Chapter 17: SeventeenChapter Text
SEVENTEEN:
"Ko-ane! Ko-ane!" Naruto giggled. His cheeks were rosy with laughter and his blue eyes bright and sparkling as she showered his face with kisses.
Sansa adored her brother. At first, her affection for him had been born from Kushina's dying wish that her and Naruto protect and love each other, but it was impossible not to love Naruto. He shone so brightly the gods must surely have breathed star-fire into his bones when they created him. Sansa wasn't certain what role she would play in his life; presently, she hovered somewhere between mother and sister and perhaps when he got older it would lean more toward the latter, but she was unsure. She didn't particularly mind, either way; she just knew that she loved him, like a wolf loved the moon, and she always would. He brought a lightness to her life that only her children had before.
After her meeting with her ancestor, Uzumaki Mito, and the conversation with Kurama that had followed, too many old memories had been lurking too close to the surface of her mind so Sansa had hunted down the bright sunshine of her life, needing that lightness to drive away the dark. Naruto had been overjoyed to see her and she'd felt awful about how neglected he must be feeling lately. He was used to spending all of his time with her and now she was spending her time sewing and learning to read and soon she'd be learning sealing too.
But that was something to worry about later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy spending time with her brother, playing all those games that her Septa and Lady-Mother would have been horrified beyond words to see Lady Sansa Stark play.
She cheekily tickled Naruto's belly and he let out a playful growl, taking an equally playful swipe at her with his little claws. Sansa ignored the slight sting, knowing her healing would take care of the scratches, and instead pounced, more than happy to play wrestling– one of Naruto's favourites and a game she'd been stern that he was only to play with her. They rolled around the yard together, each determined to pin the other. Sansa had the advantage of practicing with actual wolves while playing with Lady's litter-mates, but Naruto had the advantage of being bigger and slightly stronger.
Sansa prevailed in the end, pinning Naruto beneath her and nipping his throat gently to end the game. He nuzzled her, just like a real wolf pup, and they curled up together. It was beginning to get dark but Sansa wasn't worried. They were mostly safe in the backyard of the orphanage and it was the warmer part of the year. She and Naruto had spent more than one night curled up outside, under a tree with Kanna. Sometimes it was just nice to be outside, under the blanket of stars and the light of the moon.
"Ko-ane?" Naruto asked suddenly.
"Yes, little storm?" She asked. Since she'd found out that the kanji for Naruto's name spelled out maelstrom, 'little storm' had been her favourite name for her brother. It suited his chakra too; hers was an ocean, and his was a tempest.
"Are we gonna go ta the 'cademy?"
Sansa felt her whole body tense. "Who told you about the Academy?" She demanded, her panic like shards of ice scraping through her veins.
Naruto's big, innocent eyes blinked at her in confusion. "Lotsa people talk 'bout it," he told her.
"Lots of people talk about it, little prince." She corrected him absently even as her mind raced. She felt sick. The idea of Naruto attending the charnel house that was Konoha's Shinobi Academy had her lungs tightening in her chest and her breath was coming in short and wheezy gasps.
"Ko-ane!" Naruto sounded freaked out, his little hands clutching onto her own tiny ones, and Sansa had to force herself to slow her breathing. She desperately wanted to summon Lady but there was no privacy around them and she could sense their ANBU watchers close by, and that knowledge was enough to tighten her lungs again. "Ko-ane!" Naruto wailed, tears welling in his eyes, and Sansa buried her face in his golden hair, breathing in his familiar scent and letting it ground her until she could take a full breath again.
"I won' talk 'bout the 'cademy no more," Naruto promised her, sniffling, and Sansa just held him tighter, grief and despair surging in her heart.
"Oh my little storm," she whispered, "if only I could protect you forever." She could already see it, could already imagine Konoha taking and taking and taking from her bright little brother, stripping him of his innocence, his joy, his childhood, until there was nothing left but pain and bitterness and weariness; until he was left just like her.
"They'll never let us go," she told Kurama wretchedly that night, and they let out a harsh laugh in response.
"Of course not," they said, lips pulled back in a terrible, torturous rictus of a smile and she could feel their rising bloodlust. "Not unless we make them."
Uzumaki Mito's smile was just as bloodthirsty as Kurama's, though Sansa didn't think either would appreciate the comparison.
