Irony and Chrysanthemum
I apologize to everyone for not updating for awhile (more like a year but wow time flew by)!
No excuse except for the fact that I just dropped the ball. So no, I'm not stopping the story and nor did I die, I just had to focus on life for a bit and just severely dropped the ball, that's all. With a nice dash of writer's block on top of that. Augh.
Anyway, please enjoy the show! I had to rewrite this chapter several times before I stopped until this idea came to mind. I'm hoping that it's not going to be too bad. I'm still not quite sure how to feel about this chapter myself but I hope you guys enjoy it. The next one will definitely be out faster.
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Warnings: Mentions of Suicide.
Chapter 8: Unlikely Friendship
Growth Arc
A smile was plastered on my face despite the distress I was feeling, knowing that I was not going to enjoy these next few weeks at all.
Mochi, a white small cat, was in my arms while I strode through the village with my bare feet, shoes left at home and forgotten as I am used to not wearing shoes at this point unless necessary. The little white cat was asleep, snoozing happily despite how sloppy I held the animal in my grasp.
Trailing behind my feet was a large, fat, black cat with green orbs that peered hungrily at many of the food stalls we were passing that I wasn't giving a second glance to. Kage was his name, he was one of the older cats that I hung around with other than Maple-chan, who is the eldest of all the cats I've seen and she seems to be in charge as well.
These two tended to follow me a lot these past few days, especially since I was no longer allowed at home during the day unless it was for food or for training.
That's right, Kushina's punishment was that I was no longer allowed to be home. I was no longer allowed to hide from the outside world in the house and enjoying only Mother's company with Kushina's occasional company when she comes to visit. Instead, I was not allowed to come back and be my normal reclusive self until I have made a friend.
One of my clanmates stared at me curiously, probably never seeing me around due to how scarce I tend to make myself, before turning and whispering to their friend. Their eyes tracked me the whole time I walked down the road, making me even more tense.
I am not sure what to make of this world still, despite me knowing the events about it. I still cannot help but compare this world to the one that I am used to even if I have been here for almost 3 years now. The one fact I just cannot understand was that they will happily allow a 3 year old child to wander around by themselves with little concerns.
I was nothing but a toddler, however apparently this village was safe enough for me to roam around?
"This is stupid." I muttered angrily with Kage lazily meowing in agreement with me. My hands moved to gently claw at my skin on my arms as I felt the urge to just run and hide until it was time to return home and sleep. I could go in the bushes, ask Kage politely to lead me towards an area for me to be able to relax in.
These cats that roam our compound definitely have to have some type of ninja cat blood within them, especially since I am able to communicate with them properly and have them respond in a type of way. Yes, cats of my old world would seem to act that they understood and perhaps they did understood a few words, but nothing to the degree that the cats here seem to understand. In all honesty, it did scare me a bit and eye the rest of the animals mistrustfully.
Especially those birds.
Definitely those birds.
I don't trust those winged creatures any more than I could possibly throw them. If the cats were able to understand me just fine, even with complicated requests, who knows what those winged devils could comprehend.
It's making me more hesitant in sharing my secrets around other animals, other than the cats who I knew wouldn't betray me for some reason. They tend to really enjoy being around me and even seek me out for me to be able to play with them.
I tussle with them, run around with a string for them to chase, play with the kittens and help watch them while the mother wanted to leave for a moment, and more. In all honesty, they were my friends and I was fine with that.
Probably not even just my friends though, as I've seen many of the Uchiha clan interact with the cats in a polite and respectful way, if not in a way that was very companionable. It makes me wonder if we have some type of bond to the animals, just as the Inuzuka does with their canine companions.
It would make sense, just as the Inuzuka clan tends to have the personality traits of their companions- being loud, out spoken, eager to lead but also eager to protect and follow commands if needed as do the Uchiha tend to mirror the behavior of cats.
Prideful, somewhat misunderstood, somewhat cold behavior towards others unless they have proven themselves to us that they could be trusted, and also slightly mysterious. Perhaps at one point we were companioned with cats? That could also be why we are so misunderstood as well though. Inuzukas' tend to be excused for their behavior due to the understanding that they had a close bond with canines. Same as the Aburame clan with their insects.
