/N: I thank all those people who took the time to read my story and especially those who reviewed/favoured/followed my story!
If any errors are found, please do inform me, I'll correct them immediately. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.
Italicized words indicate emphasis/thoughts.
Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.
Previous:
But when Itachi saw the sullen looking face of his senior heading towards the hokage' s office early in the morning the next day, he couldn't help but smile softly.
CHAPTER - 10
Darkness surrounded him.
He stretched out his arms in front of him. Searching. Panting. Lost.
Grief hung in the air like icy frost, making it impossible to breathe. The air around hummed with the remnants of a soundless scream, echoing into the void.
Diluted brown pupils darted around apprehensively, an unnatural fear prickling at the back of his neck, like the trickle of an icy wind ; deadly and quiet.
The darkness shifted, its inkiness twisting and churning, the scent of blood, an almost tangible drop in the pool of darkness.
Two figures churned in the darkness, flickering in and out, mouths open in an endless scream of agony, eye bolls rolling, their irises no longer visible.
His arms strained to reach them, but his feet didn't move, his mouth didn't function.
The figures stared at him, their translucent skin dissolving in the darkness, their silent screams still vibrating in the air.
They stretched their shadowy arms forward, the apparition blinking like a broken bulb, their gaze boring into him through the inky blackness, their-
Shikamaru awoke with a start , his breath coming in harsh gasps, sweat rolled down his temple.
"A dream...just ...a dream..."
The brunette stared at the dark ceiling of his room with one hand pressed against his forehead as he waited for his pounding heart to slow down.
He wasn't surprised; nightmares had plagued him on a regular basis ever since he'd seen Asuma die but since the war, the dreams had increased in ferocity sometimes leaving him unable to think coherently for hours.
When they came to the past , he had hoped, against his rationale, that his nightly demons couldn't time travel and he would have peace for some time.
He should have known better than to trust his rotten luck.
His nightly demons were the epitome of military punctuality; they visited him every other day. The images would vary but never the emotion in it, the raw pain and loss still burned in his mind, leaving behind a painful afterimage.
He could still feel the grief and madness he had felt when they had lost everything during the war. He could still smell the bitter odour of blood in his nostrils. His ears would sometimes echo with the cries of the dying, broken and lost.
For a brief moment Shika felt as if he was back in his time, surrounded by the rotting corpses of his comrades and the wreckage of war.
Shuddering , the young protégé forced his mind to focus, reaching for the clock he always kept on his night desk, his breathing somewhat even now.
He stretched out his fingers expecting to find the cool metallic surface of the instrument.
What he wasn't expecting, however was his fingers to pass right through.
Shikamaru immediately bolted upright, his senses acting on their own, all thoughts of drowsiness gone. He stared at his pale fingers that stood out in the dim darkness. With deliberate slowness, he pressed his clammy fingers against the bedding, not realising that he was unconsciously holding his breath.
He let out his pent up breath when he felt the warm silky texture of the sheets beneath his hand.
Leaning back against the pillows, he sighed, bringing his wrist to his eye level.
"What just happened?"
He flexed his fingers experimentally,
"Was that just my imagination or...something more?"
The young Nara continued to stare at his fingers for a few more minutes before letting them drop to his side, but a troubled expression still remained on his face.
"It almost felt like...I...was dissolving into darkness..."
His hands still clammy, he reached for the alarm once again, wondering if the phenomenon would repeat itself, but no such thing happened.
The luminous fingers of the instrument showed the time to be three quarters past five in the morning.
With a sigh, the young Nara replaced the clock and gingerly walked towards the window that faced the east side of the Nara compound, before pausing to peek through the blinds.
Because the sun had not risen, the air was still chilly. The sky was bleak with greyish blotches here and there, the flower buds were bent and closed, like a faithful servant waiting for his master to return.
Recognising his inability to return to sleep, the brunette softly padded towards the bathroom, mentally thankful that he had been able to convince his dubious parents to allot him a separate room.
