[Mad Tiger] Chapter 64

"Tora-san!" I was scooped up into familiar arms and pulled close.

A scent I knew wrapped around me, warm and comforting. Slim fingers combed through my fur, sending a shiver of pleasure all the way to the tip of my tail. For a few glorious minutes, I completely lost touch with reality, purring uncontrollably. My nose even started running from sheer happiness, and—oh crap—was I drooling? Like Akamaru when I wave a treat in front of his face?

"Missed me?" She held me up and looked into my eyes.

While she had me suspended, I took the chance to really look at her. Kushina was dressed in deep green—a short kimono with wide sleeves over what looked like a long skirt with slits. Her face was noticeably thinner than I remembered, and there was a new crease between her brows. Her signature red hair was shorter now, falling just past her chest, and a dark green headscarf covered the crown of her head.

"Wow, you've grown, little guy!" she said, smiling warmly.

Well, duh! I turned two a month and a half ago! Practically a grown cat now!

Kushina-san gave me another affectionate stroke before finally setting me down.

"Good evening, kids," said the long-haired man who had entered with her.

He had dark circles under his eyes—so deep a shade of blue-violet that from a distance, you might think he’d been in a fistfight. The moment I saw him, I knew. That was him. The infamous Orochimaru. The same guy Shisui had mentioned. The one who was supposedly helping.

Weirdly, he wasn’t wearing that ridiculous purple rope-bow from the anime. Instead, he was dressed in tall black ninja boots, dark gray pants, and a light-colored shirt with a sash tied over it. Underneath, I could see a mesh undershirt peeking out from the neckline.

"Uh… hello?" Sakura managed to get out, while Naruto blurted out:

"Who are you guys? Are you ANBU? And why’s that girl from Hidden Grass with you? And how do you know Tora-san?"

"We were planning to spend the night here at this Uzumaki shelter in the Forest of Death," Kushina answered, studying Naruto closely. "We weren’t expecting to find you here. Our apologies. Would you mind if we stayed?"

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a look. Even if they wanted to refuse, there wasn’t much they could do against a full-grown shinobi. Especially when I had just made it embarrassingly clear how much I adored this woman.

I sniffed at Orochimaru. He smelled faintly of herbs, but barely at all—I wouldn’t have caught his scent from more than ten meters away. That was concerning. So, to be safe, I rubbed all over his legs, making sure to mark him properly.

"There’s plenty of room," Sasuke said carefully, doing his best to keep his usual air of superiority intact. "We were planning to rest for a few hours before continuing the Chunin Exams. What village are you from? Neither of you are wearing headbands."

"Don’t worry, we’re from the Hidden Leaf," Kushina smiled. "As for this girl—her name is Karin. We found her not far from here. She’s an Uzumaki like me, and she has nowhere else to go. I decided to take her with me."

"You’re from the Uzumaki clan?" Sasuke asked sharply, gripping Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto’s eyes went wide as he darted glances between Kushina and the little redhead, the same girl our team had saved earlier.

"Yes," Kushina nodded. "We didn’t expect to run into anyone here. But I imagine he gave you a hint?" She gestured toward me.

Orochimaru tilted his head, eyeing me with… interest. I really hoped it wasn’t the scientific kind.

"Fascinating cat," he murmured before strolling past Sasuke and settling at the table. He patted his knee, and, intrigued, I hopped up to join him. My guys visibly relaxed a fraction.

"Are you heading to Konoha?" Sakura asked hesitantly. "Or… are you exam proctors?"

"Sorry, but we can’t tell you that," Kushina replied smoothly, flashing a disarming smile.

"Uh… well, there’s still some canned food left," Naruto offered. "Do you guys want some?"

"That would be very kind of you," Kushina said, her smile softening. "What’s your name, young man?"

Naruto hesitated before answering, "Uzumaki Naruto." His voice was barely above a whisper.

Something was off. Kushina was acting weird—like she didn’t know him. Or was she pretending not to know him? Was she struggling with how to tell him the truth? Was she testing him? Did she not expect to see him here at all?

"Oh, Uzumaki Naruto," Orochimaru mused, drawing out the name like he was rolling it over in his mind. "Really now? I thought the great Uzumaki clan had all but disappeared, and yet here we are—two in one night."

Naruto stiffened and hurried off to grab the food. When he returned with the cans, he practically hovered around Kushina. It was painful to watch.

