-subtly scooching his chair back a bit.

"You made me leave my ramen, 'ttebane! Ramen, Sarutobi-sama! Do you know how long it's been since I had the chance to eat Teuchi's ramen? I'm having withdrawals!! Sarutobi-sama, I will die if I don't get to eat Teuchi's ramen soon!I'm not even on the active duty rosters, dattebane! What could you possibly need from me?" Wow, was she loud. Tenzo has lived with fiery-tempered Uzumaki children for almost six years. He thought he was immune to loud noises by now- but none of them have anything on Kushina. She's definitely an Uzumaki, that's for sure. He wondered if their voices only got worse as they got older, and he paled suddenly at the thought of twenty-plus Uzumaki with Kushina's voice all in the same place, vowing to invest in earplugs in the nearby future. Industrial strength earplugs.

 The Hokage hurried to redirect her wrath. "Now, now, Kushina, we have guests."

She looked at them and blinked curiously, obviously either not having noticed them until that second or dismissing their presence. Kushina- a great shinobi even though she lets her temper get the best of her sometimes- was instantly on guard, scanning them the same way Sarutobi did earlier to assess threat level and coming up with the same results, her eyebrows drawing together slightly in frustration. If Tenzo thought she was scary earlier, her sudden change from furious to calculating scared him even more.

Then her lips twitched into a minor scowl and Tenzo felt a little better. "You owe me a bowl, Sarutobi-sama." she grumbled, her hair once again subject to the laws of gravity.

"I'll take you out after I'm done with my work tonight." he promised her, then turned to Shuurei. "She's here, just like you requested. Now, if we may get down to the purpose of this meeting?"

Shuurei nodded. "Right. Well, the information I wish to share with you is sensitive. Extremely sensitive. Therefore I would like your permission to lay down some additional privacy seals before I proceed any further." The two shinobi tensed at the mention of seals, and Shuurei rushed to reassure them. "I won't activate it. I won't use any chakra at all before Kushina-san here can examine them and confirm their purpose. Do I have permission?"

Sarutobi contemplated it for a moment, assessing her with a cool eye, before reluctantly nodding his head in agreement.

"Right." Very slowly she reached for her bag and pulled out a larger than usual paper tag that she then laid down on the floor and stepped away from, gesturing for Kushina to take a look. After a moment Kushina nodded her head.

"It's as she says. Designed to disrupt sound for all whose chakra isn't keyed into the seal, with a minor visual component to obscure ones lips so they can't be read. That's the only visual part of it, however. If you use sign language to signal your guards they will have no problem understanding you."

"Alright, you may activate your seal, stranger-san."

She did so, and immediately the tension drained out of her body. "Oh thank god. I'm so glad you let me put the seal down. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to have to use it, but I'm glad I made it just in case."

"Now that Kushina-san is here and your seal is up, could you tell us who you are?" Sarutobi asked with more than a little exasperation in his voice.

"Ah, yes, sorry. First off, this is not my true appearance."

The both of them frowned and brought their hands together for a quick "kai" and a flurry of chakra, but Shuurei appeared as she always had. "I can't sense any genjutsu."

"You wouldn't, because it's not a genjutsu. It's a seal I've made. Easily detectable if you know what you're looking for, but since shinobi tend to think genjutsu when they get suspicious few ever look any further when kai doesn't work."

Sarutobi studied her for a moment, then smiled suddenly, an excited gleam in his eyes. "Ah, it doesn't affect the mind but actually physically bends light rays! I see, no wonder disrupting one's own chakra would not affect it, because it doesn't affect another's chakra at all. Very clever."

Shuurei smiled. "Thank you. Now, to be able to see me without my dispelling the technique, I need you both to contribute a drop of blood to the seal. I will, of course, allow Uzumaki-san to check the seal beforehand."

Shuurei brought out another seal, this time a scroll edged in a pattern of blue and green triangles. Kushina leaned forward to dissect its purpose and her eyes widened immediately at the complexity of the seal, her interest sharpening as she realized its ingenuity. "This is incredible!" she exclaimed loudly, causing Tenzo to jump a little again at the sudden noise in a previously tense atmosphere. "I've never seen anyone combine the linear and traditional branches like this before! And the pattern you made with the line here…" she gestured to the complex loops and swirls of the line that outlined and intersected the seal.

"It's called a Celtic Knot." Shuurei explained, then sighed at the puzzled unrecognition on their faces. "It's a very powerful pattern made up of a single, never-ending line that works very well in containing the power of a seal. I came up with it myself." Only Tenzo saw her cross her fingers behind her back.

