The assigned shelter was already packed by the time the four of them arrived.
Rows of cots stretched across what used to be a training hall, displaced families crammed shoulder to shoulder, the noise of crying children and exhausted adults bleeding together into one long, tired hum. Worse, the Chunin Exams had brought in more foreign visitors than usual, and more than a few of them had apparently lost their lodging in the chaos too, packed in alongside everyone else.
Kizashi took one look and sighed, already resigning himself to it. "Well. Could be worse."
Mebuki didn't look thrilled either, but she started forward anyway, the exhaustion of the day leaving little room left to argue with reality. Sakura followed a step behind her, similarly resigned.
No one wished to live in such conditions, but what could they do? It would take significant time for their house to be rebuilt. And all the hotels were at maximum capacity due to the outside guests who had come to watch the Chunin Exams.
Sukuna was the only one who didn't move.
"Nope," he said.
Mebuki turned back. "Sukuna—"
"I am not sleeping shoulder to shoulder with two hundred strangers after the day I've had," he said flatly. "Absolutely not."
Ah… there it was. They all knew their son was the most uncompromising of them all.
He'd rather have things his way or not have them at all. There was very rarely any middle ground when it came to him.
"None of us want to," Sakura said, tired enough that her patience was thinning fast. "But it's not exactly like we have a house to go back to."
"Thanks for the oh-so-needed reminder. I was almost afraid I'd let the matter of our home burning to cinders a few hours ago slip my mind… thank you." He gave a very forced sweet smile that told exactly how much annoyance and anger was hidden behind the sarcasm.
Sakura's mouth twitched, but she didn't say anything in response. At this point, it would have been much easier to avoid and ignore him than bicker with her obviously annoyed brother.
That had never gone her way. She highly doubted it would today either.
"Yes… ultimately we can't go home, and all the hotels are taken. This is arguably the best place we can get in Konoha on such short notice." Mebuki sighed and butted in.
"Which is why I'm suggesting we don't stay in Konoha at all tonight in the first place." Sukuna shrugged.
That got everyone's attention.
"And go where, exactly?" Kizashi asked, one eyebrow raised.
Sukuna was already holding out a hand toward each of them, his expression entirely too pleased with himself for someone who'd spent the day fighting a tailed beast. "I know a place."
Their parents didn't understand what he meant by extending his hands like that. But obviously, he was asking for their hands, so they followed along anyway.
Sakura knew better. That was a sign of him using his teleportation. She didn't like his teleportation.
It was a lifesaver at times, but the actual feeling of being teleported felt like being squeezed through a narrow tube or something. Not the most comfortable feeling she knew.
Before she could even warn her parents or voice her dissatisfaction, one of Sukuna's arms was already around her waist, much to her surprise.
"EH~"
Her face turned scarlet before she knew it, and then the world spun around her. Surprisingly enough, this was a different sort of feeling than his typical teleportation. It almost didn't feel like Flying Thunder God for a second.
And a second was a little over too much before all four of them found themselves somewhere else entirely.
They reappeared on a quiet street lined with lanterns, the noise of Konoha's chaos replaced entirely by the distant sound of a river and the low murmur of an evening crowd somewhere further off.
Both Mebuki and Kizashi felt like their heads were spinning. It wasn't quite the feeling Sakura had described as being pulled through a narrow tube—that was far more uncomfortable—but this was a close second. Better, but still not the best.
"Take your time. First-time users do feel a little strange, especially if you're not a shinobi." Sukuna said, and they were happy to oblige, though it would surely be followed by a long tongue-lashing aimed at their rogue son.
"Where are we?" Mebuki asked, blinking at the unfamiliar rooftops once she was certain it wasn't her spinning mind causing her to see multiples of them.
"Tanzaku Town," Sukuna said. "It's not that far away from Konoha. I teleported us here from the village."
Kizashi turned in a slow circle, taking it in. "You just teleported your entire family to a different town because a shelter was crowded."
"Yes."
Kizashi wasn't sure what to think about this—whether to be surprised that their son could even do something like this or be baffled by what he used such a powerful skill for.
"That's a little excessive, son."
"I prefer 'efficient.'"
Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, though the corner of her mouth was fighting a smile despite herself. "You could have just said you didn't want to sleep near strangers."
"Would that have changed the outcome?" Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
"Point…" Sakura thought about it and then relented. Ultimately he was right. He mostly was, and it was infuriating at times.
Mebuki laughed despite everything, the sound catching everyone a little off guard after the day they'd had.
"Might be very convenient to get groceries if I had something like this."
Sukuna stiffened, his eyes darting to Sakura, who at the same time looked at him, and a mirthful smile appeared on her face. It almost said without words, You're doomed.
Sukuna himself wondered if his mother would force him to use the legendary Flying Thunder God or Kamui to get daily groceries.
Right…
"Well. We're here now. Might as well make use of it." Kizashi spoke, completely unaware of the life-changing life hack his wife had just discovered today.
"I won't mind if you guys want to, however, first let's find a place to stay."
So they did just that. They found a hostel a few streets down, modest but clean, with more than enough rooms to spare. Sukuna paid for two without much hesitation, waving off Sakura's half-hearted attempt to split the cost.
Neither Kizashi nor Mebuki had any money on them currently. They hadn't had time to get it when fleeing from their burning house.
"Forget it, I got this…"
"Absolutely not," Sakura immediately said.
"I'm earning too, you know. Let me pay."
"Yes, yes… you're all grown up." Sukuna replied, not even looking at her while paying for the rooms.
"No fair," Sakura pouted.
With rooms secured, exhaustion hadn't quite caught up yet, and the pull of an unfamiliar town proved stronger than any of them expected. They wandered the main street together for a while, taking in stalls that were just beginning to close for the night, the smell of grilled skewers still lingering in the air.
"This town's actually nice," Sakura admitted, watching lantern light ripple across the river nearby.
"Better than crying children and cots, yes," Sukuna said.
The other three just rolled their eyes.
Sometimes their son could be quite the spoiled princess. Of course they wouldn't mention it, or he would become the Asura himself in the next second.
Sakura bought a round of skewers for everyone, insisting despite Sukuna's attempt to pay for those too, and for a little while they just walked, the four of them together, nobody talking about the invasion or the house or anything that had happened that day at all. Just tired feet, warm food, and each other.
By the time they made it back to the hostel, exhaustion had finally caught up in full. Sakura was half-asleep on her feet by the second flight of stairs, and even Sukuna's usual composure had worn thin enough to show in the slower way he moved.
"Get some sleep," Mebuki said, pulling both her children into a tight hug before anyone split off toward their rooms. "All of you. We'll figure out the house tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Kizashi agreed, ruffling Sukuna's hair despite the half-hearted glare it earned him. "Good work today, both of you. We mean that."
Sakura managed a tired smile. Sukuna just nodded, too worn out to argue with the sentiment even if some part of him wanted to deflect it.
The door closed behind them a few minutes later, leaving both Sakura and Sukuna standing outside, blinking.
They looked at each other and then at the closed door of one of the rooms they'd gotten for themselves.
"Wait a minute… that's not how we planned to share the rooms."
xXx
A/N : Ah... why I'm having a deja-vu feeling about rooms, did something like this happened before... hehehehe.
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