37

Chapter 37: Thirty-Seven

Chapter Text

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Sansa returned to Konoha on the late afternoon of the third day after Danzo's death, accompanied by Kakashi, Tenzo and Jiraiya.

The moment they reached the gates of Konoha, they were surrounded by a squad of ANBU that seemed to have been waiting and 'escorted' rather pointedly to the Hokage Tower. There were stares and whispers as they passed through the streets of Konoha, the attention something Sansa hadn't missed while being little more than a prisoner in the underground Root base.

The Hokage Tower hadn't changed since the last time she'd been there, over three years ago. The Hokage hadn't changed either; he still outwardly appeared as the benevolent grandfatherly type, yet this was the same man who had tried to force a four-year-old to train to be a soldier, a murderer for hire, a human weapon, and then traded her to Danzo when she refused, where she was tortured until she complied. He was just as much a monster as Danzo and one day she hoped he met the same end as Danzo did– his head torn from his shoulders as his life's work was torn down around him.

"I do hope," the Hokage said, once they were all standing in front of his desk, "that you all have a good explanation ready."

"Funny," Jiraiya said flatly, "I was about to say the same damn thing."

The Hokage sighed. "Fuyuko-chan left me no choice, Jiraiya," he said heavily, speaking as if Sansa wasn't standing before him, like she was a non-entity to the conversation. "She was already using the Kyuubi's chakra, we needed to make sure she could control it."

Sansa saw red and very carefully did not react. It took every bit of practice she had from the Red Keep, listening to Joffrey and Cersei mock her family to keep her chakra tightly under control when she wanted nothing more than to let it rip the room to shreds.

"You should have called me back, I could have tightened the seal," Jiraiya argued.

"And then?" the Hokage demanded, as if Jiraiya was the unreasonable one. "She was refusing to ever become a shinobi. She's a jinchūriki, Jiraiya!"

"And then you should waited until she was older, and asked again when you could have explained to her why she needed to learn in a way she understood," Jiraiya said furiously. "Konoha was founded so that it wasn't necessary to create child soldiers! You're spitting on the memory of your sensei and his brother!"

"Don't you dare say that!" the Hokage shouted, clearly losing his temper.

"I dare, because it's the fucking truth!" Jiraiya shouted back. "You betrayed me, you betrayed Minato's memory, you betrayed the memory of your sensei and you betrayed the ideals that the First Hokage built this village upon!"

"Oh? And what about how you betrayed me?" Demanded the Hokage. "You left, Jiraiya! You all left; you, Tsunade, Orochimaru– you all left and I'm old! I'm supposed to be retired, but you're all gone and I have nobody to leave this hat to because you're all too busy thinking of yourselves and your own pain then this village!"

Jiraiya fell silent, apparently unprepared to deal with the Hokage's outburst, and the Hokage glowered down at them all, the weight of his chakra heavy and smothering in the room. It made Sansa want to buckle down under its pressure, but she locked her knees and refused to let it make her bend.

"Now," the Hokage said, and she could hear the threat in his voice now, any trace of benevolence erased from his tone, "I understand there were serious mitigating circumstances that preceded the… incident three days ago. So, this is how we're going to let it play out. Jiraiya, you received intel that there was a serious threat to Fuyuko's safety. You sent a message to Kakashi to remove Fuyuko from Root and bring her to you. I was not informed as he was concerned about a leak in my office– in the aftermath, we learned that the leak was Danzo himself. Obviously, the fight happened when Kakashi attempted to remove Fuyuko and Danzo resisted. Kakashi and Tenzo were following orders the entire time. You returned now with Jiraiya to debrief. Is that understood?"

Sansa couldn't help her disgust at the Hokage's clear intention to try and cover Danzo's crimes up, to the best of his ability, to conceal what he could of his old friend's crimes. This was what it meant to be a ruler, after all; the truth was what they made it, nothing more, nothing less. It was never anything she liked to see. She wondered how he was planning to cover up the bloodline theft and stolen clan children. She hoped he was failing. She hoped he was getting raked over red-hot coals, that the Council, with all its clan heads, was akin to the courts of her previous life; a pit of rats and vipers, apex predators and opportunistic scavengers both, greedy and hungering for any hint of weakness.

She hoped they'd eat him alive.

As if he was reading her thoughts, the Hokage finally turned to face her, his eyes boring into her own. "As for you, Fuyuko-chan," he said, and Sansa curled back her lips, her bared teeth more akin to a wolf's snarl then a lady's smile.

"As Danzo's organisation was not recognised as part of Konoha's shinobi forces, I was never officially a shinobi of Konoha," she said, more for the purpose of angering him, then any true belief that her wishes would be permissible– she had no intention of making it easy for the Hokage, though; she wasn't about to just roll over for him and show her tender belly. "I have no intention of ever being part of Konoha's shinobi forces," she said. "I'm going to be a seamstress."