Well, convince his mother, at the very least, his father still hadn't returned from his mission.
He would be returning this week and Shika wasn't sure what to feel.
On one hand, he couldn't wait to see his dad again, but on the other hand, his father being back would present him with a few technical difficulties, like hiding the fact that he was mentally a teenager or that he was a time traveller who wished to save the world from a moon crazy lunatic.
Hmm...well maybe the last bit wouldn't need much hiding.
And well, there was the tiny fact that he would be meeting his dad who was...dead.
May be he should have asked Sasuke about this whole meet-dead-family thing before hand.
The brunette switched on the light above his wash basin, before scrambling up on the stool he had kept to reach the mirror.
The toddler winced.
Two exhausted, red rimmed brown eyes stared back at him, the tiredness being accentuated by the purplish dark circles that framed the bottom part of his eyes. The face didn't look like it belonged to a carefree child.
Sighing, Shika reached for the side cabinet, his hand closing around a cylindrical glass bottle. The toddler stared at the label with a resigned expression.
Cherry face cosmetic!
A miracle worker for flawless perfect skin!
Ugh.
Shika sighed, wondering how Naruto always managed to land him in these embarrassing situations. When he and Sasuke looked like exhausted pandas during the war, and Naruto did not, their leader had revealed his 'little trick' to avoid panda-ness(Naruto 's vocabulary was a strange place to be).
When Sasuke had questioned him through a mockingly raised eyebrow, the blonde had muttered something about a demonic Sakura and shopping and make up and punching and screaming.
Needless to say, even Sasuke didn't bother on further mocking.
The end result was that all three of them now used this thing to hide their war related nightmare effects.
And where did they get this stuff?
Well, let's just say, some questions are better left unanswered.
Gingerly dipping his fingers into the cream, the brunette idly wondered how women seemed to like this gooey stuff, but he had to admit that the stuff worked very well.
Gently dabbing the cream below his eyes, the brunette couldn't help but be glad that they had paused their training sessions temporarily.
Almost four months have passed till their arrival, and the genius speculated their strengths with regard to areas like chakra control, agility and weaponry...well, weapons they could actually lift, has gotten quite good, not extremely good but progress nonetheless. While other areas like physical strength, chakra capacity, elemental chakra manipulation were still sorely weak.
While it might appear that continuing the training would eventually force their young bodies to simply cope, the brunette was aware of the severe repercussions it would have on their health and physical growth.
Strength and muscle mass would only come with time, and as for chakra capacity, it would require rigorous mental exercise and meditation, along with time.
Thus , recognising the fact that they simply cannot force their young bodies into becoming strong, they decided to put a hold on their physical training and to focus upon other individual traits and generally to work upon their chakra control and capacity through meditation.
Well, the truth was that even if they hadn't reached this conclusion, they still would've been forced to put a hold on their training because of two primary reasons:
The first reason was that Itachi was too damn smart; Sasuke had reported that the elder was paying keen attention to them these days, enquiring about everything with intelligent perception.
The second reason was Naruto 's new ANBU guard; the young ANBU Kakashi was, without a doubt, a vast improvement from the idiot before, but the silver haired nin was a tad too...overzealous.
Actually 'overzealous' was an understatement.
The man simply refused to let the blonde out of his sight even for a moment , and while Naruto was adept at eluding his assigned guards, Kakashi was proving to be quite a handful.
But the reference to the word overzealous wasn't meant for his this trait, it was used because of numerous other details like:
Random projectiles including shuriken and kunai (not always blunt)would mysteriously lodge themselves inches from the heads of people who dared to shout at the blonde.
Sometimes these random projectiles included common household items like spatulas, rotten eggs and sometimes a cat.
Though Naruto was practically livid at this, ("I don't need to be protected, damn it!"), both Sasuke and Shika were glad for the much needed protection.
