Omake 10: Ina meets the Twins (or 'How Tako was born')

Of the many possible interactions, one Shimura Ina was struggling to handle with caution was the current task her big brother was hassling himself with.

Little kids were cute, there was no denying that, but what Ina couldn't handle was being asked to monitor a little boy and a little girl that wanted her to actively play with them. Danzou had left to check a brief issue at the border, nothing unusual since he started to enjoy his semi-retirement, and with Hanzou currently at school, it was just her and Mineko, her new mama, to deal with the children.

Ina just wasn't that social, and she just was panicking while trying to catch on with the toddlers. Kazuhiko was a calm child Ina could relate to and managed to 'monitor' by having him draw and providing him with advice on how to draw 'as nice and well as Neechan' could. Orime was being looked after by Mineko early on that day, but as the woman moved to the kitchen to prepare lunch, the responsibility got redirected to poor Ina.

Why was that a problem? If the little girl's brother was a shy but lovable boy, this one was a pest. And one that demanded from Ina quite a lot of attention. She wanted to play hide and seek, or tag- or anything that involved physical activity. Something that poor Ina couldn't handle on her own due to her own physique. Quick to tire, quick to regret being so easy to push over for this sort of matters and… quick to rely on alternative solutions to solve her problems. She wasn't about to rely on the old entity's powers to solve this silly issue… but she had the means to use her current ones to solve it. And she did.

The small squid-like creature that she created, one with a violet soft skin and a serene look on its face, purred calmly, the suave smile on its face and its unusual form instantly gaining the attention of the children as both were instantly intrigued by it. Orime being the one that started the chase of the cute creature, causing it to flee around, but still keep close to the ground for it to be within the two reach if they caught up to it. It was easily caught. Then two more were spawned. Once again, Orime showed her prowess in hide and seek. Three, then six, then twelve and… things may have escalated a tiny bit.

Ina didn't mind it at first, but then the situation escalated to a point she had trouble keeping the creatures under control. Did she mess up big time? Walls were starting to crack with more of her 'Tako', and the sheer volume of their presence was jarring to say the least. From disaster then to peace when the creatures finally listened to her orders. Or so she thought. They all rallied outside in front of her and… her brother. John (or Danzou) looked quite surprised, suspicious and genuinely worried, his curiously-designed eye flashing with energy.

"So… what's going on here?"

Ina had the decency to blush and look at the ground, knowing she had messed up big time. She expected to be yelled at or something along those lines. But her Big Bro understood that she was just trying to help her own way. And by doing so, she made a mess. One that she was now urged to clean up after on her own, with no help. The damaged walls were fixed by Danzou, but the dust and the mud littering the floors were hers to deal with. Or so was initially the case before both Orime and Kazuhiko started to clean with her (or trying to as the boy tripped a far bit and the girl got quite dirty while cleaning with her hands alone).

Oh well, another thing to know about her curious creation and a lesson to never forget about overusing an autonomous army of floating mascots to handle her own responsibilities…