The Jinchuriki

Damn, I'm pumping out the chapters this month lol I'll probably be awol for the rest of the semester though lmao. Anywho, please bear with me since things will really start to speed up as the war starts, likely after chapter 5. I'm sorry if y'all think I'm dragging or going to fast. As always, feel free to check out the rest of the series and let me know what you think of Akari and her schemes. It's actually too much fun to write her with the Hatake. Those two deserve all the love. Thanks for the support and for stoping by! ? ﾟﾒﾙ? ﾟﾒﾙ?

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"Oh," Shikaku states flatly, lazily making his way over, although I can sense the concern aimed at my bloody face, "Ah, damn. This is gonna be troublesome."

Sakumo groans, his hand running through his wild hair forcefully, before abruptly turning away from the confused, slightly alarmed teenage girl in the doorway, and crouching down next to me, a handkerchief in hand as he begins cleaning up the bloody mess of my face. "Right. This was our fault. A miscalculation on the part of the Uchiha Clan and I. Uzumaki-Chan isn't a threat, little ome. She is a ninja of Konoha, a comrade."

"Uh, what exactly is happening?" A soft, bewildered voice asks from next to Kushina, the second teen's aura nearly completely masked by the enormous, blinding mass that was the Jinchuriki no Kyuubi. Minato Namikaze.

"Kushina-chan scared the baby Uchiha with her crazy ass chakra," Tsume calls out exasperatedly as she and the rest follow Shikaku's example and drop their defensive positions.

"Wha- I didn't mean to!" Kushina yelps, and I flinch, pressing back into the warm mass of angry wolf behind me as she steps inside, causing Sakumo's summon to snarl, and more auras to spike, making me whine quietly from the increased sensory input and resulting pain.

"Uzumaki-chan, please stay where you are for a moment. Akari-chan is a very strong sensor, and while we know it's unintentional, you are hurting her." The girl, only just a teen, makes a distressed noise but does as asked. "Akari-chan, I promise Uzumaki-chan isn't bad. You can put the kunai down."

I hadn't realized I'd picked it up, or even where it came from, honestly. Nor am I sure what I wanted to use it on.

Shikaku carefully reaches out, his palm lighting up with a familiar soothing type of chakra. "With your permission, Hatake-sama?"

Sakumo-ojisama agrees with only a moment's hesitation, and then, I'm slumping in relief as the oddly minty chakra starts flowing through my forehead. Oh, the wonders of medical ninjutsu. I reach up, grasping Shikaku's wrist and leaning harder into it, slurring, "Thank you," as the pounding in my skull quickly abates.

"You're welcome, kid. It's nothing serious, but it does seem like her system got a bit or a shock. It's not uncommon with sensors who push their range too much or too fast. I guess it's the same concept here, but she'll be fine." Shikaku states, patting my head as he stops his chakra flow. My chakra pathways feel sore, but much better than the brutal ache from before.

"Sakumo-ojisama?" The man turns to me, gently wiping the last of the blood off my hand. "Why is he so angry?"

"Who?" He asks calmly, but the wariness is concealed tightly.

I point at Kushina, and the room goes silent, before the girl sputters, waving her hands wildly. "I'm not angry, I swear. And I really didn't mean to hurt-"

I frown, waving my hand dismissively as I get back to my feet, leaning against Kakashi who has spent this entire time silently keeping vigil. I'd told him that I might get a nosebleed, and although he hasn't been happy, he promised to stick to the plan, and was doing a fantastic job of it. "Not you, him." As one, every head in the room turns towards Minato. I huff, "No, not him either. Him." I pat my belly before pointing at Kushina again.

"Oh, fuck," someone mutters as the room suddenly goes tense again, like the moment just before a storm, horror rising as everyone realizes that I am referring to the tailed beast sealed away in the red head. "How the hell-"

Sakumo groans, "… You know what? I'm getting Mikoto."

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"So, to summarize, she," Kakashi points at Kushina, "has the nine tailed beast sealed in her belly after inheriting it from Shodaime's wife, Mito Uzamaki. The same tailed beast that Madara Uchiha turned on the first Hokage, and is therefore known as a jinchuriki."

