Chapter Text
It took so long for three-tailed jinchuuriki to fully recover, from that little hide-and-go-seek stunt with her son, that it felt that she and Isobu needed a full winter's hibernation just to fully recoup. All that energy and chakra she had burned during the week-long mission plus the supply needed during her thorough search for nine-tailed jinchuuriki was easily refiled with plenty of healthy food and a whole 24 hours worth of sleep. The bad news was that the pay for that mission went straight into filling her and her son's never-ending stomach. Jinchuuriki needed to eat a lot to keep the energy reserves up for both them and their bijuus, however, with Isobu being unsealed it only took her even more food to feel full. It was as if she was pregnant at times with how much food she needed to eat just to keep from losing weight.
Rin had to ignore some comments from Naruto on possibly being related to the Akimichi clan with how much she ate when needing a good boost. She was even gracious enough to share a small bit of food with even her bijuu just so Isobu could enjoy the taste straight from the source instead of needing to rely on the input lag he normally deals with. Their food bill was a good reminder that she would probably never stop working just to keep food on the table, even if meant fishing for free than just simply buying what they wanted.
With Naruto now knowing his fate as a jinchuuriki, she was able to explain the reason for her huge appetite but told him that she skipped some meals just to make sure he had food first. Isobu would complain but understood it wasn't his place just to let his brother starve either. A hungry fox was an angry fox... If that was the case then Kurama was always hangry.
If it wasn't for Hiruzen giving her a little 'gift' pay when dealing with Iruka, Naruto, and even Mizuki, then the Uzumaki household would be completely broke for the next two weeks. She hadn't accepted that allowance that Hiruzen has offered time and time again for raising Naruto, something that she has been told comes from Minato and Kushina's old bank account, but she might need only a little bit of it to afford a nice surprise with her son and his other classmate: Sasuke Uchiha. That money was for when Naruto wanted to go off on his own, or if she were to die in some way and leave the jinchuuriki alone. Hopefully, it wouldn't be until Rin could tell him about his connection with the Fourth Hokage, but that wouldn't hopefully be for many, many years to come.
"We can always hunt for the meal. I know they both like fish and it would give us a break from the village for a few hours, yeah." Isobu offered his suggestion as Rin looked in the turtle-shaped wallet, taking inspiration from the one her son own but instead is a frog, she counted and zipped up the shell to close it completely. Rin looked around the three tails dimension and all the ninja gear she had stored in the huge place and even lifted her head to look up at the fully sized humongous bijuu that was laying only a few meters from her.
The three tails dimension was huge and an easy way to store Isobu, in his full true form, away without him needing to stay couped up in her body and chakra lines all day and get couped up. It wasn't much, but a great way to feel connected without needing to hide the fact that Isobu passed as a pet deformed summoning or pet in the real world. She was just lucky she was stuck with such a low-level bijuu instead of having to explain if he had more than three. Especially since the three tails were already pushing it.
"That is true. I will probably take you up on that offer later on, I just need to figure out the best time to sneak away. Or maybe even take Naruto with me and we can trick him into helping us surprise him and Sasuke..." Rin placed the turtle next to the pile and though a lot of stuff was with the dimension, it was all organized and spread out so that even Isobu could grab things with the ultimate care to give if needed in an emergency. "He'll probably turn me down if I straight up tell him it has something to do with Sasuke, so best wait till we're ready to eat to let him know." With a slight chortle, Rin popped out of the dimension with some mist settling around her and she sat on her bed to relax a little bit more in the peace and quiet that she could get with her son being out.
With her off for the day, Rin was able to longer sleeve, purple with black shuriken stars sewn in on the bottom, kimono that she has had for years. She loved that it covered her Chidori scars and was as itchy as the Anbu outfit could be if she wore it too long. But in this outfit it allowed her to fully relax, but be reactive if an emergency was called in the village.
Naruto had been stuck in his room all morning and seemed to be getting ready for his picture to be taken for the ninja world records. Something of great importance, used to represent Naruto as a ninja, show on missions, and ninja training. However, for some reason, the mother turned her back and found that he had snuck out for some reason without her even being able to see how he looked.
Well at least she got a goodbye 'I love you' call out before he disappeared, but better to leave on time in a hurry than be late for his picture.. at least he wasn't as late as Obito was, but Rin would have dragged the boy down there herself if was that late. However, she still wanted to give him a goodbye hug or at least be able to see him before he left as Rin understood that they were about to see each other less and less with him going on missions starting soon. Man, it made Rin miss spending time with her mother…
Putting her hands over her ears, Rin grumbled as they seemed to ring for a few seconds and she even sneezed. With a shake of her, the female rested her head underneath her pillow… " Ugh, I think someone is talking about me.."
That was actually what was happening when the famous Lord Hokage needed to use a tissue to clean up a sudden nosebleed caused by her rambunctious son. Hiruzen didn't expect the sudden appearance of the sexy jutsu brought on just because the jinchuuriki didn't take a mature enough ninja picture. "Naruto, what does your mother say to your sexy jutsu?" He questioned the nervous boy when ordered not to do that damn jutsu again. Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled slightly.
