"Yugao, what am I supposed to do now?" Hayate sighed, his shoulders slumping.
"It's actually quite nice."
Hayate stared, dumbfounded. Now even his last ally had turned on him.
He felt a wave of despondence wash over him as he walked down the street, his hand itching to find something to slash with his sword. The frustration built until it caught in his throat, and he broke into another fit of coughing.
His life was miserable. To make matters worse, when Takeshi had left earlier, he had deliberately chosen not to use the Flying Thunder God, departing on foot instead. As luck would have it, he ran into Hayate on the way and took the opportunity to offer some kindhearted "concern" to his nephew.
Hayate was left with no choice but to call him "Uncle." There was simply no way around it. Coming from a clan meant that etiquette had to be observed, or there would be consequences. In the Gekko clan especially, you never knew if your father was watching from a distance. They were all so troublesome.
Takeshi, meanwhile, was on his way to Minato's house for dinner. He had been invited for the evening, so he had made a point of not eating much at noon. He could be ruthless like that when he wanted to be.
By late afternoon, he had already arrived in their neighborhood. Besides mooching a free meal, his main reason for visiting was to ask about the rest of his fuinjutsu lessons. The last session had ended abruptly when Tsunade showed up, and they hadn't gotten to the more advanced techniques yet.
For that reason alone, Takeshi decided it was worth the trip.
He had been careful to move to a new home far from Minato's place to avoid Kushina, which meant it was quite a walk. Using the Flying Thunder God to pop in unannounced felt like a good way to interrupt their time together.
'Speaking of which,' he wondered, 'has Yugito left yet?'
He mulled it over as he walked. Yugito Nii had been brought to Konoha as a guest and was staying with Minato, but now that Onoki had sued for peace, he wasn't sure if the Third Raikage had sent someone to bring her home. Leaving her here indefinitely wasn't a solution.
Takeshi trotted the rest of the way to Minato's house. As a jonin, Minato already had a nice home, but it looked like they had expanded the grounds to include a modest courtyard. He could see them in the yard now, setting up what looked like barbecue grills. It seemed they were planning a proper feast for the evening.
Kushina wasn't helping. It wasn't that Minato wouldn't let her, but Jiraiya had stopped her, using the excuse that she shouldn't tire herself out. The real reason was obvious to anyone who had ever tasted her cooking, anyone except Minato, that is. The man had no taste whatsoever, he loved anything Kushina made.
"Yugito, can you bring out the fish from inside? And no sneaking a bite, you hear?" Kushina called out cheerfully.
"Who would want to sneak a bite of that!" Yugito's indignant voice carried from inside.
"Aren't you a cat?"
'No dignity at all,' Takeshi thought.
Takeshi paused, considering if this was the right moment to show himself. He had a feeling that if he appeared now and a fish suddenly went missing, he would be the one to get blamed. With Kushina's personality, you could never be sure.
Yugito emerged from the house, huffing as she carried a bucket. It was clear she hadn't been having an easy time. Her face was etched with a mixture of bitterness and exhaustion.
'How tragic,' Takeshi thought with a distinct lack of sympathy.
He was still crouched on the wall, biding his time, when Yugito seemed to sense something. Her head snapped in his direction. She set the bucket down and ran over to him. The black cat tensed, suddenly on alert.
"When are you leaving?" she demanded in a hushed, urgent voice. "I don't want to stay here a moment longer."
"Meow? What does my leaving have to do with you?" Takeshi asked, his tone utterly heartless.
He was the one who had captured her and left her in Konoha, but getting her back was Kumogakure's problem. What did it have to do with him? He hadn't given it a second thought, but then he remembered.
'Ah, that's right. Third Raikage invited me to Kumo.'
"Raikage-sama said I just have to go back to the village with you," she explained. "I'm supposed to follow you. So, when are you going?"
"Meow," Takeshi purred casually. "Oh, that could be in a day or two. Or maybe four or five years."
So that was it. The old Raikage had just dumped Yugito on him, expecting him to be a convenient escort back to Kumo. The sheer trust was so touching he could die. She was dead weight. Without her, he could summon Rin and enjoy being pampered like a king. With Yugito along for the ride, life would be far from ideal.
"Four or five years? No, I can't..." Yugito's voice trembled, and her eyes started to well up.
Her only support during her time here had been the hope of going home once the war ended. But now, even with Iwa's surrender, she might have to stay for several more years under the thumb of that she-devil, Kushina.
Takeshi patted her shoulder lightly, momentarily at a loss. Kushina had really done a number on this kid.
"They even removed your seal, didn't they?" he said, looking her over. "Is life in Konoha really that bad?"
"I... I ran out of money."
Takeshi froze. He remembered the Raikage giving the girl a sizable amount of money. It wasn't enough to buy a house, but it should have been more than enough to live on for a while without a care in the world. How could she have spent it all already?
"K-Konoha has too many things," Yugito mumbled, hanging her head. "I... I accidentally spent it all."
Although she was already twelve, she had never seen so much delicious food before. Kumo wasn't poor, but its mountainous terrain meant its culinary scene was nowhere near as developed as Konoha's.
"Meow!" Takeshi sighed, raising a paw in a gesture of grudging admiration.
This kid was a lost cause. She was on the fast track to becoming a glutton, destined to end up like Anko and stray further and further from the image of the beautiful Yugito he remembered. Of course, once she returned to Kumo, she wouldn't have access to any of this anymore.
He pondered for a moment. 'Should I stay a little longer?'
Life in Konoha was boring, but giving Yugito some money to develop the appetite of a pig seemed like an excellent idea. As for her figure, well, she wasn't from Konoha, so it wasn't his problem. Besides, the more she enjoyed the food now, the more painful it would be when she had to go back. It was like quitting smoking, the better it felt in the moment, the harder it was to stop later. Though Takeshi had never smoked in this life or his last, he understood the principle.
"Can we leave tomorrow, please?" she pleaded.
"Meow. We'll have to wait at least a few days. Tsunade-sama is about to be appointed as the Fourth Hokage, and I need to stay until after that. But I'll cover your food and drinks until we go, as a small gesture. After all, I'm on equal footing with the Raikage, which technically makes me part of your grandfather's generation."
"What?" Yugito looked completely baffled by the sudden promotion.
'I have a grandfather now?'
But she latched onto the most important part: the black cat said he would cover her food. Remembering the last time he had offered to treat her only to make her pay, she eyed him with suspicion. "Really?"
"Meow. Grandpa doesn't lie," Takeshi said amiably. "I'll really pay. You can eat whatever you want."
While she was still in Konoha, he would fatten her up. When the Third Raikage saw a Yugito as plump as a pig, he would probably have a meltdown. It served him right for dumping this burden on him. It was a perfect plan.
As for Yugito, she was too conflicted to even care about the "grandfather" title. Her first reaction was disbelief, but when she realized the cat was serious, a struggle began inside her. Should she eat, or not? If she ate, she was afraid of getting fat. But if she didn't... she was about to leave Konoha, and she might never have the chance to eat so many wonderful things again.
It was a terrible dilemma. Why would fate present her with such a painful choice?
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Kushina walking up until she spoke right beside her, making her jump.
"Takeshi, you're here! We haven't started cooking yet. By the way, where's Rin?"
"Still at the hospital, meow."
Takeshi leaped onto Yugito's shoulder and gazed at the ingredients laid out for the barbecue, a feeling of delight swelling inside him. Everything looked delicious.
Good. He would start persuading Yugito to eat more tonight. He would do his best to help her gain five kilograms in just a few days. He had to make sure her friends and family back in Kumo felt the full warmth of Konoha's hospitality.
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