Chapter Six: Mikoto

"Naruto, Akiko, it's time to visit Mikoto and Fugaku-san."

Naruto and I nodded, putting out plates away after eating our breakfast. We ran to our room to grab some clothes.

Naru-kun had been with us for two weeks now, and had decided he didn't want a separate room. I was fine with it. He had told me that he was always alone before we met him, and he didn't like it.

So, I had a roomie.

Mama had said he would have to get his own room eventually. It hurt because I knew he'd be getting his own room at Mikoto-sans house, and not here.

So would I.

Naruto grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom to change, while I got changed in my room.

I pulled a dark blue sundress on, happily touching the crest Mama had added on, over my heart. I loved my clan. Even if they hated me...I loved my family.

I pulled on a pair of matching sandals and hurried out the room, quickly grabbing some toy kunai, knowing this would be a chance to practice with Sasuke-nii. I grabbed Kyo and Un-zipped his back, putting the kunai inside.

Mama liked to sew, so I had asked her to add a small pocket inside my toy fox so I could put stuff inside. He was like my own adorable purse...

Or in this instance, a kunai holder.

Naruto and I raced down stairs to the front door where Mama was waiting.

My brother now wore a dark blue t-shirt and white shorts, much like Sasuke-nii, but Mama had sown a tiny, orange swirl on the hem of his left leg. I was curious as to what it meant.

I had seen a few shinobi with the marking, but no one had ever said anything about it.

He also wore, much to mu amusement, a pair of goggles on his forehead.

We both held one of Mama's hands as she led us through the compound.

A few of the Uchiha gave us the stink-eye, which Naruto and I gladly returned.

With a final hop, skip and a great big jump, we landed on the Uchiha Clan Leader's home. Mama knocked and a few moments later, Mikoto answered the door.

"Hima-chan, Aki-chan!" Shegreeted before she looked down towards Naruto, "Hm? Who's this?"

From the way her shoulders tensed ever so slightly, she seemed to know exactly who he was. I tried not to get angry. Even Mikoto...

"Ah! This is my son, Uzumaki Naruto."

Mikoto's eyes seemed to light up and she looked at the boy with the friendliest smile I had ever seen since Naruto himself.

"Come on in." She said, still smiling. She and Mama had a silent conversation as they walked past each other.

"Mama, can Naru-kun and I play with Sasuke?" I asked, once I spotted the boy in the yard again. He always seemed to be out there.

Mama looked towards Mikoto-san before she nodded. I tugged Naruto along with me as we went outside again.

"Sasuke!" I called, waving.

My not-brother turned around and smiled when he saw us. He lowered the hand he had raised to throw a toy kunai and headed over to us.

"Aki-chan, Naruto!" Sasuke greeted.

"Our Mama said we could come play with you! Naruto-kun and I are going to be shinobi, right Naru-kun?"

"Yeah!" Naruto said, pumping his fist in the air, "I'm going to be Hokage, dattebayo!"

"Wow!" Sasuke said, "You're really that strong?"

That deflated Naru-kun pretty quickly, "Well...not exactly...but someday, everyone in this village is going to respect me! I'm going to be super strong."

"Well, don't expect me to laze around." Sasuke said, "I'm going to be more powerful than Itach-oniisan someday, and he's pretty strong."

"Well, he's no Hokage." Naruto replied with narrowed blue yes.

I snickered before speaking, "Well, you two can try to be as strong as you want. I'm going to be stronger than the Sage of Six Paths."

I knew the goal was impossible, but I just wanted to join in. Who knows...maybe someday, Itachi-oniisan would become Hokage. Then they'd be real rivals, eh?

They stared at me for a moment in surprise. I then got two reactions.

Naruto: "Who's that?"

Sasuke: "But you're a girl."

I smirked at Sasuke, before I whacked him over the head, "Watch it. One of the legendary Sannin is a girl. She could easily pound any guy into the ground."

"OOW!"

Then, I turned to Naruto, "The Sage of Six Paths was this really powerful guy who showed everyone how to use chakra. He's the strongest person to ever live."

"Whoah...I wanna be that strong."

"Well too bad. You already decided to be Hokage." I said with a taunting grin, "But for now...Naruto-niisan is IT."

