We end up taking the girl who I now know as Karin, back to the village. She gets put into a holding cell until interrogation. We might be able to gather more in-tell on what Sasuke has been doing. As soon as I get back, Shizune grabs me and drags me to where Tsunade is in her coma.
"Tsunade sama! Katsumi san is back!" Shizune says with a smile. It takes me only a moment to realize she is awake again. We walk in to see her stuffing her face. Trying to restore her chakra reserves.
"Aunt Tsunade!" I yell and run over to her and she glomps me in a short hug. That is before she immediately returns to eating. I sweatdrop at her.
"Sorry Katsumi...*eating noises* I need to restore my chakra...*more eating noises*...I need to stay young!" She exclaims and yet again stuffs her face.
"Alright, im going to go help out around the village. Im glad to see your better Aunt Tsunade!" I say and exit the room to start building houses with Yamato sensei. "Yamato sensei! You going to build up houses too?" I ask him now walking besides him.
"Yes I am, are you going to join me?" He asks continuing to where the future houses will be.
"Yep, the 5 Kage summit was so strange. Sasuke showed up, that Karin girl was captured, shinobi alliance." I say recollection the past memories of the meeting I had with the others. I then lean in to whisper "The akatsuki declared war on all shinobi too" I whispered. He had a shocked expression. All I could do was nod my head.
"Your serious? All that in one meeting. "He said astonished.
"Yea, you cant tell a single soul that I told you. Tsunade knows, and shes deciding on what to do right now. I honestly have no idea whats going to go down" I say to him with a shrug.
We start walking for a while, periodically making houses for anyone we see in need of one. Then we end up at the middle of the village. Its completely barren and nothing is there. Its hard to look at it and know I was once running through these streets without a care in the world. Well I guess thats the same for anyone thats now a konoha shinobi.
Thats besides the point, we get to work and line the old streets with empty houses. Houses that are waiting to become a home. Speaking of home, I am looking after some really cool kids. Kaito has taken on the role as caretaker while I am out on missions. Although its mostly my friends and Tsunade taking care of them while im gone. He likes to think he is taking care of them all by himself.
I see a hawk overhead and make my way to Tsunade's office. "You wanted to see me?" I say looking around to see some of the village elders.
"Yes, Katsumi, we have discussed this thoroughly, and we would like to promote you to the ANBU black ops." She says with a proud smirk. I widen my eyes in shock.
"Really!? Oh! I apologies for the outburst. I would love to be in the ANBU black ops" I say smiling widely.
"Great, follow Fox to where you will be enducted to the ANBU black ops. Welcome aboard" She says with a now smile. I follow the masked ANBU to a secret room, I never knew it was here.
"This is where you will be getting your ANBU tattoo. You will be assigned to a group of other ANBU with a squad leader. You will be training every day and have many dangerous missions. The lockers are over there and your new squad leader will wait for you once you get your tattoo." He says. I thank him and he leave the room.
The tattoo man gives me the ANBU mark. It feels like a cold pain, not too bad, but I wouldn't do it again on purpose. I walk out to find myself in a room with many masks.
I end up picking the one with a little sun like details in the corner. "Your code name will be snow, make sure you dont forget it. Follow me to your locker." He says and I follow him to a room with many lockers. I get shown to one and I write my name on it.
I seal it with chakra and pull out the ANBU uniform. "You do not have a mission at the moment, today you are required to get to know your new partners and train to get a general idea of fighting styles. Goodluck, they are at training ground alpha" He says with a nod.
"Thank you, I appreciate you showing me around" I said to him with a bow. Hes going to be my squad captain, I have to create a good first impression.
"Its only customary. Train hard, and be careful, your new so good luck" He nods and leave.
I get my stuff ready and put my mask away. Before hand, I reminisce on all the things leading up to now. Ill ask Tsunade if I can tell Naruto about it later! He may be a doofus but he is my closest friend, I tell him everything.
I jump on roof tops to get to training grounds Alpha. Normally the grounds Alpha and Beta are off limits. However, I guess ANBU has special privilages for training with intense jutsus and such. I jump down onto the ground and conceal my chakra. I can already sense the other two hiding. They conceal well, but not well enough for my sensory skills.
"I can sense your chakra's there is no point in hiding" I say pulling out my katana. They jump down infront of me.
"Well seems like we have a little sensor on our team." The taller boy says.
"Yep, arent you the one who saved the village with that nine tails?" The other boy said.
"For your information his name is Naruto and yes that was me. Hes been on my squad since genin years." I say holding my ground. Im around the same height as the shorter boy. (sorry to all my short ladies! Love yall to bits. you can pick your height if you rlly want) He has a dusty blonde hair. And he has emerald green eyes. The other boy is a few inches taller, he has black hair and brown eyes.
"Well then, its good we have some sort of sensor. You will be useful in the future. My name's Kageyama, this is Tadashi." The shorter boy said.
"My names Katsumi Senju. I look forward to working with you" I say holding out my hand. Tadashi reaches out his hand before trying to strike me. I have a pretty decent reaction time, so I make it.
