"Naruto, honey, would you mind setting these bowls down at the table for dinner?"
Blue met black as Naruto's gaze flashed up to Mikoto. She nodded feverishly, not knowing how else to respond in this situation. Naruto had never before been asked to "set bowls at the table." When dinner rolled around in the orphanage, Naruto wasn't allowed to sit with the other children normally.
The Uchiha matriarch placed four pristine white bowls in the blonde's small hands, before remembering their additional member; hurriedly adding a fifth. The Jinchuuriki wobbled beneath the weight of the bowls, being exceptionally weak due to lack of nutrition over the years. Naruto nearly made it to the table, before of course, pathetically and in the most cliché fashion, tripped over her own two feet.
The porcelain bowls flew from the small child's grasp, crashing against the wooden floorboards; a select few shattering into innumerable little glass bits.
Naruto sluggishly bounced back to her feet, eyes quickly surveying the damage she had accidentally done.
The cinnamon roll too precious for the world's brain switched into Panic Mode while her mouth exploded with a volley of apologies, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I swear! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The minuscule tater tot soon took on a defensive position by holding her toothpick arms over her head, awaiting to be stricken.
Mikoto dropped the utensils she was previously grabbing from a drawer and slid to Naruto's side, instinctively pulling the trembling child away from the broken bowls and into her warm chest.
Mikoto's voice was surprisingly soft, not vicious as she spoke to the Uzumaki, "Oh baby...shhh, shhh, it's alright. There's no need to apologize. I'm not a monster you know. Now...are you hurt?"
"No..."
Worry washed away and a broad smile took its place on the woman's face. The elegant woman nodded, more to herself than Naruto. "Good. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you were to get injured."
Naruto lowered her arms and stared at the Uchiha woman through watery eyes. Why is she...so worried? About me? Aren't I nothing? A monster? A demon? Demons aren't suppose to be treated this way...right?
Mikoto hugged Naruto tightly, who was too shocked to tense up, and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Why don't you go sit at the table while I clean this up? I'll have Itachi set the table so don't you worry. Everyone else will be down soon enough."
The kid named after a ramen-topping nodded numbly, turned on her heel and left Mikoto. As Naruto was about to exit the kitchen to enter the next room, the dining room, she quickly noticed the duck-butt haired individual standing in the kitchen doorway. His mother was oblivious to his presence, too engrossed with her cleaning task. Both children stood there silently, their eyes connecting, hers were conflicted while his were full of loathing and disgust; as if Sasuke were looking directly at a bug beneath his tiny foot. It was brief, but felt as if they were staring at each other for eons. Sasuke was the first to look away, unable to stare at the blonde for another moment longer.
Naruto couldn't take it. She couldn't take another second of his blatant staring. Thank the Gods Sasuke looked away first. But the Uzumaki couldn't bear to look into those dark, seemingly never-ending dark abysses' he called eyes. Turning on her heel, she promptly left the kitchen; silently turning down Mikoto's offer for her to take a seat at the table.
When her presence was no longer felt, the youngest Uchiha scornfully scoffed to himself. He didn't understand why this Naruto was even in his home. It was his family. It was Sasuke's mother and father, not hers! And dear god, it was his and only his brother!
Sasuke grit his tiny teeth at the mere thought of that idiotic blonde getting close with his aneki. Itachi was his, not hers. No exceptions.
Snapping back to his senses, he not-too-eagerly strode over to his mother's side, and slowly dropped to his knees; attempting to help clean up that brat's mess.
Mikoto looked up from picking up a white glass shard, "Oh no Sasu-chan, it's alright. I don't want you cutting yourself. Besides, I'm almost done here. But thank you anyways."
Sasuke begrudgingly got to his feet, feeling exponentially useless as his mother scooped up more shards into a dustpan.
"Where did this glass come from? I heard the crash and came rushing down." he asked even though it was a fib, Sasuke had the displeasure of witnessed the whole display moments before.
