When Worlds Collide
Chapter 9: A New Family
So, a few announcements before the story. First, the upload times. Every upload will be on Wednesday, I just cannot guarantee the exact time or even a relative time. I'm working on a couple of other projects in conjunction with this one that sometimes take more time than I had planned for, i.e. the fiasco that was last chapter getting corrupted. Second, I will be attempting to respond to any ideas you guys leave me if I think they won't work. If they aren't explained away either in the story or in an Author Note, then congrats! Your idea is likely in the bowl that makes up The Lottery. Yes I was serious about that. Finally, I'm gonna go ahead and close the Kai pairing vote. The general sentiment is for either Tenten to be Kai's pair, or for Kai not to have one. As to what my decision is, I will leave it at the simple rule that is this: Everything is not always as it seems. Good luck figuring that one out.
Story time!
When I awoke, I wasn't in the hospital room I expected. Instead, I was in the stormy sky that Murasa lives in. With a flash of thunder, the dragon was revealed. "Well done child." He spoke. "That was a hard fought battle, and you emerged victorious. We need to work on your Naginata use, but that will come in time."
"Thank you Murasa. So, what exactly happened with that slash on Ayami?" I asked. "I was kind of caught off guard."
"That is simply a byproduct of the Elder Summoning. Our spirits are bonded, so any damage the other takes while physically is shared. You felt the bits of heat on your body, correct?"
"Yea, but they were so insignificant that I didn't even pay them attention. Is that how they felt to you?"
"Exactly," He said. "They were nothing more than an inconvenience. Just Ayami's way of keeping me away from him. His reason for it is unclear, though. He should have charged in and attacked, as is the purpose of the Summoning."
"His reason was Taibe wanted a battle purely between the two of us." I claimed. A good guess, at least. "I'm guessing Ayami didn't want to risk receiving any damage, so as to hinder Taibe in his battle."
"That makes sense." Murasa admitted. "Well, who was the lady in white you were speaking with?"
"W-What?" I stammered. "How did you know about that?"
"Our spirits are bonded," He said, with a deep, guttural chuckle. "Anywhere your spirit goes, mine follows. I was unable to hear your conversation, but I watched it through your eyes."
"O-ok. Um, well, she is, uh…"
"Someone you do not want to talk about, apparently." He said, amused. "Gather your words, we will talk again. I believe there is an Uchiha here to see you. Do not leave him waiting too long, you have been out for a few days."
"It is probably Sasuke." I said, relieved to have the conversation over with. How the hell am I supposed to explain Sophie to Murasa? "I should go, he just witnessed something very traumatic."
"That he has. We will speak again soon."
I awoke in the typical hospital room. I found myself laying on a white bed with an IV in my arm, slowly pumping fluids in my body. I looked to my left, to where the chair usually was, only to be met with the sight of a displeased Itachi Uchiha looking out of the window. When he noticed my awakening, he smiled, but his eyes betrayed his true feeling of distrust. "You're awake." He said. "How is your head?"
"Fine, thank you for asking." I said. "Where is Sasuke?"
"He is currently at the Academy."
"Oh no, I am going to have so much make up work!" I said, false panic in my voice. I wasn't worried at all, I usually knocked out the homework assignments in barely five minutes. The only thing I was missing was some of the Taijutsu training, but I was so far ahead of the others I wasn't worried.
"Do not be worried, you are only missing a single day." Itachi said, his voice in a tone that clearly showed he wasn't buying any of my crap. "Yesterday's lessons were cancelled due to the incident. Which brings me to now. You owe me some explanations."
"Yes, I do." I sighed. "What do you want to know?"
"Well, to start off, you seem very calm for a child that just woke up from a coma. You're acting calm for anyone who has woken up from a coma, rather. You have yet to ask what happened, or how long you were out. It appears that you already know this information, as you immediately jumped to having a lot of make up assignments to do."
