The last thing she remembered was glimpsing the night sky, her eyes feeling heavy as the cold embrace of death dragged her away. She died with regret, but she'd accepted her fate and closed her eyes without worry. She had faith in her son, like any mother would.

  Kushina died with many regrets, but she died full of hope.

  And then she woke up again.

  Hiruzen stood before her, clad in the Hokage robes, his face a solemn mask. He'd yet to answer.

  She shifted her weight, hands moving to her hips, her frown deepening. Her body felt too light. Too strange. Too hollow.

  A knot wound tightly in her stomach. She'd read about this in the texts left behind by Lady Mito… A forbidden technique that ripped a soul out of the Pure Land, placing it inside an immortal vessel.

  Impure World Resurrection.

  "I apologize for disturbing your rest, Kushina." Hiruzen broke the silence, a flicker of guilt briefly flashing across his face. "But I had a good reason."

  Her mouth twitched in distaste, a scoff threatening to slip past her lips. Everyone had a good reason to justify these things.

  Another beat of silence hung in the air as she met the old man's tired eyes. He looked like he'd aged another decade since the last time she saw him.

  "How bad is it?"

  If Hiruzen had summoned her instead of someone like Lord First or his brother, then things must have truly gone south—

  A sudden thought made her eyes widen. "Is Naruto okay?"

  Hiruzen nodded, much to her relief. "Naruto is doing well," he spoke, voice measured as always. "The Leaf has been enjoying peace ever since Minato ended the last war."

  A brief, dull pang twisted in her chest at the reminder.

  Minato…

  If only he hadn't sacrificed himself like that…

  Pushing that thought away with a sigh, she lifted a hand closer to her face, clenching and unclenching her fist as her gaze lingered on those hair thin cracks in her deathly pale flesh.

  Why summon her, then? Was it something sealing related?

  She idly traced a finger along her palm, lips curling with a frown. No sensation of touch. No warmth. Nothing. This body was like an unfeeling puppet pulled by its own strings.

  Her chakra felt weaker than what she remembered, too…

  Her frown deepened. "I hope you didn't summon me to help you improve this awful thing."

  Hiruzen gave a short, scratchy chuckle, but it sounded a little forced even to her ears. "No, nothing of the sort. I simply thought that it might be good to have you back with us for a while."

  Kushina blinked slowly, brow creasing as she questioned her own ears for a moment. Did Hiruzen get senile in his old age?

  "For a while?"

  Or was he just hiding something?

  "This technique was never meant to last for long. I've worked with Jiraiya to improve it, but we still couldn't devise a way to properly anchor the soul."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Good to know, but that's not what I meant."

  "There is no deeper motive, if that's what you're asking." He gestured with a hand at her. "I did this so you could meet your son. The boy deserves to know his mother, no matter how briefly."

  Kushina blinked in surprise. Whatever she expected to hear him say, it wasn't this. A moment later, she found herself smiling.

  "Who's been taking care of Naruto?" she asked. "Kakashi? Jiraiya?"

  Hiruzen paused, a complicated look crossing his face. "He's living with two of your clansmen. A mother and her young daughter. We found them in Grass a few months ago."

  Kushina's breath caught in her throat, and despite the way her chest tightened at the reminder, another flicker of happiness curled on her lips. Her clan wasn't truly gone.

  "And before that?"

  "I had an orphanage take care of him."

  Her smile vanished just as quickly. "An orphanage?" Her voice rose with a sharp note of disbelief. "You promised that you'd take care of him, Hiruzen!"

  A brief, subtle grimace ghosted across Hiruzen's weathered face. "I couldn't return to my duties while raising a child. I'm old, Kushina."

  She barely held back a scoff. Excuses. "Then why didn't you appoint a successor?"

  "I couldn't find anyone."

  What?

  "Jiraiya? Kakashi? Fugaku?"

  She could name half a dozen people who could've taken that stupid hat.

  "Jiraiya refused, more than once, and Kakashi… he didn't take your and Minato's death too well."

  Kushina frowned. She should talk with that boy, too. "And Fugaku?"

  Another slight grimace broke through Hiruzen's measured expression. "The Uchiha have been a delicate subject since that night. We can discuss the details later."

  Her frown deepened. Stupid politics…

  "What about that thing? Did it cause any trouble?"

  "Not quite."

  So, it did…

  "What happened?"

  "I think it will be easier if you saw for yourself."

  Kushina's gaze narrowed. "You're hiding something. Why did you summon me?"

  "As I said, I had no deeper motive," he paused, the corner of his mouth quirking ever so slightly. "But I'm not the only one who had a hand in your return."

  "Can you just tell me what's going on. I never liked this beating around the bush, you know?"