"You-!" Kushina exclaimed, bug-eyed. Shuurei cut her off with a wince at her decibels.

"We can discuss this later. Do you confirm that the seal is harmless, and exactly as I say it is?"

"Yeah, all it does is bend light rays. There's no harm in that."

"Not unless you get skin cancer." she muttered, completely ignoring the befuddled looks Sarutobi and Kushina exchanged. "So, will you contribute some of your blood?"

"On the condition that the seal is burned after it's served its purpose. In front of me." Sarutobi agreed.

"Sure." Shuurei agreed dismissively, flapping a hand. "I drew another one up anyway, just in case." She held out the scroll with the seal on it and Tenzo winced as Sarutobi bit into his thumb and smeared blood onto the design, Kushina doing the same a moment later. The seal shone white for an instant before it went back to black, and the moment it did the illusion fell away from their eyes and his and Shuurei's true appearances were revealed.

The moment Kushina saw Shuurei and her fiery locks her eyes lit up in recognition and ecstatic relief. "Firebird!" she yelled and tackled Shuurei, pulling her into a monstrous bear hug using all her strength that had Shuurei gasping for air before she returned the favor and did the same to Kushina.

"Snap Dragon." Shuurei called her affectionately, a tension Tenzo never noticed she had falling away, making her look younger and more relaxed than Tenzo thinks he's ever seen her.

He had a sudden, unexpected surge of jealousy that this woman- a blood relative, which he is not- managed to do something Tenzo was never able to. That this stranger knows more about Shuurei than he does. He squashed it down. There's a lot Tenzo doesn't know about his adoptive mother from before he met her, but it's not from a lack of trust. Shuurei's always been very honest with him about the important things, like her reincarnation and her knowledge of the future. She's holding out on him now not because she doesn't trust her, but because the memories are painful. He can tell, by the look on her face when anyone asks, the look he sees in the mirror when he thinks about his time in Orochimaru's lab. He has memories he can't bring himself to share as well. He won't begrudge Shuurei this happiness.

Besides, if he's going to be living with this woman then he'll have plenty of time to get the scoop on any embarrassing childhood stories from her. He wonders what he can get Obito to do in exchange for sharing them the next time they meet and grins at the possibilities.

"That hair… you are an Uzumaki. Kushina, you know her?"

"Of course I do, dattebane!" Kushina exclaimed, beaming ecstatically. "This is my aunt, Shuurei-chan!"

"Your aunt? She looks a little young to be an aunt."

She laughed. "Yeah, she gets that a lot. See, she has this condition…" she trailed of suddenly, as if realizing that what she was about to say was rather personal.

Shuurei continued on. "I have an extremely rare condition that occurs amongst Uzumaki children as a consequence of our vitality-based kekei genkai. I age half as fast as a normal person does."

Kushina turned to study Shuurei intently. "Actually, Shuurei-san, you look like you've grown a lot since I saw you last. You should only be fifteen physically right now, but you look like you're twenty-something.

Shuurei's expression darkened, taking on that vacant look she gets when she thinks about Uzushio. Tenzo, concerned, squeezed her hand lightly to remind her that he was there for her. "When Uzushio…" she took a deep, fortifying breath, "When Uzushio fell it was dangerous for me to run around in the body of a twelve year old, so I took the medicine, the one that speeds up my growth rate."

"They had something like that? Then why didn't you take it from the beginning?!"

"Because, Kushina, it would only give me somewhere from five to ten years of growth, and then I'm stuck at whatever age it leaves me. I can't age anymore. I'm going to look like this for the rest of my life."

Kushina gaped, shocked, then burst out yelling, "Lucky! You'll never have to worry about crows feet or wrinkles or grey hairs…!"

She rolled her eyes, in tolerant, amused exasperation. "Only you, Snap Dragon. Only you."

The Hokage coughed a bit to cover up a laugh. "Actually, that sounds pretty good to me." the old man grinned wryly, taking off his hat and reaching up to rub at the thinning patches of white hair atop his head. "A lot of people would kill to look like they're twenty for the rest of their lives."

"Really?" Shuurei asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

"How is such a thing possible?" the Hokage asked, fascinated. "I've never heard of anything like it."

"You wouldn't have. It's an extremely rare condition that's only been seen five times in recorded history- not counting Shuurei-chan. Uzumaki Mito-sama actually had it too, which is why she looked like she was thirty when she died of old age." Kushina's smile faltered at the mention of her old teacher, and Shuurei frowned sadly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Some of the elders thought that it resulted from marriages between the Uzumaki and the Tsumeito clan, a combination of two different regenerative abilities. I think there might be something to that, because my father was a Tsumeito and if you look back on the family tree you'll find that all of the other cases had at least some Tsumeito heritage."

