A Hectic Birthday Party (4)

It was the exact same story that she had told Kiba a long time ago.

Matter of her reincarnation aside, she explained in detail her involvement with Kokuo, their escape from Iwagakure, and her eventual arrival at the Inuzuka household.

Unlike that boy, Tsume took the surprise with stride. After the initial shock had dissipated, she listened with a deep frown.

"Five-Tails... Jinchuuriki... are you telling me that you're housing that creature inside your body?"

As an experienced ninja who had lived through all three shinobi wars, Tsume was well-versed in the history of the shinobi world. The term 'Human Sacrifice' wasn't alien to her.

Jinchuuriki. The living weapons of mass destruction kept by nations as a deterrent against foreign invasion.

If she remembered correctly, the Four-Tails and Five-Tails were supposedly owned by Iwagakure. She had never encountered them in an actual battle, but if they were at a similar level with that accursed Nine-Tails, then it would be a disaster waiting to happen.

No wonder that midget of a Kage wanted to have this girl back at all cost... losing one of their trump cards would be devastating for their national security.

Iwa would never publicly admit that they had lost a Tailed Beast. Their only option was to capture her back without arousing suspicion from other villages.

Unfortunately for them, the girl had somehow ended up in Konoha. With their target safely hiding behind another village's wall, her pursuers had no other choice but to patiently bide their time.

No… they might not even be sure whether she was really there in the first place.

Judging from the small amount of crew for such an important operation, it could be deduced that those Iwa ninja were just scouts planted there just in case she would show up. There might be more squads like this one scattered all over the continent.

No wonder the intruders would still come no matter how many times Tsume and her team had driven them off again and again. It turned out that it was for this reason!

Nevertheless, Tsume didn't expect that the Iwa ninja would have such bad luck. The girl had gone out of the village wall from time to time, yet she had always chosen the times when they had been chased away.

Regrettably, her luck couldn't hold forever. Her past had finally caught up with her.

"Alright. I think I get it now."

Tsume raised her hand, cutting the story short at that point.

"In summary, you've been deceiving me, my family, and the village for an entire goddamn year. Is that so?"

"...Yes."

That was the truth. Any excuses would be mere sophistry.

The two sat in utter silence afterward, with Hikari staring down at the tatami, avoiding eye contact with the older woman.

Although Tsume was showing a sharp glare, she was actually pleasantly amused deep inside. She found it funny that the girl would look so downhearted as if she had just committed an unforgivable sin.

Jinchuuriki had a cruel fate, destined to live their entire life as a living weapon. It was understandable if they didn't dare to trust people so easily.

She was suddenly reminded of those two brats. They also had put invisible barriers around their hearts, something that she had noticed but unable to help with. Especially for that yellow-haired punk who usually played with her son and his other friends...

"..."

...Nah. Compared to that waste of air, this girl is far more sensible.

She patted Hikari on the head, and then messed with her hair.

"Enough brooding. Get up!"

"Eh?"

When she looked up, she was met with Tsume's warm gaze.

"Wipe that frown off your face, we still have a party to do. I better see you smiling when you get to the kitchen, or you'll eat my fist, ya hear me?!"

Without waiting for her reply, Tsume walked out of the room, leaving the dazed girl to her own device.

---

"One, two, three... Happy birthday!"

Popping noises rang out in the kitchen, followed by a rain of shiny ribbons.

In the middle of the dining table was a tall, three-layered cake with a miniature dog perched on the top, which suspiciously looked like Akamaru. When the real one noticed it, he was so excited that he barked over and over again.

"The heck? It's… It's my birthday?! I forgot about it!"

The star of the show, Kiba, showcased his amazing memory all of the sudden, inciting laughter from Tsume and Hana.

"See? I told you that he would definitely forget!" Tsume hollered.

"Hehe... Let's continue~"

Hana turned off the lights, and then lit the candles on the cake. The dim lighting gave off a serene atmosphere.

Hikari was also joining the occasion, but she had no idea what to do. Her people didn't put emphasis on birthdays, so the party was a truly novel experience. She could only watch silently by the side with widened eyes.

"We've got three candles here, so each of you should blow on one and make a wish. Let's start with you, Kiba."

