Chapter 25
My Master, Koumyou Sanzo, spoke often of his travels to the far east and the odd, exotic and often perplexing creatures he encountered there, but I must confess a bit of indifference to the lessons behind his adventures. The other priests thought much of his research to be the product of an overactive imagination and even I regarded his teachings as nothing more than scary stories for rainy nights until I was well into my own adulthood. I'd already fostered a rather prfound dislike for both humans and demons by the time I read through his works again, but I found in my old Master's recollections far more wisdom than I initially expected. His writings are all, I think, directed towards the central thesis that every individual is an essential part of the same world and, as such, we require one another's existence for sheer survival. Cooperation instead of competition, a hidden layer to the natural order of things that many would find naive, the belief that true balance can be achieved here, in this life. Demons and their dominion over nature is integrally linked, in my Master's opinion, to humans and their command of the environment. He was fascinated by the jinchuuriki, a being most of my sect find distasteful to say the least, because it represented a kind of harmony between the powers of ancient elemental forces and mankind, a sort of middle ground in an endless war. Koumyou implied, because the man never actually said anything outright, that man and demon rely upon eachother for mutual evolutionary success and that only balance between human interests and the preservation of nature can save either species. In the end, he believed that neither man nor beast can thrive without a deep and profound respect for eachother and, that with that respect, peace, even between such disparate forces, was possible. My Master often said that peace was the natural state of the universe and that the solace we glean from one another is the truest evidence of our potential for enlightenment. I do not believe in attachments, few real Buddhists do, but his argument is still compelling. Even from the grave, Koumyou retains the power to make me question myself and my own motivations. If peace is really possible, I have acted against the order of the universe, and yet served its purpose all the same. It's irksome to think about, especially because if my Master is correct in his philosophies, the very people I've brushed aside were the only real salvation. Perhaps its time to stop hiding behind Buddhist dogma that I barely believe and my own prudishness, perhaps loving someone is the very opposite of sin. Either way, the irony of it makes for an interesting conundrum. Both chastisement and absolution, a decade after his death and out of a book about weird, foreign demons. It's certainly something only Koumyou could have managed.
-Genjo Sanzo, the 31st Collected Writings
Tsunade would later say that the birth of Sakura's child was an easy one, all things considered, and especially since the entire labor and delivery happened at home, in the family bath and in the company of four blood-soaked ninja fresh from the battlefield. The Hokage did what she could to stabilize Sakura's contractions and ease the young woman's pain, but in the end the only way the child would come into the world was through the genius of Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuuga or a gruesome surgery. Given the options, the Hokage chose to wait. The hours crawled by, longer for the fact that she spent every moment wondering if she should intervene, if she should do as the situation would normally dictate and tear the child out of her student's body by force. The difference being, of course, that Sakura's body would not just open to the scalpal as a normal woman's would and shredding her apart again and again was not an option Tsunade was willing to entertain. Not yet anyway.
She cooed and calmed and used strong muscle relaxants to cease the labor for a few precious minutes so Sakura could rest, but the little life within her was shockingly independent of its mother and the labor progressed despite her efforts. As young women during their first labor went, Sakura tolerated everything well, staying calm and following what few directions Tsunade could give without hysteria or more than the token complaint. She was in pain and afraid, but the baby's vital signs remained reassuring and Sakura herself was far too tough to go shocky even with her body trying it's best to bludgeon the child like a battering ram against her cervix. Her water was unbroken and, against all odds, neither mother nor child seemed unduly stressed, so Tsunade waited and hoped.
Many years had passed since the Hokage had actively tried to have faith in anything, much less the esoteric notions of a god, but pragmatism only went so far and she was tired of feeling completely helpless. She knew Naruto and even if the possibility of help from unseen forces was a naive wish, Naruto was a real person, one of her own ninja, and she at least believed that the jinchuuriki would do as he promised. He would return, he would order Sasuke or Neji to return Sakura's energy to its normal path, and everyone would be fine. She took a breath. The kitsune could be counted upon to do as he said or die trying and as long as Sakura remained breathing, pushing, cranky and alive, so was he. Hiashi Hyuuga was a bitter old monster, but no match for the power of a demon vessel and two genius subordinates.
Even so, she heaved a sigh of relief that was closer to a sob than she would have liked to admit when Sakura's head popped up and the girl smiled with relief. They were connected she knew and her suspicions were confirmed when Sakura began speaking in a rush, the names of her mates coming to her lips like a sutra, calling out to them across the distance.
"Naruto's coming! He knows…he feels…they're alive! They're all alive! Alive!" Sakura shouted, losing her composure.
"They're tough boys." Tsunade agreed, allowing herself an entire heartbeat to simply close her eyes and savor the fact that her little blond menace was still alive and on his way home to help them.
From Sakura's expression, she could only assume Neji and Sasuke were alive as well, but the name Sakura murmured over and over again was Sai's. The artist was still freshly dead and Sakura was very tired, but there was something more than passingly peculiar about it.
"Sai? What about him?" The Hokage asked, trying for clarity at least.
"Sai's coming! He's with them!" Sakura said, voice so intense that it was almost a snarl.
"Sai's dead. You buried him." Tsunade argued mildly, but Sakura wasn't listening to her.
"Sai…he's here!" Sakura whispered, eyes almost glazed.
The girl just kept repeating Sai's name under her breath, chanting the word like a spell, her eyes alight with ferocious joy. Tsunade wondered, biting her thumb a bit, but whatever the trance was, it wasn't hurting the young matriarch and she didn't have the luxury of worrying about both Sakura's mind and her body. Sakura smiled, looking past her, eerily aware of her mate in a way no human had any right to be. As the fires began to die and the first wan rays of dawn began to glow in the sky, the men of the Uzumaki clan returned home, recoiling like all the other shadows from the stark rays of sunlight. They crept into the house, quiet despite making no effort to mask the noise, Sasuke holding someone in his arms and Naruto holding Neji. When the Hokage looked closely, peering through the twilight…she shook her head.
The face was decorated with bright blue markings, clearly demon, and a long, soft-looking tail was coiled tightly around Sasuke's left wrist, but when the person turned a bit to face Sakura she recognized him immediately. Tsunade's jaw dropped. Sai was alive, apparently, as well as mostly hysterical, psychologically paralyzed and a hanyou, which was simply too much information for Tsunade to easily make any sense out of. She shook her head, resisting the urge to point like an idiot. Sasuke smiled a little, just the barest twitch of his lips and Naruto let his eyes rest on Sai with the weight of both love and grief. She looked at the artist, saw his living, breathing, weeping body with her own eyes, and chose to look past and on to the next task. Sai was a mess, but he was far beyond her abilities and she had other things to do. She gestured to Sakura where Sakura struggled, the movement of her hand terse.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked immediately.
"It hurts!" Sakura snarled, baring her teeth. Neji stirred at the sound of her voice.
"Isn't it supposed to?" Sai whimpered, cocking his head in confusion.
"Sakura! Oh! Oh Kami, put me down!" Neji cried and his face tensed with the activation of the Byukugan.
"Yeah, okay! Stop wriggling! What's going on!?" Naruto huffed, gripping the Hyuuga tighter despite his words.
"Her energy…" Neji hissed.
"Shit." Sasuke muttered, eyes lighting with the Sharingan like two red lanterns in the darkness.
No one said anything else. Tsunade crossed her arms, watching with just a bit of sadistic satisfaction as their eyes widened huge as saucers at the spectacle of one terrified girl desperately trying to give birth through a chakra block. They moved into the room, trying to rush and yet too weak to make more than a rather pathetic attempt at it. Tsunade was too stunned to speak, both by the fact that Neji was clearly blind except for his bloodline talent and the blunt indication that he'd suffered a stroke. Sai raised his head, lips pale and cheeks flushed with his still spilling tears. Sasuke was...well...other than still being an unstable and extremely dangerous homicidal maniac, he was probably fine. Tsunade shook her head. They limped closer, kicking shoes off, looking like the last, desperate survivors of a natural disaster with their eyes too wide and filled with shadows that hadn't been there before.
