Downfall of the Light 3
Chapter 1: Deep Insights
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way or Warcraft3. I only own the OCs that I created! Not to mention the entire plot!
Legend:
"…" Speech
'…': Thoughts.
Bolded italic brackets mean scenario change and new situation.
AN: This is my third fiction, the final set of the Downfall of the Light Trilogy. Not only that, this volume is mainly focusing on Naruto's son and daughter. Before I get sued, let's talk about where I got the names so I wouldn't be sued for plagiarism. Here is a small list that you may need to know so I won't need to appear in court. Court is too annoying for me. Downfall of the Light Trilogy was very fun and thrillingfor me to write, hopefully you guys would continue to appreciate the hard work I went through to publish/post this. Thank you so all so much for your endless support, I couldn't have done it without you! Let's get onto the real business.
Uzumaki Shani's name came from Forbidden Gundam's pilot, Shani Andras. His physical attributes resembles the original character fully, especially the hair.
Uzumaki Kagari came from Cagalli Yula Athha in Gundam Seed. I spelled Kagari this way for AnimeJunkies' translation was like this and with the K… it sounds more Japanese. That's in my opinion though and I will stick with it.
Asuran came from Athrun Zala (pilot of Aegis and Justice Gundam) in Gundam Seed, I really like him too. The translation also came from AnimeJunkies.
Kuroto came from Crot Buer (Raider Gundam's pilot), they pronounce Crot into Ku-Ro-To in Seed and regardless of how I like the name, there is no possible way that I would name him Crot, so Kuroto it is!
Umi… just like the name a lot, it came from no reference that I know of.
Yamase, I think she is the brown hair girl in Maburaho that is in love with Shikimori Kazuki, I really like her sincerity.
Tsubasa, a real friend of mine who is obviously Japanese, I found this name very convenient so I used it in one of the characters.
Finally, Hikaru… a name I found in the forum that I joined.
After reading this, there should be no suing and I will be more than happy to continue this third part of the fiction. If you want to know more about Shani and Kagari's past and heritage before this age, it will be explained in the Second volume, which is not complete yet. I want to see if you readers like this so far or should I remake this chapter completely. Anyway, enjoy!
(First person POV)
When I was sleeping peacefully one morning after a hard working night, an infernal sound immediately disrupted it, thus, causing me to wake up. In my infuriated state, I attracted my scythe by generating chakra in my palm -this skill was something that my father taught me when I was even younger-before I sliced horizontally. Therefore, I hacked the clock in two. Of course, that might've silenced the damn thing and eased my rage but I was already wide awake. Giving a sigh of frustration, I dropped my weapon onto the floor before staring at the mess I made.
I sure hoped there was a way to fix this damn clock, it would be tough since the floor was all filled with pieces of metal. Then again, it wasn't like I didn't have the money to simply buy another one. Two-hundred yen should be more than enough -if I ever wanted a cheap one that was.
It was strange for a child like me at seven-years-old to ponder that much further into the realm of psychology. I admitted that muchbut I was always someone that had a much deeper insight of things. As far as I was concerned, I knew I was nothing like a child. I was considered someone who had never been a kid before and already starting pre-adulthood without experiencing puberty. My mother sometimes asked my father this question: If he can't even be immature when he's a kid, what can I expect him to do?
Good question indeed, and that he my mother was referring to was obviously me.
As I rubbed the left side of my forehead -which was covered by my long hair- I emitted a groan knowing that I had to wake up. Sleep was not as enjoyable as people mentioned it to be. I remember my uncle telling me once that he wished he slept well more often when he was younger. I seriously wonder what he meant by that. To me, sleep was something that I should be doing since there wasn't anything better to do at nightfall. Looking at the clock on the wall -it said it was 8:02 AM- it would be a good time to get out of bed to brush up.
I stoically opened the door to exit my nearly pitch black room while allowing some light to enter before I closed it shut.
Being a boy, I never took too long to brush my teeth, wash my face, and possibly take a small morning shower to refresh myself. Ten minutes was more than enough, and sometimes an additional two minutes wouldn't hurt that much. Once I walked out of the washroom with my visible right eyesince my left eye was covered by my hair, I was showing the world that I preferred silence over raudiness.
My advice to almost everyone: If you want me to be happy, leave me alone.
Like how I did things nearly every morning, I took out something black or grey to put on and carried my scythe like a grim reaper would. My choice of clothes were a pair of black jeans, a grey T-shirt and a thin black jacket. Unless I was in a more delightful mood, dark clothing would refuse to leave my skin. I had no forehead protector yet, nor did it matter sinceI could seriously care less until it was my time to graduate in the academy. If you wanted my honest opinion, if my friends weren't in the same class as I was I would've torched the school down for wasting my time ever so repeatedly.
Although this was a house, it didn't take long for me to make it to the living room. My father was already there reading a book, and my mother was cooking us her incredibly delicious food for us in the kitchen. I smiled when I smelled the appealing aroma. I really didn't know how my mother could be so talented in cooking. Long ago,I asked her once but even she didn't know. It was a natural interest, as she would say, just like how she skillfully avoided the true answer of how she loved my father.
Mother frequently taught me how to become a light in other people's lives, and someday others will treat me the same way. Kind of like the saying "Love your neighbour as yourself" in which I agreed very much upon but up to this day I still have not seen much results. My mother was a kind woman, not to mention a very loving, considerate, reliable, sincere, reasonable, gentle, supportive, caring, genuine, and her qualities could go on for ages.
Seriously now, after proving all these legitimate reasons it wasno wonder why my father loved my mother so much. Then again, who wouldn't want a loving woman to love them until their world crumbles to the ground? Better yet, she would be there to support them emotionally, and willing to stand until the very end. There weren't a lot of those people around the globe. In all honesty, such committed people to me were nearly considered extinct (Unless it was a true, genuine, loving marriage. That was different). What a gentle person Mother was to everyone. If I was good enough to assume, I was sure a lot of people wanted to be in my father's position.
Father -who sensed my presence promptly- stopped his reading and gave me a warm smile without words. I knew that smile all too well, he was trying to say good morning, and I got the message promptly. I simply gave a grin of the same fashion, and thatcaused his smile towiden. He didn't say anything though. A normal person would expect an answer verbally, but silence suited him justfine.
Father was a man of a few words. However, whenever he spoke his words were always filled with talented wisdom that made me respect him further. In some instances, it was as if it was a declaration from above, it was like we had to give genuine respect. He was very young, too. Father was only twenty-four at the time and he knew how to set a perfect example for me to follow. I then signaled him to say thatI would head to the living room and have some quiet time to myself. I preferred reading or listening to music before breakfast officially began. Having no problems with my request, Father simply nodded with agrin telling me to get there before Mother noticed me.
I thought my plan was foolproof, but my attempts crashed and burned when a loud voice came from behind.
"Oni-chan!" a girl shouted at the rear, thus, alerting my mother that I was here. I knew who that was and soon she hugged me tightly not wanting me to leave her side. "Good morning," she then said ever so appealingly.
"Morning, Kagari-chan…" I mumbled still trapped in her grasp as she kissed me on the cheek sweetly like she did all the time. I didn't mind that, I liked her kisses and hugs but not that I would just admit my feelings out loud.
"Why so hesitant, oni-chan?" she asked me innocently with her cute, adorable face. "Don't you like me saying good morning to you?"
"I can't breathe…" I lied faking a gasp. She did release me immediately but still wrapped her arms around mine.
