The contract I signed with the Phoenix Clan offered me many opportunities in various aspects of the plans I had already created. Not only did it materialize the possibility that I could eventually learn Sage Arts once I gained their leader's trust to start training about it, but it also added some elements that further aided my current training.
Phoenix flames were 'tame' compared to those employed by Matatabi, but those could actually be learned to be used through techniques without requiring an insane amount of chakra to waste for the completion of this destructive power. I knew it was still a tough process, but it definitely added an extra perk to my growing arsenal now that I had shifted a good part of my attention in catching up with Wind Style. The Phoenix Fire was also influenced by Wind, so I could see the potential of learning this powerful ability while also learning how to boost said ability to a higher degree. It definitely got the attention of Madara when I started to exercise about it, and was surprised when, as he tried to get a look of it with the Sharingan, he learned that he couldn't mimic it. Of course, first he got berated for trying, again, to try and copy one of my techniques, but he genuinely sounded more surprised about its potential for me rather than being interested in using it himself. He inquired about the limits I had reached with it, but I argued that I honestly had yet to test the whole potential it offered, so I could give him a limited answer in that regard.
Nonetheless, training didn't suffer any major issues with this new development, and instead saw a solid improvement of the range of things I could expand from. I was eager to get as strong as possible for the sake of being ready for the upcoming issues tied to the peacetime now that the wartime economy has been fully removed. Suna was the first element to be treated as quickly as possible, and I could see a necessity to bolster Uzushio's defenses and own economy to act as a deterrent against Kiri's possible ambitions. I thought about at least trying to do something about Kiri, but the more I thought about it… the more I conceded that being diplomatic with them was like playing with fire. Differently from the more 'humbled' version of the post- civil war period, this village is far too arrogant in its own way when it comes to 'the brilliant training' they had established for their kids. I wasn't ever going to get close to that until I had the chance to threaten when necessary.
Of course, these problems I had to face weren't only of the foreign kind but also within the safety of my own house. Especially when it came to Madara actually managing to score a date with my mother. I really tried to be respectful and all but… how can I just not be worried of the worst scenario happening? I spied on their little stroll around their village, I managed to find them having lunch by the Akimichi Restaurant, and I saw them being quite… tame with each other. It wasn't even like Madara didn't try, but I could see that all those attempts to make a 'cool move' on her only ended up with him backing away from 'most' of the move and left out a particularly restrained response. To the eyes of the spectators trying to make sense of this, it sounded like some cold remarks which were meant to deter any chick he was dating.
Much to my surprise and eternal chagrin, mom seemed to actually see through this and be rather flustered by the genuine compliments he was forwarding her. In return, the woman praised the man back regarding his good work. It was odd, as an external element of that conversation, to see these two work so well about themselves. It was baffling how good their chemistry was and it was clear that I was slowly becoming the 'villain' of that story. It didn't help that Hanzo was being so supportive of this and had asked me plenty of times why I wouldn't want them to 'be happy'. No matter the answer, the younger boy was just interested in 'mom being happy'. It was simplistic, and I didn't blame him for being this optimistic and short-sighted.
…
Then again, it wasn't like it was a bad thing on my part to be this protective if it meant protecting mom from any kind of danger that could fall upon Madara. That was just smart thinking, nothing more. And it really irked me that a certain birb decided to make it her life mission to tease me about it. Kiara was a pest, most of the time. I wouldn't say she was a problematic element to face on a daily basis, but she really had her moments when she wanted, and she knew that. The main issue that came up as soon as she was assigned to me by the Phoenix Leader was that both Kurama and Matatabi were slightly wary of this new 'enemy' that hogged a good part of their competition by pleasantly imposing her own rights over nesting atop me, right onto my hair. To be fair, I expected a joke or two coming out about the nest-like nature of my hair, so I wasn't exactly surprised that the bird found it a comfortable perching area to look over while not flying around.