Sakura looked at Naruto, met his eyes, and Tsunade expected her favorite student to shout at him, maybe throw something. Instead, the exhausted, agonized, sweat-soaked young matriarch simply opened her arms and allowed her husbands to fall into her embrace as if doing so was the most natural thing in the world. Neji writhed out of Naruto's arms, dragging himself towards Sakura with the determination of a salmon swimming upriver, but soon Sasuke was with him and together they managed to reach the bed without forcing Tsunade to intervene. The whole scene felt like something much too private and she resisted the urge to turn away.
The Hokage had fully intended to give the jinchuuriki the tongue-lashing of his life and even a few good smacks for leaving his wife alone in such condition, but she never really got the chance. One moment, Naruto was looking at her from across the darkened bedroom with Neji half-hanging from his arms, the next all of them were piling onto the bed. The four of them crawled, wriggled and writhed in whatever way their bodies still allowed, crowding as close to Sakura as they could, not speaking. Frowning, Tsunade approached them. She tried to touch Naruto's shoulder, but the look the jinchuuriki cast up to her, demon-lit blue eyes glowing with enough primal ferocity to melt steel, was more than enough to convince Tsunade her role in all this was over. They were moving into a place she could not follow, a more primitive state of mind much closer to the ancient demon caged in Naruto's soul and governed solely by instinct.
The Hokage folded her hands meekly, retreating, but not leaving entirely. Sakura might still need her and she felt that Naruto would at least tolerate her presence, if not her help. Sakura groaned in pain and the subordinates echoed the noise in a wierd show of synchrony, heads thrown back even as they pressed closer against her. There was an animalness to the way they moved with her, like bees cleaving to their queen, eyes half-lidded and only partially aware. Sai wasn't crying anymore, his breath and body quieted by a power more profound than any she was privy to. Tsunade swallowed against her dry throat. The three captive males were rapidly falling into a trance even as they touched Sakura, affected by their alpha female's labor in some deeper, more visceral way than Naruto was. They groaned again, the sound soft and resonant with so many voices. The family moved together, embracing as one and Tsunade relaxed in the knowledge that she was very much forgotten.
Neji and Sasuke kissed, tongues dancing, hands locked together across Sakura's heaving belly. As one they released the jutsu binding Sakura's chakra, moving with perfect accuracy across her meridians, unlocking the energy almost without looking as their fingers flashed through each gesture. Sakura cried out as her energy flowed back into her own organs again, teeth grit together, but Naruto was already holding her, stroking her heaving body with the same magnetic rhythm that moved them all. As one the pack stood, holding Sakura between them with Neji braced against her, a single beast with ten, caressing arms. Sai was standing, walking, his posture firm and solid and whatever emotion still tormenting him firmly locked away. Naruto kissed Sakura, his lips apologetic and his hands worshipful, touching her throat, her breasts the same way someone might rub an idol.
They undressed on the way, tossing clothing, weapons and the occasional undetonated explosive carelessly to the side as they went, always touching. Sai was kissing Sakura now, the tears on his cheeks falling against her eyelids and the tiny fangs in his mouth gentle against her lips. They hummed, all of them, Sasuke sinking to his knees to nuzzle affectionately against Neji's hip and Sakura's knee only to rise again as they walked. Naruto lifted her, lifted all of them somehow, hands cupped around Sakura's swollen breasts as though he'd never left her side. Tsunade trailed them all slowly, keeping her distance and well aware that a jinchuuriki pack in such a state was not something to trifle with lightly if one enjoyed keeping all of their limbs. They moaned, the sound equal parts pain and inhuman pleasure, moving inexorably down the hallway and towards the bath. The Hokage smirked.
Somehow, the woman had known that a water birth was probably going to be the best way to handle the situation and she'd already had the large, family bath cleaned, filled and waiting in the event that Sakura did manage to deliver naturally. Stepping delicately over the discarded clothing and weaponry, the Hokage followed at a distance. Her student was likely going to be fine and, at any rate, she wasn't entirely sure what she could do, but her inherent curiosity was piqued now. Tsunade had never seen a jinchuuriki pack give birth and she would be damned to miss an opportunity like this one for the sake of something stupid like propriety.
OoOoOoO
The hazy softness of everything was almost like being drunk, Sai decided, only his mind wasn't actually impaired and, instead of feeling dizzy and indistinct, everything just felt like Sakura. He felt her in his veins, flowing with his blood, and in the newfound strength of his fingers as he helped Naruto hold her, move her, guide her into the hot water so they could be weightless. Sai knew that the sensation wasn't quite the same for the others, for Neji and for Sasuke, and that they were completely lost to the ebb and sway of her, but he was still aware. The artist lived in the thrall, but in some ways he still retained the freedom to leave if he chose, to step back. His demon heritage gave him the autonomy needed to maintain an ounce of control. He exerted that special privilege now so that he could see her, so that he could speak to her when the others could only moan. Sakura drove the pain and crying back from inside him, washing it away with the feeling of her love, of herself, and he was much too grateful to fall beneath the comfortable weight of the heat in his spirit just yet.
Her body was hurting, too tight, and the others were already moving, coating their fingers in slippery mineral oil that someone had left for them. They moved with the wisdom of something deeper and even though his logical mind knew that this was seriously not the moment, Sai was harder than he'd ever been in his life. Neji pushed fingers into her, rubbing, stroking deeply with his left hand and in another breath Sasuke joined him, massaging the straining skin of her entrance so that their child could pass through. Sakura's breath hitched and she sighed a little, shaking in a way that seemed to settle into their very bones, the weight of her body eased by the water and more comfortable than she'd been in hours. Naruto was saying something, something soft and encouraging, as he rubbed her belly up and down with strong, sure strokes of his hands. They were all moving in the water and the heat of it combined with the momentum of so many people felt oddly chaotic, rhythmic like sex or maybe like the beating of a heart, Sai wasn't sure.
Sakura bit her lip, but the cry came anyway, echoing through all of them and Sai couldn't resist the compulsion to shriek along with her. His skin was flushed and he was sweating, panting with her. The elegant muscle in her strong legs moved, jumping as she shifted, trying to relax her spine even as the baby moved her tailbone back. Sai could feel the pain of it, of her lower back jerking tight with the unnatural movement, trying to relieve the pressure without any end in sight. The ruddy glow of her skin with the exertion was gorgeous, and the artist managed the presence of mind to gather her hair and weave it into a tight braid to keep it out of her face. Sakura glanced at him, green eyes bright and hot and grateful that at least one of them was still sane enough to notice and the love swelled so deeply in him then that Sai thought his heart might actually explode. Naruto was supporting her back with his knees, fully focused on kneading the stubborn muscles around her spine loose, one hand a cushion behind her neck. Sai moved, drawn like a magnet into the vacated space behind her, wrapping her in his arms.
Her breasts were large, soft and buoyant in the water, drifting softly against his the skin of his arms in a fleeting caress. He moved, pulling her into his lap, the pert firmness of her buttocks quivering against his own thighs. Sakura grit her teeth. She was in pain. Whispering completely meaningless words to her that were probably closer to gibberish than real language, Sai gripped her belly with his free hand. He rubbed as Naruto had before, digging in with his fingers into the crease of her hip to free the ligament there. She winced, tears streaming from her eyes, but the muscle slowly began to loosen.
"It's okay baby, it's okay…" Naruto was saying, dragging his hands in firm motions along her spine.
"Can I…Can I push?" She panted.
"Check her cervix." Someone said softly, Sai wasn't sure who.
