Ayumi drifted awake to a haze of golden sunlight streaming in through the window. Without thinking about it, she reached around to the other side of the bed for a cuddle, found it empty, and went "hmph". She reluctantly opened her eyes.
As it happened, Satoshi was still there, getting dressed in front of the mirror. She took a second to admire his broad back, with all those scars that, from this angle, almost added up to the image of a dragon. Yes, she liked that. Her dragon. Strong, and wise, and fierce, and gentle with the pure of heart but jealous of his treasure. Not that she would ever tell him – that would be years of teasing ammunition. Ayumi was head-over-heels in love, not stupid.
"Do you really have to go?" she asked as she reluctantly slipped out of bed and began to scavenge for clothes.
Satoshi turned around. "Good morning to you too, Ayumi."
He dragged the brush through his hair one more time – a doomed effort if she ever saw one – and smiled at her.
"You've been asking me that every hour for the past week. You know I do. If I leave it any longer, they're going to decide that something's happened to me and send clansmen to investigate. Think about how long it's been since the end of my mission."
He looked at her fondly. "I don't want to leave, but I also don't want to put you in danger."
His gaze slipped down to her stomach. "Either of you."
Then it travelled back up, tracing the outline of her body. He was doing it deliberately, Ayumi decided as she found herself caught between wanting to squirm and hide, and wanting to throw off the clothes she'd only just put on and drag him back into bed.
He pretended not to notice, of course. "It'll be all right. This can't be the first time something like this has happened. I'll petition to leave the clan, be made to swear some kind of horrible oath of secrecy, and come right back to you. The clan chief is my second cousin; I know he'll stick up for me."
This was it, then. It was really happening. Today.
"Promise me you'll be back in time for her birth," Ayumi said firmly, keeping the note of desperation out of her voice.
"It's a boy," he told her with absolute confidence. "The Sharingan knows all and sees all.
"But I promise."
-o-
Satoko bounced as she walked down the street with Mummy (who wasn't bouncing, even though she was happy and excited too, but grown-ups were usually like that). She'd told Mummy about the strange feelings earlier, and Mummy had grinned and told her that meant she could sense chakra without being trained, and chakra was what meant you could be a ninja, and she was going to become the best ninja ever and when Daddy finally came home he'd be so proud of her. Mummy hadn't actually said this last part, but it was obvious when you thought about it.
Satoko's bounce lessened a little when she thought about how long it had been since they'd last talked about Daddy. She used to ask Mummy about him
all the time, about where he was from and what he was like and when he would be back. But then eventually Satoko had grown up and noticed the way that, every time, Mummy would look sad, and then quickly make that expression disappear as if she was taking it off and putting it in a box out of sight. She'd been horrified at the thought that she had been making Mummy sad all along without realising.
She wasn't making her sad today, though. No, Mummy was
glowing. Apparently it was very rare to feel chakra at Satoko's age, and it made her really special. Well, more special than she'd been before – it's not like Satoko had ever been not amazing. And they were going to go talk to Old Man Minamimoto, who was ancient and smelled of cabbage, but whom Satoko had also once seen put his fist through a whole tree without getting hurt, and then he would give her permission to start
ninja training.
Satoko felt her hand get yanked sharply back as Mummy stopped abruptly in the middle of the street.
"What is it, Mummy?"
Mummy was staring through the open door to Hōmura's Inn, where Satoko was not allowed to go because they did drinking and gambling in there (naturally, Satoko had snuck in a few times, but the drinking smelled funny and the gambling was boring apart from the many new words she'd learned).
"Thank you very much for your patronage, Master Uchiha," Uncle Hōmura said from within in the voice of a living doormat. "Please feel free to stay here again any time."
Mummy walked into the inn, pulling Satoko behind her almost as if she'd forgotten Satoko was there. Satoko couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her so tense.
"Excuse me," Mummy said. "You wouldn't happen to know an Uchiha Satoshi?"
The man in the inn was tall, with long arms and a big scar down one cheek. Before he turned around Satoko saw that he had a funny drawing on the back of his clothes, which probably meant he was from a ninja clan. Every clan, even hers, had to have funny drawings so they wouldn't be confused for commoners.
The man stared at Mummy. "How do you know that… oh. Oh."
He frowned, and suddenly looked an awful lot more intimidating.
"You're the whore who made Satoshi try to betray the clan. He could have had his pick of any girl in the Fire Country, but no, you had to come along and ruin everything for him."
Mummy turned pale.
"What did you think would happen?" the man demanded. "Did you think we'd just let you steal the Sharingan, here across the sea where we had no control over what you did with it? Were you that stupid? Well, a lot of shit went down, and all of it was your fault, and now Satoshi is dead. And if I didn't care about starting a blood feud with the Kurosawa, I'd send you right there to join him."
Satoko closed her eyes as they began to burn. Uchiha Satoshi was Daddy. He was a dragon, mighty and unstoppable. He couldn't be dead. It wasn't possible. It was a lie.