"Do you know why Kiri and Iwa destroyed Uzushio?" she asked. "We weren't a major Hidden Village. We weren't even a proper shinobi village– but our people had such skill with seals that it terrified them, so much so that they slaughtered us and then they hunted down the survivors and slaughtered them too. And they have likely succeeded in their intention– I died before I could pass on our secrets to Kushina and I know not if any Uzushio seal masters or mistresses survived to pass down our secrets to Uzushio descendants."
"But knowledge of sealing still exists," Sansa pointed out, "Minato was said to be a sealing genius, even if he wasn't an Uzushio seal-master."
"Maybe he was," Mito said dismissively, "but do you know the difference between an ordinary seal-master and an Uzushio seal-master?" Here, she smiled and held up her hand. Sansa could feel, rather than see, how Mito's chakra moved under her skin, before she turned and pressed her hand against the trunk of the nearest weirwood. Sansa's eyes widened as a seal, blood-red and brilliant, blazed into the pale trunk under Mito's palm.
"An Uzushio seal-master," Mito said, bright-eyed and fervent, "has no need for ink or brushes or even blood– all an Uzushio seal-master needs is the chakra under their skin. This is what I will teach you. This is the legacy of our people. This is the legacy of Uzushio."
Sansa knew the weight of a legacy and it was a weight she carried gladly. This she told Mito, who smiled.
"It will be hard work," she warned, "but I know you will be a dedicated student. And one day, Fuyuko– one day you and Naruto will know freedom. One day you will know Uzushio."
~
Mito was right about it being hard work. The very first lesson Sansa had been taught was about tenketsu points and it had set the tone for the lessons that had followed. "Tenketsu points are where chakra can be expelled from your body," Mito had explained. "Your palms have two of the main tenketsu points of the body. Another is found on the forehead," she'd gestured to the purple rhombus on her own forehead. "They can be found throughout the entire body, however most use only the points in their hands and feet."
Mito had then smiled. "But Uzushio seal masters are not most. We are not the Hyuuga, able to map out the tenketsu points of the body, but we don't need to be. We have always been a clan known for our sensors, and you are no exception. There are three hundred and sixty-one tenketsu points from which your body can expel chakra, Fuyuko-chan. I want you to find them all."
It had been Sansa's first assignment from Mito, but not her only one. It had taken her nearly two months to find each tenketsu point and another two months to be able to expel chakra from each point. During that time she'd also spent hours each night in her mindscape learning about different chakra types– elemental, natural, yin and yang– as well as sealing theory and common sealing components and symbols, with Mito testing her relentlessly.
There was no rest during the day either. As well as any assignments from Mito, such as the one locating tenketsu points, Sansa had to practice circulating her chakra around her body and shaping it under her skin, which was at least something she could do as she was sewing– Mito even said it was good practice to be able to focus enough to manipulate her chakra when her hands were busy elsewise.
Sansa was exhausted but she persisted despite herself. She was learning so much and each time Mito smiled, she knew she was one step closer to being able to free Kurama from their prison. She could see the careful hope in Kurama's eyes as she soaked in everything Mito was teaching her; sealing came naturally to her, it was obvious to all three of them. It was in her blood and Sansa was determined that when the time came, she would pass on this knowledge to Naruto too. This was the legacy of their people and it filled Sansa with pride.
Along with Sansa's blossoming sealing abilities, another change in their lives as her and Naruto's fourth birthday crept closer was Sansa learning how to sneak out of the orphanage without their ANBU watchers knowing.
Practicing manipulating her chakra had increased Sansa's ability to read the flickering in the chakra of the ANBU watchers so she could tell when they weren't paying attention and slip away, sometimes taking Naruto with her. She'd bring scarves to cover their bright hair and rub dirt on their cheeks to hide the whisker-marks, so in their ragged, second-hand clothes and old sandals they just appeared to be another pair of kids running wild and underfoot around Konoha.
She half-wondered if this was how Arya had felt when she'd shed her dresses for tunics and breeches and had her long hair hacked off; no longer Lady Arya Stark, just Arry. It was a strange, foreign feeling to Sansa, to be so invisible; even as Uzumaki Fuyuko she was stared at, albeit not in a friendly manner or in the awed way people had stared at Queen Sansa Stark, like she was a goddess descended from the heavens above and cloaked in mortal flesh. It was disturbing and freeing all at once; like the dizzying sensation of standing at the edge of a great height, and Sansa wasn't at all certain if she liked it or not.
