It was almost funny how difficult it was to get time to do something as simple as visit Koji. I had wanted to see him before he checked out at the hospital, but had been drawn into the Kunoichi alliance.
That had then spiraled into something far bigger than tea among a few friends. Because, despite being a bit of an outsider, Kushina was lively and friendly, and was greatly admired by every other Kunoichi from her academy days.
So she had many friends, and now I, too, was part of that circle.
This meant getting invited to do things every day, and meeting new people, some of whom I knew from the anime, others who hadn't lived long enough to be featured, or just weren't important enough to show.
Still, it was refreshing, it was very different from hanging out with people from the Hyūga clan itself.
While we didn't go around acting like arrogant pricks inside the clan itself, there was still a little stiffness, an expectation of behavior, something that never really left us, part of our upbringing.
Here? It was a mix of clan kids and civilians, so everything was just more… casual?
Moreover, the clash between the clan and the civilian raised Kunoichi gave rise to some fun interactions.
While people in this world had a very different worldview from people back in the old world with Kishimoto, there were further splits when it came to civilian-raised versus clan-raised.
Overall, the idea that killing another person is wrong was largely not a thing here. No Genin would feel sick after killing, because they did nothing wrong. It was not taboo, it was the goal, it was a good thing.
Still, Clans are starting to teach their kids at a much younger age than the academy, and they learned to use everything to achieve victory, while civilians still had some reservations.
While any clan Kunoichi or even just shinobi in general wouldn't hesitate to finish off a downed opponent, civilians were more hesitant to kill those who no longer posed a direct threat.
It was something that came to light when we talked about missions. Swapping war stories about how we snuck around and killed people.
To those of us in the clans like Mikoto and Tsume, slitting a throat in the dark was a perfectly fine way of doing it. But they preferred to do it more honorably, giving them a chance to surrender or at least fight back.
There was a reason for the mortality rate of non-clan shinobi being higher than that of clan-born.
Another difference was seduction missions, while most clan-born didn't do those, we were still trained in it since young, mostly to use on our own future husbands. Most civilians hesitated about those missions, except for a few rare specialists.
A few cultural clashes to keep things interesting.
I was honestly just glad that Tsume did seem to hold her tongue around them all, sparing my reputation.
Still, I couldn't deny the fact that this gathering was beyond just a little impressive. I never knew Kushina had a group like this around her, though maybe it was the dreaded butterfly effect?
It was a possibility that the smallest changes could cause great effects. Maybe Hiashi was slightly nicer in his academy days, which led to Kushina making more friends?
It was honestly impossible to know all the small things that the existence of Yuki Hyūga had changed.
Not that I didn't for a short moment suspect that maybe, just as I was reincarnated or whatever as Kaguya, someone else had done so as Kushina.
It just felt like such a possible possibility. After all, Kushina surrounding herself with beautiful girls? Yeah, that just screamed like it was the plot of a fan fiction, someone reborn as her and making an all-female harem.
Yet it hadn't taken long to realize that it wasn't like that, because she still liked Minato, and they were already a thing, even if they weren't married.
Lots of people wanted to wait until the war was over, though again, plenty had pushed ahead and gotten married already.
There was a reason everyone ended up having children so soon after the war ended.
So while I wanted to be annoyed about being dragged into another afternoon with tea and gossip, I had to admit… I was curious.
They weren't boring.
It was a great way of learning more about the village and the war, since everyone was talking about it, everyone had their own bits to add, which included a lot, even the Hyūga clan didn't tell me.
Though it was mostly just a bunch of girls talking about guys, that and everyone being excited for Mikoto.
I couldn't help but feel bad for her because, while she was so excited about her child, I already knew what a horrible child he would be.
"So, Kushina, how is Minato doing?" I asked, curious about one of the most important people of this war.
Kushina lit up immediately, a wide grin spreading across her face as she plopped back onto her elbows and stretched her legs out on the grass.
"He's tired," she said, brushing a leaf from her sleeve. "Overworked, not only does he have to do mission after mission, but he has to do it while being a Jōnin sensei, I mean, the kids are good kids for sure, but it's really draining Minato."
"Obito of my clan is among them," Mikoto said. "It's honestly quite a team."
"It better be, sending Genin out with a Jōnin like Minato is wrong, the missions he has to deal with aren't for kids like that." Tsume added.
"Who is on the team?" asked Yui, a newly promoted Tokubetsu Jōnin from a civilian family and fellow classmate of Kushina.
"Obito, Kakashi, and Rin," Mikoto answered, sipping her tea. "Kakashi, you've heard of, I assume."
Yui nodded. "Yeah, the prodigy, right? Graduated early and already Chūnin?"
"Mm," Mikoto hummed in agreement. "He's strong. But not the easiest personality."
"Yeah, no kidding," Kushina said, stretching. "He's smart, but he's got the emotional range of a soggy senbon. And already Tokubetsu Jōnin as well."
Tsume snorted. "At his age? Can he even resist a Chuunin Kunoichi's seduction attempts?"
"He is as dense as he is still; he is all mission this, mission that. He is dry and boring, yet stupidly handsome, all the little girls like him, including his teammate Rin." Kushina said, "Not that he realizes that."
