—W-why can't we go with you?— Kimiko complained, clinging to Takeshi, sitting on his lap with her legs wrapped around his torso and her chest obstructing his breathing.
The young man didn't panic; instead, he inhaled the familiar scent as he placed his hands on the woman's hips, squeezing tightly.
Kimiko gasped, arching her back and allowing Takeshi to move his face away slightly.
—Because it's not safe. We can't trust Sunagakure, Mom. What if they try something with you or Yumi and Karin? You know I can defend myself, but protecting all of you would be difficult.
—But Takeshi!— she protested, her eyes teary. —Why do you never let Mom go with you to Suna? Did you meet another woman there and are you hiding it from me!?— she continued, now panicking.
Takeshi rolled his eyes. Kimiko always jumped to strange conclusions that involved NTR. Although, can a son commit NTR against his mother?
The thought distracted the young man, his gaze lost on the ceiling as he ignored the mental deterioration of his already unstable mother.
After a while, Takeshi returned to reality and smiled at the woman who was still pressing herself against him, challenging his composure. He thought that, thanks to Kimiko and her deviant behavior over the years, his willpower might even allow him to break through the Tsukuyomi.
He had no choice but to use the trump card to calm her down.
One hand moved away from the woman's hip and went up to wrap around the back of her neck, bringing her face closer.
Takeshi kissed Kimiko's lips, which paralyzed her in place.
After enjoying the sensation for a couple of seconds, he released her, and the woman slumped backward, rigid as a panel of ice.
He chuckled, shaking his head at the audacity. She pretended to be surprised every time, but whenever Takeshi left her behind for a prolonged period, she would throw these tantrums until he calmed her with a kiss.
It was a kind of ritual in their already twisted relationship.
He moved until he was mere centimeters from the woman, leaning over her.
Her glassy eyes, heart-shaped pupils, silly smile, like that of a drunk person, and the blush on her cheeks indicated that she got her necessary dose of incest.
—I'll be back. Be a good girl and wait for my return, alright?— he said in a soft but authoritative tone.
—Y-yes— she whimpered, twisting on the floor. Takeshi leaned in closer, giving one last kiss to her lips before getting up and leaving.
Takeshi considered that, in a few years, he would end up crossing the final line. It was increasingly complicated to resist this crazy and definitely terrible mother of his.
But he never saw her as such. Kimiko was not a mother to Takeshi; she was a caretaker in his most vulnerable stage.
She didn't know how to cook, she didn't know how to look after a child, she knew absolutely nothing about motherhood.
Heck, she didn't even know she should breastfeed him and had tried to give him dried meat two days after he was born.
She was just a foolish girl who got pregnant way too soon. If Takeshi hadn't had the consciousness of an 18-year-old, he probably would have died.
Shaking off the moral issues about falling in love with your biological mother from another world, Takeshi said goodbye to Karin and Yumi and departed for Sunagakure again.
Only two months had passed since the last water refill, but this time he would need to leave for at least a full year, so he took twice as many scrolls, in order to accede to Rasa's insistence on sharing those tools.
Yes, Takeshi's scrolls are not an item anyone possesses. This is because he had the fortune of meeting a Seal Master in a complicated situation.
A group of Iwa-Nin were carrying out some mission for which they needed a Seal Master. Or perhaps they had kidnapped that Seal Master; Takeshi didn't know for sure, nor did he care.
Originally, Takeshi didn't know there was a Seal Master in that group, and it was by pure coincidence that the Iwa-Nin ran into them in the middle of the goddamn nowhere, while Kimiko was practicing her Ice Release.
Again, neither Takeshi nor Kimiko were sensors, so they didn't realize they were being watched. And as is common in this world, the Iwa-Nin felt the need to take a Kekkei Genkai wielder and drag her back to their village.
Some bastards trying to take away his incestuous and sick mother? Takeshi froze them all.
And so, as if he had killed a Boss in a game, Takeshi obtained those enormous scrolls with a ridiculous capacity.
His idea was to share one of those scrolls with Suna so they could study and replicate them, increasing the amount of water they obtained by sending their shinobi to other lands.
In exchange, he would ask for a one-year period to take Yumi and Karin to a more or less safe place, as well as visit the Land of Iron and order a request he had been wanting for a long time.
*************************************
A nearly imperceptible smile formed on Rasa's face. The man, who hadn't smiled in years, sighed with relief for the first time in a very, very long time.
On his desk rested a series of documents that mentioned the proliferating pipe system that his predecessor, the Third Kazekage, had once initiated to supply the village with running water, like the other villages.
There was already running water in the village, but it was reserved for the most important areas. Many of his Jōnin did not enjoy such a luxury and were forced to draw water from wells like common villagers.
And that was assuming there was water to draw.
Who would have imagined that a single brat could have brought about such changes?
Rasa certainly didn't. It wasn't until the reports from the first time that he felt a true glimmer of hope.
That wasn't to say that Sunagakure's problems were suddenly solved, far from it. Their strength was mediocre, the Daimyō didn't pay enough, and missions were scarce.
Sunagakure needed strength. It needed to demonstrate power, and Rasa was desperate for an opportunity.
His expression hardened as he looked at a particular report that had recently arrived via messenger bird.
The brat had arrived, two months earlier than anticipated. The note mentioned that he wanted to discuss something with him in person.
Rasa didn't know what he was looking for, but he felt a slight suspicion about the matter. The possibility that Yuki Takeshi was an agent of Kirigakure had already been considered, even though his investigations into the matter gave no indication of such a thing.
It was that doubt, in part, that stopped Rasa's hand in the past. Suna could not afford to offend other villages at this time.
But after a year of finding nothing, Rasa felt fully secure in his decision.
—Notify the Elder. The village requires her knowledge once more— he ordered his hidden Anbu in the room.
A cold, determined glint crossed his eyes.
Sunagakure needed power, and Yuki Takeshi would be a key part of the village's growth.
For now, they were the only village aware of his double Kekkei Genkai, and if they didn't take advantage of that fact, another would come to claim him later.
Better Suna than any of the others.
Once again, Sunagakure would break a deal and stab their "allies" in the back.