Who was she, you ask? Kagari was my twin sister, she was my fraternal twin. In other words, we didn't look alike. She was only six minutes younger than I, and if you want my opinion she had to be one of the prettiest little girls I have ever witnessed in the seven years of my life. Kagari was two inches shorter than I, she also had long dark blue hair like my mother, but she didn't have her eyes and I didn't have her hair. Mine was silver and I had my mom's special blood limit lavender eyes while Kagari had eyes of my father but a little darker blue to shine her lovable features even more. If she was older, I would refer to it as beauty -but right now she was just extremely endearing. Was she loud? Not very. Iconsideredher to be enthusiastic and very optimistic. My sister loved me very much -and although I was a stoic person-she knew I loved her too.
Not giving any warnings, Kagari kissed me again.Such simple actionsmade Father chuckle a bit before he turned back to his book.
How did I look like, you ask? Aside from the fact I had silver hair and lavender eyes, allow me to explain it further. My hair was naturally spiked up coordinately like Father's however, it was a little long so it fell. I was a boy at above average height, around 125 cm, for my father and mother weren't short people. How did my hair cover two thirds of my left face… I would say it was because my hair grew long and the front fell forward. Therefore, it blocked my left face along with my eye. Long story short, my hair was long enough and it was arranged in a not so organized fashion so it would cover enough of my visage. When people look at me, they could only see my right eye and cheek, nose, lips and my right ear along with silver hair blocking the rest. I had a very sick (intimidating) glare. Almost everyone disliked it if I did it -for it not only shock them, it showed hostility.
What was my reason of hiding my left eye? That was something many wanted to know for I did hide it deliberately. That was my little secret that no one other than Tsunade-sama, my parents, Kagari,and any other adults that my parents trusted most held knowledge of. Personally, I wasn't too sure if I should be proud of something like that -or even be able to think of it as a gift. Father told me that it was nothing to be ashamed of sinceI was still me regardless. Those words lingered in my soul for quite a while now. Yet, I had my doubts but I certainly did not despise it.
Unless my left eye looked identical to my right, I would never reveal it to anyone.
"Good morning, you two!" exclaimed my gorgeous mother warmly as she came towards us. My sister had a cheerful smile on her face when she saw Mother while I (on the other hand) remained emotionless but silently enjoyed her presence. As Kagari wrapped her arms around Mother as shegave her an affectionate hug, Mother held her daughter like any loving parent would. It was long and sweet -nearly sweet enough for me to suffer from diabetes. She soon turned to me and gave me the same hug. I accepted soundlessly without much objection.
I didn't know why Mother always smelled so pleasant without perfume. If she smelled this great without it, just imagine her coated with it. The amazing sweet scent could seduce every male that smelt it, and what would amaze me was that all Mother would've done was smile.
"Morning, kaa-san," I said with a weak grin, like how I always had.
"Why so stoic, Shani-chan?" she asked me with her heart-melting smile. She dropped the subject beforemoving on to kiss meon the forehead. I also knew my hair tickled her cheek when she did that. "You know you shouldn't hide your left eye like that. It makes you look really dangerous. What did kaa-chan tell you about first impressions?"
"It's not like I want to hide it," I said devoid of any passion. "You know why, kaa-san."
"It doesn't matter how you look like, Shani," said my father understandingly. "What's most important is that you have a good heart and always respect another." I smiled back at my dad, and my mom only gave the same smile. Like I said, my father was a man of intelligence. Was it just me or did Mother gave Father a small look. Maybe it was just my imagination -I was looking with only one eye after all.
"I understand, otousan," I replied passively.
"That's my little Shani," cooed Mother as she rubbed my cheek. I liked it when she did that but I preferred not to be called 'little'.It practicallymade me sound like a kindergarten who just graduated from pre-school. I was seven, pre-school was long over. "You know kaa-chan just loves you so much." It wasn't longbefore she kissed my cheek, I knew another part of me would need to go through the experience of unnecessary affection. I grinned at her words for I knew she meant it completely.
"Kaa-chan, what are we having for breakfast?" asked Kagari innocently, changing the subject. Mother smiled sweetly at her as she turned around to face my sister. Of course, my mom gave her a kiss on the nose before she answered. It suddenly struck me. Was kissing an act of spoiling children? Why would I care -I wasn't the parent.
"We have ramen today," answered Motherwhile Father and I left our expressions completely unchanged. "You like that, Kagari-chan?"
"I love ramen!" she exclaimed, emitting a giggle while I could've seriously ignored. "You want ramen, oni-chan?" Why did she drag me into the conversation? Didn't she notice that I wasn't talking for a while? Just because I happened to be quiet didn't mean that I was mute.
"Whatever, as long I live afterwards," I replied with my dark attitude. Father chuckled silently behind his book while Mother looked a bit worriedly at me. Soon enough, that frown was replaced with a smile. I wondered what she would be nervous about, yet I simply forgotten it when Kagari pushed me to the dining table wanting food immediately. Mother was more than too delighted to serve us breakfast.
I ate myshare slowly as whereKagari adorably consumed all of it without eating like a slob. She finished it ten minutes before I did, and it was no shock to see her complaining that I was too slow. She would shake my hand, my body, or jump up and down cutely just to prove how desperate she wanted me to finish. I kept telling her that she should kill her time by making final preparations for school instead of bugging me, but she didn't listen because she loved me.
Come to think of it, was it justifiable? Did it make sense?
Eventually the two of us left the house toreach to the academy -obviously not without Kagari attaching herself to me. Of course my sister had that welcoming aura around her as she went out but I, on the other hand, carried nothing. As I picked up my scythe that was leaning near the door, I silently followed my sister who began torant that I was too slow again. Giving out a sigh, I ran to catch up with her.
"Be good at school!" called out my female parent in a heavenly tone of encouragement. Kagari endearingly smiled back while I nodded like a deadpan as a response trying to keep up with my baby sister's incredible exuberance.
(Later on that morning)
The two of us arrived at the academy fifteen minutes before class began today. Having nothing better to do, Kagari rushed off to the playground area to join up with her friends (mostly girls and a guy) while my friend came to me. I gave him a smile knowing he was welcoming me. I onlyhad a several friends for I wasn't someone who enjoyed knowing all sorts of people. However, the friends I had right now were my true friends who would help me through thick and thin. My otherones were Kagari's friends since they were close enough to me, sinceI knew most of them from as far as I could remember.
"Hey, Shani," called my best friend Uchiha Asuran. "How are you?"
"Fine, I guess," I replied without much passion but I turned so he could see my right eye instead of watching my hair.
"You coming to work today?" he asked with a friendly look. I simply nodded. "You know, grandpa is going to give you a small raise if you work well today. He really likes you."
"I just work hard," I said bluntly. "Your grandfather is too kind to me. He treats me like his own grandchild. I am beginning to feel a bit…"
"A bit what?"
"Guilty." To my surprise, Asuran laughed to himself. What made my brow raised was that it sounded like a mature laugh. Actually, Asuran was alwaysa solemn person.
"You're just very humble, Shani," commented Asuran considerately.
"Not really…"
"Oh yes, you are. You are getting a raise because you deserve one, man," he said slapping my back as support. "You have been working at the shop since last year, it's a good time to get a raise."
"Are you then?" I questioned obviously not wanting to take all the glory, Asuran earned it too as far as I was concerned. When Asuran nodded, I gave him the same supportive slap on the back and then a small high five where I level my hand and I expect him to hit it. I didn't want to do all the workdespite that it was for thesakeof encouragement.Hyperness was not something my personality showed. "Good job, my friend."