Naruto moved at the suggestion, pushing between Sasuke and Neji's rubbing hands and deep to feel. He swallowed, shook his head. Sakura huffed and groaned unhappily, the sound escaping all their throats as one. Like someone walking in a dream, Sasuke stood and moved to penetrate her, bucking his hips slowly against her in the water untilhe was inside. Sakura gasped at the feel of him, her arms strong, beautifully muscular and too tight around Sai's own, but Sasuke didn't stop. Belly rippling, he thrust into her, the strong fingers of Sasuke's right hand still working below beside Neji's even as he gripped her hips tight to his own with his left. Sakura closed her eyes and moaned, the sound filled with pleasure instead of pain, rocking eagerly against him and it was the most lovely, perfect, amazing, erotic thing that Sai had ever seen. Like a wave made of warm, melted honey and a bit of lightning, Sai felt the urge to fill her as well, to feel the slick glide of her intimate body against his own. Eyes fluttering closed, he moaned at the feel of the compulsion alone and felt the sound echoed in all the others as well.
Naruto settled behind her, supporting her with his arms and legs in the water, kissing her cheek and neck and ears. Sasuke was still loving her, the muscles in his arms jumping with the effort of moving so slowly, and with a shift and another bit of writhing Naruto was in her as well, moving from behind. Sakura yelped and Sai's teeth chattered, worried that it was too much, that they were hurting her, but then the tightness in her belly eased and she sighed between them. The sex was good, he could feel it now where he sat supporting her shoulders and watching her breasts bounce against his waiting hands. Sai's legs were tangled up with Naruto's, and the feeling of him was good even if confusing and the weight of their love and Sakura's everything was slowly pulling him under. He gasped, feeling the pleasure swell in him as the girl in his arms trembled and moaned.
Sakura closed her emerald eyes, dug her fingers into Sai's hair with one hand and Naruto's with the other and came, the force of it moving through all of them like a locomotive barreling through a snowstorm. There was a rush of fluid, another current in the water, between her legs and suddenly the overwhelming coercion in the thrall was too strong to ignore or escape from. He couldn't resist anymore, the thrumming instinct to touch her, to make the way open and soft. Leaving her shoulders in Naruto's hands, Sai drifted, turning, falling to his knees like a worshipper overwhelmed by prayer. The trance was reaching him, a glittering veil over his eyes and aching sensuality in his muscles, body no longer his own. Wetting his lips, Sai soaked his own hands in the clear oil before pressing against her beneath the water, fingers probing, moving with Neji to open her body so that the delicate flesh wouldn't tear.
Sasuke withdrew from her, his member soft and then there was the warm fluid of his ejaculate flowing smokily between Sai's fingers and something like that shouldn't be so erotic and yet it was. Breath catching, Neji moaned against Sai's shoulder, setting his lips against Sai's trembling neck, moving until the hanyou was trapped in the Hyuuga's embrace just as surely as Sakura had been in his own. They breathed and, together, moved to open her. Hands clasped, fingers entwined, Neji and Sai massaged her taught flesh as one and every touch was pleasure beyond imagination. Naruto was still thrusting slowly, deliberately, into Sakura's vagina and they could feel him there too, but now there was so much more space. Sai felt his body tighten and sing with a deep cord of pleasure as Sakura came again, the artist throwing his head back against Neji's shoulder with an ecstatic cry filled with the voices of everyone he loved.
For hours that felt like moments they moved and squeezed and loved her, making her body loose, soft, and as relaxed as possible, and for moments that felt like hours they shared her pain and cried out with her struggle. Linked, living inside each other, they breathed and undulated and Sai was lost in the current of it all, mind drowsy and body filled with more than his own will. There were hands everywhere, semen mixing with oil, and suddenly Neji was pushing forward with his hand in a way that was more purposeful than what he had been doing before. Sakura groaned, he was hurting her, but the truth that this action was directed and necessary rumbled through Sai and he didn't even think to intervene. With a tremble and a gasp, Sakura arched her back and made more room. Sakura's soft body took Neji's fingers and then his hand, engulfed him up to the wrist and Sai could only stare. Neji felt deep into her body, searching a little, and suddenly within Sai's fevered awareness, within all of them, the feeling came like a resonant bell in a temple service. She was ready.
It was only as an afterthought, shallow and unimportant, that Sai noticed that Neji was touching Sakura with both hands. The artist blinked, the small sliver of his mind that was still his own and thinking, not wrapped in the thrall too note. In the trance, the brunette could use both his hands and that made an odd kind of sense, really.
OoOoOoO
Sasuke felt drugged, his mind crawling, reacting only on instinct, but the haze was not unpleasant. If anything, he felt like a swimmer caught by the currents of a vast and warm river or perhaps one of the mad dancers who performed for rituals in Grass country, so possessed by the rhythm that they forgot to be human. He wasn't human. Not now anyway and Sasuke couldn't really define what he was, but the only word that even came close was love. There was love in his mind, love so all-encompassing that even the memory of battle and pain and all the fear felt lost, fragile, and brittle. Like a sapling scorched in a prairie fire, only the last vestiges of its blackened body to hold shape, the memory of his suffering became insubstantial. The memory of all suffering was insubstantial.
Sasuke was aware, his mind was not altered per se, but the taste of Sakura's skin, the feel of her slickened passage, the heaving of her breasts and the sound of her breathing was somehow far more important. Everything else in the world faded away to nothingness. He felt her labor too, the pain in his body alien, but forceful when it came and he moved with forces far beyond anything in his own meager, human motivations. He felt the pressure, the stretched skin and bruised nerves and his voice cried along with her, sounding strange and almost unfamiliar in his own ears. With each orgasm, her body opened, her cervix growing thin, soft, transparent and he could feel their daughter's head with his fingers when he pushed deep.
Sakura was pushing now, pushing hard and the baby's skull moved with each contraction, filling his palm. Naruto was holding her legs, holding her body against his chest so that she couldn't drift too much in the water and Sai was holding her hips at the right angle beneath the oily water. Neji was beside him, still rubbing, finding points of tension with his wise fingers and massaging the strain away so that Sakura's body could stretch instead of tear. Sasuke thought he had time, the rhythm of her contractions was almost hypnotic and the birth felt like it would just go on forever. His sense of the hours was silent, everything attune to the rise and fall of Sakura's body, the pain and pleasure, the tension and release. He took a breath and suddenly there was a rush against his hands and the baby was just there. Sasuke might have been startled, but he was so full of the feeling, the blessed relief from the torturous pressure that all he could do was moan with it and try to remember how to breathe.
After a single moment of synchronized quivering, Neji's hands came beneath his own and forced the small, wriggling child up to the surface so she could breath. There was another pair of hands, not as wet or bloody as his own, suctioning fluid out of the baby's mouth and nose. The hands were long, lean, and not familiar, but Sasuke was much too occupied to really notice or care. Naruto was kissing Sakura, mouth moving against her shaking lips and Sai was tying a neat knot in the cord, readying his claws to cut the baby free of the womb, but Neji was still. Neji was watching with the Byukugan and he was seeing something. The Hyuuga's eyes were wide and his face very pale. With a start, Sasuke pulled the baby against his chest protectively, a hard bolt of panic spiking through his belly as the little creature began to wail in earnest.
"Let me see her." Neji whispered. Sai looked at him questioningly.
"No." Sasuke whispered, shaking his head, the warm haze slowly clearing.
"No." Sai said, the voice firm and very much his own.
"Allow it." Naruto rumbled, blue eyes warm and indulgent over the top of Sakura's head.
"Please." Neji whispered gently, "I have to see it for myself."
Sasuke hesitated fighting the thrall a moment longer than any other time in his life, but even without the compulsion he knew that Neji wouldn't hurt her. The black-haired subordinate crouched back into the warmth of the water, slowly passing the sneezing baby over to Neji's waiting arms. He wasn't afraid, not really, but there was an ache in letting go of her. He wanted to hold her forever. The Hyuuga caught the child in his left hand, the other not quite moving and really just a guard to help him hold her closer, silver eyes moving, squinting. Sasuke activated his own Sharingan and gasped at the bright light glowing from his newborn daughter, light so brilliant that he almost couldn't bear to look at her directly. Neji cuddled the baby, pillowing her soft, pink-fuzzed head against his chest and slowly the light began to settle a bit, dimming enough to see… He gasped.
