AN: I would like to just take a moment and apologize for the lack of consistency with this story. In numerous place i have jumped about on how old Naomi actually is right now. I started this fanfiction almost four years ago and was going to go in a very different direction than I am now going. And so, previously it has been said that Naomi is either 14 or 16... this is now false information. She and Itachi are 13 years old, and Sasuke is 8 years old. If you get updates for the story in the next couple of days, it is me making updates to my previous chapters that are no longer consistent with my current plot line. I seriously apologize for these oversights and will do my best not to let them happen again! Thank you for reading! Love, LadyShadowNinja18
P.S. The pen-name in the first chapter, "FaithfullyTeamEdward1," was my previous pen-name that I recently went away from.
P.S.S. In two previous chapters I mentioned that Hana was one of Naomi's genin squad-mates... that is no longer an accurate statement either. As with her age, I am working to correct the disparity.
Chapter Seven: Letting Go
Blood red sharingan stared at her from the darkness. Their stare was icy despite their burning color, and hate-filled. Flashes of lightning cracked, revealing blood platters on the floor and walls of the room. Naomi stood frozen in place. She tried to scream for Itachi to stop but no sound left her throat.
Slowly the scene changed. The room grew bright and faded into the familiar training arena. She was leaning against the trunk of the Sakura tree with her arms crossed lightly across her chest. In front of her were two eight year old children, sitting, facing each other under the tree.
Pink petals fluttered to the ground, drifting in the breeze. Naomi wasn't surprised as she realized that the children were Itachi and herself. This had to be right before they'd graduated from the academy.
"You know what Naomi?"
"Hmm?" Her younger-self responded, turning her attention away from the book of hand signals in her lap.
"I want to be Hokage one day," Itachi said nonchalantly, placing the wooden kunai, which he was carving, to the side.
Younger Naomi smiled. "Really? That'd be so cool! But, why?"
"It would mean that I was the best ninja in the village. Only the best can be Hokage, Naomi." Even at the young age of eight, Itachi was confident in everything he did and spoke with serious conviction.
A giggle escaped younger Naomi. "You can probably do it. I mean, you are an Uchiha. We're the best in the village anyways." Even young Naomi had a cocky side.
"Exactly!" Itachi nodded seriously.
Older Naomi couldn't help a slight smile. These two children were so confident. They hadn't even seen real battle yet. They had lived through the nine-tail's attack on the village, but they were still the innocent academy students that she and Itachi had been.
Itachi picked up his Kunai, which was surprisingly sharp for wood, and threw it skillfully at a spot on the tree to the right of older Naomi, just centimeters away from her ear. She didn't even flinch. Looking to where it stuck out of the trunk, she saw one of their old painted targets. He'd hit the bulls eye, as he always did. A glance back at the younger version of her brother showed a pleased smirk on his face.
Her face quickly dropped, as did her arms from their crossed position, as his face contorted. The arena faded to black again. Itachi's body lengthened as he got taller. His kind black eyes hardened to his strange, new red sharingan. The civilian clothes faded into black ninja gear. That little kid's ambitious smile turned into a dead grimace.
Naomi's mouth dropped open to release a despaired breath. "Itachi…" She whispered sadly. A crack of lightning flashed.
At his feet she saw her parents. They were staring back with empty eyes, now corpses.
"Mother! Father!" she screamed, stumbling forward, barely staying on her feet. She couldn't bring herself to get close enough to touch them though. Tears were running down her face as she looked into his murderous eyes.
"Itachi! Why?" she screamed at her brother.
Without a word, he turned his back to her and began walking to the door.
"Itachi!" No thoughts passed through her head, she just acted. Shooting forward, she raised a fist to strike him. Itachi didn't have to put much effort in. He turned and caught her fist tightly, blue chakra sparking from his hand to control her extra strength. Naomi was immobilized in place. As hard as she tried, she couldn't break the paralysis Jutsu he was also using.
Looking up into Itachi's face, she saw a small flicker of remorse.
"I'm leaving." There was a small amount of sadness in his voice, "but the trees will always be the keepers of our secrets."
And, with those words, Itachi dropped Naomi's fist and was gone. She gained her mobility too late as she fell forward, falling into blackness.
Naomi shot upright, gasping. Sweat covered her forehead and her black hair was soaked, sticking to her neck, face and shoulders. Dream Itachi's words rang in her ears. The trees will always be the keepers of our secrets.
"What does that mean?" she growled to herself irritably.
"What does what mean?" a gentle voice asked from her side. Naomi jumped, startled by the presence of someone else.
Where was she? She thought. Looking around the room she deduced that she was in a hospital room. She must have passed out in the Hokage's office. In the doorway of the room was Kakashi.
"Naomi?" he asked slowly approaching.
As the memory of her return crept back info her mind, tears began to fill her eyes. Tightly she clenched her fists around the sheets, but she couldn't control the wave of emotions coming over her. Everything hurt. Her heart, her head, everything. She couldn't get full breaths in and her body was starting to shake violently from her sobs.
The moment her breakdown started, Kakashi dashed to the bed, sat on the edge and pulled his friend into a tight hug. She collapsed into him and let him hold her as she shook.
Kakashi was at a loss. He didn't know how to comfort her or what to say. She'd never been one to show pain- emotional or physical. Even when her cousin, Obito, had been killed in action, she hadn't shed a single tear. She hadn't spoken for a few weeks, but that he could deal with. Tears completely threw him off.
Awkwardly, he stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. "Shhh," he hushed calmly, "Naomi, everything will be alright." Silently he cursed himself for not sounding as sure of himself as he'd wanted to.
Naomi froze, mid sob, at his words. She looked up at Kakashi and yanked herself out of his arms. Her eyes turned into dangerous slits, red from the tears.
"Alright?" she hissed. "Alright? How is everything going to be alright?!" She screeched. "Can you bring them back, Kakashi? My mother? My father? How about Shuisui? Can you get Itachi to come back?" She was on a hysterical roll then. "Can you bring back the good relationship he and I used to have? If you're bringing that back, you might as well bring back Haru and Obito!"She threw Obito in specifically to hurt Kakashi.
The sharingan eye, the one he kept covered by his mask and headband until battle, was transplanted from Obito as he died on the battlefield as only a genin.
Naomi saw his knuckles tighten and his face go white. Somewhere in her head she knew that the things she was saying weren't fair. She had no reason to be mad at Kakashi. He'd never been anything but a great friend to her and he didn't deserve her attacks. But, the forefront of her mind was focused on her anger. She couldn't handle the torment that was waging war on her heart and she needed someone to feel how she did.
After a moment of silence, Kakashi took a deep breath and released his fists. "You don't mean that, Naomi." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than convince her.
Naomi didn't say anything, just turned away from him. He didn't leave though. He knew she really did need him.
They sat in silence for close to an hour. Finally, Naomi let out a breath and turned to face Kakashi again. Her eyes and nose were red- her cheeks tear stained.
With a small sniffle, Naomi whispered, "I'm sorry Kakashi. I didn't mean to lash out at you. I know none of this was your fault. I just," her voice got shaky as tears threatened to break out again, "I just can't wrap my head around that my broth- that Itachi took out the entire clan."
Kakashi scooted closer to her again and put a comforting arm around her. "He didn't take out the entire clan. You're still here. And so's Sasuke."
At the mention of Sasuke, Naomi became more alert. She'd temporarily forgotten about her little brother and she felt awful about it.
"Where is he?" She asked.
"Are you looking for Sasuke?" Hana's voice asked from the door. The moment Naomi looked up Hanna was rushing to the bed and threw her arms around her friend.
"Oh, Naomi! I'm so sorry!"
Naomi clutched Hana tightly to her, Kakashi having released her shoulders. This time, though, she was able to contain most of her tears, and did not spiral into a sobbing mess again. She had finally remembered that she still had family left. Sasuke.
Only a couple of minutes passed before she began to pull away from Hana. "Do you know where Sasuke is? I want to see him."