"I couldn't have done it without you," he said.
"I did what I can." I replied as I held my scythe in a more at ease manner.
"You want to join your sister and have a chat?" suggested Asuran kindly.
"There is nothing for me to talk to them about," I said as my eye stared at the playground's direction.
"It wouldn't hurt, you know."
"Fine…"
Asuran knew he won the debate when I agree whether it was graceful or not. He knew he couldn't expect me to enjoy it but to the least my presence was there. The two of us walked towards Kagari and her small ring of friends -who were underneath a tree so they could enjoy the shade. Once Asuran kindly greeted them, I could've sworn Kagari blushed when she saw his smile. I quickly banished those thoughts as I stoically observed each one of them. After regaining her confidence,Kagari then greeted the both of us with her cheery attitude.
Who was Uchiha Asuran? Seriously now, he wasn't Uchiha Sasuke's son. Asuran was Itachi's son. Who was his mother then? Asuran's mother was Ichikaru Ayame, the young lady that worked at Ichikaru Ramen. Obviously, the grandfather Asuran mentioned earlierwas my superior, the main manager who was in charge of my job. Asuran had dark raven hair with a tint of dark blue like Sasuke and Itachi, and his eyes were dull golden like his mom. His skin was like his mom as well, and he was a mini version and a perfect resemblance of his father.
How did Itachi and Ayame get together? I didn't know all the details but Asuran told me that his father saw this indescribable kindness that his mother had. She was the only woman that loved Itachi that was full of genuine desires. Gradually, simple admiration turned into affection, therefore, the two began to love another to the fullest. At the age of twenty one or twenty two, they married and Asuran came to their lives very soon later. They loved him very much like how my parents loved Kagari and I. Their lifestyle was quitesimilar to how any normal reliable parent would. There were no clan regularities since Itachi despised them deeply, and he would rather have Old-Man-Ichikaru and Ayame to raise their son since she at least had a father that loved her. Itachi needed to know what qualities were required to become a father, and Asuran told me some time before that his father was a brilliant man. I asked him how and he told me that Itachi was a very fast learner.
What surprised me was that Ayame-san got pregnant after marriage. Most of my friends didn't come out like that.
"Hey, Asuran," greeted my close friend, Uchiha Kuroto. Kuroto was Asuran's two or three month younger cousin and he had a sister as well. Kuroto was Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Haruno Sakura's son. He was as tall as I was, good looking, having onyx eyes and raven hair. I liked him, he was a very friendly person to be with and talk to… The only times that he turned cold was to anyone who intentionally wanted to be a nuisance. Was he loud? Not really. I could confidently describe Kurotoas a conservative individual like his father.Whenever I am around this Uchiha, I couldn't help myself but to detect a small amount of pressure and stress. I didn't mean that he pressured me in any possible form, I meant that Kuroto always seemed to be edgy around something. "Hello, Shani." I merely nodded without saying a word, they all knew howI usually responded.
"Morning, Kuroto," said Asuran as he stood next to Kagari involuntarily. Once again, Kagari blushed and tried to be small, andI only snickered to myself for I knew I was the only one who noticed it.
"Morning to you all," I said finally. Neutrality was all my voice contained.
"Good morning, Shani-kun!" exclaimed a very hyper and pleasant Uchiha Umi. She wasKuroto's younger twin sister. UnlikeKagari, Umi was not a fraternal twin.Umi had half raven, half pink hair that grew to her rear end. I wouldn't have said it like that but that was the truth. If she was any older, it would be sexy.Like Sakura, she had green emerald like eyes and she was also very cute. She was an inch shorter than I was but that wasn't all out important, since it was just physical attributes. Overall, not only was Uchiha Umi a beautiful girl, I could tell that she held a very good heart and conscience.
She then came up to me and gave me a big sister like hug. I didn't mind that at all for I knew her ever since I was a baby. At least that was what Father and Mother told me. As I hugged her back, the rest of the gang gave their annoying awwws and irritating insincere flattery.I soon silenced them allwhen I gave a bored glare. Even so, there was one voice that I didn't hear.
"Hello… Shani-chan…" There, I heard it now.Was sheas shy as ever. When I eyed that girl with my visible lavender eye, she quickly hid behind Kuroto or anyone else who would be nearby and blushed. No doubt she tried to be small and invisible but much to her distress, I intentionally watched her. Shethen gaveme a very timid (but cute) smile before turning her head slightly to look elsewhere. How could anyone blush so much, I wonder, how could she manipulate her blood in such an amazing fashion?
Who was she? Her name was Hyuga Yamase, my second cousin (When I said second, our blood relations are far). She was Hyuga Neji, my uncle, whose blood was a lot more distant than my mother, and Hyuga Katase Tenten's only daughter.
Yamase was also one of the cutest girls I have met. She was short (not like it was important though, I liked her height), her hair was black with a tint of usual blue colour that most Hyugas had, and the length of it was around to her back. Also, her skin was less pale than her father but more light than her mother, and she carried the lavender eyes like me. She was so shy -especially around me. I knew her ever since I was an infant, and I treated her like any good relative would. In other words, I treated her with the same affection as I would treat Kagari.
There was a problem with our relationship though. Whenever Italked to her, she would smile with a thick shade of pink on her face before she declared farewell. After that, she would run away shyly but I knew she was happy. Despite that I was glad that she was delighted, I could've sure used a response. I discussed this with Kagari afterwards and I urged her to talk with Yamase to see if she had the ability to make a conversation. What confused me to no end was that Yamase was chatting comfortably with Kagari. What made her so frail with me? Was I the problem?Maybe because I was a boy and she was a girl, that was the only logical explanation my mind could assume on.
Who knew what the reason was! But as long as she was my good friend I was satisfied without question.
"Good morning, Yamase-chan," I said, thus, thickening her blush. I grinned amusedly as of result but I sensed Umi looked at me with a hint of envy. What was that all about? Then I realized that Umi frequently sent me that glare whenever I talked to Yamase, and I kept reassuring her thatYamase was my only cousin and I should talk to her so our relationship wouldn'tgo further apart. Umi would reluctantly agree but I wondered why she had such pure hesitancy. I could've thought about it butI quickly forgotten it when I noticed someone wason top of the branch.
This girl was napping, somewhat actually… In reality, she wasn't but she seemed so lazy that we all thought she was dead. I would say that she did a good impression of a poorly made statue, a monument, a drifting spaceship (whatever that was), a corpse, a rock or anything that stayed still but I knew she would hit me pretty hard if I said it audibly. Believe it or not, I once spilled out my thoughts and the outcome was that she didn't talk to me for a week until I needed to hug her, and maybe sweet talk her to forgive me. Tsubasa loved affection from her close ones, and it was pretty clear that she forgave me in less than an instant. My disgracefulness had no limits that time, and I was feeling sick just recalling that wretched memory.
When she saw me looking up to her, she stuck out a tongue at me before giving me a smile of her own. Umi held onto me tighter before yelling at Tsubasa, the girl on top, for the two of them seemed to be rivals of something. Actually, I lied. The word something would be a lie, since it should be swapped with the word 'everything'. Kagari and I certainly did not know what it was, nor did it matter, I didn't want to get involved, that was for certain.
Although Tsubasa looked exactly like her beautiful mother Nara Yamanaka Ino, her attitude matched her father, Nara Shikamaru, like a perfect precedent. She was lazy, or rather very lazy. However, she could be very emotional when she got attached into something such as she truly believed that boys were troublesome people, but she really liked them. She liked Kuroto especially for he was quite good looking. Was I good looking? I really could've lived without knowing that fact, all I would say was that I was decent.
