By the time I was finally let out of Fugaku's home and reached our house, the sun had almost disappeared behind the Hokages' monument. My lips felt tired, and my throat dry as they kept asking questions while I had to report on everything that happened... haah... I just want to eat, drink, and go to bed already! That was when the door flew open, just as I reached our home.
"RENJIRO!" Before I could brace myself, my Dad was on me, pulling me into a bear hug. "My super famous son!"
"Dad!" I groaned, but there was no strength in me to fight back. "D-Dad... ribs..."
"What?!" He immediately let go. "Were you injured? You are hurt?! They didn't say that!"
"No, I'm not," I began, but he cut in.
"You said ribs!"
"Because you were crushing them!" I chuckled, rubbing my side. "And now that you mention it, I could eat some ribs... mhmhm..."
"Ahaha, that's my boy!" He laughed again, slapping me on the back.
"Daizen." Mom's voice came from inside just then, "Bring him already, you big oaf!"
When I was in, she was waiting for me, and instead of another strong hug, her hands came up to my face, checking me out like a doctor.
"Mom..."
"Quiet." She muttered, continuing her examination.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Don't ma'am me!"
"Yes, Mom," I muttered, making Dad chuckle, turning away when Mom shot him a strong gaze.
"You almost emptied your chakra reserves badly enough to die," She muttered, clearly worrying more than Dad. "Don't you ever do it! Do you understand me?" She said, firmly pinching my cheeks before also pulling me into a big hug. I couldn't say anything to that, because I couldn't promise that... and she knew, not saying anything when I kept silent about it. "Welcome home, sweetheart..." She added at the end, while I just closed my eyes, hugging back strongly.
"Yeah..."
"Come," she said after letting me go. "Dinner is waiting!"
"Finally!" I laughed, "Food!" I stepped inside the living room and immediately smelled it. It was heaven. "Oh. Ohhhhhh...! YES!"
There was grilled fish, rice, miso soup, ample vegetables for the weak and even more roasted meat for the real men of this household! And dumplings. Several different side dishes... and sauces! I hurriedly sat down at the table, staring at the food like a starving prisoner, ignoring Minato's chuckle, who was already waiting there.
"Took you long enough." He said simply. "Even I got hungry, smelling it, waiting for you."
"They wanted to know everything." I moaned, filling my bowl before anyone else could grab the ladle. "I hate these meetings... And now I will have to do more if I'm back here, because Fugaku had put me in charge of Uchiha-Uzumaki relations... The bastard."
"You hear that?" Dad laughed, sitting down with Mom. "Our kid is slowly becoming the next chief-in-line!"
"Me?" I blinked, my hand stopping, looking at them, but even Minato was nodding.
"I approve."
"..." Well... I said nothing to that, continuing to ladle soup for myself. That would certainly make sure there is no massacre happening.
But for tonight... I don't want to think; I just want to eat.
...
....
...
After the superb dinner, and another retelling of everything that happened, the moment I hit the bed, I was already asleep. Maybe it was still early when I drifted off to dreamland, because I also woke early the next day. My eyes opened to sunlight that was barely beginning to touch the edges of the window, making me groan... Why did my brain wake me up so suddenly? And... Why wasn't I tired anymore? Unfair. I wanted to laze around, sleep until noon, or something! Bad Uchiha body. Bad. Be more lazy!
"I could go back to sleep..." I told myself, trying to put a genjutsu on my own mind, "I absolutely could."
And I almost did, but then my brain woke up, telling me it was an idiotic move because a Kage Summit was coming and I had to be aware of Danzō and his retaliation. I had to prepare. If the Hokage did as I asked and began asking about the missing bodies, he may very well be planning something to get back at me. Was this why I woke up so early? Was my brain in panic mode? I didn't feel anxious myself, so... Huh. Bad brain! Stop thinking.
Trying for a second time, I pulled the blanket over my head. Not today; the problems could wait, brain. I'm here to relax. For once, I was going to do absolutely nothing useful. No training or politics; the only thing I'm saving today is my energy.
Aaaaaand... It was the biggest failure in my life so far. Only ten minutes later, I was dressing up and slipping out of the house because I was wide awake, and somehow I couldn't stay still. What the fuck was wrong with me?! Haaah... The village was only beginning to wake when I reached the main streets, yet here I am, roaming around.
Because I didn't have any thoughts about what to do, I just put my hands in my pockets and simply walked, with no real destination set for myself. When I got to a corner, I took a left turn because I felt like it, then a right turn because something smelled good. Cross a bridge because... Why not? Then I reached the western edge of one of the old residential districts, where Minato lived before moving in with us.
"What the..." It looked like somebody had now kicked over an anthill. Hundreds of people were still moving through the area, many of them with bright red hair, building houses. "Oh."
I watched as teams of shinobi carried entire stacks of lumber, while earth-release users flattened the ground and raised retaining walls. And sealing specialists were already putting down their formations under the homes, embedding scrolls between walls, hidden from sight after finishing.
Oh boy. The scale was incredible... I could already see their markings, with the new wide roads laid out in spiraling patterns rather than Konoha's usual grid, and the spots where future communal structures would be built... My eyes wandered over the construction, and I noticed a group of Uchiha Police standing nearby, speaking with Uzumaki security officers, probably coordinating the construction effort. They seemed to be on good terms because I saw them laughing... That's good. But what will this look like in twenty years? Oh boy... I don't think I can rely on my previous knowledge anymore, because all this is already very different.
I stopped myself then and there. No. This is my day off. Remember? So, before they would notice me and start the Savior thing over again, I kept walking towards the opposite direction.
"Renjiro?!"