Mikoto stood with the full dustpan, and dumped it out in a nearby garbage can.
"Naruto, the poor thing, dropped some dinner bowls. I think they were too heavy for her. I really
wish she would've told me, instead of setting the table I would've had her set out the utensils instead... I'm just glad she didn't cut herself. I don't want the poor child injured, she's like a baby bird after all; easily breakable."
Without his mother seeing, Sasuke's midnight eyes rolled around in his head while he mentally gagged. No wait. That might be actual gagging. Was that bile he felt rising in his throat? Or was that just hatred? They both tasted similar.
More thoughts of utter loathing popped into the small child's brain. Why does mother care so much? If that insufferable brat cut herself all she'd need is a stupid band-aid! It's not like she would've severed a limb! And a baby bird? How dumb! Although she does look pathetically weak...but she can't be that weak!
A stunning realization startled the young lad, Kaa-san has given into her whims! She's babying her! Perhaps that blonde isn't as stupid as I thought? Maybe she has mind-controlling powers! That's how she must be getting close to my family! It has to be! It all makes so much sense now! Sasuke's expression then turned enraged. How dare she! How dare she mind-control his family! Especially into "adopting" her and "liking" her! Had she used those accursed mind control powers on his mother so she'd clean up the mess?
Mikoto stared at her son as his face snapped through a torrent of emotions, one right after another. One second he was perfectly fine and relatively calm, then the next millisecond his face contorted into an expression of massive rage. Mikoto chose not to question it. Uchiha conflicts and emotions were not to be inquired about.
"Kaa-san? Why does she have to stay here?"
Mikoto heaved a heavy sigh, "Sasuke, we've discussed this, and I will not be repeating myself. Do not judge my decision, do not question this matter further; and most certainly do not treat Naruto in any indecent manner. Your father and I have discussed adopting Naruto, and it's been decided that she will be staying here, whether you like it or not."
Sasuke's next words flopped around until they drowned in his mouth; he then proceeded let out a set of strangled noises from his throat. Sasuke than began wringing his hands in the air and then finally gave one final huff. "Fine," he stated before crossing his puny arms over his chest; gaze set hard to the floor.
But Uchihas' didn't know when to quit, their stubbornness was known to cause wars. When another argumentative point popped into his brain, Sasuke whirled his head around to look up at his mother. Mikoto gave her son the famous Uchiha glare that could literally freeze Hell over.
Sasuke knew better than to tread further on the eggshell path his mother had laid out for him.
Sasuke wisely chose not to prod his mother further and avoid potentially getting into any more trouble. With a pout adorning his face, Sasuke pivoted on his heel, sulking over to the dining room.
He was greeted with the glorious sight of his older brother setting the dinner table, which Itachi always did when he was home; which wasn't very often. The duty was usually left in the small hands of Sasuke. On most nights, if not all, Mikoto usually made a meal that ensured leftovers. Mikoto would always pack some away for Itachi when he finally came home after a long and tiresome mission. And she'd generously set aside a full plate for her husband, so Fugaku could warm up the meal when he came home after an agonizingly long day of working at the Uchiha Police.
Sasuke had grown familiar to the sight of two occupied tatami mats. To see an extra two for his father and brother always filled him with a sense of joy and a bit of shock. But the fifth mat made him downright furious.
The temporary owner of the mat stood in the corner like an awkward potato. Sasuke wasn't sure when she'd arrived, because the easiest way to get into the dining room to cut through the kitchen. But you could also take the slightly longer route of through the living room; which connects to the dining room. That was the route the blonde twit must've done, because Sasuke would've noticed her presence if she'd entered the kitchen once more. His eyes narrowed on her. The abomination must've taken the other route as to avoid him. Good. She was capable of learning. Sasuke originally labeled her as a feeble-minded puppy, but he supposed she wasn't. Color him shocked.