"Naruto." Sasuke whispered, eyes fixed.
"What? What's wrong!?" Naruto asked, voice high with worry and the thrall suddenly taught with fear.
Sasuke shivered and shook his head, feeling hypersensitive, like he might just start crying for no reason at all. He reached for her, for their baby, fingers alighting on the chubby roundness of her little belly and the sparkling, circular mark residing there. Beneath, he could see it, the shape of the tiny fox-kit curled up inside the chi nest and yawning. He allowed just the tiniest bit of chakra touch the creature and it stirred, affectionate, reaching back for the energy in his hand with a tiny paw of pure life energy. Sasuke's breath hitched and then he was sobbing.
"Oh…Oh Kami!" Neji whispered, reaching to touch the little demon too, smiling when the creature darted out a little chakra tongue to lap at the energy he sent towards it.
"My…My baby?" Sakura whimpered, worried.
"What! What! What's wrong! Tell me!" Naruto pleaded, nearly shouting.
"Our babies, Naruto, our babies are fine." Sasuke said softly, staring.
"Excuse me?" Sai asked, raising an eyebrow.
OoOoOoO
"She's a jinchuuriki." Neji whispered, voice soft with awe as he gazed into a set of blue eyes almost identical to Naruto's.
"That's…That's impossible." Naruto whispered, holding his head in a way all of them recognized as an indication that the Fox was making a racket.
"Regardless, the demon is there, already within her." Sasuke said.
"Is she possessed?" Sakura asked, voice raw with terror.
"No." Neji replied with a giggle, "No the two of them are very much at peace."
The baby fussed, shaking her tiny fists and began crying in earnest. Neji settled her closer against his chest, his paralyzed right hand little more than a ballast to keep the infant in his arms, but at least kneeling upright was possible in the water. The baby, their baby, was clearly Naruto's child with Sakura, but even now there were things about her that reminded him of Sasuke too. The child had a presence, a way of trying to look through his face and into something deeper, that no newborn infant should without a latent visual ability. Hyuuga babies were, he was told, the same way. He petted her, pondering the dark rose shade of her hair. Dry, the downy fuzz would probably be pink, but much darker than Sakura's. He wondered if the color would stay that way. The blue of her eyes, though, was just like Naruto's own azure stare, a perfect blue, unclouded by newness the way most baby's eyes were and that was just another sign that the infant was more than what she seemed.
Even though there was nothing in her of him, or Sai for that matter, Neji thought she was beautiful. He'd watched her for so long already, watched her sleep in Sakura's womb, and even though he had no right, Neji almost felt like he knew her. She was a new power in the world, something that had never been before, and that thought should have made him proud. Instead, the idea that the tiny child gurgling in his arms might one day have to carry that weight, any weight, was terrifying. She was so small, just one little baby, and he wanted her to be safe.
"Her name, it's Mikoto…" Sakura whispered, lips trembling with fatigue.
"But…" Sasuke argued, looking almost afraid.
"It's perfect," Naruto said, gazing at the child.
"She shouldn't have that name! She shouldn't have a name with so much…" Sasuke shook his head, "It isn't fair. My mother wouldn't have wanted anyone to be burdened with her memory."
"As one matriarch to another, Sasuke, I think she would have been proud." Sakura said, panting with the effort of forming the words.
The argument apparently finished, the others turned towards the task of making sure everyone was clean, warm and conscious enough not to drown. Moving carefully, Sasuke dragged himself over to the hot-water pipe and turned it on, nearly panting with the effort. Neji shuddered in sympathy. Truly, he had never felt more exhausted in his life and even doing little things like holding Mikoto was enough to make his arms tremble. The Hyuuga's vision was still dim, but he could see well enough now to recognize shapes in familiar places and he knew when to move so that the freshly warm water wouldn't be too warm for the baby. Sai washed Sakura's hair and his own before taking their woman into his arms so Naruto could do the same. Tsunade, who was weirdly still there, helped Sakura deliver the afterbirth and checked to make sure the placenta was intact, nothing left clinging in her womb. No one said anything until Sai lost the magical calm that had come over all of them and slowly started weeping again. As if on cue, Mikoto started bawling as well.
"She's hungry, Hyuuga. Give the baby to Sakura." Tsunade ordered tersely and Neji stirred himself.
"Sorry," He whispered as he handed the little blue-eyed, pink-haired impossibility into Sakura's waiting arms.
Letting the baby go, even though he wasn't really her father and had no hope of nourishing her, was still hard in a way the silver eyed genius hadn't expected. Holding her, listening to her, even for just a moment made it feel like she was his too. Neji watched Sakura wince as the baby latched on to nurse and slowly allowed himself to collapse back against the edge of the tub, feeling dizzy and weak. Naruto was frowning, probably carrying on some internal argument with Kyuubi, and Sai was almost prostrate with emotional pain once again, but everyone was alive and that was more than he'd ever hoped for. They were his family, and they needed him to keep breathing.
"There are two of them, our child and the tiny fox born with her." Sasuke asserted, pointing to the seal on the child's belly. Naruto looked a little scared.
"Kyuubi says the new one, the baby Fox, should be called Inari and that it is a spirit of electricity…lightning I should say, but Mikoto will probably be a wind nin." Naruto said, scowling in puzzlement.
"Of lightning? That's not an element, just a sub-property of fire. Mastery of lightning means she's a fire nin. The stupid Fox is confused." Sasuke sneered, raising an eyebrow.
"I know I'm confused." Tsunade sighed, crossing her arms over her generous bosom.
"Sasuke, honey, just deal with the fact that neither of them are fire nin." Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Wind's my favorite element…" Sai snuffled, stroking the baby's belly even as he cried.
"Course it is." Naruto cooed, kissing him, a tired smile on his lips. Sasuke scowled.
"Ugh! No one cares what your favorite is, Sai! And I don't actually care either, morons! I just don't want everyone walking around hopelessly confused. Lightning isn't an element, your own stupid pervert master said so, Naruto!" Sasuke snapped tiredly.
"Apparently," Naruto argued imperiously, "The fact that Inari exists, that she has been born, makes lightning an element, Teme."
"That's fucking stupid." Sasuke snapped half-heartedly, rubbing his eyes.
"Don't curse around her." Neji sniped.
"Shut-up Hyuuga." Sasuke huffed.
"The whole thing is stupid! You can't make another being from nothing!" Tsunade hissed, draining the tub.
"We didn't." Naruto replied, eyes hooded and tone a tad deeper and more primal than his own voice, "Kyuubi's energy is compatible with Sakura's in a way that…that neither of us really understands."
"One jinchuuriki born from another…" Neji whispered as he tried to stay awake.
OoOoOoO
Kiba stood guard most of the night, too nervous to sleep, and even after almost two days without rest he barely managed more than a few hours of restful sleep before waking again. Two days passed and there was nothing from Naruto; not a threat or a message or even the whisper of what the jinchuuriki's intentions might be. What few survivors managed to drag themselves away from the Hyuuga compound said things that only made sense if you were half-crazy and believed in ghosts, but they all agreed that the kitsune and his pack had survived the invasion. Hiashi, however, was very much dead and Kiba had taken a close enough look at the man's corpse to know that whoever killed him wasn't willing to take any chances. Anyone who killed an enemy like that wasn't going to tolerate any loose ends for long and so Kiba paced and waited, slept in his armor and left his bags packed by the door.
Both Granny and Hinata managed to project utter control and calm, drinking tea together with heads close in quiet conversation, while he worked on wearing a hole into the floor and into his stomach too, appetite less and less as time crawled on. Their apparently effortless ease and placid authority was both soothing and distinctly unfair, but Kiba had resigned himself long ago to dealing with the peculiarities of matriarchs. Instead of attempting the futile task of copying their example, Kiba spent his time training, trying to work the stress out of his body even as the tension continued to build in his mind. Naruto wasn't attacking, which was good, but his old friend wasn't talking either and every summons he sent to the Uchiha mansion returned without any success at speaking to any of them.
