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Chapter 13 - Naruto Is Cared For

Akane Ishimura stirred awake with a pounding headache. She raised a trembling hand to her face and recoiled at the touch of coarse, swollen flesh. The pig-like features remained, grotesque and unyielding. She cursed under her breath, fumbling with jars of ointment and creams, smearing them across her cheeks in desperation. Nothing changed. The pig face mocked her from the cracked mirror on the wall. With a hiss of frustration, she shoved the jars aside and pulled her mattress up, dragging free a heavy pouch stuffed with Ryō—years of embezzled money stolen away from the children in her care.

The early market buzzed with morning life. Akane stalked through it with frantic energy, her swollen face hidden beneath a scarf. She bought in reckless haste: baskets of fresh vegetables, rice sacks, cuts of meat, and bottles of milk. She added baby formula, diapers, and clean linens, her hands shaking as she counted coin after coin into the vendors' palms. Finally, she ordered a new crib, her voice hoarse as she demanded delivery before noon. The merchants stared, whispering among themselves, but the weight of Ryō silenced their questions.

Back at the orphanage, Akane rushed into a dim corner of the building. There, in a tattered cardboard box, lay Naruto—his small body cold, his cries weak from hunger. Her heart clenched in terror. "Oh no, oh gods… if she sees this again, I'll be beaten, or worse… killed." She scooped him up, clutching him tightly as the delivery men carried the crib inside. She laid him gently into clean bedding, then fumbled with the formula until she pressed the bottle to his lips. He drank greedily, his tiny hands twitching as if afraid the milk would vanish.

Akane stared at him, her own tears spilling down her grotesque face. Around her, the supplies she had purchased filled the room. "All my precious Ryō… years of saving, all going to this cursed child. But if I don't… she'll come back. She'll kill me." Her breath hitched, her voice dropping into a trembling whisper. "Should I tell the Elders? No. If they know, they'll silence me. The council doesn't want Naruto's truth exposed. And Danzō… he'd make me vanish. I've seen what happens to children in this village. Disappearances… even from my orphanage. I don't know where they go. Root, experiments, the streets? Who knows."

Her hands shook as she wiped her face, then clenched into fists. "If I vanish, the children vanish too. I can't let that happen." She finished feeding Naruto, cleaned him carefully, and changed his clothes before tucking him back into the crib. Her voice lowered to a whisper, as though confessing to herself. "I'll keep my head down. I'll mind my own business. I'll take care of him… and pray that woman never comes back. Whatever the Elders are plotting, I don't want to know."

Her steps faltered as she carried food to the other children, placing bread and rice into their small hands. Their wide eyes followed her with confusion as she moved among them, trembling but determined. For once, the orphanage filled with the scent of warm meals instead of dust.

Elsewhere, Raven stirred in her infant body, her eyelids fluttering open. Her adoptive parents, Seijirō and Chiyo Kamazaki, beamed with pride as they revealed the room they had prepared. A crib with fresh pink bedding sat against the wall, surrounded by toys and decorations. The walls themselves had been painted a soft pink hue, brushstrokes still drying. Seijirō rested a hand against the crib, his smile weary from the night's labor, while Chiyo adjusted a small blanket with tender care.

Raven's thoughts reached out to Yumi with dry disbelief. "Did they do all this overnight?"

Yumi rolled her golden eyes, her voice rich with exasperated warmth. "Of course they did. They didn't sleep a wink. They worked themselves ragged to make this room for you. You should be grateful—the Outsider arranged good parents."

Raven's gaze softened slightly as she scanned the room, her thoughts quiet. "He really did do me a solid favor this time."

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