I poked his shoulder and took off running across the yard, glad I wore shorts.

I kicked off my sandals part way through the game.

*!~-_-~!*!~-_-~!*!~-_-~!*

"Now, let's throw kunai!"

Sasuke and I nodded. while my not-brother went to pick up his toy kunai from the grass, I unzipped Kyo-kun and passed a couple to Naru-kun.

We all turned to look at the row of target's hung up on the fence.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Set?" Naruto added, grinning.

"Go!" Sasuke said loudly before the three of us all threw our kunai.

Sasuke's was the closest to hit the centre of his target, missing by a few centimeters.

My kunai hit a little over the red spot.

Naruto managed to get his kunai dead center. On MY target.

That sent us all into a laughing fit, although Naru-kun was a little embarrassed.

*!~-_-~!*!~-_-~!*!~-_-~!*

"Hirarira, hirarirari." I sang under my breath while watching the clouds. Naru-nii and Sasuke-not-nii had both fallen asleep halfway through a game of hide and seek.

It was kinda cute, since they kind just collapsed on each other like a pile of puppies.

I got to my feet and skipped inside after seeing a cloud that reminded me a bit too much of a coffin. It was a dumb reason to go inside...but it reminded me of everything that was coming.

Mama and Mikoto were happily talking to each other, sipping from their tea when I came into the room.

Without a word, I crawled onto my Mama's lap and hugged her. I needed her. It wasn't fair that she was dying. It wasn't right.

Why did everyone die?

How would everyone die?

Would they all end up like they did in my dreams? I couldn't take it.

"Aki-chan...? What's wrong sweety?"

I shook my head, not answering. Instead, I kept my eyes shut and let myself fade into sleep. It was a skill I often used. It was kinda fun, being able to fall asleep almost when ever I wanted. I felt Mama chuckle.

I wasn't completely gone, but they continued talking, "So...will you take both of them?"

"Of course! I'll speak with Fugaku, but I doubt he'll say no. It that boy really Kushina's...?"

"Is there any doubt? He looks exactly like Minato."

"Akiko and Naruto...it's rather scary...isn't it?" Mikoto asked, "They look so much like those two..."

Mama let out a sad sigh, "I know. I walked into their room one night and I thought for a second it really was...Imagine what they'll look like when they grow up?"

"Aki will be beautiful...and Naruto certainly will look like Minato."

"Well, your boys are already quite handsome, so I guess we're even."

The two laughed, but Mama was the first to trail off.

"Miko-chan...do you think you could watch them for the night? I want to speak with the Hokage for a while...Besides...I know how much you want to dress Akiko up."

"Of course." Mikoto said, laughing quietly.

They continued on, but I slipped away before I could really figure out what they were saying.

*!~-_-~!*!~-_-~!*!~-_-~!*

I cracked my eyes open, suddenly aware of the arms wrapped around me. Looking through my narrowly open eyes, I saw that I was on someone's stomach. Whoever it was, was laying down on what I believe was a couch.

I was still groggy from my nap, so I closed my eyes, annoyed by the bright red light cast by the setting sun.

I realized who was holding me as I took a deep breath in, ready to let out a sigh.

It was Itachi-oniisan.

I wiggled around so I was able to see my 'cousin'...soon to be older brother.

He woke up the instant he felt someone looking at him, and I offered a small smile before hugging him tightly. Itachi was a shinobi already, so he had to do lots of missions and stuff. Sasuke and I never got to see him.

He was always tired too, so when we did see him, we couldn't play with him.

"Hello Ita-oniisan." I murmured, not bothering to speak clearly.

I didn't bother wondering why he had me, or where Mama was.

"Akiko." He greeted in return, offering a slight smile. It was nothing much, but I had noticed that Itachi never showed a lot of emotion. I guessed it was because he was all...Nin-Nin.

I wiggled out of his graps, rolling onto the floor with a quiet thud. I managed to land on my feet, surprisingly. A good ninja always lands on their feet!

"I wanna show you something!" I said happily, motioning for him to come with me.

My cousin slowly got to his feet, following me. I went into the yard, grabbing a bunch of leaves from a low hanging branch on one of the nearby trees.