"Yes, that's right," my mother confirms, gently rubbing my back. "Kushina-chan is actually a good friend of mine, and I promise she's safe. I've mentored her for a while, and we still take missions together every now and then."

I blink, another puzzle piece falling into place. I knew that Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha had been friends, but Kushina was supposed to have Naruto at the age of 22 ish, something I knew because she was the same age as Minato, and Kakashi was 13 when Minato died, giving them a nine year age gap. Kakashi would be turning five soon, meaning Minato and Kushina are around 14. Since my mother was married at 18 and is almost 21 now, there is a 6 or 7 year age gap between them. My mother, a Jonnin, could have easily met a young Kushina, who probably isn't a jonin, but maybe a chunin, while working light duty as she recovered from childbirth and came back from maternity leave, explaining their relationship. Contrary to the cannon belief, Mikoto and Kushina were never the same age.

"Now, make sure not to talk about it. It's a very important secret," my mother instructs, sternly wagging her finger at Kakashi and I.

I gave her a skeptical look and wave my hand vaguely at the crowd in the room. Mama sighs, but admits, "Okay, yes, everyone here already knows, but still."

"So, none of the civilians know?" Kakashi asks, but Minato chimes in before my mother can.

"Actually, a fair amount of civilians seem to know as well. Some make comments when we're walking through the village, and since Mito-sama died, it's pretty obvious that another Uzumaki would inherit the Kyuubi," the boy says.

I shoot Sakamoto an incredulous look and my pseudo-uncle facepalms, "For a ninja village, we kind of suck at keeping secrets," Good, now this will insure that the Hokage minds the reputation of the jinchuriki in Konoha to avoid a repeat of Naruto's childhood, although, to be honest, I don't honestly believe Sakamoto would have let it happen in the first place, unlike Huiruzen, who loved Naruto but was weak to the council. Now, let's get the ball rolling on improving Kurama's situation.

Huffing, I cross my arms and pout, letting my toddler brain take over as I shoot a dark glance at Sakumo. It's a rather skilled move on my part considering the top half of my face was still covered by the silk blindfold. I was actually rather pleased how well people were still able to get the messages I was sending without me having to open my mouth.

Sakumo startles a bit, before gently pulling me into hug. "Why so upset, Pup?"

I scowl. "Ojjisama didn't answer my question."

He blinks in surprise, his eye lashes shifting the chakra in the air and the feedback as clear as day to my sensing abilities, at least at this distance. Man, I love chakra sensing. "What question?"

"She still wants to know why the Kyuubi's so mad. Riri-chan, it's probably because he's been sealed away." Nicely done, Kashi!

"…You can sense its emotions, Sweetheart?" My mother asks, strained. Out of everyone, it's actually Kushina that's the most alarmed at this revelation.

I frown. "Him, not it," I starte, "Ah, he is surprised now."

The ensuing silence is deafening, but short lived.

"It can hear-"

"It's sentient?! How the hell-"

"The seal-"

The chaos the room erupts not is abruptly cut off by a piercing whistle from Sakumo. "Enough. None of this information leaves this room. Am I understood?" I watch, intrigued, as the rowdy teens I had spent the last hour or two with rapidly transform into ninja, their spines straightening and they all respond in unison without hesitation. "Yes, sir!"

"Ooh, Sakumo-sama, your inner Hokage is showing," Asuka, the oldest of the clan heirs, teases, the smirk in his voice obvious.

Sakumo snorts, but ignores him, and I get the feeling that those two probably work together regularly, considering their similar statuses in the village. "Hmm, we now have much to consider about the reality of the jinchuriki. Uzumaki-clan, the Hokage will probably send for you soon, but you are not in trouble." The girl slumps in relief, having been nervously clutching Minato's hand in the corner of the room, as far as possible from me. Sakumo continues, turning back to me, "And you, little troublemakers, will be heading home."

I gasp, offended, tugging on his haori. "But, ojisama, we are making friends!" I gesture at the room, easily breaking the last of the tension as the clan heirs dissolve into amusement.

"I don't know, Little Star, you've had quite the day," my mother frets, smoothing my kimono down and rubbing at a bloodstain.

"Mama!" I whine quietly, knowing damn well how unfair I'm being.