"What were you guys talking about earlier?" asked Asuran to the gang.
"Nothing much," said Kuroto. "You do remember what day it is next week, right, Asuran?"
"No, not really,"
"It's Yamase's birthday, you clutz!" shouted Tsubasa from above, which earned a glare from Umi.
"Don't talk to my cousin like that, Tsu-chan!" yelled the half-raven, half-pink hair girl angrily. The blond Nara girl faked a yawn before turning away, therefore, making Umi steam up with rage. Although I usually regarded their rivalry with exasperation, this time I found it just so amusing. What caused my usual attitude to be slide? When did silliness become manditory?But I discarded that fact and walked to Yamase, which caused her to flush up even more -not like she wasn't already as red as a strawberry.
"Hey," I said in a clear voice, or rather in a voice that was as friendly as I could muster.To be honest,I had cut back on talking to her sinceI felt like I was talking to myself thanto a girl each time. My motivation for this action was more or less due to guilt."I'm sorry that I forgot that your birthday is coming up soon, Yamase-chan."
"It's okay… Shani-chan…" she replied timidly and poking her fingers together. "Really…"
"What do you want for your birthday?"
"I don't want to waste your… money… you don't have to buy me a present…"
"Oh, don't be silly," I said. "You're my favourite relative, why wouldn't I buy a gift for you? Kagari-chan and I wouldn't mind."
"I'm your only relative... Shani-chan..."
She sure got me there good. I must've been losing my touch. Also, I wished that she would stop calling me with a chan. I thought having Mother naming me like that was bad enough. Now, I got this little adorable girl following Mother's ways, and more so I couldn't simply order Yamase not to be so kind.
"Whatever, whatever," I said, shaking my previous troublesome thoughts away. "I want you to have a good birthday, okay?"
"Thank you then… Shani-chan…" When she finished her sentence, the school bells rung loudly to tell all students that class was about to begin in a several minutes. I cursed noticeably before the group went ahead of me to get inside.
Worse of all, some of my friends nearly trampled me, but Yamase was still here watching me straightening myself back.
A groan escaped my mouth knowing another day of boredom awaited me. As I followed suit in my cold, dark, and stoic face, Yamase timidly walked behind me. Seeing that she was so slow, as if she was stalking me, I quickly went back and held her hand. I didn't notice this but she blushed so furiously that she wanted to faint. After I took her hand in mine, I rushed in to the classroom as soon as I could so the two of us wouldn't be late.
As much as I knew, Iruka could scold me for over an hour for being a little unpunctual despite another person might be late for over half an hour. That man did have something against me, I was no idiot.
(During the time in the day)
Things couldn't get any more boring than this, I thought most dully, and I would be sticking with this statement with no regrets.
Up front was the chuunin Iruka (also known as our instructor) trying to do a good jobat teaching a class. Due to his experience, he was an effective teacher. But to me, he was boring. It's not like the fact that I disliked him (because I hated him) but the truth was the classes here were utterly pointless. In fact, I didn't know if the education system was messed up or was it just the teacher. I just didn't understand how Kagari could stand this crap, it wasn't like that she didn't know this stuff for crying out loud. I was deadly bored to the core, and I refuse to allow my time to be wasted by some nobody.
I took out the MP3 I received for my birthday from some anonymous person last year, but every time I took it out when Yamase was around she would immediately blush happily and her face always seemed to tell me that I should enjoy anything that this device played. Regardless, as I put the small headphones in my ears I was in my own world of fantasy not wanting to be disturbed. I was so soundless, and no one would even know what I was doing -not like they would waste their time bothering to find out anyway.
It was the same thing everyday. I would start listening to music or whatnot in class during this time, and I would ask Kagari for the stuff that I needed later. Most of them were extremely simple, thus, it wasn't much of a problem or a burden for her.I suppose that was fortunate to a degree. Nevertheless, it was undoubtedly pointless seeing myself going through all these troubles or why I needed to be here if Iruka hated me -not to mention I hated him as well.
He strongly believed thatI had an attitude problem towards life but I seriously didn't give a shit. He had no power to start lecturing me, especially not when I maintained a decent average. I made a deal with him, I said that if I ever started failing he could have every right in the world to make me sit down with him one-on-one and discuss my stoic personality. Up to this date, he believed that this uniqueness of mine was the source of all my decision makings, therefore, I knew he tried to look for any possible way to fail me directly or indirectly. He tried a lotyet he never caught me. If there was anything for me to admire in that man, it would be his relentless persistence. Then again, were his attempts worth it just to have a talk with a 7 year old boy?
Innormal circumstances,some people would consider Iruka trying to love the children he taught. Certainly you have heard such comments from parents to parents saying how good this certain individual was at To me, however, he was acting like a retard.
If that was how he wanted me to respect him, he had light years to go before reaching that perfection he desires so much.
Afternoon came by quickly today for I had a new set of music to listen to. Luckily I saved them last night or I would've been dealing with another period of torment. Laughter was the best medicine, not boredom. As soon as Iruka dismissed the class, I was more than happy to leave this rotten hellhole of death. My face may have remained the same cold expression but my mind certainly proved otherwise. In fact, my head felt like erupting from mental exhaustion.
If I didn't have proper self-control, someone would be killed by now.
"Shani," called Asuran as he ran to catch up with me. "When are you going to get to work today?"
"I would be here around four," I replied checking my watch. "I wouldn't want to miss today's work."
"Great, dude, I'll see you soon. Mom wants me to get back early so she could fix me up a surprise. Cool with you, Shani?"
"Fine, it is fine." I simply said as he took off. He sure looked like he was in a hurry. Itseemed I had some spare time to prepare before I started my work. In the end, I decided to head home to take a short break, sincethere was nothing better to do. Some quiet meditations would ease my stress and rage that I still had towards the time being wasted in that academy. If that place weren't a place where I could receive the genin title, I would've never taken any classes there after the first day. Moreover, if arson wasn't considered illegal I was quite confident that the academy would've ceased to exist.
"Oni-chan!" shouted a female voice loudly. As I turned around not showing any interest, Kagari immediately took me into a tight hug. She nuzzled into my chest adorably wanting me to hug her back. I did what she requested me to do thus she moaned peacefully like she was going to sleep. I didn't understand why Kagari liked me so much, she always wanted to be with me wherever I went, "Going home yet?" she asked kindly. At the same time, she tiptoed to kiss my cheek.
Did she have to do it in public?
"Yeah," I said quietly in her ear, "But I will be going to train later on. Hey, you should find something to do when I am gone, okay?" Training would be a lie but no one in the family knew that I had a job with Asuran. I wanted to save up money for a very special reason and no one, not even Asuran, knew about. He only thought I wanted some spare money, andwhich I did. I had to admit, five hundred yen per hour was much more than a seven year old boy like me to have. In addition,I worked for about fifteen or more hours each week.
"Can I train with you, oni-chan?" she asked me, obviously shewanted to come along.
"I would be meditating," I reasoned while speaking nothing but trickery. "You know that I prefer to be alone."
"I won't bug you," Kagari replied hopefully, I could tell she really wanted me to take her. "I promise."
"Sorry, Kagari-chan, you should look for Kuroto or Yamase and spend time with them instead,"
"But I want to be with you," She really admired me for a reason that I didn't fully know. The constant hand holding and rubbing was clearly a sign that I couldn't ignore.
"Come on, Kagari-chan, I'll walk you home and fix you a snack or two. Then I really have to go."