By the sun's zenith on the third day, Kiba was more than prepared to hear the jinchuuriki's terms, but he was not prepared for how the message came to them or what Naruto's demands would be. One moment he was brushing Akamaru's fur outside the main compound gate, and the next he was face to face with Sasuke Uchiha, dressed in formal garb and looking just as sleepless as he was. Even with the lower half of his face covered by a loose, silk mask emblazoned with the orange Uzumaki whirl, Sasuke's expression was enough to give him pause. The subordinate bowed to him, his eyes and posture weirdly empty for once, the normal haughty abrasiveness replaced with a quiet kind of impatience. The bright orange and black of Sasuke's garments only served to make him look more ghastly and for a single, terrifying moment Kiba had to shake the specter of Itachi away from his mind. Kiba rose and bowed in return, waiting for the others, but Sasuke came alone without even a servant to accompany him.
"My Master sends his regards to your matriarch." Sasuke whispered, inclining his head respectfully, "He would bring the matter of this clan war to and end. Is your wife available to talk?"
"Yeah, I mean y...yes! Yes! Yes, of course!" Kiba stammered, gesturing towards the main house entrance.
"Thank you." Sasuke muttered and followed him inside.
They walked, side by side, saying absolutely nothing. Kiba noted how pale Sasuke looked and the bloodshot redness of his eyes, a symptom of both fatigue and probably weeping too, but managed to bite his tongue about the other man's appearance. A hush fell over the surviving Hyuuga refugees as the darksome killer passed, their frightened eyes turning to Kiba, but he had nothing to offer his people yet. If Hinata had a bargaining chip, he had no idea what it was and even the Konoha council would be no help mediating a clanwar that was very clearly instigated by the Hyuuga household. Kiba would have supposed that if Naruto meant to make war on them, he would have already done so by now, but a few weeks ago he also would have bet money that Naruto would never take part in the eradication of an entire house. Swallowing silently, Kiba showed Sasuke to the main reception chamber, ordered tea to be brought and tried to think of something to say.
"There are more survivors than I expected. You and Hinata are impressively resourceful." Sasuke said, his tone empty and mild. Kiba licked his lips.
"Mostly just women and children, no one of any importance." Kiba replied, nervously.
"Just the heirs." Sasuke said, eyes shifting to look at him, the sharingan irises red on red against the raw looking field of his sclera.
"Yes." Kiba said, wondering if he'd been lured into admitting something.
He couldn't decide what it meant, having Sasuke, Naruto's most feared subordinate come to the Inuzuka compound alone, but he couldn't imagine that the gesture meant anything good. Sasuke, for his part, folded his hands into his sleeves and waited patiently while Granny, Hanabi and Hinata moved into the main reception chamber, kneeling on the furry cushions as if he would be content to wait forever. When the door opened, Hinata was the first to sink to her knees and bow low before him, Kiba and Hanabi following her example in the next breath. Granny, of course, did no such thing. Sasuke did not return Kiba's wife's bow, instead turning his eyes to the Inuzuka matriarch as if the Hyuuga princesses were not there. It was an insult, but also expected of a victor addressing the conquered. Kiba bit his lip.
"Thank you for recieving me." The raven haired menace said, standing smoothly and bowing at the waist before Granny.
"I'd say it's a pleasure, but of course this is not a social visit." Granny said with a sigh, leaning on her staff.
"No. It is not." Sasuke said, taking a breath as if the whole conversation was fatiguing him, "I come from Naruto with the terms of clan Hyuuga's surrender."
"I do not speak for Hyuuga, I merely shelter those without guilt when I can. Though, I owe house Uzumaki much, even more now that Hiashi is dead, and you may tell your Master that clan Inuzuka is fully at his service whenever he may ask." Granny replied, settling herself down onto the cushions.
"We are grateful, but please know that any interference in the resolution of this conflict will be considered an act of war against clan Uzumaki." Sasuke said, sitting as well, voice cold and eyes narrow.
"We have no intention to fight you, but the people in this house are under my protection and shall remain so until they choose to leave these grounds. Is Naruto prepared to mount a seige?" Granny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We will eliminate all threats to our home and mate, no matter what action is required." Sasuke hissed.
"There are no threats to you here." Granny said, raspy voice kind and yet filled with authority.
"That has yet to be seen." Sasuke returned, inclining his head in a small show of deference, "Please know that my alpha is not interested in war with Inuzuka. He has instructed me to relay that we do not consider Kiba Inuzuka to be an enemy in league with Hiashi and that any negotiations henceforth need not involve him."
"Tch, I can't help, but be involved!" Kiba snapped.
"Then you must make your own choices." Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes for just a moment.
"Truly, Sasuke, can these negotations wait? You look terrible." Granny said, shaking her head.
"I fare better than most and an expedient truce benefits us all." The subordinate replied, folding his hands once again.
"Well said. I hope we can conclude this quickly so you can return home to look after your family. Jinchuuriki are tough and I wouldn't have suspected the pack to still be suffering so after so many days." The Inuzuka matriarch said, nonchalantly pouring herself a cup to tea.
"We are more than capable of repelling any attack, make no mistake." Sasuke hissed, eyes hostile slits once again.
"Calm yourself child, that isn't what I meant." Granny said gently.
Mildly abashed, Sasuke looked away, taking a sip of his own tea in a less-than-subtle show of trust and repentance. Kiba glanced to Hinata, but the young woman was still pressed in a low bow, waiting for Sasuke to acknowledge her, as protocol demanded. After another tense heartbeat, Sasuke shifted his weight to face the Hyuuga princess and gestured with a finger for her to rise. The callousness of it made Kiba's blood boil, but a single glance from Granny stilled any words in his throat before he could even utter them. Hinata rose to a sitting position, her posture dignified and closed, regarding their deadly messenger without any trace of discomfort. Sasuke folded his hands again, fingers stuffed back into his own sleeves, which were, no doubt, filled with weapons. Hanabi shivered, making a small noise of terror even as she remained crouched against the floor.
The black haired murderer glanced at the younger heiress, lips pressed together in a tense line and, for a moment, the look in his eyes was almost pitying. For the notorious killer to show anything like sympathy for the plight of vanquished enemies was so totally at odds with the man's personality that Kiba could only stare. Like a shadow at noon, the look passed and Sasuke's expression smoothed into careful neutrality once again, eyes fixed to Hinata's face.
"Lady Hinata Hyuuga: I carry a message from my alpha regarding the crimes committed by your clan-head, which I shall deliver now. Naruto Uzumaki sends you his regards and wishes you to know that Hiashi Hyuuga and every other living person found by our forces within your home compound has been killed as promised five days prior. No prisoners were taken." Sasuke said, voice low and soft despite the coldness of the words.
"Understood." Hinata replied, her tone as empty as her eyes.
Kiba felt his throat tighten, trying not to think about those left behind, people who he would probably never see alive again. There had been a few dozen smoke-stained soldiers who trickled into the Inuzuka compound throughout the night of the battle, but no new survivors had managed to make contact in more than a day. The dog lord bit his lip unhappily. He'd hoped that with a truce, he might be permitted to rescue anyone else left alive in the compound with a thorough search. Nin were resourceful and even people trapped or badly injured might still be alive days later, he wouldn't know unless they looked. Hinata's own mother might still be there, trapped and suffocating for all they knew. He couldn't really believe that Naruto would be savage enough to comb the wreckage for casualties only to dispatch them, but Kiba knew his friend was capable of much more than he'd thought before.
"You...have you hunted down and dispatched the injured as well?" Kiba asked, voice rough with emotion.
"Quiet, pup! You speak out of turn!" Granny snarled, Kiba bared his teeth at her.
"We need to know!" Kiba snapped.
