38

Chapter 38: Thirty-Eight

Chapter Text

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT:

When Sansa woke the next morning, for a brief and shining moment everything in her life was perfect. Naruto was curled up in her arms, smelling of warmth and fox-musk and storms, and behind her was Kakashi's firm chest, a lazy arm draped protectively across them both like a heavy blanket. Even Tenzo was stretched out on Naruto's other side, bracketing them in. It was like when she was with Lady and her litter-mates and they all piled together. It was Pack and family and safety.

Kakashi must have noticed she was awake, though, because far too quickly he drew away from her, his arm lifting up as he stood. Sansa wanted to whine, to plead for him to come back, but the unease/fear/grief that tangled in his scent warned her not to push. Kakashi was dealing with too much, she couldn't force this on him. He would come to them, when he was ready.

Naruto woke with Kakashi's movements, jerking upright with the sort of instincts that made her heart sink, because she wished, oh she wished, he'd never had to learn such reflexes in his short life. The moment he saw her, though, he burst into tears and pounced straight onto her, knocking her back to the ground and pinning her there as he sobbed into the curve of her neck.

Sansa just held him, letting him weep. She knew all too well the desperation he felt, how his whole world had shifted, how it didn't feel real, how he couldn't believe he really had this, that he had her back.

She had been alone for so long, after her father had been murdered, and then in such a short span of time she'd suddenly regained three of her siblings and it just felt like a dream, like it couldn't be real. Like at any moment, she'd wake up and be alone again.

"I'm here," she whispered to Naruto in the Old Tongue, a language that was just theirs, the very first language she'd taught him in the cradle, when his tears showed no sign of slowing, "I'm here, my dearest one, my wolf-cub, my little prince."

"My sister, my Sansa," Naruto whispered back, and Sansa felt something within her lighten at her name, her true name, spoken to her in the truest language of her people.

Naruto finally lifted his head and wiped his wet face with the back of his hand, sniffling slightly. Sansa's neck felt sticky and damp, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that she felt better than she had for a long, long time, here surrounded by her family.

But before she could relax and be content in the presence of her Pack, there was one thing she needed to do.

Before leaving the apartment, she and Naruto dressed in their nicest clothes– or, in Sansa's case, dressed in Naruto's second nicest clothes as she didn't have any of her own anymore that fit, even though Naruto had kept all her old things– and after saying goodbye to Kakashi and Tenzo they went down to the market to buy some inarizushi.

Sansa found herself so proud of her brother and all he had learned in the years she had been gone. As they walked, he showed her the safe places to hide, pointed out which restaurants gave out free food after closing, told her about who it was safe to run errands for to get some quick money on the side, which market stalls would sell to him so long as he arrived early or late enough that nobody else was around, which alleys were safe enough to enter, which ones had to be avoided at all costs, where the yazkuza were likely to be lurking on any given night, which dealers were more short tempered and prone to violence… an entire guide to survival, all in Naruto's head. He was brilliant, utterly brilliant, and she kept telling him so until he was so red that she just had to shower his blushing cheeks with kisses.

Naruto took her to one of the stalls that would sell to him, so long as nobody else was around, and they lingered until there were no customers about then bought some inarizushi before making their way to the shrine. Sansa couldn't help feeling the nerves twisting in her stomach as they drew closer. She knew it hadn't been her decision to abandon the shrine, that it had been out of her hands, but as Cersei had said; gods have no mercy, that was why they were gods. Naruto didn't hesitate though, happily clapping and bowing as they passed through each torri.

When they reached the entrance of the shrine, Sansa took a deep breath, bowed twice, clapped and then entered. She could instantly feel the weight of the divine pressing on her. It was a similar feeling to what she used to feel in the godswood; the air around her was heavier, too full and pressing down on her. Unlike the godswood, however, the shrine was calmer and warm, smelling of fox-musk and flowers; it was as if a heavy, muffling blanket of serenity had dropped over her. Sansa dropped to her knees at once and as she looked around, she gasped in shocked, breathless delight.