Perhaps a lot of Uchiha behavior can be explained due to the fact we do have such a close link to felines?
I tilted my head in thought, narrowing my eyes as I continued to walk through the crowded compound to get to the more open area of the town, trying to ignore everyone's looks. There was a mixture of looks coming at me from the clan members of them being amused at the fact that I had felines with me, of curiosity, of concern, and even some of dislike and disgust as if they knew what the elders thought of me.
I am certain they did though, despite Father telling them my progress and how I am improving in the ninja arts after only a year and some months of training, to them it was never enough with how eccentric I was in the beginning.
Even now, it is not enough.
That would definitely have to be something I have to fix, especially to be able to calm down the animosity that my clan was beginning to have towards the rest of the village and vice versa.
I relaxed only marginally once I was able to leave the more concentrated Uchiha area, which was hard to tell except for a lack of black haired and eyed clansmen who all look the same.
This compound was different from the anime, there were no true gates and instead it seemed like the Uchiha tended to claim an area near the gate entrance of the village and called that it. Of course, there is the head house which my family and I reside in. However, the rest of the clan tend to just live in buildings and apartments near by. We do have quite a few of nonclansmen also living in our district and it is actually quite comfortable that way as well. We were definitely more open to the village than say the Hyuuga who do have fences and a gate to control of the flow of traffic.
Considering though that the Uchiha was one of the founding families, perhaps that's not such a surprise that we are so open and willing. As like the Senju who had no true compound, we did not as well. It was only the adjoining clans who decided to come in after the two created the village that had compounds as well.
Instead, the Senju and the Uchiha were open all to the public, as if to show our trust in the people.
I had to stop myself from sneering at the thought, knowing that I was in a terrible mood to begin with. I carefully kept the smile on my face despite it hurting and chattered nonsense to the cats in my presence, knowing that neither were listening to me nor I was truly listening to myself with being lost in my own thoughts.
A load of all that trust did for either of us, in my opinion. The Senju were all but erased thanks to them diffusing off with civilians and other clans until only a small line of them remained. The Uchiha were still mistrusted by the people thanks to Madara, whispers of the horrors he did passing down to the point that my generation- even though removed twice to three times of when he was even around, was still being affected by it.
I halted suddenly, feeling my stomach growl in hunger as I blinked a bit in confusion, quite unsure where exactly I was since I was merely ambulating around.
"Kage? Where?" I asked, no longer rambling, and noticing how much my jaw ached from my constant chattering.
Kage halted, finally paying attention to my words as he noticed I was no longer in my own head and now existed in this time.
"Murrow."
I frowned, not quite understanding as I looked around a bit and noticed that we were close to the Academy. I eyed it warily before turning away, all intents to go back towards the forested area that I was more familiar with only to hear a squeal that ran my blood cold.
I was still bitter by the punishment, and haven't been the most agreeable which everyone could contest to. Yet, despite all this, Kushina has still found it hilarious to harass me when possible.
"CHI-CHAN! WHERE ARE YA GOING~?" The devil sung, knowing full well that I was quite cranky on the outside. However, she had no idea how I was feeling on the inside.
I turned onto my heel and quickly bolted away from the area, Kage in the lead as we attempted to leave Kushina and hide within the crowds.
I could hear the red hair woman become persistent though, a teasing on her lips that ran my blood frigidly as I searched around with wide eyes in the best place to hide at.
"Kage, where!" I said once more, urgently, and more as a command than the questioning from earlier. The black cat merely took a left before looking at me and the tea house that he had stopped in front of.
I nodded eagerly, bolting inside right after the cat, knowing that he would take me away from Kushina's greedy hands at this time.
Especially when my mental state so fragile once more, I could feel myself relapsing to how I used to be. A body whose soul was way too busy and frazzled to pay attention to the outside world. However, this time there was also the feeling of becoming unstable, of the snap that had happened in my past life.
The tilt in my mental state that had led me to tilt my body off the ledge of the stairs.
Kage let me be as soon as I ran into the tea house, probably to lead Kushina astray as she often knows that wherever the black cat was then I was not far behind. Mochi was awake in my arms, yet being still and not impeding my movements as I quickly dodged underneath a table that had a customer sitting by it.
