Twilight River

Chapter 3

A Summer to Remember

It was a really hot day the day I met Uchiha Itachi for the first time. It was the middle of summer and Shisui-senpai had taken pity on me for training and, while he wanted to do speed training, had mostly made me swim in the river for awhile before joining me most days. Summers in Konoha could be really hot sometimes despite how temperate the climate was supposed to be. This particular day I found myself waiting for Shisui-senpai. It was odd he was late, as he was never late, but sometimes shit happens.

I was laying in the shade listening to the river when Shisui-senpai appeared beside me quietly and plopped a large watermelon right onto my stomach. I inhaled at the sudden unexpected weight and sputtered for a moment.

"Ah, that's a funny look for you, Miyako-chan!" Shisui-senpai laughed, wiping his forehead with his arm.

I rolled the watermelon off me, "Why did you bring a watermelon?"

"To introduce you to my kind-of cousin and best friend, Itachi!" Shisui-senpai announced, stepping to the side to reveal a very unamused boy. Uchiha Itachi, despite being taller than me, wasn't very intimidating. He had round eyes and fluffy cheeks still and a small ponytail about the same length as the one I was attempting to grow.

I bowed my head before I could think about what his future held, "Nice to meet you, Itachi-san. My name is Uzumaki Miyako. Please take care of me."

Itachi-san extended the same sentiments before Shisui-senpai pat the watermelon gleefully, "We're going to play suikawari so that you two can be friends!"

"Shisui, what have I told you about trying to make friends for me?" Itachi-san demurred passively. Shisui-senpai grinned despite the reprimand.

He put an arm on my shoulders and pulled me close, "But Miyako-chan is my friend too!"

I was a bit shocked at the verbal confirmation that Shisui-senpai and I were now friends so I just stayed quiet. Although I was sure I looked quite pleased at that very moment.

Shisui-senpai retracted his arm and I felt a bit sweatier than before. Fanning myself I watched Shisui-senpai produce a bokken, tarp, and blindfold from a simple storage seal. I knelt down to observe the seal, since I had been reading up on basic fuinjutsu, but Shisui-senpai swatted at me.

"Today is a day for fun, Miyako-chan!" he informed me gleefully. Then I was blind folded and stood up. Shisui-senpai handed me the bokken and I was suddenly spun several times. I felt a bit wobbly when I stopped spinning and I took a careful step forward.

Shisui-senpai, from what sounded like above me, announced, "You're the only one swinging since Itachi and I could find the watermelon easily."

"Joy." I droned as Itachi-san told me, very quietly, to walk forwards.

As Itachi-san and Shisui-senpai led me on a wild goose chase I wondered if they had even put the watermelon down yet or if Itachi-san was stalling while Shisui-senpai set up. Eventually though they started to get serious in their efforts to steer me towards the watermelon. It took probably ten full minutes before Itachi-san told me to swing. I lifted the bokken high over my head and brought it down as hard as I could. I felt watermelon guts splash across my uncovered face and seconds after, someone untied my blindfold.

I looked down at my victim. I pulverized the watermelon into a few chunks but Shisui-senpai and Itachi-san didn't seem to mind. We all sat down around the tarp and began to grab handfuls of fruit. As we ate with round cheeks, our mouths full of watermelon, I watched Shisui-senpai and Itachi-san. Itachi-san didn't look at all like he would in a few years. He was small and while rather quiet and straight faced, very polite and cordial. Shisui-senpai was a mature kid, acting silly but having a naturally humble nature that made you forget he could probably kill you with ease.

When our bellies were full of watermelon we all watched the clouds pass from our backs. It was a hot day but the watermelon had been surprisingly refreshing and made me forget the summer day's heat. Eventually though we were hot again and Shisui-senpai suddenly announced, "Last one in the river has to clean up!"

By the time I realized what he said he was already halfway there with his shirt flying through the air behind him and Itachi-san was close behind. I yelped and ran after them, intending to dive right in without doing anything about my clothes. Itachi-san had to stop to take off his nicer clothing and while he was distracted I threw myself right into the river. I hit with a belly flop that Shisui-senpai laughed at and I was pulled under.

I emerged a few moments later after the initial stun from my flop wore off, laughing and having fun. I stayed near the shore for the most part. It took a lot of coaxing from Shisui-senpai to get me much further than my waist usually because I was slightly scared of swimming. But I was having a ton of fun just splashing at Shisui-senpai and Itachi-san. It ended up being Itachi-san who had to clean up since I followed Shisui-senpai into the river.