"You’re a good boy, Uzumaki Naruto," Kushina said, reaching out with a trembling hand to stroke his hair. Orochimaru let out a sharp click of his tongue and sent her a look.

Okay, seriously, what the hell was going on?!

Naruto turned bright red at her touch, looking utterly bewildered. Kushina hesitated, casting another glance at Orochimaru. The whole exchange reeked of something being off.

Too many people. Too many secrets. Too much unspoken tension.

Sakura. Karin. And Orochimaru—how much did he know? Had he been out of the loop too long? Did he not know that Naruto was Kushina’s son? Or were they both afraid Naruto would accidentally blurt something out?

Damn these shinobi and their never-ending schemes and secrecy!

If this were just normal life, Kushina would have thrown her arms around him and said, "I’m your mom, Naruto!" And he’d cry, "I always knew!" And then there’d be hugs and happy tears and—

But no. Nope. Humans love making everything stupidly complicated.

Alright, alright, calm down. Calm down, Tora. I couldn’t interfere. But damn, did I want to.

If Naruto let something slip, if the wrong person put two and two together… Whatever Kushina and Orochimaru were up to, it could all go completely to hell.

I clenched my jaw. This isn’t over.

After finishing their meal, Kushina, Orochimaru, and Karin didn’t stay. They patched up Karin’s cuts and bruises, then took off, saying they didn’t want to impose.

Right before leaving, Kushina turned back to Naruto, gave him a long look, and said softly, "Good luck on your exams."

Sakura took first watch, staying in the main room while Naruto and Sasuke lay down. But instead of sleeping, they whispered to each other in hushed voices.

I kept up the act of sleeping, but my ears stayed perked, catching every word.

"This is weird, Naruto," Sasuke murmured. I felt them looking at me. "Tora-chan clearly knew that woman. And she knew our cat too. Before they walked in, I was going to tell you—if Tora knew about this shelter and used it when the genjutsu was active, then someone from the Uzumaki clan must have been with him, since we confirmed only an Uzumaki could open that door. You get what that means?"

"What?" Naruto whispered back.

"It means that woman was here during whatever really happened that night. She might even remember what happened to my clan—what they were trying to cover up. And you—" Sasuke hesitated. "You and her… are from the same clan."

"She might be my family?" Naruto’s voice wavered. "She might know… what happened to me? I—I think I remembered something when she touched my head. It felt… good. She didn’t even tell me her name. But if she knew me, why did she ask my name?"

"I don’t know," Sasuke muttered. "But I really don’t like this."

By morning, I needed an excuse to avoid answering questions—and, more importantly, to sneak out for some recon—so I begged Naruto, who was on third watch, to let me outside.

The moment my paws hit the damp forest floor, I caught Kushina-san’s scent and took off toward her. She wasn’t too far, maybe eight hundred meters from our hideout, near a cave formed beneath the massive roots of the local trees. Looked like she was on watch too. There was also some kind of faint green outline shimmering around the area—probably a detection barrier, maybe even a full-on defensive one.

"Tora-san?" She turned at my plaintive meow, forming a quick sequence of hand seals. A small gap appeared in the barrier, just big enough for me to slip through. I didn’t hesitate.

"Kushina-san!" I bolted straight into her lap.

"Sorry, Tora-san," she murmured, offering me a sad smile as she stroked my fur. "I know you want to ask why things turned out this way with Naruto… but it’s not time yet. There are things I have to finish before I can hold my boy again. I wanted to see him before… " She exhaled, long and weary. "But I never expected we’d even get a few words. If everything goes well, I’ll have all the time in the world with him. And if not… then it’s better for him not to grieve over a mother he barely had."

She scratched me behind the ear.

I bit her hand.

"Don’t you dare die."

"Tora-chan… are you crying?" She wiped my eyes and placed a gentle kiss on my nose. "Don’t be sad. Don’t worry about me. Even without the Nine-Tails, I’d like to think I’m worth something. I am the princess of the Uzumaki clan, after all. And Uzumaki never give up." She smiled, but I could tell—I could tell—she was barely holding it together. "Now go, before I start crying too. Take care of my boy. And his friend—Sasuke. Promise me?"

I exhaled heavily and gave a slow, deliberate nod.

"I’m counting on you, Kushina-san." I nuzzled her cheek one last time and sprinted back toward the shelter where my kids were waiting.

My heart clenched with fear.

Kushina-san was definitely about to do something reckless and dangerous.

But I always keep my promises.

After all, I am the Mad Tiger of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero!