Ichigo stared hopelessly at the grocery list Yuzu had given him this morning. Money was, fortunately, a non-issue at the moment. Old goat-face had loaded their packs with valuables the instant he had word from Urahara, and the funds their maternal grandfather had left them were substantial once Ichigo finally figured out how to get them out of that scroll. Watching the hokage unseal that book had been helpful in that regard at least. They had also ended up with a lot more artifacts than he had expected from that side of the family. So many, in fact, that he had been forced to stop opening the seals because he couldn't figure out how to put everything back and they were running out of room. He thought maybe he could have Naruto look at some of them after dinner, but that was a problem for later.
He glanced at the bustling market again. Ichigo had passed through here almost every day for the past week completing one errand after another for his sisters as they settled into their new lives. He was fairly certain they didn't have any of the ingredients Yuzu wanted at any of the open market stalls. He wasn't familiar enough with Konoha to guess about the location of specialty spice shops.
On his shoulder, Kon wiggled just enough to get a look at the list. "Maybe you could go back to that main street near the gate," whispered the plushie.
When Ichigo had gone to retrieve their residency papers—finished suspiciously fast in Ichigo's opinion—Kon's had been included with the other four, despite some snickers from the shinobi at the desk. Technically, Kon was now a citizen of Konohagakure along with the other Kurosakis, but given his history with Twelfth Division and Ichigo's ever increasing sense of paranoia, they had all agreed that Kon would act like a regular toy in public, at least for a little while. It meant Ichigo garnered some stares as a grown man carrying a doll on his shoulder, but back home his hair had merited just as many looks, so he was mostly used to it. He wouldn't trade the option of a quick escape from his body for anything. He was comfortable with his bokken, and there was no rule against him carrying it, but Kon was his back-up in case he absolutely had to get out of his body to fight.
"There were a lot of stores, but by the gate they'd be mostly selling souvenirs, right?" replied Ichigo not bothering to whisper. Plenty of people talked to themselves.
"Um, excuse me," said a quiet voice.
Ichigo turned quickly, not too fast, because that got a bad reaction in village where every third person was a ninja, and found himself staring into pure white eyes in a kind face. He wondered for a moment if she was like Tousen and born blind, but he quickly decided that didn't matter. She was a shinobi. He could see her forehead protector tied around her throat like a necklace, but more significantly, to Ichigo at least, he could feel her reiatsu.
Everyone in the Elemental Countries had a notable amount of spiritual power, even the civilians. The shinobi had even more than that, and the higher-ranked shinobi had proportionally larger amounts. The worst part was none of them seemed to notice or to be able to control it. It was maddening. Ichigo and Karin both had horrible headaches the first few days until they learned to adjust. Even Yuzu had been able to distinguish shinobi from normal civilians. It also made the shinobi in disturbingly Hollow-like masks staking out their apartment impossible to ignore. As a civilian, Ichigo was fairly sure he wasn't supposed to know their silent guard was there at all, much less ask the one following him where he could pick up coriander and cinnamon. The woman in front of him was his age, but her reiatsu was well-developed marking her as a strong shinobi.
"You look like you're having trouble," said the kunoichi.
Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck—a nervous habit he'd never managed to break—and ignored the growing blush in his cheeks. "My family just moved to Konoha, and my sister wanted to cook a big meal to greet our new cousin, but I haven't been able to find what she wanted."
"May I see your list?" asked the kunoichi.
Ichigo wordlessly handed it over. He watched her read it carefully and lifted up a small prayer of thanks that the Elemental Countries used a language virtually identical to Japanese. But she was reading the lines which meant…
"So you're not blind."
He didn't mean to say it aloud, but couldn't take it back. The woman looked startled. Kon none-too-subtly kicked him in the shoulder.
"My apologies, shinobi-san," he said quickly.
"You really aren't from Konoha if you haven't heard of the Hyuuga, and you definitely are not a ninja," she said thoughtfully. "But you thought I was blind and a shinobi?"
"It's possible, if you're really good," said Ichigo with a shrug. He thought back to his own, fortunately temporary, blindness. "It means you use what skills you have left to the best of your abilities."
The woman looked surprised. "That's right." Her gaze wandered to Ichigo's bokken. "Did you come from the Land of Iron?"
Ichigo sighed. Everyone they had met on the way to Konoha asked if he was from the Land of Iron. Eventually, he realized it was the bokken Urahara had given him coupled with the bow from Ishida. Those were samurai weapons, and samurai, it seemed, were exclusively from the Land of Iron.
"Our family isn't from the Elemental Countries," said Ichigo into the awkward silence. "But it looks like Konoha is going to be our home from now on."
The woman smiled at him. "Then welcome home, not-samurai-san. And let me tell you where to find the spice shop."
Ichigo felt his blush rise again. "It's Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo. Pleased to meet you, Hyuuga-san. And thank you for your help."
"I'm Hyuuga Hinata," she said. "And, as kunoichi of Konoha, it's the least I can do to help you find your way."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Naruto was pacing. It was almost 1800 hours. Should they leave now? Would it be rude to be too early? Too late? What if they didn't like his house-warming gift? What if they didn't like his team? Sai was still kind of a weirdo, even after all this time, and Kakashi-sensei was a bit much for anybody. Well, if they didn't like his team that was their problem. The team had been there for him forever, at least since he was twelve, and that was longer than anybody except Iruka-sensei. Should he have invited Iruka-sensei? Maybe they could do that next time. Would there be a next time? He could invite them over, maybe? If they liked him? Oh kami-sama, what if they didn't like him?
A fist landed on his skull. A gentle love-tap by Sakura's standards, but it still had him on the floor seeing stars. He looked up at her once his vision cleared. She was trying to be serious and kind at the same time and looking aggravated instead. Sakura's medical skills were excellent. Her bedside manner needed a little work.
"Naruto, you're a very likable person," said Sakura. "But you're going to wear a hole in my rug, so knock it off."
"But Sakura-chan!" protested Naruto. "This is my first time meeting family that's not, you know, Karin or technically dead."
"You are related to Tsunade. And you're related to the Desert Sand Siblings as closely as you are to Karin," said Sakura.
Her voice had gotten flat at the end, and Naruto waved a hand to send the thought on its way. He shouldn't have mentioned Karin. Never mention Karin around Sakura. For someone who had stopped loving Sasuke, she really disliked Karin.
"But I met those guys before I knew they were family," said Naruto. "And these guys. They came to Konoha because of me. Because I was here. And Kotetsu said that Inago really, really liked them. Inago, that old prune, wanted them in his caravan. He's super-rich! What if they don't like me and go off and live with him?"
Now Sakura actually looked concerned. She leaned over so she could stare in his eyes. "Naruto, this isn't like when we were little and nobody would play with you. They're not from Konoha. They're not from some other part of the Land of Fire. They're not even from the Elemental Countries. They don't know about the Kyuubi or the Fourth Shinobi War or the Sage of Six Paths. When they look at you, all they are going to see is you. A cousin that they've never met before. Someone who might be real family someday. There is nothing about you to dislike."
Naruto shot her a quavering smile. "Thanks, Sakura."
Sakura nodded. "That's better. Now, get your tree. It's time to go."
Naruto gasped and raced for the door. He had picked out a bonsai tree as a welcoming gift after shooting down Sasuke's suggestion of a tomato plant that had come with his last report. Sakura was carrying a bouquet of cherry blossoms, daisies, and plums that Ino had created in a vain attempt to stop Naruto's irrational panic. Tsunade had sent a small bottle of good sake as a house warming present. Though when Naruto had gone to pick it up, she looked like she was tempted to drink it herself. After the results from the hospital came back positive, Tsunade had gotten a little weird about the Kurosakis. Naruto was going to grill her about it as soon as he got a chance.
Sakura finished resetting the traps around her door and locked it. These weren't the major deterrents people like Kakashi and Sasuke set up around their houses, but little things to trip up a potential burglar or mark if some unauthorized had entered the apartment. Naruto wondered if his cousins would have a similar set up or if they would be satisfied with locks. Civilians were weird about security, but Ichigo at least had some fighting experience.
He trailed up the steps behind Sakura, who had changed into her usual red dress and leggings, and wondered if he looked okay. He had ditched the jumpsuit and found an orange shirt and black pants. They weren't super-nice clothes, but a yukata had seemed too formal and everything else he owned was a version of his uniform in varying degrees of respectability. When he reached the landing, he decided he didn't have to worry. Yamato and Sai were there with Kakashi trapped between them in a way that suggested he had been escorted in order to arrive on time. In deference to the informal atmosphere, Kakashi and Yamato had left of their flak-vests whereas Sai had done absolutely nothing to change his appearance.
"Ah, you're late," said Kakashi.
Naruto's heart skipped a beat, but Sakura broke in before the panic took hold. "Ha, you're one to talk! Naruto, we're not late. Go knock on the door before you give yourself a heart attack."
Naruto nodded and raised a hand to knock. Instead he stopped and stared at the door. It felt strange. Almost like there was an invisible bubble just waiting to explode the instant he put a hand to the wood. It made Naruto nervous about touching it. But his teammates had been waiting here for a while, surely they would have noticed something by now. Maybe this was a lesson to see underneath the underneath. Kakashi still sprung those on them every so often as bonding exercises. Sasuke always complained bitterly afterward, but Naruto knew he was secretly happy to be included.
"What did they do to the door?" he asked.
"I don't think they did anything to the door, Naruto," said Yamato. "They are civilians."
"Good grief, Naruto, it's just a door," said Sakura who lifted her hand to knock.
There was the sound of muffled conversation inside followed by a loud the thump. Then a voice shouted, "Don't touch the door!"
Sakura froze in place. Naruto shot her a superior look while their other teammates exchanged concerned glances. From the other side, there was a sound of someone approaching and a noise like ripping paper. Then the door slid open to reveal an abashed looking Yuzu and behind her Ichigo, who was wadding some paper into a ball.
"I'm so sorry, Naruto-san," said Yuzu. "I forgot to take down the protective ward on the door. Please come in."
Naruto missed the concerned looks from his teammates as he toed-off his sandals and entered the apartment. He did get a good look at the back of the door when Yuzu closed it behind Yamato. There were still bits of rice-paper stuck to the back. He wondered if they had used a seal developed by the Uzumaki and if that was why he had noticed and others had not.
He quickly let that go in favor of looking at the apartment. There was a small kitchenette with a small table that could seat four. He had seen it before when he had dropped off the Kurosakis a few days ago, and it had been depressingly empty to his eyes. Now there were dishes drying on the rack, spices on the counter, and a big bowl of colorful fruit on the table. Not to mention, the delicious smell of curry throughout the apartment.
The kitchenette opened directly into the living room, which had undergone an even bigger change. The wall across from the door was painted brilliant blue with an intricate cross-like pattern layered on top in white. The right-hand wall was dark green but with a weird spiral that looked a bit like a misshapen sharingan. Each of the three spirals was a different color: red, blue, and yellow. Directly across from that on the left-hand wall was an orange Uzu-spiral set against a backdrop of pale gray.