Hana looked at Kakashi quickly and then nodded. "He's a couple of rooms over."
Rising from the bed, Naomi got to her feet, not bothering to slide her sandals on. She was still dressed in her black pants and white top, but all of her gear was in the locked chest at the foot of the hospital bed. Naomi didn't even look at the chest. Without another word, her legs led her out the door, down the hall and to the room with "S. Uchiha" slid into the name plate.
"Wait, Naomi," Kakashi and Hana called after her.
Her hand froze on the door knob, realizing that her mind had gone blank as she'd exited her room. Suddenly she realized that she was scared of what she might find. Had Itachi laid a hand on Sasuke? Was he barely hanging on? He had to be scared out of his mind about what he'd seen.
"Is he alright?" she asked in barely a whisper, turning a forlorned looked over her shoulder at her friends.
"Yes," Hana replied, "Physically, your brother is the picture of health."
"Physically?" she asked, latching onto the key word.
"Itachi, we're almost positive, did not lay a finger on him. There were no injuries," Kakashi replied this time, "But, there have been some psychological issues that he'll have to get past. He did discover the massacre himself. This is probably the cause of his nightmares as well."
Naomi snorted lightly.
"Yeah, probably. I'm a medical ninja, remember? I see this stuff here at the hospital and in the field all the time."
As she pushed the door open, she could just barely make out Hana muttering, "That doesn't always make it any easier."
Sasuke was sitting stalk straight in bed. His fists were clutching the sheets with white knuckles. His face was pale and his eyes stared blankly at the opposite wall.
Carefully, Naomi crept toward her brother, lightly reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"Sasuke?" she asked softly.
He didn't respond. He didn't flinch or even blink. Nothing indicated that he'd heard her or even knew that she was there, touching him. Behind her, Hana and Kakashi were standing at the door, watching the two Uchihas.
"Sasuke?" she said a little louder this time.
Still, there was no sign of response. So, Naomi sat so that she was directly in his line of sight, ducking her head so that they were eye-to-eye. The moment that they made eye contact, Sasuke let out a ear shattering scream, jumping back, curling up against the wall at the head of his bed.
"Itachi! No! Please don't hurt me!"
Naomi's eyes widened in shock. His mind was tricking him into thinking that she was her twin brother.
"Shh; no Sasuke, it's me," she whispered soothingly, slowly trying to move toward the scared boy, "It's me, Sasuke. It's Naomi."
He looked up from where he had buried his face into his knees and arms. Naomi was amazed to see how much fear was looking back at her. She would do anything to never have him feel the fear that he was going through. She would never have thought that it would be their brother that would inflict this kind of fear.
"Naomi?" he whispered.
"Yes," she breathed in relief, nodding slowly.
After a second of fearful deliberation, Sasuke scrambled forward and curled up in his sister's open arms. His smaller ones clasped tightly around her neck as he shook. Naomi could feel her shoulder getting wet, but it didn't bother her. At least Sasuke was here. He was safe. He was alive.
"Itachi…" he sobbed, "Itachi killed everyone."
Naomi's arms tightened around his small frame as she resisted the urge to cry again. She knew that she had to stay strong for the child in her arms.
"I know Sasuke," she whispered, her voice strangled. Her friends were still there, which helped her control herself. "I know. But we're going to okay. We're going to get through this."
Kakashi and Hana stayed in the room until Naomi tucked her brother in, having cried himself to sleep. Once the sheets were set, she looked up at her friends and pointed to the door. The three left Sasuke to sleep.
They stood in the hall in silence for a few minutes. Nobody knew what to say to the others. What could they say? A whole clan in the village had been wiped out by one of its own. Only two- three if the assassin himself was included- people remained from a long legacy of powerful ninja. Their whole family was destroyed. What could they possibly say? Nothing. They could only be there.
"I want to go there," Naomi said, barely audible. She had to put her feelings to rest for her sake and for Sasuke's.
Neither Kakashi nor Hana was surprised by this. Of course she would have to see for herself. To her, everything was still surreal, and for her to wrap her mind around this massive loss, they had known that she was going to need to go back to the clan's home.