Origami foxes and kitsunes covered every inch of the walls of the shrine and between the foxes were wildflowers, the sort that grew between cracks on paths and amidst the grasses in fields, hardy and unwanted but still beautiful. There were even little statues sitting around, small wooden and stone carvings of foxes and kistunes, all hand-painted. It was beautiful in the sheer amount of love that had been poured into it and Sansa could feel the warmth blossoming in her at the sight of the sheer devotion and worship that surrounded her. This was no longer an abandoned place, left to rot. This was a shrine for the devout, for the overlooked and the unwanted, for those the world had turned away from. It was a place for the forgotten faithful to worship.

"I told Tama-neechan about what we were doing," Naruto said shyly. "She helped me start spreading the word 'round 'bout the shrine. It was mostly us kids at first, but then the pretty neesans at Madam Ai's started coming here too, then the nice ladies from other houses, then some of the Yaks too. Everyone knows ta be real respec'ful. Waka-gashira promised me he'd make anyone who van-da-lised the shrine eat their own fingers." Naruto pulled a face. "Which is super gross so I'm glad nobody's messed it up."

Sansa really needed to talk about Tama letting Naruto near this Waka-gashira. Then again, it sounded as if she owed Suzuki Tama too much to ever really reprimand the other girl about anything. She had not only helped Naruto survive when Sansa had been stolen away, but she was the one who had pointed Sansa's saviour in the right direction.

"It's wonderful, Naruto," Sansa said, her heart singing. She bowed her head, letting the divinely serene atmosphere wash over her, soothing her troubled spirit. She felt at peace, centred within herself. Her anxiety over the Kotoamatsukami had faded to the back of her mind, her concerns over the Chūnin Exams, over her plotting, over Naruto wanting to be Hokage, over her renewed task of breaking the seal trapping Kurama, all of it washed away.

Instead, she prayed for the souls of the lost people of Uzushio, may they know peace. She prayed for Serena, for Shin, for Kanna, for Kushina, and even Minato, may they rest easy. She prayed for Mito, that one day her vow may be fulfilled. She prayed for Kurama, that one day they and their siblings may once more be free. And she prayed for Naruto, that by her blood and her name, he may one day be Uzukage.

When Sansa opened her eyes and stood up, she felt so light she almost felt as if she could just float away. Naruto was beaming at her, pointing over to the entrance to the honden. "Look!" he said. "Nari-chan's back!"

Sansa looked over and gasped at the sight of the white-furred fox sitting just inside the honden. It was slightly larger than a normal fox, its fur pure white and wisping about its body in a way that wasn't quite natural. Sansa recognised it immediately from her dreams, the ones that guided her into activating the seal in her mind that released the chakra imprint of Mito.

"Inari-sama," she breathed, falling back to her knees.

Naruto skipped forwards before she could stop him, and Sansa watched in muted horror as her little brother stepped over into the honden, the sacred room in the shrine where only priests and kami should tread, then scooped a god up into his arms, holding Inari-sama like he would a pet cat, hugging them to his chest. "Nari-chan, I missed you!" Naruto pouted, nuzzling his cheek against the top of Inari-sama's head. Sansa wondered, horrified, if this was the moment that her brother was smited by an enraged god.

Inari-sama, however, just laughed. "I missed you too, Naru-chan," the living-embodiment of a kami said, amused, licking Naruto's chin. Sansa watched, frozen and afraid and in awe, as Naruto gently placed Inari-sama back on the ground and the fox-god sat, delicately curling their tail over their front paws.

"Nari-chan sometimes eats the inarizushi that people bring, but Nari-chan says it's okay, 'cause Inari-sama doesn't mind sharing," Naruto explained to her, and Sansa somehow managed to smile and nod. Inari-sama bowed their head slightly in her direction.

"You need not fear child," they said gently, "though I understand why you do. Even the love of the gods is a cruel thing to endure. But I owe you a debt and you have my protection."

Sansa couldn't bring herself to speak, her tongue was too thick and heavy in her mouth, so she bowed from her already kneeling position, her forehead brushing against the floor of the shrine.

"Oh child," Inari-sama murmured, standing and padding forwards on gentle paws. It took Sansa a moment to realise that the god wasn't talking in the language of this world, but in the Old Tongue of Westeros, and it made her head jerk up, to look into the ancient eyes of the snow-white fox that housed within it an ancient being. "The gods have been cruel to you, and still we ask so much," the fox-gold murmured. "They sung of you for thousands of years, the first Queen in the United North. Queen Mother of the Seven Kingdoms. Queen of Peace. The Martyr Queen. So many Names, so many songs. You will never be forgotten. Not in any world."

"What do you want of me?" Sansa asked wretchedly.

"We want you," Inari-sama said simply. "We want you, just as you are. Everything you are doing, everything you seek to do, it is exactly what we wish done. You are the perfect piece to prevent disaster from unravelling this world."

Sansa bowed her head, hiding her frustrated tears. Naruto, who by now had figured out there was something very serious happening, scampered over to her side to glare fiercely at Inari-sama.

"Don't be mean to my sister!" He growled, a surprisingly deep rumbling in his chest that wasn't even close to human.

Inari-sama actually laughed, a startlingly warm sound. "I wouldn't dare," they assured Naruto. "Not when she has such a loyal protector."

"I'll always protect my precious people," Naruto said fiercely, "and she's my most precious person ever!"

Inari-sama made a rumbling sound almost like a purr. "I am so very proud to call you both mine," they said. "You both have my blessings, from this day forth until your last. Until we meet again," they bowed their head before disappearing in a burst of white foxfire.

"Why'd Nari-chan act all weird?" Naruto complained, putting his hands on his hips and pouting at the spot where the fox-god had disappeared. "Are ya okay, Ko-ane?"

Sansa wasn't okay. She really wasn't okay. "I will be. In a minute." She told Naruto, taking deep breaths. The divine serenity of the shrine helped. So did Naruto's presence, leaning into him and melding his chakra with her own. "I think Nari-chan might have been hiding a secret from you, Naruto," she said slowly, trying to work out how to explain the situation without making Naruto feel as if he'd been betrayed or tricked. "I think they might have been undercover– like a ninja."

Naruto gasped, his blue eyes widening. "Really?"

"Really," she confirmed. "I think Nari-can was actually the real Inari-sama."

"Whoa," Naruto breathed. "Inari-sama is a super good ninja! I didn't guess at all!"

Sansa actually laughed, feeling the panic ease from where it was crushing her chest. "They are, aren't they?" she agreed. "But you know this means we have to keep it a secret, right? We don't want to ruin Inari-sama's cover."

"Right," Naruto said, nodding determinedly. "We gotta have Inari-sama's back. 'Cause we're com-rad-es."

"That's right," Sansa agreed, heartachingly fond as she pulled Naruto down so he was kneeling next to her and she could wrap her arms around him, hugging him tight and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "We're comrades."

~

Stepping into her mindscape this time was less uncomfortable then it had been ever since Danzo had used the Kotoamatsukami on her. This was because of the white glowing fire that now flickered along the branches of the trees, illuminating the forest of the godswood– Sansa immediately recognised the fire. Or rather, the foxfire. You both have my blessings, from this day forth until your last, Inari-sama had said. That had apparently been more literal than she had realised.

It was beautiful, almost ghostly; it danced along the pale-trunked branches, like fire and mist and magic, all at once. She dared not try to touch it, for like the ancient faces carved into the weirwood trees, there was an air to the foxfire, a mysticism, that whispered of something beyond her, something beyond mortal comprehension. 

Kurama appeared more wistful than enraged or afraid, which was also an improvement, and after climbing through the branches of the heart-tree that formed their cage, the only tree in the godswood not touched by the god-fire, Sansa curled up against the thick, warm fur that crackled with chakra and told them of the shrine and Inari-sama's visit. Kurama had a good laugh at Naruto picking Inari-sama up and carrying the god around like a pet cat, appearing sadistically amused by both Inari-sama's circumstances and Sansa's own panic.

All playful joking aside, the blessing really was appreciated by them both, as it made the effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan easier to deal with– Kurama didn't have to extend so much energy dealing with the constant headaches she should be experiencing fighting the genjutsu, for one, and with how it lit up the trees, the burning skies weren't quite so eye-searingly bright above them.

Once Sansa had finished catching Kurama up on everything, she took a deep breath. "Kurama," she said, "I think it's time."

"Time for what?" Kurama rumbled, tilting their giant head slightly from where it was resting on their paws, stretched out lazily as they were in their heart-tree cage.

"It's time to start breaking the seal trapping you," Sansa said with steely determination.

Kurama's ears immediately swivelled forwards. "You think you're ready?" They asked.

"Honestly, I think it would be dangerously arrogant for me to assume I would be at that level," Sansa admitted. "But I have been learning sealing from an Uzushio seal-mistress for three years now so I do think I'm at a level where I can begin to at least deconstruct how it was made, and that is the first step."

"…thank you for your honesty," Kurama said quietly.

"Of course," Sansa replied earnestly, "and Kurama? Even if I hadn't made a deal with you, I would still free you. Trapping you like this, it isn't right. And one day, I'm going to free your siblings too– or I will do my gods be honest best."

"I will never understand humans," Kurama decided with a grumble, but Sansa just laughed, stretching herself up to kiss the side of their muzzle.

"We're a contrary species," she agreed. "But I hope some of us have grown on you."

"Like a damned fungus," Kurama said sourly. But they didn't push her away as she curled up against them, half burying herself in their crackling fur, so Sansa didn't think they were too opposed to her presence and she smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and rested with her Pack.

~

Naruto hadn't wanted to go back to the Academy yet, but after three days of Ko-ane being home his sister had insisted that he return. She said she didn't want him falling behind and that he needed to become a strong ninja if he wanted to be a Kage. Which he did. So, very reluctantly, he had hugged her tight, feeling how all that whooshy-whirly-wild chakra stuff inside him clung to the cold-deep-wet chakra stuff inside her, a bit like the red-burning-hot chakra stuff they both had, but different. It felt good. It made him feel whole. She was the only one in the whole village who felt like that and it always made her go all soft and smiley when it happened.

He liked it when Ko-ane went all soft and smiley. She was too sad and too angry all the time. Not at him, never at him! But Konoha had hurt her a lot and she hated Konoha and it made him hate Konoha too. He knew better then to ever tell anyone that, though– Ko-ane and Tama-neechan had taught him better than that!

Naruto arrived at the Academy on time, mostly because he left early enough that he could travel through the backstreets without arriving late– traveling through the market would mean being held up by people wanting to yell at the 'demon brat'.

People were so stupid. Ko-ane had explained to him when he was little how he wasn't a demon or a brat, he just had a special chakra fox trapped in his belly. Naruto knew everyone hated his belly-fox, but he didn't! Ko-ane told him all about how his belly-fox didn't mean to attack Konoha, but how a bad man had forced them to, through a really strong genjutsu. Except nobody knew about the meanie's genjutsu, so they just thought his belly-fox wanted to attack Konoha. And now his belly-fox was stuck in a jail in Naruto's belly for no reason. Which made Naruto really sad.

When he was a bit older, Ko-ane had told him she'd teach him how to say hello to the belly-fox, so they weren't so lonely and angry, all by themselves in a belly-jail. Until then, she said he had to eat lots of healthy food like fruits and vegetables to make sure his belly-fox stayed healthy. That had been when he was just four, before Old Man Hokage made her disappear, so Naruto hoped he was old enough to talk to his belly-fox now. He planned on asking Ko-ane soon.

It was all a really big secret though, that Naruto couldn't tell anyone. Ko-ane told him all these secrets, because she knew she could trust him and knew he wouldn't tell anyone. It was a super big responsibility, but Naruto was a good brother. He was super trustworthy.

…he also didn't really have any friends to tell, anyway, so it didn't really matter.

He had Tama-neechan, but she was his boss. He worked hard for her and so she took really good care of him. Then there were the boys he ran with in the Yūkaku, who he really liked, but he knew better then to ever trust with anything. Seriously– there was no honour among thieves, as Tama-neechan liked to say, which basically meant even though they were cool they'd sell him out in a second if it meant earning more money. And then there was the Academy, which was… well, it was the Academy.

He'd had to repeat his first year twice because the senseis didn't teach him to read and write, so he couldn't pass the end-of-year test and everybody moved up without him, then he didn't pass the second year test because he couldn't do any of the katas or throw any of the senbon or kunai or shuriken, because the senseis had refused to teach him, always sending him out of the class or making him sit in the corner of the classroom and face the wall while the rest of the class was outside learning. Old Man Hokage had been really mad about that when he found out. Naruto hadn't seen any of those senseis around the Academy since.

At least he was in a class with people his own age now. And after Tama-neechan had pushed him into being friends with Kiba and Shikamaru, he decided they weren't too bad. Kiba was loud like him and he loved dogs, and so did Naruto– well, Naruto preferred wolves, but he also loved dogs, especially the strays that came and visited him that were so smart and had eyes that reminded him so much of Ko-ane that he could never kick them out of his apartment, no matter how much they smelled. And Shikamaru was lazy but he was smart, not quite as smart as Ko-ane, but still smart, plus he was always with Chōji and Chōji always had extra food and Naruto never had enough food, despite how carefully he saved his money, and Chōji was so nice about sharing.

Mizuki and Iruka weren't too bad either, as far as senseis went. Mizuki smelled sour but he mostly just ignored Naruto and pretended he didn't exist so that was okay. Iruka actually showed him how to do stuff and he sometimes said good morning and asked if Naruto was going okay, so that was pretty cool.

Iruka was standing at the front of the classroom marking attendance when Naruto practically bounced into the classroom, a beaming smile on his face as he made his way over to his desk. Iruka blinked over at him, pausing in place. "Naruto," he said, "this is a surprise. I was expecting another absence. Have you been unwell?"

"Nope!" Naruto said cheerfully. "I've been celebrating!"

Iruka's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You've been missing class because you've been celebrating," he said, in that warning voice that all teachers use. Naruto was almost too happy to notice, but he pretended he hadn't anyway– he wasn't that unobservant, but he did know enough to pretend to be. Tama-neechan, Ko-ane and Ka-ane had all taught him about pretending to be sillier than he really was. It had helped him get away with a lot.

"Uh-huh," he told Iruka, nodding happily as he sat down and kicking his legs back and forth, still pretending not to notice the growing scowl on his teacher's face as he beamed up at him. "I finally got my sister back!"

A sudden, shocked silence settled over the classroom, his words pulling everyone's attention from their own conversations to the one he was having with Iruka. "You have a sister?" Kiba yelped loudly, his chair slamming back to all fours from where he'd been leaning back and balancing on the back two legs with no hands. Which was super cool, actually.

"Yep," Naruto bobbed his head up and down, scowling furiously. "Three years ago, when we started the 'cadamey, the bastard sensei of our class stabbed her during kata practice and they took her to the hospital then that fucker Danzo, one of the Elders on the Council, he stole her 'cause she's really super smart and he kept her in his super secret Root army that he hid from the Hokage with a bunch of orphan kids he stole, and he stole some clan kids too for their bloodlines, plus he stole a bunch of Uchiha eyeballs that he put in his arm to use, and I didn't get ta see my sister again until she was rescued a couple of days ago by ANBU and Jiraiya, who's one of the Legendary Sannin!"

Pandemonium erupted in the classroom as kids started to shout at him, at each other, at the teachers, all demanding to know if Naruto was lying, if he was telling the truth, what had happened.

Naruto leaned back in his chair, biting back a grin as the chaos unfolded around him, just like Ko-ane had said it would. The court of public opinion, she'd assured him, was an ugly one– and it wasn't going to treat Old Man Hokage well. If he thought that the whole Root matter was going to be carefully contained and classified within the upper shinobi ranks, then he was going to get a nasty surprise. Basically, Ko-ane had told him, when he'd looked confused, Old Man Hokage was going to be asked a lot of very annoying questions by very angry people who were going to be very mad at him.

And that made Naruto very happy.