"Didn't expect to ever see the one known as the Princess of Bloody Blades falter …" someone mutters, and I feel my eyebrows raise under silk. Damn, mom's got a badass nickname.

Mother sighs, "I suppose a bit longer won't matter. The Clan Heads are almost done anyway. But," Inoichi squeaks at the abrupt attention of both the Uchiha Matriarch and the future Hokage suddenly on him. If anything happens, I wish to be notified immediately."

"O-of course, Mikoto-sama," the Yamanka Heir stutters, sweating bullets, much to my amusement.

"Don't worry, I'll be here watching the brats," Asuka jokes, ignoring the protests of the younger heirs, but I got the impression that he was still very serious. Mother and Ojisama knew it too.

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"You're kind of troublesome, aren't you?" Shikaku asks, vaguely amused when I tuck myself back into his lap. I shrug, letting his cool aura soothe me, a balm to my overworked sensing ability, and significantly more pleasant to focus on than the actual supernova on the other side of the room.

"It's hardly her fault no one warned us," Kakashi points out a bit sharply, and Shikaku snorts, holding up his hands placatingly.

Our parents had left, but the giant wolf, whose name was Katsuki, was currently curled around Kakashi who was playing shogi with Shikaku once more. My friend had taken the news about Jinchuriki with borderline apathy, and I thought it was genuinely hysterical. Essentially, it came down to the fact that he literally didn't give a fuck so long as I wasn't bleeding everywhere anymore. He was pretty easy going like that, and I was hoping that without the trauma of his dad's suicide, something that brought a dull kind of terror to me every time I considered it, it would stay that way.

"Of course it wasn't. It was just an accident, no one's fault," a gentle voice chimes placatingly, and then a stunning aura was approaching. Warm sun shining on a breezy beach, something citrusy and a bit tangy mixing with sea salt in the air- Minato. "Mind if I play?"

Kakashi shrugs, and forfeits the board, letting Minato set up with Shikaku, and shifting over to sit on the side between the two, eyes focused on the board, no doubt ready to memorize the game so that he could learn from it. Kakashi was a sneaky brat who liked to absorb and steal all the knowledge around him. It was really no surprise that he would become known as the copy ninja, especially with a Sharingan on his side since he was terrifying enough as it was.

As the game between geniuses begins, the players are still kindly stating their moves out loud for me so that I don't have to focus so hard. After Minato introduces himself, I gradually end up approaching the teen. Minato Namikaze is a really important figure in Konoha and his death could honestly be the beginning of a downhill spiral for the village. In canon, not only did it put the Sandaime back into power, something no one really wanted, but it allowed Danzo to run around freely creating chaos much longer than he probably would have otherwise. While he would no longer be the Fourth Hokage, there was still a strong possibility that he would become the Fifth when Sakamoto retired, and honestly, I wanted to see what kind of a world he'd build. The visions I had seen of the boy, and of the man he would become in just a few years, made me excited. If I wanted to be successful in my mission from the kami, and if I wanted to protect my new home, Minato would have to live. This is hardly a burden for me, though, since all of the visions I had seen of him, and the things I knew before being born into this world, showed the future Kaga candidate to be an incredible person, and I was determined to add him to my cult of friendship.

"Hi," I greet him, smiling.

Minato grins, aura soft and kind. "Hi. Your hair is really pretty," he tells me, tugging on a black and silver chunk.

I beam. "You're really pretty, too!"

Minato sputters, and the room descends into hysterics, Kushina's cackles being the loudest. "Geez, Pretty Boy, this is what you get for spending so long on your hair!"

Shikaku snickers openly. "It's the fancy shampoos he spends his paychecks on from the Land of Iron."

"Sempai!" Minato yelps, embarrassed but also a bit sheepishly amused. He seemed happy his friends were enjoying themselves.

"Minato-Niisan? What's this?" I ask, tapping his leg holster. Minato melts, cooing at the honorific and poking one of my chubby cheeks. I huff but allow it. Good on him for recognizing my elite adorableness! These genes are from the beautiful Mama Mikoto!

"This?" He asks, pointing at the seal on the pouch, and I nod. "It's a seal. For durability. My pouch will last longer before I have to replace it."