"Alright, sis!"

The boy leaned over to the candle on the left, and then blew it off.

"You're next, Akamaru!"

He lifted Akamaru up onto the table. The puppy tilted his head, turning toward the middle candle, and then let out a strong bark. Somehow, the resultant wind was strong enough to blow off the flame in one go.

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded, except for Kiba, who was smiling with pride.

"Hahaha! Great job, Akamaru! As expected of my partner!"

"..."

...Dogs normally couldn't do that, right?

Right?

It seemed that she had to have a long talk with Daji after this...

One candle was left. And yet, nobody else seemed to be moving to blow it.

She turned to the side, thinking that it would be Hana's turn next. Instead, she found that Hana and Tsume were staring at her.

"What are you doing? Blow it," Tsume said a bit impatiently.

Wait, what?

"This- this isn't my birthday!" She exclaimed.

"When is it then?"

"..."

When was it again...

Truth be told, she had no information about her birth date, either from this new body or from her old self. She didn't care about it in the first place.

She didn't know that it would bring him to such a predicament...

"I suspected so," Tsume sighed. "I got this hunch that you're even worse than my son in this regard... so I went ahead with this arrangement. Hey, if you don't have one, just make it out from scratch, right? Besides, this way I can buy one cake for three occasions at once. That saves a lot of money!"

She laughed out loud, while her children gave her a judgmental stare.

"Enough rambling! Blow it off or else we'll stay here until morning!"

"..."

Fine...

She leaned closer to the cake, and then blew out the last candle.

"Alright! Now cut the cake!"

Hana handed a knife to Kiba, who proceeded to clumsily break the cake into uneven pieces.

But who cares, eh? As long as it tasted fine, they would devour it regardless of the look.

"Here, little bro, your present. And this one's for Akamaru."

Hana handed a blue-wrapped box to Kiba, and then a put a smaller, white-wrapped one on the ground. The puppy gave the box a sniff before scratching it open.

As Hikari watched the boy and his partner shredding the wrapping paper into oblivion, a red box was placed on her lap.

"Eh?"

"For you," Hana grinned. "Happy new birthday!"

"…"

Ah, damn.

She was forced to look away, too embarrassed to admit that her cheeks were starting to grow hot...

"A coat?"

To her relief, Kiba's remark successfully turned everyone's attention back to him.

He was holding a grey coat with dark-colored fur lining the hood and each end of its sleeves. It seemed to be a size bigger than the current him, so it should be fine to wear for a couple more years as he grew up.

"I thought it would look good on you when I first saw it. It's such a great timing too, seeing that your old hoodie got soaked with blood," Hana said while smiling.

"Thanks, sis!" He replied with a silly grin.

For Akamaru, he was given a bone-shaped chewing toy, which he immediately perused with great delight.

"Not going to open yours?" Hana turned to Hikari, who was still cradling the red box.

"Ah..."

She turned her gaze toward the kitchen floor, which was covered with pieces of wrapping paper.

"...I think I'll open it later. Don't want to make it a bigger mess than it already is."

Especially since she was the one who had to clean it up later in the morning.

"Thank you for your hard work as always," Hana put her hands together to show her guilt, knowing she was partially at fault for giving the messy duo such thick wrappings...

---

With the party concluded, everyone returned to their room to rest up after an eventful day.

As she walked down the corridor leading to the main room, Tsume suddenly stopped when she felt a presence behind her.

"What's up, kid?"

She turned to see Hikari standing at the other end of the corridor. She was still avoiding her gaze.

"...Can I really stay here?" She murmured, just loud enough for Tsume to barely hear thanks to her heightened sense as an Inuzuka.

Tsume frowned, shaking her head in frustration.

She took a step forward, approaching the girl. Then she took another step. And another. By the time that she was finally right in front of her, Hikari had tightly closed her eyes, her hands gripping the box so hard the edges were starting to crease.

Tsume's frown grew deeper.

Her fingers formed an O-shape with her middle and index finger. And then, she launched a flick toward Hikari's forehead.

"Guah?!"

"What a stupid question. I already told you that you're our family member now. Do you think I'm a liar? That how you see me, punk?!"

"..."

