Lie no. 3: Appearance
Naruto was sipping tea at the table when Takahiro came out of his room. Naruto was fully dressed, but Takahiro was wearing some of Naruto's clothes and his Chuunin vest, which Naruto never wore.
"Nii-chan, let's go!" Takahiro grinned. Naruto looked at the clock and held back a stream of curses. Naruto dragged his brother back and dressed him in regular attire, something that wasn't as strange and attention grabbing as what he'd been wearing.
"Takahiro, you're seven already. You should know how to dress yourself properly," Naruto said as he quickly put a bento in his bag and handed him a bowl of miso soup to drink on the way to the Academy.
"But…I thought wearing Nii-chan's Chuunin vest would help me graduate early, cause all of the strong people I know graduated early, like you and Itachi and that old man with the frogs," Takahiro whined as Naruto pushed him out of the door and raced down the stairs and walked quickly to the Academy.
"His name is Jiraiya-sama," Naruto said. Before he could explain why he had to gradate early, Takahiro interjected.
"Sama?" Takahiro asked.
"He was one of the Hokage's students, the three Legendary Sannin," Naruto explained. "And, I had to graduate early because I had to take care of you. I haven't taken higher than a D-Rank mission in six years. Once you become a Genin, you will understand how painful that is."
Ever since Takahiro entered the Academy last year, Naruto was able to take regular missions, almost always with Itachi. Not because they requested it, but because they worked extremely well and had a perfect streak of completed missions.
Because Naruto had to take care of a child and refused to burden Itachi's family with taking care of Takahiro and…he'd heard rumors swirling around the Uchiha and the attack of the Kyuubi, he couldn't take a mission that would last long. Also, it didn't help that most people knew the Kyuubi was sealed in Takahiro, and to leave him in the care of yes, capable arms of Mikoto, was going to worsen the rumors. Naruto also wouldn't let Itachi's family be further hurt like that.
Naruto pulled Takahiro along and made him down the miso, despite the temperature of it, to make sure he wasn't late. Takahiro protested but once he was done with the soup, Naruto took to the rooftops, moving an unprepared Takahiro at chakra-enhanced speeds.
"Nii-chan, am I going to be able to move this fast once I graduate?" Takahiro asked.
"If you work hard," Naruto said as they descended. Naruto knew they were awfully late and walked in to apologize to the teacher.
Naruto opened the door and twenty-something faces turned to look at him.
"Hey…is that…"
"It's the prodigy everyone talks about!"
"Why is he with Takahiro?"
The teacher shushed everyone down and Takahiro took a seat.
"Sorry, sensei, I was a little slow this morning," Naruto smiled.
Iruka blinked. He'd heard of Naruto, the one who was the Yondaime's child. This fact is also not allowed to be talked about. The reason was that Minato had made so many enemies in the past war. If this fact got out to the other nations, Naruto would be taken and tortured on his father's behalf. However, much like the fact Takahiro was the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, it was talked about, behind his back. When it came to Naruto's father's identity, people would talk about it with or without him in hushed whispers. As for Takahiro being related to Naruto, such a fact was so unknown to almost all of the population of Konoha that most people just dismissed Takahiro calling Naruto 'Nii-chan' just an endearment since they lived together.
"Naruto-kun, could you help me explain something?" Iruka asked on impulse. Naruto just seemed really dependable and Iruka was having trouble explaining things.
"Sure. What's the problem?" Naruto walked down the aisles as Takahiro took his seat. Iruka handed him an open textbook with the page that the students were learning. Naruto skimmed it and Iruka was surprised that Naruto didn't really react to it.
"Ah, so you all are learning about the Kyuubi incident?" Naruto asked. "Well, for this lesson, I'm going to be your sensei. My name is Namikaze Naruto," Naruto lightly bowed and grinned.
"Apparently, Iruka-sensei here taught you about this yesterday, but all of you are having trouble with understanding it? Can someone tell me what they think happened?"
A few hands rose. Naruto surveyed them and saw that Takahiro was pleading him not to call on him. Naruto decided to call on him, seeing how Takahiro said they hadn't learned anything and had no homework the night before.
"Takahiro, tell me, without looking at your textbook, what happened regarding Kyuubi attack?" Naruto asked. Takahiro flushed and shook his head.
"I bet you know something. For now, review. I'm going to coming back to you. Anyone else?" Naruto looked at the rest of the class. A girl with pink hair was pleading him to call on him.
"You, pink hair," Naruto said.
"The Kyuubi appeared due to a natural disaster seven years ago. It destroyed most of the village. The Yondaime Hokage killed it, but at the cost of his own life," the girl said.
"That's a good summary," Naruto said. "Takahiro, have you gotten anything else from the textbook?"
"Y-yes…" Takahiro mumbled. I've got to show Nii-chan I'm smart too… "You saw the Yondaime die, didn't you?"
Naruto sighed. He read through the textbook, lazily turning the pages for a moment. Then he abruptly closed it and saw that the class was staring at him, wanting him to confirm if he really saw the Yondaime die or not.
"Well, did you?" a boy with red marks on his cheeks asked.