"He's not dead!" she screamed. Her eyes snapped open.
For some reason, everything looked different. It was as if she'd needed glasses before and now she didn't. Everything was sharp and clear, just like the pain. And… there were fires inside people's bodies, shaped like skeletons only not, and Mummy's and the man's were different colours. And none of it mattered because the man had said Daddy was dead.
The man looked down at her in shock. "That can't be… Look up, child. Let me see your eyes."
He leaned over towards her… and then suddenly the fire in his body flickered and disappeared like a candle flame in the wind. She jumped back as he nearly collapsed on top of her.
Mummy pulled her kunai out of his back.
Satoko blinked, stunned and confused and hurting, and then her eyes stopped burning and everything looked normal again.
"Satoko," Mummy said in a shaky voice, "run to Minamimoto-sensei. Tell him there's an emergency at Hōmura's and he needs to come as fast as he can. Don't say anything to anyone else."
Satoko nodded, still confused, but aware that she'd been given a mission.
"Go!"
-o-
It was midday, which meant that Nozomu and Tsutomu were behind schedule for their daily fight. Satoko sat on the edge of the walkway and watched them.
"Muuuum, he stole my Titanic Thunderbolt of Electrocuting Death Combo!"
"No, he stole my Black Dragon Breath of Fiery Doom Combo!"
"Just look, it's obviously mine!"
"No, it's mine!"
The two boys performed the exact same series of punches and kicks, because of course they did. Sometimes Satoko had to double-check her memory to make sure they weren't twins, but she only had two kids (for now) and she distinctly remembered the horrors of being pregnant two years in a row.
But Satoko wasn't Kurosawa Clan's Mother of the Year (self-awarded) for nothing. There was an obvious way to resolve this conflict, get some useful training in for all involved, and hopefully tire the boys out enough to prevent any more mischief until after lunch.
"Boys, how about a competition?"
Instantly, they were all ears.
"I'm going to do a really advanced kata, and whichever one of you can remember it best is going to get a slice of Mummy's patented one-hit-kill carrot cake."
"Hang on," Nozomu looked at her suspiciously, "if you're going to have to bake a whole cake anyway, there'll be enough slices for all of us."
She didn't know whether to be proud or annoyed.
"Fine," she said. "The winner can have the
biggest slice. Happy now?"
Both boys nodded.
Satoko stepped out into the yard, made sure there was enough space around her, took a minute to stretch, and then flowed into the first of the hundred-and-eight movements of the Bell that Banishes Sin, the longest and most complex kata she knew that didn't require advanced chakra control.
-o-
Reach back… twist… and palms come together in a consciousness-disrupting thunderclap. Satoko stepped back, breathing heavily. If the boys really had such a talent for imitation, it was time to see how far it went.
"Well, boys? Show me how many movements you can remember." She was guessing around twenty. Her kids had great memories for this sort of thing. Of course, the actual motions would probably be cringeworthy, but that wasn't the point of the exercise.
Tsutomu and Nozomu gave each other a "bring it on" scowl, and then walked away to make room.
One movement. Two. Three. Their postures were suspiciously good. Had they been training in secret? She wouldn't put it past either of them if it meant getting an advantage against the other.
Nine. Ten. Satoko was probably just imagining it.
Forty-nine. Fifty. Were her boys secret geniuses of taijutsu?
Hundred-and-six, hundred and seven… two simultaneous claps. Then both boys collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
"Oww, my everything!"
"How… on earth... do you do… this stuff… Mum? I can… barely… breathe."
Satoko suddenly felt guilty. She'd assumed they'd give up or forget the rest of the kata before the going got too hard. Doing the entire Bell that Banishes Sin without the necessary conditioning? They'd be bedridden for days.
More to the point, both of them had just performed the whole kata after a single showing. And they'd performed it in
her movements. She needed to talk to Minamimoto-sensei
now.
-o-
"You summoned me, Grandfather?" Hana gave Bow Twenty-Three, Uncertain But Very Respectful, mindful of the cup of tea on the tray in her hands. Whenever she anticipated a serious conversation with her grandfather, she made sure to bring him his favourite tea, and he made sure to pretend he didn't know why she was doing it.
He gave her Nod Thirteen, Faintly Disapproving But Benevolent Acknowledgement.
"Hana, I have been hearing rumours that you've become involved with a certain Izuki Shinji. Is this true?"
Where would he have heard that? Oh, Yuriko, that
shrew. Was she
ever going to get over the Chili Pepper Incident?
"It's a misunderstanding, Grandfather. Izuki's just a friend and nothing else."
Her grandfather gave a nod. "Good, good. I knew you wouldn't let yourself be
tainted by the likes of that boy. Remember, you must always be mindful of how your actions as the clan heir impact on the clan's reputation."
"Of course, Grandfather. I –"
The tray fell out of Hana's hands.
"
Clan heir?!"
"Yumi!" Grandfather barked.