Kushina snorted. "Yeah, like that means anything. Everyone was related to the Tsumeito somehow."

"I still think it makes sense."

Sarutobi coughed to get their attention, then shot Shuurei a pointed glare. "As fascinating as this is, perhaps we could get back on topic? Shuurei-san, if you've been aware of Kushina-san's presence in our village for all these years, why haven't you tried to contact her before? Why are you here now? Why the secrecy?"

Kushina rounded on her, hurt and accusing. "Yeah, that's right! Why haven't you… all these years and you never…" she faltered, her lower lip quivering slightly, a sheen of unshed tears in her eyes. "It would've meant the world to me if I'd known… if I knew that anyone survived." she all but whispered, voice thick with emotion.

Shuurei looked on sadly, guilt evident in her expression. "I'm sorry, Kushi-chan. After Uzushio fell, well… there were a lot of people out there hunting the survivors. Uzumaki blood is premium, after all, and our fuinjutsu knowledge invaluable if another village managed to get their hands on it. Making for  the hidden villages, especially one well-known to have had an alliance with Uzushio, would've brought the hunters down on my head faster than an Uzumaki on a bowl of ramen. I was afraid to send a message with my summons for the same reason. I've been wandering around these past few years looking for survivors, those without the protection of a village, and… well, you were safe here. I didn't have to worry for your safety."

Kushina sagged some, wiping at her damp eyes, and gave her a shaky smile. "I understand." She was still way quieter than earlier, subdued, and Shuurei seemed worried and guilty. "So, why now?"

Shuurei took a deep breath, body language tense. "I- Kushina, this isn't the first time I've been to Konoha. I was here last month, on the tenth."

Kushina's eyebrows furrowed, confused. "During the Kyuubi attack?"

"Yes. I was there, but I was under a disguise like the one I just showed you. Kushi-chan, I was the one who sealed your son."

Instantly their attention sharpened to something  threatening to be hostile. Kushina's hand hovered over her weapon's pouch and Sarutobi thrummed with chakra in preparation for a jutsu to either detain or defend. "What?! That was you?"

"Yes I- well, I didn’t have much choice! You were down for the count, and that husband of yours was prepping a suicide seal! You've no doubt studied it extensively, you know I did no harm. In fact, my seal will be much easier on the kid than the Reaper Death Seal would've been."

At the mention of her husband, Kushina almost seemed to shrink, retreating in on herself, her eyes distant. It was only then that he noticed just how haggard she looked, the deep circles underneath her eyes, the rumpled state of her clothes, how thin she was. He didn't see it before because of her blinding enthusiasm, but she looked completely exhausted and shaky on her feet. No wonder, too, if she had to deal with the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack, a newborn, and losing her husband all within the span of a month. Tenzo felt obscurely guilty for interrupting the woman's down time, since she's obviously been working herself into the ground.

Shuurei seemed to notice the same, because she pulled Kushina into a one-armed half-hug and let Kushina lean her head on Shuurei's shoulder. "I'm so sorry that all this has happened to you when this should be the happiest time of your life. You'll have to introduce me to little Naruto-kun when you get the chance. I do have good news for you, however. The reason why I had to leave the village immediately and couldn't contact you when I was here last month."

She frowned, puzzled. "News?"

Eyeing her pale and distraught form, Shuurei shifted uneasily. "Maybe you should sit down." she said, pulling a chair from the wall and pushing Kushina into it.

"Shuurei…?"

Shuurei took a deep breath, then said, "Minato is not dead, Kushina."

What remaining color she had drained out of her face and her eyes bulged as she gaped at Shuurei, a flicker of hope in her expression. "Not-?"

Shuurei rushed to continue. "He was very close to dying, but I have some special seals I've invented that allowed me to… well, to basically freeze him in time before he died. I knew that, with the extensive wounds he had, there was no one in Konoha who could heal him since Tsunade-sama left, so I was forced to take off immediately and seek the assistance of an incredibly skilled medic I know who owes me a favor- or thinks she does, anyway. Kushina, she was able to save him. He's still alive, though… he's yet to wake up. The medic says that the high exposure to bijuu chakra unbalanced the chakra in his brain and that he'll likely be comatose until that's sorted out. She said… she said it could take a long time. Years."

Kushina latched onto her arm with a vice and pulled her down to eye level. "But he's alive?" she demanded. "He… he could wake up, some day?" At Shuurei's nod she broke out into tears- full-on sobs this time, with snot and everything, and Tenzo pulled a clump of tissues from the box on the mini table near the door and handed them to Kushina who smiled at him gratefully. "God, he's alive. He's alive…"

"And where is he?" the Hokage demanded, gripping the edge of his desk with a white-knuckled grip, expression inscrutable.

