When the rest of his siblings returned, they didn't seem very happy. It was apparent that they had figured out that the Menma that was working with them wasn't the real thing. If the way Katsuki and Yoshie glared at him from the corner of their eyes, or how Akihiko seemed to twirl a bone needle around his fingers. The true selling point was when Shouta smiled at him. It was a perfect, fake smile. The kind he wore when they had first met him, he only reverted back to his old ways when he was really upset. Like he had his reasons, it wasn't because he didn't want to help on the bridge. Other things just needed his attention. That's all.
Inari wasn't at the table for dinner. Menma kinda wishes he was there, he still owed the kid an apology after all. Kiba was shoving food into his mouth, though much slower this time. He must have learned his lesson from the last time. Good for him.
"So how was training? Bet it's more exciting than building a bridge." Yoshie slurped some of the noodles from her bowl.
"It was fine. Apparently walking up trees had proven to be a more taxing exercise than we first anticipated." Shino pulls down his collar low enough to feed himself.
"Speak for yourself!" Kiba swallows whatever food was still in his mouth, before barking his offense.
Mio spoke into her meal. "Need I remind you that you spent most of the time nursing your rear. With the amount of times you've fallen on it, it's a surprise that you can still sit on it."
"Hey! What's your problem?!"
"That's enough." Kakashi's voice was low, threatening even. "You can argue some other time."
Kiba growled but quiet down. "Fine." Mio only shrugged and returned to her meal. It was like nothing had happened.
Yoshie blinked. "Okay. Lovely."
"Hey. Do you wanna join me for a late night stroll?" Menma had to clear things out with his siblings, there was nothing worse than getting the silent treatment from them.
"Is it safe for you to be out at this hour?" Shino questioned. "Gato's men are still walking about."
"We can handle ourselves. Been doing it for years. We may not be shinobi but we know how to stand up for each other. Safety in numbers." Noriaki smiled, he always had that charming smile. It could fool anyone.
"Well, be safe."
"We will. Be back in a bit." The eight of them waved as they stepped out the door.
"Okay." Sakura swung her leg. They had all found a clearing surrounded by tall trees. Most walked up them, however Gaara and Naruto climbed up them with a squirrel-like grace. "So what did you wanna talk about?"
"First things first. Sorry for ditching you guys. I sent a clone to be me for a day, I swear that I had my reasons."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "And they were?"
"They went training. I had to take advantage. Kakashi wouldn't always be alone, especially with that one around." They knew exactly who he was talking about. "I needed to get that message to him." Gaara placed a finger over his lips, the universal sign to quiet down. His ears twitched. "You hear something?"
He nodded, pointing towards the east. "Sounds like someone is setting down camp. They came from the border."
"And let me guess, they seem to be heading towards the house?"
"Yes." Crap. "It could be nothing but I think we all know that it's wishful thinking." It was. Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari, and anyone that had any kind of connection to the bridge and its completion, had a target on their neck. And yes, they had bounties on their backs too but they weren't innocent people just trying to survive.
Naruto furrowed his brow. "I think one of the girls should stay at the house tomorrow. Make an excuse: you aren't feeling well, you rolled your ankle and now it's swollen. Anything. I'll keep some clones here just in case. Our main focus is the safety of Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari. The rest of you, stay sharp. Keep a low profile."
"Hai!"
"We should start heading back. Gaara? We should keep a scent on whoever that is."
"On it." He jumped from branch to branch before dropping on the grass below in a tiger crouch. "I'll be a minute."
"We'll be waiting." Gaara was one of their best trackers. Which was weird when you consider Hinata and Neji with their byakugan, but Gaara had something they didn't. Gaara and Naruto were both mothered by jinchuriki, they had grown and developed surrounded by bijuu chakra. It had a few side effects, ones that resulted with their animalistic behavior and appearance. With a superior sense of smell, hearing, and vision, they both reflected the animals that their tailed beasts stood for. So when Gaara popped his head out from behind the trees, they knew that they were in the clear to return to the house.
Tsunami was in the kitchen, washing dishes when they returned. "There you are. We were starting to get worried."
"Sorry..." Menma rubbed the back of his neck. "We kinda lost track of time, the forest is very nice at night."
Kiba scuffed, "you're a weird one..."
He shrugged, "to each their own." They headed upstairs to their bedrooms, a plan ready to act out when the morning came.