As we walked home that day, me a little waterlogged, Shisui-senpai announced, "Itachi's going to be joining us to help you with your taijutsu!"

I almost tripped, "Really?"

I gave Itachi-san a nervous look but he gave me a very small smile in response, "Shisui asked me to help. I wasn't aware we were not training today."

Shisui-senpai threw his arms around Itachi-san and I. He walked between us and it was a bit awkward because of how much smaller I was than both the boys. A few people stared as we walked past but it wasn't anything that made me feel very self-conscious. When we reached the orphanage Shisui-senpai stopped hanging off Itachi-san and I. I walked up the steps and waved when I opened the door.

After I closed it I kicked off my shoes in the genkan and pushed them into my cubby with my toes. I was still a little damp so I went towards the showers to clean off but Kotoko-san stepped into my path.

She looked down at me, "Where have you been?"

I blinked, "Out?" Kotoko-san never cared enough to ask me where I was.

"Today was a visitors day. I had several prospective parents looking for a young academy student and you weren't here!" she hissed.

I shrugged, "Not like they ever pick me anyway."

Kotoko-san smacked the top of my head, "Not with an attitude like that! And why are you wet? You smell!"

She rubbed her hand on her yukata and shoved me towards the shower room, ordering me to get cleaned up before I made the room smell. I stuck my tongue out at her back and I showered until I used all the warm water. Take that, hag!

.

My first day of taijutsu with Itachi-san was actually very informative. Shisui-senpai explained he chose Itachi-san because he was closer to my size and would be able to give me helpful advice based on that. Well, that was the smart reason. The other reason was he wanted to hang out with both of us at the same time.

Itachi-san was quick, as expected. He didn't hit me hard but definitely let me know when I made a mistake. He was meticulous in making sure my academy katas were perfect and that I had the basics down. For example, he saw that I was lazily not rechambering my leg from kicks once and made me do a drill where I had to kick his chest and not let him catch said kick. That day resulted in very sore legs.

And of course, Shisui-senpai always wanted us to do some fun things when training was over. Swimming in the river was fun but sometimes he decided we should go walk around the village, sometimes we got dango, and sometimes we hassled the genin.

Then came the fateful day Kotoko-san took a rather nasty fall and busted her hip. She blamed me because I was at the orphanage at the time reading at the dining room table. She had some of the older orphans help her to the hospital where they decided she just needed to take it easy for a month. That meant Kotoko-san was rather nasty the rest of the summer, hitting me with her new cane and throwing things at me.

One day, she forbade me from going out to meet with Shisui-senpai and Itachi-san.

"Why?" I demanded, my hands on my hips as I stood in front of her. She was settled in a comfortable cushioned chair that made her closer to my height and easier for me to argue.

Kotoko-san huffed, "Because I said so. Go wash the floors!"

Bristling, I washed them all right. I washed them with soap and I gave them a new coat of sealant. The problem with that was me, being a silly child, somehow accidentally used something very slippery. Kotoko-san, with her fragile hip, was effectively unable to walk through the halls without slipping. She gave me lashes across the back with her cane for it but it was worth it. She wasn't actually allowed to beat us so nothing she did was especially painful anymore.

Ryu gave me a nasty look when he almost slipped and fell, "Look what you did, Mibaka!"

I stuck my tongue out at him and went back to my room without slipping and falling.

The day after I apologized to Itachi-san and Shisui-senpai for missing training. Kotoko-san didn't try keeping me in the orphanage again after I made it nearly impossible to walk casually for a week. I was pretty spiteful, it turns out.

.

The academy started up sooner than I'd have liked after all the fun I had over the summer break with Itachi-san and Shisui-senpai. However, something seemed to have been stirred up because everyone was agitated in class. I got my first piece of gum stuck in my hair and that was unpleasant to get out. A few kids cornered me and actually gave me a good beating although I gave two of them black eyes in retaliation during the event. Tacks were put down on chairs and supplies went missing. Someone poured something in the bag I carried my school books in. I suspected Ryu was getting revenge from the floor incident.

I found out what it was one day during lunch one rainy day. A girl slammed her hands down on my desk and tossed my lunch to the floor, hissing, "You think you're so smart, don't you Mibaka!"

"And what's your problem?" I asked, exasperated. I didn't even know who this girl was. In fact, she wasn't even in our class!

"Mio-chan saw you with Itachi-sama over the break!" she announced, loudly. Every girl in the room turned to us with laser focus and I instantly realized it was girls setting traps and putting things in my hair, not boys. Boys liked to trip, to fight, to yell. Girls liked to be sneaky.

I stood up so that I was nose to nose with her, "So?"

"You stay away from him, Mibaka!"

I growled, "Or else what?"

"Or else we'll get you!" another girl cried.

And another added, "He's not yours!"

"If Itachi-san wants to interact with me," I told them, "Then that's his choice."

"Fine, then we'll make you pay." the girl in front of me said, turning tail and stomping away. The rest of the girls, though glaring daggers at me, turned back to their friends. Ryu looked horribly amused from his corner of the room.

And that day ended up sucking. I was able to notice tacks on my chairs and if I carried my things with me everywhere then no one could do anything. The problem came in that not even I could hyper focus on my studies when the kid next to me would try to draw across the library book I was trying to read and various paper creations would hit me. Goro-sensei pretended this wasn't happening as the academy's stance on things like this was that if you couldn't handle it yourself, how would you handle enemies trying to kill you in the future?

After class that day I went a different route to the usual training grounds where Itachi-san and Shisui-senpai were already waiting. It was still pretty hot out despite fall being a few weeks away and they were still wearing their summer clothes. Shisui-senpai greeted me cheerfully, "You're late today, Miyako-chan!"

"Mm, sorry. I had to stay for a few minutes after class." I informed them. I dropped my bag by the tree and Itachi-san observed me.

"There is gum in your hair, Miyako-san."

I blinked and felt around. It was really mushed in there and I hadn't felt it since it was by my hair tie.

Shisui-senpai made a scandalized noise and started to pick at my hair to see what had happened. I stood still as he tried to pick it out but he quickly learned that wasn't happening.

"Who did this to you, Miyako-chan?" demanded Shisui-senpai as he pulled out my hair tie and pushed away the sections of hair not stuck in the gum, "I'll go shove gum in their hair!"

As Shisui tried to put the sides of my hair into a knot on the top of my head I shrugged, "The girls in my class have decided it's their turn to bother me."

"Bother you? This is more than bothering!" Shisui-senpai cried. He looked at the fading bruises on my arms and made a frustrated groan. He turned around and looked at Itachi-san, "Itachi we need to do something!"

"Why have the girls suddenly started to bother you?" Itachi-san inquired passively.

I scowled, "They seem to think I'm hogging you, actually."

Itachi-san blinked and he didn't seem like he knew what to say. Shisui-senpai groaned again, "Your fan girls are a real hassle sometimes. Now they're after poor little Miyako-chan!"

"It's not Itachi-san's fault. I'm just a bit..." I hesitated and dropped my scowl, not wanting to tell Shisui-senpai and Itachi-san that I was upset that I would have to cut my hair to avoid the gum problem. I wanted to grow my hair out to be long and pretty but I wasn't sure if I would be able to get this gum out without cutting. I managed to last time but it felt like it was really in there today.

Shisui-senpai hugged my head when he finally managed to tie the knot with my good hair, "We need to stop them so Miyako-chan can grow out her hair!"

I looked at him, a bit shocked, and he winked at me. Shisui-senpai was more perceptive than I thought sometimes.

Itachi-san hummed, "I'll go home and ask mother if she knows how to get gum out of long hair."

"Sounds like a good idea." Shisui-senpai agreed, "And I have a perfect idea on what next to introduce to your training."

I tilted my head and after Itachi-san was gone, Shisui-senpai grinned, "Self-awareness!"

"Okay, so, are you talking about how sometimes you can feel someone looking at you? Something like that?" I questioned.

Shisui-senpai sat down and gestured for me to as well. He put his hands on his knees and began his lecture, "Usually you learn this skill over time but we're going to focus it. Basically, we're working on how you can sense someone targeting you. There are several key concepts for this and it includes being able to sense intent, being able to feel the motions in the space around you, and being able to sense chakra. Those are the three I'm going to work with you on, anyway. Some people are naturally good at this from just having a sixth sense for it and really, you have it as a sixth sense by the time you're a jonin."

"So you have this 'sixth sense' Shisui-senpai?" I asked, trying my hardest not to sound like I was making fun of him. I didn't want to sound like I didn't believe him but, I want to know more.

With a grin, Shisui-senpai nodded, "Jonin are strong and hard to kill for several reasons. One of them is they can read opponents and know where they're going to strike. However even engaging a jonin is tough because they likely already knew their attacker was there. If I was blindfolded and you threw kunai at me I would be able to dodge them because I could hear you throw them, hear them moving, if you use chakra to help yourself aim I could sense that, and I could probably feel your intent to hit me. If an assassin were to be sitting in that tree right now," Shisui-senpai pointed to a tree across the field, "Then I could feel their killing intent, potentially, or sense their chakra. Of course everything I've discussed is a variable. If there really was an assassin right there they would be trained to not give off intent and to have their chakra suppressed but if I didn't notice them sitting still, when they actually went to kill me I would likely sense them."

"What you're saying then, is it's basically knowing your surroundings and being prepared for anything." I surmised.

Shisui-senpai hummed, "For the most part. I'm not joking about the sixth sense though. When you make genin and go on missions with your sensei you'll notice you can almost never catch them off guard. An enemy will come out of the woods and you and your teammates will all yell and jump but your sensei knew they were coming from a kilometer away."

I gaped, "Seriously? That far?"

"Yep. No exaggeration." Shisui-senpai nodded seriously.

I contemplated that and looked up at the sky, "That's amazing. I can hardly believe that someday I could be able to do that."

"Train hard Miyako-chan." And with a smile, Shisui-senpai decided the best course of action was blindfold training. I wasn't very well versed in chakra yet so he didn't work on anything that involved sensing so he threw rocks and sticks at me with exaggerated motions even I could hear. When Itachi-san came back with a jar of oil we spent ten minutes treating my hair. Turns out whatever kind of oil his mom used was some kind of hack for getting gum out of your hair.

Then both Itachi-san and Shisui-senpai began to throw things at me.

.

A few days after the beginning of blind fold training, I showed up to class with a ton of bruises from being hit by rocks. A few of my classmates seemed to be curious where I got such colorful bruises from but mostly stayed away from me. The girls kept to their tactics but had moved on to be more aggressive. Spilling ink on my papers and purposely not handing forward my assignments. They tried their hardest to make it appear like I was cheating but Goro-sensei never fell for it and knew I would never.

My awareness was still nowhere near what Shisui-senpai had told me about so I ended up with gum in my hair before lunch. Expecting this I took the little glass bottle of oil Itachi-san gave me with me to the bathroom. Well, I took all my things but I actually needed that bottle. The girls bathroom was relatively spacious and I took a corner sink so that I was out of the way of other bathroom goers.

I had the gum out of my hair and another older girl had been watching me curiously when five girls walked in. Most of them were in my year but they were from all different classes. They walked past me at first but they saw me when they started picking mirrors.

"Oh look. It's Mibaka." said one of the girls. Another one wrinkled her nose as she sniffed my hair, "She smells gross!"

"Her hair does look greasy." a girl from another class remarked.

One girl produced a pair of scissors from her pocket and an evil grin told me they likely followed me in here, "Your hair is an ugly color. We thought you would have gotten the message to cut it off with the gum, but clearly you need help."

I put my back to the sink and held the bottle of oil like it was a weapon. The girl with the scissors snipped them threateningly and the largest girl of their group grabbed my free arm and pinned it to the sink. I broke the little bottle over her head and she yelped, scuttling backwards and whining about what I just spilled all over her. Pieces of glass were stuck in my palm but I held a larger shard tightly.

The girls all approached me and I thought I would have to fight them when a calm but authoritative voice called, "Enough."

Everyone, including me, turned to look at the older girl who had been in the bathroom with me. She was drying her hands with a paper towel and wasn't even looking at us. But when she did her eyes reflected us darkly.

She frowned, "You think Itachi-san would appreciate you bullying his friend like this?"

"Ah, I don't think we're quite friends-" I tried to murmur but the girl shot me a look. She crumpled up her paper towel and tossed it towards the waste bin. She put her hands on her hips and fully faced us.

One of the girls tried a quiet, "I-Izumi-senpai-" but was quieted by a stern look from the brunette.

"It's frankly disgusting to watch you act like you have been. If I were in your class then I would not stand for watching you put gum in a classmate's hair, and a younger one at that!" the apparent Izumi-senpai scolded them, "We are here in the academy to not only learn but to come to understand our allies. If you treat a classmate like this then you are simply not fit to be kunoichi."