"Are you sure that you want to do that now?" Kakashi asked regardless.
Naomi nodded.
"Do you want us to go with you?" Hana asked.
Naomi thought for a second. "Will you walk with me to the gate? I'll go inside by myself." She felt weak for even asking that much, but she knew that if she tried walking there alone, she would turn and run the other direction- possibly after Itachi.
"Of course, Naomi," the said in unison.
Silence had fallen over the three as they walked toward the Uchiha clan sub-village. Clouds loomed darkly in the sky. The streets of Konoha were virtually deserted. Even on cloudy days, such as that day, there were women outside doing laundry, children running around or ninja circulating the paths. There was next to no one out though.
Finally, they reached the stone gate with the Uchiha fan painted at the top. Naomi froze, looking up at the large crack running through the emblem. There was yellow security tape across the entrance.
This was it. Did she want to see? Could her heart handle whatever was beyond the tape? Maybe it was a bad idea to come here. A million thoughts ran through her mind. Once she could get her feet to move, Naomi ducked skillfully underneath the barrier, Kakashi and Hana remaining obediently on the other side.
No birds chirped. There was no sound. Her steps and breaths she heard through gauze-filled ears. No bodies remain for the medical ninja would have already removed them all immediately after investigating.
Walking through her clans streets she began mentally removing the kunai, shurikin, cracks and scorched that marked the buildings and ground. She erased the bloodstains. In her mind's eye, the roads came to life again. The flower show that her grandmother had run was overflowing with fragrant blooms. The bakery that Shuisui's family ran smelled of fresh bread and flour. Haru was in civilian clothes, helping his father fix their roof. Obito was sitting on a bench, reading one of his training manuals. The sun was out and the younger children were running around with sticks and climbing the tress. Everywhere there were smiles and lively conversation. Naomi couldn't help but to smile at how alive her clan had been.
The illusion, that her mind had created, shattered a few blocks from the gates in front of her own home. The skies grew dark again. The laughter that she'd created faded into silence behind her. She stared numbly at the name plate on their front gates: Uchiha, Fugaku. The iron gate swung freely in the wind, screeching sharply as the current grew stronger. With a shaky hand, Naomi pushed it aside and walked slowly through. There wasn't a single weapon or blood splatter on the way to the building. The only mark was the knick in the wall where Itachi had thrown a kunai into the painted fan the day he was accused of murdering Shuisui. Had that only been a few days ago? Naomi felt as if it were a lifetime ago that she'd stood there and taken for granted the lives around her home.
Reaching the door, she hesitated. What if they'd missed her house? What id her parents were still lying inside, cold with death? Her breaths were rattling in her chest as she stepped over the threshold. The near perfection left on the outside was deeply contrasted by the destruction inside. Furniture was in pieces and thrown everywhere. Curtains hung sideways, half fallen from the windows. Shurikin and kunai, with heavy traces of chakra, were scattered throughout the house.
Slowly she made her way down the halls. Two doors were closed out of the whole house: hers and Sasuke's. Swallowing hard, she slid each door open, one after the other. Both rooms were completely spotless. Their beds were perfectly made. Not a single piece of furniture was out of place. No weapons or blood had touched the walls or floors. It was as if the rooms she and Sasuke were meant to return that night.
Their parents' room was a completely different story. Theirs matched the rest of the house. Their bed and other furniture was smashed and toppled.
The thing that froze Naomi in place was the platters on the walls. By the pattern of blood, it was clear that at least one throat was violently sliced open. There was huge blood stain on the floor where they had bled out. Her legs began to shake. Tears began to fill her eyes. Retaining the very last of her control, she turned and ran from the house, running blindly through the hall. Her legs carried her to the wall with the wounded fan. As soon as she reached the wall, her hand clenched tightly shut.
"Dammit Itachi!" she screamed, punching the wall, right on the crack, as hard as she possibly could. Before the legendary sanin, Tsunade, had disappeared, she'd trained Naomi to channel her strength at a focused part of her body. Because of this, the whole section of the wall crumbled around her fist.