"Really? He got a little fangirl following him around, and he isn't de-stressing with her?" Tsume asked in disbelief.
"Please, she is a pure, innocent civilian academy kid, whole team is as pure as a snowflake when it comes to things like that," Kushina said, rolling her eyes.
"I remember a time you used to be just like that yourself, Kushina," Tsume teased.
Kushina scoffed, flicking a blade of grass at Tsume. "That was ages ago, I got better, didn't I?"
"No help from Mr sunshine, guy is so pure it's unbelievable, honestly, the fact he hasn't jumped on you made me think he was gay," Tsume added.
"Don't say that," Kushina argued, "Minato is a great guy, it's just you, Inuzuka, who are way too horny all the time." She defended her boyfriend.
"Not just us, just look at Yuki, the Hyūga clan is just as bad." Tsume said, flashing me a teasing grin.
"Oh, don't you dare say something like that about my Hyūga clan, we are nothing like you mutts, if anyone is, it's the Uchiha, just look at their clan heir, not married but about to be a father." I quickly dragged Mikoto into it as well.
Mikoto, ever composed, gave me a dry look over her cup. "That's a low blow, Yuki. Fugaku may be a lot of things, but at least he's responsible."
"Sure," Tsume said with a lazy smirk. "Responsible enough to knock her up before putting a ring on it."
Mikoto arched her brow. "We're engaged."
"Still not married," Tsume sing-songed.
"What about you, Tsume? Everyone else from the clans is engaged, like Yuki-san, do you also have a guy at home?" Yui asked, putting Tsume back on the spot.
The Inuzuka Kunoichi just snorted. "Heck no, our clan doesn't do shit like that, we pick our own mates and partners."
"That didn't answer the full question, Tsume." I pressed. "Is there a dog back in your clan? Some lucky guy who gets to treat you like a bitch?"
I was curious because I knew she would have a kid soon. Kiba's sister was a good few years older than him; in fact, she was at least Itachi's age, and he would be born soon, just in time to get to watch and get some war trauma before the war ended.
My question caused Tsume to grow quiet for a moment, so quiet it caused things to get a little awkward.
"Ahhh, I'm not a bitch, never, damn, will I be. But I got a guy, fucking piece of shit, always away from home. In fact, I even got a kid, a tiny thing really, just a little pup, but well. I don't know how to take care of such a thing. I'm always afraid to touch her; she is so fragile."
Her words caused me to freeze, because, honestly, I hadn't considered it. Tsume… she really didn't look like the mother type, she was old enough to have a kid for sure, and given her personality and her clan's relationship with sex?
It wouldn't be strange if they had their kids early, but still, damn, I was surprised. Though clearly, the others did already know.
"Tsume, you have a kid, and I haven't met her yet? That's not okay at all, I want to meet her!" I quickly said, not wanting the still-awkward atmosphere to last.
Tsume scratched the back of her neck, visibly uncomfortable, the usual bravado slipping. "She's still real small. Not even old enough to walk yet. Half the time I think she looks at me like I'm gonna drop her."
"That's probably because you're always looming like a wild beast," Mikoto said gently, reaching out to squeeze her arm. "Babies are fragile, sure, but they're tougher than you think. You'll get the hang of it."
"Maybe," Tsume muttered. "I just… I don't want to screw it up… I'm just worried, you know, so I leave her with the clan for a few hours every day. Getting some me time, without it, I'm afraid I would blame her for restricting my life."
For a long beat, none of us said anything. Even Kushina looked more subdued than usual.
"Guess I now know why someone as skilled as you is still here in Konoha." I said, solving another mystery.
"Yep, home to take care of the little one, but honestly, being the next clan head means I don't get many missions anyway." She said with a shrug.
"Damn, both you and Mikoto already have kids, or at least getting them. and here the rest of us are, without a care in the world." Kushina said, trying to make it a joke, but she sounded somewhat jealous.
I didn't think she wanted a kid, but well, she also couldn't get one. And I suspected that was what was bothering her.
As Konoha's Jinchūriki, she couldn't just have a kid whenever she wanted to; she needed to be ready to fight if needed, and even without that, the seal would get compromised during birth, which meant that it had to be tightly controlled.
For someone as independent as her, such control over her life must be hell. "Ahh, I wish the war would just end, it's putting life on pause for a lot of us." I added, trying to change the mood a little.
Kushina let out a long, tired sigh and flopped onto her back, staring up at the sky. "No kidding. I swear, it feels like it has been going on forever. And whenever Minato comes back home for a bit, it's always bad news."
Everyone let out a sigh. Because yes, the war was long and deadly. And I had underestimated it again.
I had figured it was ending the last stage soon, but clearly that was just me buying into the propaganda. Because I knew Itachi would see the war, and he wasn't even born yet, which meant the war was far from close to ending, barely even begun, and it had been going on for a while now.
"But yeah, Yuki, you are always welcome in the Inuzuka clan, so come by and say hello to Hana, though I fear if you step through our gates, someone else will come running to greet and distract you." Tsume said with a smirk.
"Shut up," I threw a blade of grass at her.
(end of chapter)
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