Shit, he was right. Time for my improvising skills to come into play here. "Well, I am a Shimada, and I believe you are aware of what gives us the Dragon Release abilities, correct?" I asked. When he nodded, I continued. "While I was unconscious, my dragon was still awake. He informed me of what had happened as I awoke."
Itachi pondered my words for a moment. Seemingly accepting the answer, he continued questioning me. "You explained how you knew about my Anbu status, and how you knew what that meant already. What you haven't explained is how you were able to remain that calm as you, a child, watched your home burn to the ground, or how you were able to formulate a plan on what to do in that situation."
"Fair questions. Same answer though. The dragon inside of me told me what to do, and I listened." I heard Murasa chuckling in my head at that.
"That I do not accept. You were way to collected, and the Shimada I have known tell me that the dragons are fairly childish and reckless. That was not the plan of a Shimada Dragon. That was the plan of someone who genuinely wanted to save everyone in the situation." Itachi said, slowly getting angrier, his Sharingan activating. "You were able to simultaneously get me medical help, and get Sasuke out of harms way. That is not a reckless plan. That is one that covers all bases. Do not lie to me, or I will be forced to pry the truth out of you."
He was talking about the Tsukuyomi. He was going to torture me. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Might as well tell him the truth. If he doesn't believe it, I can always fall back on Murasa being an Elder Dragon. He won't know that there isn't much difference, would he? "Well, I'm not from this world. I was killed in a past life, and sent here. As of this time I am mentally the age of 24, so that is how I was so collected."
Itachi's eyes transformed into pinwheels, and the whole room was replaced with a negative filter, with black and red being the primary coloring. As soon as it happened it was gone. Itachi's eyes widened in shock, blood dripping from his right eye. "You… are not lying." He said slowly.
"Itachi, you cannot tell anyone of this. Not even the Hokage."
"Why not? You have knowledge of what happens, and how to stop it!" He said. His excitement turned to anger. "You could have stopped the massacre. You could have saved my family! Why didn't you?! Answer me!"
"What good would a seven year old Academy student have done if he told people that Danzo was planning to wipe out the Uchiha clan? I could have easily been dismissed as a kid with an overactive imagination, and you would have found me dead in the woods somewhere when Danzo heard of this."
"You could have told them what you told me! Have the Yamanaka clan read your memories!"
"I would still wind up dead. The council would need to vote on whether or not to allow this to happen, and I can guarantee Danzo would not have let that happen if he thought I was a danger to his plan." I explained. "Besides, I didn't even know if it was even going to happen. You saw the memories of my meeting with Sophie, right?" He nodded. "Then you know that everything has a good chance of being different from what I know. The massacre very easily could have never happened."
"Fine…" Itachi said, disappointed. "But from now on, if there is anything that you think I need to know or prepare for, you tell me. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good." Itachi let out a breath I didn't know he was holding. "We have a meeting with the Hokage in an hour. Get washed up. There's a shower in there," He said, gesturing to a door on the wall adjacent to the window. "with some clothes on the counter. The outfit you were wearing beforehand is also in there, but it is torn and dirty. I suggest you put on the clothing provided. I'll send Sasuke in soon, maybe in about 30 minutes."
"Ok." I said. Itachi made to move out the door, but I called out to him before he could exit. "Itachi, thank you. For not telling anybody."
"Consider it me paying a debt. You saved my life against Shisui, and you did it again at the compound." Itachi walked out of the room, no more words needing to be said.
"You're better!" Sasuke said. "I knew you would be ok. You were so cool, the way you saved big brother like that! Especially with that dragon thing following you, that was awesome!"
"Thanks, Sasuke." I said. We were in the courtyard outside of the Hokage's mansion. I was clothed in a plain purple shirt with black pants and the standard sandals. Sasuke was in his usual blue and white ensemble with Uchiha fan on the back. We were waiting on Itachi to arrive before we could go into the Hokage's office. The third wanted to meet with us so he could figure out living situations, how we would pay for meals, things like that. "It was nothing, really. I just bought Itachi a little bit of time is all."