Her striking blue eyes watched his brother like a hawk stalking it's prey; the blonde didn't even bother trying to hide her blatant staring. To say her staring was blunt was the understatement of the century, possibly even a millennia. It was unnerving to say the least, and Sasuke was internally grateful the creep at least blinked; it reduced the creepiness by only by a small fraction.
Naruto on the other hand just simply could not keep her eyes from migrating in the general direction of Itachi. She could've swore the lad had an invisible magnetic field cloaked over his entire body that kept drawing her line of sight towards him.
He was just so...pretty. No. Not in appearance, although there was nothing wrong with his looks. The ten year old's movements were languid, flowing perfectly into one another; he was the very epitome of grace. Every little thing Itachi did, such as setting down an empty glass cup, was aligned to perfection with it's neighboring dinner utensils. Who knew something as simple as setting a glass on a table could look so beautiful? It reminded Naruto of the pretty princesses in the multiple stories Hiruzen would read to her in the orphanage, on the very few occasions that he found time to visit. In the stories Hiruzen read to her, the princesses would have to undergo massive training in etiquette, such as placing a novel on their heads and walk in a straight line without having it get knocked off. Naruto couldn't help but think that if Itachi was a princess he'd be the prettiest princess in the Kingdom. No, scratch that, the prettiest princess in whole wide world. Not even the Hyuuga would be able to compete.
Itachi was keenly aware of the youngster's staring, I mean, how could you not notice it? You'd have to be blind. And the preteen most certainly had both of his eyes, in perfect condition he might add.
Naruto could've sworn she saw the corners if his lips tilt up. Surely she hadn't imagined it. Right? To be fair it had lasted the length of a blink of an eye, all traces vanishing from the earth. It was like the works of someone clearing the evidence of a family massacre.
The moment Itachi elegantly placed the last pair of pristine chopsticks down, Mikoto rushed in (nearly knocking Sasuke over) with a black oval-shaped pot. The midnight-haired woman was quick to place the kitchenware on the wooden placemat located directly in the center of the table. She brought her left oven-mitt covered hand up to tear off the right one. Naruto watched as Mikoto brought her now bare hand up to her forehead and wiped away invisible sweat. Although Naruto was more than positive that the dark-haired woman was incapable of sweating, it just wasn't a part of her body coding. And even if Mikoto was able to generate sweat, Naruto couldn't help but think she'd still be fabulous.
Mikoto's melodious laughter filled the dining room, making Naruto's ears perk up a bit. It was such a beautiful sound; the Uzumaki wished it would never cease to exist. The Uchiha woman flashed a smile as she looked down to the pot, "That was heavier than it looked! I suppose I am getting weaker with my old age, I think I should start working out again..."
The blonde couldn't help but agree with the Uchiha matriarch on only one account. That pot was huge! The pot (and the contents within it) most likely weighed more than her, which wasn't that hard due to being a teeny bit underweight; the cause being not having a stable diet in the orphanage. To say Naruto was underfed in that building was a grave understatement.
As for Mikoto's other statement, Naruto couldn't help but find that accusation to be false. In no way, shape or form did the Queen-like Uchiha appear weak; Naruto would bet her stuffed fox that Mikoto could bench press her. Which once again, wouldn't be much of a challenge. And as for the previous statement regarding her "old age," the Jinchuuriki couldn't help but think Mikoto was a fibber. In Naruto's mind the Uchiha matriarch was incapable of aging, just like the sweating, it simply wasn't in her being to age. There was no signs of aging whatsoever. Usually skin showed indications of age, but not Mikoto's. Her skin was a step up from the pearly white of her youngest son's, and it didn't contain any wrinkles; except for the slight creases near her eyes when she laughed. But they were no way near the point of crows feet. Maybe in another twenty years or so Mikoto might have a wrinkle. Mikoto's hair also didn't contain any streaks of silver, leaving no indication of old age. She was a Queen. A flawless Queen who's beauty shined brightly.