"Yes, Lord Ginrei," the maid instantly appeared next to Hana.
Yumi glanced down at the spilt tea, then back at Grandfather. He gave an infinitesimal nod. Within perhaps five seconds, the tea, the tray, and the maid were all gone.
"
Clan heir?!" Hana reminded him.
"Yes, Hana, that
is what I said."
"Butbutbut what about Ren? She's older
and a more experienced diplomat
and everyone likes her
and she's been expecting to succeed you her whole life!"
"I have spoken to Ren," Grandfather told her. "She understands the need for her to step aside. It is true that Ren is more accomplished, but she is weak. You have already shown the talent and diligence needed to become a jōnin, the pride and joy of the clan, while she never made it beyond chūnin. And all that without any loss to your clan duties. You have loyalty in your blood and steel in your spine.
"Dark times are coming to Mist, Hana. The Kurosawa Clan will need a strong leader, an unshakeable leader, to guide it safely through the storms, and you're the only candidate. Ren has made great contributions to the clan's successful present, but you, Hana –
you are its future."
What was she supposed to say to something like that?
Finally, Hana delivered Bow Twelve, Humble Grateful Acceptance.
"I… I won't let you down, Grandfather."
"I know."
-o-
"Hana, I think we should break up."
Hana goggled. "What? Why? Where did that come from?"
Shinji looked uneasy (and well he should, Hana thought). "Um, you're a really nice person, and I really like you as a friend, but I… uh… I don't think we're really compatible in terms of… of…"
Oh.
"Shinji, are you trying to break up with me so our relationship stops causing a conflict between me and the rest of my clan?"
Shinji looked like he was trying to make himself as small as possible, which was going nowhere given how tall he was.
"…yes?"
Hana grabbed him and kissed him fully on the lips.
"That was for loving me so much you'd pull crap like this to protect my happiness."
Then she pulled back and slapped him, hard.
"
That was for pulling crap like this."
She stood up from the couch they'd been sitting on, since that was the only way she'd ever get to tower over him.
"Did you miss the memo where we're partners who make important decisions together? Do you really still not trust me enough to talk these things through?"
Shinji took a second to compose himself, then looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry. Of course I trust you, Hana. Just… I had another visit from you-know-who, and I thought if they're putting this much pressure on
me, then what must it be like for
you as the clan heir? I don't want to keep putting you through that. I overreacted. I'm sorry."
Hana rolled her eyes. "The elders want an heir who will defend her own and won't be bullied into making poor choices? Well, they're getting one. I'm prepared to dedicate my life to governing the clan and protecting its interests. I am
not prepared to let anyone dictate whom I get to love.
"And
you. Don't think you're off the hook. When you finally get round to asking me to marry you, I will be expecting the finest diamond ring in the whole of the Water Country."
Shinji groaned. "But Hana, my salary…"
"And if you think that's bad, just think what's going to happen
next time you don't trust me enough to talk to me properly."
-o-
Their wedding day was marked by torrential rain. This was probably symbolic of something, but Hana didn't care. Over the last two years, she'd learned exactly how much she could endure, and having her wedding dress turn into a heavy, sodden, see-through mess on the most important day of her life barely even registered. Instead, she was here with Shinji, wife and husband, and that was something that nothing and nobody could change. She could have danced in the rain if her shoes had been remotely practical and her dress did not currently weigh more than an adult great white shark.
It had been a very private wedding – Shinji had no family, and Hana had known better than to invite her own. Various friends had begged off due to the rain, promising a more auspicious celebration sometime in the near future. But this way worked too – a soaked-through and very grumpy priest aside, Hana and Shinji had had the whole shrine to themselves, and that had a certain special intimacy about it.
But that lasted only until they left, and saw her waiting outside.
"Ren?"
Her sister did not bother with any greetings.
"How could you, Hana? After all the clan gave you, you've turned your back on everything – everyone – for this?!" She pointed dismissively at Shinji.
"I didn't turn my back on anyone," Hana said. "The elders are the ones trying to make this a choice between my relationship and the clan. It's not a choice at all."
Ren gave her a bitter look. "No, it isn't, is it? I bet you didn't even hesitate before deciding he was more important than your future. Your responsibilities. Your family."
Hana gave a heavy sigh. "Why are you here, Ren? I'm going to head back to the compound tomorrow morning and face whatever music the clan is getting ready for me. Until then, can't you just let me have my wedding day in peace?"
Ren shook her head. "No, you're not. As of this afternoon, I'm heir again. And you? You're nothing. You've been formally expelled from the clan. I thought you'd rather hear it from me than from getting turned away at the gate."
Hana stared, shellshocked. She might have fallen if Shinji's arms hadn't closed protectively around her from behind.
"I hope you're happy with him," Ren said. "He's all you have left."
The nod she gave Hana as she left would have looked curt, maybe even slightly contemptuous, to anyone else. But to Hana, it would always be Nod Ninety-Two: I Beg Your Forgiveness as One Kurosawa to Another.