"And I am very thankful." Said the man of the hour, Itachi. He was in his Anbu uniform's undersuit, leaving the vest and bracers off, as he wasn't currently on duty. "Now, let's not keep Lord Third waiting."
"Right." Sasuke and I said simultaneously. We went up the stairs into the building, walking down a few hallways before pausing at a set of double doors. Itachi knocked, and a gruff voice called for us to enter. We were met with the sight of Hiruzen behind his desk, smoking a pipe in his traditional Hokage garb. What I assumed to be his personal assistant was standing next to the desk, carefully eying us. As we approached the desk, The Third gave us a smile.
"Hello Itachi, Sasuke, and you must be Kai."
"That is correct, Lord Third." Itachi said respectfully.
"Good. I am sure you three are aware of the purpose for this meeting. Since I have a meeting with a Suna ambassador after this one, let us get right into business. I am terribly sorry about what happened to each of you, and from what Itachi and the Scouts, from the night of the incident, have told me we are deep in an investigation as to how this has happened." The Third said, an apologetic smile on his face. He gestured to me and Sasuke. "Normally, the two of you would get an apartment and an allowance to pay for meals and clothing. This would continue until you are able to make enough money from missions. But, we have an interesting case here."
"What do you mean, Lord Sarutobi?" I asked.
"Well, Itachi makes enough of a salary to support himself as well as Sasuke, with plenty of money left over. But what they do not have is a home. Kai on the other hand…" Hiruzen said, looking to me. "As part of your inheritance from your father and mother, a property in the village's outskirts with a prepaid caretaker has been left in your name. It is separate from the Shimada compound, and is actually only a short walk from the Academy."
"What are you hinting at, Lord?" I said, knowing exactly where he was taking this.
"What I would suggest is a deal. The property has more than enough space for the three of you, and the caretaker lives offsite. I am fairly certain that Sasuke and Itachi do not wish to stay in the site where one of the incidents occurred, and I doubt you want the meager allowance and an empty home." Hiruzen explained. "If the three of you agree on this, what can happen is yourself, Itachi, and Sasuke shall move into the property, where Itachi can provide for you and Sasuke until the two of you are able to provide for yourselves. This can be a permanent or a temporary solution, depending on you three's decision."
I looked at Itachi, my left eyebrow raised quizzically. He looked down to Sasuke, who simply nodded. Itachi sighed and looked back to me, reciprocating the nod Sasuke gave him. I nodded back, and paused for a moment, trying to choose my words carefully. "Lord Third, I believe your offer is a fair and wise one, but I cannot accept." I said. Sasuke's jaw dropped, Itachi looked taken aback, and the Hokage simply nodded. "I am not an Uchiha. I am not a part of these two's family, so I could not ask anything of them. They are welcome to the house. I will gift it to them. But allow me to have the apartment and allowance, I do not want to intrude on their dynamic." My words were true. I don't want to invade in their life, and after earlier I certainly do not want to ask anything of Itachi. If I try to piggyback off him he might flay me alive.
"You will not be an intrusion! As far as I am concerned, you are family now. Right brother?" Sasuke asked, looking up at Itachi innocently.
"I agree." Itachi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"But I couldn't ask anything of you. We are even on debts. I saved your life, you saved mine by giving us a way to call for backup."
"Boys!" The Hokage called, clearing his throat. "There is no need for this argument. Kai, I understand your feelings. They make complete sense. There is a solution, however. On the estate, there is a guest house. It has a bedroom, a small kitchen with a sink, refrigerator and microwave, a full bathroom, a living area and bedroom. I believe that is appealing to you, yes?"
"Yes, Hokage." I admitted. This way I would essentially be in my own house, and not be on top of Sasuke and the deadly Uchiha.