"Am I a bother to you? I really promise that I won't bug you."
"I know you won't, but oni-chan really needs to spend time by himself to get stronger. The next time that I train and need help on, I will look for you first, okay?"
"Oni-chan, you have been doing things at night very often these days," she said. "Where have you been going?"
"I happen to like being alone and meditate," I lied and it was partially true, I was an introvert.
"I don't want to be alone," she stated hugging me tighter. "I get bored and lonely."
"I'm sure Yamase-chan would love to play with you when I am gone, then you won't be lonely."
"But I want oni-chan here, too… please stay with me."
"I am really busy today," I saidfirmly with a hint of empathy for my sister. I knew Kagari was mature enough to understand what I was trying to say but she was a little girl nonetheless, andof course there were traits within her that made her act that way. "Next time, okay, Kagari-chan?"
"Promise?"
"I promise." It was then when I saw Yamase walking shyly towards the Hyuga mansion after bidding a goodbye to Kuroto and Umi. It was very fortunate for me indeed. Yamase couldn't have shown up at a better time. "Hey, Yamase-chan," I called out, and my voice seemed to make her stiffen immediately. I had no intention whatsoever tomake her feel uncomfortable.She turned around with a thick blush knowing it was me that called her. She immediately played with her fingers as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Yes, Shani-chan?" asked the little Hyuga girl blushing badly with a smile. "Is something… wrong?"
"Can you do me a favour?" I said very softly. I didn't know why I talked like that all of a sudden. I was usually very stoic and dark, and I only spoke to Kagari and Asuran in my more humane voice. Maybe it was because Yamase was my cousin and I considered her like my close sister. Yeah, that must be it. "I'm sorry..."
"Anything, Shani-chan…"
"Could you keep Kagari-chan company until dinner this afternoon?"
"How come?" asked Yamase innocently with her smooth diction.
"I need to go out today… and Kagari just wants someone to be with her. If you are busy, I would understand, that will be okay too. You aren't obligated to do-"
"I'll do it!" she said in a loud voice cutting me off. She then flushed knowing that she projected her volume too much, I was surprised that she was able to make such an outburst, I never heard her so clamorous before. When I took a glimpse at my sister, who was still hugging me, she seemed shocked too. "I mean…" It was back to her stuttering again. "I am more than willing… to help you, Shani-chan…"
"I'm very sorry for troubling you, Yamase-chan," said I in a shamed tone. "I would return the favour some time. You can suggest anything... and I will do everything within my ability to grant your needs."
"You don't have too… it's really okay…" Even though I want you to give me something… I don't think that I can ask you…
"You're very sweet, Yamase-chan," I then leaned down a bit to kiss her cheek. Since she was my cousin, it wasn't such a big deal to me. However, the Hyuga girl blushed as if she had seen the heaven's light. I didn't know how it happened, her face seemed so content, relaxed, and talk about joyous! It was similar to that her longed prayers were answered and the grace was overwhelming. Yamase did what seemed natural for her at the moment, she fell forward and fainted. Releasing Kagari out of our embrace, I caught my timid relative before her face had a date with the solid ground. "Yamase, Yamase, you okay?" A smile was still crept on her cute visage but both Kagari and I knew she was unconscious.
"What just happened, Shani?" my sister questioned me without calling me oni-chan. Whenever that happened, I knew she was being quite serious.
"How would I know?" I retorted without turning around.
"I think she needs to rest…" said Kagari somewhat worried. "What should we do?"
"Let's take her home…" I suggested in a dreary voice, someone had to carry her and it would be me for obvious reasons. As Tsubasa would say, this was just troublesome, "I will call Uncle Neji when we get back, Kagari." Giving me a nod of agreement, the two of us went back to our home with Yamase now on my back.
This was certainly unexpected.
(At home, a little later)
Ona weekday afternoon both Kagari and I knew our parents would not be home yet. Father would be the only exception if he didn't have a mission, andwhich was very rare of course since he was a much respected ninja with a level even higher than jounin but not so Hokage. Mother was a high class shinobi who had potential to be a captain in a jounin squad. What made her exceptional was that she was also a skilled medic, therefore, a lot of shinobis valued her.
As I placed Yamase carefully on the living room couch, I quickly poured boiling water in the instant ramen that Kagari loved, and finally looked for the phone number that connected to the Hyuga mansion. After a minute of searching -luckily our entire family was organised- I dialled quickly hoping that someone would pick up. I was quite the impatient person when it came to a phone.
"Hello, Hyuga residence," said a young female voice from the other line.
"May I speak to the parents of Hyuga Yamase, please?" I asked in a less stoic tone.
"This is her mother speaking," she said. "May I know who is calling?" I was glad that Aunt Tenten had a day off today.
"Aunt Tenten, I'm so glad that it's you. It's me, Shani."
"Shani?" said my aunt with surprise. "My, I didn't even recognize that it was you. My, you are growing up so quickly, you are a big boy now to use the phone." I smiled at her kind words but this wasn't the time to be talking about me being a big boy, sinceYamase was still unconscious for goodness sakes. "But Shani, why did you need to look for me? Did something happen to Yamase?"
"Yeah, actually… something did…" I spoke with guilt very evidently.
"What happened then?" asked Aunt Tenten in a very concerned voice now.
There was no point to be reluctant. "She fainted…"
"How did that happen, Shani?" she questioned me, but I noticed that she wasn't angry with me luckily.
"I thanked her for willing to help me accompany Kagari while I train this afternoon," I justified hoping that it was good enough. "So I kissed her on the cheek and she somehow fainted…"
"Is that all?" she urged on but to me, she seemed to be giggling. Concern was definitely not there anymore.I wondered what happened to make auntie want to laugh.
"That was all."
"Don't worry about it, Shani," she said with reassurance. "Yamase would be fine, I am sure she will wake up in no time. Just don't blame yourself, okay?"
"Are you sure though, Aunt Tenten?"
"I am positive. Yamase is just a little shy, you know that. Maybe you just shocked her a bit too much."
"Maybe…" I replied with doubt. ButI chose to trust my knowledgeable aunt's judgment in the end. "I just won't kiss her as a token of appreciation anymore then…"
"Don't do that, Shani," she told me with a smile that I didn't see. "I am sure Yamase really likes your kisses. She's just too timid and shy to tell you that." Yamase liked my kisses? I wonder what she meant by that. "Just don't blame yourself for this, it will be fine."
"If you say so…"
"You coming to her birthday party next week, Shani?" she asked me sweetly like an adult would. "You do know Yamase really wants you to go."She was speaking the obvious. Therewas no way that my littlecousin wouldn't invite me over for this when she always wantedKagari and I to visit her more often."Did you receive her invitation letter yet?"
"Actually no, I haven't."
"She spent so much time last night trying to make yours the prettiest of all so you would think that her birthday party would be as colourful and beautiful as the card said it would be. She didn't sleep until she thought it was perfect."
"Did she?" I asked clearly surprised and touched in a way. "She shouldn't have, Aunt Tenten."
"I know, but she insisted."
"Why though?" I clearly didn't understand why Yamase would go through all that trouble for me.Even ifI was very sharp in life like my father was I just couldn't grasp the big picture. From behind the phone, Aunt Tenten giggled in a manner that I never heard before. It sounded like as if she found this situation very amusing as where I was the person that caused all this entertainment to start. I was disgusted at myself for being such a clueless fool.