"Uh, well she says that at least I'm medically accurate with my transformations but I don't think she likes that I perform them at really bad times." Quoting his mother, Naruto looked to the side and couldn't think of a time it made her mad when saw them. Only a few when he did it completely in the middle of the public. If anything it made her feel self-conscious about her scars, but Naruto knew it was all in good fun. It kept him from doing it in public in front of or near Rin to help keep
"I agree with your mother. But I would just put a stop to it completely.. Like in front of your teacher. and me." Hiruzen let out a puff of smoke from his pipe to the whole ordeal and was grateful the boy seemed to take his advice with some heart. Or so it appeared. That was until the honorable grandson appeared and seemed to ruin their whole conversation about the photo retake and seriousness about the sexy jutsu. One failed attempt after another and this was the worst of them when the young boy just ended up face-planting straight onto his face after tripping over nothing in particular. The Hokage let out an annoyed and tired sigh. This was going to be a long day...
Either way, the meeting concluded with Naruto slipping out early while some annoying Jonin seemed to be freaking out over an even more annoying little brat. Even when trying his best to be good, Naruto is accused of tripping someone when he was just minding his own business and sitting in his chair like a good jinchuuriki.
The newly made genin was very happy he was able to teach some respect to the oh-so-important grandson of the Hokage, or whatever title he was bolstering about, but either way, the event was pushed out of his mind and he was quick to want to go home to see his mother. He couldn't wait to show her a copy of his genin picture! Naruto knew she was going to love and probably want to keep it for sure!
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Feeling a small weight pressed upon her stomach, Rin lifted the pillow from her face and looked down to see Isobu had summoned himself to lay on her body. He didn't stay there long before simply hopping off the resting jinchuuriki and sliding off to do something in the apartment. While the jinchuuriki took a slight nap and waited for her son to return so they could go shopping or fishing, depending on the deals, Isobu just lurked around the apartment. The bijuu had free reign even when Naruto was home, but the door to Rin's room/kitchen and the one in his room allowed the young male to have alone time if needed and desired. The best way to keep the bijuu busy for hours was to fill the tub up in the apartment and just let him sleep in it for hours. Even if the water got cold, the bijuu didn't mind, but Rin was the one that ended up feeling the cold and cutting his playtime short.
Hearing the sliding move back into her bedroom, Rin tightened the hold on the pillow on her face to try to drown out Isobu's sliding sound but it was useless that this point. It wasn't like she had the energy to take a nap anyway, she had too much on her mind to simply sleep the whole day. Especially when she had a plan and was never the type of person to wait for someone unless she said they were coming. If that was the case growing up then she never would have let Obito be late for their meetings. And man were they ever late.
Isobu pulled himself toward the resting female and used his three tails to pull himself up back onto the bedside. Lifting the pillow with one of his spikey tails, Rin tilted her head toward the beast and peeked up her head when something in his mouth pulled her attention fully his way. The familiar shine in the low-lit room told Rin what the object was, but didn't explain why her bijuu had it in the first place. "What you have, turtle?" Pushing herself up at an angle, she reached over to grab the now-soaked headband from his beak and looked it over. It was newer than her own and even confirmed when she looked over at her sitting on the kitchen table. "You can't control that water chakra, can you Iso?" Lightly poking fun at the turtle, she had to ring out some extra moisture that dropped from the fabric, even fully needing to get out of bed and rush over to the sink so it didn't drip on her sheets anymore.
"Let's go train. Or something. We've relaxed enough." Though they could easily sleep for another full day, the duo were content with where they were health-wise and just needed something new to work towards. They didn't want to admit it, but feeling couped up was something that they both had an irrational fear of. Rin's unhealthy relationship with the hospital, the painful memories behind that place, and refusal to stay even when desperately needed was one; while Isobu had the matching fear of being resealed up behind those damn bars. They trusted each other to make sure neither had to go back to those places and so far it's worked great for each other, but they never had too much trust in their luck.
"How about breakfast, er.. lunch, and then training? I'm sure Naruto will be around soon, if not then he can catch up later and we can surprise him with a fishing trip. He'll love it either way." Placed the headband to dry in the sink, it wasn't damaged or anything, if anything it was now infused with powerful demonic water chakra… Naw...
It would dry by the time they got back and Rin might play with her son a bit for not putting it on before he left for his pictures, but either way, she had a plan for the day. The fun came with something cheap, filling but tasty they could eat for breakfast that didn't involve cooking. An idea popped into her head that would probably make her son a little jealous for not being able to get involved, but she can always get him a bowl to go. "What is the point of eating there if Naruto isn't going to be with us? I can hear the complaining now, yeah." The bijuu grumbled and watched his jinchuuriki tye her headband on her forehead to finish up the look to head out on the village.
