"T-that… what happened?" Kushina asked, though she would rather not know.
She had awoken to a headache accompanied by memories, memories of the past that had been… locked… to her, one way or the other. And to her horror, she realised that she had a third child, Naruko. Yes, she recalled the times she used to look after her three children when they were still in their cribs, how could she forget those moments?
How could she?
She had immediately made her way to downstairs to where her children, ALL her children, were waiting along with Tazuna and another woman, most likely the daughter Tazuna had kept going on about. Kushina could see Haruka and Haruto sitting quietly, unusual for the latter child who was usually louder than performers. The two seemed to be staring at something. She followed their gaze, and gasped as she Naruko sitting there, fox-like ears, tails curled under her acting as a cushion with her eyes shut as if in meditation.
She wasn't dreaming, it really was her child, but it felt… different. The nine tails under Naruko immediately put her on alert. Why was her child's appearance so similar to the Kyuubi's? Had it somehow managed to take over her? But that was impossible, the chakra of the tailed beast was sealed into her two younger children.
And when she had desperately tried to reach out to her, she had pushed her away, was this the price?
"Threw me straight into the bars outside the estate and into the river, spent a night floating around until I ended up near the Uchiha estate, lived in the forest for a few years until the massacre so I moved in to keep Sasuke company." Naruko replied to her question.
Kushina was horrified to see such a scar on a child so young. If the wound was just slightly more to the left then it certainly would have pierced her heart and killed her instantly, how she survived such a wound for a night was a question in itself.
She froze at the prospect of her eldest dying, without her ever realising for that matter! And she had lived in the forest for several years? Why hadn't she called them?
"But, why didn't you call for us?"
"Because I didn't know why I was forgotten. If I were brought back, I didn't want to live under a household simply due to pity." She replied.
Kushina took a deep breath before choosing her next words carefully. There was no point going further into Naruko's past, that would be for another time, when they were more acquainted. It hurt to know that she knew almost nothing of her eldest child's past, but forcing her wasn't something she would ever do. It was good enough to know that she was alive for now.
"Naruko… This may sound ridiculous, but me and Minato wer—" She began before being interrupted.
"I know." Naruko said, still not looking her in the eye.
"W-what?" She said in surprise. Had Naruko known all along that they couldn't remember due to inteference?
"I figured it out on the way here. You seemed to be reacting with pain whenever any mention of me went around, I figured something had happened, now sit down before you ask any more, I'll only answer three more questions for today before I retire." Naruko said swiftly before she could make her own conclusions. Ignoring the confused looks of Haruto, she sat down opposite to Haruka, who seemed strangely calm, as if she had known about Naruko's identity all along.
…Had she? It wasn't important for now though, something she could ask later.
"Alright, who wants to go first?" Naruko said, looking up for the first time and scanning the room. Kushina gazed at glowing turquoise eyes that weren't of her nor Minato's shade of blue, distinctly different from what she remembered Naruko's eyes were like back when she was still a child. Though she hadn't paid any attention to it, the emerald fringes covering the front of Naruko's hair was also unlike any shade of green she had ever seen, another mystery she would need to look into.
Tazuna and Tsunami seemed to have sensed the atmosphere and remained quiet, both drinking their tea and observing with interest.
After a minute or so, Haruka put her hand up, surprising the members of team 12 as she was never one to usually take the initiative.
"Are you human?" She asked rather bluntly. Kushina felt like throwing a mock punch at the girl to punish her for her rudeness, but felt that it was not an appropriate moment to do so.
"No." Naruko replied with equal bluntness, causing Haruto to choke slightly as he hadn't expected her to admit it so openly. Knowing her son, he probably still didn't figure out Naruko's connection to the family even after the exchange earlier, but that who just who he was.
"Can you explain that in detail?" Kushina pressed, hoping to learn more about the daughter that she had… had forgotten… for over half the girl's life. Despite the fact that it wasn't her fault, she felt that it was her responsibility no matter what to have looked after her family, to know that a girl, her own child, had to survive in the woods by herself for several years damaged her pride as a mother quite heavily.
"I'm a tailed beast, the Kyuubi to be specific." Naruko replied whilst reaching for her own cup of tea, ignoring Tazuna and his daughter who now had the same reaction as Haruto earlier.
Despite hearing such a thing, Kushina's heart almost skipped a beat, not out of excitement but simply because her thought processes froze for a moment.
Her daughter, the Kyuubi?
Despite the appearance Naruko took up, she thought that the girl had merely took up the appearance of the nine tails due to personal reasons. Hearing her claim to be the very thing that took so many lives on that terrible night was something that she wasn't expecting.
Yet despite this, she kept quiet, hoping for Naruko to expand.
Seeing the blank look on her face, Naruko shrugged. "What did you expect would happen when you seal the soul by itself into someone, they merge! I'm Naruko yet at the same time I'm also the Kyuubi, you could say I'm both." The sinking feeling within her multiplied, she felt as if she would faint at any moment.
Noticing that no one else was saying anything, Haruka spoke up again, "So you are also the Kyuubi, you say?" She asked, as if asking for proof. Sensing it, the Naruko closed her eyes for a second, before opening them again, revealing familiar bloodthirsty eyes that still haunted Kushina to this day.
"Exactly as I said it, Imouto." Her daught—no, the Kyuubi spoke in a distorted voice that no human could possibly possess, sending shivers down their spine. "Enjoying my chakra, you two?" The being said again, now in a slightly more cheerful tone.
The fact that such a… thing… was in the form of her long forgotten daughter angered Kushina to the point where she felt like punching the Kyuubi out of the body, but even someone as hot-blooded as her knew what this meant.
Her daughter was no longer the same.
Though the memories were vague as they had only returned a short time ago, she could still remember the cheerful child that brought joy to both her and Minato, how did it end as such? How could that someone end up become like this?
She already knew the answer.
Naruko had already said that it was a result of the sealing of the soul. They were the ones who decided to do such a thing, she and Minato were responsible for thi—She calmed herself as she noticed that she was hyperventilating. It wasn't fitting for a kunoichi to show such unsightly behavior in front of others, civilians nonetheless.
"I don't hate you, you know?" The distorted voice sounded again, causing Kushina to lift her head slightly, only to be greeted by glowing turquoise eyes in slits.
"W-what, but—"
"Namikaze Naruko is a person who has difficulty in hating anyone…" She said before pausing for a moment, "I will take my leave for now, I've answered the three questions and allow you all to think, perhaps allow my little brother there to actually take in the information." She added before standing up with a bow and heading for the door, outer layers of her clothes materialising.
Kushina could feel tears rolling down her face… As a mother, she had failed. No matter how much it wasn't her fault, she had still failed.
But would she give up? No, she was an Uzumaki after all.
She reached out with a hand and tapped her forgotten daughter's shoulder just before she was about to exit.
She had no right to intrude on her life, that she knew, but it didn't mean she couldn't start from the beginning. With this in mind, she extended a hand towards her.
"Friends then?" Kushina asked. Naruko seemed stunned for a moment, before a small smile appeared on her face.
"Sure!" The girl said as she shook the hand she had extended before disappearing into the woods.
The house was silent as no one dared to speak (Though Haruka was nibbling on the cookies that were present on the table). The awkward atmosphere continued until a certain headstrong blond decided to speak up.
"So who is she really?" Haruto asked as Kushina gaped at him, speechless that he still couldn't put it together.
"THAT WAS YOUR SISTER, YOU IDIOT!"