Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Welcome to the 3rd Chapter of Never Too Late.

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Enjoy~

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Aguri grumbled as she watched Sasuke poke at his vegetables, before proceeding to pick out the tomatoes and eating them. As her eyes narrowed into near slits, she stuffed a lettuce leaf into her mouth, her glance not leaving the black-haired boy in front of her once. If Sasuke, the poor target of her frustration, was creeped out by her insistent glaring, he did not show it. In fact, he seemed to very much be oblivious to it.

As someone who hated tomatoes and loved salad, she thoroughly disapproved of him not eating his salad.

Seriously, she hated tomatoes but she still ate them. What she couldn't comprehend was why most kids didn't like vegetables- even in her previous life, Aguri had loved vegetables as a child, of course, with the exception of tomatoes.

Those slimy, tasteless things were technically fruit, but the only thing Aguri liked about tomatoes were tomato ketchup. Were there even any tomato ketchup in the Naruto universe? She would have to find out, since it was the only thing she liked that was made from the fruit itself.

Blasted tomatoes.

She stuffed salad into her mouth with a vengeance as she shot a glance at Sasuke, silently screaming at him to stop eating the tomatoes and start eating his actual salad already, the pieces of fresh lettuce being chewed up crisply and a bit too rapidly.

Sure, the little Sasuke was a sweetheart, but damn, was he a picky eater! In the few times he came over for lunch and dinner, without fail, he would only pick out a quarter of the food he liked. He even rejected her offer of pineapple candy, even though those things were the best in the world. Why, he should be honored she offered him some in the first place! A bittersweet memory churned up from the back other mind unwittingly and she was reminded that she used to eat salad at the table this way, too... With her old family. A fond smile twisted onto the corners of her lips as she remembered how her family was strictly against any wastage of food, and how they often prodded her to finish all her food.

Well, she was doing the prodding now.

Watching as Sasuke picked up the rest of the tomatoes in his bowl and began to nibble on them, a look of contentment on his childish features, she sighed and reached out, poking him in his arm as she whispered determinedly, however, it may or may not have came out as a hiss.

"Could you finish your vegetables, Sasuke?"

Aguri's thumb twitched in her annoyance at the young boy as Sasuke pushed the bowl away from himself and began to sip on tea. Closing her eyes, she had to remind herself that firstly, Sasuke was still in the vegetable-hating phase, and even though she had never hated vegetables, she still ought to understand that he was young, and he had no proper idea what was 'balanced nutrition'. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled in a sigh as she thought of something, letting out a small murmur that she directed to the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, can I have the rest of your salad?"

Undoubtedly it was not proper for children of clans to share food so directly, but screw that. Her mind was screaming at the blatant sight of unfinished food. They were in the Fusako's house now, and she was more than entitled to finish off the food she helped prepare.

She inwardly snorted in amusement at the look of wonder that Sasuke sent her, and within moments, Sasuke's formerly half-full salad bowl was emptied.

Honestly, as a child, Sasuke was adorable. Picky, somewhat sheltered, but adorable, nonetheless. She still felt pricks of shame when she recalled their first meeting not too long ago- It took her a while to realise that no, the Naruto universe wasn't like her old home. Konoha was all about loyalty and trust between comrades- living in constant fear of betrayal would ultimately be her own undoing, because then, she would b e the one betraying her comrades by not trusting them.

Sasuke had been nothing but sincere whenever he interacted with her. She could see it in the brightness in his eyes, and she was glad to see that he was bright, and he was happy. For now, that is. That kind of innocence in Sasuke was something she didn't see in herself, which brought her to another pressing matter at hand.

How old was Sasuke when the Uchiha Massacre happened?

Aguri was apparently the same age as Sasuke. How long more would it be until Sasuke's innocence was ripped away from him?

With a sigh, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Sasuke was getting up from his chair and leaving.

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Damn.

Nothing could describe the envy she had when she witnessed Sasuke practicing jutsu at his compound. As she hid behind a pillar, watching him practice, she gave a nervous swallow.

Aguri was reminded of the fact that she had yet to try drawing out her chakra and using it. It was another few months before she would turn five, but watching Sasuke perfect the fire-ball jutsu and realising the fact that he was undoubtedly good at everything was extremely damaging to her pride as an adult.