I froze at once, hearing that voice, turning and seeing Sayuri a few steps away, looking shocked at running into me. Her blonde hair was tied back today, her forehead protector resting properly above her brows, and she was dressed in training clothes. She was either heading to practice or was coming back from one.
"Sayuri!" I smiled and turned fully towards her while she hurried over.
"I was going to visit you later, but I didn't expect you to be already wandering around this early!"
"Honestly? Me neither," I chuckled, looking her over. "Training?"
"Just finished," she said, smiling, blushing a little. "I was given the day off after. Um... Hungry?"
"Huh?" I blinked in surprise, but my stomach answered, rumbling because I indeed missed breakfast.
"Ramen." She grinned, reaching out and holding my hand. "I take that grumble as a yes."
"Obviously yes." I snorted, letting her pull on me. "I could eat that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"
"I know." She giggled, not even asking about anything related to the mission or the dangers, and she just... held my hand, bringing me along.
For a long moment, we walked side by side through the waking village, while I let Sayuri talk about her own problems. Maybe she just needed to let things out, mentioning how Arai kept getting yelled at by their sensei, or how their teamwork failed to improve month after month, which gave him a headache. Which is why the other two stayed behind for longer training, while she was excused, as she was the only one of the three-man team who could work with the others. I was totally relaxed again by the time Ichiraku came into view, and Teuchi looked up with a smile when we pushed aside the curtain.
"Ah! Welcome! Oh, you're back!"
"Yep!" I smiled, but then he kept talking.
"I heard you became famous."
"Rumors." I waved my hand, ready to order, but he wasn't done.
"Saved an entire village, apparently!"
"Exaggeration." I snorted, but then Sayuri chimed in.
"I heard from an Uzumaki that you made a sun."
"Defamation!" I moaned, pouting, making her giggle.
"Well, well, sit down, hero." She teased me, "It is my treat this time around!"
"I am not going to say no to that!" I grinned as I dropped onto a stool, ordering two bowls and watching as Teuchi began preparing them. "You know," I said after a brief silence, glancing at her, "you're being weirdly patient."
"I can leave if you'd prefer."
"You know what I mean." I added, rolling my eyes, "You aren't going to ask?"
"Ask what?"
"Sayuri..." I stared at her, but then she became way too serious, catching me off guard.
"Renji, I heard you died. And then that you nearly died. I don't want to talk about that, okay?"
"Well..." Now that brought the wind out of my sails, especially the way she was looking at me. I... I had nothing.
"I'm just happy you did not. And that's enough for me." Damn... That was unfair! Now I was feeling super conscious about everything... Which she noticed. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You made a face." She pressed on, leaning closer.
"What face?" I tried to change the subject by looking away, but then Teuchi set the bowls down, so I was saved by ramen!
"Enjoy!"
"I will," I said at once, digging in. Haaah... God bless ramen, my own savior. For a moment there was silence, and maybe because the food was so good and I wanted to talk about anything else, my idiotic brain managed to bring up the worst possible new topic. "I'm going to Amegakure."
"...?!" Sayuri stopped with noodles halfway to her mouth. "Why?"
"Kage Summit."
"What?!" Her eyes widened, and she almost choked on the food. "There's a Kage Summit?!"
"Oh... It isn't public?" I winced, looking around, watching as Teuchi was acting like he wasn't listening, yet I could swear his ears were pointed at me. "Oops. Well... Err... Apparently."
"All five Kage?" She asked in a low voice, leaning close to me, so close, in fact, that our faces almost touched.
"Yep."
"And... Why are YOU going?"
"Meatshield."
"..." She stared, and then hit me in the shoulder with a snort. "Don't even joke about that!"
"It's a half-joke." I shrugged, filling her in with all the details, holding nothing back from her.
Except clan secrets and stuff, of course, but I did tell her about Danzō's details, and told her to try and somehow spread the sentiment amongst her clan too, that we all needed caution against that fucker.
"Hanzo is hosting." I finished in the end, "That's all I know so far."
"Hanzo... Hanzo..." Sayuri's expression changed after remembering the name. "The Salamander?"
"That one. And Hiruzen-sama is bringing Minato and me as part of the show. See why I said we are meat shields?"
"Yeah." She grimaced. "That's... Stupid..."
"I was going to say the same thing." I agreed with a nod, even if I was glad I wouldn't mess up important details if I were there. "Even with the Hokage, Jiraiya-sensei, and the White Fang there, bringing us along is a move I can't wrap my head around. I get the 'show-off' part, but I don't get the 'here, assassinate my two brightest future generation' part."
"That's some high praise for yourself," She said, trying to joke, but she couldn't find herself a proper smile. "But you are totally right. That's... nonsense!"
"Or overconfidence." I leaned back, finishing my bowl. "I don't know what's going to happen."
"Nobody does."
"No." I shook my head, smiling. "I mean... I usually have a good sense of things... but not anymore. It's all a bit... too much."
"You will be fine." She said, reaching out and putting a hand on mine.
"Yeah. I hope." I nodded, but because this was totally new... I was feeling uncertain deep down. Maybe that's why I couldn't sleep. I was watching the few remaining drops of broth in my bowl when something sweet slipped up my nose, and before I could turn, I felt a kiss on my cheek. "..." With an open mouth, I looked at Sayuri, who was blushing from ear to toe, but she kept looking at me, smiling.
"That should protect you. A..." She stammered a little, "A good luck charm."
"Yeah." I nodded again, beginning to grin. "I think I already feel its effects! Can I get another?"
"Only," she said, turning away, constantly holding back from looking back at me, "Only if you come back safe."
"Promise," I said, and this time around, I put my hands over hers. "No backing out of it!"
"Um..." She nodded, wrapping her fingers around mine. "Promise."