Hinata had volunteered to stay behind, she was their best choice after all. With her evolved form of the byakugan, her excellent taijutsu and ability to stay calm and collected in stressful situations, it was a no brainer. "Your main focus is to keep Tsunami, and Inari safe. If you have to, use anything. But their safety is your main priority."
"I get it. You can count on me, Naruto."
"I know I can. Take care."
"You too." She walked out of the room, her face red, warm with a "fever." So she was excused from work that day. Kiba was nowhere to be found.
Kakashi sighed, "he can fend for himself." His attempt to brush off his worry about his student was caught by the Hyuga.
Hinata coughed, "I'm sure he's fine. You should start heading to the bridge, we'll be fine."
He looked her up and down, giving her his signature cyclops' smile. "Get better."
"I'll try. Stay safe."
"No promises." And he turned away with the rest of his squad tailing close behind. She watched them leave. Turning into small dots in the distance. She wandered around the house, helping Tsunami do chores, giving Daichi his medicine, even trying to urge Inari out of his room with the promise of sweets. It didn't work but it was worth the shot. A slight noise put her on high alert. "Excuse me, Tsunami."
The older woman brushed her aside. "No need to excuse yourself. You're helping me around the house while nursing a fever. If you need anything, haler!"
"Will do." She calmly walked up the stairs and into the bathroom, where she prived open the window once she had locked the door. She crawled out onto the roof. It was a perfect vantage point, one could see anything from here. And with her byakugan, she had access to that and more. There was a group of three men, high level chunins from the flow of their chakra, heading in their direction. She could definitely handle them, but not at the same time. Wait! There was a fourth and fifth, smaller chakra signature. It was familiar...
Kiba and Akamaru had shown up in an oddly silent fashion. Sneaking up on one of the assailants as they snuck around the house. He picked them off one after the other. Hinata smiled, it seemed like things would work out just fine. For now at least. She deactivated her byakugan and slid back through the bathroom window. Kiba was in the living room, attending to a shaken up Tsunami. "Everything is under control. You and Inari are safe now." Huh? Kiba was never a soft spoken individual, but his tone was gentle. Yeah, he was shaping up to become a fine shinobi already. "Speaking of Inari, where is he? And Katsuri?"
"Inari hasn't left his bedroom. Katsuri is-"
"Right here. What happened?" She descended down the stairs, concern painted on her face.
Kiba handed Tsunami a glass of water. "Some rogue-nins, most likely employed by Gato. They showed up with the intention of taking Tsunami and Inari hostage. Luckily, we stopped them."
"Thank you! But did you know where they were heading?"
"Simple enough. Akamaru and I did some training last night and overslept. But on our way to the bridge, we noticed a malicious scent. Not too far from it was a boar, it was beaten to a pulp like someone was using it for practice. The whole area around there looked like that, and I noticed that it was heading this way. So, I connected two and two together."
"Wow! You're so smart, Kiba. How could we ever repay you?"
Kiba preened at the praise. "It was nothing. Unfortunately, we need to head back to the bridge. Something tells me that something big is going to happen there and my team might need my help. Can you take Inari, and Tsunami to the town? Oh! And your cousin too. You got street smarts so I trust that you can keep them safe."
She blinked, it was like talking to a different person. "I'm honored that you trust me with something so important. I won't let you down."
"Then Akamaru and I should get going. Good luck."
"You too." And with that exchange, they leaped out of the window. They could have easily used the door but she was pretty sure he had already used all of his brain cells.
However true to her words, she helped Tsunami up, who called for her son. Inari came down the stairs, his floppy bucket hat covering his face. A crossbow gripped firmly in his hands, a quiver of arrow tied to his hip. "Inari!" The boy clutched the crossbow closer to his chest. "Inari?"
"I'm- I'm sorry, mom." Was he crying?
"Inari? What are you apologizing for?"
"I've been mean to you and granddad. You have done everything to take care of me and keep me safe. And all I've done is mope around and that's not okay. I wanna... I wanna make things right. You heard Kiba, something big might happen today. And we're going to town... so maybe we can convince them to take our land back. We can try, at least."
Katsuri smiled, so many surprises in one day. "We can try." She reached out to pat the boy's head and he let her. "You're a brave kid, Inari. Just like your father." He preened. Tsunami smiled at her son, he was so much like his father. Her second late husband. "Come on. Let's rally some forces and start a coup."
"Yeah... I like that idea."