Vola, Chapter 3! The next chapter will be the last for the 'Age 10' section, and it'll [hopefully] explain the relationship between the Uchiha's and Nagatomi's [Kaori's clan] and answer any questions you may have. On another note, a big Thank You to you guys who reviewed, it really prompted me to finish this chapter. If you like this story/just want to share your opinion; please review! Haha, I'll stop rambling now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, neither do I own any other of Masashi Kishimoto's works. I only own my characters which are incorporated into this story!
On with the story~!
Grasping my hand in his, Itachi helped me down from the porch.
"Brother, where're we going?"
As excited as ever, Sasuke ran ahead and began looking around enthusiastically. Itachi-san let out a blithely chuckle and began walking, leading me to walk along side of him. Patting Sasuke on the crown of his head, we continued strolling down the narrow rubble path.
"How about we head over to the training area? Maybe you could teach Kaori some new tricks."
With another happy grin adorning his face, Sasuke nodded rapidly.
"Yeah!"
I could feel the gaze of Itachi-san's eyes burning down on me as I latched onto his hand with one of mine. Smiling, he reached down and patted my hair lightly, using the opportunity to grasp a lock of my fiery strands; practically examining it with his eyes.
"My, what an unusual hair color you have there."
I turned my head the other way; averting my gaze away from him. I wasn't sure if he meant it as an indirect compliment, or if this was his way of trying to offend me in an earnest way. Even though hair like mine is said to be passed on to energetic, outspoken, stubborn and strong-willed fighters; I was the opposite of this. I'm not a fighter, I don't dare speak up even when knowing I'm not in the wrong, I don't defy the rules set up for me or rebel, and I know when to give up and run. I don't live up to those expectations. That being said, I don't live up to many expectations.
Almost as if sensing my gloom, Sasuke turned to face me abruptly,
"I like your hair,"
he stated with a merry tone, clasping his hands together behind his back and smiling. Surprised at his sudden comment, I stared at him almost in disbelief. A tradition in my family was black hair. To them, this was a sign of wealth and beauty. I shamed Father with this hair I have. If Father doesn't like it, then why should anyone else like it? That's how I went about everything; what Father doesn't like, no-one likes.
"it's the color of tomato's,"
A typical comment.
"and I like tomato's!"
Onyx met violet as I look him in the eyes, almost searching for even a tiny hint of dishonesty or teasing, but I found none. Assured that he wasn't joking with me, my lips began tugging up into a smile, and a lighthearted laugh escaped from my mouth. The childishness in his voice was refreshing, to say at the least. All I ever heard was my Father's strict tone and old men and Jounin's grumbling while stating coldhearted truths, yet the up-beat tone in Sasuke's youthful voice was new to me. It was enlightening.
"Thank you, Sasuke-san."
I bowed my head to him graciously, using actions in attempt to express my sincere gratitude. Surprised by my sudden formal acts, he hurriedly nodded his head as well, a flustered look clear on his face. "Y-You're welcome, Kaori-chan!" He replied, attempting to conceal his expression by letting the thin strands of his dark hair fall around him and frame his face. I found it comical, and apparently so did Itachi because he had began chuckling at the sight before him, earning himself a slight glare and pout shot in his direction from his younger brother.
Just then, a shadow fell over us, and that's when I realized the rubble path we had used led to a large forest district. Looking to my right, vibrant emerald green look over my sight as I shaded my eyes with my spare hand as the sun shone down through the tree branches, the warm rays tingling on my skin. Opening my mouth to speak, I cut myself off as the sound of the soles of someones shoes scraping against the pebbles and dry earth in rapid foot steps caught my attention. Turning back to face the front, I could see the figure of Sasuke in the distance jogging into an open field, the aura of excitement practically radiating off of him.
"This is the training ground Sasuke uses. Excuse his excitement."
Itachi stated good-naturedly, smiling broadly as he watched his kid brother almost burst with energy as he waved towards them, almost as if to hurry them up. The brotherly and protective look in his eyes was foreign to me. I was used to my older brothers looking at me with a stare of distaste or sneering. I felt a slight hint of envy hit me upon realizing how lucky Sasuke was to have a brother like Itachi to look up to and be shielded by. I shook my head in attempt to clear this feeling of jealousy. It was an unpleasant emotion to give off, especially when it gets to the point where you wish harm upon others, and that isn't right to me.
As soon as we stepped into the clearing Sasuke was standing in the center of, I looked around curiously and caught sight of all the training mannequins set up around the area. Red and white target markings were painted sloppily onto the stomachs of the dummies, and although nearly all of them were pierced with kunai and shuriken, none of them punctured the red center of the targets.
I was drawn out of my thoughts when my free hand was suddenly grasped by one similarly sized to mine and I was yanked out of Itachi's reach. I looked up to meet Sasuke's glistening gaze.
"Let's go and spar!"
Pulling at my hand once again, he let me back to the center where he had been standing before. Upon noticing that Itachi stayed rooted to his place on the end of the trail. "Brother, are you coming?" He looked over his shoulder with a confused expression. Without a word, Itachi smiled bitterly and shook his head and turned around, beginning to walk back along the way we came from. Letting go of my hand hurriedly, Sasuke ran in front of his brother, crossing his arms over his chest with a stubborn pout.
"You said that you'd spend today with me and Nagatomi-san's daughter!" He exclaimed, an annoyed tone in his voice. Itachi sighted and jabbed his index and middle finger onto his brother's forehead, causing Sasuke to stumble back. Stepping around the cringing boy, Itachi walked away without sparing a glance back. With his eyes still closed in pain, Sasuke rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. Hesitantly, I moved from my spot and began approaching the boy, my steps silent and careful, as if he'd run away if I made a sound.
