Hiruko, who just received the spider 'Hakuja' from Orochimaru, held her in his hands and was walking side by side with Mito as they went into the estate.
As they approached the door to the estate, a young woman with black hair tied in buns and her face plastered with freckles appeared from nowhere.
Once the pair came to a stop, the woman gave a light bow before speaking, "Good afternoon, Lady Mito and young master Hiruko. Is there anything I can do for you, my lady?" she said, turning to Mito.
"No need for such formality, Chigiri, but I would like you to do a couple of things if you don't mind." Mito said sincerely she never cared for such formalities, especially from those she considered family, but this strongheaded girl still insisted.
"Of course, Lady Mito, just say the word." Chigiri said, ignoring the command to drop the formalities.
At this Mito just sighed, deciding not to push it. "Take this spider and handle it with the utmost care. Get some food and other necessities for it and place it in Hiruko's room." Mito said, giving a glance to the spider in Hiruko's hands before continuing.
"Next, set up a room for me and Hiruko to have a little chat and put the items on this paper in them," Mito said, handing Chigiri a small note.
'A chat about what?' Hiruko pondered slightly, gulping; he began to think about all the things he's done that Mito could bring up.
"Young master, can you give me the spider?" Chigiri, now in front of Hiruko, said her face showed no emotions. Hiruko, coming back to reality quickly, handed over the spider before following Mito inside the house.
Mito, feeling Hiruko's earlier worry, gave a light chuckle. "Don't worry, Hiruko, all I want to talk about is your future."
'That makes it worse; talking about your future when it hasn't even arrived yet is so annoying.' Hiruko complained internally but made sure he showed none of it on the outside.
Little did he know. Mito Still knew exactly what he was feeling; internally, she mused, 'What a strange child.'
After a few minutes of walking through the massive house, Hiruko and Mito both arrived at a door. As the door opened, Hiruko saw a decently sized room in the middle; a small table sat with cushions on opposite sides. On the table were two cups of steaming tea; beside one was a brownish scroll.
"Take a seat, Hiruko." Mito said, smiling slightly.
Hiruko, having no other choice, sat down beside the cup with no scroll and waited for Mito to speak.
"Okay, Hiruko, first things first, your previous home has been bought and left under your name; you are free to use it as you see fit." Mito said, taking a small sip of her tea.
Hiruko was visibly caught off guard when he heard this; he never even thought about his old house till now, but he saw immense benefit in having an extra house to use for whatever he wanted in the future.
"Thank you, Lady Mito." Hiruko said politely, giving a small bow.
At this Mito gave a small frown. "Second thing, no more calling me Lady Mito; we're family now. You can call me Grandma or …Mom, only if you want to, though." Mito said, her face slightly red.
"Oh… Okay, Mom," Hiruko said slightly uncomfortably. He already thought of Arata as his older brother, and Mito has done a lot for him. Calling her 'Mom,' which she seemed to want over 'grandmother,' wasn't hard, just a little uncomfortable.
But Mito didn't even care internally; she was on cloud nine. 'He called me Mom; he actually called me Mom. I didn't actually expect him to agree so readily. I knew things like this take time, but I'm glad.' Mito said, smiling internally.
'Next I need to get him to try on those clothes I brought.' Mito thought happily, thinking back to the white bunny suit she brought for Hiruko to wear.
A part of her missed having a son; Arata had grown up and had a wife and a daughter, and don't get her wrong, she was extremely happy for her child and loved her niece and daughter-in-law.
But she knew her son now had more important priorities in his life and didn't need her constant pestering and pampering. He was now a man, and as much as she loved seeing him grow, she missed having that person there to pamper.
She hoped Hiruko could fill that small void not by being the next Arata but by being her first Hiruko.
Little did she know. Hiruko also felt that void; he never had a family, let alone a mother, in either life, and seeing someone so happy and ready to be that mother to him, a part of him felt a need to jump at the chance in fear it would disappear.
And just like that, a small bond formed between two people who wanted a little warmth in their hearts.
Despite their satisfaction with what occurred, both showed none of it on the outside, not wanting to be vulnerable.