Shuurei once again reached into her satchel and pulled out a scroll edged with yellow and blue stripes, placing it carefully on the table and backing away slowly. "Inside that scroll is my own personal modified storage seal, designed to allow me to seal away living people so that they don't come to harm. He's under a stasis seal inside, just in case he wakes up or his condition worsens for whatever reason. I thought it would be prudent to be around medical professionals just in case. A small blast of my chakra will undo those for you. I will caution you, though. As a Hokage and a significant threat during the war, there are many people who wouldn't want him to wake up again. You should play this as close to the vest as possible, at least until he wakes up. Absolutely no one should know unless necessary, and I include the Council in that, and your advisors."

"I- I see." The Hokage murmured, looking absolutely gobsmacked. "Yes, that would be wise. And about this medic you went to see…?"

"Sworn into secrecy. I've gone to her for help several times over the years and not once has she ever failed me or said a word to anyone. I would never endanger Kushi-chan's husband."

It was as if a weight fell away from Sarutobi's shoulders. He sat up straighter, some of the lines in his face disappearing, a relieved smile on his lips and a light in his eyes. "If this is true, then Konoha owes you a debt of gratitude."

Shuurei waved his words away flippantly. "He means a lot to Kushina-chan, and that makes him family. You'll find that I'll do anything for family."

"Nevertheless, if you ever need anything…."

Shuurei hesitated, glancing at Tenzo. "Well… I was coming to Konoha in the first place for another reason. Two, actually. The first is a warning."

"A warning?"

"Yes. Before I say anything, I have to tell you that you can't react to anything I'm about to say."

His brows knitted in a frown. "This sounds serious."

"It is. Hokage-sama, that Anbu in the corner, the one with the Bat mask? He has a seal for secrecy and compliance on his tongue."

Though Tenzo- and doubtless Shuurei- felt the shift in their chakra, neither of them reacted beyond that. Tenzo was impressed at their acting abilities. Kushina simply plastered a realistic smile on her face and hissed, "Spies! I hate spies!"

The Hokage simply leveled her a calm look. "Your sensory abilities are that refined?"

She shook her head. "No. Well, yes, but that's not how I know. It comes from being an Uzumaki, you see. Some of us can just sense seals, even from a distance. Those that have this ability from birth all inevitably have a knack with fuinjutsu, but even those that can't can unlock it if they study seals hard enough, though it's not guaranteed."

"But you can't tell what the seals are for!" Kushina interjected. "How do you know it's a compliance seal?"

"Because I've sensed something like it before." Sarutobi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk and hiding his mouth behind his intertwined hands. "I came across in in Ame, following up on a rumor I heard about a red-haired man leading the resistance movement there. I tracked them down by following rumors and analyzing the remains of battlefields, and I found them just in time to save them from an ambush by a combination of Hanzo's forces and several unknown shinobi with distinctly Konoha chakra signatures. It concerned me because I knew that Konoha didn't have an alliance with Ame, and in fact hostilities at the time were at an all-time high. I made it a point to keep tabs on Konoha, including your political climate, so I knew there was something wrong and investigated the corpses after the battle. I found one of them still alive, the seal on his tongue yet to disappear. And managed to make a copy of it." She rummaged around in her satchel and brought out another scroll edged with a solid black band and handed it to Kushina.

Kushina took one look at the seal and paled once again, horror on her face. "This is… this is abominable! How could anyone put this on another person?!"

Sarutobi shut his eyes tightly, exhaling. "So not just a spy, a traitor."

Shuurei shot him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry I had to deliver such terrible news, but I thought you should know. If you apprehend that Anbu later and take the necessary precautions, you will find this same seal, and if whoever it is that put it there managed to get one on your Anbu…."

"Then they're very well placed. I can't trust anyone." he stated wearily. "I'm too old for this." he complained, kneading his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Be careful." Shuurei murmured, sympathetic.

Tenzo, who'd been following the conversation with a great deal of interest, was starting to get impatient. Shuurei had yet to mention their other reason for coming here. "Kaa-san." he nudged her, bringing him to their attention.

"Kaa-san?" Kushina repeated blankly, then she broke out in a wide grin. "Oh my kami, Shuurei-chan, you have a son?! Congratulations! I better be godmother, dattebane!"