"Pardon." I merely stated as I slid underneath the low table easily and curled up in the dark shadows, knowing that I would be perfectly hidden in my dark color clothing. I made sure to hide Mochi underneath me, covering his white fur with my dark shirt.
My heart was in my chest, beating frantically as I laid there, oh so close to the stranger who did pause momentarily at his movements only to continue as if I no longer existed and most likely going on with my charade.
I'm not quite sure how long I stayed under the table, only feeling safe enough when I no longer heard Kushina's voice calling out to me. I slowly slid out beside the stranger, sitting on the cushion beside him and leered towards the doorway of the establishment.
It took me a few more heartbeats to relax though, my body no longer tense as I was certain that I could definitely no longer feel Kushina anywhere near me.
The man beside me shifted, reminding me once more to face him. My eyes were closed but a wide smile stretched onto my face in a way that was just painful, abrasive to my soul. "Thank you, Mister." I chirped, knowing how adults cannot resist a cute and a polite child. "I apologize if I bothered you."
It was a few moments of silence, I suppose of the man eyeing me down and making a judgement.
My eyes snapped open though the moment I heard his voice, a slight hiss that had shivers running down my spine.
"You were quiet enough that I did not mind. I should warn you against hiding near strangers though… You never know what could possibly happen." The threat was veiled, but I was not stupid enough either to not hear it.
I stared widely into golden eyes, my hands going to grab Mochi in surprise. I traced the purple markings on his pale face as well as the long black tresses that went down his back.
"I…I apologize, Orochimaru-sama." I mumbled.
He wasn't quite sure on what to think throughout this whole situation, especially as his day continued normally.
He awakened alone, left his place of residence alone, did his research alone, and finally went to his favorite tea house for a break.
It was nice to not be on the front lines, for once. He was able to focus not only on his research, but some hobbies of his that he had sure neglected.
He sat in his usual spot, opening a book to read as he was served his tea as well as his plate of udon to enjoy from the server who was usually there to serve him his meals. Actually, she would be the only one to, due to the lack of fear she had towards him compared to the other citizens that were too wary to look at his face let alone come near him.
It was dangerous, for a Ninja to have a routine, but also good as it calmed the general populace of mice that roamed the village walls. Yes mice, not sheep.
Sheep are mindless, bleating and following the shepherd and the call of the shepherd's dog, with no real thoughts of their own.
No, the people in this village are not sheep, Orochimaru knew that quite well that using the word "sheep" with any type of populace was ignorant at best and being too prideful at worse.
Mice best fit these people, as they were able to spread the disease of gossip, mistrust, hate, and wary. The fleas jump from their bodies and biting others, spreading a plague around the village that warns them to be scared, to dislike, anyone who was too different from them. The plague then infects those who are not even mice, who could be sheep or other creatures, and succumbing them to their disease and bringing them to their levels. It left the predators isolated, alone.
Mice are dirty creatures, thrifty creatures, and those who can hold an image just so easily to look helpless. Yet, anyone who knows can see that mice are not helpless and can easily turn and tear on a cat or snake as they willed.
Orochimaru sighed with his thoughts, knowing they were getting quite bleak and a little too illogical for his liking. His eyes turned back to the book at hand, one that was dealing with chemicals and some of their reactions, with the writer in question stating that there must be more to the atoms that they currently know of. Something smaller than them and with more of them existing than the basic few that they have just discovered.
Everything was calm and it was his usual day of silence, only for him to lift his eyes a bit as he felt a slightly distressed chakra at the door way.
A child with dark hair, a white kitten in arms who was following a rather large, black cat. The child thanked the cat before running into the restaurant more with dark eyes wide and looking mildly wild as they scanned their surroundings for a heart beat before the child moved.
Orochimaru hummed lowly in interest, noticing the silent footsteps of the child who quickly made his way to his table, most likely not paying attention to who was there.
"Pardon me." The dark haired child said, quickly sliding under the low table without noise and resting close to his legs. He was hiding from someone, for some reason that Orochimaru had no clue of but was finding this situation quite amusing.
