Chapter 205 (cont.): A Birthday in the Land of Snow
By July, summer had settled in fully.
Early morning. When the warm sunlight spilled through the window and across the room, Natsuki woke right on schedule.
He drew a slow breath before lifting his head from the soft cradle of Yakushi Nonou's embrace. A glance at the light outside, then down at Nonou herself—a wide expanse of pale skin filling his view, rising and falling gently with each breath.
He reached out. Chakra flowed into her, easing away the night's fatigue. He did this every morning without fail.
Natsuki was, in truth, tender and protective by nature. But Nonou was simply too understanding, too giving—she poured a hundred and twenty percent into every night. The only real remedy for that, he'd decided, was Uzumaki Kushina.
Things with Kushina had already reached the final threshold. Her birthday was coming up soon, and this time he meant to take the lead himself. Nonou took the initiative; if Kushina did the same, what kind of man would that make him?
Once he'd looked his fill, Natsuki withdrew his hand. A moment later, Nonou stirred awake, sitting up on reflex and baring the full curve of her body to the cool air.
He watched her, unblinking. He knew her by heart, inside and out—and still the sight was something he could never tire of.
Nonou caught his gaze. A smile touched her lips, and then she stretched. Natsuki went briefly dazed; the motion made for a precarious, striking view.
"If you didn't have work to get to, I promise I wouldn't let you out of this room all day," he said, snapping out of it, low and fierce.
Her face flushed faintly. She bit her lip, and felt herself go soft.
"Time to get up." Natsuki took her by the hip.
"Mm." Nonou slipped out of bed and dressed.
Once they'd both washed up, they headed to Tsunade's for breakfast. And after that, it was time for work.
Tsunade and Nonou left for Konoha Hospital. Nawaki went to the Hokage Guard Platoon's office. The Platoon rarely had much to do, but they still had to show up—and the work, such as it was, boiled down to one thing: training. To that end, Nawaki had even brought Hatake Kakashi along.
Natsuki belonged to the Hokage Guard Platoon too, but he was also the Anbu Commander and a Hokage Secretary. His plate was fuller than Nawaki's.
He went to the Anbu base first.
Orochimaru had earlier ordered him to look into the Kuja Pirates—though not as a mandatory task. Come up empty, and it wouldn't matter. Natsuki paid it little mind; investigating himself would be pointless anyway.
Following his usual round, he checked on Shinno's progress. He had to admit it—Shinno was a genuine prodigy. The man had already produced the Zero-Tails. It was still terribly weak, but it existed.
Natsuki stroked his chin. Shinno was talent worth cultivating. But to unlock the Unohana Retsu template's Kaidō, he had to kill three Medical Jonin. His thoughts drifted to the Impure World Reincarnation—worth a try, he figured. Kill Shinno, then bring him back through the technique. The reincarnated Shinno wouldn't be as strong as he'd been in life, but Natsuki didn't need his strength. What he valued was the mind: in his eyes, Shinno was another Orochimaru, a natural at experimentation. He'd have him keep developing the Zero-Tails and the Ancor Vantian—the latter especially, since it could serve as a mobile base for the Kuja Pirates. Or, as they'd be known in time, the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
After the Land of Sky's destruction, its territory had been absorbed into the Land of Birds—which bordered the Land of Rain, the two of them neighbors. Natsuki meant to find time to take Yahiko and the others there, mainly because Shinno wasn't the only survivor from the Hidden Sky Village. The rest could be folded into the Hidden Rain, which was badly short of ninja as it was.
He turned to the second report. This one came from the Hidden Mist.
After the Kuja Pirates killed Suikazan Fuguki and Biwa Juzo, they'd thoroughly enraged the village. The Third Mizukage had set not only the Mist Anbu hunting them, but other ninja as well—not on dedicated searches, exactly, just orders to keep an eye out for the Kuja Pirates while running missions abroad.
Meanwhile, Hozuki Mangetsu had stepped into Suikazan Fuguki's role, though Biwa Juzo's seat stayed vacant for now. In this era, the Mist's young prodigies hadn't come into their own yet—Hozuki Mangetsu, Momochi Zabuza, Hoshigaki Kisame, Terumi Mei. The eldest of them wasn't even ten. Their talent showed already, but they were a long way from the caliber of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
That done, Natsuki picked up the third report. This one concerned the Hidden Cloud.
The Cloud had a famous combination technique—a combination taijutsu, really—called the Lariat. It took two users at once, and its power was ferocious, enough to shear a target's neck clean through. The pair who wielded it were known in the village as the AB Combo. 'A' stood for the reigning Raikage, styled Ay; 'B' for the reigning Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
Worth noting: the Cloud never concealed the identity of its Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—they announced it openly, every time. Not long ago they'd confirmed the new one: Killer B. About the same age as Nagato and Konan, a year older—fourteen this year. He'd passed the Lariat trial and become the partner of the Fourth Raikage, Ay.