The Hokage looked downright murderous. "You are a Jinchūriki," he snapped. "You do not have a choice, you must be a shinobi!"

"If she wants to be a seamstress," Kakashi said, low and burning and furious, a protective force hovering at her back, "she can be a fucking seamstress. Or I am taking them and you will never see any of us again."

"That is treason," the Hokage said coldly.

"That," Kakashi snarled, "is my line in the fucking sand."

The Hokage honestly looked like he wanted to murder them all.

"Fine," he said with a heavy, weary tone. "Fine. I am not unreasonable. We can reach a compromise. From the reports Danzo sent, you are easily at chūnin level, Fuyuko-chan. You will officially become a chūnin and won't be expected to take any missions but in-village D or C rank-missions. You will be expected to study to become a tokubetsu jōnin on the basis of your sealing expertise– your skill with Uzushio-style sealing during the fight with Root did not go unnoticed. Other than in the case of an invasion or war, you will be considered a non-combative type. If you comply with this, you may take up a seamstress apprenticeship."

Sansa hesitated, torn. It was a very good deal and certainly the best she was going to get. It wouldn't be what she'd have chosen for herself, if she had the choice, but the fact was, she didn't truly have a choice– and it was more than she'd ever expected, which made her suspicious. There had to be a catch; she just couldn't find it, and that made her uneasy about accepting.

"I will agree," she said, finally, "on one condition."

"Yes?" the Hokage asked, and Sansa lifted her chin high.

"I want the Uzumaki to be recognised as an official Clan in Konoha," she demanded, "and for Naruto and I to be recognised as members of the Uzumaki Clan."

Sansa had read the village's founding charter and all its amendments– Danzo had an original copy of the document in his office. She knew the requirements and qualifications for being a Clan, which considering the village was barely a century old, wasn't that complicated compared to eight thousand years worth of legal tradition in the North alone.

The Uzumaki were recognised as a pre-existing Clan, even if Uzushio was destroyed, their parents had married in Konoha, had both been employed in Konoha, had held ranked positions in Konoha, Sansa and Naruto had been born in Konoha, Naruto was in training to be a shinobi in Konoha and the Hokage had just declared that Sansa was an active shinobi of Konoha which meant she could sit in as acting Head until her older sibling was either of-age or an active shinobi. They filled the requirements.

"You will have to start earning money to pay for taxes," the Hokage warned.

"That's fine," Sansa smiled at him, teeth sharp, eyes glittering. "I've heard I'll be expected to take in-village D or C rank-missions now."

"I will agree to this," the Hokage said slowly, "if you agree to competing in the upcoming Chūnin Exams for your promotion. Until then, you will only be recognised as a genin."

Sansa narrowed her eyes but nodded– genin, chūnin, the titles meant nothing to her, either way. The Hokage nodded back.

"The Council meets every third Sunday of the month at this Tower," he informed her. "If there is an emergency meeting, you will be summoned. Now go, all of you. And somebody send me a message when Naruto has been located, which I am certain he shortly will be."

"One last thing," Sansa released Uchiha Kagami's eye from the storage seal on her arm, mentally apologising to Mito for not being able to bury it herself. She hoped that Mito would be able to gain closure by having the Hokage be forced to face the bitter truth. "Uchiha Kagami's sharingan. Removed from Danzo, who removed it from Kagami after he killed him. I believe he was a teammate of yours," she said, presenting it with a flourish. The Hokage went white and when he didn't move to accept it, Sansa placed the Sharingan on the desk and turned to leave, not waiting to be dismissed.

As she left the Hokage's office, Sansa could taste the thrill of victory on her tongue. Clearly, the old man had no idea as to what he'd just agreed to. It was just as she'd told Itachi, barely a day ago. There was legislation and amendments included in the village charter that allowed Clans to formally secede from the village. Now that the Uzumaki were officially recognised as a Clan, and her and Naruto as Clan members, once Kurama had been released from the seals Konoha technically could not stop them from leaving.

"You're looking very pleased with yourself for someone who doesn't want to become a shinobi," Jiraiya said suspiciously.

"Reclaiming the heritage stolen from me by a man cowardly enough to hide behind the laws he himself made puts me in a good mood," Sansa said sweetly. Sudden laughter had her turning slightly to spot to people approaching them. She didn't recognise the one who laughed, but the other one… "Tora," she murmured.

"Raidou always said you had a tongue sharper then a kunai," the first man said, a senbon dangling from his mouth, clicking against his teeth as he spoke, "turns out he was underselling it."

"Genma," Tora– Raidou hissed. Genma just grinned.

"I take it as a compliment," Sansa assured Raidou. She considered apologising for paralysing him, then decided it would probably be more humiliating for him then anything. "Thank you," she said instead. "You tried. Not many did."