She had a feeling that if she nodded, it wouldn't just end with a forehead flick...

Besides, it wasn't just about Tsume.

She herself wasn't able to trust anyone.

Even within his own sect, the Immortal cultivator Yao Huang had always been a loner. He had never opened up to anyone, not even his sworn brother.

Lying, stealing, backstabbing, even committing a massacre against the innocents. As long as it was required to reach his goal, he would do it without the slightest hesitation. In the cutthroat world of cultivation, where the strong trample over the weak, such occurrence was so commonplace that he had become numb.

The only thing that Yao Huang trusted wholeheartedly was his own strength. That was how everything had worked out in the past. That was also how everything supposed to be in the present and the future.

And yet...

Here she was, putting her fate at the hand of someone else, just because she was swayed by that person's words.

If that was trust, then it made her feel so helpless. It was suffocating.

Was her experience all for naught?

While she was reiterating her story to Tsume back then, a part of her was yelling non-stop, trying to stop this rampant idiocy.

She could have just fabricated another story, making some tragic anecdotes about the Iwa ninja chasing her for some nondescript ancient treasures. But no, she just had to blubber out about Kokuo of all things.

If Tsume had even the slightest bit of sensibility, she would just contact her superior and hand over this hot potato to them, earning her good credits while ensuring that her family wouldn't get affected by the whole fiasco.

At least, that was what Hikari would have done if she was in her position. That was what the Immortal cultivator Yao Huang would have done.

Perhaps, she had grown addicted to this mundane but peaceful life. Before she knew it, they had invaded her heart, breaking through her defenses.

Causing her to drown in this poison called 'trust'.

Toward Tsume's question, she wanted to firmly say,

"Yes. I do not trust you".

Instead, she responded by weakly shaking her head.

"Haah..."

Tsume lifted the girl's chin, forcing Hikari to look directly at her firm gaze.

"Listen carefully. I'm, in the end, a mother. If your identity as a Jinchuuriki is endangering my family, then I'll choose my children over you without hesitation. Do you understand, punk?"

"...Yes..."

The woman's gaze softened as a smirk was painted over her face.

"That's why, let's work hard so that nobody will found out, eh?"

...?

Hikari stared at the woman with a dumbfounded expression.

"And that's that! Now, stop overloading your small head with useless stuff, and go to bed! See ya in the morning, kid!"

…!

"W-wait,"

Before she could realize it, her body had reacted by its own, grabbing on the woman's sleeves to stop her from walking away.

"What is it?" Tsume growled.

When she opened her mouth, everything flowed out without control.

"Why? Why are you keeping such an obvious danger like me around? How could you be so naive? Why-"

She choked on her own words, the voice slowly turning into a whisper.

Why? Toward this pathetic, wretched, selfish bastard...

"...Why are you being so nice to me..."

The hands grabbing on the sleeves began to tremble.

Tsume was stunned for a moment. But then, she wrapped those hands on her own, gently pushing them away.

And then, without any warning, she struck a loud clap, shocking the girl until her eyes opened wide.

With a smug grin, Tsume pointed to herself with her thumb.

"Why? What a lame question! I'm Inuzuka Tsume, and I'm the goddamn owner of this house! Whatever I say is absolute! If I tell you to stay, then you stay! You got a problem with that, punk?!"

Hikari shook her head again and again like a broken puppet.

"There! Not so hard, ain't it?" Tsume waved her hand as she walked away. Seemingly remembering something, she turned around midway.

"Also, Kuromaru and the dogs said it's okay for you to stay, since your brushing technique is good. That can be another reason, I guess."

"…"

As she watched Tsume's figure disappearing down the hallway, she had a revelation that in the Inuzuka household, the dogs sat unchallenged at the top of the hierarchy.

She sighed as she glanced at the moon hanging above in the night sky. Even though it was a strange world, somehow the moon still looked exactly the same.

"...Lord Kokuo, what do you think?" The girl whispered.

"This One does not trust humans."

The Five-Tailed beast snorted.

"But you... you are fine. That woman as well. This One thinks that it will be alright."

"Is that so..."

Is it fine to give it a try?

Yes. It should be fine.

At the very least, that was the answer that she had wanted to hear the most.