"I'm sure that you would understand as you get a little older, Shani."aunt Tenten told me like she knew mythoughts.Her words almost convinced me that she was a psychic. But when I thought about it calmly, I was sure it was due to my aunt's personal experiences in life that caused her to assume things so accurately. "Anyway, tell Yamase that she should get back home before 7:30 tonight. I don't want her to stay too long, okay?"
"Fine..." My voice was depleted with humanness.
"I'll talk to you some other time, Shani. It was good to hear your voice."
"Likewise, Aunt Tenten,"
"Goodbye." With that, my aunt hung up, thus, ending the conversation. As I placed the receiver down, I turned around to see Kagari already at the table chewing on her precious ramen. She gave me a warm smile wanting me to eat with her. I gently shook my head in refusal and told my baby sister about the instructions our aunt told us through the phone with as least words as possible. Kagari promptly nodded and conveniently it was about time for me to leave the house.
Of course, being Kagari, she gave me a big kiss on the lips without any shame.
Hopefully Yamase would get up soon, I thought. As I checked on her one last time before I left, a smile continued to be on her small face. I wondered what Yamase was dreaming about, the faint blush she carried so suited her and it radiated any cuteness that she held, which was a lot. I silently thanked her for the invitation she wanted to give me, although I haven't seen it yet, I was certain that it would be very pretty. Giving her a kiss on the forehead, I then exited the house to get to Asuran's place.
(Time passed)
I really thought my walk to Asuran's place would be easy today, but things certainly proved otherwise when I found Umi cornered by a several older kids. They were around three years older than her but they were intimidating people for their size totaled the poor girl. I knew they were picking on her, and it was no surprise that Umi was very frightened. When was curling up into a ball while shaking and trembling a sign of safety? If I knew Umi, I knew she was extremely fragile when it came to intimidation.
I didn't understand why my mind grew angry, but it just irritated me to no end how low some people's morals were. How low could they sink? As I approached them, while Umi slapped their hand away to avoid from touching her, she saw me in the corner of her eye. A sense of happiness came upon her face as she ran towards me -thinking that I was her lifesaver. I was oneto a certain extent but I wouldn't allow my pride to feel that way. Besides, I never liked playing the hero although it must be done.She hugged me immediately in tears, andI pitied her to have faced such bullies.
No doubt those three people came forward with both an unsatisfied and cocky face.
"Who do we have here?" asked one of the bullies. He was clearly the leader in my eyes.
"Another little punk for us to play with…" I narrowed my eyes to give off an annoyed glare, with only one eye revealed to the light. They recoiled a little, which was a wise thing to do but even wiser if they chose to back off now.However -being idiots- theydecided to stick by until they got what they wanted. Seeing those dark grins on their faces, Umi quickly went behind me timidly with fear. The poor Uchiha girl held onto my jacket as if her life depended on it, and I wasn't someone who wouldn't provide her with the comfort.
"What do you want with her?" I questioned with an incredible coldness.
"Nothing much," answered the last person who didn't speak to me until now.
"It's none of your business, kid," stated the leader wanting to shove me aside to access to Umi but I wouldn't allow it. I played safe at first by grabbing his wrist before shoving him back. That alone infuriated them to a degree that was beyond my first expectations."A tough guy, huh?"
"Leave her alone," I ordered with dead seriousness in my voice. "She didn't do anything to you."
"You better leave now or we will hurt you, little boy." The other two then took out a kunai from their weapon holsters, I could tell they must've been academy students at a higher level, sincewe didn't receive such weapons yet other than during training. What a bunch of abusers; they were misusing a weapon when it was only meant to be use when needed. I couldn't abandon Umi at a time like this, she was my good friend and these fateless cowards (which was something that my father frequently used on a lot of people living in this town) deserved some discipline -and possibly the gift of meeting death.
"You think you can hurt me?" I questioned them bitterly and darkly with a dangerous glint in my lavender eye. "Amuse me, idiots." It was then when I held my scythe ready to engage in combat, these three fools fascinated me to the top of my bent. "Umi… stay close to me, okay?" She only nodded in my back half affectionately and warmly. I couldn't blame her though despite I was not someone who could stand such emotions.
"Attack him!" shouted the commander of the three as they took on charge with their kunais ready to stab me. Giving off a snicker, I pulled my scythe back and performed a heavy horizontal slash. All three of them winced knowing that I did something but clearly didn't realize what I precisely did. When they opened their eyes, the kunais they held were cut apart cleanly making it completely useless as of result.
"Wow…" I heard Umi say in admiration. I grinned knowing that those three people were incredibly ticked. Why wouldn't they, a seven year old was showing more potential than them. Like I said, these three amuse me to the top of my bent.
"Jerk!" screamed the second boy as he ran to me wanting to pound me. Snickering at the clumsiness his running was, my left hand easily turned into a fist and he ran right into it. A dry cough escaped that fool's mouth before curling into a ball in pain, oh, what joy. It wasn't long before the other two angrily took a sprint attempting to hit me. I could've cared less but I knew Umi was behind me, I didn't have a choice but to react. Generating the blade of my scythe with fluorescent green chakra, I immediately dashed right at them with a deadly glide. As they both halted seeing my movement, this was a perfect opportunity for me to strike.
Leveling my weapon above my head with chakra that can cause pain but not kill them, I had no intention to kill them since Umi was around. If it was any other scenario with me alone, these three would not see daylights again. I soon forcefully slashed the third boy in the left shoulder and downward making him cry with much agony, which was similar to music in my dark mind. He somehow was able to react after my attack, which surprised me slightly but I had to give him credit for persistence, the bully childishly attempted to kick my shins. Persistant idiot was a good definition for this boy, I quickly blocked it with my bladed part of my scythe, which caused him to gasp and recoil for my agility outmatched his. I had enough of this. Using upward force, I heavily gave an upward diagonal slash at his chest.
If I did not generate chakra into the scythe, I would've easily sliced him in half.
As soon as he fell to the floor, I turned my head towards the last one standing giving a dark stare with my right eye before I charged at him with my weapon preparing to pursuit. He was scared that I dealt with his friends as if they were nothing, I sensed the fear he had, my eyes never deceived me. Giving out a creepy yet silent battle cry, I raised my weapon andswung it strongly at his left arm, and made a vicious swipe thus sending him crashing to a wall on his back. Snickering darkly, I stretched out my left arm with chakra ready to unleash on them, although I didn't want to hurt them any further, my mind continued to tempt me. As the other two tried to help their leader back on his feet, an unknown urge trifled with me, it wanted me to fire, I wanted to see blood, and these three were just too perfect.
Without knowing, my eyes began to engage the Byakugan, I had them locked in target.
"Shani-kun," called a voice suddenly disrupting my thoughts. Once I remembered Umi was behind me still, I quickly deactivated my eyes and turned to face her slightly. My right eye still eyed the three fools, who hustled towards the opposite direction with muchfright evident on their faces.When I finally knew that they were gone, I turned to see a blushing Umi with her hands behind her back as if she was very grateful. I simply smiled at her and stopped the chakra from gathering to my weapon, andI was pretty sure that her shade of redthickened as well.
"You okay, Umi?" I asked in a calm and yet emotionless voice.
"I'm okay…" said the Uchiha girl to me in a very sweet tone, pleasant even. "I'm okay now because you saved me…"
"I just couldn't let those guys bully you,"
"Thank you," she said as she hugged me like how Kagari would. However, somehow it felt really different, I never experienced such sensation when Father or Mother hugged me. In addition, my cheeks burned when I felt Umi's lips kissed my cheek. Why was I blushing? Me, Uzumaki Shani never blushed like that before… aside from when Kagari would innocently embrace me in public -or even plant kisses without any shame. "Thank you for saving me, Shani-kun," she continued to purr relaxingly with relief while wanting me to hold her back.