All of them nearly ran from the bathroom at her words. The girl with the scissors even dropped her weapon on the floor as she fled. When the door slammed shut and only Izumi-senpai and I were in the bathroom I dropped the shard of glass I had in my hand and started to wash away the blood and pull out the smaller shards.

"I apologize for their treatment of you, Uzumaki-san." Izumi-senpai bowed her head, "I hope what I said will get through to them and no one will bother you over the matter of Itachi-san anymore."

"Mm, thank you for your help, Izumi-senpai." I replied courteously.

Izumi-senpai watched me pick out the glass, "I'm sorry we met under less than friendly circumstances. My name is Uchiha Izumi. I believe I am three years older than you."

"Uzumaki Miyako. You can call me Miyako if you want to, senpai. And that sounds about right. So you know Itachi-san, then?" I inquired. I rinsed my glass-free hand under the water and bit my lip to stop from hissing.

She looked away, "We aren't friends, per se, however I look up to him and we are acquaintances."

"And you like him." I surmised.

Izumi-senpai blushed, "And I like him."

"Why be nice to me, then? According to the other girls I'm stealing him away or something. Which I think is ridiculous, by the way. I'm five!" I huffed. I dried my hands and ignored the red splotched towel as I tossed it towards the waste bin. I missed and had to go pick it up.

"You aren't stealing Itachi-san from anyone. While I will be sad should he not choose me I will not bully someone he seems to think is worthy of his friendship." Izumi-senpai murmured, then under her breath, "I want to protect others, not harm them."

I laughed, "The way you put that you make him sound like he's the daimyo. Worthy of his friendship?"

"Well, I suppose you could say he is the Uchiha's prince." Izumi-senpai remarked. I laughed a second time and Izumi-senpai blushed. I walked over to grab my bag from the floor and I walked towards the door.

Izumi-senpai followed me and hesitated for a moment, "Miyako-san, if you, um, ever need a uh, female friend, I suppose... then I'm in class 4-A."

She hurried past me, as if I would reject her offer, and disappeared into the hallway. I smiled briefly at her back, a bit charmed by her shy retreat after her bold entrance. I returned to class and no one else dared attempt to put gum in my hair for the rest of that day.

When I met with Itachi-san and Shisui-senpai after class, Shisui-senpai fretted over my hands. The cuts were already scabbing over and healing but Shisui-senpai was a worry wart. He bandaged them up and worried they would scar.

Itachi-san observed, "It's highly unlikely her hands will scar from something so minor. Uzumaki's are known for their vitality and its accompanied healing factor."

"Oh, so that's why I heal really fast?" I hummed, "That's cool."

"Don't push yourself too hard just because you heal faster than others though, Miyako-chan." Shisui-senpai reprimanded me. I gave him a teasing shrug and we worked on my self-awareness drill again.

.

Starting the week after the bathroom incident, Shisui-senpai suddenly disappeared leaving only Itachi-san and I for my training.

"Shisui is on a mission." Itachi-san told me, "Don't worry about him. He's strong."

I smiled at him, "Then I won't worry."

Training with Itachi-san was far quieter than when I trained with Shisui-senpai. Shisui-senpai enjoyed joking around and talking while we worked, although he was absolutely an effective teacher. Itachi-san taught seriously and calmly, imposing zen upon the grounds when he lectured. The only sounds you could hear were the grunts of effort and me exhaling whenever I was hit.

On a cooler day, during a water break, Itachi-san asked me if I had spoken to Izumi-senpai.

I was confused for a moment, "Yes, she scared a few girls off when they tried to mess with my hair."

"She asked me about you." Itachi-san explained, "She wondered if you thought she was strange after your last meeting."

"Of course not. I thought she was a great person." I replied truthfully.

Itachi-san hummed, "I told her about you but I am glad she seems genuinely interested in your friendship."

I blinked, "You asked her to stop the bullies?"

"No, I just brought you to her attention. She did as she wanted." Itachi-san gave me a mysterious smile.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "You planned on her doing that though."

And he didn't answer.

AN:

Updates will likely be more spaced out from now on since the story has a word count of over 10k and three chapters.

I would really appreciate reviews, by the way. I know the last two chapters have been very wordy but now we're getting into more dialogue and action chapters since the introduction has been set. I may also be interested in a beta reader, mostly to catch spelling mistakes that my eyes gloss over when I reread.

QotC: Favorite Uchiha?

Thanks to the following for reviewing (:

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