Do you like it?" asked Yuzu. "I had Ichi-nii try lots of designs. But Karin said I had to stop changing things yesterday so we could air the apartment out."
It's amazing," said Naruto. Abruptly, he remembered the gifts he was holding. "Ah, here. It's a miniature maple tree. I wasn't sure what sort of housewarming gifts you were used to. But here it's supposed to bring good luck."
Yuzu was smiling again. Naruto had the impression it was her default expression. "It's lovely, Naruto-san. We have the same tradition in Japan."
"Awesome," said Naruto. "Oh, and Tsunade-baa-chan, sent some sake too. It's from her private stash so it's definitely good."
Yuzu stared blankly for a moment. "Oh, from Hokaga-sama? That was nice of her."
Sakura's fist collided with Naruto's skull. "Don't call her that in public, idiot," she muttered. She held out her bouquet. "I'm Haruno Sakura, one of this one's teammates, my friend Ino and I live downstairs. These are from her family's flower shop."
Yuzu, completely un-phased by the random show of violence, beamed at her. "The flowers are beautiful. Thank you. Karin-chan? Could you get a vase please? Ichi-nii, get the table from our room please for the bonsai. And would everyone sit down? Then we can do proper introductions."
The shinobi moved into the living room where someone, presumably Yuzu, had set up a low table and several cushions. Ichigo had disappeared back into the apartment and returned with a small stand, which he set up beneath the Uzu-spiral, and carefully set up the tree. He sat at the head of the table beneath with his back to the wall with the cross. Naruto sat on his right on the Uzu-wall. Sakura sat next to him, then Sai, and then Yuzu at the foot of the table, presumably to be closer the kitchen. Yamato was on her right, then Karin, and finally Kakashi between her and Ichigo.
There was a moment of awkward silence where everyone stared at each other as they sat down. Naruto was trying to determine if he had worn the appropriate sort of clothes. But the Kurosakis were wearing fashions native to their homeland. Naruto was fairly certain he had never before seen the blue material that made up Ichigo's trousers. If Sai's outfit didn't earn any comments, Naruto figured that he was okay.
"Ah, right introductions," said Yuzu. "Like I said, I'm Yuzu, and that's Karin, my twin. And Ichigo is our older brother. He scowls at everybody like that, so don't worry." A quick glance confirmed that, if Ichigo hadn't been scowling before, he certainly was now. "And we just moved here from Karakura, Japan."
Naruto perked up. "Right. Sakura introduced herself already, but she's the best medic-nin ever. And that's Sai. He's a super-talented artist. And Yamato, he captained our squad when Kakashi-sensei was sick, and he grew on us. And that's Hatake Kakashi. He's an awesome ninja. He captained our squad Sakura and Sasuke and I were just starting out. Oh Sasuke, isn't here. He and his Karin had to leave on assignment a few days ago, but you should definitely meet them too. And, um, that's it?"
"Thanks for coming," said Ichigo bluntly. "Now don't let Yuzu's food get cold."
Yuzu had already laid the food on the table. A pot of curry, two large plates of rice, and a pot of tea with a handful of side dishes. Everything was communal, which was a kindness for the shinobi, though at their level most were immune to most poisons by now. At Ichigo's suggestion, the guests quickly started passing plates and pouring tea. Naruto's first bite almost made him cry.
"It's so good!" he said through a large mouthful. He had never had curry flavored quite like this before, but it was delicious.
"Yuzu's cooking is the best," said Karin. "She can make anything."
Naruto perked up. "Can you make ramen?"
Fire sparked in Yuzu's eyes and her chest filled with pride. "I can make anything. I made curry this time because Ichi-nii always asks for it, even though it's boring. I'll definitely make ramen next time."
"Woo-hoo!" cheered Naruto. Sakura elbowed him in the side and he settled back down.
"The walls are very colorful," said Sakura. "Ino and I haven't managed to paint our apartment yet. We can never agree on a color. But maybe we could do something like this."
"Yes, the Uzu-spiral is very well done," agreed Kakashi. "But I'm not familiar with the other symbols. Do they mean anything?"
"That blue one is the Kurosaki cross. It's the symbol of our mother's branch of the Quincy clan. We got the pattern from Uncle Ryuuken a few years ago, but we couldn't really use it back home," said Yuzu. "And that one is the symbol of House Shiba, our father's clan."
"It's also a spiral," said Kakashi. "That's interesting."
"It signifies the Eddy of Heaven," said Yuzu brightly. "The change that keeps the world in motion."
So you have whirlpools on both sides of your family," said Yamato. "That's unusual."
"It means we get the crazy from both sides," said Karin.
Naruto opened his mouth to protest but reconsidered after a moment's thought. Tsunade, Karin, and Nagato were all pretty unbelievable. His mom was famous for her excitable personality. And no one had ever described Naruto as calm, even if he had earned the title of sage. If the Shibas were anything like the Uzumakis, then crazy was probably too mild a description. Instead, Naruto took another bite of curry and tried to imagine a family of people like him.
Conversation resumed at the other end of the table. Yuzu was asking questions of Yamato and Sai while Karin quietly grilled Sakura about the hospital. She had been studying medicine before the family's move to Konoha and was apparently interested in continuing. Naruto's end of the table was silent. Kakashi wasn't a big talker under the best of circumstances, and it seemed Ichigo didn't bother to talk at all if he could help it. Naruto was too nervous about messing up to say something. But if he didn't say anything, wouldn't that be worse? Sai was doing better than Naruto for goodness sake. What sort of small talk could the artist make that wouldn't send someone running?
