Winter was finally over which meant it was time for Mai to go to Konoha with Jiraiya.
The white-haired Sannin knew he had to tell her everything, that is about the system of the shinobi world and Konoha and the Academy and her family as well. Except her father, Tsunade had demanded that he should not tell anything about him for whatever unknown reason, surely to protect her from pain. Anyway, he knew little Mai would ask questions over and over again about him, it was to be expected. And honestly, he had no clue how he would cope with that.
He would tell her everything on the way, this way the trip would not seem too long.
They were now ready to leave as the three of them had bid farewell. Mai was sad of course, she thought her mother would come with them, which would have been logical when you think about it. Why wasn't she coming anyway ? Mai wanted to know but she preferred to wait to ask Jiraiya on the road. As for Tsunade, she was sad, even sadder than her daughter though she did not show it. She did not want to appear weak in front of her own daughter. Mai's departure tore her apart but at the same time she told herself it would be best for Mai if she stayed away from her for a while. At least in Konoha she would not be alone and she was sure she would be much happier.
In fact, Mai and Tsunade had gotten closer for the past months. Because of medical ninjutsu. Ever since that time in the forest with the wounded fawn Mai had been eager to do more medical ninjutsu, to improve herself. She absolutely loved doing that. And so she had been practising relentlessly with her mother guiding her but without the blood of course. Mai had already made some good progress which made her mother really proud to be honest. And Tsunade was certain that Mai would be able to surpass her one day. It was bound to happen. And it was a great relief for the Sannin somehow. At least, if one day she had to save someone precious to her Mai would surely be able to save them unlike her. This mere though somehow seemed to take some of her inner guilt away but still she was not completely at peace with herself yet. She felt it would take much more time again before being strong enough to learn to live with the pain and overcome it and thus coming back to Konoha to be with her daughter and act like a real mother should.
Mai stared at her mother with begging eyes, as if to tell her to come with them. But it was pointless. When Tsunade had decided something, it was impossible to make her change her mind. Though Mai did not know it yet she would learn it later. Even if it was Mai, as of now, she would not give in. She simply couldn't.
Jiraiya saw the hurt look on Mai's face and knew there was nothing to do left. That scene really looked like déjà vu. It was better for them to leave now before Mai refused to leave her mother or pleaded her to come at all costs.
"Come on Mai, let's be going already. We have a long way to do before reaching Konoha. We musn't dawdle." The man said plainly hoping Mai would be reasonable and would listen to him.
Mai didn't say anything. She didn't even nod in agreement. She stayed still and stared at the ground, strands of hair covering her angelic face. She was just sad.
"Mai. I know you're sad but I am too. I really am. But I can't come back now to the village, I still have lot of stuff to do in the region so please don't be sad. Even if I'm not there with you I'll always be thinking of you. And I promise I'll try to come to see you soon, when I have some free time okay?"
Tsunade was the one to speak those kind and reassuring words. Her voice was filled with love and softness that she'd never thought she would have. It was her daughter who she was talking to after all. The blond-haired lady hoped it would make Mai feel better and convince her to leave. Which indeed worked quite well as little Mai looked up to her mother before giving her a bright smile, eyes shining with hope. She was so glad to hear her mother say that. And she really hoped her mother would come very soon so that they could all live together. Like a family. She needed to have a real family. She was thinking that her wish was finally going to become true. She couldn't have been happier than now. Because to tell the truth she now thought that Jiraiya was her father. It had to be him. Who else could it be otherwise ? And especially, why would her mother let this man escort her to the village and remain with him once there if he was not related to her in ay way ? Why not choose someone else ? Because her mother had told her Jiraiya was a childhood friend. But for Mai it meant everything. It was crystal clear in her small head. Because childhood friend means lover she thought smiling as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
If only it were that simple.