Shuurei shot her a look that said 'are you serious?' and rolled her eyes. "How can I have a son his age? I was physically twelve when he was conceived! No, I adopted him. He's actually the other reason why I'm here. Kushina, Hokage-sama, this is Tenzo-kun. He wants to be a shinobi."

"Oh my kami, he's so cute!" Tenzo scowled at the demeaning description. "Just look at him and that baby face of his, and those eyes! They're so striking!" He grimaced at the mention of his eyes and pouted slightly. He hates his eyes, which were the byproduct of Orochimaru's experiments. He misses his old green ones.

"I'm not a baby!" he exclaimed. "I'm nine years old!" What was up with adults and calling him cute? Honestly. He's not a girl.

"He is, isn't he?" Shuurei agreed, smiling fondly and completely ignoring Tenzo's sputtering protests. Then her expression turned serious. "There are… certain circumstances you need to be aware of." She glanced down at him as if asking permission. Taking a shaky breath, he nodded his consent, bracing himself for the emotional upheaval that was sure to come.

"Do you remember five years ago, when there was that rash of kidnappings, children going missing?" Both of them tensed, seeing where this was going. "Well, I decided to look into it since I was in the area and, through a string of good luck, I managed to locate one of the facilities the children were being held at… Orochimaru's laboratory." Sarutobi sucked in a sharp breath at the mention of his former student, eyes haunted. "It'd been abandoned for a while once I got there and… I don't think I need to describe to you the horrors I saw. Dead children in test tubes, many mutilated beyond recognition beforehand and some who'd… been dead for quite some time already." Kushina turned her head to the side, looking distinctly green. "At first I thought they were all dead, but when I went to investigate to make sure I heard something and came just in time to save Tenzo, who by some miracle was dying but still alive."

"You." the Hokage's eyes widened in dawning comprehension. "You were the one… the one who buried their bodies. Not Orochimaru."

She gave a dead, hollow laugh. "You think Orochimaru would take the time to clean up after himself? Much less give them their rites. He couldn't even be bothered to kill them once he'd finished with them." Tenzo's breath hitched with his rising panic and he pressed himself into her side, breathing in her scent and reminding himself that it's over, she exists, it's never going to happen again. "It's okay, honey. It's alright, I'm here." she murmured gently, her soft voice chasing the memories away.

"I'm sorry." the Hokage said gravely, looking positively ancient with grief and guilt.

"There's more." she continued. "His experiments… weren't as unsuccessful as he'd thought."

Kushina gasped, eyes bulging in disbelief. "You can't mean that…?"

"He has the Mokuton. Hokage-sama, I will not allow him to be shunted into Anbu and disappear. I will not allow anyone to destroy his childhood any more than that man already has." Shuurei glared at him heatedly, and once again Tenzo realized just how lucky it was that Shuurei found him, just how much she cares about him, because like this, Shuurei was fierce. Scarier even than Konan when Yahiko slips up and swears around them, and she's terrifying.

The Hokage sighed heavily. "Shuurei-san, you have to realize that the Mokuton is a valuable asset to the village. I would like nothing more than to let him live out his life as a normal child, but once the Council gets wind of this, once the other villages realize we have the Mokuton…"

"Then don't tell them!" Shuurei snapped. "Treat him as just another child whose parents live outside the village! I've been working with Tenzo on controlling his abilities for years now, he can use doton and suiton separately from his wood release, he can hide it. Let him grow up away from the spotlight, let him become a chunin and jounin on his own and establish himself amongst the ranks before you reveal his abilities. At least then, when they're revealed, he'll have a solid support base and allies amongst his peers if anyone does try something. No one will be able to sweep him under the rug without anyone knowing." She pinned him with an unrelenting stare. "This situation is Konoha's fault, for letting one of your own go so far astray. It's the least you can do."

"You're right." he conceded, gravelly voice even rougher with regret. "Fine, I'll grant your request. So long as the boy is able to keep his abilities secret, I'll make sure he's treated as any other citizen."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Shuurei," Kushina interjected. "Are you going to join the village?" she asked hopefully.

Shuurei frowned and shook her head. "No, there are still things I have to do outside the village, still leads I have to follow up on, looking for survivors. I will eventually, Dragon-chan, don't you worry. Which reminds me," she turned back to the Hokage, "I'm also here to give a declaration of intent to restore the Uzumaki to clan status and eventually join Konoha."

"Wait, what?!" Kushina gasped, blanching. "But there's only two of us!"