"Your hair is my favorite color," blurted Naruto.
Dead silence. Naruto's face burned. Ichigo was staring at him like he was crazy. Even Kakashi's visible eye was filled with sympathy. Sakura gently patted his knee in support.
"Ah, thank you?" said Ichigo cautiously.
Before the silence could stretch further, Karin dissolved into laughter. Between giggles she managed to say, "At least someone likes your hair, Ichi-nii."
"Super lucky!" added Yuzu seriously. "You'd never get a compliment like that in Japan."
"Er, what?" asked Naruto.
Karin and Yuzu were both staring at Ichigo silently encouraging him to answer. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"In Japan, almost everyone has coloring like Karin. Even Yuzu's hair is pretty light. People thought I bleached my hair to look like a Yankee, a punk," he clarified at Naruto's confused look. "I got jumped by thugs from elementary school until high school. Sometimes at university too."
"Ichi-nii gave the gangs in Karakura a bad rep because he could beat all of them and was on the honor roll at school," added Yuzu.
"Your hair's even lighter than Ichigo's," said Karin. "They would have definitely gone after you too."
"Wait, these guys attacked you just because of your hair color?" asked Sakura in disbelief reaching for her own pink locks.
Ichigo shrugged. "They attacked my friend Chad because he was half-Mexican, which made his skin really tan. Japan isn't a good place to be different."
"Well, Konoha is a great place to be different," proclaimed Naruto. "The Will of Fire means everyone in the village working together to protect everyone else in the village no matter how weird."
"Is that so?" asked Ichigo. He wasn't scowling anymore but was back to looking blank. Naruto suspected that not-unhappy was the best he would be getting from Ichigo, but Yuzu and Karin looked a little more hopeful.
"That's not how we usually say it," said Kakashi. "But it is the founding ideal of Konoha."
Ichigo looked thoughtful, which made Naruto cheer—on the inside—and he didn't seem to be bothered by Naruto's hair comment, which almost made Naruto cheer aloud, but he didn't need his cousins to think him any weirder. Sakura gave him a tiny smile before going back to Karin's questions. Naruto tried to get a feel for their conversation, but it had gotten technical, not exactly proper dinner conversation, even though no one seemed to mind. Instead he focused on his plate, which almost empty, and promised himself that he wouldn't make any more blunders.
The sharp smell of fear brought his head back up. At the end of the table, Yamato was sweating in his seat; Yuzu was looking at him in concern; and Sai was staring at both of them in a way that signaled alarm.
"I don't think you're allowed to talk about that, Yamato-sempai," said Sai in what was, for him, a worried tone.
"I, ah, I—
Yamato was stuttering and casting about for something to say though his gaze was locked on the friendlier Kurosaki sister.
"Yuzu!" said Karin and Ichigo sharply.
Yuzu looked away from Yamato, who had yet to relax. "Hmm?"
"Don't ask the shinobi about classified things. That could get them in trouble," said Ichigo. "Yamato-san, you don't have to answer."
Yamato relaxed abruptly and breathed out a sigh of relief. Yuzu looked faintly disappointed but was smiling again in short order. Sai was still looking disturbed, which was disturbing in and of itself.
"Sorry, Yamato-san, I didn't mean upset you," said Yuzu. "Why don't I get the daifuku? And some water."
Yuzu got up to get the dessert. Naruto turned his attention to Yamato. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"She just asked what I did as a shinobi of the village, and somehow I ended up talking about ANBU," said Yamato. "I don't know why."
"Yuzu was involved in an incident a few years ago," said Ichigo looking guilty. "She's gotten very…insistent since then."
"It felt like I was staring down Ibiki," said Yamato sadly. "A tiny, pretty Ibiki."
Yuzu sat back down passing a plate of daifuku to Sai and handing a cup of water to Yamato. "I am sorry, Yamato-san. I was just a bit curious and over did it a little."
"Over did what?" Naruto heard Sakura say quietly. Nobody else seemed to notice, but Naruto wondered the same thing.
He did help himself to couple of daifuku when the plate passed his way. They looked delicious. Half were green and half were orange, and all of them had a dust of powdered sugar in a spiral pattern. Yuzu really had gone all-out on the food.
"If you had that much effect on Yamato, it sounds like you have a talent for T&I," said Kakashi.
Naruto spluttered, just barely managing to swallow his daifuku before choking. Sakura was frowning hard at their sensei. She definitely would have walloped Naruto for saying something like that.
"T&I?" asked Karin hesitantly.
"Torture and interrogation," said Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei!" protested Naruto. He was happy to hear Sakura echoing his indignation. How was he supposed to make a good impression if his teacher was accusing sweet, innocent Yuzu of being a talented interrogator?
Yuzu didn't look offended. In fact, she looked almost pleased. "Do you think so? I did get some tips from Yoruichi-sama. Oh, but a position like that would require a lot of trust on the part of the village, and we've only been here a week."
Naruto stared. That sounded like…she was interested in that sort of work? He exchanged a disbelieving look with Sakura. Karin had her head cradled in her hands and Ichigo looked resigned. Yuzu still looked quietly pleased.
You would have to join the ranks," continued Kakashi. "And learn, at the very least, the jutsu they use to contain prisoners."
Now Yuzu was frowning slightly. "The shinobi who led us to the tower, Konohamaru, he said that learning how to use chakra was harder for adults."
It was Kakashi's turn to look surprised. "You don't know how to use chakra at all? You all have pretty good reserves even if your control isn't that great."
"Never heard of it until we got here. Is it liked reiatsu?" asked Karin.