I nod, before pointing at another. He was actually wearing quite a few, and didn't mind going through them with me, eventually drawing Kakashi's attention.

"You really like seals, huh?" My friend asks, curiously examining a sharpening seal. It would allow a kunai to be sharpened, like sticking a pencil into a sharpener.

"My sensei is a seal master. And seals let you do anything you put your mind to," Minato says.

I tug on his sleeve. "Minato-niisan, can you teach us? Please?" Minato crumples like a wet paper towel, much to my delight, promising to ask our parents if he can come over and show us a bit of fuinjutsu. "Bring Kushina-neesan, too, so Mama can see her friend."

Kushina gasps, genuinely touched when I wave cheerfully at her, and damn near gives me another nose bleed with her excitement, making Asuka smack her upside the head and tell her to chill.

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I wake up some time later to my father adjusting me against his chest, not entirely sure when I fell asleep. Over his shoulder, I sense Kashi's gaze on me from where he's tiredly riding Katsuki just behind his father. Grinning, I raise my fist in the air and give him a two finger salute, and mouth, "Mission accomplished."

He grins into his scarf, and gives me a two finger salute back. I let my eyes close, satisfied with my work. I made friends with the clan heirs, particularly Shikaku and Minato, spread some rumors, shit on the Shimuras, established Kakashi and I as geniuses, declared Kurama sentient which hopefully begins the process of bettering his existence, coerced Minato, and Kushina, into sealing lessons, and more. I give myself a mental pat on the back and decide it's okay to raid the house's sweet stash because I goddamn deserve it.

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Kakashi's birthday comes and passes and it's a very small affair. Only my family, the Hokage's, and some Inuzuka were invited along with a few of Sakamo's comrades from work. As far as parties for a clan heir went, this one was utterly minuscule.

I did, in fact, get some confirmation that Kakashi's mom was Tsume Inuzuka's maternal aunt, and that Kakashi and Tsume were cousins, but didn't eee much of one another since Sakumo had distanced himself after his wife died when Kakashi was two.

Kakashi and I spend the night doing outrageous shit and trying to look innocent, like stealing the hat from the Sandaime and dying it fuchsia, (something Asuka had gleefully helped with). There may have also been an incident with a glitter bomb and my father's pristine, black hair. I don't think anyone will ever dare mention said incident, though. Not ever.

It was a few months later that Kakashi would start at the ninja Academy. I can admit that I was more than a little sad that I wouldn't ever be in the academy with him due to our age gap, but Kakashi was still around and training with me most days. I got the impression that he didn't mesh too well with the other kids, though. Not only was he younger, but he was a genius, and while he wasn't deliberately a show off… the gap was oblivious and resentment was inevitable. I did my best to soothe any carefully hidden sore spot he might have had on the subject, letting the boy teach me things and do homework with me so that I could learn too.

I turn three without much fuss, asking for a simple picnic with my family and the Hatake, and the Hokage if he wanted to stop by with his wife Biwako-sama, who had taken to coming by every now and again and teaching medical ninjutsu to Kakashi and I with my mother. While Asuka was on a mission, they had brought Asuma, someone we had actually met at Kakashi's birthday party. Asuma Sarutobi was a lot like his much older brother, and at 7, he was quite a bit more tolerable than most of the academy students Kakashi hung around with, so I was pleased to see the budding friendship.

Sakumo had been utterly touched when he found out that we had declined inviting even our clan members, choosing instead to keep it so exclusive, unconcerned with pissing off the Uchiha elders, which we definitely did. It was another reminder that my gentle and wonderful ojisama had had no one but Kakashi when the whole world turned on him and had been so devastated and in so much pain that he had chosen death. When I had thanked him for his beautiful gift, a variety of expensive and lovely hair ornaments that doubled as weapons, I made sure to tell him I loved him and was so thankful he had become my uncle, kissing his cheeks and squeezing my arms around him as tight as I could. If he got a little choked up and squeezed me back a little too hard, well, no one called him out on it.