"Good. I will have the belongings we salvaged sent there. Sasuke, Itachi, all of your things will be transferred over to the house as well." Hiruzen said happily. "Itachi, you may oversee where furnishings can be placed in your bedroom. Sasuke, do you want a bedroom on the second floor with your brother, or the bottom floor?"
"Second floor, please." Said Sasuke.
"Alright. Itachi, you may also oversee furnishings of the living room and dining room. I'd suggest you head over there now. Sasuke, Kai, today is test day for throwing weapons, I suggest you go and maintain your lead. If you leave now, you will arrive in time for the testing period."
"Yes sir." We all three said. The Hokage's assistant handed us a paper with the address of the house on it, and we made our leave. Itachi waved goodbye and used the Body Flicker Technique to warp to the house, while me and Sasuke set of to the Academy determinedly. Spoiler Alert, we maintained our position, but Tenten was creeping up on us.
"This is it." I said, looking at the house before us. It was of a standard build for Konoha, a square building with a flat roof, only on a larger scale. The house sat at two stories tall, with a wooden exterior painted white. The front door was in the center of the outside wall, with windows peeking into rooms of the house on either side, curtains covering the view of the interior. Above the door was a simple awning, and a circular window above it. It appeared that every room had at least one window, and all of them had curtains covering them, except for the circular window. Against the orange evening sky, it looked like it could be a painting.
"Well, let's see what big brother did with the place." Sasuke said, walking up the small sidewalk leading to the door. I followed after him, and when we entered the house, we began inspecting every bit of it. The door lead to a foyer, where a couple glass tables sat with candles and fake flowers decorating the surfaces. A simple rectangular mirror hung from the wall, and other than that the room was plain. On the left and right side of the foyer were two closets and a coatrack. Slipping off our sandal, we went through the entryway directly ahead. We entered a large living room, and looked to the right where a grey couch and two matching sofas were pushed against the walls, and a simple wooden coffee table was in the middle, a flower display in the middle. A set of stairs could be seen behind the couch, leading upwards to a small indoor balcony style walkway where there were some more rooms. On the left were a set of two doors. From one we could hear Itachi cooking, and we could smell an aroma of BBQ coming from the room. Must be the kitchen. The other room was a simple dining room, a small crystal chandelier hung over a wooden circular table, six chairs sat around it. A few portraits of different landscapes hung from the walls of the room. Deciding to head through the door in there later, we went out to the living room.
We went up the stairs next, finding three doors. The first led to a simple bathroom, and the second led to Sasuke's room. A bed with a blue comforter sat against the left wall, pushed into the corner of the back wall, and a desk with a couple of textbooks on top sat opposite of that. A simple wooden dresser with a couple of boxes on top was next to the door, and an empty shelf was against the back wall, next to the window in the center.
Itachi's room was next, similar to Sasuke's only with a door leading to another bathroom in the back left corner of the room, and the bed was in the front left corner. Some decorations were already placed around, so we decided to give Itachi his privacy and went back down stairs. We went to the mysterious door in the dining room and found that it led to a small hallway, where a bathroom and a spare bedroom were located. We went back to the living room and traveled to the back wall. A door led to the backyard of the house. The house had a small patio with a couple lawn chairs set up with matching coffee tables. The backyard was large, freshly trimmed grass in a clearing of small oak trees. At the back of the small field was a pathway through the trees that curved out of view, which I guess led to my house.
Heading down the path I was pleasantly surprised to find a smaller scale version of the house with some cherry blossom trees on either side and behind the house. Entering the front door we were met with the site of a grey sofa with two matching chairs pushed against the left wall, a rectangular wooden coffee table in front of them. On the right side of the house was a small kitchen with some plain wood cabinets, sink, fridge, and grey countertops. On the counter sat a simple black microwave. On the back wall were three doors. One led to my bathroom, the second led to my bedroom. My bedroom was identical to Sasuke's except for mine was themed in the color purple. I too had some boxes, and an empty shelf.