"But they look so cute together, boss!" A chirpy voice called from above, the subject of my partial irritation perched atop my head. "Your mama is just going to make lots of babies with your new papa, and the household is going to fill up with children."
Training area, I was taking a moment to meditate and try to expand my chakra control some more as I realized my current reserves had expanded by a fair bit in the last month, just enough to warrant a need to regain a flawless hold over them.
"Kiara, for the umpteenth time, this isn't going to happen."
"You say no, but I hear a chorus of yes!" The female phoenix argued happily, her eagerness almost contagious if not for the topic she was bringing up. "It's not like you're against a bigger family, aren't you?"
"That would imply first and foremost that mom has to marry someone that is a big target for any of our enemies," I argued dryly. "And that's not an option."
"Aww, well. It's not like your home will be lacking kids in a few years. You know… there are a lot of girls that want ya."
My lips twitched at that. "I'm sure we both agreed it would be awkward."
"Only until you're eighteen. And I got it, you're trying to be a… 'smooth guy' or something like that- but that shouldn't prevent ya from pondering this eventuality. What's wrong with having a big family?"
"Economic reasons? Or maybe those tied to catching up with a battalion of babies that require a lot of attention to have their needs dealt with in the most appropriate way?"
"Mou… Danzou, why are you so bum-hurt about a big family?"
My eyes closed in frustration. "I'm 'bum-hurt' because I just don't see how you are so willing to see only good points and outright ignore the issues tied to this kind of responsibility. I know you're smart when you want and that you know of these matters yourself."
…
"Maybe I just… like the fact you're so nice, so I want more 'nice bosses' to have around," The phoenix remarked quietly, her voice dropping to an awfully sad turn. "I'm sorry if it was… too much."
I sighed calmly, bringing my hands to take hold of her sides and carefully bring her to my chest, she looked at me with a nervous look as I set her by my lap. Kiara didn't shy away from getting head patted for a while as I considered what 'development' I just witnessed. From upbeat and cheerful, the girl wasn't exactly the most popular 'chick' in the phoenix community. She was kind of ostracized by pretty much all of them, and I was partly sure that the 'elder' boss wanted her assigned to me most of the time because she had the chance of having friends for once. It was quite depressing, but I generally didn't take the time to bother her with that. I knew she preferred to not discuss this, so I decided against opening up any direct conversation for her sake.
"How about… we prepare some fried chicken once back home?"
She perked up, her eyes wide open and I was almost tempted to say that if she had a proper mouth instead of a beak, she would be smiling widely.
"Really?"
I shrugged. "It's been a while, plus… I think Yoshiko would want some after so long."
Much to my surprise, frying chicken was technically easier to achieve despite the lack of modern equipment. It all came to the trial and error method that Kiara had developed on her own to pass some time. Cooking was her passion and, as much as I wanted to say that it was difficult to imagine a phoenix having a thing for this hobby, especially when it centered around cooking chicken into seasoned fried food, I couldn't help but be baffled with her expertise. It came up when I started to 'learn' how to cook considering the times mom was out to chat with friends or with… Madara-sensei.
I knew the basics, but I was really inexperienced in anything tied to Japanese cuisine. It was a new challenge, and one that didn't require me to learn how to murder my obstacles to achieve a degree of mastery about it. It was also a skill I needed to learn how to survive on my own, both by the time I would start living 'alone' and when I was out for a mission away from any major settlements to stay by. That and also bolster our current income by forming agreements with the Akimichi Clan regarding 'leasing' the rights of producing some of the dishes I 'created' for them to serve in their restaurant. A novel clan that wasn't trying to play any of the power struggles among the big one and just trying to find a place within Konoha through their culinary projects.
The agreements that I reached with them were impressive to say the least, especially when they started to grow fond of the idea of a vegetarian meal from there and there. They understood I meant no insult by proposing a few plates with no meat, especially when I proposed mostly those that relied on meat too. Not everyone was into meat, so they conceded that a vegetarian menu, albeit not a strong one as the meat one, was definitely something to keep around to 'satisfy customers even more'. Quite the jovial group, and I couldn't help but find their sense of family rather close to the one I grew up with.
