"Lord Hokage." Escorted by the ANBU operative, Tatsuya entered the Hokage's office and bowed respectfully to the Third.
"Tatsuya, welcome back!" Seeing him, Hiruzen's aged face crinkled into a warm, beaming smile. He gestured for Tatsuya to take a seat.
Tatsuya nodded obediently and sat down.
"Tatsuya," Hiruzen began, "your injuries... they're fully healed now, I trust?"
"Yes, thank you for your concern, Lord Hokage. I'm fine now," Tatsuya replied.
"Good, good to hear!" Hiruzen nodded, then picked up a document from his desk. "This is a diplomatic letter sent over from Sunagakure. How do you think I should respond to them?" He handed the letter to Tatsuya.
Tatsuya rose, accepted the letter, and read it carefully. A wry smile played on his lips as he finished. The tone of the letter from Suna was surprisingly mild, merely inquiring – seeking confirmation – whether Tatsuya's actions in acquiring the Dragon Vein at the Roran ruins were carried out under official orders from Konoha Village. While the wording was calm, the underlying pressure demanding an explanation from Konoha was unmistakable.
Tatsuya didn't dwell on it. He gently handed the letter back to the Third Hokage. "Regardless of how the village decides to handle this, I will accept the outcome."
Hearing this, Hiruzen's brow furrowed slightly. After a moment's thought, he elaborated, "Nominally, the Dragon Vein belonged to the ancient kingdom of Roran. However, Roran fell over a decade ago, and that territory has belonged to the Land of Wind ever since. Sunagakure has been the one monitoring the Dragon Vein all these years. Therefore, the village does need to offer Sunagakure a certain degree of compensation."
Tatsuya nodded in understanding. "That's acceptable. I can cover the compensation costs."
Hiruzen chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "This is a matter between villages. You needn't concern yourself with it." He then changed the subject. "Ah yes, there's something else I needed to tell you. Kyoko has taken a position at the Ninja Academy."
Tatsuya's brow furrowed slightly at this news.
Noticing his reaction, Hiruzen quickly added with a smile, "It was her own decision, completely voluntary."
A short while later, Tatsuya left the Hokage's office. Once outside the door, he gave an almost imperceptible purse of his lips. Voluntary! Like hell I believe that!
However, he reflected that working at the Academy wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He didn't have a strong reaction against it. In fact, he much preferred this outcome to her continuing to busy herself solely with the pet shop and the Yakiniku Q. Kyoko had been a ninja, after all, and possessed considerable skill; wasting away in small shops just didn't feel right.
With that thought, Tatsuya set off towards the Ninja Academy. He decided to go see how Kyoko was faring in her new role.
At the Ninja Academy, Kyoko, dressed in standard Konoha ninja attire, emerged from a classroom carrying a stack of textbooks. A lively group of Academy students immediately surrounded her, chattering excitedly. It was break time between classes. Judging by the bright expressions on the students' faces, Kyoko, the new teacher, was clearly very popular with her class.
Among the students, Tatsuya spotted several familiar faces: Naruto, Sakura, Ino... It seemed Kyoko was now teaching the very class containing the future Konoha Rookies.
Watching the scene unfold, Tatsuya leaned against a large tree nearby, a look of surprise crossing his face. It appears my existence really has had an impact on these future protagonists. He noted the absence of Shikamaru and Choji, likely too lazy to bother coming outside during the break.
From across the yard, Kyoko spotted Tatsuya almost instantly. A radiant smile lit up her face, and she immediately started running towards him. Behind her, the students watched with wide-eyed curiosity. In all the time they'd known her, they had never seen their gentle, mild-mannered Teacher Kyoko display such unrestrained joy.
"Hey, it's Uncle Tatsuya!" Naruto muttered under his breath, blinking. Thinking about it, it had been quite a while, and he actually kind of missed the big, chubby uncle who occasionally treated him to ramen. With that thought, Naruto started walking towards Tatsuya as well.
"Naruto, what are you doing? Don't go bother them!" Sakura quickly stepped forward, blocking his path. Teacher Kyoko looked so happy; she wasn't about to let Naruto spoil the moment.
Stopped by Sakura, Naruto looked slightly aggrieved. "Sakura-chan, I know Uncle Tatsuya! I just wanted to go say hi!"
"No way!" Sakura shook her head firmly.
"Yeah, Naruto!" Ino chimed in, also stepping forward to prevent him. "Don't disturb Brother Tatsuya and Teacher Kyoko!"
Sakura looked at Ino curiously. "You know that person too?"
Ino lifted her chin proudly. "Of course!"
Kyoko reached Tatsuya, initially looking like she wanted to throw herself into his arms. But just as they were about to embrace, she stopped abruptly, remembering her current position as a teacher. Such an overt display of affection in front of her students wasn't appropriate.
While Kyoko tried to maintain her teacherly image, Tatsuya paid it no mind. He simply reached out, pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly.
"Eep!" Kyoko let out a soft sound, a fierce blush instantly spreading from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.