Wait, she wasn't an adult now.

Her mother, Aoi, had gone off with Mikoto to sip tea, and Aguri gave a sigh. The only reason she had agreed to come was because Aoi had said that Sasuke would be there, but she did not mention that Sasuke would be training. The boy was still unaware of her being at the Uchiha compound, and Aguri did not wish to disturb him, not when he looked so focused.

The black-haired boy had grown on her greatly, despite their shaky first encounter(on her part). Aguri didn't know if she should be afraid of people entering her heart so easily. Her eyes watched as bright, blazing flames shot out from Sasuke's mouth- an impressive display, but undoubtedly not as good as Itachi Uchiha's.

In a wave of nostalgia, she briefly recalled that she had hated being disturbed when she was doing schoolwork back in her schooling days in her own universe, and resolved not to approach him unless he was done with his training. She briefly remembered the times where her old siblings were favored more than herself, and she could still taste the bitter taste in her mouth whenever it happened. Sometimes it didn't go away at all.

Her old mother had been a good one, but even she couldn't help but to pick favorites.

She respected Sasuke's training, for it was very much like her own. Both of them trained to get stronger, but in his case, it was to surpass a certain prodigy, and in her case, she just didn't want to see anyone die.

Funny, how she was talking like she still belonged there. Maybe it was her own brain, desperately trying to deny this reality, and maybe one part of her wished that she would wake up and find that this was just a dream. But denial wouldn't change the fact that she belonged here now, and there was possibly no way to return to her former universe.

She was Aguri from the Fusako clan now, and there was no way that 'Aguri Fusako' belonged to her own world. In this world, brutal killing was common, and children as young as the age of four were taught how to kill, how to injure, and how to maim, and most did not even have complete families. In her world, children the age of four would be playing and laughing with their families. In this world, the longest age you could expect to live to was thirty. In her world, most healthy people lived to long, ripe ages.

She had thought that she would make it home that day, but she didn't. She thought that she would have met someone who would be her destined other-half, and that she would have known what it felt like to fall in love. She thought that she would have seen herself turning twenty-one, and lived to become an old, wrinkled grandmother. But she never did. She died five years ago, at the age of twenty.

Aguri Fusako is an anomaly.

Ant not to mention, even if she did return, there was no way she would be able to return to her former identity. Her existence in that very world had literally died when she inadvertently stepped into the path of that moving car. If she returned, she would either be reborn as a helpless baby once more- or she would rise up from her grave and trigger the zombie apocalypse.

Heh.

However, there was something that bothered her. Her memories flashed across her head as vividly as a splash of paint over a blank canvas, however, there was nothing in that painting that spelled out the letters that revealed her former identity. A part of Aguri made her feel empty inside- she had left behind many things, and her old name was just the needle in the haystack.

The only name she had now was Aguri Fusako. Her old name, whatever it had been, had died along with her existence- ceasing to exist in her memories.

Possibly forever.

Maybe one day, she would forget who she used to be completely. She would be a ninja, have beliefs she never had, have thoughts that weren't fully hers. In a few years, would the sole trace of her former existence disappear? Would she die in a war, her throat slit, from a stranger who was forced to be a ninja? Would she be forgotten?

Would she be forced to live through another life again, if she died early in this life?

She gripped the hem of her skirt in an attempt to dry her hands which had become clammy from sweat, and turning around, she closed her eyes, willing herself to take a deep breath. Her hands fumbled in her pocket clumsily as she ripped open a wrapper and placed the pineapple-flavored sweet in her mouth.

Opening her eyes, she nearly choked as her hands clasped over her mouth, grey eyes widening outrageously.

Staring down at her was Itachi Uchiha.

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What happened next was a result of her own panic. Fumbling over her stuffy robes, she let out screech as she bolted away from the older Uchiha, simply because his sudden appearance freaked her out. She didn't do well with people, not even fictional characters sneaking up on her and standing behind her for who-knows-how-long.

Whatever happened to staying away from canon characters? Here she was getting cozy in the Uchiha household, and she could not believe that she had forgotten that this was before Itachi murdered his clan, and therefore he was likely to be at the Uchiha's.