Mai suddenly hugged her mother tightly which caught Tsunade out of guard but nonetheless the woman pushed her away from her legs gently so that she could kneel down and hug her back properly. The little girl enjoyed that moment more than anything. It held such a warmth, a warmth she had never felt before. It was the first time her mother had given her that kind of hug, or rather a hug at all. A real hug. She wished it would last forever and didn't want to let go at first but now that she knew her mother had promised to come back soon to her she was sure she would be given plenty more hugs like that.
So she eventually let go as her mother smiled softly at her, and turned her attention back to Jiraiya. After all, she had not forgotten that she was eager to discover the village and the people living in it, though she dreaded a bit to be face to face with unknown people. As she wasn't used to that at all, she always felt ill at ease, just like with Jiraiya the first time. Well now, she wasn't completely outgoing with him yet. No, in fact she was still quiet and shy with him because after all she hardly knew him when she thought about it. Even though deep down she was excited because she thought the man was her father but after all that may be the reason why she was so reserved with him.
"Are you ready now little Mai?" Jiraiya asked softly.
Mai nodded eagerly and was already beginning to walk away as Jiraiya looked at her with a smirk before beginning to walk as well next to her.
Before the two were too far away for Tsunade to see them they stopped in their tracks and turned around. Mai waved goodbye cheerily to her mother one last time while Jiraiya simply gave her a small but confident smile and nodded as a way to tell her everything was going to be alright.
Tsunade tried her best not to cry. She was going to miss her daughter dearly, no matter what she wanted herself to believe.
*****************************
Jiraiya and Mai had already traveled half of the way but it was way too much for Mai's small legs. Of course they had made small but reasonable breaks, at least long enough for Mai to rest, well according to Jiraiya. That's definitely not what Mai thought. She wanted to go on but her legs would not follow. Hence her collapsing on the ground. Fortunately for her Jiraiya noticed it and caught her in time before she could completely collapse on the earth. The man then lifted her up as he was aware that she could no longer stand up to carry her on his broad shoulders. He didn't really have any other choice left anyway.
Yet, Mai was used to walking since she had already traveled several times with her mother through the Land of Fire. Well, actually her mother would carry her most of the time since she was too little to walk such long distances. So that was pretty understandable.
Mai would have to work hard on her endurance if she wanted to become a good shinobi. Jiraiya made a mental note to help her with that once they were settled in the village.
Said girl put her hands around the Sannin's neck and lowered her head, as if ready to fall asleep.
The walk had been silent and still was though Jiraiya didn't really mind.
Mai let out a bored sigh as she was constantly wondering when they would finally arrive to that village. The trip seemed to be endless to her. Right now she wished she could do some more medical ninjutsu though she was aware she couldn't. She really hoped she would be able to practise in Konoha. But it would not be the same without her mother. It was their thing. Yes, it was the only real and interesting activity they shared together. Fortunately, her mother would join them soon.
Jiraiya noticing her boredom remembered he had to explain everything before they arrived. And he thought this was the perfect occasion to do so.
"Mai. I have a question for you. But it's alright if you don't know the answer. I'm here to explain anyway."
Mai straightened herself up out of curiosity waiting for him to continue which he did anyway.
"Do you know what a shinobi is?"
The question itself wasn't the easiest one. Far from it. But he preferred to begin with the most meaningful and important part before going deeper into details.
A sheerly confused look was now plastered on Mai's small face. What is he talking about?
Of course, Jiraiya knowing she would have no clue answered the question for her.
"A shinobi is a ninja, a warrior, someone who fights to protect his village and the people who live in it, and most importantly the people he loves the most. A shinobi is someone who endures. He always has to keep going, even through great pain and even if he loses everything dear to him. Because he's perfectly aware he might die anytime, whether it be tomorrow, or in two days, or in a week, a year, several years, whatever and this lasts until his death. And even dead he still remains a shinobi. Talking about it, it's not what a shinobi does during all his life which defines him as he truly is or what he's worth but it's what he does just before he dies, you see."