"It was nothing," I said trying not to stutter on my words. We soon pulled away but a shade of pink still remained, I wondered why she would be blushing this much? Being a seven year old boy, I just didn't understand. I wanted to know more.
"You were so cool, Shani-kun…"
"No… it was nothing…" I brushed it off politely. She giggled at my humbleness.
"Where are you going now, Shani-kun?" she asked me kindly.
"I'm going to train," I replied turning around for I was nearly late for work. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay, Umi?"
"Can I come with you, Shani-kun? I need to get stronger too…"
"Some other time, I am really busy today."
"Do you have to go?" she questioned with her puppy eyes.
"Yeah," I said as I gave her a poke on the forehead, which was something I frequently did. She flushed and giggled every time I did that, it made me smile a notch. "I'm sorry…" I stated when I saw her smile into a disappointing frown. I knew she wanted to stay by me.
"It's okay…" At that moment, her face changed drastically into an understanding one. "If you're really busy, I won't bother you then. I will see you tomorrow, Shani-kun!"
"Yeah," I replied quietly as I watched her retreating form.
"Thank you for saving me again!" I grinned slightly when I waved back, I remained until my eye could no longer see her. At that point, I headed to the designated place that awaited me, Ichikaru Ramen. I just hope that I wasn't too late, punctuality was something Father told me to maintain for one of his old senseis was never on time. I forgot his name though. Then again, I heard from Mother that he was a very skilled pervert. Why would anyone want to be known as someone such as that? It confused me to no end undoubtedly.
Speaking of perverts, I truly wished that my future sensei was not someone in that category. Father told me not too long ago that his mind struggled a lot to maintain clean when he had two sick role models to follow. Mother said that influence was a powerful tool for I could spread it or be affected by it. That was why she told me to make the correct friends, which I acted upon well for Asuran was my best friend without regrets.
Sometimes I wondered how my mom loved my dad, yet when I ask them, they would tell me (or to the least Mother) that I would know when I got a bit older. Anyhow, I had a general idea for I do notice how loving Mother was to the entire family while Father rarely expressed his care directly. Despite that, I knew he loved us more than anything this world could offer, I was the son of the woman he loved deeply and Kagari was his daughter. Father's dark attributes certainly rubbed off on me well, I was following in his footsteps perfectly… while Kagari had features of Aunt Sakura, Auntie Rin and Mother. She was a cheerful spirit with harmonious desires and one with pure gentle wisdom.
(After work that late evening around 8:30PM)
Work today was smooth, as I would say, for everything seemed to work out perfectly. Customers were satisfied with the meals they had; no big messes were made; I got my extra one hundred yen raise; and it was my payday. Asuran and I got along just fine and I was very certain that our friendship bond grew stronger.
Today was quite the day.
Remembering that Yamase had a party that she wanted Kagari and I to go, it only made me want to buy her a gift. It wasn't like we ever went empty handed but it was my parents who were always the ones that brought her the gift. Of course, my mother would tell Uncle Neji and Aunt Tenten that the present was from the whole family but the adults obviously knew better. The same went for Yamase's parents, but Uncle Neji didn't do it as skillful as Aunt Tenten. Less subtle, and kind of suspiciious. This year, it would be different since I wanted to give Yamase something special for being a good, loving cousin. Also, I wanted to be my own little secret.
Imade up my mindthat I would start searching for it tomorrow. Hopefully, Mother and Father would not find my actions too weird.
I gave a small yawn as I unlocked the front door to enter. I was quite tired for a good cause. Once I raised my head to see who was within my sight range, I found Father reading again but I knew some ofhis attention towards the book was lost when he sensed me entering. When I closed the door and locking it, Father completely lowered thereading materialand told me to come over.
Was I scared to confront him? Not really, Father rarely scolded me for I infrequently did things beyond my reach, I was obedient and in addition, my parents were very reasonable people.
"Shani," called Father as he waved me to sit on his lap or something in similarity. Of course, I refused such treatment and decided to stand a foot away from him and listened attentively. "Can you do me a big favour?"
"You want me to be the guinea pig to try out kaa-san's food?" I asked, narrowing my eye. Father chuckled hearing my response and ruffled my hair a little.
"Not that." he toldme with a considerate tone. Then his blue eyes opened up a little more, as if he caught some sort of hidden message within my short answer."Hey, you don't like mom's food?"
"I was kidding, otousan," I replied giving a grin but not a very content one. Father was indeed sharp.
"I know you were."
"So, what do you need me to help you with?" I almost sounded like I was complaining.
"Can you go and take a look at your sister?" I only blinked a several times insignificantly while hearing it. I didn't know why Kagari would be doing.
"Is something wrong?"
"She wants someone to play with, Shani," explained my silver haired father. "You mom tried to cheer her up, and it did for a while, but Kagari said it isn't the same without you."
"So I see…" I was a person with a few words. Meanwhile, I strongly thought that my sister loved me thoroughly.
"You hungry, Shani? It is quite late."
"It's fine. I would rather see what's bothering her. Food can wait." Father smiled at my answer, and the maturity that I put in. I always knew my Father was very proud of me in every possible way in no matter what I did in life. Not only was I the older one in the family, I was a good role model for Kagari and both Mother and Father had much faith in me. I was not a disappointment and I earned my freedom. This new freedom soon gained me financial stability as of result (Not that they knew I had my own source of income).
I had to admit my life was heading in the correct direction -unless some drastic shit erupted.
Despite my stability or correct decision making, I sensed that Mother was the only one most worried about me for she would often see if I was okay and other things related to that. To me, she was just being a caring mom, but Father told her to trust me a bit more. Nowadays, she was better but I was only seven, andI had to expect them to give me only such a level of independence whether it was great or little. I had to respect their choice unless it was unreasonable.
"I'll get going, okay?" Not even bothering to hear a reply for I knew my dad nodded, I headed straight to Kagari's room.
Before I made it there my Mother walked past me, and she gave me a sweet kiss and a hug before walking to my father with a cup of tea. The pleasant aura she held made me smile a bit. However, there was a smile on her face that she carried -whichpuzzled me for a second.
If itliterally made me stop to think about it, then it must've really caught my attention.
She never showed me before other than my father. In my opinion, I think it was kind of a seductive smile. As she approached my father with it, and gave him kisses on the cheek and ear, it made me somewhat curious. Soon enough, Father would give her his own charming smile, and in no time the two of them would head down to the spacious basement we had, andwhere their bedroom was. We only had two floors, the basement and the main floor as where Kagari's room, my room and the spare room were located in this building.
I was young but I wasn't ignorant, I knew what they were doing. What would a husband and wife do alone without their kids knowing? Make love of course. I didn't mind for a second for it was their way of showing love for another in the greatest length possible. How did I have knowledge on this? Simple, I read a lot of books that Father owned, especially the Life and Death Paradise volumes that he treasured. Noticing that I would rather not absorb into any more detail in the pleasures of lovemaking, I headed to my sister's room.
"Who is it?" Kagari's voice came from behind the door as I knocked.
"It's me," I declared in my usual apathetic voice. Knowing it was me, I heard her wailed delightedly -or possibly even give a jump of joy-before telling me to come in. Shrugging a bit, I turned the doorknob and entered her bright room where asmine was nearly the exact opposite with dim radiance. The brightest light I had in my room was the desk light and I found it a little too much for my taste. "Hey, Kagari…"
"Oni-chan!" she exclaimed as she tackled mebefore I ended up on the floor with her on top of me. "You're back, you're back!" She then gave me a kiss and embraced me warmly. Actually, I lied. Rather, she was all over me and kissing me everywhere. "Did you train hard today, oni-chan? You seem tired."
