That Time Ishi Adopted a Child (and it went downhill from there)

The Fall

Ishi loved her children, she really did, Kireina was a loud child who wailed her misery to anyone who would listen. Kaze was much quieter but just as willful as his sister and even though he had been the older twin by a few minutes, Kireina had proven early on that she would always be the one on top.

Ishi was proud of her children for learning to be so independent, even at one year of age but if they so much as made a move to throw their baby food all over the place (they had good aim, if they wanted to be shinobi, she was willing to support them but encouraging their food throwing was out of the question) she was going to force them to spend more time with the older kids around the area.

Interestingly enough, her brats didn't seem to like the company of older toddlers around, why, she didn't know but they tended to behave after spending time with her neighbor's two-year-old. She tried very hard not to think of the friends they could be secretly making and getting into mischief with.

"Alright you two, we're going to go outside and you are going to like it" Ishi exclaimed suddenly, Kireina startled then but didn't cry while Kaze just looked at her with wide eyes and then turned to look at his sister. Almost as if looking for their next cue, Ishi noted tiredly but put the thought away for later examination.

She was thankful for their relative quietness now but then again, they could have sensed her distress. Half-blooded Uzumaki or not, they were still Uzumakis and with how well they seemed to react with others, maybe she gave birth to a pair of sensors but it was too early to tell just yet. Still, gods knew that her appearance hadn't improved much since she the day she had heard of the downfall of her village just a few weeks ago, her children didn't need to be sensors to know that there was something wrong.

The twins had been doing well up until now but they also seemed to be getting tired about staying inside all day.

Akegata had been dealing with trades in Suna when the news came and he still wasn't back. His parents had gone with him to keep him some company and so, Ishi had been left behind to take care of her children. It had been her own choice but now, she was starting to regret the decision. Even though she didn't want to depend on anyone, this wasn't something that she could deal with alone and she knew that.

Talking to someone else would probably do her some good though, looking around the apartment that she shared with her family wasn't going to help her, especially when she hadn't left her home in a week.

That was her first mistake but she still had a hard time believing that Uzushiogakure was truly gone, now that her brain had finally registered the loss, she felt like she was suffocating.

Packing a bag, she grabbed the twins and went outside, making sure to close the door tightly behind her.

The sudden sound of people almost made her want to cry out in relief that she wasn't alone, not really. It was overwhelming but in a good way, she noted. She could already feel her eyes watering but held the tears at bay, she was a kunoichi, no matter what her papers said. She was more than a simple merchant's wife but-

Her home had just been destroyed .

Her entire family was probably dead or scattered.

Her people had been massacred and she hadn't been there to help.

The sudden anger that she felt was new and it was enough to overwhelm the grief that had taken over her in the last few days.

With a new purpose in mind, she made her way to the small park she had been visiting recently.

Spotting the playground, Ishi slowed her pace as she took note of all the children there but her attention was caught by the shock of silver hair that could only belong to one person.