He feigned attention to his book and went back to eating the plate of udon, noting how the child managed to calm their own chakra and even seem to suppress it. He could see the dark hair spread out near him but saw nothing else as the child hid as much as their skin and the white cat within his black clothing.
Smart of the child to use his dark clothing to his advantage.
They each continued their own movements for several moments before the child suddenly relaxed with a small sight of relief and stretched out. He slid from under the table, white cat sill securely in his grasp and looking around sleepily with its blue eyes before it latched onto him.
He merely gazed at the animal and child with his own narrowed golden eyes, emotions carefully arranged on his face to be blank and as nonthreatening as he could possibly make them.
He knows very well that children tend to be terrified of him.
Orochimaru shifted a bit as he felt the child get a little too close, which drew attention to the boy who then turned to Orochimaru with a wide grin.
A wide grin that felt entirely too fake, especially with the eyes closed as he had them.
He felt a frown wanting to appear on his face but he halted it, instead staring at the child who was exuberating innocence.
"Thank-you, Mister." The child chirped at him, "I apologize if I bothered you."
Orochimaru paused in his movements, eyeing the child before choosing his own words carefully and warning the child as it is still a dangerous world out here. "You were quiet enough that I did not mind. I should warn you against hiding near strangers though… You never know what could possibly happen."
The child's snapped open, staring widely into his own gold eyes. Emotions seemed to flicker through the black orbs at a rate that the snake man could not read.
He felt himself tensed up, ready for another callous remark, another reminder of how he is not a part of this village that he has fought for and so desperately defended. A reminder that the mice did not want him here in the village despite all of his right to be here, but instead out fighting and away from them.
For a second, he wished Jiraiya or Tsunade were here, both who were infinitely better at dealing with kids than him but squashed that down in a moment.
"I…I apologize, Orochimaru-sama." The child mumbled out in a shy manner, eyes still focused on him.
"Just make sure you are more careful." Orochimaru stated, turning back to his book once more and dismissing the child without any words.
He waited, not quite reading the words as he was waiting for the scurrying of the child as they ran away from him in fear.
Instead it was a long silence, the child's eyes still focus on him.
For a moment, he was concern that the child could be extremely petrified despite the lack of fear he could sense from the young one.
"B…beautiful."
Golden eyes snapped over to the young boy who had dark heavy bags on his eyes, tussled black hair that barely reached his shoulders, and slanted eyes. The pale skin and dark feature of the child though was ringing bells in his head, something telling him that he should know who this child is.
"Excuse me?" Orochimaru hissed out, feeling an eyebrow raised as he stared down the child who looked so much smaller beside him now he was under the older man's gaze.
"I…I said that…That well… B-beautiful… Your eyes and hair and… Yes." The child stumbled out, a flush appearing on the pale skin as the dark eyes dropped down to the white cat in his arms who was now dozing off sleepily as if the conversation was boring the feline.
Orochimaru felt lost with only one thought flashing through his mind.
'Me? Beautiful…?'
What a strange day this was starting to turn out to be.
Mentally I was screaming at myself, an image of me grabbing the other me while shaking them as both were screaming for two different reasons.
'WHY THE FUCK DID YOU SAY THAT!? WHAT THE FUCK YOU CRAZY BITCH, WHY DID WE SAY THAT!?' Shouted the shaker.
'I DON'T KNOWWWWWW! I'M SORRY. IT JUST FELT RIGHT. I'M SO SORRY.' Shouted the shakee who was sobbing while being shaked.
A felt my face warm as a blush appeared on my face, not having any idea why I said what I did.
Was I just prone to using that fucking word? First with Mother, then with Kushina and her red hair- at least that was in my mind, and then now OROCHIMARU!?
"I…I apologize!" I squeaked out, my eyes tightening in embarrassment as I clung tighter to Mochi who was more than done with my shit and deciding to sleep out the rest of this event despite my displeasure. "I…I do not mean offense! Y-your eyes are golden and nice… Y-your hair is shiny too and, I apologize!"
The silence was unbearable before their was a huff of a low laugh, one that had my eyes snap open and then stare up shyly at the man who had a hand covering his mouth.