The Sannin paused, not wanting to overwhelm her with too much information. She must be already confused enough with that. He waited for a short while to let time to Mai to register all the information. She will have to remember this all her life.
Mai didn't understand why he was telling her all of this though. What did it have to do with her precisely?
However she would have her answer sooner than she thought.
Jiraiya then proceeded with his speech.
"And the village that the shinobi has to protect, there are five of them actually. The first to have been founded is Konoha and later the other villages just did the same, copying exactly the same system Konoha had created in the first place."
Mai's face was now full of awe and curiosity. So the village where her mother and father came from, including herself was one of those villages. Actually she didn't remember the name of their village, although it was very likely her parents had mentioned it while she was with them.
"What village is ours?" She asked eager to know more.
Jiraiya smirked. He was glad he managed to pique little Mai's curiosity.
"Konoha of course. The hidden village in the leaves. The most powerful one of the Land of Fire. All the most powerful nations have one even those which are weak but they are minor."
Mai was impressed and she didn't hide it. She never thought such a concept would exist. She definitely wanted to know even more now.
"What about the others?"
"Well there are five main villages, the most powerful ones of course which are part of what we call the five elemental nations. So you see the village of Konohagakure is part of the Land of Fire as I already told you. After you have Kirigakure, the hidden village in the mist, in the Land of Water; Iwagakure, the hidden village in the rocks, in the Land of the Earth; Kumogakure, the hidden village in the Clouds, in the Land of Thunder and finally Sunagakure, the hidden village in the sand, in the Land of the Wind."
"And who founded our village?"
That was it, it was finally time to tell her.
"Before knowing that, you need to know how the villages work themselves. Each village is governed and represented by what we call a kage which means shadow and then the name differs according to the natural element of the elemental nation. Look, as an example for Konoha it is fire that's why our leader is called the Hokage. For Kiri it is water then it's the Mizukage. For Iwa it is earth then we have the Tsuchikage. For Kumo it is lightning so it is the Raikage. And finally for Suna it is the wind so it's called the Kazekage. I guess you have understood what I meant."
"Yes, I have." Mai said expectantly.
"Good. Well, as for Konoha, since it was the first shinobi village to have ever existed this is logical I tell you who was at the origin of it in the first place. It was the Shodai Hokage of course but he was definitely not just any man."
Mai was even more intrigued now. What kind of man could he be?
"He was part of the famous Senju Clan of the Forest, one of the two most powerful clans of his time, the other one being the Uchiha clan, a very special clan which is said to be cursed. But that's not what important right now, you'll learn about that later. So, to go back to what I was saying, his name was Hashirama Senju and so he was the leader of his clan and was at war with the Uchiha clan, since those two clan had been sworn enemies since the dawn of time for whatever unknown reason and thus hated each other with a burning passion. However, the Shodai-Sama was nothing like that. He simply wanted peace with the Uchiha and so he tried endlessly to make the leader of the Uchiha clan sign a peace treaty but the man refused every time. It took him a long while but in the end the two leaders came to an agreement and signed a peace treaty, thus creating the village of Konoha soon after where the two clan could live in harmony after so many violent battles and deaths."
Mai was astounded now. Never would she have thought either that such a concept as war would exist. She was extremely puzzled. What did those two clans even fight for anyway? What was the purpose of war? Why did it even exist? What did it mean exactly
Fortunately, thanks to that man and the creation of Konoha, all this folly had stopped she told herself. If only she knew.
Jiraiya had tried to make it sound as simple as possible for her. After all, she was only five even if she was to become a shinobi. Anyway, she would learn all of this in detail at the Academy.
"Why do people fight between them?" Mai asked casually.
Jiraiya closed his eyes, sighing. He himself was not even sure to have the true answer.
"Who knows." Jiraiya did not wish to go further into the subject. It was way too complex to be tackled.
Mai knew she wouldn't have a clear answer but it was alright. For her, war was just some stupidity and that was it.
