Knitting Fate (Canon Patchworking with Uchiha Ren Part II)

Thirty-Fourth Thread

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me...
Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

― Shel Silverstein

"Two clan heirs! Two! And one of the last Uzumaki alive, not to mention our only Jinchuuriki!" Tsume hollers so loud that even Ren, as used to people yelling as she is, winces from where she's sat at the woman's left. "And they're all not even seven years old, for crying out loud! Most of you have kids around that age! And every single one of them could've been with Naruto at the time!"

The Inuzuka's fiery diatribe is currently directed at the circle of grim faced ninja seated around a conference table. As she pauses in her tirade to let that sink in, Ren takes the chance to glance around the room again. While she'd expected to be at a clan head meeting sooner or later, due to her being the oldest surviving Uchiha in Konoha at the moment, it's still a bit strange to be here, at a meeting to decide what stance the clans will present to the Council. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is there, as well as Tsume, Shibi, and Hiashi. To her surprise, even if he isn't present at the moment, there actually is a seat for the Hatake Clan Head. There are also some minor clans Ren doesn't really know, like Hōki, which apparently immigrated from Suna, Kurama - who Ren is pretty sure also got massacred at some point? – and a seat for the Sarutobi clan head which is currently occupied by Hiruzen's daughter, although Ren is pretty sure the old man is the Clan Head. Apparently he couldn't come.

But it's a Clan matter. Not even the Hokage comes to these.

So why the fuck has Danzō invited himself here?

There is no Shimura seat. Ren checked. Either they aren't recognized as a clan, or their time of greatness has passed. Although there is an empty Senju seat, it is most likely there to honor one of the clans who made the very existence of the village possible.

"Then they should stop being around the vessel, simple as that," Danzō retorts, and Ren feels an unstoppable wave of cold fury ripple through her body. She's been more-or-less fine ignoring the man before he spoke but this-

"Shut up, Shimura!" Tsume is apparently on a roll, as she barks sharply at the elder, not caring who he is. Ren loves Inuzukas so much. "This is a clan matter! What the fuck are you even doing here, old coot, eh?"

Danzō clenches his fists underneath the table, the old fool. Ren idly wonders if he's already implemented stolen sharingans all over his arm.

"When it concerns the vessel-"

"His name is Naruto, and you either use that name or get the fuck out," Ren cuts in, her voice just barely above a growl, and dripping with unfiltered hatred so thick he actually stops and blinks at her. If there's one person Ren hates more than anything at the moment, it's this old meddler. "We are here to discuss the matter of Uzumaki Naruto as a person who's been assaulted by a mob of civilians – to discuss what punishment will befall those who decide it's a good idea to attack a harmless child who will be turning seven tomorrow. Not the Kyuubi vessel. A boy and his friends who were brutally attacked by a mob of mindless sheep."

There's something that changes in the atmosphere, Ren realizes. Everybody is looking at her now, a child among the adults – even if, mentally speaking, she's actually older than most of the clan heads sitting at the table – speaking of matters they would probably rather ignore. Because it's easier to see Naruto as a vessel of the demon, a weapon, rather than a child that his parents – their friends – gave their lives to protect.

"You have assaulted civilians yourself," Danzō says calmly.

"Maybe. But I did so with only one aim – to protect the children those civilians would undoubtedly harm, beyond treatment, perhaps," she says, and takes a deep breath.