His own golden eyes were widen in surprise as my own as we both stared at each other in shock.
I felt my own lips twitched before I beamed at him and began to laugh, from relief or happiness I have no idea, but I laughed and it felt nice.
I ignored the looks of the other patrons who were staring with a mixture of surprise, probably at a child who was sitting next to THE Orochimaru and laughing instead of crying with fear.
"I'm sorry! I do not know why I am….am laughing!" I stated, looking up at him with a grin on my face and giggles bubbling from my lips.
"Well, this is a strange situation." Orochimaru stated back, his own lips twitching a bit as he stared down at me. His meal and book slightly forgotten.
"Ah! Aye…I mean, I should introduce myself." I stated, flinching a bit at my mispronunciation. "My name is Uchiha Itachi, nice to meet you, Orochimaru-sama!"
I jostled my arms a bit, waking up Mochi who mewed in protest and stared up blearily at me before looking at Orochimaru himself. "His name is Mochi, he is my friend."
The sannin seemed taken back again before giving a polite nod before hissing out in that strange voice of his, "Hello then Itachi-san and Mochi."
I blinked and stared at him in surprise, noting how… kind this Orochimaru is compared to the one in the TV show if not just detached and guarded.
Maybe he did not turn insane yet?
I was not delusional in my thinking, I knew that the Orochimaru even when young was probably a bit unhinged, but the way he was when he was older versus the way he was when he was younger as definitely a huge jump and it was not due to the fact that the snake man "was just evil".
He was pushed to be that way.
I will admit, I did not like Orochimaru due to the fact that in the anime and manga he was quite creepy and was unhinged. However, learning more about his past, he was a product of a village who have failed him. I'm not delusional in the fact that people of Konoha were innocent, not in the least.
These people were mice, scurrying about and seeming innocent but actually full of deadly viruses and bacteria that can harm a person. Not that I have disgust for them, but a typical apathy of the general populace, so far minus Mother, Kushina, Minato, Kakashi, perhaps Father, and then my clan.
My clan was a byproduct of the same mice, scurrying around and seeming small and insignificant in the mind of a predator, but able to strike and cause their own damage. They could spread a plague, the plague that was causing the Uchiha to become isolate more and more and thus less trusted.
Which lead to our death, to Sasuke's insanity, and the original Itachi's madness.
We weren't the only ones to have been bitten by the fleas they carry. Kakashi's father and as a product Kakashi was also infected by their plague. Kakashi is known as a friend killer, as someone ruthless, and is thus isolated from others although it hasn't driven him to the point it has with his father- it has done damage to him. The laziness, apathy, and more from the show most likely was from the disease of the populace which of course was also made into being due to Minato and Kushina dying.
Of course, the main hero of this show Naruto himself were also bitten, yet he didn't succumb to any diseases but manage to heal and rise above. To a point, even the original Itachi didn't fall easily but he was still hit with madness with a strange love for this village.
A love I do not have for anyone quite yet but to my clan and those I consider of mine.
I made myself blink, realizing I was staring at Orochimaru a little too intently due to the fact that his own gaze seemed to sharpen as well and stare at me like a scalpel trying to open up a cadaver.
I quickly tried to calculate in my mind when Orochimaru became more unhinged, and decided it was when Minato was told to be the next Hokage officially.
Which should be in a few more years, I think?
Internally I growled at the mess of a plotline that Kishimoto has given us, unsure if the Orochimaru in front of me could be trusted quite yet or not. It was fine if he was still a part of team Hiruzen and was still experimenting on prisoners but…
Ah hell…
I already failed Obito which is allowing the plan of Rabbit in the Moon become true. Even if I fail Orochimaru, why not at least try?
Internally I made my decision, giving a nervous laugh out loud.
"I apologize I… was making sure I was still not being searched for." I excused myself, a flush appearing on my face once I realized just how intensely I was staring at the snake man.
"You were being followed?" The man asked in a way that made me unsure if he truly cared or not.
I shuffled in slight unease before looking at the doorway of the tea house hesitantly. "Yes, by a tutor of mine." I worded carefully, wrinkling my nose a bit knowing full well I still love Kushina despite my bitter attitude by her punishments.
