Previously on Finding My Way

"Off we go, little duckling."

"Do you know how long it took me to track you down!"

"I had forgotten to take it off..."

"My pup!"

Now [Chapter 13 : Uncertainty ]

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"A-ah, t-thank you for the food, Genma-san." Yasuko smiled shakily as she took a bite of the meal set before her. She couldn't help the hum of delight as the taste exploded on her tongue. Her eyes darted away from the growing miasma of darkness beside her, sipping nervously on her glass of water.

Kakashi was growling in his own seat, muttering what sounds like threats and 'stupid mother hen' as he ate his own share. The dark miasma of anger surrounding him was steadily growing as he ate, glaring at the plate as if trying to find fault but couldn't, making his mood worse. In contrast, Genma was eating relatively peacefully, quite smug by the meal he had made.

Honestly, Yasuko couldn't blame him. The senbon user was quite skilled. Had he not been a shinobi, she was sure he'd make a living off his own restaurant that could probably rival those of the Akimichi. Though she couldn't quite understand why the man had decided to crash through the apartment window to take over the kitchen in the first place. Genma's laid back attitude really wasn't helping Kakashi's growing anger.

Overall, it was a very awkward lunch. Ru stared pointedly at his partner, making her look away, pouting as she finished her meal. No way was she going to admit he was right to have them stay at the Academy rather than come home for lunch. She had forgotten to bring her allowance and didn't want to bother her friends, even if Choji was kind enough to offer a share of his own lunch. He's just mad that she forced him to move out of his sunny spot where he was napping in the classroom to come with her.

Shovelling the last few bites in her mouth, Yasuko gulped it down with some water and hurriedly placed the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Thankyouforthemeal! I'llbegoingnow! Seeyoulater!" She slipped on her shinobi sandals hurriedly, waving at the two jōnin. She breathed a sigh of relief as she shut the door behind her. She frowned, seeing the smug look on Ru's face.

"Oh shush," She pouted, swatting his nose lightly. Ru let out a half-sneeze, half-huff, staring at Yasuko incredulously as if in disbelief she had actually done what she did. With a giggle, she took off back to the Academy.

|Time Skip - End of the Academy Day|

Yasuko stared at the scene in front of her, feeling a sense of deja vu. She stood with her friends by the Academy gates as they watched what seemed to be a one-sided showdown between two alpha dogs. Except one was a tiger.

"Uh, should we stop them?" Naruto asked, weirded out by what he was witnessing.

"How troublesome..." Shikamaru yawned, "Just leave 'em."

"A-are you sure, Shikamaru?" Chōji frowned, "Someone might get hurt if it gets out of hand."

"I-I'm sure everything will be fine, Chōji-nii," Yasuko smiled nervously, "Ru-kun's just protective."

"More like territorial," Kiba snorted, "I've never seen the guy so worked up before."

The children watched as a large ninken stared at Ru lazily, while the tiger seemed to be prowling around her group of friends protectively. Her mind flashed to earlier's lunch incident, and sweatdropped. Ah... that's why this scene is so familiar.

The young Uchiha blinked, as a hearty laugh filled the air. She stared at the feral looking woman who grinned down at the group of children.

"Pups," She nodded, "I'm the brat's Ma, Inuzuka Tsume, and this is my partner Kuromaru."

Kiba scowled, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he huffed at the older Inuzuka. "I'm no brat."

Tsume chuckled, pushing his hood back to ruffle his hair much to his disgruntlement. "Your Hatake's pup." She stated, rather than questioned the youngest.

Yasuko blinked, feeling the Inuzuka's words held a more significant impact than what she was letting off. Frowning, Yasuko nodded hesitantly in answer. Her confusion only grew as Tsume's grin seemed to grow.

Yasuko squeaked as she was suddenly grabbed by the scruff of her collar, much like a dog. She stared at her friends in bewilderment as she was unceremoniously placed upon Tsume's ninken's back, much to Ru's chagrin.

"I'll be stealing her, brats."

Shikamaru frowned, and Naruto complained loudly while Yasuko smiled apologetically. She had promised to come along with him and Choji to cloud watch after they grabbed some ramen with Naruto. It seemed that they'll have to move their plans to another date. The Nara's shoulders slumped as he waved his hand nonchalantly, mumbling a 'troublesome' under his breath. There wasn't much he could do in this situation, considering whatever they needed Yasuko for was probably clan business.

"See ya, Yasuko," Shikamaru drawled as he walked off towards Ichiraku.

Choji and Naruto said their own goodbyes, the blond rushing past his lazy companion, yelling about all the ramen he could eat.