Sometimes Shika wondered how the silver haired nin had come to accept this particular mission; Sasuke insisted it was delayed guilt reaction to being an uncaring bastard before, but Shika suspected that eldest Uchiha had a hand ( possibly both hands) in it.
But needless to say, their training had become almost impossible to conduct away from the suspicious eyes of Itachi and Kakashi.
The brunette sighed as he shut the container, his fingers still greasy from handling the cosmetic. As he closed the cabinet, he caught a sight of himself in the mirror.
The black circles were indeed reduced, but the honey brown eyes that stared back at him didn't look like it would ever be free from shadows.
Shadows of pain and loss, shadows of war and death, shadows of fear and frustration, of a forlorn hope and a much abused wisdom and too worn vestiges of courage.
He was aware that he was probably the least trauma stricken out of the three of them, he knew that both Sasuke and Naruto woke panting from nightmares far before he. But none of that prevented the utter fear and hopelessness he sometimes felt.
The flow of time was fickle, each footprint left on its shores held meaning, no matter how transient its existence. How could they hope to alter this course? Every inconsequential deed they performed could have far reaching repercussions.
It was on the back of their greatest tragedies that their greatest legends came. It was because of Obito that Kurama was sealed into Naruto, who later overcame the fox demon's hatred, it was because of Itachi and his act of mass murder that a civil war was prevented, it was because of Mizuki that Naruto found his first precious person, it was because Sasuke left that all of Konoha 11 became stronger, it was because of the Suna invasion that Gaara found his reason to live, it was because of Madara that the allied shinobi force came into being.
And so many other numerous little things that culminated to give meaning at the end, as if an invisible writer was somehow making it happen.
But now? Shika was scared that they would somehow end up altering everything for the worse.
For the first time in his life Shika felt like he might crack. Break.
It was at times like this that Shika felt truly fragile.
...
"Keep an eye on the syrup, Naruto, it's tricky to get right"
The blonde in question dutifully kept his eyes on the boiling syrup, while simultaneously kneading small round pale balls.
Naruto glanced at the woman working besides him, as he instinctively stirred the sugar syrup with one hand.
Ajay Ryo stood with a piping bag in her hand, poised like a warrior, as she carefully inspected a chocolate cake in front of her, a frown marring her forehead.
Moving his gaze, Naruto let his cerulean eyes wander around the shop that he had come to love very much in the course of the last two months.
When the emerald eyed woman had offhandedly invited Naruto over to her cake shop, the blonde was dubious; after all the said person had been staring at him with cold eyes only moments before giving the invitation.
And so naturally Naruto was hesitant to go and within days had completely forgotten about it.
But one day when he was wandering about the eastern wing in search for his secret short cut, he came across a cake shop; Black and White.
Naruto knew that it was the shop that belonged to that strange woman, well, because Itachi had described it to them later that day. He remembered being puzzled over the way the eldest Uchiha was smiling during the narration, but he understood the reason the moment he saw the shop.
It was beautiful; the small cafe had everything ranging from chairs to countertops to display cases even the floor and the ceiling in varying shades of black and white with subtle hints of grey and silver thrown in clashes here and there. Pure white wind chimes swayed to the melody of the wind at every table. White puffy dandelions swayed to the breeze outside, near the entrance in pitch black pots.
The only thing not reflecting the theme were the cakes and the sweets displayed. Naruto didn't have a sweet tooth, but even without one he had a hard time stopping his drooling. Cakes and sweets of every single colour and shape shined against the black and white background.
The place seemed...alive, humming with tranquillity and warmth.
Naruto had stood, staring for what seemed like hours, when he had heard a quiet voice beside him,
"My sister loved this place, she-"
In that instant Naruto had truly understood the raw pain that emanated from woman who stood beside him,
"- loved the colour grey and through it...made this..."
Naruto didn't know why the kunoichi had said those words to him, but he had understood that no words or syllables were needed, the silence between them echoing the unsaid words.