The silence continued as the man slowly began to move and eat at his noodles in a slightly robotic way, as if waiting for me to simply blurt out my secrets.
"I am being punished." I muttered embarrassedly, sinking into my shoulders a bit at the slight huff that came from the man beside me who also tried hard to seem disinterested as well.
"I see."
It was silence once more as I started to pet Mochi absent mindedly while trying to figure out what my next move was.
"…What exactly did you do that was wrong?"
I looked over at the snake male, surprised that he was interested in me, a small child. However, that also made my paranoia spike up in the fact that he was interested in me. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, wondering if he was going to only get close to me to steal my eyes. However, I don't have eyes so that cannot be a possibility quite yet however… I was the one who wanted to make a connection with him, possibly save him, get him to not destroy the village perhaps and have his redemption arch a lot earlier than after the war that costed Naruto and Sasuke their arms.
My thoughts were rushing, I bit down harder on my cheek to snap myself out of overthinking and turning to slightly frown at him. "…I came home late."
"I see, that makes more sense than what the rumors have stated." He nodded to himself, as if satisfying his curiosity before he stood up from the table and lying some money down.
I scrambled to my feet as well, realizing that I have been interrupting his meal and feeling bashful once more due to the act.
"Ano… Sorry! I did not realize that you were eating. I did not mean to disturb." I rambled off again, feeling flustered in my actions before halting when a hand touched my head.
I felt as if all of Konoha halted in their movement as well, holding their breaths, eyes sharp on the man in front of me as he slowly removed his hand as if he did not realize what he was doing. My heart was pounding in my chest, to the point I'm sure he heard it as well. Mochi merely looked up at Orochimaru, slowly blinking as if pleased by what just happened.
"You did not. It is fine child." He stated before moving to walk out of the tea house.
I stood there, my eyes wide and my arms tight over Mochi for several moments. I quickly looked up though at the man's retreating back and shuffled on my feet. My thoughts once more rushing a mile a minute before I took a deep breath and made my choice.
I paced after him quickly.
I was certain he knew I was following behind him. He kept his pace the same, merely moving with the gracefulness that made me slightly envious. He was tall, not lanky but lithe, yet the aura around him commanded respect.
It made the citizens nervous and they parted for him as if he was Moses and they were the Red Sea.
I didn't keep my intentions hidden though, knowing that Orochimaru probably accepted honesty more than anything else and if there wasn't anything else to my character but my blunt personality well…
Maybe this plan will go swimmingly?
It was for several blocks we walked, me trailing behind him by feet before I finally ran up closer to him, dodging the citizens who went back to the crowd after a safe distance has passed between him and them.
My feet moved silently beside his once I stood beside him, not kicking up any dust as we both moved through the town silently. Ignoring the curious looks from the villagers.
"What are you doing?" He questioned me, still moving and staring straight ahead as he walked.
"Following you." I admitted honestly, also staring straight ahead and acting as if nothing was out of the norm despite some of the whispers that continued to follow.
The elusive Uchiha heir, walking side by side with one of the most feared Sannin? A man they proclaimed was insane, was dangerous, was going to snatch up their children in the middle of the night and consume them whole.
They weren't wrong of course, well with most of it. Orochimaru was dangerous and he did snatch up children, perhaps not now but in the future he will.
My eyes narrowed in my thoughts as I scanned the crowds, perhaps though that they are the reason why he snapped. The reason why he was fine with being terrifying to people, purposefully scaring them for laughs. The reason why he turned to Danzo despite knowing what an utter rat that man was, looking for something that would help him with his goal of reincarnation to bring back the people who were the only ones to truly be kind to him. The thought chilled me, knowing that if he knew that I was reincarnated, he would probably stop at nothing to get his hands on me to unlock any secrets that my soul and body maybe held.
"Why are you following me, child." It was more of a statement than a question.
"Why not, Orochimaru-sama? You are a citizen of this village as much as I am." I answered back simply, not really giving him a reason as I continued on.
Call a man a monster and, if he's not Naruto of course, he will become one.
"You will be judged." He simply responded, opening up more than I thought the man would to me.