  "Of course, though you might find it unusually surprising."

  Kushina wanted to roll her eyes. "You'd have to try really hard to surprise me at this point."

  "The Nine Tails has been awfully chatty over the past year."

  What.

  Her mouth tightened, an uneasy feeling twisting in her stomach.

  "He was the one who suggested your resurrection."

  For a heartbeat, Kushina wondered if she'd heard it right. That bastard? Why would he want to bring her back?

  "I want to see my son." Was all she said as she walked past Hiruzen, her eyes fixed on the door.

  She had to check that seal.

  "Naruto is still at the Academy. It'll be a few more hours until he returns."

  Hiruzen's measured voice stopped her mid-step. She spun around, her eyes widening a fraction. Academy already?

  "How old is he?"

  As a mother, she couldn't be prouder, but…

  "Six and a few months."

  She'd missed so many things…

  "Let's move this to my study," Hiruzen continued after a moment, gesturing with his gaze towards the exit. "This isn't the best place to catch up with the past."

  Kushina's gaze flickered back to the door, her lips drawing a tense line. She could just leave anyway, but… Her shoulders lowered with a heavy sigh. "I want you to tell me everything."

  Hiruzen nodded, walking past her with a twinkle in his eye as he headed for the door. "Of course, but some things are better left for Naruto to share."

  Her eyes narrowed as she followed the old man.

  What was that supposed to mean?

  A sharp sound filled the room as Kushina slammed her hands on Hiruzen's desk.

  "What do you mean the whole village knows?!"

  Hiruzen barely suppressed a grimace as the woman's voice bounced off the walls, her eyes burning a hole through his face.

  Sighing, he opened the topmost drawer and pulled out his pipe, along with a pinch of that special blend.

  "Someone had spread the rumors. The best I could do was forbid people from talking about it."

  "Someone? You don't even know who did it?"

  Hiruzen could only shake his head, smiling sadly. The investigation never turned any evidence, but if he had to guess…

  "I'm afraid not."

  This had his old friend's name written all over it.

  Kushina's jaw tightened, and Hiruzen braced himself for another round of verbal lashing. It never came. The woman straightened herself and quietly crossed her arms with a huff.

  "Anything else you want to tell me, Hiruzen?"

  Hiruzen leaned back in his seat, stuffing his pipe and lighting the leaves with a finger. He took a deep pull as the woman kept glaring at him and exhaled a plume of smoke.

  This was going to be a long day.

  Naruto pulled the door shut, making his way down the hall with a frown. It sucked so much that he couldn't use shadow clones to exercise faster. That stuff was sooo boring…

  Stepping inside the living room, he saw Karin sitting on the floor, her eyes closed as if she was asleep. She gave no sign as he plopped himself down next to her, except for a tiny twitch on her forehead.

  That super chakra sensing of hers was almost as cool as shadow clones.

  A smile pulled at his cheeks as an idea suddenly sprang to mind. "Hey Karin! Wanna go out and do something fun?"

  Swaying back and forth, he leaned closer, wondering if she'd even heard him. Just as he opened his mouth to ask again, Karin's eyes snapped open, fixing him with a glare.

  "We're not done with the training."

  Eh. No biggie.

  "We can just make shadow clones for that."

  Karin was being way too silly about this training thing. She didn't have to do it on her own when he could just help her cheat with shadow clones for the chakra stuff. He had enough chakra for both of them and more, and ninshū just made this sooo easy—

  "Oh yeah? And would your shadow clones listen if they know you're goofing around?"

  Naruto paused, blinking owlishly as a certain memory from a couple days ago sprang to mind. The smile slipped off his face, and he slumped over with a depressed sigh.

  No, they wouldn't…

  Why couldn't his shadow clones be nice and listen to everything he said like Karin's…

  "You're right…" Naruto said with a mumble, looking up just in time to meet the smug smile on Karin's face. There was that brief urge to reach over and pull her cheeks until she stopped acting like such a know it all, but he ignored it.

  She'd get her payback later.

  "Do you need more chakra?"

  Lips pursing, Karin thought about it for a bit and shook her head. "I'm good for now."

  "Okay—"

  A sharp knocking sound drew their attention to the door. A visitor?

  Naruto's brows furrowed. Who could it be at this hour—

  His eyes flew open as a smile pulled at his cheeks. Was it Hinata? Karin would totally wanna play if he tag-teamed her with Hinata.

  Briefly, he shared a glance with his cousin before they both stood up, looking towards the kitchen. A moment later, hurried footsteps came from deeper inside the house as Auntie Yuzu went to check on the door.

  "It's probably Hinata," Naruto said while bouncing on the balls of his feet.

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  "Yeah," Karin said absentmindedly while stretching her arms and back.