Stupid. Stupid, stupid!

If she wasn't currently running away from Itachi Uchiha, she would have screeched, finished her stash of candy, and ripped out all of her ash-brown hair. (No, she was kidding. As much as she was freaking out, she liked her hair. A lot.)

Her abrupt escape from the scene must have been something Itachi did not expect, for the only thing following her as she ran was black eyes. It didn't remain that way for long, for she could make out light footsteps trailing after her, and she was suddenly grateful for the physical training she has been going through with.

Running to Sasuke was a big no-no, her presence right now was simply a distraction. Aguri disliked talking to strangers, so she stubbornly refused to stop running, because she was sure a conversation with Itachi Uchiha would be awkward and extremely uncomfortable, probably even worse so than her first encounter with Sasuke.

So running to get the help of Mikoto and her mother seemed to be the best option, and honestly, Aguri was lazy to think up a proper plan right now. She wasn't even five years old yet, for goodness sake, so why was Itachi so bent on chasing her? It just showed his over-protectiveness for Sasuke to an extent and inwardly Aguri groaned. By now, she had lost any sense of pride- she was twenty, and here she was running from what? A nine-year old?

She bit down on the pineapple candy still in her mouth to prevent it from moving around and possibly prevent herself from choking on it. She scoffed at the thought of dying from choking on candy.

Oh, here lies Aguri Fusako. She died the first time in a tragic accident, and you know what? She died the second time eating candy and running! How stupid is that?

No shit Sherlock. However much she was bothered by the fact that she wasn't supposed to exist here, she would do her best to stay alive, because dying when you have another chance to live just sucked. Even if she didn't want to live, she would hang on.

Itachi was already catching up with inhuman speed, and Aguri groaned at the thought of possibly suffering the wrath of the Uchiha prodigy.

She felt him closing up on her, nearer, nearer- when all of a sudden, a warm feeling bubbled up within her stomach and spread to her arms and legs.

Aguri Fusako, a tiny and chubby five year old, was now accelerating a lot in speed. And for some unknown reason, there seemed to be sparks, literal ones that shot up from the floor where her feet had come into contact with, and as she burst into the room where her mother, Aoi, and Mikoto Uchiha sat sipping tea, the fact that she had not been caught by Itachi had just sunk in, and she took a moment to process that.

The other two woman present in the room sent her a confused look as they took in her sudden dishevelled appearance. Her ash-brown hair, once tied up neatly was now loose and several loose strands hung in her face. Her kimono was crumpled and there was a rosy sheen to her cheeks.

And yeah, she was all sweaty from the sprinting, which was just plain disgusting. She frowned at what seemed to be tiny sparks that danced over the top of her palm, a bright electric blue in color.

Her eyes widened in awe, and she extended her fingers, watching the tiny sparks jump around on her long fingers, so unlike the ones she had in her old life. She remembered clearly the pain of learning the piano in her former life with short fingers, but very soon, her fingers had turned flexible and nimble from constant practice.

Oh, how she longed to play. How she missed music in general, and how she missed the sound of loud rock screaming from her headphones.

She closed her fingers slowly, aware of the stares of those present- especially those of her mother.

The sparks danced over her skin for a while, before being absorbed into her skin, leaving a warm, pleasant, yet foreign feeling.

Was this... chakra?

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Itachi Uchiha stood behind her, having caught up a while ago, but not quite close enough to catch the eccentric girl. He towered over her, watching as sparks danced over the girl's fingers, before he could detect the whiff of something burning.

He wondered when she would finally notice the smoke curling off the bottom of her feet, and hoped that she wouldn't burn the floor too badly.

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To be continued.

A/N:

Here's the next update! Thanks to all who are supporting this story right now :)

Just to make things clear, Itachi was going easy on her until she began to (accidentally) use chakra to run faster. I will not have anyone saying about how she's a Mary-sue because of the way she outran Itachi or the way she discovered her chakra, or any superficial reasons like that. However, feedback is very much welcomed.

Do review, favorite and follow if you liked this chapter :D

Until next time,

Cyan Rubies