It was in that moment Naruto came to a stunning realization. She was in a house of royalty. Sure, it wasn't a castle like in the stories the Sandaime read to her, but perhaps it was a castle in disguise? Or a modern-day castle? The house was gigantic after all.
The more Naruto thought about it, the more it made sense. The way Fugaku and Mikoto held themselves, and the air of confidence that surrounded them (more Fugaku then Mikoto.) Even the slightest detail, such as Fugaku and Mikoto's walk, held a striking resemblance to royalty. They walked with purpose and poise, their heads held high as they stared ahead.
It was without a doubt that Fugaku was a King, Mikoto his lovely Queen. Itachi was their pretty Princess and Sasuke their arrogant Prince.
Fugaku and Mikoto both reigned over their kingdom, the Uchiha Compound.
But if the Fugaku was the King of his kingdom, did that make the Third Hokage the larger King that reigned over the larger kingdom; which was the whole village?
Did that mean the Clans were mini-kingdoms within a large kingdom? With their own Kings and Queens?
Before Naruto could further question her hypothesis and further hurt her brain, Fugaku suddenly filed in; taking his respective seat at the head of the rectangular table. As Fugaku criss-crossed his legs on the tatami mat his wife took her usual place to his right, while Itachi sat to his father's left. But before Sasuke could move to sit next to his brother's left, his seat, Itachi's gaze flickered over to the blonde who was oddly shying off into the corner of the room.
Naruto stared straight back at the eldest Uchiha sibling, his dark eyes shimmering like oil beneath a moon-lot sky. Itachi's gaze was unwavering; too steady to be real. Depsite the warm temperature of the room, a shiver was sent spiraling down her spine.
His posture was eerily as straight as a tack. She vaguely wondered if he were to sit any straighter, would his back snap in half?
The prodigy child's monotonous tone lowly spoke out to her, "Naruto, I've saved a seat for you. Would you care to sit next to me?"
Her teeth unconsciously snapped together as she thickly swallowed a ball of saliva. Of course she cared! She'd never sat next to anyone during a meal! Not ever! She was always subjected to sit in the corner, in her own personal chair. The chair specifically assigned to the demon.
~Flashback Of Doom~
( ﾟ∀ﾟ)
The sound of high-pitched, booming laughter belonging to that of multiple children circulated the small room. The additional sound of glass cups tinkling against the long, shabby wooden table was thrown into the mix as well. Wooden chairs as old as a millennium screeched across the withering floorboards as the children occupying the chairs propelled themselves back and forth; the sound felt like a constant stabbing to Naruto's eardrums. What was worse then that was the godawful screeching of some girl wailing at the top of her lungs. Naruto was thoroughly surprised that the girl's throat wasn't raw enough to stop. The crying girl had been going at it for a good five minutes. Straight. No breaks for air whatsoever.
Either the fellow orphan must've perfected her technique by now, or had an amazing lung capacity. Naruto, along with every other orphan, sadly had her wailing imprinted in their brains. Most, if not every single time an orphan was crying, it was undoubtedly her. Her obnoxious crying would ricochet off the walls and bounce right into your skull; resulting in a massive migraine.
The orphan girl's crying was purely an attention tactic. The only problem was it backfired on her, no one gave her the attention she so desperately craved; they instead did the opposite and choose to ignore her as if she wasn't even there. As if she were perfectly mute. How Naruto wished she was.
This time she was crying her heart out due to the massive clumps of lumpy mashed potatoes woven into her tawny brown hair. The boys at the table were up to their usual nonsensical games. They played this idiotic game where one boy would launch food from a spoon into the air while the others would attempt to catch it in their mouths. It was like an owner throwing treats to their dog. The boys played this "game" with all sorts of foods; basically anything they could either catapult, throw or catch. Everything except for soup. They had learned that the hard way. Naruto inwardly winced at the memory, that little boy's face was still scarred to this day.
Someway or another the food always found its way towards the crybaby girl.