  Moments later, Auntie Yuzu entered the room, but the person who walked in after her wasn't Hinata. It was another woman around Auntie Yuzu's age, and she looked oddly famili…ar…

  The woman looked at him, her face softening with a smile, and Naruto froze in place, his eyes going wide.

  She had the same beautiful red hair and the same warm smile from that memory.

  "M-mom…?"

  Kushina didn't notice when she'd crossed the room, her eyes fixed on the blond, blue eyed boy standing in front of her.

  "Is it really you…?"

  Naruto's uncertain voice felt like a knife driven through her heart, but her eyes didn't sting, and her vision didn't blur. A wave of happiness washed over her, but it couldn't warm the cold, still ash that sat in her chest.

  "Yes, sweetie, it's me…" Blinking away tears that never came, she lowered herself to a knee, holding out her arms with a wobbly smile. "Mommy's here."

  A heartbeat later, Naruto ran into her arms, and she scooped him up into a tight hug, holding him closely as if he'd disappear if she let go. A short, muffled sniffle reached her ears, and she hugged him a little tighter, rubbing the back of his head gently with a hand.

  "It's okay, sweetie," she spoke softly in his ear. "Mommy's here for you."

  Naruto sniffled again in her shirt, his small arms wrapped tightly around her. He was such a strong little boy.

  "Why do you feel so cold?"

  Kushina paused, the question hitting her like a bucket of freezing water. She resumed threading her fingers through Naruto's hair, her mouth trembling slightly as she did her best to ignore that hollowness lodged in her chest.

  She couldn't even feel the warmth of her son's embrace…

  "I'll tell you later."

  "Okay," Naruto mumbled in her chest before going quiet.

  Kushina didn't let go of her son. She kept hugging him and trailing slow circles on his back. She'd keep holding him until she made up for all those years that she'd missed.

  "Karin." A quiet voice sounded from behind. "Come help me prepare dinner."

  Soft footfalls filled the room as the girl hurried to her mother's side. Before those two could leave, Kushina looked over her shoulder, catching the other woman's gaze.

  "Thank you for looking after my son."

  Yuzu smiled warmly. "I only did what a mother should do."

  Feeling a smile of her own, Kushina turned back to her son as Yuzu and Karin quietly left the room, that flicker of happiness lingering in her chest.

  Eventually, Naruto's grip around her loosened, and he shifted in her arms, the two of them separating from the hug. As he pulled away, her son looked up with a teary smile, a question shining in his eyes.

  "How are you here? Everyone said that my parents died when I was born. Can people come back to life?"

  "No, not exactly," she paused, looking for the right words. "It's complicated. I can tell you later, but what matters is that I'm here now."

  "What about dad? He was super strong, so if you're here, is he coming back, too?"

  "I don't know, sweetie. His situation is different. He used a very dangerous technique on that night and… it's complicated…" she finished lamely, another pang twisting in her chest as a conflicted look crossed Naruto's face.

  "When he sealed the fox, right?" he said after a moment of silence.

  Kushina's eyes widened a fraction. What the hell, Hiruzen. Her son knew much more than just "something."

  "So, you know what happened?"

  "Yeah." Naruto's head bobbed in a quick nod. "Ku—the fox told me. He told me about you and our clan, and tons of other stories. We have story time with Karin at night every other day."

  Kushina did her best to fight down a frown as her son waved his hands around with a happy smile.

  This might be worse than she thought…

  "He knows so much stuff about the past and the old man Sage and his sons. He's—"

  "I'm sure you have lots of things to tell me, sweetie, and I can't wait to hear it all, but first, I need to make sure that you're safe, okay?"

  Naruto blinked in confusion, his face scrunching up with an adorably confused look. "What do you mean?"

  "I want to look at the seal. We can talk as much as you want after that."

  If that bastard was trying to trick her son, she'd make him regret it.

  "Oh!" Naruto's face lit up in understanding. "You want to talk to the fox?"

  "Mm-hmm. The old man said that you know a way to take me in there?"

  "Yeah!" he said with a grin. "It's really cool, y'know!"

  Kushina found herself smiling as her son held out a hand, his fingers clenching into a fist. Naruto's enthusiasm was infectious, and that verbal tick was just too cute.

  Holding up a hand, she mirrored her son's gesture and gently touched her fist against Naruto's, striking her chakra at their point of contact.

  There was a brief pull, and then, her awareness abruptly shifted.

  A familiar chakra pinged against my senses, the water inside my prison rippling with the arrival. Warm like the afternoon sun, it spread throughout the dim chamber like snakes ready to coil around their prey and bind it helpless.

  A snarl found its way on my snout despite the flicker of excitement that settled within my chest. Biting back the instinctive growl, I opened my eyes, slowly, and pinned the woman standing outside my cage with a glare.