Behind them, the group of Academy kids erupted in gasps of surprise and noisy teasing.
Hearing the commotion, Sakura turned back to look. Seeing the sturdy Tatsuya holding the delicate, beautiful Teacher Kyoko in a tight embrace, her face filled with confusion and a touch of disappointment. That chubby uncle isn't bad-looking, really... his roundness is even kind of cute. But standing next to the lovely Teacher Kyoko, he just seems so... ordinary. Still, judging by Ino calling him "Brother Tatsuya," his identity must be somewhat significant.
Mulling this over, Sakura's gaze drifted towards the classroom entrance. Just then, the cool and handsome Sasuke emerged, hands stuffed casually in his pockets, walking slowly.
At the sight of Sasuke, Sakura's brain seemed to short-circuit, and her eyes began to sparkle. "Sasuke-kun!"
Beside her, Ino had already bolted, running towards Sasuke. Sakura immediately dashed after her. Soon, most of the girls in the crowd had swarmed around Sasuke.
Watching this unfold, Naruto scowled, annoyed by the gaggle of girls surrounding his rival.
Sasuke maintained his typically cold expression, completely ignoring the chattering girls around him. Suddenly, his gaze drifted over and landed on Tatsuya still embracing Kyoko.
Sasuke stopped walking. The girls clustered around him paused as well, following his line of sight towards Tatsuya and Kyoko.
Feeling the numerous stares directed at him, Tatsuya looked up. He immediately spotted Sasuke at the front of the small crowd, and not far behind, a pouting, unhappy Naruto. Tatsuya smiled and waved. "Naruto! Sasuke!"
Sasuke hesitated for a few seconds before starting to walk towards them. Naruto, however, grinned and ran over first.
"Uncle Tatsuya!" Naruto arrived, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. "What's the relationship between you and Teacher Kyoko, huh?"
Kyoko blushed deeply and scolded lightly, "Naruto!"
Naruto visibly flinched, daring not say more, but his eyes darted back and forth between Tatsuya and Kyoko with undisguised curiosity.
"Brother Tatsuya." Sasuke reached them, looking somewhat awkward. After struggling internally for several moments, he bowed respectfully.
"Eh?" Naruto stared, astonished. It was the first time he had ever seen the usually cocky Sasuke show such respect to anyone. "Brother... Tatsuya?" he repeated, then shouted the name again, his expression morphing into shock.
A few minutes later, inside the Ninja Academy classroom.
Naruto, Sasuke, and the other students had all returned to their seats. The next class was about to begin.
"Hey!" Naruto marched over to Sasuke's desk, looking thoroughly annoyed. "You're not allowed to call Uncle Tatsuya 'Big Brother' like that anymore!" he said sullenly. I call the chubby uncle 'Uncle', but this annoying jerk gets to call him 'Big Brother'? Doesn't that make me sound like I'm a whole generation younger than him? No way am I letting that stand!
Beside Sasuke, Aburame Shino turned his head slightly to observe. In the back row, both Sakura and Ino glared menacingly at Naruto. Sakura even raised a small fist, shaking it threateningly in his direction. This only served to irritate Naruto further.
"Hey! I said, you're forbidden from calling Uncle Tatsuya 'Big Brother' from now on!" he repeated, his voice louder and more forceful this time.
Sasuke merely spared Naruto a cold glance, said nothing, and turned back around.
Instantly, Naruto felt his anger surge, boiling up uncontrollably. He raised his right fist, ready to start a fight.
"Naruto!"
Just then, a sharp voice cut through the classroom from the teacher's platform at the front.
Hearing the voice, Naruto's face immediately fell. He quickly turned, forcing a sheepish grin. "Iruka-sensei!"
Iruka glared sternly. "Get back to your seat immediately!" he commanded.
Naruto didn't dare talk back and meekly obeyed.
Watching Naruto instantly back down in front of Iruka, Sasuke, with his usual air of aloof pride, gave a dismissive purse of his lips.
Outside the Ninja Academy, Tatsuya and Kyoko walked side-by-side. Kyoko's classes for the day were finished, so she had left work early.
"Kyoko," Tatsuya began, "why did you suddenly decide you wanted to become a teacher at the Academy?"
Kyoko tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Because... I felt it was something very meaningful," she replied simply.
Tatsuya looked at her, saying nothing, but he could sense the genuine happiness radiating from her.
"What's wrong?" Kyoko asked, blushing slightly under his steady gaze.
Tatsuya shook his head. "Nothing. I was just a little surprised, that's all." As long as Kyoko wasn't being forced into this due to other factors, he wouldn't interfere. The Academy... perhaps it really is a good place for her.
Guessing his underlying concern, Kyoko quickly added, "Although Lord Hokage was the one who suggested it, he didn't pressure me at all. It was truly my own choice!" She didn't want Tatsuya to end up in conflict with the village leadership because of her.
Tatsuya smiled reassuringly. "Relax! I'm not that petty."