Since that day, Naruto had taken to visiting the quaint little place every week, always returning with arms full of sweets and cakes. The blonde came to understand and respect the jounin who ran the place. Within no time, all of Ajay's family came to accept him, giving him a special place in their little shop.
The biggest surprise was that Naruto never knew baking and experimenting with sweets could be so much fun.
Whenever he felt like it he could come over and help out , in return he got plenty of sweets to take home and some additional pocket money.
He loved spending time with Sora(the kid looked up to Naruto like some kind of a hero; Sasuke had snorted very un-Uchiha-ly when he heard that) and Yoshiro Ryo, though a bit hesitant at the beginning had warmed up to him in no time, even apologising for the whole 'drowning my son' incident.
But he wasn't sure what to make of the rigid, stiff faced woman who introduced herself as Ajay Ryo, her emerald eyes seeming a bit cold. Naruto wasn't sure what had actually happened between Mikoto and Ajay for them avoid each other , only that a certain Guiren meant a lot to both of them.
With time, though, Naruto eventually managed to worm his way through the cracks in the facade she maintained to find a strong and compassionate shinobi who rarely ever showed emotions (stupid Uchiha influence!) but at the same time someone who valued and honoured bonds.
The day all his doubts disappeared was the day a drunk had thrown himself against the counters with a shaking finger pointed at Naruto, eyes narrowed, no doubt to screech at him. Ajay glanced at him with emotionless jade eyes, mouth curled in apparent distaste.
She listened for two minutes of the 'demon brat' screech and then promptly punched him. Sora giggled while Yoshiro smirked at the drunk idiot. The man did try to protest as he staggered but one look from those jaded eyes hardened with resolve and he wisely fled.
Well, that and the fact that three newly sharpened kunai lodged themselves half an inch from his head (that was also the day he found Kakashi to be his guard) also helped.
Needless to say, after that incident all of the Ryo family became one of his precious people.
The blonde snapped out of his reverie when he saw the solution beginning to boil.
"All done!" the blonde chirped as turned off the heat.
Ajay looked up from her task, the cake half decorated,
"And the balls?"
Came the quiet enquiry.
"Done!" the blonde grinned enthusiastically.
Naruto watched as Ajay abandoned her work and walked towards him to inspect their latest creation. The new dish was called GJ and the recipe was given to Ajay by a traveller who claimed it was a treat from the heavens.
The blonde watched in fascination as the emerald eyed woman rolled the balls in her palm and checked them for cracks, then shifting her attention to the syrup, feeling its consistency between her fingers.
"You did well, Naruto, now shall we begin frying it?"
The blonde just offered her his blinding grin in answer, already reaching for the oil and the required utensils.
Azure orbs watched in fascination as Ajay fried and flipped the balls into the sugar syrup with expert ease, the balls now sporting a wonderful bright golden amber hue.
In experimentation he gingerly picked up a ball from the sticky syrup, watching from the corner of his eyes for any sign of protest from the emerald raven haired woman, but when he saw none, he proceeded to pop one into his mouth.
"This...is AWESOME!"
Ajay watched with fond amusement as she watched the toddler dance around licking his fingers , wondering how she could have been blind enough to bear hatred for this child.
A sad smile twisted her features as she thought how similar Naruto was to Guiren, their exuberance , their sunny smiles and the ability to make even the coldest person smile.
She still couldn't get over her death. No matter how much she tried to forget, she just...couldn't. And neither could she face Mikoto.
In the depths of her heart she knew her anger was stupid and childish, but logic is useless against the power of emotions, especially against anger and grief.
Ajay snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the melodic chime of the door bell, immediately making her way towards it, frowning because today the shop was closed, being a public holiday.
"Ajay- san"
The raven haired woman paused taking in the sight of a young boy, a bit older than Naruto, bowing to her, his chocolate brown locks falling forward in waves.
" Neji "
The brunette straightened and smiled openly, his young face pleasantly cheerful,
"Ajay-san, father sent me to collect the cake he ordered for Hiashi-sama's birthday"
The said person merely raised her eyebrows, confusion evident on her face,
"I'm afraid, there's a mistake, I have received no such order"
Behind her, from the kitchenette, Naruto watched with glazed eyes as his former friend shared an open look of confusion at the statement.
But Naruto paid no attention to the conversation, his vision focusing on the child who would grow up to one of his closest allies and a treasured comrade. One who would throw away his bitterness and resentment to gain respect in his own terms to carve out his own dream.
The one who had given up his life for the sake of his friends.
Naruto felt a single tear slide down his cheek, before he wiped it away. His eyes still moist he watched as the normally stoic individual chatted so openly with Ajay, his lavender eyes expressive and warm.
Sometimes when he woke up in his cold lonely room in the orphanage, he would wonder if all this was a dream, a fantastic tragic tale of desperation. That maybe this was all an illusion, a genjutsu.
But as he watched the pale young boy grin, his lavender tinted eyes glowing with far more joy that the blonde had ever seen, Naruto felt the grief in his gut coalesce and harden into gritty resolve.
Resolve to change the course of time.
The statement both scared and exhilarated him; scared him because time was not something to be messed with and exhilarated him because he was going to mess with time.
The blonde blinked when a hand flicked him on the forehead.
"Oww!"
Naruto, while rubbing his forehead, looked up to find a annoyed Ajay and a smiling Neji staring at him.
"I've been calling your name for a few minutes now, what's the matter?"
At the blonde's mumbled 'nothing', Ajay narrowed her eyes but didn't pursue the matter, instead turned towards the mostly empty glass frosted cabinets, scanning the shelves,
"Naruto, how many cakes of two tier do we have in the storage?"
The blonde considered thoughtfully before answering,
"Well, we have three single tier cakes , one triple tiered and two double tiered ones...but almost all of them are..."
" ...are pre-orders from customers" Ajay finished, sighing.
Seeing that no one was going to give him an explanation, the toddler decided to take the initiative,
"I wasn't paying attention before...so, what 's exactly wrong?"
Before the raven head could answer, Neji answered,
"My father seems to be mistaken about the order being issued"
Naruto stared at the boy, looking incredulous,
"So...you're saying your dad simply forgot to order?"
Even Ajay had to hold back a snort at the remark, while Neji simply glared at him, obviously unhappy,
"No, he made a mistake"
"By forgetting" Naruto answered thoughtfully.
" No, he -"
"Boys"
The single syllable was spoken quietly but both the boys immediately stilled sensing the command in its undertone.
"We need to find a solution; Neji, -"
She turned to the brunette who was still glaring at Naruto,
"-how long do we have for procuring the cake?"
Naruto had a bizarre vision of standing in a dark room with these two wearing black clothes and discussing the 'cake procurement' mission under the flickering yellow light with grim faces.
"Well...father wants to present it to him after the morning routine, so..."
The docile toddler seemed to think about it before continuing with a nod,
"...I'd say we have an hour"
Naruto snapped out of his thoughts of mission 'cake procurement' and whipped his neck around to stare open-mouthed at the lavender eyed boy, beside him Ajay merely stared with both of her eyebrows raised (both),
"...an hour?"
The blonde finally managed to squeak, the raven beside him echoing the same through a nod.
The brunette, for his part, seemed puzzled by their reactions,
"Yes, an hour, surely for something as simple as baking...it should be..."
Neji trailed off on seeing the annoyed expression on the blonde's face, but to his surprise it was the quiet raven head who spoke,
"Neji, what makes you think baking is easy?"
The brunette seemed surprised at the question, obviously never having thought about it,
"Well, I've never really thought about it...it just seemed...easy"
The said boy squirmed under Ajay's steady gaze,
"Appearances can be deceptive, Neji, isn't that one of the foremost principles of being a shinobi?"