Of course, Ay wasn't the Fourth Raikage yet, and Killer B wasn't yet the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. The current host was still Blue B, effectively Killer B's teacher, who'd been guiding him all along. Natsuki's only real memory of the man was that Orochimaru would eventually infiltrate the Hidden Cloud and use a genjutsu pill to drive him berserk, ultimately killing him. The exact timing was never stated, but it was all but certain it happened during the Third Great Ninja War—chiefly because the source material showed Namikaze Minato fighting Killer B and the Fourth Raikage Ay in that same war. Orochimaru's reasons were simple enough: first, to claim the Eight-Tails' horn; second, to ease the wartime pressure on Konoha.
Once he'd finished the intelligence, Natsuki pulled out the pieces that mattered and carried them to the Hokage building—material meant for Orochimaru. But he was still a Hokage Secretary, so he'd wait until that work was done before handing it all over.
He pushed open the door. As expected, Uchiha Mikoto had already arrived and was brewing his tea. She crouched at the low table, her back to him; from where he stood, Natsuki had a clear view of her back and the taut line of her figure. The posture drew her outline as sharply as a fitted skirt.
"Natsuki." Mikoto scrambled to her feet. "Good morning."
"You don't need to come so early from now on. Finish your own work first, then come over," Natsuki said, a touch guilty.
"It's fine." She shook her head. "I left a Shadow Clone in the office."
That gave him a moment's pause—a faint sense of the surreal. Why so thorough? Is this what makes an exemplary wife and mother?
Natsuki himself rarely used Shadow Clones, only in combat. Otherwise there was no call for it. He'd leaned on them a bit during training once, but these days, with little work and few techniques left to learn, he had no need. There was another reason too: a Shadow Clone carried its own consciousness. If one ever decided to pull something on him, it'd be a real headache.
"I see." Natsuki nodded and crossed to the desk.
Mikoto took up a cup of hot tea and followed. She held it out in both hands, bending slightly, and presented it to him.
"Thank you." Natsuki noticed at once that her nails were painted—the exact polish he'd bought her, fresh and new, applied not long ago, by the look of it.
"One color on its own feels a little plain," he said, taking a sip.
"What?" Mikoto didn't catch it right away.
Natsuki set the cup down and caught her right hand just as she moved to draw it back. He spread her slender fingers and studied the polish. Understanding dawned. Feeling the warmth of his hand, her heartbeat quickened despite herself.
"I—I'll go buy a few other colors later," she said, pressing down her shyness.
"I'll buy them for you." He stroked her fingers. "I've been leaning on you a lot lately."
Mikoto trembled, but didn't pull away, letting him keep hold of her hand. She looked aside, hearing the note in his voice that brooked no argument, and murmured her assent.
"Let me deal with these documents first." Natsuki released her.
"Mm." She withdrew her hand, absently rubbing the fingers of her right with her left, her feelings in quiet turmoil.
Compared to Anbu work, being a Hokage Secretary was mundane, fiddly stuff—though, seen another way, simpler, and quick to clear.
"I'll take these to the Hokage's office," Mikoto offered, seeing him finish. She stepped up and gathered the stack. There was a lot of it, and pressed against her the way it was, it pulled her clothes taut; a pale sliver of skin showed at her collar.
"Teacher's usually out. Just leave them on his desk," Natsuki said with a blink.
Mikoto gave a small nod, turned, and went. She was back before long—Orochimaru was indeed absent.
"You can head back now," Natsuki said, standing. "I've got other matters to see to."
Mikoto wasn't surprised. "If there's ever anything I can help with, come find me," she said gently.
Natsuki opened an Air Door—but didn't leave Konoha. He set off down the street instead, looking around, turning a question over in his mind: what to give Uzumaki Kushina for her birthday next week.
Last year he'd given her the Sorcery Clima-Tact. No need for another ninja tool.
"Lord Natsuki?" A voice, sudden, from behind.
He turned to find a long-haired little girl with red eyes—Yuhi Kurenai.
"It really is you, Lord Natsuki," she said, surprised and pleased.
"Out shopping on your own?" Natsuki chuckled.
"Not on my own." She shook her head. "Shizune and Rin are here too—I just saw your back and came to check."
At that, Shizune and Nohara Rin trotted over and hurried through their greetings. Natsuki carried a great reputation and formidable strength, and being young on top of it, he was something of an aspiration to them.
"Are you shopping too, Lord Natsuki?" Kurenai looked up at him with those ruby eyes.
"Something like that." A thought struck him. "Actually, you three could do me a favor."
"What kind?" The three traded curious looks.
"Help me pick out a birthday gift." Natsuki gave them a half-truth. "For a teammate of mine—a woman."
Kushina wasn't his teammate, but her circumstances were delicate, so rather than explain, he simply called her one.
The girls didn't press. They fell to chattering, tossing out suggestions, and in the end—thanks to them—Natsuki settled on a snow globe: a clear sphere with a scene sealed inside. He had the shopkeeper adjust it slightly, arranging the little landscape into the shape of the Land of Whirlpools.
