Return Of The Madness

Chapter 32

Tsunade smiled as Team 7 entered the office, though her brows furrowed as she took in Yuma's new scar.

"Didn't imagine you to return home injured," the Hokage mentioned, slight concern clear, but Yuma just grinned in response.

"I think it makes me look bad ass," shrugged the smiling teen.

Tsunade couldn't help but smile again at the high spirited girl, and continued to speak. "It certainly makes you look different, which is a good start. We need to alter your appearance, as the Akatsuki suggested when they visited you. Speaking of, have you heard from them any more."

At the mention of the S-Ranked criminals, Yuma's team tensed a bit. Yuma, however, was happy for someone to see the benefit of her contact with her friends, rather than nearly shame her for it.

"Once, while I was in Suna," she answered, not looking to her team to see the shock on their faces. "It was only Zet-nii, he let me know that they were working on misleading Pein. He has no idea that I was in Suna, and they're trying to convince him that I've been relocated from Konaha."

Tsunade appeared deep in thought. "That would be immensely helpful in securing your safety. You'll have to forgive me for this, but..." She looked up, her sharp eyes locking with Yuma's. "I need you to give me a reason to trust them in any capacity."

Yuma herself was surprised. There was sincerity in the demand, someone was actually open to hear her out here, and trust her judgement. But, this was her chance, hopefully this would help her family understand...

"I'm not going to pretend that they're good people, or that they haven't done terrible things," Yuma started. "However, they don't have anything to gain from helping me, in fact, they have everything to lose. There's a reason Pein is the leader- he's the strongest. If he found out they were helping me, he'd kill them, all of them..." She scowled as a knot formed in her throat. "I've... Even asked them to stop, because I don't... Want to lose more of them, even if I never get to see them again, but they refuse to stop, and have made it clear that they'll never let Pein have me, no matter what I do or say..."

There was a heavy silence in the air. Yuma could feel her team staring at her, but she kept her gaze on Tsunade's until she responded.

"I'm certainly not granting them access to the village, or trusting them with you," she began, noticing the slight droop of Yuma's shoulders, "and if I ever catch them in the village, I'll be dealing with them appropriately, but we won't go out of our way to hunt them down, either. This 'Pein', however, seems to be our most pressing issue on the matter. Do you know where to find him?"

Yuma, surprised by the consideration, shook her head. "No, the others had strict orders to not give me exact base locations until I was a fully fledged member. When I was brought back home, I was about a year out from that point, so I had to wear a blindfold when leaving or returning to base, and any outside time was monitored by members, and kept close to the base entrance."

Tsunade hummed, and lifted her hands to her temples. "That complicates things a bit, but if the other members come to you with any information, pass it along to me immediately. And, if you think it will help, let them know of what I told you today. However, you need to understand," she lowered her hands again, and kept them interlocked on the desk before her, "if they are spotted in Konahagakure, I will need to deal with them. If they attack here, or one of the villages we ally, we will have no choice but to step in, and if they threaten you for any reason, I will absolutely retract my promise not to hunt them down directly, and there will be nothing you can say to change my mind if that happens. I trust that I don't also need to tell you, while they're helping you, they are not our allies or friends, so you are not permitted to share details of Konahagakure with them. Just what we've discussed today, do you understand?"

Yuma was stunned, and didn't realized that crimson tears had bubbled up in her eyes. When she tried to speak, she found the knot in her throat too difficult to talk through, so she merely nodded.

Tsunade spared the smallest smile at the choked up girl, and lifted her interwoven hands to rest her chin on. "In the meantime, get a hair cut, change your last name to Hatake, and do your best to keep your abilities on the down low. This, plus some additional security measures, should also aid in the Akatsuki's plan to mislead their Leader. Now, if I'm not mistaken, Kakashi has a gift waiting for you at home."

Yuma looked to her guardian, confused, and was shocked to see a sad smile instead of disapproval.

"Let's go home, kiddo," he merely said, and Yuma nodded numbly. The sensei looked to Naruto and Sakura, and smiled again. "Yuma and I have some things to talk about, we'll catch up with you two later." Surprisingly, this was met with zero argument as the two gave Yuma a hug each.

Once home, Yuma turned to Kakashi quickly, and began speaking immediately.

"Look, Kashi, I know you're probably mad about the Akatsuki, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but-"

"Yuma," the silver haired man interrupted, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay."

Apparently today was full of surprises, Yuma thought distantly, staring at Kakashi.

"A wise man told me I was being too dismissive of what you've gone through," he explained. "And the more I think about it, the more I realize he was right. So, I'm sorry, and to show you that, it's time you got these back."

Reaching into the pouch on his hip, he retrieved two scrolls. Both were white, one with a red ribbon securing it, and the other with a green. He handed her the green ribboned one first.

"This is your sword," he said softly, watching shock and emotion bleed into her face as crimson tears immediately sprung into the corners of her mismatched eyes. "You're welcome to use it if you'd like, or just put it up on your wall in your room, whatever you want to do with it." Next, he held out the scroll with the red ribbon. "This... This is your cloak," he paused as she gasped, the tears overflowing and carving harsh lines down her cheeks. "Whether we like it or not, the time you spent with the Akatsuki was real, and is a part of you now. The cloak is yours, but we have to put a restriction on that. You can't take it out of the scroll, you can't hang it on your wall, or in your closet."

"People break in too often," Yuma whispered, staring down at the scroll in her shaking hand. "If any assassin's or villagers saw it, they'd turn the village inside out with panic."

"Exactly," Kakashi sighed, relieved that she saw the reason behind the decision. "But I want you to have it, whether you want to carry it on you, or keep it in a drawer or shelf in your room. Either way, you need to make a secure seal jutsu on it that only you, or the people you trust to know it, can access it. Do you understand?"

In response, Yuma dove into him, wrapping her arms almost painfully around him in a strong hug as her shoulders shuddered and she hiccupped against his chest.

"Thank you... Thank you so much..."

Kakashi looked down at her, and smiled softly, returning her embrace.

"Welcome home, Yuma."