"Those we found were killed as per our original statement. A directed search was not performed, however." Sasuke said, glancing pointedly at Kiba.
The Dog Lord knew he was being offered something in that look, a kind of assurance that Naruto had not, in fact, lost his shit completely and performed mass genocide. From the way Sasuke described the battle, they had killed anything dumb enough to throw itself into their path, nothing more. There very well might be survivors, which would not have been the case in a feud against Nara or even his own family if Kiba really thought about it. Sasuke was trying to maintain control of the talks and not give ground, but Naruto had already given them far more leeway than any other clan-head would.
"Please continue." Hinata said, bowing again. Kiba averted his eyes.
"The compound is destroyed and we will destroy anyone found within its wall until a truce has been reached. Our actions were in response to the unprovoked aggression visited on us by House Hyuuga, acts which can only be interpreted as a full and directed assault with the aim of clan annihilation. We have taken no action to hunt down survivors, but we will not hesitate to do so should our holdings be threatened again. Continued resistance will be met with equal force." Sasuke said, baring his teeth to emphasize the statement. Hinata nodded.
"I am well aware of the nature of my father's crimes and I have no intention to continue his campaign. I will, however, do what I can to protect the lives of those who had no part in the assault on your territory." Hinata replied evenly.
"Given that we have not, actually, suffered any casualties, my alpha is willing to parlay and resolve the conflict without more blood. That being said," Sasuke added, holding up a quelling hand, "We are fully prepared to continue acts of warefare so long as our demands remain unacknowledged."
"Of course, but…if I may ask, what do you mean by no casualties?" Hinata asked, looking confused.
"Sai was not, as initially thought, killed in the Hyuuga raid against us. However, both he and Neji are badly injured and Naruto will have recompense for them. My alpha is not prepared to compromise much, but neither he nor I have any intention of harming you or your sister unless you give us no other options." Sasuke whispered, his cold demeanor cracking for a moment.
"As always, the generosity of your family is appreciated." Hinata said, her voice raw for just a moment.
"As promised, I have relayed the statement of your ongoing friendship and loyalty to Naruto. He has no designs on your life so long as you are willing to accept our terms." Sasuke said, voice firm, but as kind as Kiba had ever heard it.
"I am grateful and ready to hear your terms." Hinata said, smiling just a little. Sasuke's eyes crinkled in the corners, a hidden smile, just a bit in reply.
"Firstly, Naruto requires that the use of the Hyuuga Curse mark be strictly forbidden and that the technique no longer be taught or employed in the Hyuuga clan. Those already burdened with the Mark should be equipped with a Locking Jutsu that allows them to kill anyone who activates the technique so that the Mark can be stopped. My alpha was very firm on this point. He wants the technique to die out." Sasuke said firmly.
"Done." Hinata replied, and Kiba heaved a sigh of relief.
He and Hinata had already talked at length about doing just as Sasuke suggested, finding a way to make the Curse Mark not only taboo, but also ineffective. A locking jutsu was not something Kiba had considered as a possibility to protect those still carrying the Mark, but it might actually work just as Sasuke said. A Lock was a kind of trap spell that almost 'stored' a pre-designed response to a particular action so that if one jutsu was activated, the object carrying the lock would always react the same way. In this case, the minute the Mark was activated, the victim would reflexively kill their wielder and the two energies would, hopefully, be neutralized. Of course, the Mark was designed to burn through nerve tissue until a command was issued to stop it, so even with the perpetrator dead the Mark may still kill, but the strategy was a good one. The whole idea was, actually, completely genius. Sasuke nodded to Hinata and continued.
"Secondly, Naruto requires that the first heir born of the Hyuuga household will be offered to our heiress as either a mate or subordinate through formal marriage ties. Given the patterns of your offspring, they will be subordinates." Sasuke said, glancing at Hinata's belly.
"Hey! Quit it!" Kiba snapped. Hinata held up a hand to silence him.
"I hesitate to decide the fate of my children before they are born…" Hinata whispered, biting her lip.
"As do we, matriarch, but Naruto agrees with my assessment that our two families must be joined to ensure peace. I suppose it will be up to Mikoto to accept the proposal when the time comes." Sasuke shrugged, sighing.
"Mikoto? Naruto already intends to pass Kyuubi to this child? I don't understand. Is he gravely injured?" Hinata asked almost too abruptly to be polite, her voice worried.
"No," Sasuke said, smiling openly for once, "My Alpha is whole, but our child was born a Jinchuuriki in her own right, with her own demon in accordance. It is a nine-tailed kitsune of lightning, the Inari."
"Oh." Hinata said, eyes wide.
"That's…exceedingly unusual." Granny said, raising a dubious eyebrow.
Sasuke grinned, looking proud, if exhausted. Kiba shivered. If the man were a dog, the look would be almost the same self-satisfied grin one would expect after taking down particularly large prey or eviscerating an enemy. He thought the expression a strange way to convey paternal affection, but Sasuke was a very strange person.
"How…How can such a thing occur?" Hinata asked, brows knit together.
"Those secrets will remain in my clan, but I assure you that I speak truthfully. Are you willing to meet this requirement?" Sasuke asked, no longer smiling, which was a little better actually.
"It is more than reasonable, daughter." Granny whispered. Hinata pressed her lips together unhappily.
"Sasuke, is this really necessary? Naruto of all people should realize that arranged marriages are a pain in the ass…" Kiba grumbled.
"Naruto may have been willing to concede the point, but I am not and in this he yields to my judgment. This is how these things are done." Sasuke hissed, crossing his arms.
"Very well, Sasuke. I will have the marriage contracts drawn up and signed. My children will be bound to your daughter upon their birth." She whispered, defeated. Sasuke nodded.
"Thirdly, House Hyuuga will now owe a blood debt to Uzumaki and will make themselves ready to answer our call to battle any time it is required in this and the next generation. If you will continue to exist, you will do so as our allies. This point is absolutely non-negotiable as it was suggested by Neji Hyuuga Uzumaki, third subordinate to Naruto and your own blood." Sasuke said.
"Of course, that is agreeable to us as well." Hinata said, bowing.
Sasuke hesitated with that last point, sipping his tea and glancing uncomfortably at Granny who remained as still and composed as a statue. Hanabi shuffled on her knees, looking worried and it was only through an effort of will Kiba managed to avoid doing the same. Sasuke was obviously uncomfortable with the next term in a way he hadn't been with the others and that was seriously not a good sign.
"The last of our terms," Sasuke breathed at last, "Was heavily debated in our household as well, but we see no other way to ensure the safety of our family. I hope, that this will not be viewed as an attack on the integrity of Lady Hinata. However, I have no choice, but to deliver the message as it was conveyed."
"Go ahead, pup." Granny said, her voice filled with sympathy. Sasuke nodded and steeled his posture.
"Neither Hinata Hyuuga nor Hanabi Hyuuga shall be permitted contact with Neji Uzumaki ever again in order to insure that his Curse Mark cannot be activated. The Mark is passed to all of us through the thrall and we cannot risk being incapacitated through it once again. The Main House members of Hyuuga must, then, never be within range of him." Sasuke whispered sadly.
"But, that means we'll never see him again!" Hanabi cried.
"Yes," Sasuke sighed, "It does."
"Sasuke, are you, yourself in agreement with this measure?" Hinata asked, a bit cruelly.
"I am." Sasuke said, closing his eyes.
"No! I…I can't! Don't accept that, Sissy! It'll be just the same as if Cousin died!" Hanabi snarled.
"These are our terms and further, Sai has been enthralled to kill any Hyuuga Main House member who moves into Neji's eyesight." Sasuke said, licking his lips, "An added assurance for your cooperation that I truly hope will never be used."
"That's unreasonable. You've as much as made the decision for us." Hinata said, eyes narrow.
"It is also necessary and if you want to be angry at someone, blame Hiashi. The Mark hurts all of us and we cannot allow that to happen again, especially considering Neji's current injuries! Why should we allow you to hurt him again?" Sasuke snapped, crossing his arms.