Jiraiya hesitated to tell her who the Shodai Hokage really was. Maybe he'd better wait. He had no idea. Let's give it a try.
"Mai? Do you want to know a funny fact about the Shodai-Sama?"
Mai did not hesitate a single second.
"Yes! What is it?"
How could he put that ? He couldn't just tell her the truth bluntly. It would be a bit brutal, at least in his opinion. Or not. Maybe she would be overly happy about that.
"What would you say if I told you that you were related to him?"
"REALLY ?!" Mai could not quite believe what she had just heard. Maybe she simply heard wrong. She had to make sure.
"Is it true?" She asked unsure.
"Well... Yes, it is actually."
Now Mai was even more astounded. No, it was a much stronger feeling. Something undecipherable. Her ? Related to that great man? The man who had stopped the war and created the village of Konoha ? How was it even possible ? Her mother had never told her about anything. Neither Konoha, nor the Shodai or even what a shinobi was and how the whole system worked. She felt so upset. Why would her mother hide the whole truth to her ? She didn't understand at all and she hated that feeling. Fortunately, to her great relief her father was there to reveal the truth to her.
"Who is he exactly to me ?" She asked shyly.
"He was your great-grandfather, more precisely your mother's grandfather."
Mai was speechless. If anything, she would have thought she was related to him on her father's side, but no. In fact, that made her even more upset than she already was. No, she was hurt, why did she not tell her ? Why ? Anyway she would have the opportunity to ask directly her mother when she sees her. Soon. So she put that feeling away for now and tried to regain her composure. She could still not believe that nonetheless. She was so amazed. She closed her eyes, seeming to be satisfied and leaned her head onto Jiraiya's.
"Thank you."
Jiraiya smiled contentedly.
" It's okay. But you don't have to thank me though. It's only natural I tell you this. "
Now Mai was sure about it. This man was her real father.
****************************
The two had finally arrived at their destination after two days of walking. Mai was so tired. Her only wish now was to sleep in a real bed and to have a true night. Camping was definitely not her thing.
They were now standing in front of Konoha's giant doors as the two guards at the entrance had stopped them to control their identities. Fortunately as Jiraiya was well-known by everyone in the village there wasn't any problem and could directly enter.
"Oh what a cute little girl you have there. No wait ! Is she...."
"Yes, that's it. She's Tsunade's daughter. Katō Mai."
"Oh my ! She's so beautiful ! What a luck you have there Jiraiya-Sama." One of the guards said.
The other one could only agree.
"Welcome home ! Mai-Sama, Jiraiya-Sama, please go ahead. We don't want to keep you waiting in any way." The other said very formally.
Both were staring at Mai in awe while Mai blushed hard. How embarrassing. She did not like that at all either. She hoped she would go unnoticed in the village. But in fact she knew it would be impossible. Oh my god, what was she going to do?
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Jiraiya and Mai were now wandering through the busy streets of Konoha. Never would have Mai thought it to be so big ! It was so wonderful. Mai already loved it. It was so different from all the places she had stayed at with her mother. She could not exactly say why, but she could definitely feel it. There was such a great warmth emanating from the village, as if nothing could happen to you there. It was so good for Mai to feel like that. She came to wonder why her mother would leave such a fantastic place. And especially why she had forced her to leave with her without Mai's agreeing. If she had been her mother or old enough to say no, never would she have left this place. Mai looked back and forth from right to left relentlessly as she was almost running, her weariness having been overwhelmed by her excitement. She wanted to see everything and she couldn't wait.
"Mai! Not so fast! There are two people I would like to introduce to you first. Come here!"