With lunch now with the prospect of being one mainly focused on Fried chicken, I was mostly baffled when I found out that Yoshiko had a 'hunch' and decided to invite others to join us for the meal. Mito was there with the twins, bringing along an embarrassed Hashirama. Tobirama was there too… and Madara. Madara was really into this kind of sidh. Actually both the Uchiha and the Uzumaki members had a strong thing for spicy food for some mysterious reasons…
Sighing at the sight, I decided that this was definitely going to be a normal thing from now on and that I couldn't do much about it. Why submit to this 'defeat' just like that? I guess it all comes to the fact that at least it kept other messes from happening and for me to be somehow pulled to face them on my own. Still, the day was far from over, and I had yet to have my planned stroll around Konoha with Reira. Things were usually fine in these instances… and yet something interesting unfolded.
Something actually… wonderfully shocking, to say the least.
"You know, I… I don't think you should take from your free time... for this," A certain girl muttered while keeping a reluctant attitude around me. "It's not like you caused this."
"I don't recall this behind a reason to help someone, to be somewhat responsible for their suffering," I shot back flatly as Reira once again tried to argue her way into stopping this pleasant element of peace I had within my schedule nowadays. It was just me and her, with both Kurama and Matatabi taking this time to nap and Kiara took the chance to 'play' around the kitchen under the supervision of mom.
Despite the main purpose of it being more to help the girl through her PTSD, I definitely found these strolls quite refreshing. No nagging, no complaining, no threats to a good time through conversations and some training from time to time. And even though months had gone since we started doing this, the Uchiha girl still had her doubts about the entire thing. Either I was 'wasting' time by being around her so much, or that she was making progress on her own. The chiding was epic, but she still remained undeterred to show her awkwardness at having me around during the many afternoons of the normal week and weekend. It might sound a little bit excessive, but I saw immediate progress through these intense 'therapy sessions'. She was less jumpy, more accustomed to loud noises and she was clearly having an easier time falling asleep and not having nightmares. These were still a constant, but they weren't as intense or frequent as when she started to show symptoms.
It was this personal experience that had me giving suggestions to the local hospital on how to treat the other patients displaying these very instances of trauma. With a lacking understanding of psychology, the hospital was caught unprepared by this sudden spike of patients bearing these symptoms, and they seemed to listen due to how dreadfully bad the situation was. Much to my relief, the issue seemed to grow less worrying due to the implementation of genuine interventions on a subjective level. Some of the closer groups that were known to team up with these patients during the war were asked to offer availability due to this circumstance. Some couldn't due to their relative state of being busy with trying to 'grasp back at normal life' and get their income back up to a stable level. Others were actually open and supportive of this matter, granting the chance of those patients to be followed and helped by those that they were more tied to.
It was due to this matter that Konoha's streets were generally bustling with large crowds of people as friends, family members, lovers- they were all spending time together as a large big family under the leaf. It was poetic, but this also presented a concrete obstacle I couldn't really lament much about. Many activities around were mostly unable to allow us in with how many customers they would end up getting. And the small parks around the village were busied by training groups. Nothing unusual, but it definitely limited our own capacity to find unique things to do during each stroll.
"So… I heard that you are planning something that has to do with Suna," Reira finally spoke up after a long pause full of silence.
I blinked, glancing at her with a calm look. "Kagami?"
She nodded, and I sighed as I realized how chatty the guy got once he recovered from his wounds. Who would have thought near-death experiences were the key to turn a laid back guy into a more extroverted one? Of course, it was mostly a joke on the bad experience, and yet it truthfully was the case in most part. Kagami's attitude had shifted into a more open and friendly one ever since that predicament, with him being more open to group activities and playing sports. The only thing that I could notice which I couldn't help but feel concerned about was his reluctance to pursue his shinobi career as seriously as before. I guess a bit of trauma remained, but he didn't seem to manifest any grave forms of it. He was just uneasy at the idea of finding out deadlier situations, which was normal for someone his age and I knew that was going to naturally pass away if he kept going through this route.
"So, I suppose you have questions about it. What do you want to know specifically?"
"Why do you feel the need to get out of your way and deal with that?" The girl asked flatly. "I mean, I know you're good but… I don't recall you ever making any positive comment about Suna, or anything in general to motivate that."
"Hmm, I guess that could be quite surprising, yes," I admitted before nodding. "Still, the reason why I'm doing this is more tied to preserving the peace we won."
A blink, Reira gave me a confused look. "What?"
"Do you know why Suna was so interested in gaining land in the north? Why would they want to expand when they have a sizable amount of land already?"
"Well, they wanted to gain… something? Land?" Reira offered, showing how clueless she was on the matter. "Actually, I don't really know. I don't think you ever mentioned why our allies gained what they did, only why we asked specific sections of the losers' lands."
I nodded, accepting that burden considering I didn't have a reason to offer an explanation in that regard, so I just went with the proper reasoning so she could understand my point.
"Suna has a sizable population. Differently from other Major Villages, their lands forced their clans to be nomadic and to never settle in specific areas of the desert for too long," I elaborated while both stopped so we could discuss this properly. "When Suna came to be, the main issue that came about was the lack of enough fertile plots of land to use to produce food and sustain their population."
"So they took that land because they needed it to… feed their people. But that… that shouldn't be enough to do much."
"That's correct, and what does this lead to?"
"Asking for more land," Reira answered as she was catching up to this on her own. "And Taki wouldn't be willing to give up any more of that, even wanting war… so they would ask it to someone else."
"Someone they are on friendly terms with," I added, waiting for her to reach her conclusions.
"They would ask Konoha but… we can't. It's our land after all."
"And?"
…
"They wouldn't appreciate it."
"Which is why I want to avoid that entire mess by presenting them with an alternative. One that would solve their food problem."
"But… how?"
"Seals."
She huffed. "That I was already aware about, but I was asking 'how exactly'?"
"Let's just say that I found a solution through a heat-draining seal. It is generally used to create rooms to store ice that could be used to also keep food preserved," I answered as seriously as possible. "I tested the seal's potency within one of the house's rooms that was left empty. I can regulate its intensity through some minor additions to the matrix of the seal and thus manipulate the heat within the room at will. The purpose of this is to create a specific room within an enclosed space that can be used as an indoor farm."
"An… indoor farm?" Reira muttered with a hint of confusion. "You mean creating a literal farm, right?"
"Or something that has the main function as a farm," I remarked, knowing that I couldn't exactly encapsulate a full farm within a building without making things too awkward. "In this case, one that focuses on producing wheat and rice. Multiple of those can be employed to solve the problem of famine altogether, while also providing new work outlets for the unemployed."
"That sounds quite… ambitious. Are you sure it works?"
"I tested for a full month to try and find the best way to use the seal, and I'm quite sure it will work as a permanent solution."
She smiled. "That sounds lovely."
…
There was a sudden pause at this. I was about to answer and… yet I stopped as I realized that Reira was staring at the floor in a thoughtful gaze. I waited for her to speak up again and yet the girl remained silent. Something was quite bothering her, and it gained my attention due to how unfocused she looked at that moment.
"So… anything new on your side? How are your parents?"
"They are fine. Always proud of the fact I did so much during the war and that I managed to do so while keeping an exemplary attitude 'as a proper Uchiha' should," She hummed, gaining a mirthful sigh from me at that last bit. Nowadays she joked about the 'proper Uchiha element', having grown out of believing that was actually not how one determined a proper ninja from a cowardly one. "They are also happy that I spend time with you. As usual."