I scoffed a bit, holding onto Mochi who was lazily looking around, keeping his eyes out for any threats as well as for Kage. "They already judge me."
They do, for me being an Uchiha first and foremost. They disliked the Uchiha, didn't trust them due to us being a part of the police force. Despite the Kyuubi incident not occurring yet, I could already feel the tension that was starting to build up between us and the rest of the village. Then they judge me for me myself, the elusive heir of the police Clan that wasn't seen around much. Although when spoken, I smiled, I acted cute, I was polite. I still had too many rumors about me, with most of them talking about me being weak, sickly, and perhaps invalid.
Not that I was willing to dispel them, they were useful after all.
"…I see." He stated, as we made our way to the department of Research and Development. The building smelt weird, to even me from standing on the outside and not even entering the gates of the place. My nose wrinkled as did Mochi who opened his mouth as if to either scent the area better or to clear his nose.
I wanted to follow his example, but kept my mouth closed tight.
We both halted, an awkward silence being between us before he stared down at me with a slightly interested look in his eyes despite his blank face. "You are different."
I gave him a slight smile, letting my mask drop a bit as I gave him a knowing look. "We both know that their words are meaningless."
A smirk appeared on his face, one that was pleased and slightly creepy in my own opinion but it was… self satisfied almost. "I see."
Without another word, he turned to the gate and started to go inside of the building. I knew that he wasn't inviting me in quite yet, I wasn't to that point especially when we met just now. Instead his silence was a clear dismissal for now.
"I will see you again, Orochimaru-sama!" I chirped at him, a slightly cynical smile on my face as I let my emotions shine true.
He never responded, although I knew he heard, and he continued on into the building. I stood there until the door closed and let the smirk fall. I gave a tired sigh, one that had Mochi looking up at me in concern before he gave a slight purr.
"Tired, Mochi, and I'm only 3…" I announced with exhaustion, turning on my heel and going back into town for a couple of more hours of wandering around.
"Murrow." Mochi responded, purring a little louder as if he understood me. Something that I don't doubt at all.
"Find Kage. Take nap. Yes?" I muttered out brokenly, as Mochi mewed back in answer.
I smiled a bit, moving on now to go find Kage for a few hours of resting in the forest, just for a bit.
Omake:
"How was your day today, Itachi?" Mikoto uttered, smiling over at her son who just entered the house a lot quieter than he left it earlier in the day.
She almost couldn't handle the heart break of his sad look with the tears in his wide eyes as she pushed him out the door with Kushina's urging. Both of them knowing it was going to be the best thing for the boy as well as the worse punishment they could think of him. They even ignored his shouts to be let inside the house, hollering as if he was one of those alley cats he hung about until he kicked the door in slight anger and left. However, he was starting to get quieter in his leavings, the first day she had to kick him out the house, he charged right back in through the paper doors from the inner outside area after crawling UNDERNEATH the house to get there. She was not pleased with the mess or the destruction of the paper doors which she made clear despite his betrayed looks at her.
He loved to train, didn't mind stretching, running, jumping, target practicing, even writing to learn the sealing. However, socialization was his weak point and with him as heir, that was simply not allowed. After much discussion between her, Fugaku, Kushina, and even from Minato, they all agreed that this was the best step they could take.
A punishment that was disguised as a lesson.
"…Good." He uttered, having her look over at him first in surprise before smiling happily.
He looked dirty, she eyed his feet critically noting the cuts and the dirt that coated his extremities. She wasn't quite sure why he didn't enjoy wearing shoes, but it was one of the odd habits of her child.
Then again, geniuses tend to be oddities.
Oh, she knew he was a genius, one that was able to grasp knowledge of things easily, applied them easily, and even think more creatively than she ever thought a child genius could have. He was more flexible and adaptive with his state of mind than even Kakashi who was thought of to be a once in a generation thing. With time, perhaps it'll be shown if he could rival even Minato who was thought to be a one of a kind in the Konoha ninja community. However, he had a lot of flaws as well that tended to dampen the genius status, one with his dislike of socializing with people and the fact he was thought of to be invalid before hand.