Shuurei rolled her eyes. "Honestly Kushina, you really think I'd go wandering around the Elemental Nations and not find anyone? I mean sure Uzushio is pretty small, but we were still a village. I found a few families, a few stray members here and there, and while none of them wanted to actually come to Konoha, they've agreed to staying within Fire Country and being put on the family rosters so they can claim clan benefits. Plus…" she hesitated, eyes staring off into the distance as she deliberated over something, then nodded to herself. "Plus, during the attack, I managed to use a seal I invented- the one I used on Minato, the Live Sealing Scroll- to save some of the children."

Kushina looked about a second away from bursting into tears- again. Funny, Tenzo hadn't pegged her for a crybaby when she burst into the room like that- actually, she reminded him a lot of Obito, is this where he got it?- but then, a lot of stuff has happened today. He's exhausted just following the conversation, she's been actively joining in. And she looked pretty tired to begin with.

"Hey, um… Uzumaki-san?" Both Shuurei and Kushina turned to look at him at the same time, then glanced at each other and promptly burst out laughing.

"Just call me Kushina, Tenzo-kun. It'll get confusing if you don't."

"Ah, okay. Then… Kushina-san?"

She smiled at him brightly, and it made him feel better. A little less out of place. She has Shuurei's smile, he realized. The smile like everything's fine and the world better not dare even try to mess with her or she'll prank the hell out of it. Except, a little more wild than Shuurei's smile. "Um, Kushina-san, you look pretty tired… shouldn't you go get some sleep?"

Her eyes flickered briefly in surprise before they softened, and now she was giving him a smile close to Shuurei's when he called her Kaa-san, or when she woke him up from a nightmare and ran her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep again. It was kind of startling, how similar they were even though they looked so different. They just had this aura about them that was soft and warm and safe.

"It's nice of you to worry, Tenzo-kun. You're very… polite." Though she said it like a compliment she cringed just a little at that last word. "A bit stiff, though. We'll have to take care of that."

"Don't worry Kushina," Shuurei interjected, "he's been exposed to high levels of Uzumaki early on- he's not nearly as angelic as he seems. He is a very good boy though, very kind." Shuurei gave Kushina a thorough once-over, assessing. "But he is right. You look like death warmed over. Have you even recovered from having the Kyuubi extracted?"

Kushina waved her off. "I'm fine. Uzumaki don't stay down for long, after all." It would've been a lot more convincing if she hadn't chosen that exact moment to wobble on her feet.

Shuurei caught her elbow and held her steady. "We have very durable bodies, Snap Dragon. Our minds, however, are just as fragile as the next person's, and you have had to deal with a lot of emotional crap and a newborn this past month." She turned to the Hokage, who was watching them with a small smile and an approving glint in his eyes, "Hokage-sama? Is it okay if we leave now? I know we still have a lot to discuss, but I think we can leave that for tomorrow, right? Are we cleared to walk the village?"

"Yes, of course you are. Here," He rummaged around in his desk and pulled out two small leather-bound booklets, wrote something in them, and then handed them to Shuurei who pried open the cover one-handed and scanned it briefly before tossing one to Tenzo. "If anyone gives you trouble, just show them that. I don't think they will, however. You don't have a hitai-ate on and some people don't wear them out in the open, so they'll probably just take you for an off-duty shinobi."

Shuurei ducked her head, too busy keeping a protesting Kushina on her feet to give him a full bow. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. You are far more reasonable than I had any hope to expect."

He quirked an amused eyebrow. "It's you who's been doing me so many favors, giving away valuable information for little cost, allying Konoha with a powerful clan… giving Kushina a family again. This is the least I can do."

She bowed her head deferentially once again, then escorted a stumbling Kushina out of the office, Tenzo following on her heels.

He could tell it was pretty late once they'd gotten outside, and realized that they'd spent a lot of time in there. Judging by the sun, they had maybe an hour until sunset. While Kushina directed them through the streets, Tenzo took the opportunity to study the village as they passed through, noting that a lot of the buildings seemed brand new and the general air of the people was strained and tired, probably from the Kyuubi attack. He gawked openly at the Hokage monument and commented to Shuurei that Konoha certainly likes things big, which made her and Kushina laugh.

As they passed by a lot of people greeted Kushina with a smile, but some people scowled at her and whispered to their companions, and Tenzo didn't understand why. Sure Kushina was loud, but… she's still really nice. Some of them even seemed afraid of her, though he guessed that was understandable if they'd ever seen her do that weird hair thingy when she's mad.

Kushina's house was near the outskirts of the village, a medium sized house surrounded by trees on the edge of a forest. The walls were painted a pretty, cheerful yellow with grey-blue roofing tiles and out front there was a large garden chock full of flowers and herbs that weren't doing to well. Tenzo paused on his way in to crouch by the flower bed and run a finger over the petals of a drooping tiger lily, sending some of his chakra through it to help it perk up some, and was happy to see it straighten up a little and turn its petals skywards. Then he followed them inside.

"Rin-chan?" Kushina called upstairs. "Rin-chan, I'm home and I brought visitors!"

There was the sound of someone moving upstairs and then a pretty girl with short brown hair and eyes and blocky purple clan markings on her face came down, a fussing yellow haired baby in her arms. "Welcome home, Kushina-san. Who are they?" She peered curiously at them, her large brown eyes lighting up, and Tenzo found himself feeling nervous for some reason. He shifted in place, his face burning, and he wasn't quite sure why.

"Rin-chan, the best thing happened today! She's in disguise right now, but this is my Aunt Shuurei. She's told me she's found survivors from my village!" Kushina exclaimed excitedly as she took Naruto from her.

"That's wonderful Kushina-san! You must be so happy… I know you miss your village a lot." she turned to face Shuurei and bowed slightly, then introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Nohara Rin, a… friend of Kushina-san's and a chunin of Konohagakure. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hello, Rin-chan. My name is Uzumaki Shuurei. It's nice to meet you." She smiled and held her hand out to Rin, who just blinked and stared at it in confusion. Shuurei's smile turned into a rueful grimace, her hand moving to rub the back of her neck sheepishly. "Oh, uh, sorry. Habit."

"No problem. So, Shuurei-san is it? You don't look much like Kushina-san." She commented as Kushina moved them into the dining room, bouncing slightly in place as she tried to calm Naruto.

They sat down as Rin bustled about in the kitchen, making tea at Kushina's request. "Oh, I don't really look like this. Me and Tenzo-kun here are in disguise for various reasons."

Rin paused in her motions to put the kettle on the stove. "In disguise? So you're ninja then?"

"I am. Tenzo-kun will be joining the Academy soon."

"Really?" Rin set a plate of cookies in front of them and joined them at the table. "That's great, Tenzo-kun. You must be excited. So, if you're new to the village, where were you living before?"

Sipping at the tea, Tenzo grimaced at the bitter flavor and added a few spoonfuls of sugar from the bowl. Next to him Shuurei did the same as she answered, "We've been travelling the past few years, trying to track down any survivors."

"Oh? That sounds amazing! Where all have you been?"

"Earth, Iron, Wind, skirted the borders of Water a few times though since there was conflict at the time we didn't get too close. Been everywhere, really."

Rin looked out the window, staring off into the distance with a dreamy expression that made her look even prettier. "You must've seen so much! I hope I can travel like that some day. Being deployed during the war isn't exactly the ideal setting for sight-seeing."

"Maybe you can some day. Give it a few years to cool down and you won't have to rush through your missions."

"Speaking of," Kushina chimed in, "how's it going at the hospital, Rin-chan? They've got to be easing up some, if you have enough time to babysit for me."

Rin's eyes darkened, remembering the chaos that has engulfed the hospital over the past month. The injuries on the victims of the Kyuubi attack had not been pretty, and she'd never felt so overwhelmed before. "Well, since the minor and immediately life-threatening injuries have been taken care of the work's slowed down a lot. We're still over capacity, but not nearly as crowded as we were. It's still touch and go for a few cases, but right now the majority of the patients are those with injuries that'll take some time to heal enough for them to be released and the coma patients whose chakra was messed up by exposure to bijuu chakra. It's calmed down enough that we can let go of the genin teams we drafted to assist the medics, but we're running low on medicine. The hospital's made a bulk order to Wave, but it'll take at least two weeks to get here.

"You're a medic-nin, Rin-chan? That's impressive for someone your age. I'm a medic too, though I'm only decent at best." Shuurei munched on her third cookie, practically cramming it in her mouth. Tenzo was sneaking a fifth. Those were some good cookies.

"You are?" Kushina asked, dumbfounded. "I never figured you for a medic. Yeah, Rin-chan's a very good medic, a prodigy even. Her mentor says she might even be as good as Tsunade someday." Kushina boasted. Rin turned beet-red and Kushina ruffled her hair with a laugh and a proud smile, as proud as if Rin was her own daughter.

She grinned at Rin. "Is that so? If you work hard, I have no doubt that you will. You should aim higher, though. Don't just aim to be as good as Tsunade, surpass her." Taking a sip of her tea, she continued, "You said the hospital's running low on medicine? I might be able to help out with that. As I've travelled over the years I've amassed quite an inventory of medicinal herbs of all kinds."