"She's right, you know" Naruto spoke up, directing his glare at the now flushed Hyuga , "baking is a lot of work, you have to try many times before you can master it"
"No task is easy or menial, each and every one of them requires hard work and respect, both from the executor and the observer. Do not attempt to judge ,be it a task, object ...or a person"
Naruto glanced at her, having sensed the pause in the last part, wondering what it was about.
Having glanced away, the blonde didn't notice the slight stiffening of the young Hyuga, his eyes seemingly troubled. Finally the toddler glanced up, his eyes expressionless,
"I apologise for my words, it was immature and foolish of me to think in such a manner"
Naruto was a little surprised at the toddler, who was now bowing to them; he hadn't expected the boy to give such a formal apology. Ajay, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised by the grown up speech but her emerald eyes held a hint of anxiety,
"There's no need to apologise, it was an honest mistake"
Ajay glanced at Naruto expectantly, the corners of her lips curved in amusement,
"Fine ,fine" the blonde huffed, "it's alright, apology accepted"
The brunette smiled, lavender eyes softening, before turning to the woman who stood beside him,
" Ajay-san, what do we do now?"
The said person considered the question before replying,
"Why don't we try another shop, there are several excellent ones that I know"
Neji was shaking his head even before she had finished speaking ,
"Father loves your cakes, he says yours are the best in Konoha"
"Will he know if we don't tell him?"
The Hyuga shifted his feet uncomfortably, his displeasure at the thought of lying evident but before he could speak, Naruto cut in, his voice thoughtful,
"Ajay- san" he turned to the said person, "Can't we use that cake?"
Emerald eyes blinked in surprise, before closing in thought,
"I had forgotten about that..."
Neji watched as Ajay tapped her chin thoughtfully, while Naruto stared at the floor, not bothering to interrupt.
Finally the emerald eyed woman straightened, clearly having come to a decision,
" Well, I don't see any reason not to use it even if", she smiled at Naruto, amusement clear in her face, " the design is a bit different"
"So you do have a cake?" asked Neji, somewhat confusedly.
Ajay nodded, still smiling,
"Yes, and it's a two tiered one, as your father wanted, would you like to see it or should I pack it as a surprise?"
Neji didn't know why but he had a feeling the normally quiet woman was snickering at him.
"No, that's alright, I don't want to see it"
This seemed to put the owner in even more higher spirits,
"Well, then I'll go finalise the finishing touches and pack it, meanwhile" ,the woman was already walking towards the kitchenette, " Naruto, engage our guest, will you?"
With that she disappeared through the door.
Naruto grinned at his newly formed, former friend, his face bright,
"Well, since we don't have anything to do, wanna help me out with the GJs?"
"GJs?"
The blonde pointed towards a small area near the kitchenette, already walking towards it,
"Yeah, they're totally awesome! Maybe not as awesome as ramen but that's understandable, nothing's as great as ramen" Naruto nodded sagely.
"Ramen?"
Anyone who knew Naruto for any length of time would have cautioned Neji against ignorance of Naruto 's religion/food, at least in front of the blonde.
"WHAT?! You haven't had ramen?!"
At the brunette 's slightly puzzled shake of his head, Naruto practically threw himself at the poor boy, crocodile tears glistening in his eyes,
"Oh you poor thing..."
With that Neji found himself on the receiving end of a very long rant about the greatness of ramen. Thankfully, the boy, being a genius, figured that if he didn't distract the blonde then he'd be deaf before the end of the day.
"Naruto -kun, what about the...GJs?"
Neji 's clumsy attempt at a distraction worked as the blonde extracted himself and paused mid rant,
"Oh right! I completely forgot, c'mon then, let's make some GJs!"
The brunette couldn't keep an expression of amusement off his face; he was starting to like this strange blonde.
The next few minutes were spent in Naruto teaching the young Hyuga how to fry and flip them into the syrup.
After displaying the procedure, the blonde stepped aside, motioning the brunette to try his hand.