"Your fast Tadashi" I say to him. Kageyama pulls out a kuni and we all go at it.
"Your slowing down, are you getting tired already? Its only sunset" Kageyama taunts. I shake it off and go at him again. This continues for a while longer. Finally after hours of fighting and training, we sit down and take a well deserved break. By this time its already night, and the stars are out. Im assuming Kaito took all the kids to Tsunade's house by now. Thats what I instructed him to do if I ever was late to getting home.
"You put up a good fight Katsumi, welcome to the team" Tadashi says. I chuckle a bit.
"Thanks, you guys are really strong. Man, im so beat" I say flopping onto the ground.
"How old are you Katsumi?" Kageyama asks.
"Im 15, turning 16 here soon. Why do you ask?" I look over to where they are sitting.
"Im 19 and Tadashi is 18. Your going to be on our team now, its good to know things about each other." Kageyama says.
"Makes sense, if we are saying things about each other you know my name. Naruto is my closest friends. Tsunade is my aunt, I take care of 7 kids at the moment. Kakashi and Yamato were my sensei's. Uhmmm... What else is there?...Oh! I have wood style chakra, along with earth and water of course. I have the 100 healings seal, and my summon is Katsuyu the slug queen. Thats about it." I say shrugging. Not really knowing what to talk about.
"Alright you know my name and age. I have 1 younger brother, he should be around 12 now I think. My sensei's are left to be anonymous and I have earth and wind style chakra's. I can use some fire style as well, though I prefer to not use it. I also specialise in genjutsu's and ninjustu." Kageyama says with his own shrug.
"Ok im left, I dont have any siblings. My parents are some leaf village diplomats. I have lightning wind and water style chakra's. I specialise in weapons and any long range attacks. I have a lion summoning and thats it" Tadashi finally replies. I nod and I feel content. Doing this brings me back to the days of Squad 7. Just Sasuke, Naruto and I against the world... Of course kakashi sensei was there too, he might be one of the most important adult figures in my life. Yamato also holding a close position.
"What do you do with the kids while your on missions?" Kageyama asks.
"They normally stay with my aunt. Either that or someone else who I trust" I say with a shrug.
"You should look to find them their forever homes. Your 15, they need an adult figure, not another teen Katsumi" Tadashi says. I was about to yell at him saying it was none of his business, but I knew he was right. Those kids... Ill have to talk to them later.
"Alright, your free to go, meet back here at 5am tomorrow. We will be training untill other notice." Kageyama says sitting up.
"Alright, you guys fought well. Ill see you tomorrow" I say running off to my home.
~~~Time skip~~~
I get home and am greeted by hugs and shouts. "Hey kids! How was everyone's day?" I ask them rubbing their heads.
"It was great! We learned how to throw Kunai and shuriken. I saw Kaito and he was practicing for his graduation exams. Iruka sensei and our class are going to go to the old school to see if we can find anything of use tomorrow" Hishiro exclaims rambling
"Well that sounds like an awfully busy day Hishiro. Kaito when are you graduating? I want to make sure im there with everyone to congratulate you." I ask him. He has a faint blush of embarrassment. I know im lying to myself, but I just want to pretend a bit longer. Pretend that I can keep this forever.
"You dont know if im going to pass yet Nee chan!" He exclaims hiding his face. I chuckle at his embarrassment.
"Of course I know youll pass. Your all very talented. Dont think I havent been keeping tabs on my favorite kids while I was away!" I say to them giggling. I end up making food while Kaito Itsuki and Hishiro practice in the training grounds. Kenji and Ichika are watching them train and Ichiro and Yui are here with me.
I make dinner quickly, trying to make something that tastes good for everyone. "hey Yui why dont you go and bring everyone back inside for dinner. Ichiro and I can set the table while you fetch them. Hows that sound?" I ask her.
"Ok! Ill be right back Nee san!" She yells running back to where the boys are.
After a minute or two of waiting all 6 of them walk back into the room. "Nee san whats for dinner?" Itsuki asks stretching his arms.
"I made some Soba and rice on the side. And I have some vegetables and pork as well. You need to have a balanced diet if you want to be a strong ninja!" I say to them.
They all sit down and start eating their dinner. I really love these kids, I dont want to let them go, but I know I have to.
"Nee san can you tell us about what being a Genin was like?" Kaito asks curiously. I can tell hes looking at the pictures of me and squad 7 on the wall. I have pictures of my squad all over. I have pictures of these 7 kids and my other friends as well. But these pictures he can tell were my squad.
"Ah well, you know I was on squad 7 when I was a little bit older than you! My squad was Kakashi sensei, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha. I spent all my time with these guys. They were my family, and they still are! You have met Kakashi sensei and Naruto before, but you havent met Sasuke. All 4 of us would go on crazy adventures. We met some crazy people on those trips. Back then was some of the best years of my life." I say letting out a sigh remembering the days of us all together again.
"You think we can meet Sasuke soon? He can come over tomorrow for dinner!" Itsuki asks.