Yasuko smiled fondly, squeaking as Kuromaru bounded forward. She was quick to wrap her arms around the ninken's neck to prevent herself from falling off. Of course, that didn't sit well with Ru, so it wasn't long before Yasuko found herself once more in the air. She gasped as she was yanked off the ninken, tossed up, and ended up on her tiger's back.

She ignored the cackling behind her as Ru followed after the ninken. Pouting at her friend, Yasuko batted at his ears in a scolding manner causing the tiger to let out a huff. She could practically feel him rolling her eyes at her.

Entering the Inuzuka compound, Yasuko hid her face within Ru's fur, already sensing the many eyes on her figure. She wondered why it was the clan head had taken her here and why the entire clan seem to be holding an air of anticipation around them.

Yasuko tilted her head as they came to a stop at one of the compound's larger houses and could only assume it belonged to the clan heads family. Slipping off Ru's back, she kept close as the two were ushered around the house towards the large open yard. Her eyes sparkled when she caught sight of a massive pile of puppies, frolicking around the yard.

Yasuko was practically bouncing as she held back the urge to just run and cuddle with them. Kakashi's ninken loved cuddles and getting pet, but Ru was quite protective, so it didn't happen often. On the other hand, puppies seem to not register as a threat to the tiger, so it left her quite eager to give in to her childish whims.

Feeling a hand gently nudge her forward, she blinked up at the brown eyes that stared down at her with something akin to approval.

"Go on, pup. It looks like Mr. Overprotective doesn't mind either." Tsume smirked, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at Ru, who only let out a gruff as he sauntered off to lay under one of the trees.

Grinning, Yasuko bounded over to the puppies, crouching down carefully by them. She didn't dare touch them yet as she watched them. She awed as the pups took note of her and began crowding around to sniff her. She giggled happily as they began to lick at her skin. Careful not to land on any of them, she laid back, allowing the pups to crawl up on her as she scratched a few of them behind their ears and rubbed their bellies.

"Well lookie here, she's practically an Inuzuka already," She heard someone laugh, "The pups already taken to her like kibble."

From her position, she tilted her head back further to see a young woman who looked much like Tsume upside down in her field of vision.

"Sup, kid. I'm Hana, Kiba's older sister!" She grinned.

Yasuko nodded her head as politely as she could from where she was, smiling at the woman in greeting.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Inuzuka-san, I'm Yasuko."

Hana waved her hand as she plopped down beside her, tickling a few pups beneath their chins as they came bounding to her.

"Call me, Hana. Inuzuka-san would be too confusing here, and I'm not really about all those formalities. You could even call my mom Tsume if you want."

Yasuko's face pinched, unused to such casualness, but if it was more comfortable for them, then she wouldn't deny it.

"Umm... alright, Hana-san."

The teen's nose scrunched, but decided that was as good as she'll get from the kid.

"Ano... Tsuma-sama?" It inwardly amused Yasuko at how much Hana and Tsume reacted so similar to her use of honourifics, "Why did you take me here?"

Tsume grinned as she brought Kiba forward by his hood, much to his shock and annoyance as he stumbled on his feet, nearing face planting.

"This brat came and told me you felt like pack. Even scented you that day with his jacket since it would be inappropriate to do it properly with people outside the clan."

Yasuko sat up carefully, patting the puppy on her lap absentmindedly. She tilted her head in thought before perking up.

"Oh, when we first met!" Yasuko recalled turning to the eldest Inuzuka, "I was wondering why Kakashi-oji was strangely cuddly that day." Her eyes widened as she slapped her hands over her mouth in shock. "Oh! Please don't tell anyone I said that. If Genma-san hears, he won't let Kakashi-oji hear the end of it!"

Tsume cackled. Of course, the Hatake brat would be possessive over his pup. Well, that answered a few questions she was going to ask and which procedure they'd go by for Yasuko.

"No worries, pup, he won't hear it from me," She grinned. 'No doubt, the ANBU on duty will take care of it.' If there was anything that moved fast among the higher ranks of shinobi, most notably the ANBU and jōnin, it was gossip. Any form of possible blackmail was quite welcomed. They had to be able to gain favours and entertainment someway.

"Now, something ya gotta understand is with our close bond with our ninken, we take up a lot of their nature, and that includes instincts." Tsume explained, "Kiba's told him you were pack."

Yasuko's brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand."

"It's not a common thing, but it ain't rare either. Sometimes there's someone who's out of clan that feels like pack. Most of the time, they end up marrying into the clan, but Kiba told me while you are pack, you are not his mate."

"So, what happens now?" Yasuko wondered.

"Well normally, those who don't marry into the clan are adopted into it," Seeing the panicked look in the child's eyes, Tsume continued, "But you've already been claimed by the Hatake brat, so what we can do is an informal adoption. So even if you don't have our name or a ninken or your own, you'll still be an Inuzuka at heart."

Yasuko bit her lip in worry. She didn't quite understand the clan's protocols, but it sounded like they were offering protection. Now, despite how kind her guardian and guards were, along with the friends she's made, she knew there were darker matters at hand, hidden in the tree's shadows.

Kakashi had mentioned gaining a genin squad once her class graduates, which would leave her with her own team less she is assigned to him. The ANBU on her guard watch is also under the Hokage's orders. Despite shinobi villages being a military dictatorship, the civilian council and the advisors held much sway over the Hokage. If her origins were ever released, she doubted the Hokage would protect her if his hands are tied.

"H-Have you told Kakashi-oji about this?" Yasuko questioned.

Tsume's grin was feral at the thought. Oh, she told Kakashi alright, and man, was he not happy. She hasn't seen the brat's Hatake instincts so triggered since... practically ever. Of course, decades of suppressed instincts were nothing against her fully honed ones, though she wasn't as arrogant to take away the man's pup. It was about time the silver-haired brat made a pack of his own.

"Course I did, pup! Put up a fight that one, but he gave in eventually." Tsume confirmed, "So what do you say? Wanna be an unofficial Inuzuka?"

Yasuko stared warily up at the woman, wincing as she took a peek at Kiba's hopeful eyes and the expectant ones of Hana. She didn't know what to say. She was honoured by the offer... but...

"Worried about what your dad might think?"

Yasuko's head snapped up in shock as she met the knowing eyes of the Inuzuka clan head. Tsume's eyes softened as she patted the child gently and assuringly.

"I-I just... I-I don't know..." She whispered shakily.

Tsume sighed as she tapped the underside of Yasuko's chin to get her to meet her eyes.

"Hey, I don't know much about him, but I knew your mom and if there was anything about her I've learned, it was that she'd do anything to keep you safe, loved and happy, and he would have done anything for her. I'm sure he'll understand."

Yasuko bit her lip, but feeling a nudge against her side, she tilted her head down to meet Ru's eyes as he nodded at her. Yasuko took a deep breath and meeting Tsume's knowing brown eyes, she nodded.

"I accept, Tsume-sama!"

The Inuzuka head grinned as her partner howled. Yasuko jolted as many other howls echoed after. Kiba and Hana grinned as they shared a look, their own partners joining the cries.

Taking a stand, Tsume smirked as she held out a hand for the young Uchiha to take. Smiling, Yasuko grabbed it, allowing the woman to pull her up onto her feet after removing the puppies from atop her.

"Welcome to the pack, pup!"

* * * * *

"Kakashi, how is our newest resident?"

Kakashi slumped against the wall, staring out the window, much like his Hokage, who gazed out towards the village.

"She's been settling in well. Made friends with some of the clan heirs. Sasuke seems to have taken to avoiding Yasuko but watched her from afar if the ANBU reports are right."

"Is that so..."

Kakashi frowned behind his mask, already sensing that his meeting was more than just a check-up on the youngest Uchiha.

"Kakashi, I need you to take on the Hatake Seat on the council."

The silver-haired jōnin's eyes widened. The Hatake seat had been vacated since his father's death as he held no interest in politics, having decided his place as a field agent was a much more effective role to serve his village.

"Hokage-sama you know I have no—"

"Listen, Kakashi," The Hokage rose his hand to stop his rejection, "With Yasuko's addition to the village, I have grown weary of the actions of the elders. While the Clan heads have much power, the elders hold great sway over the civilian council. While you may believe that your addition would make no difference, I need you to think about the best course of action." for Yasuko went unsaid.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed dangerously, reading the underlying message.

Yasuko was in danger from enemies within the village. With the mentions of the elders, Kakashi could only think of one man; the War Hawk, Shimura Danzo.

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An update? I know. I am actually still writing this fic. I'm just not as dedicated as I am with my Black Clover fic and I feel bad. But I'm not ending this. I do actually come and go to write whenever inspiration hits me. 

I wonder if y'all still read this fic. Anyway, thanks to those who've stuck around! Though I totally recommend any Black Clover fans to check out my BC fic called "Coddiwomple". 

UPDATED: 01/09/20 

[Happy 23rd (internationally) bday to our Golden Maknae Jeon Jungkook!] 

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Next time on Finding My Way

"Hey, what's that?"

"Teme!"

"Troublesome..."

"Let's talk."

[Chapter 14: Trying]