While they worked, Neji glanced at the blonde chatting beside him. He wasn't an idiot, he'd recognised Naruto the moment he saw the him, the village's most notorious troublemaker, the one everyone avoided. His own guards and elders in the family had, on many occasions, warned him to stay away from the blonde.
But now that he had actually met the blonde, Neji found himself liking the boy, leaving him a bit confused as to why the elders had told him stay away.
In the midst of stirring, the brunette noticed the a pile of scrolls and lots of ink bottles, lying on a small glass table that stood at the far end of the room.
"Naruto, what are those?"
The blonde, paused in his chattering, and looked in the direction the brunette was pointing,
"Oh, that? Those are the scrolls I'm practising on to improve my calligraphy"
"Calligraphy? But why?"
" To learn the fuin art, of course!" the blonde replied.
The art of sealing? The Hyuga was impressed.
"How much have you learnt?"
"Nothing!"
Or maybe not.
As if feeling the unimpressed glance of the brunette, Naruto glared at him,
"Hey! It's not my fault, there are hardly any books on fuin jutsu anywhere and well, the librarian doesn't...like me"
The blonde finished lamely, embarrassment evident in his cerulean eyes, along with an emotion that Neji knew well; frustration.
His own father had looked the same when the seal was branded on his forehead. His personal curse.
Maybe that's reason Neji answered the way he did,
"Well, we have a big library in my house...maybe I can get some books from there?"
Cerulean orbs widened in surprised happiness, illuminating them with a bright light,
"Really? But won't it be tough for you to find the books and then bring them to me"
The brunette shook his head, smiling,
"No, that's alright, I'll -"
But he was cut off by the enthusiastic blonde,
"You know what? I have a better idea! I'll visit you!"
Once again the brunette shook his head, a bit more frantically this time,
"No! You can't!"
"But why not?"
"Because-"
Neji paused, wondering if he should tell the blonde that almost half his house didn't approve of him, no that sounded...too hurtful...maybe...
"-because, Hiashi-sama won't allow it and since he's head of the clan, I can't disobey him"
Naruto fell silent at this, obviously giving up ( Neji can be an idiot sometimes), his face crunched up in thought, which Neji mistook for an expression of sadness,
"Naruto, it's alright, I'll get the books"
But Naruto still didn't reply, deep in thought.
By the time Ajay had returned, she found the two boys covered completely with flour, so much that Neji looked like he had white hair, the utensils burnt black and a patch of Naruto 's hair looking suspiciously like it had been burnt off. A sticky lollipop was stuck to Neji 's hair and he looked surprisingly dignified with it.
She didn't even bother asking Neji where he got the lollipop from, since they didn't sell lollipops.
"Can I safely assume you'll never underestimate cooking again?"
The brunette, predictably, didn't answer, just glared at Naruto who grinned at everyone like he'd crowned Neji with a diamond ring rather than a multicoloured candy.
Ajay smiled softly, extending a small scroll towards him,
"Here, Neji, I've packed the cake and sealed it inside this scroll"
Just as Neji was about to pick up the green coloured scroll, Naruto jumped in between,
"Ajay-san!"
The raven head paused to look at him, eyes expectant,
"Can you put this inside the package, with the cake?"he asked waving a folded piece of paper in his hands,
"What is it?"
The blonde just grinned and pushed the letter into her hands,
"Oh nothing, just a birthday greeting for Hiashi-sama"
Ajay glanced at him before sealing the piece of paper into the scroll and handing it over to the messy looking Neji who accepted it a smile.
"Thank you, Ajay-san, Naruto"
The overly polite boy bowed to them, before straightening and heading towards the door.
"Hey Neji!"
The brunette turned around with one hand on the handle,
"If your Hiashi-sama does allow it, then can I come?"
The Hyuga looked at the blonde, confusion showing in his eyes before nodding hesitantly and walking out, the chime of the bell marking his exit.