Mai made a face. She wanted to discover the rest of the village, and especially not be face to face and have to talk to any people. Of course, she knew it was rude but she was so afraid of them. She complied anyway since she couldn't do otherwise. She went back on her tracks and stopped to stand next to Joraiya as she was staring at the ground. She didn't dare look up but had to of course. So she slowly lifted her head up and was met with indeed two people. A male and a female. They looked very young, well of course much older than Mai. They were more or less ten years older than Mai. She looked at them one by one. The female had long red hair and violet eyes and was wearing a yellow outfit with black tights and sandals. As for the male- Oh my. Mai couldn't believe it. She had never seen someone so handsome in her whole life. Well, except her mother, but that was completely different. Her jaw dropped totally at what she saw. She locked eyes with him but almost immediately avoided his gaze. It was too much for poor little Mai.
"Mai, this is Kushina and Minato. Minato is my student and Kushina his girlfriend."
Mai practically choked on her own saliva. Was it really true?? Of course, it was, her own father would never lie to her. What a fool I am.
"And of course you guys already know who Mai is." Jiraiya added nonchalantly.
Kushina's eyes shined with stars as she contemplated Mai.
"OH MY GOD WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL YOU HAVE BECOME !!! YOU'RE SO PRETTY !!! LOOK AT HER MINATO, SHE'S GROWN UP SO MUCH ALREADY IN FIVE YEARS ONLY, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!" Kushina couldn't control herself, she was too excited. No that was an understatement.
Mai completely freaked out as Kushina approached her to take her in her arms. She quickly went to hide behind Jiraiya's back, feeling it was the only safe place for her to be.
Minato sweatdropped, knowing too well Kushina. He sincerely silently prayed for her to calm down.
"Oh sorry about this. You know Mai is afraid of people she doesn't know. It was the same with me at first so don't worry. You just need to be patient." Jiraiya said, trying to cool down the tense atmosphere hovering over them.
Unfortunately, patience was not Kushina's forte. But still she understood as Mai was still a small child. And so she would make efforts for her. She found it so cute actually. Mai was really adorable.
Minato sighed quietly in relief as Mai took a peep at the two to see what was happening.
"I'm really happy that you're back among us Mai, you'll see you are going to love the village."
This time Minato had been the one speaking with a very kind, smooth and soft voice which made Mai blush furiously. She was glad they could not see that. There was no answer on her part which was to be expected, and even if she had wanted to reply she couldn't have anyway. Now completely flustered she definitely needed to get away from that awkward situation.
There was only one way.
She fell on her knees swiftly ready to collapse on the ground just like earlier during the long trip. Jiraiya who again noticed it turned around and caught her again to carry her in his arms this time.
"Well I guess it's time for us to settle down in our new home. Anyway you'll have plenty of time to dicover the village Mai. Minato. Kushina. I'll see you around."
"Yeah of course ! Rest well little Mai, tomorrow's gonna be a long day dattebane!"
Mai gave her a curious look. What did she mean by that?
Minato smiled softly at the child.
"We'll see you soon then Mai, I hope you will like your new home."
This time Mai buried her face in Jiraiya's chest to avoid total embarrassment.
"Anyway I'm sure you guys have better things to do, don't you? " Jiraiya said suggestively, raising his eyebrows which made Minato blush while Kushina got angry.
"JIRAIYA-SAN !!!"
And with that Jiraiya and Mai disappeared in a puff of smoke.
**********************
The house was a bit far from the center of the village. But it was really nice. Neither too big not too small , and there was even a small garden.
" Mai, there's one more thing I have to tell you before I let you rest. "
Mai turned her attention to him, ready to hear what he had to say.
" Tomorrow it will be your first day at the Academy, to learn how to become a good shinobi. "
It was another great surprise for Mai. She gulped anxiously. It meant there would be plenty of other kids who were going to learn to become shinobis too.
And she hoped things were going to go well.
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Hi ! Here's another chapter !
I'm sorry I know it's really long but when I begin writing generally I don't know where to stop !
Thanks anyway to those who will have read this entirely and I hope you will like it :)
Please don't hesitate to comment to tell me your thoughts about it and if you prefer shorter chapters, it's important for me to know. Anyway I'll try to make an effort for the next chapter.
Thank you !