Rin sighed, rubbing at her eyes. "Every little bit helps, I guess," she answered as Shuurei went for her satchel, "but I don't think a few jars will do all that-"

Shuurei unrolled the scroll and pumped a bit of chakra into it. There was a puff of smoke and when it cleared the table was almost completely covered in neatly labelled jars of herbs and salves.

"-much." she finished weakly, eyes wide as she scanned the labels. "You found all these in the wild?!"

"For the most part." Tenzo knew that that was a lie. The medicines were probably those she made from the herbs she's been growing and storing up for a 'special occasion'. He wondered if she stockpiled them with this particular situation in mind. He wouldn't be surprised. Shuurei always seems to have a plan, a reason for doing things. "There are three more scrolls where that came from. Should tide them over until the shipment gets here."

"I- threemore scrolls?" Rin gaped incredulously for a moment before she collected herself. "How much do you want for them?" she asked, suddenly all business

"Nothing. You can have them, free of charge. Consider it a donation."

"But-" Rin sputtered, shocked, "but these medicines are all incredibly valuable! You had to have put so much work into gathering and preparing them, and you're just giving them away?"

She simply shrugged. "I made that medicine to help people, not to make myself rich. If it can do some good, I'll be happy to give it away."

Rin opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided against it, giving Shuurei a look of respect and admiration as she scooped up the scrolls Shuurei placed on the table. "I have to get these to the hospital and test them. It was nice to meet you, Shuurei-san, and thank you very much."

"Don't mention that I was the one who gave it to you!" Shuurei hurried to tell her.

Rin blinked, then shrugged her shoulders and nodded as she turned to the window. "If you say so."

"Thank you for watching over Naruto for me, Rin." Kushina called after her

"No problem!" Rin yelled back as she leapt for the rooftops and off into the sunset. Tenzo stared after her, slightly dazed and wondering why his face felt so hot.

"Hey, you okay Tenzo?" Shuurei asked suddenly, putting her hand on his forehead to check for a temperature. "You look a bit flushed."

"I- uh- I'm fine!" Tenzo squeaked, not sure why he felt so embarrassed all of a sudden.

Shuurei narrowed her eyes, then squinted in the direction Rin took off. Her eyes widened as if she'd realized something, and she smirked at him in a way that made him distinctly uncomfortable. "Oh ho ho." she chuckled. "Well that's interesting."

"What?" Tenzo demanded, shifting in place.

Kushina glanced between Shuurei's face and then his, then broke out in a broad grin with an edge of mischief that made him apprehensive. He knows that look. That's the look Obito gets when he's found something new to tease you over, or thought of a new prank idea. "Oh, how cute."

"Come on, what's cute? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh nothing, my little boy is growing up is all." She patted his shoulder and then turned her attention to Kushina- more specifically, the little yellow bundle in her arms. "So this is little Naruto-kun, huh? Oh, he's so cute! Looks just like his father."

She chuckled, smiling sweetly at her son. "He may look like his father, but he's obviously taking after me personality-wise. Just loves to kick up a fuss. Got a set of lungs on him too, like you wouldn't believe."

"Oh, I believe it. He's your son after all. Can I hold him?"

Kushina smiled. "Sure. Here, make sure you support the head- oh, you've got it. You have experience with babies, Firebird?"

That's an understatement if he's ever heard one. "You could say that." Ever so carefully she shifted the little bundle in her arms, prodding at his tiny fist with her finger, her smile widening even more when he latched on. "He's so adorable, so tiny. Hello there little guy, I'm your Shuurei-oba-san. It's so nice to meet you." Naruto gurgled happily at her, nuzzling his face into the crook of her arm with a content sigh.

"He likes you." Kushina cooed softly, hovering at her shoulder. Then she yawned, rubbing at her eyes tiredly.

"Hey, you should get some sleep. Let me watch over Naruto."

"Really? Are you sure you know what you're doing? Just knowing how to hold a baby doesn't mean you know how to take care of one."

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." She shuddered lightly. "I've had plenty of practice."

Too tired to argue or interrogate, she simply nodded and staggered up the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing.

Shuurei stared after her with a perturbed expression. "She didn't say where we could sleep. Oh well. You should get to bed too, Tenzo. You can take the couch, I've got some camping blankets sealed away that should do the trick."

"Aw, but I'm not tired." he protested, but the yawn that followed and the gritty feeling in his eyes that caused him to rub at them betrayed him.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Want to run that by me again?"

"Fine." he grumbled, settling himself down into the blankets. A second later Shuurei pulled up a chair next to him, shifted the slumbering baby so that she had an arm free, and started running her fingers through his hair as she did every time he had trouble sleeping or woke up from a nightmare. The slight pull on his scalp was soothing, and just like every other time he was out like a light in minutes.