Outside Mito cleared her throat, though there was nothing there, and continued.
"Next, I was wondering what your plan for your name is." Mito asked.
"My name?" Hiruko asked, confused.
"You currently have three choices: take on the surname Senju or Uzumaki, or keep having none. Do keep in mind this is completely optional; if you don't want to take on either last name, that is perfectly fine; no matter what, you're still my child," Mito said, offering a reassuring smile.
After a few moments of contemplation, Hiruko asked, "Can I have more time to think about it?"
"Of course, child, you can take all the time you need," Mito said, letting her statement hang in the air for a moment before grabbing the scroll. After putting her hand on it, several contents popped out, which were 2 scrolls and a small square paper.
"Now Hiruko, to put it bluntly, I've realized your basics are atrocious, so starting tomorrow after your classes, you'll be put on a schedule. Along with Tsunade, you'll spar occasionally with Arata and Yuri when they're free, then you'll study Chakra Nature and transformation with me on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you'll learn sealing also with me. Weekends are your time to do whatever you wish." Mito said, making sure Hiruko understood before continuing, "You'll also be learning the three basic Jutsu, but only once I deem your chakra control enough. Any questions?"
Mito said, her tone leaving no room for denial. Mito knew how tough the world of ninjas was, and just like Arata, she would make sure Hiruko, who was now her son, would be utterly prepared.
'I have no problem with this. I know more than her how bad this world can get, so forgive me, Mit—Mom, I'll learn everything I can from you till I run you dry.' Hiruko thought with a slight smirk.
Mito, picking up on her son's excitement, decided to get started; picking up the brown squared paper, she began to give Hiruko an explanation. "This is a Chakra Paper; it will let us know your affinity. If you have fire, a corner of the paper will catch on fire and turn into ash; wind, the paper will split in half; lightning, the paper will crumple; water, the paper will become damp; and earth, it will crumble away. Any questions?" Mito asked for real this time.
"What about Yin and Yang?" Hiruko asked; he was generously curious. He never knew if they were an affinity or what.
"Well, they're a bit more complicated. Everyone has them, as they are related to the body and spiritual energy from the mind, which everyone uses to make chakra. However, those who have a so-called affinity for them can manipulate them on a deeper and easier level," Mito said, trying to explain the best she could.
After seeing Hiruko, who somewhat understood, she handed him the paper.
"Channel your chakra through it," she told Hiruko.
Hiruko did what she said and began to channel his chakra through the paper. The paper began reacting to his chakra; one corner became slightly damp, while another lit on fire for a few moments before turning to ash. However, other than that corner, the paper's other corners remained fully intact.
"Wow, two affinities and conflicting ones at that," Mito said, somewhat surprised.
"What do you mean by that?" Hiruko asked, somewhat confused by the statement.
"Oh, nothing serious, child. Usually a person has one chakra nature, but it's not that rare to have multiple. But natures are based on two factors: bloodline and personality. Clans like the Uchiha usually have chakra natures of fire, while the Hyuga, though they don't really use ninjutsu, usually have water.
And these natures are reflective in their personality; for example, those with fire are usually passionate, ambitious, and determined.
While those with water are calm, flexible, and thoughtful. You have both, meaning your personality can be seen as ambitious yet calm, determined yet flexible, and passionate yet thoughtful.
These traits are contradictory to the opposite in a way, and it's this fact that makes conflicting natures unusual, though not unheard of. It could be your parents had those natures, and you inherited them, or it could be that's just how your personality is," Mito said simply. It wasn't that big of a deal having conflicting natures, just unique.
Mito knew better than anyone that human beings were anything but simple ones. Nature isn't tied to a specific type of human; humans are complex creatures, after all.
Hiruko, on the other hand, hearing this had a troubling thought: 'It's not unnatural for people to have somewhat conflicting traits, and yes, I could have inherited it, but I can't shake the thought that my becoming Hiruko could play a part. Did I adopt his nature, and if I did, what else of his did I adopt?' Hiruko worried.
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I hope the whole nature thing made sense and also what last name should I give Hiruko or should I have him not take on a name