"Yeah, and I can hear Q complaining that we eat there too often too. It's something that can add variety so it'll be okay. Besides it's nice to talk to someone who gets along with Naruto and doesn't treat him like trash. Teuchi is a good man and deserves our money… limited as it is." Fixing her kimono, Rin stepped to look at herself in the mirror in the bathroom before returning to her bijuu on the bed. "You know… you haven't spent much time out in the sun lately. Do you want to play pet today?" She leaned over and saw Isobu squint at that word, and though they hated that term when referring to anything dealing with the bijuu, along with monster, tool, or weapon, Isobu thought for a second. "Yeah.. sorry... How about this: do you want to get some good fish today on top of the fishing you can do later on?"
Isobu finally nodded when she sweetened the deal before Rin picked him up and made sure the bijuu looked like his normal self. His shell was much shinier and smoother than a few days ago and the rest and relaxation didn't just improve her look. Heading out the front door by cutting through Naruto's bedroom, Rin locked the door and headed toward the ramen shop for some breakfast. "I want some shrimp, too." Isobu spoke out not pushing his luck, but trying to add more to their already planned day and it was something small that Rin had to think about. "Mm..mmhm." Without speaking the jinchuuriki agreed to the small request. " And eel?" That request made Rin stop and shake her head in disgust. Okay, he couldn't get everything he wanted, but better to ask and be denied than never knowing in the long run.
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After a few hours after the three-tailed duos had left the apartment, the nine-tailed duo seemed to return but not by themselves. "Mom, I'm home." Jiggling his keys in the front door, the blonde jinchuuriki turned around to see that the same brat from earlier was still on his heels, and yet somehow Naruto had fallen for the younger kid. Maybe sympathy, or just being bored and lonely, Naruto agreed to train the grandson of the third Hokage. The kid even had his fancy title of honorable grandson, but Naruto wouldn't be caught dead calling anyone honorable, especially if he didn't know them.
Pressing up to see inside the apartment with curiosity, but a huge sense of hurry, Konohamaru tried to push Naruto inside faster in fear of his teacher finding them if they didn't hurry. "H-hey, stop pushing me!" The jinchuuriki growled in annoyance, taking off his shoes to step onto the wood planks of the apartment. The younger male tried to follow but found that his long scarf had snagged onto the front door so it took him a few extra moments to get untied and allowed inside. "Augh, stupid scarf!" He complained as Naruto just headed inside to see Rin and show her his first official ninja picture! He was excited for her it seemed.
Turning left and into the kitchen/bedroom area, when Naruto heard no sounds coming from within the apartment, he wasn't surprised to see the room empty too. "She must have gotten called away. We won't be sticking around for long, Konohamaru. I just want to drop something off to show that I've been home so she doesn't worry as much." Taking the picture of his ninja pouch, he placed it on the kitchen table and moved the water steamer to make sure the kunoichi noticed the difference in the room. It would at least give her an idea to look at the table instead of hoping she did.
"Boss, your place is really small. And you live here with your mom?" Konohamaru said as he adjusted his scarf once it was free from the doorway. He followed behind Naruto and looked around at some of the basic furniture that he saw in the kitchen/bedroom setup. It was clear to see that this room wasn't meant to house a bed inside it, let alone a table, fridge, sink, and a few other obvious things to show that it was a kitchen first. "Yep, it's just been me and Mom for a while. She moved in some time ago and just never left." The way Naruto talked about his relationship with his mother made Konohamaru tilt his head in confusion. What did he mean she just never left?
Naruto walked over to the fridge and saw how lightly filled it was beside some milk, bread, a few pieces of various types of fruits, and some weird other medical stuff that his mother says needs to stay cold for some reason. There wasn't much in there to snack on so he just grabbed a piece of bread to snack on for the moment. They needed to go shopping, but he was too excited to think of what his mother will think of his picture to think of the future past that. He took some bites of the bread before holding it in his teeth to pick up some of her bedspreads and threw it back on top of Rin's bed, even looking down at the picture that sat on her small desk side table. Naruto used one hand to hold the bread piece while the other one picked up the picture frame.
"She must be out on an errand or something. I guess you can meet her later, but.." Taking another bite, Naruto motioned for Konohamaru to come closer and he pointed to the brunette with purple clan marks to show to the younger male. "Think this but much older and stronger." Konohamaru looked at the picture before looking at the blonde adult in it then towards Naruto a few times. "Uh, boss.. are you sure that isn't your dad? He looks just like you." Konohamaru questioned before Naruto finished his bread piece and squinted at the picture a few times to think for a moment. He honestly didn't see it.
"Mmm naw, I think that's the fourth Hokage if I remember my mom telling me that correctly. She was one of his students, too." Sounding so proud to have a mother who trained under the Fourth Hokage, he grinned when Konohamaru gasped and gawked at him at the amazing news. "Woah boss, that's amazing! So then.. does that make a grandson to the Forth Hokage then?" That title made Naruto even more confused and slightly angry too, so he was quick to put it back, respectfully, and just shook his head. "You made it weird. Let's go get working on more on the sexy jutsu or you'll never learn it at this rate!" Naruto pushed Konohamaru outside their apartment and locked the door before they took off to do some research.