"Ah, Sasuke is away right now. He has a long mission and he wont be back home for a while. I hope that one day you all can meet him. I also need to talk to you three later ok?" I say to Itsuki Hishiro and Kaito. They nod and we continue eating dinner.
After dinner I put the younger kids to bed. "Alright, I need you three to sit down for this one. Im not going to sugar coat this and to be frank I dont like what im about to say. However, I know its whats best for all of you." I say to them and I take a deep inhale. "You guys are going to have some forever homes. I love you all so so much, but I cant take care of you like how you need me to" I say to them.
"Nee san..." Kaito says with a shocked face.
"Why?... We really like it here though!" Hishiro says jumping up to hug me. I can feel the tears burning in my eyes. I rub circles on his back.
"Look, this is really hard for me, but im an ANBU now. I-I just dont want to leave you all alone. You need parents not a 15 year old trying to take care of 7 kids" I say sniffling a bit. "I fully intend to stay in your lives, and ill talk to Tsunade. But I cant take care of all of you. The younger kids have truama issues that need to be addressed with therapy. You do too, and I am not qualified to do it" I say with a quivering voice.
"Its ok nee san...Can we still visit all the time?" Kaito says with a whimper.
"Oh Kaito of course you can!" I say and now I have all three kids in my arms. Kenji, Ichiro, Yui and Ichika are too young to understand whats happening right now. "You 7 will always be my baby siblings ok? Nothing will ever change that! Youll just have parents we can trust take care of you ok? I promise that you will all be so happy and your new families will love you." I say with my wavering voice.
Tears are streaming from my eyes as I am hugging these three for maybe the last time for a while. "They others already have homes waiting for them, and they arranged for all of you to have play dates whenever you all want. Kenji and Ichiro got adopted by some wonderful parents from the Nara clan. You know shikamaru's clan. Yui and Ichika are adopted as well, I am not too familiar with them myself, but Tsunade says she trusts them. I trust her so it will be ok. Itsuki, Hishiro, You both have lovely parents waiting to meet you. Kaito, I know your clever, so you may have peiced it together by now, but Tsunade and I are related to you by blood. We dont know how, but for now you will be staying with Tsunade and Shizune ok?" I say to all three of them.
~~~~Time skip brought to you by me~~~~
I talked to the younger kids in the morning. They gave me protests, but gave in when I told them about their new families waiting for them. I end up dropping the kids off with their new parents where they all wished to meet.
Every time I could feel a little bit of my soul being taken away. It was as if part of me was leaving, the same way Sasuke left. Except this time, I know they will be ok.
"Nee san! Ill miss you so much!! Please dont forget us...please"Itsuki whispers the last part. My heart shatters into a million peices.
"Itsuki, I could never forget you... You guys are my world. Your a part of me and always will be." I say with tears streaming down my face. I give them one last hug before they go off with their new parents. I can tell they are going to be just fine.
As for me, thats a different story. My heart is absolutely broken. I know its the right thing to do, but it hurts so fucking much.
I was excused from training that day. I ended up locking myself in my room. For the first time ever, I actually had time to refect. I havent done this since I was a genin, it was always one thing after another.
I curl up on my bed by the window dry tears stain my red and puffy cheeks. My nose is red and irritated as well. All the greif washing over me, grandpa hokage, Sasuke, Jiraya, Kaito, Hishiro, Itsuki, Kenji, Ichiro, Yui, Ichika, and also...my younger self. I had no idea how long I had been holding onto these things. Bottling my grief of the people I loved and cherished. I can feel someone watching me, but I cant make myself move.
All I do is lay there curled in a ball and cry. I cry a lot. At one point in the night I get up and sit outside. I sit in the spot Naruto Sasuke and I would meet at night. It was my favorite spot and all the memories of us together was a lot. I cry and cry, grieving the loss of; one of my best friends, my siblings, my Uncle, my appointed grandpa, and my childhood.
It was cold that night, I was shivering from the windy night air. The stars were calming, enough so that I calm down. The presence of someone watching me never leaving, but they stayed put. I stared at the starry night with a red tear stained face, and a broken heart thats now ready to start healing.
My cheeks drying of my tears, and I feel a sense of lightness and appreciation for what I had. I grab my necklace and hold it close to my heart.
I got a new charm once all the kids left. On the front it says siblings, on the back it says bonds never broken. I also got one for gramps and Jiraya as well. Gramps is the will of fire symbol, and Uncle's is a toad with a pipe. All my charms were custom made. I ended up finding the same vendor that made my charms. I asked if he could make some for me in a similar way. Now I can keep all my precious family close to my heart.
I squeeze the necklace and smile, the breeze blowing on my tear stained face. I just sit there, watching the stars for a while. Choosing to ignore the ominous presence in my time or healing. This was something I have needed to do for a long time.
~~~~~~~Authors note~~~~~~~~
Hey yall! Sorry i wasnt updating school has absolutely SWAMPED me! I have 3 tests this week and an essay due next week. Updates may be slower than before, my apologies to the readers!!!