—
July 10th came around quickly.
Just as he had the year before, Natsuki arrived outside Kushina's room that morning. He knocked, and at her word, pushed the door open.
Kushina hadn't gotten up yet; she was still lying there. At the sight of him she sat up, her white pajamas coming into view.
"Happy birthday, Kushina." Natsuki shut the door and stepped forward.
"Thank you." She straightened and opened her arms.
He couldn't help smiling as he pulled her into a hug.
"Where are we going today?" Kushina asked around a yawn.
"How about the Land of Snow?"
"Sure." Her eyes lit. "I've seen plenty of snow, but I hear it lies especially deep out there."
"It does. Step in and it'll swallow half your leg." Natsuki patted her head.
"Go to the wardrobe and get me something to wear." Kushina let go of him.
"Which one?" he asked, opening it.
"Whichever you want me in—just grab that one." She said it beaming.
At that, Natsuki arched a brow and promptly pulled out a maid outfit.
"You really do love maid outfits." She said it as a complaint, but didn't refuse—just climbed out of bed and took it from him.
"I'll wait outside." Natsuki left the room.
Before long the door opened, and Kushina appeared in the black-and-white maid outfit. His gaze swept over her and came to rest on her legs, wrapped in black stockings. He didn't recall buying her those.
"Let's go, then." Kushina held out her hand.
Natsuki opened an Air Door, and with her hand in his, they arrived on a snowy peak in the Land of Snow.
"Wow!" Kushina drifted to the cliff's edge on instinct, taking in the world of ice and white, and let the exclamation slip. It was her first time seeing a snowscape so vast.
They stood there a while, looking out. Once the novelty wore off, they sat down—on a blanket, more precisely, one of several things Natsuki had brought along, food included.
Kushina hadn't eaten, so she picked up a rice ball. She drew her legs up, stockinged and pressed together, and simply sat and ate.
"Cold?" Across from her, Natsuki had a clear view—not just of her legs, but beneath the hem of her skirt. "I can set up a barrier if you are." He took a rice ball of his own.
"Not cold." She shook her head. "I'm a ninja."
"Where else do you want to go today?"
"I don't really know the Land of Snow." She tilted her head. "You arrange it."
"There's a waterfall we could see—one out in the snow." Natsuki thought of the Hyoga Clan.
"That sounds lovely. I've never seen one." She agreed at once.
Breakfast finished, she got up in a hurry, clapped her hands, and looked at him with barely contained impatience. Natsuki packed their things and opened an Air Door.
They came out beside a river. A little way off, a waterfall plunged straight down, and set against the surrounding snow, it lent the whole scene a dreamlike air.
This had once been the Hyoga Clan's compound. It sat empty now; every member had relocated to the Hidden Snow Village.
After they'd wandered a while, Natsuki spread the blanket again. Kushina settled in front of him, leaning back against his chest, watching the distant falls.
"Tired?" he asked, glancing down at her.
"Not tired." She smiled. "I'm happy right now."
And with that, she turned her head and kissed him.
At the softness of her lips, Natsuki stopped holding back, and the two of them fell into each other.
A long while later, Kushina drew back, cheeks faintly red, breath uneven, her eyes on his. Natsuki swallowed and rested a hand on her stocking-clad thigh. She caught her breath, the flush deepening—because his hand didn't stop there, traveling up until it came to rest at her chest.
As he crossed her middle, Natsuki quietly worked a Dimensional Seal over the Nine-Tails.
In the source material, the Nine-Tails sealed within Uzumaki Naruto could see the outside world—but only because Namikaze Minato had deliberately left a gap in the sealing. Kushina's seal, passed down from Uzumaki Mito, was far stronger. Still, she'd once mentioned that if the beast hurled enough chakra against it, it could catch glimpses of the outside. Just to be safe, Natsuki layered the Dimensional Seal on top. Drawn from the Kikyo template, it could sequester its target in another dimension entirely—hidden from everyone, and blind to everyone in turn.
A dazed look crept into Kushina's eyes.
Her expression only grew softer, sweeter, as the moment deepened. Her body went pliant, and she sank back onto the blanket. Natsuki looked down at her from above.
Kushina felt her nerves flutter—her legs tensed, the delicate arches of her feet curling faintly beneath the black stockings. Then they straightened, her eyes brimming.
"Kushina." Natsuki reached out and gently smoothed her hair.
She shook her head, quickly pushed herself up, and wound her arms around his neck.
As expected of an Uzumaki, Natsuki thought. In sheer physical resilience, she far outmatched Nonou. Feeling the heat of her skin, he lowered his head and kissed her.
Kushina's brow furrowed—but just as she'd said, she was happy, near giddy with it. The high of it stretched on for a full hour. For all that they were in the Land of Snow, neither of them felt the cold; there was only heat, closing in from every side.
At last, come noon, the two of them drifted off into dreams.
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