I grimaced a tiny bit at the fact some elements just didn't change, no matter how much time passed since I last met them. They were good folks, but definitely putting an extra effort to secure their daughter's future in a way I wasn't happy about… and Reira was even more frustrated about it. The war shaped her mind to be more independent through her actions despite keeping a degree of military-like subordination to some people. She still was rather unwilling to accept the chances of getting 'sold away' out of nowhere and without having a chance of enjoying her years before she reached adulthood. Something that I had fostered due to how 'progressive' I was and how much of a role model I was becoming for many kids around our age. But just as I pondered about this awkward instance, she decided to strike again, surprising me with the topic she decided to bring up as the one thing that had kept her so unsure how to continue that conversation.
"You know… my father was thinking of doing something about this. Asking your mother if she would be accepting of an arranged marriage between… me and you."
I blinked, but before I could say anything about it, Reira beat me to it with a tired hum.
"I told him that I would have refused, and so you would have too. He tried to say that we were too young to understand what was good for us and so our opinions were secondary if it meant securing our future in a brilliant way."
Which is fairly stupid considering that we were soldiers in a war and we saw some crazy stuff there. Stuff that would make our opinions fairly bigger than any idea of the future they might have 'for us'. I wasn't stupid to see some greed in that move, but I knew it wasn't the main focus on it and they were genuinely invested in Reira's rise to a higher status. It was upsetting, but nonetheless far from motivated by hateful reasons.
"So I told him that I would have spoken with Madara-sama and told him of it. I also told him that you would have taken me to live in your house if he dared to disown me."
My lips twitched at that harsh comeback, with my mind painting a scene that was as amusing as the girl was describing, with a red-faced man getting glared back by his own daughter as she advanced these bold claims.
"Quite the strong ultimatum. How did it work?"
"He stood down from the matter, but he refused to speak with me for a couple of days. Mom was… less supportive of this push, so she was open to discuss things that weren't tied to you or any form of marriage."
"But there is something that bothers you about it. Enough to be thoughtful right now that we are together," I pointed out, noticing way too well that while the idea of an arranged marriage was out of the way, that didn't prevent her to ponder about a relationship out of it. One between equals, as far as I knew her interested in.
"I know this sounds quite sudden and… I know what's your opinion in relationship that complex but… can you promise me something important, Danzou?" Reira asked, her voice growing soft and almost shy from what she was preparing to offer.
"I will listen first and… then I will answer it."
She nodded in agreement and sighed. "I like you. More than just a friend and I don't know how much. I don't know if it's love, or if it's a crush- or I don't know. I just… I just want you to listen when we're older- when I am confident I can give you an answer and then… I want to try it if it comes to it. I want to try to be with you either as a friend or more. Will you allow me?"
…
I was a bit speechless. Was that a confession? The confused speech left me perplexed, slightly nervous, and tremendously aware that the 'promise' she was asking me to say yes to was one driven by her personal uncertainty, her hopes, her thoughts, and… her affection. Affection that was bound to nothing but her personal view of me. She admitted it, it wasn't something she was certain about.
Friendship? That was a confirmed fact as we were incredibly close.
Beyond that? Could it actually happen? I tried to remind myself that they were young, and I was too due to my body, but my mind just abhorred the idea of trying to do anything weird with minors. It was inconceivable… and yet the future years held a weird perspective I couldn't deny was going to be important. I was definitely going to be influenced by hormones and so those around me. Would it be wrong to expect things to change at that point? Or even beyond as we all turned adults?
"Yes, I promise," I muttered calmly, holding back any sign of my inner struggle. The smile on her face was one of thankfulness and… yet I felt so upset with myself.
I knew it was going to be inevitable at this point that I will have to 'settle' down one way or another with someone of my 'age'. And as much wrong that sounded now, all the reasons would start dropping with the coming of age of those interested in me.
Things just never get any easier, regardless of peace or war…