"Naruto, what are you planning?"
"Who me? Nothing, why would you think that, Ajay-san?"
The raven head simply shook her head at the grinning blonde, but it was difficult to miss the smile that shone in her emerald eyes.
"Naruto, here"
The said person looked up to find that Ajay held one more scroll in her hand, this one a deep black,
"Aren't you going to meet Itachi today?"
The blonde nodded. The eldest Uchiha had passed the chuunin exam today and Sasuke 's mom had invited him and Shika over for a celebratory dinner.
"Yeah"
"Give this to him, these are the sweets he loves and give him my congratulations"
The jounin wasn't looking at him, merely holding out the scroll, her eyes cloudy.
"Sure" Naruto answered as he pocketed the scroll.
There was an uncomfortable pause as Ajay stared at a spot above his head. But as Naruto twisted his head around, he caught a glimpse of the spot she was staring at. No, not a spot, a picture.
The picture was hung in the most obscure corner of the room, where it stay hidden from most, no wonder he 'd just noticed it. Naruto squinted to see it clearly, aware of Ajay's eyes on his back.
Naruto 's breath caught in his throat.
The picture was a photo of three young woman, probably in their late teens, standing against the background of a lush green foliage, with seams of golden light filtering through. A dark haired, dark eyed girl stood to the right. She was caught mid laugh, radiating pure happiness. Mikoto Uchiha.
To the left stood another dark haired girl but she was taller and had gorgeous sparkling emerald eyes. She was smiling with mirth dancing in her eyes. Ajay Ryo.
In the centre stood a shorter girl with hair like spun gold and deep amber eyes. Her hair fell around her shoulders letting the sunlight hit her hair and forming a halo around her face. She was smiling with an expression of pure mischief playing on her lips. Each of her hands were looped with the ones standing on her either side. Clear amber pools reflected mischief and a strange peace. Guiren Lyon.
Staring at the picture, Naruto felt their laughs echoing in his ears. It was like a moment frozen in time, eternal and ethereal. A single jagged cut ran across its glass surface, somehow making it seem ...broken.
Naruto wrenched his eyes away from the picture, and forcing a grin, turned to Ajay.
"I think I'll leave now, Ajay-san or I'll be too late"
The words felt awkward, clumsy as the syllables rebounded in the room. The recipient merely nodded, not meeting his eyes.
Naruto quietly walked towards the door before pausing with one hand on the handle and turning around, much like Neji had done moments before.
He watched as the emerald eyed woman paid him no attention staring at the picture. He wondered how it felt to be unable let go of the past and yet face the present, to always stare at a picture knowing the dead cannot be brought back.
"Ajay-san"
The said person glanced at him, eyes expressionless,
"Your sister sounds like an awesome shinobi-"
Naruto ignored the way the shinobi stiffened at his words,
"- next time I come, will you tell me stories about her?"
The blonde smiled, his face brightening,
"-She looks like a pretty cool prankster and it's about time I got some input"
Emerald eyes, very much like in the picture, seemed to dance, looking less jaded and more lighter,
"Of course, Naruto, I will-"
She smiled, glancing at the picture briefly before continuing,
"- bring Mikoto along, next time, too"
Cerulean eyes widened before brightening in affirmative.
The bell outside chimed as Naruto ran out, leaving the woman chuckling quietly,
"He's the same as you, dear sister, the same naive longing for peace and crazy enough to believe he can do it"
Ajay Ryo quietly stared at the frame, feeling for the first time in years, a faint sense of hope that maybe the future wouldn't be quiet so bad.
The only way to let go of the past is to find hope in the present.
A/N: sorry if the chapter is boring, I just really like Ajay and thought I'd give her this chapter. Don't worry, next chapter, we'll be seeing more of Sasuke and Itachi and possibly Fugaku.
GJs are real, btw, it stands for gulab jamuns and they are one of my favourite sweets. You've got to try them, they're awesome!
Thanks for reading!