Naruto, though– Naruto loved it. And that was good enough for her. Even if they had to stay closer to the rougher parts of Konoha, where a couple of dirty children alone on the street wouldn't get a second look, to see Naruto's bright grin and hear his laughter as they played tag and chased cats and stole fruit from merchants was worth paying a small toll to the gangs of street kids who occasionally cornered them in an alley and loomed threateningly over them until Sansa paid a sum in return for being allowed to remain on their territory.
They'd gotten some considering looks from some of the older kids a few times, but no offers to join up as of yet, which Sansa was relieved by. It would have been difficult to figure out how to politely say no and she had higher aspirations for her brother and herself then joining a street gang, though she had no issues with doing business with them.
Sansa knew the importance of those easily overlooked– she had learned that lesson from Varys and his little birds and later from Arya when she had taken over as Sansa's Mistress of Whispers with her little strays. So much useful information had been gathered through those children and the whores who everybody overlooked but were cleverer by half than most of the idiots doing the overlooking.
It was why, when Naruto wasn't with her, she took a month's worth of her allowance with her, slipping it into a pocket she'd sewn onto the inside of her dress just for the occasion, wound a grey scarf around her bright hair and slipped out of the orphanage when the ANBU watcher's attention was elsewhere. She made her way through the winding streets of Konoha, feeling carefully for the presence of any ANBU watchers as she made her way deeper into the rougher parts of Konoha until she'd entered the Yūkaku* itself, somewhere she'd always strictly avoided when with Naruto.
When Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had founded Konoha, they issued laws restricting prostitution to certain areas on the outskirts of the village, an area that became known as the Yūkaku– Konoha's pleasure quarters. It was where the prostitutes and courtesans worked, where the yakuza were the law, where the street kids ran, and where to go if you had money and needed information.
There had been a similar 'floating world', as some referred to the Yūkaku, in Westeros. Her time spying as a little bird hadn't revealed who pulled the strings of Konoha's Yūkaku, or what their title was, but in Westeros the leader of the seedy underbelly of society had been known as the King of the Rogues.
It was a title spoken only half in jest, for he had had his court of thieves, whores, beggars and killers, just as she had had hers of royalty, nobles, and knights. Sansa had dealt with him as little as was possible, though she hated to admit it, she really did, but she'd liked the bastard. He was just so charming, like all silver-tongued charlatans– he could have sold water to a drowning man. They'd had an amicable relationship that had served them both well and it had taught her much of such culture– and it was with this knowledge that Sansa had used her warging abilities to carefully scout out a suitable person to approach.
Suzuki Tama was born to Suzuki Yuu, one of the workers at Madam Ai's Palace of Flowers. She was one of the many fatherless children born in the Yūkaku who would grow up and either join the yakuza or become prostitutes like their mothers. Tama was a handful of years older than Sansa's current body and she already wore those years in the hardness of her face and the ice in her dark eyes.
The reason Sansa had chosen Tama was due to the girl's connections, both to the other bastard children of the Yūkaku, as Madam Ai's was one of the largest and most popular brothels, and because at eight namedays she was already a runner for the yakuza.
Sansa approached her on quiet feet and observed the exact moment when Tama registered her presence, hand twitching to her pocket, likely for a weapon. "Excuse me, nee-san," she said politely, "I've heard you're the one to approach if one needs a favour."
Tama glared down at her, dislike sharp on her young face. "Fuck off!" She spat.
"For a price, of course," Sansa tacked on calmly.
"...shoulda lead wiv tha', fuckn' idiot," Tama snapped and Sansa bowed.
"Apologies," she said. "I don't have much, I'm afraid. But I'm not asking for much either– just that you ask your friends to keep their eyes open for an ANBU wearing a dog mask. I don't need him followed, just a sighting and then someone to show me to that location– I can be found at Konoha's orphanage."
"No shit?" Tama said, surprised, and Sansa could immediately see how the girl's thin shoulders eased slightly. "Ya speak like a fuckn' noble, not a fuckn' orphan."
"Proper diction is important," Sansa said dryly, leaning into Tama as if she was hugging the older girl. Tama 'hugged' her back and Sansa could feel the older girl slip her hand into the pocket Sansa had sewn inside her dress and take the payment. When Tama pulled back, Sansa couldn't even see where she'd disappeared Sansa's hard-earned money– she could only hope that the effort would pay off. If Tama could get her the start of a scent trail, then she and Lady would be able to track it back to Inu. To Kakashi.