"No way." Sasuke said after looking out the window. He rushed out of the room and went out the third door on the wall, the one in the middle. I followed after him, stopping on the small patio to admire the view.
The grass clearing in the cherry blossoms held a surprise for me, in the form of a red dojo. Sasuke was already inside it by the time I exited the house, and I could hear the sounds of his excitement from inside the dojo. I walked over to the red-wood building, running a hand over the smooth paint. The inside had a canvas rug over the entire floor, a yin yang design sewn into the center, each side surrounded by a black dragon and a white dragon, respectively. Along the back wall were some weapon racks, mostly empty except for the center. The center held two wooden practice versions of the 6 weapons the Shimada use. Sasuke was currently examining the katana, giving it a few practice swings.
"That's a good weapon choice." I said, leaning against the doorway. "Sufficient speed, good reach, and not very heavy. Viable."
"Yea." Sasuke said. "I always liked these, more than Itachi's tanto."
"Agreed. Let's head back and get some of that dinner. I am starving." As we left I spared another glance at the dojo, spotting a small black box by the left corner rack. Deciding my hunger was more important, I went after Sasuke.
We made our way back to the main house and were greeted with the sight of Itachi eating a plate of BBQ in the dining room. "Dinner is on the counter. Help yourselves." He called out to us. "How was test day?"
"Good." Sasuke answered. "We kept the same rankings, but I'm getting closer to Kai's kunai scores."
"And Tenten is gunning for your Shuriken record, Itachi." I said. "She's gaining ground on Sasuke for them, that's for sure."
"Interesting." He said. After me and Sasuke got food, we went and sat with Itachi at the table, starting a tradition for the rest of the years we would spend together. Three orphaned boys, surviving a tragedy together. What an odd sight.
That's the end of this chapter. This is the house that they will be staying in for (hopefully) the rest of the story. The outfits I described in the Hokage House Courtyard will be the ones they wear for the rest of the genin days, with some alterations here and there that will be described. Like Kai wearing a black hoodie, or Itachi putting on his vest and bracers. Simple stuff. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and leave a Review telling me what you think. Now to reply to a couple reviews.
Coal Burns: what would happen if Itachi died the gave his sharingan to Kai. an electric Tsukuyomi.
Well, I'm going to guess you meant Mangekyo and not Tsukuyomi, as the latter is a genjutsu. I admit, doing that is an interesting idea, but the issue is with Sasuke. Let's see if I can avoid too many major spoilers. In the final episodes/chapters of Naruto Shippuden, Sasuke pretty much only uses Mangekyo abilities. He gains a bit of a boost from Itachi's eyes, which is pretty much what makes spamming those abilities so viable. Taking that boost away would cripple him, and that is not exactly something the Narutoverse could afford, without Kai becoming Sasuke's replacement. But, if that's what you guys want to see, I can make that a possibility.
111segasonic: I'm gonna go with 6, seeing as I'm not really a fan of romance.
That is completely understandable, and depending on the situation/setting I agree. That being said, how the hell do you find any fanfiction to read!? Romance is in like every single one! I'll go ahead and give you a tip though, and that is to avoid the end of Chapter 11 of this story (Yes I already planned that far ahead). Not giving too much away, but it involves a bottle and some preteens.
Now on to more voting. Who should I pair Sasuke with?
1)Ino. It'll be the typical fangirl stuff at first, but will eventually evolve into something more. Oh, and some catfights.
2)Hinata. This would likely be a bit difficult to write, but it is doable. Basically, Hinata would silently admire him and Sasuke would seek refuge in her from the fangirls. Eventually they hit it off.
3)Sakura. Basically, it will be the same as Ino, but instead of growing into something beautiful, it'll evolve into Sakura being overly attached and Sasuke sticking around cause she can give good head. No joke, that is my plan with this pairing.
4)The boys. Bros before Hoes, amirite? But seriously, in this Sasuke will pretty much only have one night stands or whatever and be the kid we all wanted to be in high school.
All that being said, I will see you next week.