I made one leaf sick to my forehead, and then focused more on attaching the others to my fingers.

I grinned happily at him, until I noticed the somewhat startled expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Ita-oniisan?" I asked in confusion, stopping the chakra flow to the leaves, letting them drift uselessly to the ground.

"Who taught you to do that, Aki-chan?" He asked me curiously, not answering my question.

I smiled, "I saw some academy kids doing it so I taught myself!"

Itachi sent me a look that looked somewhat...withered...like a prune person.

I yelped, blinking in shock when I saw that he had flicked my forehead. I stuck my tongue out at him, "What was that for?"

"You can't just play with your chakra like that. You'll get chakra burns. Those kids at the academy are older than you, Akiko. Their chakra systems are more developed than yours."

I sighed, but nodded. I understood what he was saying. "Yes Itachi-oniisan."

"Good job though...You're doing much better compared to other children your age."

I grinned up at him, "I can also throw kunai really good! I get it right on target almost all the time!"

He smiled, "Well...how about we go inside and have some dinner? You must be hungry after all the running around you did with Sasuke and...Naruto."

I giggled, "Yep. They got all tired out and fell asleep waaaaay before I did."

Itachi ruffled my hair before he headed back into the house. I scrambled to keep up with him. Two of my steps was one of his, and he was a fast walker.

We entered the dining room a few moments later where Aunt Mikoto was working on something.

Itachi greeted his mother before he left, probably to go to his room and sleep again. This left me in a very dangerous situation.

I stared at Aunt Mikoto warily, glancing down at the item she was working on. It was a kimono, the rich green colour standing out compared to the dark blues, black and whites most people in the compound wore.

"Hello Akiko-chan, did you have a nice nap?" She asked me, smiling gently.

I nodded slowly, "Yep!"

Aunt Mikoto was my Mama's best friend, and I had been coming to see her for as long as I could remember...

She loved to dress me up, like I was some sort of doll. I knew that if she had a daughter, she would probably never wear the same outfit twice. Mikoto liked making me kimonos and other things by hand.

It was actually a great deal of fun, but there was a part of me that hated the girly-ness of it all. I didn't want to act like such a...civilian. They ran around in those frilly clothes and acted all high and mighty, only to hide behind the nearest ninja when trouble shows up.

By wearing clothing like that, people will naturally judge me and see me as a civilian, instead of a member of the Uchiha clan, and daughter of a kunoichi.

Within moments, I was in the kimono. The green went nicely with my red hair, not clashing as terribly as most reds and greens would. It also brought out the flecks of gold and green that were usually hidden in my dark brown eyes.

Small yellow flowers dotted the fabric while stitched vines and leaves danced across the fabric around them.

Aunt Mikoto was almost squealing like a school girl, although she was much too refined for that. Her happiness was infectious. Almost instantly, I was just as excited as she was.

"So cute!" She said, pulling me closer so she could tie the yellow obi a little tighter.

I giggled happily before an idea entered my mind, "Ah! We should have a tea ceremony!"

"What a good idea!" Mikoto agreed, "Plus, having a tea ceremony will help you be a better kunoichi."

I looked up at her, "How?"

"Well..Kunoichi have to be able to walk into any place and get any job, right? To help her blend in. So, if she knows how to have a proper tea ceremony, she could easily get a job at a tea shop, right?"

I nodded, "And...maybe people with information...would come to meet at a tea shop...right?"

Mikoto beamed, "Ah, you're always surprising everyone. That's correct...You know, Akiko-chan...your mother has told me that you and Naruto-kun want to be shinobi."

I nodded, smiling in excitement. I was going to be super powerful. I already knew why I wanted to be a kunoichi and everything.

"So, how about I teach you how to be a kunoichi? You'll be top of your kunoichi classes when you enter the academy."

The very thought made me jump in place. Everyone would respect me, and they'd all know that I was Uchiha Akiko: Number One Kunoichi in the World! Of course, that would make Naruto-nii the Number One Shinobi in the World, since we were siblings. It only made sense.

"Yes please!"

The song Akiko was singing was Hatsune Miku's 'Hirari Hirari'

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