"I'm sorry it wasn't enough," Raidou said quietly and Sansa just shook her head.

"You tried," she repeated. "Remember that. Because I do." She then turned back to Kakashi. "Let's go find Naruto." She said.

Sansa could feel the hurricane-storm-chaos of her brother's chakra, so bright-bright-bright, and it pulled at her until she was practically flying through the streets, dodging civilians and shinobi alike, following its call. It took her straight to Baabaa's house, an old crone who lived in the Yūkaku, and the moment she spotted him, she was tumbling into his arms and Naruto was hugging her and she was hugging him and they were both crying and crying and crying.

There had been a part of Sansa that was terrified he wouldn't recognise her. That it would be like with Arya and Bran and Jon, who had been nearly strangers to her after so much time away from each other, after everything they'd gone through and how they'd grown in their time apart. She had grown to love them again, but it hadn't stopped that awkwardness, that unfamiliarity as they looked into each other's faces and saw a stranger staring back at them.

There was no awkwardness here. Naruto fit into her arms the same way he always had, his chakra melding perfectly with her own; the wildness of hurricanes meeting the vast, sweeping oceans as Sansa buried her face in his golden hair and wept. Naruto was crying too; big, loud, wet sobs that turned his face into a red, blotchy mess. He was too thin under her greedy, grasping hands, too many sharp angles jabbing into her as he gripped too tightly, but he was her baby brother, her little prince, her sunshine.

When a dying Kushina had cradled her in her arms and bid Sansa to protect Naruto, to love him, Sansa had vowed to do so out of duty. Then she had been placed in the same cradle as Naruto, had met the squalling, strawberry-pink newborn who was her brother, her twin, her second-half in this new world, and as the weeks flowed by that duty had fallen away in the face of the sheer devotion to the small being that grew up beside her, with his sunshine smiles and bright blue eyes, replaced instead by a genuine love and adoration and a fierce willingness to do whatever it took to see him safe and well and happy.

Her brother. Her Naruto.

Sansa buried her face in the curve of his neck and swore she would never let herself be torn from his again.

"I shouldn't cry," Naruto blubbered, after they'd long cried themselves into exhaustion, both of them curled up together on the patches of dried up grass in front of Baabaa's house. "Only babies cry. I'mma ninja now."

"Oh Naruto," Sansa said, so heartachingly fond, "storms never hide their tears. And you, my love, are a storm. You leave your mark behind on every life you touch."

"Is thatta good thing?" Naruto asked, looking up at her with wet, nervous blue eyes.

"It's the very best thing of all," Sansa assured him, kissing his cheek and tasting salt, like the spray of the ocean.

They didn't get up and return to the apartment until Baabaa came out to shoo them away, prodding them with her walking stick. Even then they didn't let go of each other, walking hand in hand, chakra still melded as they returned to the apartment that Naruto and Sansa had once shared, and then Naruto had lived in alone for three years, as a party of four. It wasn't a large apartment, but Sansa and Naruto were small children and Tenzo and Kakashi weren't exactly very big either.

"I kept your sleeping mat!" Naruto said excitedly, scampering over to pull it out, standing proudly over it and beaming. "And your pillow! I make sure to buy those dried-up nice smelling flowers to put on it so it wouldn't smell all nasty when you come back!"

"Naruto," Sansa could feel her already sore and stinging eyes filling with tears again at his thoughtfulness, at his faith in her return. "Thank you," she choked.

Naruto sniffled. "I'm so scared, Ko-ane," he whispered, hanging his head low as he clutched her pillow with trembling hands. "I'm so scared this is a dream and if I close my eyes you're gonna disappear again."

"I won't, I promise," Sansa vowed, sweeping him into her arms. "I love you, Naruto, I love you so much. I love you like the wolf loves the moon, like the wind loves the sea, like the moon loves the tides. I love you, my brother, my sunshine, my Naruto."

"But what if somebody comes and takes you away, like they took Ka-ane and you and mama and papa?" Naruto whispered. "I'm not a very good ninja yet. I can't protect you."

Sansa looked helplessly up at Kakashi and Tenzo. "Do you mind– just for tonight?" she pleaded. "Can you stay?"

"We'll stay," Tenzo said, when Kakashi didn't say anything. Kakashi seemed frozen, staring at Naruto like he'd seen a ghost. Naruto did look like a miniature version of Minato. Sansa remembered how it felt like she was being stabbed in the heart every time she saw Jon out of the corner of her eye, he just looked so much like her father.

(It had been easier to love Jon from far away)

Sansa spent the time before nightfall catching up with Naruto. He was so excited to tell her about the Academy and show her all the sewing he'd done. Sansa was genuinely so proud of the wolf's teeth hemming he'd done on the collar and hems of the admittedly incredibly ugly orange jumpsuits he'd bought in her absence, and he'd also done a remarkable job of embroidering on the Uzushio spiral. She was also so proud of his efforts as he showed her his adorably clumsy katas and his shaky but determined inked characters for his Academy lessons.