"Easy enough to blame Father now that he's dead! You're just scared!" Hanabi railed.
"We would never do that, Sasuke!" Hinata cried, shaking her head.
"I know, we all do, but this is not a matter of what you will and will not do, Hinata. This is about what you can do and you of all people should understand that distinction." Sasuke snarled, bunching his fists.
"Enough. Neji has made the choices he thinks most appropriate and he must live with them now, this isn't anything more than what he's already done to himself." Granny said, her voice cutting through the argument like a knife.
For a long moment, Kiba watched Sasuke and his wife stare at eachother, each of them weighing the possibility for peace against the indignity of trying to come to an agreement about something as emotionally charged as Neji's future. Even though he could never be accused of knowing Sasuke Uchiha well, Kiba got the distinct impression that this last measure had not been his idea, but one probably proposed by Naruto and that meant he had no room to maneuver. Honestly, if someone had fried the brain of someone he loved, Kiba might be disinclined to ever risk the same thing happening again too and of all the Uzumaki clan's demands, this one actually seemed the most reasonable to him.
"Hina, your personal feelings are secondary to the safety of our people." KIba whispered softly. Hinata turned her eyes to him, glaring for a moment before visibly deflating. Kiba nodded.
"Very well, I will agree on one condition. Uzumaki must at least allow us the option to see Neji again if a way can be found to reverse the Mark." Hinata said, her voice low, soft and very dangerous.
"Agreed. We are, then, willing to call an immediate end to combat." Sasuke said, slumping just a little in obvious relief.
"Yes, though the Hyuuga has a few demands of their own." Hinata said, sitting stiffly.
"I'm amused that you believe yourselves to be in a position to negotiate with us." Sasuke said, leaning back, one haughty eyebrow raised.
He was clearly irked that the negotiations weren't just over and done with yet, and Kiba had to try very hard not to roll his eyes. Peace talks rarely went as smoothly as this conversation had been and only Sasuke Uchiha would be prissy enough to expect satisfactory diplomacy in a matter of minutes, but his impatience was probably an advantage. Hinata would certainly be shrewd enough to recognize it as such, but balancing Sasuke's disinterest with Naruto's stubbornness would be hard.
"I seek not just for peace in this instant, Sasuke, but a lasting truce. In order to achieve a true alliance, I believe it is in both our best interests to prevent resentment from festering among those bereaved." Hinata said, matching his tone for force. Sasuke scowled.
"What is it then?" He grumbled.
"We would like to rebuild the Hyuuga compound in the same area of its original location and maintain a presence on the Konoha council of equal standing." Hinata said, sipping her tea as if the demands were common-place. Sasuke folded his hands into his sleeves and glared.
"Very well. Naruto has no interest in burnt-out wreckage or political maneuvering, though if you are found to be at the heart of intrigue against us again, we will not hesitate to annihilate the Hyuuga clan completely. I wish you luck maintaining your council presence, however, without any kind of military force." Sasuke said pithily.
"Allow that to be my concern and, as you know, I have no intention to move against Uzumaki in any field." Hinata replied.
"Anything else?" Sasuke asked, sounding fatigued.
"Yes, we would like permission to recover the bodies of our fallen loved ones from your Western woods. We have heard that Naruto has not allowed burial and, if you do not allow us access to your lands, at least ensure proper funeral rights. Many of those soldiers had no choice, but to be there." Hinata asked softly.
Kiba knew immediately that this was a point Sasuke had fervently hoped not to discuss. All vestiges of his previous regal impatience evaporated and the raven seemed to sink into himself, the weight of many hours and many lives written both in his posture and the long sigh he released into the air between them. The Uzumaki representation rubbed a hand over his eyes. Many minutes passed before Sasuke answered and when he did the words seemed to come with difficulty and his face colored in shame.
"I am so sorry, Hinata-sama, but this is one request my alpha will not be willing to grant." Sasuke whispered.
"But why? What gain is there in bones?" Hinata asked sadly, her composure finally cracking.
"Truthfully, I don't know. I'd hoped, with perhaps a bit more time, Naruto might be made to see reason on this issue. However, I was instructed that, if you should ask, our answer will unequivocally be no. The bodies will remain and they will remain openly, without burial or ritual. Naruto wants their bones to stand as a reminder to future invaders and he will not compromise." Sasuke said, bowing his head in apology.
"That," Granny muttered into her tea, "Sounds like the words of a man who is frightened and angry and not thinking clearly."
"It's deplorable." Kiba growled.
"Nevertheless, this is the cost of peace. I can only add that I will do what I can to change his mind, but Naruto does not reconsider his decisions lightly or often and I doubt he will be swayed." Sasuke said.
"Your efforts would be appreciated. It wounds me that our kinsmen will be treated so callously, but the rest of your terms are generous and I suppose even Naruto is entitled to some pettiness." Hinata whispered, her voice frigid.
"Please understand, Lady. For him it is not a matter to be approached logically or with rational arguments. Naruto believes that the only reason the Hyuuga incursion succeeded at all was his own inability to deliver compelling threats to the other Clans and he is unwilling to appear weak again. In order to compromise on matters of the living, he felt the need to withhold mercy from the dead." Sasuke explained voice chilly and filled with authority. Hinata looked mildly chastised.
"When you put the issue in that light, perhaps I am the one being petty." She sighed.
"Perhaps we all are." Hanabi said, bowing to Sasuke.
"Peace then?" The black-haired subordinate asked, offering his hand.
"Peace." Hinata agreed, squeezing his palm.
OoOoOoO
Tsunade relaxed into her chair, groaning as her tired muscles and sore joints complained. Days of tense vigil, one clan-war and the birth of a jinchuuriki fully-made, out of thin air apparently, was enough to tax anybody. Tsunade reluctantly had to admit that she wasn't as young as she used to be. Wearily, she pulled a bottle of her nicer sake from a nearby drawer and glanced up at the portrait of herself, Jiraiya and Orochimaru hanging from the wall. The picture had been taken in their youth before…well, before many things, and even though the Hokage knew the silly thing was a foolish indulgence and a piece of ridiculous nostalgia besides, she kept it anyway. She liked the way they all looked so happy in it, so comfortable with one another.
"Ah boys, you always did manage to get around the real work didn't you?" Tsunade sighed, gazing up at them as she poured herself a drink.
The Hokage swallowed the liquor in a single gulp and poured herself another, offering this one to the smiling faces above her before downing the second glass of silky poison as well. Kami, Grass Country really did know how to make good booze, she thought and poured a third. She was self-aware enough to recognize that she probably drank too much and even TonTon had taken to rooting up and smashing her sake bottles and glasses when the little rascal got the chance, but Tsunade was old and her self-harm was her own fucking prerogative. She drank the third glass, feeling a bit warmer and less sore already, not quite drunk enough even to be tipsy yet. Having a high alcohol tolerance was a pain in the ass. Hardly anyone knew, but Orochimaru had had the constitution of a pixie, drunk in an instant before Jiraiya got loud or Tsunade even started feeling it.
Ah, she missed them tonight. Seeing Naruto and his little band of bandaged misfits brought back feelings better left buried and yet too sweet to completely ignore. They represented something, the Jinchuuriki and his pack of darksome killers, something Tsunade had always privately known might be possible and yet never allowed herself to hope for. Dealing with Orochimaru and then Jiraiya's death was easier that way, easier when she could tell herself that there was nothing to be done, that they had been set upon a course with the destination already decided. She sighed. No one blamed Tsunade for the way things fell apart, no one expected her to find peace or balance between two men of such diametrically opposed personalities, and yet she still thought about it. Watching Naruto made her wonder if things could have been different, if she might have been able to rescue Orochimaru the way they'd rescued Sasuke, if they might have been able to find a measure of contentment. No one else would have believed that the other Sannin might be capable of the domestic harmony in Naruto's household, but no one knew them like she did, like she had.