"Yes," Naruto said. "Takahiro, you are right but I wanted something from the textbook. Since Iruka-sensei is about to give you all a quiz, let me summarize things: the Kyuubi appeared seven years ago and the Yondaime died to kill it and protect the village. Good luck," Naruto said and took a seat, watching for cheaters as Iruka passed out the tests. Naruto saw their nametags and wrote down the names of cheaters.
Iruka sat back down and saw Naruto write down more names. Once twenty minutes was up, Iruka collected the tests. Iruka took the paper of cheaters and read them off. Naruto wasn't really listening until the end.
"And Uzumaki Takahiro," Iruka said.
"I did not! Nii-chan's a liar!" Takahiro yelled. Naruto didn't look up, he continued grading. After a moment, he was done. Naruto got up and walked over to Takahiro, who looked angry and behind that mask of anger, shameful. Naruto leaned down and whispered in Takahiro's ear.
"Then explain to me why you have the exact same answers as the girl next to you," Naruto said.
Takahiro paled and held back tears. He stared into his brother's eyes, eyes that had gone cold and hard. Naruto turned and walked away as Iruka was pinning up the list of A's. Takahiro slumped in his seat, looking at his feet. The bell for lunch rang and the students ran out, leaving only four people.
"Takahiro, come on," Sasuke said.
"I don't wanna," Takahiro mumbled.
Sasuke groaned in exasperation and dragged him out of the room, much to Naruto's gratefulness. Naruto stood and erased the board and threw away the list of cheaters.
"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry to keep you here, but could you help the rest of the day?" Iruka asked.
"Sure. I wanted to schedule a meeting with you over Takahiro's performance, but I think this is better, seeing him in daily classes," Naruto said.
Iruka taught the students how to throw shuriken and it was obvious Takahiro and Sasuke were on completely different ends of a spectrum of skill. Sasuke was good at everything while Takahiro almost nailed Iruka and Naruto caught a stray shuriken headed for a group of girls.
Takahiro looked ashamed, but simply glared when Naruto looked at him.
After shuriken practice, it was taijutsu. Iruka decided to do tournaments with students paired up to spar, then winners of the spars would spar each other until one was left.
"And, if you do really well, you can spar against me," Naruto grinned. The children were now extremely motivated.
Naruto watched the spars with mild interest and watched carefully at Sasuke and Takahiro's match. Sasuke had a definite form while Takahiro fought with uncertainty but Naruto could see he was trying. Takahiro's face fell when he was on the ground and Iruka was announcing Sasuke as the winner. Sasuke helped Takahiro up and glared at the people who called him a loser.
In the end, Sasuke ended up fighting against Naruto. Sasuke had force behind his punches and kicks but Naruto saw he was getting tired after multiple dodges and hitting the ground hard to avoid being punched in the gut.
Before Naruto could make the blow to knock Sasuke down, but not seriously hurt him, Takahiro jumped into the fight. Naruto dodged and got behind him before Takahiro realized. Sasuke used this distraction as Naruto was focused on Takahiro to jump Naruto. Naruto threw him off and kicked him away as Takahiro was charging. Naruto sidestepped and tripped him.
The two boys found themselves on the ground with Iruka sighing and saying Naruto had won and how Takahiro shouldn't have intervened.
Naruto helped them up and Takahiro suddenly punched Naruto, who hadn't seen it coming. Naruto winced and saw the anger in Takahiro's eyes.
"Takahiro…" Naruto said.
Takahiro looked so angry and hurt he couldn't speak.
"Well, that's it for class. Dismissed," Iruka said. The class dispersed and after a few mintues, Itachi showed up to pick up Sasuke.
Itachi saw the concern on Sasuke's face and the anger on Takahiro's.
Did something happen? Itachi signed.
Yeah. Takahiro is ashamed he cheated on a test when I caught him and it showed throughout the day that he wasn't as great as he said he was. I found out he doesn't study or do his homework even when I'm around. There was a taijutsu tournament and the winner of all the spars would get to spar with me. Takahiro must've felt the need to prove himself and spar with me, but he lost to Sasuke in the first bout. And, as Sasuke was sparring against me, Takahiro intervened but they both lost.
Takahiro is taking it really hard from the looks of this. Is he going to be alright?
He'll be fine. I just need to train him and make him do his homework, even though my time is really short because of missions.
Itachi nodded and the two Uchiha went home.
Then it was just Takahiro and Naruto.
Takahiro looked at Naruto. "How come you're so good and I suck?"
"I worked really hard. I never see you studying or training. If you want to beat Sasuke in spars and get A's on your tests, you need to work hard. I wasn't born with knowing everything," Naruto said, walking with him in the village to their apartment.
"But…it's hard. I try to study and train, but I end up falling asleep or cutting myself with kunai and shuriken. Why don't you train me? I need your help," Takahiro pleaded. Naruto sighed. "Maybe tomorrow."
When night fell, Sasuke finally came home. He was running to his home but on his way, bloody bodies littered the streets. He let out a gasp and ran to his home at the end of the compound to find his parents and older brother.
He didn't find them. He ran to their room and saw their bloody bodies on the floor. Denial spread in his mind until a horrible genjutsu raced through his mind. Itachi was still standing there when he awoke. In an alley, Itachi began to tell Sasuke things he never thought would come out of his beloved brother's mouth.
"If you wish to kill me, resent me, hate me, and live in obscurity. Then when you possess the same eyes as me, come before me!" Itachi said.
Sasuke felt tears run down his face once more and his vision suddenly became sharper. As Itachi was fleeing, Sasuke raced after him and managed to knock off his headband. As tears ran down Itachi's face, Sasuke felt himself lose consciousness.
Itachi shoved down his emotions and walked out of the village, hoping he'd see Naruto once again, his friend, the one who saw him as a person, a peer, not someone who expected something.
Itachi saw the village gates as each step brought him closer to a life of being hated. He was growing farther from anything he cherished and he knew he would no longer be able to imagine a time where he would be seen as a loyal Konoha nin; he was a criminal.
Itachi walked slowly as he was going outside the village. Once he felt a familiar chakra signature begin to give chase, he sped up until the person chasing him caught him.
"Itachi."
Itachi stopped and turned. He knew this person would do him no harm, perhaps the only person who wouldn't harm him no matter what.
"You never did anything without a reason, so why?" Naruto asked.
Itachi smiled a mirthless smile. "I don't have much time, so let me show you," Itachi said as Naruto peered into his Sharingan eyes. Naruto was thrown into a genjutsu that depicted everything, the real truth: the Uchiha's coup and killing his clansmen and Sasuke's reaction.
Naruto didn't know tears were running down his face until he could taste them. He stepped towards Itachi and hugged him.
"Don't worry, Itachi. I'll protect Sasuke and the village along with you. You have one person on your side. I will never tell anyone this…okay? You are my best friend and it is an honor to be your friend," Naruto's words tumbled out with no order.
"Yeah," Itachi said. "I guess…this is goodbye until we meet again as enemies."
"I'll always be your friend and I'll have your back," Naruto cried harder. "Here…"
Naruto took off his necklace that he'd bought earlier that year. Itachi looked shocked but smiled and took it.
"Thanks," Itachi said. Then he disappeared into the night without a trace.
Naruto stood for a moment and wiped off his tears. Then he turned and began the slow walk back to the village. Each step felt heavy, each step felt like it was obliterating every day Itachi had spent with him as a Genin and Chuunin, their friendship. Soon, Naruto was back at the village gates, and the sun was rising. Naruto trudged to the Hokage's office to tell him what had happened.
"Hokage-sama," Naruto walked in.
"Naruto," Hiruzen said.
"I trailed Itachi…and…" Naruto felt more tears coming but before he could stop it, they flowed down.
"I see you know," Hiruzen sighed. "Sasuke is in the hospital due to a powerful genjutsu. I suggest you be there when he wakes up, you know, for comfort."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto said as his tears dried and he walked out. He made a clone to check on Takahiro and the original one went to Sasuke.
Naruto walked with his hands in his pockets. He almost didn't know what do to. Itachi was an important person to him and for him to forcibly act like he hated Itachi was almost unthinkable. Still, Naruto had to go on for Sasuke's sake and Takahiro's sake.
When Naruto sat in a chair to look at Sasuke's pained face the boy didn't open his eyes. Naruto knew that whatever genjutsu Itachi had used was powerful enough to keep him in a coma-like state for a few days. Itachi truly wanted to protect the village and his clan, Naruto thought.
At noon, Naruto's clone sent word Takahiro was outside the hospital. The original sent back an order to train Takahiro, since Takahiro had relayed to the clone that there was a week off of the Academy for some holiday…some Hokage's birthday. Naruto didn't really care.
When five rolled around, Naruto was still sitting in the hospital, staring at a faint image of Itachi that reflected on Sasuke's face. Naruto decided to stay unless Sasuke woke up. At around midnight, Naruto heard him almost crying out.
"nii-san…I'll…kill…"
Naruto stared sadly at the outline of Sasuke's face in the moonlight. Naruto knew Sasuke was going to be filled with hate, and what made Naruto sadder was that he knew Itachi had planned this out, every detail of it.
When dawn came, Naruto hadn't felt any time pass. Sasuke was still asleep. Takahiro was wearing down his clone down. Naruto knew it would disperse soon and Takahiro would find him eventually. Sneaking in and out of places was something Takahiro was good at.
At ten, Naruto decided to disperse the clone and go to Takahiro. Takahiro was diligently reading his textbook and Naruto silently walked past.
"I can't believe Itachi would murder his own clan. I thought he was a good person, but I guess you can't judge by just appearance," Takahiro said. Naruto turned to look at him.
"Me too," Naruto said with a blank face.
"You okay?" Takahiro frowned as he looked at his older brother. "You look pale."
"I'm fine," Naruto said.
"Oh, how come you sent a clone? Did you go after Itachi? Did you fight? Was it cool?" Takahiro fired questions off.
"Yeah, I went after him. We fought, but he beat me. His Sharingan is powerful, so don't approach him," Naruto said and flopped down on his bed and was temped to scream into his pillow, but didn't.