I took one last step and took my place in front of him, my hands fumbling with the silk fabric of my clothing. Tilting my head, I peered at his face.
"...Sasuke-san?"
Was all I was able to mutter. Without a reply, he let his hand fall back to his side. With half-open eyes, he stared at the ground, a gloomy look to his expression. Once realizing that he wasn't about to reply, I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed his hand and tugged him to one side of the field before letting go and walking over to the other side of the pasture. Turning around to face him, I gave him a determined look.
"Let us spar."
Getting into position, I waited for his consent. Looking up to meet my gaze, he nodded unsurely before getting into his stance as well. The gloomy look had been replaced by sparks of irritation, irritation directed to wards his brother; but I've decided to let him take it out on me. I know that Itachi most likely had a good reason to leave; all those looks he had given his little brother and that bitter smile when he had to leave weren't for nothing, but Sasuke didn't realize that.
Beckoning him with a nod, he charged towards me, throwing punches only for me to dodge. The clothing I was wearing restricted my movement and is very fragile, one sudden move would rip it, and Father would be extremely displeased. I settled on blocking his hits with my forearms and moving out of the way.
My heart was pounding and my breathing was heavy. Gasping for air, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand whilst looking over to see Sasuke's exhausted form slumped against the trunk of a tree. We had fought for hours now, thought it was more of a close-combat rather than anything else. I'll admit, I am more skilled when it comes down to long-range attacks due to my use of ninjutsu and my knowledge in seals and ability to concentrate. Over-all, my graceful yet lacking fighting style only relies on cunning and strategic force and never brute force.
With a sigh, I attempted to recompose myself and catch my breath once I saw that it was beginning to get dark. The sky was a pastel orange and light blue, and the cool are of the night tousled my choppy hair around gently. Sparing one last glance upwards, I averted my attention back to Sasuke and watched him get up. The previous bitter look he wore was now replaced with a tired grin.
"We should get going." I stated, sparing him a slight smile before turning to walk towards the path we had come from. Before I could take more than a couple steps forwards, I paused at the sight. Without the sun shining brightly, it all looked different than it had before. Noticing my reactions, Sasuke confidentially walked ahead, grasping my hand in the process of walking by. The dark, looming trees scared me slightly, but I kept silent and followed him.
Just then, Sasuke stopped in the middle of his tracks, forcing me to stop with him.
"Hey, look! These ones look just like the one in your hair!"
Following his index finger with my gaze, I spotted what he was referring to. We had stopped in front of a batch of blue flowers. Upon the first few seconds of examining them, I registered that they were Forget-Me-Not's. With the way Sasuke had worded the sentence, I could easily tell he didn't know of their name. I looked back at the boy next to me.
"They're called Forget-Me-Not's."
I stated, and watched as his eyebrows raised in amusement. It was a strange name to call a flower, but then again, Violets are misleading and odd hence they are blue. Eyeballing the faux flower in my hair strangely, he gestured towards it.
"Where does the name come from?" He finally questioned, meeting my gaze again.
I began to explain the myth of the Forget-Me-Not.
'Back then, it was supposed that the wearers of the flower will not be forgotten by their lovers.
Legend has it that in the time where the Senju ruled, a noble ninja and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but because of the weight of his war armour, he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted "Forget-me-not". This is a flower connected with romance and tragic fate. It was often worn by ladies of different clans as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love.'
Sasuke directed his eyes back to the flower bundle.
"Oh."
The query look on his face suddenly disappeared as he squatted down and reached for one of the flowers.
"Sasuke-san, what're you-"
A tearing sound cut me off as I squeezed my eye's shut at the sudden noise and action he had done, bringing my hands up to cover my face.
When nothing happened, I slowly shifted my index finger to the side, creating a small slot for me to peek through.
I hesitantly removed my hands from my face completely, eye's wide as I starred at the flower in Sasuke's grip as he held it out to me; smiling.
"Here!"
He shoved his hand further in my direction, indicating for me to take what he held in his grasp. Carefully, I reached out my hand and gently took hold of the blue flower in his hands, delicately removing it from his grip and into my own. It took me a while to process what had just happened. A lighthearted grin and a warm feeling in my heart slowly rose. Looking up, the boy still wore the same merry expression. It's nice to have someone share the feeling of a building friendship with you.
"So that you won't forget me!"
Nodding, I said all I could manage to make out with in my still-shocked state:
"Thank you, Sasuke."
I've been visiting the Uchiha's a lot, lately. I can see that it makes father happy; especially since I get to talk with Itachi every other day. I've helped Mikoto cook when I came in time for supper and such. I have even mustered up the courage to tell her that I think she's really pretty, and she laughed and thanked me for that, too.
Father didn't know, but I have begun to like Sasuke more than Itachi. Whenever I visited and Itachi was on a mission, Sasuke and me would go sparring in the training fields. And whenever he came home from academy, we'd talk about his day and I would find out more and more of what it's like to go to academy. He's told me about a blonde boy in his class who's always causing trouble, and I told him about how I had run into a blonde boy named Naruto on my way home from the shops. It turns out that it was the exact same boy he'd been talking about. He's even told me about the girls in his class who squealed over him; it was quite an embarrassing subject for him to talk about, but I am glad that he opened up to me...
I was hoping it could stay like this forever, but of course; it's just my luck, right?