Niggling doubts about dead lovers were uncomfortable, and the Hokage was more than willing to retreat back to her den of political intrigue and expensive alcohol as soon as Konoha's best trauma surgeon and her harem were stable and reasonably certain to survive the night. With the Hyuuga clan bound in a truce and under the leadership of Hinata, Tsunade was fairly certain most of the external threats had passed. The children were safe and now what they needed most was some time and space to rest, recuperate and try to heal. She smiled. Lots of new parents struggled, but a baby coming at the close of a grueling battle and in the middle of sticky diplomatic negotiations had to be doubly difficult.
Sasuke had come home just before dark, looking both dignified and fearsome in a way she was certain helped in the peace negotiations, but the façade didn't last. He was tired, more than she'd ever seen him, and running on caffeine and willpower only worked for so long. At the time, she'd been holding Mikoto, giving Sakura and the others a few hours of much needed rest and making sure the baby didn't fuss. Sakura was more than exhausted, Neji injured and Naruto was suffering with the worst case of chakra depletion Tsunade had seen since Madara's attack, puking up everything except soldier pills in between bouts of complete unconsciousness. Sai, of course, was too hysterical to speak in entire sentences even though he really did try, so she was the only one left with any reserve to care for the child while Sasuke tried to end their war. Sasuke was exhausted too; physically, mentally and spiritually taxed from both the battle and from whatever happened to enthralled subordinates during a birth, but he was whole and even mostly sane for once. Tsunade laughed. Sasuke was sane enough at any rate, and the obvious choice to go tie up loose ends.
So Naruto's raven haired menace hauled himself out of bed after a meager ten hours of sleep, dressed and went to the Inuzuka compound as soon as the family had managed to discuss what demands they would make for peace. Clan Uzumaki was on its last ounce of muscle and stamina, but the Hyuugas didn't know that, and Naruto even managed to hold his guts down long enough to make perfectly clear that he did not intend to waste any opportunity for leverage they might have. Truce needed to happen now, before the Hyuuga clan remnants started coming to too many conclusions on their own, a decision Tsunade thought rather shockingly well-reasoned for Naruto. The family argued about the terms, even mustering enough energy to shout about certain points. Tsunade wasn't sure what the results would be, given that some of the demands were very generous and others purely ridiculous, but she had enough temperance to know that her input into the discussion was not warranted. All this mess, the details of who could do what and when, was clan business and even if she was their friend and mentor, the Sannin was also Hokage.
She abdicated the role of political advisor for that of a doting grandparent, holding, cuddling and rocking the baby while Naruto snarled about making examples of corpses and Sasuke stubbornly argued with Sakura about the merits of arranged marriage. Neji wanted abolishment of the Curse Mark, which normally wouldn't have been anything they had the right to ask for, but Naruto agreed instantaneously. The only thing Sai wanted, of course, was permission to kill anyone and anything that so much as thought of threatening the others again. She couldn't help, but shake her head. Tsunade wasn't used to simply hanging back, watching decisions be made without her input, listening to pipsqueak clanheads create contracts that would affect her kingdom for generations without uttering a word. Mikoto was an easy baby though, happy and cooing with delight or asleep, crying only when she was hungry or a bit too tired. She was the kind of baby that made the old ninja queen a little bit sorry she'd never managed to have children of her own. Once the clan managed to distill their various concerns and opinions down into mostly reasonable terms, the lot of them fell asleep on top eachother.
The others were still asleep by the time Sasuke returned home. She could hear the fatigue in the subordinate's tread, but it wasn't until he stood before her that the Hokage truly realized how completely overburdened the little pack was. Sasuke had stared at her for a moment, looking dazed, and just as Tsunade was about to make a snide comment about finding the floor before it found him, the young man had laid down, pillowed his head against his arm and fell asleep without a word. She blinked. Sasuke was completely asleep, still dressed in his clan finery and without even the comfort of a mattress against the chilly tatami. In sleep, sleeping Sasuke was much less aggravating than when he was awake and she'd been moved, rising to fetch him a blanket before quietly moving into another room.
Holding a gently snoozing baby in a house full of people who were either incapacitated or unconscious gave her a lot of time to think, too much really, and she was never a person who did well with her own thoughts. Naruto woke once or twice to vomit, choke down a soldier pill and fall asleep again, but otherwise the household seemed caught in time like a drop of frozen dew. The quiet was peaceful, comfortable and so warm that Tsunade might have even dosed a bit herself, if not for the memories stirred by watching Sakura fast asleep in a pile of cozy, exhausted, snoring teammates. True, Neji had never really been part of team 7, but he still seemed to match somehow. She smiled at the memory. Despite the rather exotic contentment of the Uchiha mansion, Tsunade was more than happy to pass Mikoto to Kakashi when the teacher finally arrived after teaching his class to relieve her.
"Pretty baby, glad my goddaughter didn't inherit anything too unsightly." The copy-cat nin whispered, eyes crinkled in private mirth as Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"The fact that she comes with a new demon is novel enough." The Hokage had huffed, crossing her arms.
"Oh, well, it isn't an unsightly demon…hmmm, yes, cute…" Kakashi chuckled, pulling the wrap down from his Sharingan eye for a look.
"Your priorities are really interesting." Tsunade grumbled.
"Not particularly." He replied, sitting on the floor where he was with the child after shooting another amused glance at Sasuke.
Mikoto roused and chortled a little, more than happy to drink a bit of breast-milk from one of the bottle Sakura had prepared, before falling back asleep. Tsunade stayed close just long enough to make sure that Kakashi, a lifelong bachelor, would be able to figure out little things like how to feed a baby without having her choke to death and change a diaper. Mikoto ate more and more frequently than a newborn her age really ought to, probably because of the extra chakra demands of Inari, and she worried a little. Shockingly, the copy-cat nin was more adept at feeding, cleaning and settling an infant than she was and that rankled just a little. After a rather pointed sigh and a look that would have probably been a glare on anyone else other than Kakashi, the Hokage took the hint.
"Alright, alright I'm leaving!" She grumbled.
"Ne, Tsunade? Do you ever wonder?" Kakashi asked lazily, stretching out on the tatami like the cat of his namesake, baby cradled easily in his right arm.
"Hmmm? Wonder what, you old cryptic?" She asked testily.
"Do you ever wonder what might have happened if things had been different? After all, you're like me…the one left behind." He whispered, dabbing covertly at a spot of moisture dripping from his replaced Sharingan eye.
"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Tsunade huffed.
"Sure you do," He smirked, "Yours just got lost later. For me, I lost my team when I was still a child. I lost my woman and my man before I was even old enough to know what that meant, what I would never have without them…"
"It's unlike you to be maudlin and, if you recall, my teammates lived longer than most of our kind…Long enough to wish they hadn't, certainly." Tsunade argued, looking away.
"Hmm, true." Kakashi acceded with a nod, "But I never really believed anything else would happen. Naruto, of course, always achieves the impossible…"
The Hokage sighed, sinking more deeply into her chair. How very like Kakashi, she thought, to put her own dismal, amorphous thoughts into words. Regardless of the regrets, she was happy too; happy that something silly like love really was strong enough to save a team, to save five people with such different problems from the darkness that had swallowed up everything else in her life. Just knowing that the world could be that way was enough, enough to give her sufficient hope to keep going for a few more tired years. Glancing up at the old photograph, she smiled, thinking about her own teammates as she hadn't in years and imagining what it would have felt like to sit with the on a night like this, one man on each side. They would have laughed, touched, and chased the chill away with body heat instead of booze, maybe talking, maybe not. She'd never found holding off on the liquor to be difficult in their company, a bottle stretched thinner among three and better for being shared. Ah well, she drank enough for all of them by herself now. Tsunade poured herself a fourth glass of sake, the burn of the alcohol just dimming her control enough so that the Hokage could allow her mind to drift, to dream about love and about peace.
…..Fin