But Naruto couldn't blame the fellow orphan girl, those mashed potatoes (if you could call them that) were absolutely putrid. You couldn't classify them as food. Naruto was vaguely surprised it was edible, the mashed potatoes weren't even white for crying out loud! And crying out loud that girl did!
The sound of Naruto's stomach rumbling ripped the whiskered-cheeked child from her thoughts; dragging her right back to reality.
She pulled her knees tighter to her chest; grimacing while her hunger arose. The blonde shoved her face into her legs, trying to keep her mind off of her stomach. It was a task easier said (or thought in this case) then done.
After a few moments of trying to calm her growling tummy, Naruto's head resurfaced to lie on her kneecaps. She stared ahead of her, at the splintery old wooden table. Electric blue eyes connected not only with the plates mounted with food, but the owner's of the food. Naruto wasn't allowed to sit at the table with her fellow orphans. Mrs. Molinda's mantra bounced around in her skull, "Under no circumstances is a demon such as yourself permitted to sit at this table! You might infect the children! And I do not need another lawsuit on my hands!
Naruto inhaled through her nose deeply, then breathed out a sigh. Every single day, no matter what meal, Naruto was directed into a dingy chair in the corner of the room and forced to watch the other orphans eat their meals with vigor. There were two types of orphans at meal time: those who blatantly ignored Naruto and wouldn't spit on her if she was on fire (she was internally grateful for those ones); or those who would openly stare at her while eating and taunt her to death. The older orphans were the worse; they were teenagers. They would shove the food in her face, literally. The evil teens would come over to her chair, the demon's chair, and stuff food underneath her nose, taking great pleasure in watching the Jinchuuriki squirm; inwardly going insane. After their meal, Naruto was left to quickly scrounge around at their near empty plates. Kids would look on and snicker at the sight, condescendingly sneering and calling her a filthy rat. Naruto didn't even fight back against the word anymore, because it came to the point where she started feeling like one too.
A pinch at her index finger shattered her thoughts. Naruto looked down, surprised to see her tightened grasp around the edge of the chair. The blonde lifted the hurt hand to her face, inspecting the lovely splinter that nestled itself right into her finger. The child inwardly sighed. The chair she sat atop was in far worse condition than the table, innumerable splinters that pricked into her skin constantly.
The splinters weren't the worse part about the chair though. Oh no. It was the word.
A single word engraved into the wooden chair: Demon. The letters were ragged, as if inscribed by a knife. It definitely added to the chair's already melancholic appeal.
In no way, shape or form did Naruto know how to read yet, but she'd been called that phrase for as long as she could remember. The word was a normality, such as "hello" or "nice weather we're having." The word was sadly engraved harder into her head and her heart than the chair she sat on.
( ﾟ∀ﾟ)
Itachi's cool eyes bore into hers, awaiting her response; whether it be verbal or physical. Naruto's hands balled up at her sides, not quite sure what to do. They were all staring at her. Four pairs of button-black eyes staring directly into her soul. Stiffly, more stiffer than any board of wood, the whiskered blonde child slowly shuffled over to the prodigy. She was keenly aware of the sound of her feet scuffing against the wooden floorboards. The Uzumaki didn't have time to even think about lifting her feet off the ground. And Naruto was more than positive that if she did lift her feet, they would come crashing down like cinderblocks.
Naruto wanted nothing more than for them all to ignore her like most of the kids in the orphanage did. The Jinchuuriki prayed they would just start eating and become too absorbed in their food than in her. But Naruto knew better; that was far too much to ask for. Naruto also knew the universe held an intense grudge against her for some reason she couldn't comprehend.
The child plopped down on the plush tatami mat, then to keep from embarrassing herself more than she already was, quickly criss-crossed her legs.
Crystalline blue eyes not-so-subtly peered to the right, staring directly at the Uchiha prodigy. Itachi, unlike her, was very subtle with his facial expressions; just like the small smirk that played on the corners of his lips. Itachi looked as if he had just won the biggest stuffed teddy at the carnival. Even though his midnight black eyes stared down to the table, Naruto knew the smile was directed towards her. That almost made her smile. Almost.
She mentally deduced that he generally radiated an aura of...friendliness, even if it was extremely subtle.
On the other hand the second Uchiha sibling wasn't so...nice. That word definitely couldn't be found in his vocabulary. Sasuke didn't radiate anything. Well, maybe he did radiate something; hatred and annoyance. Currently, from across the table Sasuke had his arms childishly crossed over his chest and looked at Naruto as though she was the lowest form of life imaginable.
The Uzumaki's gaze fell to the wooden table, eyes widening as her brain spit out a stunning realization. The youngest Uchiha loathed her. That much was obvious. But he didn't hate her like others did! Sasuke hated Naruto because she was invading his comfort zone. Overstepping her bounds into his territory. An innocent hatred. Naruto was oddly content with this discovery. Besides, Sasuke hadn't called her that word. Come to think of it, none of the Uchiha's had. It was more concerning that Naruto hadn't the slightest idea what the word meant, but she did know it wasn't a nice one; due to the faces people made when speaking it. Her head slowly rose, lips pursed; feeling the overwhelming need to ask the definition of the accursed word.
But Naruto wasn't left to think on that for too long because before she knew it a steaming bowl was placed directly in front of her. She closed her eyes as a heavenly scent filled her nostrils. Taking a deep breath, the precious child filled her lungs with the scent that wafted towards her.
Lively sapphire blue eyes popped open, flickering up towards the youngest Uchiha's pitiful attempt at a glare. Sasuke's lips were pulled back in a sneer, but what took Naruto by surprise was the jealously deep within his eyes. Naruto's eyes gazed down, lowering themselves to look down at his bowl. The contents within were not the same as hers, or the rest of his family's. Instead of the meal they were having, his bowl contained...eggs? Perhaps he only ate eggs at dinner? Maybe Sasuke was on some strict diet regiment?
Naruto didn't ponder on the subject for too long because her eyes herded her back to the meal in front of her. Naruto attempted to figure out exactly what she was seeing. For one thing it appeared far too elegant for someone of such low status (like her) to consume. A meal fit for royalty. Something Naruto definitely wasn't; a meal the Jinchuuriki definitely shouldn't be having. Secondly, the assortment of colors bursted to life in a single dish; something that left the Uzumaki in silent awe. And last but certainly not least was the biggest problem, Naruto had no clue how to use chopsticks. They were a foreign object that felt clumsy in her small hands. At the orphanage she was left to her own devices, which meant using your hands. It was fine with Naruto, hands are nature's forks.
To save herself the trouble, Naruto instead marveled at the beauty of the meal. Who knew food could be so pretty?
Was everything the Uchiha's did pretty?
Mikoto's chopsticks froze halfway towards her opened mouth. Her charcoal eyes fixated on the blonde, who was currently staring at her dinner in what appeared to be a solemn demeanor. The Uchiha's mouth clamped shut as she lowered the chopsticks back into her half-finished bowl. Did she prepare it incorrectly? That didn't make too much sense though, Mikoto had this (like every, if not most) recipe engraved into her absorbent sponge-like brain. Perhaps it was something Naruto was allergic to? From what Mikoto could recall both Minato and Kushina didn't have any allergies. Or was it possibly something Naruto didn't favor?
"Honey," Mikoto started, drawing all eyes to her, but she only focused on one extra elegant set, "If you're not feeling too hungry I can always pack away your dinner, so you can have it for lunch tomorrow. You don't have to force yourself."
Naruto was eternally grateful for the opportunity. She would use it wisely. A solemn nod came from the blonde as she stood to her feet and retreated out of the dining room, through the kitchen and up the long staircase.
Sasuke watched her leave, eyes hardening. What was wrong with her? Was his mother's cooking not good enough for that damnable brat?
( ﾟ∀ﾟ)
It wasn't long until Naruto clambered up the seemingly never-ending staircase. Sadly, Itachi's tour guide hadn't embedded itself into her brain. It had taken the Jinchuuriki three tries to find her temporary bedroom. After shutting, or sliding in this case, the door behind herself Naruto quickly snatched up her rust-colored stuffed fox and hopped up onto the bed. The Uzumaki then got beneath the comforting pastel yellow blankets, wrapping herself up in them like a sushi roll.
And that's how the child remained. She stayed burrowed beneath the comfy blankets, nearly falling asleep with the stuffed animal hugged to her chest. Just before Naruto could nod off into dreamland a loud thunk disrupted her. The sound was definitely distinguishable; the sound of the rice paper door slamming shut. The amount of force used to shut the door was clearly intentional...as if the person wanted to alert Naruto of their presence.
Slowly she unfurled the blankets, sadly making her way out of the blankety womb. The blankets were womb temperature after all, which made it all the harder to leave. The heavenly scent filled her nostrils once more, successfully making her mouth water. Electric blue eyes flashed over to the desk where a single bowl rest, steaming tendrils escaping from the contents within.
The child too precious for the world searched all around the room, but came up with no suspect. It was almost as if they'd vanished right before her eyes. Poof! Gone.
Instead, her crystalline eyes wandered back over to the rounded dish; beside it was the pair of malevolent eating utensils.
The distinct sound of Naruto's rumbling stomach was enough to derail her train of thought; thoughts of her hatred for chopsticks.
Naruto grumbled out loud, begrudgingly sliding off the side of the bed. The second her foot connect with the wooden floorboard a shiver coursed down her spine. Stupid cold floors. Upon closer inspection, the Uzumaki figured out there was a tiny piece of paper with refined black scribbles grounded beneath the chopsticks. The "scribbles" were of course kanji, but having Naruto read was like a goldfish giving a snail advice on how to fly.
A pitiful sigh escaped her lips. Naruto decided to put the elegantly written note away in one of the desk's drawers so she wouldn't lose it.
To stave off her hunger, and appease her monstrous appetite, Naruto grabbed a plentiful handful and stuffed it into her awaiting mouth. Flavors Naruto never had the honor of tasting before burst through the delectable food and onto her tongue. It was as if the meal was having a dance party in her mouth. She savored ever flavor and unforgettable second. Naruto stuffed herself silly, more stuffed than a turkey on Thanksgiving; but she was in too much utter bliss to care. Mikoto's cooking was Heaven. A meal fit for Gods. Before she knew it the bowl was empty. A pout climbed up and settled on her face. Naruto couldn't help but think that went by too quickly, and couldn't help but want seconds; possibly thirds. It was just that good.
The five year old sadly knew she'd have to wait till breakfast tomorrow morning for the next delectable meal. With the pace of a cheetah the Jinchuuriki curled herself up once more into the bundles of blankets. With her stuffed animal friend hugged tightly to her chest once more, and a belly full of delicious food, it certainly didn't take long for her eyes to drift shut and slip into unconsciousness.
( ﾟ∀ﾟ)
Whew! Aggressive and possessive Sasuke! I'd like to think at a young age Sasuke is very possessive over his older brother, than his family. I'd like to think that Sasuke wants nothing more than Itachi's attention, more so than Fugaku's. So please bear with bratty Sasuke, I know it's not really in character but I love making my own approaches; although I do try to keep everyone in character as much as I can. And lets just bask in the good ol' days of Sasuke's adorable innocence where he actually smiles and blushes in embarrassment. And puffs out his cute little cheeks like a puffer fish.
Also, I understand that Naruto may seem out of character as well. But, the poor child has been through a heavy traumatic experience, of course she wouldn't be all bubbly and smiling. We'll get there, I promise! And I'm also going to be going into more depth about what happened that night to Naruto because when I first started this fanfic I was in 7th Grade and wrote like absolute garbage and seriously couldn't write serious scenes. Please keep in mind next chapter will not be light, it'll have a warning; and don't worry! There isn't going to be rape or anything like that. I seriously can't stand those types of stories. They're unnerving.