"I am… a little…" I said coughing since my body hadn't recovered from the sudden impact. More importantly, my head was twirling in a dragon's rage of affection, in which was too difficult for me to handle. "Don't need to worry about me, Kagari-chan,"
"You smell like ramen," she said, giving an adorable giggle. "Why do you smell like that?"
"I had ramen for dinner…"
"Why do you have almost all the different kinds?" How could she identify them, how was she that skilled? The real question was, when did she get that talented in identifying ramen? To me, it was kind of a waste.
"Because the restaurant served all kinds of ramen,"
"But it's too strong though," she continued with sharp analysis. I wanted to flinch at that instant."As a customer to have such a thick sense of odour on you is unnatural, you know."
"I should go change, shouldn'tI?" I offered her that option, and I was quite eager to get up as well.
"No, you don't have to. Just because you smell like ramen doesn't mean that you don't smell good. I love ramen." My baby sister then nuzzled her face into my chest trying to absorb all of it. Even for someone who experienced her touches, hugs, kisses or whatnot, this seemed a little unusual. I knew Kagari was keen, but not this good. "Why is the scent so strong though? Tell me."
"You know Asuran works there," I said obviously half lying. "He invited me to enter the kitchen and had a good chat during dinner." I saw a blush crept on her face as I mentioned his name but I decided to keep silent.
"Asuran…" I heard her mumble dreamily.
"Hey, you can go down there sometimes too since you like ramen so much," I said with her still on top of me and my back in contact with the carpet. "I am sure Asuran wouldn't mind." I wanted to laugh when I saw her tint of pink turned deeper, but I didn't want my sister to think that I was teasing her. I knew that she liked him a lot, for what reason… I didn't know but I was certain that she didn't like him for looks since I knew Kagari was never a superficial girl. I really questioned if Asuran knew that… maybe he just didn't get it yet.
"I don't think I should be a bother…" she said timidly.
"Asuran would like to see people his age there," I commented. "He does get bored once in a while. Come on, you can help cheer him up sometimes. Perhaps you can even learn how to cook ramen."
"You can go there for me…" A hue of fuchsia appeared again and she looked away with a timid smile. I couldn't deny that my baby sister just looked so adorable, not that I would admit it out loud though.
"What's the use of me learning how to make ramen for you?"
"Oni-chan?" she changed the subject without me knowing.
"Yes?"
"I missed you."
"I was only gone for a several hours," I said.
"But few hours is a few hours that Kagari can't be with you," she commented in third person, I tried hard not to react at her innocence. "I was bored."
"What about Yamase-chan?" Wasn't she with you?"
"She was here but she left later on… I was really bored when it was only me with kaa-chan and otousan."
"Did Yamase-chan leave you anything?" I asked knowing that she had an invitation card for me. Hearing my question, my sister promptly got off my chest and took two cards that was on her desk and returned with them. She handed the one that had my name on it, which was very well drawn, and I opened to see if what Aunt Tenten said was true earlier. As I read it, I was stunned at the amount of work that was put into it, I felt guilty that she actually did this for me. Amazing, that was the only word that I could use to describe it. Natural talents in art were obviously presented in this card alone, it was too good for me to accept and it was only an invitation card.
The words on it were simple: To Shani-chan, please come to my birthday party, I would like to see you there. Hope you have fun…
Although she didn't put an exclamation mark on the last sentence, somehow I pictured her blushing while she made it. I didn't know why I had that thought in my mind, I easily smiled with gratefulness that Yamase did this with such passion, she was such a kind cousin to me.
"Oni-chan…" Kagari moaned pleasantly as she attached herself to me again.
"What is it?" I asked her gently holding her with care that I showed no one else at this point.
"Can you read me a story? I like stories." It was then my lips formed the usual smirk.
"I know a lot of stories," I said with more energy since I recalled many children book titles that should never be published. "I know 'Karin has been so bad that her mom stopped loving her', 'Dad's new wife Robert', 'Mr. Anbu eats his Service Katana', 'Why can't Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Circuit be Friends?', 'Fun Four Letter Words to Know and Share', 'Kids guide to Hitchhiking', 'Playground Supremacy: Respect through Fear', which one do you want to hear?" It was then when I noticed Kagari was sniffing with teary eyes, she didn't seem to like them.
"Not funny, oni-chan…" she said giving a small snivel.
"Sorry, Kagari-chan," I said chuckling quietly while holding her closer. "I was just teasing you."
"I don't want to listen to stories anymore… can we play?" I soon gave a nod and she happily jumped off me with her previous sadness forgotten.
After playing with Kagari for half an hour to an hour, I went back to my room and finally turned on the room lights to search for a small box that I kept my own special belongings. I wouldn't throw away such a well thought out card since she did spend a lot of time on it after all. Furthermore, I was not someone to discard such a fact.
Putting the blue box and dimming the lights back to the normal radiance, I picked up the clothes I needed and headed for the washroom to take a bath. Sometimes, I envied Kagari for having her own bathroom that connected to her room while I, on the other hand, did not. However, that was a silly reason to be envious of my sibling. After I took the shower, I would decide to do some meditation or whatnot before I relax myself enough to go to bed, this became a routine for me. The only thing I prayed for was hoping tomorrow would be more meaningful, there was just so much for a boy at the age of seven to learn.
Smirking my usual dark smirk while I was on the couch later, I put the small headphones into my ears, and the music began to infiltrate my mind. Who knew how long my mind roamed in the vast emptiness of my own subconscious, the next moment that I returned to reality it was already two hours later. With an empty and possibly even lifeless stare, I walked back drearily into my room not wanting to make a sound to disturb the others. As I slipped into the covers, my eye unceasingly watched the darkness that surrounded this room. Somehow, it just fascinated me.
Not knowing when my eyes fully closed, I was already deep asleep…
AN: So, how do you guys like the first chapter of this? Like it, not like it? Nonetheless, please give me feedback for I really need your opinions to continue this knowing the Second Volume isn't done and this part could change at any time. I hope you all liked Shani and Kagari, along with Yamase and Asuran, they will most likely be the main characters of the story. Naruto, Hinata, and the rest of the gang will serve their importance later on but the main characters need to be more known before I continue. Hopefully I didn't mess up on the OCs that I made, if you are still awake at this point, I thank you. If you don't understand the story, please feel free to read the other 2 fictions that I wrote before this to achieve a better understanding and realization. Did I make Shani really mature for a seven year old? He isn't really much of a human, so I think that should be the exception. You can guess who his demon is too!
This time I around, I would strongly ask for a review for I really want your suggestions, this third part will survive or go through changes based on your opinions! I am sure that the pairing would come out sooner or later and if you think everything is always fine and all, have more faith in me and expect something big to happen. Very drastic indeed… This last part will be also long, like my other creations, so don't expect it to be short. Read and Review, thank you so much!
Once again, I will tell you about the relations of the OCs.
Shani and Kagari are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata's children.
Yamase is Hyuga Neji and Tenten's daughter.
Kuroto and Umi are Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura's children.
Asuran is Uchiha Itachi and Ayane's son.
Tsubasa is Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino's daughter.
Hikaru, who didn't show up yet, is Kamishiro Rin and Gaara's son. Does anyone know Gaara's last name?