Even then, despite that status, Mikoto knew her son was a strange one. Yet, he was still one she would fiercely fight for, protect, and love. He was perfect despite his oddities.
"Oh well that was good. Have you made a friend yet?" She wondered, noting if that was the reason as to why he was in such a pleasant mood, more so than usual.
"…Not yet. Almost." He answered, giving a smile that made her critically wonder the emotion behind it before she shuddered.
It was mischievous. The same smile Kushina and he normally gets before something major happens that they caused.
"I see, will you introduce us to them?" Her hands moved to grab a rag and wet it before going over to her son to clean the dirt off his face, arms, and legs noting that this will have to do until after dinner for a bath.
She tutted slightly at the abundance of cat fur on him, knowing that he was hanging out with the felines that he usually does. Especially with all the white fur that she was certain belonged to the cat he called Mochi who usually demands to be held for him to sleep on her son.
They were cute together though and she did not mind it that much. Especially with how happy they make her child.
The silence was drawn as she cleaned him up as he thought silently. Not for the first time, she wondered what was going on in his mind.
"…Yes. You will." He said at once, giving a much more innocent smile this time even though the impish look in his eyes once again dampened the aura of it.
"Well good! I'm sure we'll like them. After all, you don't make friends with just anyone." She answered, both of them blatantly ignoring the fact that he didn't have any human friends what so ever.
The laugh that he gave had her wondering once more if introducing her best friend to her malleable son was a good thing, especially since he seemed to have adopted some of her characteristics.
"Yes!" He chirped excitedly before happily zooming off into his bedroom to change his clothes before dinner occurred. Both of them knowing that his Father didn't really like to see messy people at the table.
With the silence of the house once again, Mikoto stared into the distance feeling as if karma was going to bite her back for making her reclusive son go out and interact with people.
"Nonsense Mikoto! He's just a child. I'm sure he made nice friends with someone he could relate to." She said outloud to herself, turning to the kitchen to finish up dinner while attempting to ignore the unease that was building up in her mind.
To be continued!
Thank you for reading and I apologize for not updating for soooooooooooo long. That was terrible of me, really it was. I appreciate all of the comments, suggestions, and questions that were given to me and just… wow, 32 reviews! That's so much. Well, for me, this is my first story after all aha. I'm really hoping you guys are enjoying it.
I want to know, what are your guys thoughts on him meeting up with Orochimaru so quickly?
Also, is the pacing of the story fine? I'm hoping it's not disjointed or going to fast. I still don't have a Beta after all and trying my best. So please feel free to point out any mistakes.
To Mr. Meowington who asked "kakashi became a jounin at 12 years old, obito died after kakashi became jounin...so obito and kakashi were the same age..? Because if rin at 12 had a crush on a 9 year old kid would be strange...or is that another new part of the plot?"
There is actually a lot of discussion about ages in the Naruto community, especially because Kishimoto did give such vagueness to everything. I've researched a lot and found this which is what I'm basing my story upon:
"Kakashi became a Chunin, Obito trained and did the exam next year again and at the age of 11, he did it. Now, Sakumo, Kakashi's dad died 5 years before Kakashi became a jonin, when he was 4, so with 9 a jonin. ... So Obito should be pretty much 4 years older than Kakashi"
Also this information:
"Now, Sakumo, Kakashi's dad died 5 years before Kakashi became a jonin, when he was 4, so with 9 a jonin. When Obito attacked the village, Kakashi should be like 13-14 and Obito 17-18 since12 years after that, in Part 1 Kakashi was like 26."
So if there is information that points out that Kakashi and Obito was the same age then I apologize. But from what I understood, Kakashi became a Jonin around 9-10, Obito was around 13-14. I'm not quite sure how old Rin was but if she was 12, the gap is not that much of a difference?
I honestly didn't think of Rin too much when trying to figure out how old Kakashi was exactly when he became a Jonin which we know the mission that occurred and where Obito "died" happen around the time as his promotion if not a few months afterwards.
So if the ages are off, I apologize but I'll be leaving them there and will just work on it.
Now I would answer any other questions but then… spoilers guys.
Thank you though for still following me and reading me. I hope to not disappoint and that I will crank out this next chapter sooner.
See you guys next time!
