A Subtle Shift

9| To a Degree

The walk back seemed to be agonizingly long—much longer than the walk to Tenchi Bridge. There were no sneak attacks, no spying—nothing out of the ordinary. Akira was safe, which was all that really mattered at the end of the day, but with the failed mission weighing on everyone's shoulders, it was hard to feel positive.

Akira clung tightly to Naruto, her head resting on his shoulder even though she was wide awake. She no longer had bandages wrapping around her stomach and claimed to feel no pain whatsoever. Yamato still stayed hidden as usual, but Sasuke seemed to be acting a bit different. Sakura picked up on this, of course, but she didn't push it. It had been a long couple of days for everyone.

Upon entering the village, Naruto was met by varying reactions.

Kasaru, Aunt Kiyomi, and Isamu stood there expectingly. Aunt Kiyomi has tears in her eyes, he hands clasped together as she held her breath. Kasaru was boiling with rage, fists clenched as smoke was practically emitting from her ears and nostrils. Isamu let out a relieved and tired sigh, placing a hand to his heart as he sunk into a crouch, trying to calm himself down.

Shizune must have told them what happened to Akira. If so, I'm willing to bet Aunt Kiyomi was fearing for her daughter's safety this whole time.

"My baby!" Kiyomi cried, running forward as Naruto slid Akira into her arms, giving the two a small smile. He watched as the mother embraced her daughter, crying into her small shoulders. Kasaru scrambled to her mother's feet, hoping up and down as she tried to reach her sister, too.

They're together again. That was enough to make Naruto's day.

"I'll go send in my reports to Lady Tsunade," Kakashi said, eyeing Kiyomi. "She may want to ask you a couple of things, just a heads up. Naruto, Lady Tsunade may want to speak to you, too. You have a lot to tell her."

Naruto nodded, and then Kakashi calmly vanished. At the gate patrol area, Genma sat calmly, his feet thrown up onto the table as he leaned back into his chair, chewing a toothpick quietly as he observed the scene unfolding before him.

Sakura, who hadn't said anything yet, smiled at Akira's reunion with her family. The toddler was now also crying, reliving the fear of being taken away from her mother. Whoever had the heartlessness to do that to a child deserved no less than death itself.

"Let's go," Sasuke whispered to Sakura, taking her wrist and tugging her in the opposite direction. Sai was already gone, and Naruto assumed Yamato was, too. Reluctantly, Sakura followed Sasuke, knowing that she hadn't met Kiyomi yet so she should give her some space.

Don't worry, Naruto thought. I'll introduce you to her someday. He looked up and stared at Aunt Kiyomi. She was now holding both her daughters, and Isamu finally calmed himself down enough to join.

They were happy now. It was okay. Now it was time for Naruto to return to his bunker. All alone. The thought of being alone with his thoughts after what felt like so long of having people shoving their noses into his business was rather... unappealing.

I prefer loneliness though, right? It's better. But there was doubt in that conviction. Still, Naruto turned his back to walk into the forest he's taken time to familiarize himself with over the years.

He took a small step and froze. Arms were wrapping around his stomach from behind.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Aunt Kiyomi hugging him tightly, tears still trickling down her cheeks. The Jinchuriki turned around to hug her properly, and he felt his heart warm a little at the contact. She was crying into his shoulder.

"Y-you protected her," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly. "I can't thank you enough. And that bastard who kidnapped her—he's serving justice as we speak. Thank you."