While it was tradition for Uchiha children to not be in public until they started at the academy, meaning my small birthday should have been fine, things were a bit different in my case. Not only had I attended a clan party as the Uchiha heir, but rumors of both my disability and prodigy status were flying about and causing chaos in the gossip circles of Konoha. There were even bets being placed on if I would keep my title as heir, something Kakashi had discretely informed me of, having heard the whispers in the academy. I took the news with a bloody thirsty grin and feral energy that had my best friend shooting me alarmed looks for the rest of the week.

As a result of the chaos, my father was spending a lot of time out at the police station and both my parents started being forced into frequent clan meetings. When once, Kakashi would be sent to our home when Sakumo was busy, I had started being sent to the Hatake compound instead. It became obvious to me that my parents were fighting to protect me from the clan.

I feel bad because I know they are wasting their time. I'd already seen what was coming, and I was eagerly waiting. I've always been a little too eager to assert my dominance over fools, a habit built from lifetimes of fighting and earning my place through cunning and power. It's an inclination that seems to be getting worse the more lives I live, but I could honestly say I don't actually give afuck. I wasn't unaware that it was a bit narcissistic, and even megalomaniacal, but when the kami literally sent me to reshape entire worlds, I could hardly be blamed for having a bit too much pride.

"Akari! Are you ready?" My mother calls out.

"Yes, Mama-sama!" My mother ducks her head into my room, bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Mama-sama?" She asks, incredibly amused. For a moment the tense line of her shoulders relaxes, the furrow of her brow smoothing over.

I shrug, grinning. "Okasama is a bit cold for Mama, but Mama still deserves respect, sooooo…,"

"Mama-sama," my mother concludes for me, a wide grin taking over her face as she tosses her head back laughing, silky strands of hair dancing from the movement.

"Mama-sama," I agree, darting over to hug her legs, my own mirth bursting free at the sight of my mother's happiness. I could tell things were really starting to get to her and my father, so I was relieved to see her light up like this. I make sure to flash my Sharingan at her and capture the moment.

"Silly child," my mother scolds, but the warmth and affection was obvious, even had I been unable to read her chakra, like happy fireflies and campfires and sparklers. "Anyway, I have to meet your father for the clan meeting, so a dear friend of mine will be taking you to Kakashi-kun's house. Her husband is something like a third cousin to your father, maybe once removed, but she is quite dear to me. Unfortunately, you probably don't remember her visits, and she's been secluded due to a rather rough pregnancy and birth, but I promise you will like her."

"If Mama-sama says so," I accept easily, not terribly worried.

"Good girl. And you'll get to meet her baby! His name is Shisui!"

My eyes go real big under the blindfold.

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Shisui's mother, a beautiful and soft spoken Uchiha woman, is automatically endeared to me when she sincerely congratulates me on my past birthday, and gifts me some really amazing cookies. Akane-obachan, who I might have been partially named after, is instantly given aunt status, and I love her soft, melodic voice and the way she feels like lavender and jasmine and, oddly, ash and rain, due to her fire and water natures. Somehow those things don't clash.

She lets me hold Shisui, all warm, happy baby and adorable curls I have never seen on an Uchiha, and I decide he will be my family. Not because he was freaking cute, though he was, but because I'd seen his fate. I'd seen his loyalty to my brother, to the village, and although he would be different since I was here, those qualities would still be a part of who he would become, verified in countless visions.

When Itatchi was lost and alone with no one to turn to, Shisui was there for him. Now, I would be there for both of them. No matter what.

Time flies, and barely a week before Sakumo's induction as the fourth Hokage, my parents set me down, weary and angry and worried. I observe them carefully, Sharingan on as I set down the brush I was using to work on privacy seals, something Minato had recently showed me upon taking a critical hit from Kakashi and I's puppy dog eyes. Before they can even say anything, I feel my lips curling into a wild, menacing grin, a bit of killing intent trickling out. "So, the clan is calling me before them, huh?"

Wide eyed, my father nods, and I cackle. He narrows dark eyes at me. "You knew." It's not a question.

I smirk, "It was inevitable. But don't worry, Papa-sama, things are just getting interesting."

My dad watches me intently, before his own lips twitch up at the corners. "So be it, daughter. We will be there for you every step of the way, but I'll trust you to show them your might."

I beam, my eyes shifting to silvery Mangekyo. "Yes, Sir!"

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