"Ninja are bad business, kid– don' go tanglin' wiv shit tha'll get ya face down in a ditch," Tama warned and Sansa nodded.
"I know," she said, "and I don't want anyone else getting hurt either. I only want to know if someone happens to spot him by chance, that's all."
Tama nodded slowly. "I'll put th' word out," she decided. "Ain't gonna promise anythin', but I'll put th' word out."
"Thank you," Sansa breathed, bowing again. Tama looked down at her, a strange look in her pale eyes.
"Yer a weird one, ain'tcha?" she muttered. "Scram, kid."
Sansa 'scrammed'.
~
The day after her meeting with Tama, Sansa summoned Lady to Konoha for the first time. She chose a back alley, behind a dumpster, which wasn't the most auspicious of places but it was hidden and Naruto was all but jumping up and down in his eagerness to meet a new friend after they'd escaped from their ANBU watchers again.
When Lady appeared in a delicate plume of smoke Naruto's eyes went wide and he clapped his hands together in excitement.
"Foxy!" He exclaimed and Lady looked indignant.
"I'm not a fox!" She complained and Sansa laughed, understanding why Naruto may have gotten them confused– the only other four-legged animal he'd seen, other than his Inu toy, were the foxes at the shrine. She wondered if Lady would have been more or less insulted to have been called a dog instead.
"Close, little storm, but not quite," Sansa gently corrected Naruto before Lady could make a fuss, "Lady is a wolf– but that's our special secret. If anyone asks, she's just a stray dog who sometimes follows us around, okay?"
Naruto's eyes widened in delight as he nodded hurriedly. "Shh!" He said, putting his finger up against his lips and she laughed.
"That's right, shh!" She agreed. "Do you want to pat her? She's really soft."
"I am," Lady promised. "And look at my pretty ribbon!" She preened, bowing her neck to show Naruto the ribbon that Sansa had woven into the fur of her ruff.
"Pretty!" Naruto gasped, reaching out to pat her. "Soft!" He added, leaning forward to rub his cheek against her muzzle. "Pack?" He asked innocently, looking between her and Sansa with wide, hopeful eyes.
"Yes," Sansa agreed, "Lady is pack."
Naruto beamed, and it was like looking at sunshine. Even Lady looked slightly stunned before the wolf visibly melted, nuzzling Naruto and rubbing her muzzle against his cheek. It made Sansa's heart swell with love, to see her two precious ones getting along, both accepting the other without question and with such open hearts.
"Come on," Sansa said when they both finally turned to her, holding her hand out to Naruto, "let's go show Lady around Konoha."
"Yes!" Naruto cheered, bouncing over to her and eagerly grabbing onto her hand, excited to show his new friend around.
They did get a few strange, wary looks as they gave her the tour, but Lady was still just small enough to be mistaken for a dog, just as Sansa had hoped she would be. Still, Sansa kept them out of the more crowded areas, instead showing Lady the quieter parts of Konoha– namely the memorial stone, the Hokage mountain and their shrine.
"Smells like foxes," was Lady's opinion as they stopped outside the shrine and Sansa laughed.
"I'm not surprised," she said, bowing in the direction of the shrine and sending a prayer of thanks to Inari-sama for helping her find Mito. "What do you think of Konoha?" She asked.
"...Konoha makes you sad," Lady said softly and Naruto whined, leaning into her. Sansa let out a shaky breath, holding onto both of them.
"Yes," she admitted, "it does. But do you know what doesn't? You, Naruto. And you, Lady. And Kanna-neesan, of course, and Inu. Even Kazumi-obaasan isn't too bad."
Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Smells like cats," he complained and Sansa laughed at Naruto's accurate description of the orphanage's matron.
"She does, doesn't she?" she agreed, before sighing softly. "I've learned that home isn't always a place," she murmured. "Sometimes... sometimes home is those you love. And you are both my home. And one day... one day, we will build ourselves a village. Together."
Until then, with her pack by her side, Sansa found herself startlingly... content.
~
~
*In 1617 Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate issued an order restricting prostitution to certain areas on the outskirts of cities, known as yūkaku (pleasure quarters)