The Day Orochimaru Meet This Boy

Chapter 22: Sakumo's Fault

They moved forward towards home. It had been a little over two week mission so far. The team wouldn't look at me. Looked right past, like I was not there. They wouldn't speak to me. Spoke as if I wasn't there. I was a ghost. A spirit for all they cared to acknowledge me.

I had saved their fucking lives. They were going home to their families, friends, precious people. But none of it mattered. I failed. I caused the mission to fail. And so I was the scum. The screw-up. The fallen into dishonor.

When I tried to write the report. They took it tore it up and burned the pieces. The one they wrote probably vilified all my reasonable deeds. Why because in the end, our important mission went up in flames, literally.

An infiltration mission. Deep in enemy territory. And what happened. Some poor kid just made chunin gets thrown on the mission last minute. And he messes up. Unfortunately, this was not a mission we could mess up on. We were stealing vital documents from Iwagakure. Possible trade agreements with Kumogakure or some such. Stuff that under the already shaky peace treaty was illicit without every nation's consent. And the kid set off a modest trap. A loud one. So to save the team, to divert the guard. I showed myself. They were incapable of getting the documents. They were all able to get away though. But I ran into difficulty and ended up fighting to escape. And Iwagakure shinobi identified me. The famous 'White Fang' of Konohagukure. The one that broke the already unstable peace accord of the 5 great nations. Not that it wasn't being broken on a weekly basis by every nation... But I was the one that was detected breaking it.

And now I was being scorned.

Once I got home I pulsed my chakra and striped for the shower. It was late, but not too late.

I climbed in and let the water sluice over my head neck and shoulders. I wanted to clean the mission away. Not happening. I scrubbed and got out. I went to the kitchen in nothing, but a towel dripping water everywhere. I got out the sake. I didn't even pour it in a cup. I started drinking right from the bottle.

He walked up behind me. Encircled his arms around my middle and leaned in.

"Wanna share or is that bottle all for you?"

"I fucked up."

"How? Because your home in one piece, in my eyes that's all that matters."

"I got caught. Severed the peace accord. Even my team has shunned me. This whole fucking village will know by morning. And if how those men acted towards me is any indication my status will fall even farther into nothing. I will most likely take the fall for some poor scared kid's error and they will lay all the burden on me. This could possibly mean war again. One I was yearning would never happen in our children's lifetime. I will most likely get demoted. Damn it!"

I put my fist threw the wall. Kabuto started wailing. Orochi went to get him. I was shuddering in my anger. So I started finishing off the sake when he came back. He moved around me to make a bottle for our son. Who was still crying in his arms. He pulled something down and set it in front of me.

Another bottle of sake. I looked up at him. He chose to concentrate on feeding Kabuto.

"If that is what you feel, then by all means get drunk. There are still a couple more bottles up there. Have all the alcohol you can endure. Or can't tolerate for that matter. Whatever. If they ridicule you and accuse falsely you, here's a bottle. If they lay the fault on your feet, so be it. If they demote you back to genin, oh well. Cease being a shinobi if it's too much. Become an alcoholic. But I will be here. I will take what they hurl at you and support you. If it starts a war, I will help win the damn thing. Look at me, love. Our family is under siege in this very village every day. And now we have the Elder, Shimera Danzo coming after me for my studies. He is after our child. He thinks I developed him and with that knowledge he can create the super shinobi he has desired. I have to watch our whole family in and out of our home now. But I will not back down. I will be here through all of it. I love you. My mate. My husband. The father of our children. This is our village too. And even if we are the worst of the worst in their eyes, I will not stop battling for you, our children, our home, and our village. So do what you have to my love, I will be here."