  Smooth, pale skin. A soft, oval face, with a dainty nose and striking, violet eyes. Long, vibrant hair in the color of fresh blood that spilled over her shoulders like a curtain.

  She was as beautiful as I remembered. She was more beautiful than I imagined. Mere pictures could not do her beauty justice.

  A molten heat washed over me, my fingers twitching with the urge to run her through as my chakra boiled under my skin. I wanted to touch her. I wanted to skewer her like on that night, split her open, and tear her apart, limb by limb.

  With a slow inhale, I quenched the anger before it could boil over, pushing a smile on my face.

  "Oh?" I breathed out while pulling myself upright. "Now this is a face I never thought I'd see again."

  Uglybeautiful bitch.

  "You're not the only one." Her lips curled in distaste. "Hiruzen told me about it," she said, letting the words hang in the air for a moment. "Why?"

  Because you got off way too lightly to the afterlife

  "Because Naruto deserves to know his mother."

  The answer gave her pause. Her brows furrowed, and I could see the flash of disbelief on her face before she shoved it beneath her typical glare.

  "You expect me to believe that?"

  "Believe what you want. It doesn't change the truth."

  She brushed off my words with a dismissive scoff. She was trying to hide how much it bothered her, but that faint twitch at the corner of her mouth gave her away.

  "You've been getting awfully close to my son." Kushina's gaze narrowed as she spoke. "If you're hoping to trick him…"

  "And ruin this wonderful arrangement?" A smirk slowly curled on my lips. "Now why would I do that?"

  A scowl settled on her face, her mouth tensing in displeasure. It did little to ruin her beauty. "What are you talking about?"

  "This seal turned out surprisingly cozy compared to the previous one. The Fourth did quite the impressive work."

  "I helped him design it." The indignant note in her voice was honey to my ears. Cope and seethe, bitch.

  "You did? It seems quite lackluster in terms of… personality."

  Kushina's gaze narrowed. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

  I gave a thoughtful hum, pretending to think for a moment. "Well, it's not as fiery as your own, and there's a distinct lack of constant pain."

  "That was out of my hands. I couldn't suppress you with my chakra alone. Lady Mito designed that seal to the best of her ability."

  Uh-huh. And I had a massive bitch-breaker hanging between my legs.

  "I'm sure she did."

  Kushina looked me in the eye, frowning deeply. "What do you want? An apology?"

  My lips peeled back in a sharp smile as I stared her down from behind the bars. "That would be a start. Though it might take a while to repay a century of imprisonment."

  "Trying to get sympathy now?" Her gaze narrowed, and despite the frown on her lips, she didn't take the bait. "You forced my hand, remember?"

  Anger flared in my gut like acid brought to a simmering boil.

  "I wonder why."

  Her shoulders stiffened, a scowl marring her beautiful face.

  "We had to seal you for a reason." Once again, quoting that bitch word for word. "The moment you broke free, you nearly destroyed the village."

  "Did you forget the part where that masked man controlled me?"

  "Did you forget the part where you continued to rampage long after Minato broke the genjutsu?"

  "Eight decades of torture. Did you expect me to go back quietly to another prison?"

  A beat of silence hung in the air as she pinned me with a glare. "Do you think I liked being a jinchūriki?"

  I leaned closer to the gate, looking her in the eye. "Do you think I liked being used as a mindless weapon?"

  A flicker of satisfaction filled me at the way she subtly flinched.

  Lips pressing in a tight line, she held my glare for a tense few moments, before letting out a scoff. "I'm done talking to you."

  The water rippled under her feet as she turned around and walked away.

  I couldn't hold back the disdain; it seeped into my tone like poison. "Typical."

  She paused mid-step, looking over her shoulder. "And what's that supposed to mean, huh?"

  "There is always a choice. You chose the easiest path."

  She went still, her hands balling into fists at her hips as she tried to set me alight with her eyes. "And you didn't make it any easier. Don't talk as if you know anything about me."

  "Oh, but I do. I know you so well after all these years spent so deep inside you." My smirk grew as she paused, her eyes widening a fraction. "You're the same as everyone else. Led by preconception and prejudice, not even trying to understand us. You should take a lesson from your son—"

  "Shut up." She hissed. "Don't bring him into this."

  "He's already part of it. And he could look past the hate and see me as a person, not a weapon, nor a monster that had to be chained."

  The words echoed through the chamber as Kushina stood there, silent. Her glare turned frigid, a deep scowl twisting her face. She stood like that for another moment, then whirled around and stormed off without a word.

  A rumbling chuckle escaped me as she vanished among the darkness at the other end of the chamber.

  alexanderbishop.carrd.co