"I've learned lotsa cool stuff," he told her, beaming brightly, like the brilliant ray of sunshine he was. "I've gotta learn, because I'm gonna be Hokage."

Sansa… froze.

"You want to be Hokage?" she repeated slowly.

Naruto nodded, bouncing up and down.

"Yeah, like Old Man Hokage," he said, pulling a quick face as he spoke of the Sandaime, which was actually reassuring in the face of her sudden shock. "Which Tama-nee says means I gotta know lots of stuff and make hard choices and write lots and talk ta important people, like Waka-gashira, 'cept less scary then him and more snooty," he pulled a face. "But if I wanna change the village, I gotta be a real important person an' the Hokage is the most important person in the village," her little brother explained.

"At least you seem to have a grounded understanding of what being Hokage means," Sansa murmured. Hokage… Sansa did not doubt in Naruto's ability to become Hokage, not for a moment. He was born to rule, just as she was. But Konoha did not deserve him, and she would not let them take and take until there was nothing left of her bright brother– there was only one village, one kingdom, that was worthy of her brother. She was Sansa Stark, she knew how to rebuild a home from ruins, and the ruins of Uzushiogakure called. Naruto would be never be Hokage, she vowed this on the blood of their ancestors. Konoha would not have him. But Uzukage…

Uzukage she could do.

Focusing back on the room, Sansa could practically see the ghosts haunting Kakashi, could see their ice-cold fingers wrapping around his throat, stealing the life from his breath, and she waited until Tenzo distracted Naruto with preparing dinner before approaching him carefully.

"It's okay, you know," she murmured, reaching for his hand with her two smaller ones. His fingers felt ice-cold. "It's okay if you need to go. I understand."

Kakashi crouched down, reaching out with his other hand so it was wrapped around the nape of her neck, a steady, grounding pressure that made her feel boneless, like she could just sink into a puddle of contentedness. He was still frozen-stiff, still smelled like grief/despair/fear, but there was also something warm and longing in his scent, something that made her curl into his hold. "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash," he murmured. "I won't abandon you."

And Sansa trusted him.

~

Sansa waited until everyone was asleep, Naruto curled in her arms and Kakashi and Tenzo bracketing them on either side, before she let her mind drift, seeking out Lady's mind.

SANSA!

Lady's joy/love/excitement almost knocked her right back out of the spirit wolf's mind and Sansa laughed with delight, curling around Lady's soul, infusing her with her own feelings oflove/love/freedom/love/joy.

Tsukiko loped over to them with the lazy, effortless grace of an apex predator, leaning down to nuzzle at Sansa/Lady with pride gleaming in her large golden eyes.

"Well done, Sansa," she said, her voice filled with satisfaction. "You have avenged Sakumo and led us in battle. Your trials to being recognised as an Alpha in your own right are nearly over."

"…there are trials to be recognised as an Alpha?" Sansa/Lady asked, startled. "And I'm doing them?"

Tsukiko laughed.

"Yes, there are, and yes, you are," she said, amused. "Do you not remember Sayomi calling you a little baby Alpha?"

"I did, but… I thought that was just because I refused to submit to her," Sansa/Lady said. Tsukiko looked exasperated, as only a giant wolf can.

"And what does one Alpha facing another Alpha do but challenge them?" she asked.

"Oh," Sansa/Lady realised.

"Yes," Tsukiko sighed pointedly. "Oh."

"But what does this mean?" Sansa/Lady asked, frowning.

"It means you've defended the Pack through avenging Sakumo, you've led us in battle, and now you have to lead us in hunt," Tsukiko explained. "It is all part of you proving your worth, your ability to lead when challenged."

"That sounds familiar," Sansa/Lady said dryly. "As Queen, I had to prove my worth every day of my life, for daring to hold power while being a woman. So how do I prove to the pack that I am worthy?"

"You will have to assert your will over the pack," Tsukiko explained, "you have to track the prey, help bring down the prey, then assert yourself again to eat first and eat the best parts of the kill." Here, Tsukiko grinned, wild and wolfish. "And you will have to eat it raw, as a wolf does."

Sansa/Lady looked up at Tsukiko horrified. "I'll be sharing a body with Kita*, right?" she asked anxiously.

"I am unsure," Tsukiko said thoughtfully. "We've never had summoner so intertwined with the soul of a wolf before. Sayomi will have to make that decision when the night of the Hunt arrives."

"And when is the night of the hunt?" Sansa/Lady asked.

Tsukiko's golden eyes gleamed.

"Why," she said, "when else would it be, but under the blessing of the full moon?"

*Just a reminder, Kita is Lady's Naruto-verse name :)

A/N: Reunited at last! xx