She gave out an involuntary yelp as the dust rose around her and her legs gave out beneath her. Her shoulders clenched and shook violently as tears cascaded, unbarred, down her face.
"Itachi! Why?" she screamed to the skies in agony. How could he do this? To their village? To their clan? To Sasuke? To her?
"You were supposed to be a role model for Sasuke! You were supposed to watch over me!" she cried, "You were supposed to be Hokage one day!"
She was on her knees with her arms wrapped tightly around her waist as she sobbed uncontrollably, unleashing all of her pent up sorrow and anger. Her breaths were heavy and racking. The blood running through her veins was hot with rage and agony.
"Mama! Papa!" she had never felt so much emotion before. It was like she was being ripped apart from the inside out.
"Itachi!" she sobbed over and over. She had no control over herself. There was no stopping the emotions emptying themselves from her. Everything hurt and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Somewhere, whether real or from the deep recesses of her mind, she heard someone calling her name. It quickly was gaining volume. As the voice came right up to her, she looked up. Through blurry, red vision, she saw Itachi.
"You did this," she snarled, launching herself at her brother. "You killed all of them!" Her fist was drawn back as she neared him. Her knuckles ached from having punched the wall, but there was an ebbing from the chakra that was concentrated there.
"Naomi, wait," he said. Her fist flew past his head, barely missing as he dodged.
"Did you wait for them?" she yelled, throwing a kick up to barely miss his head again.
"Naomi," he said again. Something was off about his voice, but she couldn't place the problem.
"How could you, Itachi?" the tears were finally beginning to clear from her vision as anger overpowered the sorrow.
"Naomi!" he said one last time, finally catching her flying fist by the wrist, locking tightly around it.
Finally, Naomi looked at him and her eyes widened in shock. The red she'd so clearly seen faded to a dark blue. The long hair shrank to a close cut. The smooth face grew hair at the chin. The pale skin darkened by a couple of shades.
"Asuma?" she breathed. Realizing she'd been attacking her friend, she allowed her chakra to settle and threw herself into his arms. "Oh my God, Asuma! I'm sorry!" Tears flowed less violently.
His hand went to the back of her head as he pulled her shaking body into a tight hug. "Shhh," he whispered, "It's okay, Naomi. Just let it all out."
That's when the clouds opened up. Rain came pouring down over the whole village. Neither Naomi, nor Asuma moved. He stood there and held his friend as she released the sadness she'd locked down all morning. They were soaked through to the bone, but they didn't move.
Slowly, Naomi's shoulders eased. Her tears began to run dry and her sobs began to quiet down. It took almost two hours, where they'd sunk to the muddy ground, but Naomi finally was able to gain control of her body again.
Pulling away from Asuma, she pushed rain soaked hair out of her face. Asuma couldn't tell where the tears ended and the rain began, but her eyes were puff and red.
Looking her straight in the eyes he said, "You know you're going to be alright, right?"
It took a moment, but Naomi took a shaky breath and nodded.
"The pain will, of course, always be there, but you're strong. Over time, you will be strong enough to bare this."
"I know, Asuma," she whispered.
"Are you ready to leave this part of your life behind?"
The last stores of tears still sticking to her eyes, she looked around her. One last time she could see the life that used to exist within the walls of her clan sub-village. As the sun faded back to rain, she nodded again.
"Yes. They're gone and there's nothing I can do. I have to let them go, because there is nothing left for me or Sasuke here anymore."
Using Asuma for support, they walked out of the sub-village. As they drew closer to the hospital again, Asuma said, "There's an apartment down the street from the academy open. It has two bedrooms and one bathroom with a small kitchen."
Wiping away some of the last tears in her eyes, Naomi smiled a small, grateful grin. Her previous sobs had been cleansing. She didn't feel so heavy anymore.
"That sounds perfect."
"It's already rented to your name."
"Perfect," she repeated.
"Good. Now, let's go get Sasuke and get you guys settled.
AN2: Thank you for reading! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. Good and bad feedback is always welcomed! it helps me to judge how i'm doing!