"I'm not familiar with reiatsu," said Sakura. "But chakra is produced by combining mental and physical energy. Shinobi use chakra to perform ninjutsu and genjutsu and otherwise impossible feats. Other fighters can also develop their chakra system by training their skills in battle."
"Ichi-nii's the only one who's been in real battle," said Karin ignoring the way her brother tensed. "But you said all of us have it?"
"Maybe it's because you're Uzumaki?" suggested Sai. "They are supposed to have very unusual chakra."
Naruto was nodding even as he kept one eye on Ichigo. Tsunade had said he was supposed to be a good fighter, and obviously that meant more than beating up thugs who were angry about his hair. He would have liked a chance to ask more about that, but with his team here, he didn't feel comfortable broaching the subject.
"Is there a test to check?" asked Karin.
She seemed unusually interested, even if they had started on the subject because of Yuzu. Then again, Karin had spent the whole dinner quizzing Sakura about the hospital. Most of Tsunade's advancements were in medical ninjutsu rather than mundane skills. If she wanted a good job there, she would almost have to learn some medical-jutsu and that required precise chakra control.
Sakura was thoughtful. "Well, we could try the test the academy uses."
"What?" protested Naruto. "They don't even know about chakra. How could they make a clone already?"
Sakura gave him a careless whack. "Not that test, Naruto. The one they use to test for chakra in civilian kids." She looked at Karin. "Hold out your hands. Palms up."
Karin shot her hands out. Sakura moved her own above them. "I'm going to push a little bit of my chakra into your body so you can feel it. Then you try to push it out with your chakra, okay?"
Naruto stared in fascination. He had never needed this test. He'd had impressive chakra reserves even as small child thanks to the fox. He wasn't particularly skilled at sensing chakra, not like Sasuke's Karin or Kakashi-sensei, but he could tell the difference between a shinobi and civilian. Now that he was paying attention, all three Kurosakis felt more like pre-genin than untrained fighters.
If he concentrated, he could tell when Sakura pushed at Karin. For a minute or so, nothing happened except Karin's face getting redder and redder. Then he felt the wisp of chakra in Karin solidify and push back. In the end, it felt like enough chakra to equal a talented genin.
"That was a good try," said a smiling Sakura. "You even used the same amount of pressure I did. That sort of thing is important in medical jutsu."
Karin looked pleased. Yuzu leaned forward. "Can I try?"
Sakura shooed Sai out of the way and tried the same with Yuzu. She got it a little faster than her sister. Managing to gather the energy before pushing rather than doing both at the same time. When Sakura pulled her hands away, she looked thoughtful.
"That was warm. Could it be a fire-affinity, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.
"Sounds likely," said Kakashi.
"Is that good?" asked Yuzu.
"Well, there'll be plenty of people to train you if you decided to join up," said Kakashi. "We are in the Land of Fire."
Yuzu nodded. "Okay. I'll think about it. You should try too, Ichi-nii."
Naruto looked at Ichigo, who shrugged casually. "Why not?"
Naruto scooted back to make room and Sakura moved to their end of the table. Ichigo didn't look thrilled by the idea, but he held out his hands regardless. Naruto thought Ichigo would have a bit more power than his sisters and watched with interest as Sakura started the test. Sakura pushed and Ichigo started to gather his energy…
It was like a bomb going off in Naruto's face. The sudden swell of chakra was that large. Sakura drew back her hands with a yelp, and Naruto was pretty sure he could hear Kakashi swearing across the table. Naruto was trying to blink spots out of his eyes, except they weren't actually there, and his ears were ringing without any noise. Even Kurama was feeling unsettled in the back of his mind.
"That was too much, Ichi-nii," scolded Yuzu.
"But I didn't even push," protested Ichigo.
"Sorry, Kurosaki-san," said Sakura. "If you had tried to push back with that much chakra, I'd have needed days for my chakra coils to recover."
"Oh, my apologies," said Ichigo. "But what's wrong with Hatake-san?"
The not-really-there-spots finally dissipated. Kakashi was hunched over slightly with his visible eye closed tight. One arm braced him against the floor. The other was held up in a half-block between himself and Ichigo.
"Kakashi-sensei is sensitive to chakra—he can perceive it visually—and we weren't expecting that much," said Sakura. "He just needs a minute to adjust."
"Oh," said Ichigo. The guilty expression was back. Kakashi probably didn't want to see that on a civilian's face anyway.
Though, Naruto admitted, it was hard to look at Ichigo and see just a civilian after that display. That was a pretty big chakra flare from a complete newbie, and he didn't even look winded. Naruto wondered exactly what kind of battle Ichigo had fought in.
A few moments later, Kakashi straightened up though he looked a little pale. "Well, if you want to be shinobi, Tsunade-sama probably won't say no."
"We're not as strong as Ichigo though," said Karin like it was a fact of life, which for them, it probably was.
"Most jutsu don't need power like that," said Yamato.
Sai and Sakura both nodded in agreement. Naruto didn't say anything. Most of his jutsu required that much power at least. But an awkward silence was starting to settle back around the table with each person lost in their own thoughts.
"I think that I should probably get Kakashi-sensei home," said Sakura quietly. "He is getting old."
"Ouch," said Kakashi. "That hurt more than the chakra flare."
Yuzu jumped to her feet. "Let me fix you some curry to take home. I made lots."
She scurried back into the kitchenette as the shinobi started to tidy up their plates. Naruto was a bit disappointed. He wanted to talk to his cousins some more—he had a feeling they were going to be great—but he didn't know how to open up an avenue of conversation, and if Sakura was really taking Kakashi home, she would probably appreciate some company on the way.
"Naruto-san, if you have a moment, we have some things of our…grandfather's," Ichigo seemed to stumble over the word like it was as new to him as it was to Naruto, "that you might want to look at. It mostly seems to be books about sealing theory. But I'm not really familiar with that sort of thing."
"Oh?" Naruto was interested. He was Konoha's sealing expert these days, even surpassing Kakashi-sensei's knowledge of the subject. "Are you going to be alright on your own, Sakura-chan?"
"I'm right here," said Kakashi.
"We can help her get the old man home," said Sai.
"You can't be too careful at your age, captain," added Yamato.
"Oi!" protested Kakashi.
After a quick dance of bowing and exits and Yuzu seeing all of his team loaded down with curry and daifuku to eat at home, Naruto was left alone in the apartment with the Kurosakis. Yuzu was washing the used dishes and making a new pot of tea. Karin had taken up the cushions and the low table and directed him to the taller table in the kitchenette before taking her own seat. Ichigo disappeared into one of the bedrooms and was bringing out stack after stack of scrolls and books.
"Where did you get all of these?" asked Naruto reaching for the closest one. He had seen their bags when they arrived. They had only had two apiece.
"They were inside some scrolls that were our grandfather's," said Ichigo. "I managed to get them out, but I haven't been able to put anything back. I had to stop trying or we would have run out of room."
"The original one you opened was a storage scroll," said Naruto eyeing the growing pile. The one he had grabbed was history scroll rather than a theory book, but it did mention several unfamiliar techniques. He set it aside for later. "It's the most basic type of seal and very easy to use."
"Not if you haven't heard of chakra," said Karin idly.
Naruto conceded the point. "It's just hard to imagine a place that doesn't know about chakra. I know you're not from the Elemental Countries, but everything has a little a bit of chakra in it."
There was a suspicious silence from the Kurosakis. Naruto looked up to catch the tail-end of a look between the siblings. He had exchanged that sort of look with Gaara and Killer B before, when someone said something about being jinchuuriki that was patently untrue. It was a look that said, I can try to explain, but will you really understand?
"Naruto-san, the hokage knows this because we told her, and because it's mentioned in the letter from Uzumaki Mamoru, but when we say we're not from the Elemental Countries, it means we're not from this world at all," said Ichigo.
Naruto felt his mental processes, few that they were, grind to a halt. He was staring. He couldn't help it. They were from where?
"You told me the other day that the only people you knew that weren't from the Elemental Countries were summons," said Yuzu. "You said that they were from different dimensions still connected to this world. Well, we are from a dimension even farther away than that, one that isn't connected to this world at all."
Naruto's brain was slowly engaging again. "But how did you get here?"
"It's more like, how did Uzumaki Mamoru get to our world?" suggested Ichigo. "After Uzu fell, he used some sort of seal developed by his clan to send himself to our world where he met our grandmother. He also developed a way to come back here, or back to Uzu anyway, which we used to get away from Soul Society."
Naruto considered the idea. It was theoretically possible for a seal to have that sort of ability. His father's signature technique, hiraishin, was based on manipulating space-time, so brief inter-dimensional travel was possible. But to travel such a distance would use a tremendous amount of chakra. Even Naruto would be wary of trying something like that. Then again, if it was an old seal passed down among the clan, maybe someone had streamlined the energy requirements, so that anyone with sufficient chakra could use it—sufficient by Uzumaki standards at least. He would ask to look at it later, if they had still had a copy. For now, he had other questions.
"These Soul Society guys, they're the ones you're seeking asylum from? How powerful are they, if you had to leave your whole world behind to escape?" asked Naruto.
Ichigo wouldn't meet his eyes. Naruto turned his gaze to Karin who had adopted her brother's usual scowl. Yuzu set a cup of tea in front of him and took the final seat.
"That's where things get complicated, Naruto-san," she said.
Naruto tried not to laugh. "You mean, they aren't complicated already?"
Yuzu's smile was a little sad. "We haven't even started talking politics yet."
Naruto paled at the thought. Inter-dimensional politics. Ugh.
"If the Elemental Countries are considered a World with satellite dimensions. Then we were born on the World called Earth, which has its own satellite dimensions. One of those satellite dimensions, the one most relevant to us, is called Soul Society," said Yuzu.
"You mean the people after you are from another different dimension?" asked Naruto.
Karin snorted. "That's not what you should be focusing on. What matters is why it's called Soul Society."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Okay, why is it called Soul Society?"
"It's the afterlife," said Karin. "The place where souls live."
Naruto gaped, his mouth forming an "o" of disbelief even as his arms wavered from pointing in accusation to tearing out his hair in horror. "You're on the run from heaven?"
"Not heaven," said Ichigo sharply, suddenly reentering the conversation. "Heaven is a different dimension, and so is hell. This is just a waiting place where souls live until they're reborn in the world."
"It's a lot like living on Earth," said Yuzu. "Except you never go hungry unless you have lots of reiatsu, and you age twice as slow normal or even slower if you're really powerful. They even have a government and an army and everything."
"So you're on the run from the government of the afterlife," said Naruto slowly letting the idea sink. It was meeting solid resistance. "What did you do to deserve that?"
It was impossible to miss Ichigo's flinch, but he had returned to ignoring them. Rather than questioning the man, Naruto took a swallow of tea. It was delicious, even if the person who made it sounded insane.
"We're getting there," said Karin drily.
"Soul Society is split up into two parts," said Yuzu holding up her fingers. "One is rukongai, which is the area where most souls live, and the other is seireitei, the court of pure souls, where the nobility and the Court Guard live. The 13 Court Guard Divisions enforce the laws issued by the Central Chambers—the government—and also patrol rukongai and the Living World in order to help souls stuck on Earth move on and to fight off evil spirits. The Court Guard is made up of soul reapers or shinigami."
Blood drained from Naruto face. "Shinigami," he whispered. The creature that had stolen his father and the third hokage and whose existence changed Naruto's life forever. Without Shinigami to enforce the seal, there would be no jinchuuriki.
"Naruto-san, are you okay? Naruto? "
It was Yuzu's voice calling out to him, but Ichigo's was the warm hand on his shoulder that brought him back to reality. Naruto took a few deep breaths and gave his cousin the steadiest grin he could manage. It was almost a disappointment when Ichigo moved away again.
Naruto turned to Yuzu. "I'm okay. What was that about an army of shinigami?"
"The shinigami in Japan aren't like your Shinigami," said Karin. "They're just souls with strong reiatsu. Think of it like shinobi and civilians. They all have chakra, but only shinobi have enough chakra to fight with."
Naruto hadn't noticed the tension in his spine until it disappeared, but he was relieve the feeling of nausea in his stomach went with it. "That's good to hear. Reiatsu is sort of like chakra. Got it. And why are your shinigami important?"
"Our dad was one," said Karin.
Naruto let out a wail of dismay, ignoring the tiny smirk on Karin's face. "Your dad was a shinigami? He was a ghost? How does that even happen?"
"Daddy was born in Soul Society," said Yuzu. "That happens sometimes among the nobility and their retainers. Daddy was strong enough to captain one of the divisions. But one day, when he was chasing down a rogue spirit on Earth, he met mom, and she saved his life! He fell in love then and there, and he never went back. So romantic."
Yuzu fled temporarily into Lala-land. Naruto recognized the signs from his own days of dreaming of Sakura, and he had to admit that the story did sound romantic, but…
"How did your mother save your dad from an evil spirit?" asked Naruto. "She was a human, right? Uzumaki Mamoru didn't end up in Soul Society, did he?"
Karin gestured to the wall where the Kurosaki cross stood rigid between the swirling seals of the other two clans. "Mom was a Quincy. They were human mediums who could see ghosts and manipulate spirit particles in order to destroy evil spirits. Her mother, the woman Uzumaki Mamoru married, was also a Quincy. It's an inherited ability."
"Oh, like a kekkei genkai," said Naruto that much he could understand. "Like the byakugan or Yamato's wood-element. So that's how your mom could see your dad. But what was the problem with them getting married? I mean, if your dad is a spirit, I can see how that would be weird. But if everyone knew…"
Naruto trailed off. Karin was shaking her head.
"Shinigami and Quincy both fight Hollows—that's what evil spirits are called—but they do it differently. When a shinigami kills a Hollow, it cleanses the spirit and sends it on to Soul Society so it can eventually be reborn. When a Quincy kills a Hollow, the spirit is destroyed forever and can never be reborn."
"That's," Naruto began and quickly cut himself off. Horrible, he wanted to say. But the Kurosakis probably had a different opinion since they were Quincy themselves.
"Yeah, it's pretty bad," said Karin agreeing with his unvoiced thoughts. "The biggest problem was that Hollows try to eat souls with significant spiritual energy, so they attacked the Quincy, and the Quincy defended themselves and ended up destroying a bunch of souls. Eventually they destroyed so many souls that shinigami started to worry about the world coming undone, or something, so about two hundred years ago they eliminated all but a handful of Quincy families."
"Damn," said Naruto faintly. That sounded a lot like what happened in the Land of Water before Mei took over as Mizukage. Except he was pretty sure there wasn't a kekkei genkai with the power to destroy souls forever.
"Yeah, that's going to bite them in the butt," said Karin sounding pleased.
Naruto blinked in surprise. His current line of thought floundered. "What?"
"When we arrived here, Shinigami-sama said our Quincy powers wouldn't be a problem if we had to use them," explained Yuzu. "The specific people wouldn't be reborn, but the soul particles would form new souls."
"New births in Soul Society are already super-rare," added Karin. "But there are only two Quincy left on Earth now, and Uncle Ryuuken doesn't use his powers at all. The birth-rate is going to plummet in a few years."
Naruto wasn't quite sure what to think about that. He was very carefully steering his mind away from an image of Yuzu offering Shinigami tea. Instead he cast about for the point of all this new information.
"So, you're here because your dad married across battle lines?" he asked keeping an eye on Ichigo.
There was that flinch again, which meant there was probably more to it than that. Something that Ichigo had done specifically to set Soul Society on their heels. Karin and Yuzu were also watching Ichigo, and they both looked sad.
"That's part of it," said Yuzu. "But…"
"The exact circumstances are needlessly complex," said Karin. "But Ichi-nii ended up getting shinigami powers. The difference between living humans and souls is that living humans can change their circumstances whereas souls have defined limits. Ichi-nii got so powerful so fast that he was able to help the Court Guard stop a madman from claiming the throne of heaven. Then, a few years later, he did the same thing when this ancient Quincy from a thousand years ago tried to destroy all of Soul Society. Ichigo saved the world."
In his chair, Ichigo looked miserable. As someone credited with saving the world at least once, Naruto could relate. Protecting the village was all well and good, but the reputation and responsibility that came with that sort of title was not worth it.
"Politics," said Naruto. His heart sank as he realized the direction this was going.
"About two months ago, the Central Chambers decided that they didn't like having Ichigo running around on Earth. He's not dead, so he's not under their authority, even if he does have shinigami powers. So they issued a death warrant to resolve the problem," said Karin in a voice as sharp and cold as shattered ice.
"Once Ichi-nii was dead he would either lose his powers or be able to join the ranks. It was an ideal solution for them," added Yuzu.
"And this Court Guard you helped out, they were okay with that?" asked Naruto. Tsunade would refuse a request from the daimiyo to kill Naruto. Sasuke, Sakura, and whole bunch of other people would refuse if a similar order came from Tsunade herself. That's what being comrades was all about.
"The Captain-Commander refused the orders," said Ichigo bitterly. "No one from the Thirteen Divisions came after us."
"The Central Chambers anticipated their refusal," said Karin. "They went over the soutaichou's head and contacted Zero Division directly. Zero Division guards the royal family, and the Central 46 theoretically interprets the king's will in Soul Society. Zero Division had to go after Ichigo."
"The Central Chambers also issued secret orders to the Captain of the Twelfth Division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Once Ichigo was dead, Kurotsuchi was supposed to capture Ichigo's soul before it made the transition to Soul Society. If Kurotsuchi dissects Ichigo's soul, he can possibly replicate Ichi-nii's abilities in other shinigami," said Yuzu. "If Karin and I just so happened to die in the conflict, well, we have the same ancestry, so we might be useful for other sorts of experiments."
Naruto's blood was like ice in his veins. It was like Orochimaru all over again. Only worse because Orochimaru's experiments at least had a chance to die, but for Ichigo and his sisters, the real horror started after death. No wonder they had to leave. Anything would be better than that. Even an impossible leap across dimensions would be better than that.
His gaze slid to Ichigo whose black mood had only darkened since the start of the story. It was obvious that he blamed himself for his sisters' situation. He was also probably hurt by Soul Society's betrayal. Even if no one he knew had attacked him, to know they had received orders to that effect was almost as bad. Naruto had never had to deal with anything like that, but he knew Gaara had, and that it cut deep.
"Why did you tell me this?" asked Naruto. He was almost surprised that his voice didn't shake. "I never would have figured out any of that on my own."
"We wanted to see your reaction," said Yuzu simply. "This world is dangerous, and eventually one of us might have to fight." She meant Ichigo, probably. But she and Karin had Quincy powers too, and it was impossible to hide a kekkei genkai forever. Just look at what had happened to Haku. "The chance of meeting an Uzumaki is why we came to Konoha in the first place. But if you're going to reject us, it's better to know now rather than later."
Outrage drove Naruto to his feet. He slammed his hands on the table rattling cups and grabbing even Ichigo's attention.
"I wouldn't," declared Naruto. "I definitely wouldn't reject you for something like that. Konoha takes in everyone who wants to live. The stronger the better. That way we can protect what is most important to us. The Will of Fire means caring about others with all your strength, so we can be strong together. You will definitely be safe here. I promise."
He stared at the each of the Kurosakis willing them to understand. Karin looked relieved. Yuzu was smiling, the brightest smile she had worn all evening. Ichigo looked blank but not sad or wary, so that was a minor improvement.
"We appreciate it, Naruto-san," said Ichigo mildly.
Naruto opened his mouth in preparation for another speech, but Yuzu waved a hand to cut him off.
"We really do appreciate it, Naruto-san," she said. "Ichi-nii is direct like that."
Ichigo shot a scowl at Yuzu and nodded at Naruto in confirmation, but the future hokage couldn't leave it at that. He needed them to know.
"The day I was born, a demon attacked our village. It was the nine-tailed fox, Kurama, the most powerful of the bijuu, a force of destruction. It was impossible for any one person to fight something like that, and scores of shinobi died trying to defend Konoha. To stop it, the yondaime hokage sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside a baby. Me. For years, people in the village were afraid of me and hated me. They thought I was the demon-fox and resented me for the death of their leader. They thought I would use Kurama's power to attack Konoha and finish the job.
"It was a long time before I made any friends or had anyone to care about, but eventually I had people to protect and comrades to fight at my side, and everything got better. I was even able to use Kurama's power to save the village and end the Fourth Shinobi War. My point is," Naruto looked at the Kurosakis, at his family, who were watching him with rapt amazement, and felt his heart swell, "my point is that I know what it's liked to be feared because you're strong, and I won't do that to you. I might be afraid for you, but I will never be afraid of you."
Naruto blushed and quickly sat down. It had been a long time since he had had to tell anyone about Kurama, and he was leaving out a bunch of the story, but if Karin, Yuzu, and Ichigo were being honest with him, he felt the need to be the same, especially since their stories were so similar in that most important regard.
"That's amazing, Naruto-san. You must have been very brave," said Yuzu gently.
Well that was a good sign in Naruto's opinion.
"I was wondering what that was," said Ichigo thoughtfully.
Naruto blinked. "What was what?"
"The demon fox, it's made out of spiritual energy and chakra, right?" asked Ichigo.
"Well, Kurama is friendly now, so I don't think of him as a demon fox anymore," said Naruto quickly. "But yes, he doesn't have a body of his own."
"We can sense spiritual energy," said Karin. "We could sense Kurama for almost a day before we saw the gates. Even Yuzu noticed."
Yuzu pouted at her twin but turned sheepish eyes on Naruto. "Kurama-san is sort of hard to ignore."
"And we were wondering why you had two densities to your spiritual pressure when we first saw you in the hokage's office," added Ichigo. "It makes a lot more sense now."
Naruto stared. The Kurosakis stared back. They were saying that they could sense Kurama inside of him, even before he had explained? And they hadn't run away screaming?
"Eh?!".