ANYWAYS! Thank you all for reading! Please don't forget to drop a review if you get the chance, they're very inspiring and I love to read them very, very much!
And here to the people that did leave me a review last chapter:
HjLostDreams: Yes, Mikoto mind was definitely in a jumbled-up mess! I honestly don't know how I would've reacted in that sort of situation. Probably have a mental/emotional break down, curled up in a corner like an armadillo and cried. But I hope I did her justice in writing her reaction; after all Mikoto is an independent woman who was a trained kunoichi, so it was a bit difficult. Taking her character in mind, I couldn't write her reaction to be too...girly, or over exaggerated. I seriously hope I didn't. And as for the "special chakra like Kushina," I was referring to Naruto having Kurama inside of her; just like Kushina did. BUT! I am experimenting with the idea of having Naruto have the chakra chains, I'm not 100% sure if I want to have her be able to do them. I've been thinking about it ever since I started this fanfic, and I have to be honest; I'm leaning more towards yes. I mean, it'd be pretty cool to keep on the tradition of chakra chains? It's like...Naruto's living out her father's AND mother's will/techniques. And yes, having Shisui alive will prove to be interesting with Itachi. Also, yes again (sorry for being repetitive), I'd like to think this time around Kakashi would be at least a little more active with his training, along with his students. I mean, he's a man of a THOUSAND jutsus, yet he only uses like what...5? And the Chidori being the most used. I intend to change that. But Kakashi won't be the only one teaching Naruto a thing or two...and the people who do teach her aren't Uchihas. (I won't say more because I don't want to spoil, my lips are sealed.)
yaoigirl2000: Thank you! And thank you so much for reading!
: xD Ohmygosh! Thank you so, so much! I personally don't squeal anymore, I do this loud screeching thing that I (like everyone else on the internet) calls "pterodactyl screeching." It worries people and garners odd looks, I absolutely love it.
myheartisopen62: You're absolutely welcome! But thank you in return for reading! It means the world to me. And also, I'm so glad. I mulled it over for a very long time (like a week?) and decided it's better to keep them short; I can update faster that way. And it's much easier on the readers.
yaoiiscool: You're 100% welcome! Thanks so much for reading!
JuiceOfTheOrange: First of all let me just say how much I love your username and profile photo! I'm extremely pleased that you found this story as well, and thank you for that! I don't mind not having more reviews, I don't want to force people into do anything; although reviews are loved. I'm delighted that my chapters aren't completely boring xD. Although I do think I'm going to limit my chapters to about 5,000 words or more so I can update more chapters at a faster pace, sorry if that bothers you. And ohmygosh! Really!? I keep true to the characters?! That's...that's! Ohmygosh! That's...wow! Thank you so, so much! I honestly have a gigantic fear that every time I write I feel like I'm defiling the characters, and making them into complete trash. And yes, I think Sasuke's and Itachi's relationship is most important. It's a bit hard to write because there isn't much to go on, for instance, there isn't much focused on them before the Uchiha Massacre (unless you watched the anime I suppose, I did not.) So I basically have to make it up as I go along, and try to keep it realistic. In my mind I like to think in Sasuke's younger years he's extremely possessive over his older brother, wanting nothing more than to grow up like him; because Itachi is Sasuke's role model. I'd like to think Sasuke wants to make his father proud, but wants to make his brother even more proud. I'd also like to imagine that Itachi is also VERY possessive over Sasuke, but is way more subtle about it; and the possessive nature Itachi possess doesn't come out until provoked. And don't worry! Naruto will become the protagonist we've all come to know and love, she won't become all broody and dark. She's just struggling to figure out what's right and what's wrong, and trying to cope after what tragic event occurred (which will be shown next chapter.) Thank you once again for reviewing, and I hope I answered all your questions. c: