Aftershock

Chapter Eight

-Ignorance-

"Why is she so stupid!?" Natsumi yelled into the desert as the three sped over the sand.

"Because she's a child." Toshiro told her, his famous glare set in place.

Satomi sighed and shook her head. "She's a child that has enormous shoes to fill. Take it easy on her." She told her siblings, who were so irrational at times.

They both looked back at her, anger in their expressions. "How can you defend her? She's gone and done something stupid such as going after a group of ninja she doesn't know anything about. By herself!" Natsumi said, focusing her gaze forward and trying to zero in on her sister's chakra signature.

"I'm just saying. She's only thirteen years old and she has three older siblings who excel in everything they do. Toshiro is the Kazekage and he's like the star of Suna. Natsumi, you're the 'Desert Rose' and you basically run all the ninja cells and protect the village when it's attacked. And I'm extremely gifted in medical jutsu. She doesn't exactly get praise for anything, seeing as we do everything for the village." She explained, getting downcast looks from her siblings. She was right, Yuki was living in a very big shadow and she was always trying to show them up.

"There she is." Toshiro said, sensing her sand before her actual image came into view. Natsumi sped ahead, unable to keep their slow pace. Despite the idiocy of her sister, she needed to make sure she was alright.

It didn't take long for the youngest of the elder siblings to get to the campsite. She rushed in and drew a kunai, slamming it through one of the men's jaw. He fell to the ground, staining the yellow sand with crimson. She stood straight and looked around threateningly at the shocked faces. They were ninja from the village Hidden in the Rocks. "Get out of my desert." She seethed. "And give me back my sister."

Their stupor was broken and they charged at her. Sure they knew of her, and were a bit uneasy, but it was only just one girl. It wasn't too hard to evade them, and finally Toshiro and Satomi appeared. That was when the panic set in. It had been a long time since the three were sent on a mission together and all the ninja villages knew how impossible it was to infiltrate the Land of Wind because of them. Satomi started ripping apart the tents, searching for her red haired sister, while Toshiro and Natsumi took on the group. Natsumi lifted her hands, making the sand rise around the site, blurring the vision of all their surroundings. But this was the desert, their home, sand was absolutely nothing to them.

There was a loud snap and crack of bones as Toshiro slammed another one of the charging ninjas into the ground and crushed his skull, earning a scream of agony in return.

Finally Satomi looked inside one of the larger tents and found her sister, tied and bound with seals. She ran in and began to rip off the rope, taking the seals off slowly so they wouldn't cause the girl harm. Yuki was up instantly and ripped off the blind fold, ready to attack the person, but paused when she was met by the worried face of her older sister. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, not at all pleased by this appearance. Then Yuki looked past her sister and glared, shifting the hateful look back to Satomi. "And you brought Toshiro and Natsumi too?! I can do this by myself!"

"Clearly." Satomi sighed, grabbing her sister by the hand and dragging her out of the tent. She tried to pull her hand free, but it was about as effective as trying to blow down a brick wall. Once they were outside they saw nothing but destruction and blood. Natsumi stood up from her kneeling position and ripped one of her prized kunai from the neck of a dead shinobi.

Toshiro walked up to her and then saw Satomi with their sister. "Yuki!" he ran up and stooped down, examining her for any wounds, although she didn't seem hurt. "Are you alright?" he asked, but all he got was a push away.

"I'm fine! I didn't need you guys coming after me. I had it handled." She told them, crossing her arms angrily. She didn't understand why they couldn't just let her have one moment to prove she was better than them all.

Natsumi walked up and stared down at her. "Yuki what were you thinking? You could have been killed. Dad's worried sick, you know it's bad when he sends us all out. Did you think you could take all these men on by yourself? You're just a kid."

The angry red headed girl only grew more upset. She hated her siblings so much, they were just too perfect for their own good. They were always given all the best missions, trusted with all the secrets of Suna, and idolized by everyone. "Let's just go." Toshiro sighed, getting up and giving Yuki a look. She understood that look very well. He wanted her to do as she was told and not complain. She finally was able to jerk away from Satomi and started back for Suna, followed by her three older siblings.

Minako let out another sigh. She was currently sitting in the windowsill overlooking the backyard, fiddling with the hourglass necklace Toshiro had given her so long ago. She would be the first to admit that she was worried.

The day after Toshiro left she had gone to the hospital to talk to Satomi and find out why he had gone so suddenly, but her pink haired friend wasn't there. Instead she found Sakura, who was temporarily taking over the hospital while Satomi was out on a mission. When she asked what kind of mission it was the elder medic had sealed her lips. It was classified, was all she was told.

So she had gone to find Akito and Natsumi. But all she found was Akito training by himself. When she asked him where Natsumi was he said he didn't know. He hadn't seen her since dinner the night before. Not having anything better to do, she decided to join Akito, challenging him to a friendly spar.

Once they finished she left to find her brother, having not seen him since they arrived. When she found him she took him out for ramen, since it was a family favorite. The siblings caught up with each other, and Minako asked him how Yuki was doing.

The young blonde shrugged, telling her that she had disappeared about a day and a half ago, and he didn't know why. They had parted then, since Shuhei was supposed to meet their parents and she wanted to go home and shower.

As she showered she thought about everything she had learned. In the end she came to the conclusion that Yuki must have done something stupid and the other three had been sent to fix it. She went to bed that night hoping that everything turned out okay in the end.

Then yesterday she decided to go back up to the hospital and read to the kids, so that Sakura could take care of the patients without having to worry about the children feeling neglected. That day she went home and made dinner, making sure to prepare enough in case Toshiro came home. When he didn't she went to bed, even more worried than before.

Today she decided to stay home, wanting to be here when he returned. She looked down at the necklace and sighed once more. Having the house to herself for three days really gave her a chance to think. She had concluded that she felt something stronger towards Toshiro, but she was unsure as to what. She would just heed Akito's advice, and wait to see how Toshiro felt. She didn't want to get her hopes up only to be let down again.

Growing bored, she held up the hourglass to the light, watching as it displayed a rainbow on the opposite wall. She hadn't heard the door open or the silent approach of the red headed Kazekage. He stopped when he was in the living room, watching her as she fiddled with something that looked oddly familiar. It was the necklace he had given her when they first met. He felt a small smile come to his face. He didn't know she had kept it all this time. "I'm home." He finally said, making his presence known.

Startled, she stuffed the necklace down her top in an attempt to hide it, not knowing that part of the chain was dangling over the collar of her vest. "Hi." She greeted with a smile, standing from the windowsill and walking towards him.

"Sorry I was gone for so long…" he said, his gaze lowering to the chain. "So…what were you holding just a moment ago?" he arched a brow, trying to keep the smirk off his face.

"Holding? I don't know what you're talking about." she said innocently, clasping her hands behind her back.

He lifted his hand and grabbed the part of the chain that was exposed and slowly pulled it from its hiding place. "Oh really?" he asked, looking at the hour glass and then looking back at her.

Her face turned a light shade of pink. "Oh, that…I didn't even realize it was there." She said, looking from the necklace to him.

"Hmm…" he shrugged and let the necklace fall back into place. "I'm sure you didn't." he said with a laugh. He moved away from her and headed towards his room, taking off his gourd and other supplies. He came back soon after and let his gaze fall on her once more. "So Minako…would you like to go to dinner tonight? That way you don't have to cook. I know you've been making dinner for me every night."

She blushed at his accurate statement. "That would be nice." She said, giving him a small smile.

"Alright then, it's a date." He told her, grabbing her hands lightly. He could get used to this, being with her. It was nice. Before he could do what he wanted, he heard the front door open and looked over only to see a familiar bushy eye browed man. "Ken?" Toshiro asked, almost not believing the man was here.

"It cannot be true!" the boy yelled, throwing himself towards them. "Minako-chan! You are marrying Toshiro?!"

She staggered a bit at the force of his hug. "Well yes Ken, our parents arranged it a long time ago." She explained as he pulled away.

The pained look on his face was one she had seen many times. "What? You have claimed her?" he asked in disbelief, looking over at the redhead.

"I thought I told you that years ago…" he mumbled, looking away from the two and crossing his arms.

"Well saying and doing are two completely different things. Youth dictates such an action must be taken to seal the claiming." He recited, holding a finger in the air.

Toshiro rolled his eyes and grabbed Minako's left hand, holding it up so Ken could see the glistening diamond. "There. Action." He said simply, giving the man a small glare.

He huffed and crossed his arms. "Do you accept this claim Minako-chan? I had heard that you weren't too fond of the arrangement." The green clad man said.

In response she wound her arms around Toshiro's waist and pulled him to her, so that Ken wouldn't be able to hug her again. Or possibly touch her. He was a great teammate, but a weird man. "Yes, okay? I happily accept this claim." She stated, patting the redhead on the chest for emphasis.

Ken sighed and gave them both a thumbs up. "Well, I see how youthful this shall be! I support Toshiro and Minako one hundred percent!" he looked around then and clapped his hands together. "At least I still have the beautiful and exotic Natsumi, whose speed matches the pace of my beating heart!"

"I don't think that's a good idea Ken…Akito-kun is here and you know how he gets." Minako warned, still holding on to Toshiro.

He dropped his hands and looked at her, confusion all over his face. "That reminds me…I would have thought that you and Akito would have gotten married. You know, since you dated and all."

She stiffened a bit, not expecting him to reveal that. "That was a long time ago Ken." She said sternly. She had wanted to tell Toshiro on her own time, if such a time arose.

The redhead looked down at Minako with a raised brow. He would definitely be hearing about this later. What neither of the three realized was that Natsumi had been standing in the front hall. Her chest felt hollow and cold. Akito had dated Minako? She turned back around before any of them could see or feel her and was out the door.

"You know what Ken, we're going out tonight. So if you'd like to leave now we would like to get ready." Toshiro said sternly.

"Oh of course! Of course! I shall leave you be. Congratulations! I'm off to find my lovely Natsumi. We could go on a date tonight!"

"No!" Minako yelled, going a bit wide eyed. She wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs. "She's uh…going on a double date with Shiro-kun and me."

"Then I shall catch up with her and make sure she is prompt and on time!" he smiled brightly and left the two.

She let out a sigh and laid her head on his chest. Then she released him and stepped away. "I should have told you…are you mad?" she asked, looking up at him.

He gave a small shrug and looked away. "Not really…I mean obviously it didn't work out right?" he gave her a small smile, touching her cheek gently. "I'd just make sure Natsumi never found out, you know how she gets." He laughed.

"Yeah…it was only for seven months anyways, and we only dated because everyone else in the village thought we would be perfect for each other, so we thought we'd give it a try." She said, returning his smile.

He really laughed this time. "Really? They thought you would be perfect for each other? Do they even know you guys?" he asked, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "Well apparently we now have a double date, so you should probably inform Akito."

"Okay." She said, smiling like an idiot. They parted then to get ready. Since she had enough time, she flash stepped to the training grounds, interrupting Akito in the middle of a set of taijutsu attacks.

"Hey Akito-kun! I just came to inform you that you and Natsumi-chan are going on a double date with Shiro-kun and I, so come to our house around seven. Bye!" she said with a wave, going back to her house and giving him no room for refusal.

She went up to her room and took a quick shower, wanting to smell nice. She put on a clean set of clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. Should she do something to her hair? Her face? She shook her head. Toshiro had said she was beautiful, so she decided to leave her appearance the way it normally was. The only difference being that she decided to put her necklace on, leaving it out for everyone to see.

"There you are Natsumi-chan! I have been looking for you!" Ken yelled, running up to the girl and hugging her fiercely. He pulled away with a huge smile. "You have grown even more exquisite over the years I must say. Akito is a lucky man."

"Why?" she glared. Ken was the last person she wanted to deal with right now. Well other than Akito. She couldn't believe how betrayed she felt. "Hey Ken…" Natsumi crossed her arms and took in a deep breath. "Exactly when and how long did Akito and Minako go out?"

He shrugged. "They dated for about seven months I think when she was sixteen. But they broke up close to the time you guys came on your last visit to Konoha." He informed her.

"Seven months?!" she almost screamed, her face going red with anger.

"Well I was going to ask you on a date tonight, but Minako-chan informed me that you and Akito were having a double date with them." Ken sighed sadly.

"Is that so?" her glare grew icier. "Well it was nice seeing you Ken, but apparently I have a date tonight." She walked off then, planning exactly how this night was going to go.

Minako waited by the front door anxiously. She had never really been on a date before. When she and Akito had been going out, they never went anywhere. In fact, it was like they weren't dating at all, since they continued to act like friends.

She looked over at the clock and noted the time. They should be here soon. Not one to be still for long periods of time when she was excited, she began to pace across the foyer. Toshiro came from the living room and watched her oddly. "Calm down will you? Natsumi is going to meet us there. At least that's what Ken says." Then there was a loud knock on the door. The redhead opened it and saw Akito, holding it wider so Minako could leave. He shut the door and the two joined the Uchiha in the street. "Well let's go." He said, and the group headed into the village, talking about the past few days.

"So Akito-kun, have you seen Natsumi-chan since she's been back?" Minako asked her friend.

He shook his head and sighed. "No. I have no idea where she is."

"That's odd. I would have thought you'd be the first person she would go to see upon returning." She observed, absentmindedly grabbing Toshiro's hand.

"Apparently not." He said, irritation evident in his voice.

They finally made it to the restaurant and were seated immediately. Toshiro and Minako were sitting across from one another and Akito sat between them at a square table. Natsumi was nowhere to be seen. Their waitress came up and smiled happily at them. "Hello Kazekage-sama. Minako-sama." She bowed to the two, knowing the future wife of her leader. Her gaze fell on the angry Uchiha. "Oh my, you must be the famous Uchiha Akito. It's a pleasure to meet you." She blushed.

"Whatever." He said, picking up his menu in disinterest.

Her smile fell and then she noticed the empty seat. She grabbed the spare menu and looked around the table. "Is there another guest joining you tonight?"

He snatched the menu from her hands, giving the waitress a small glare. "Yes, there is. And we aren't going to order anything until she gets here." He informed her.

She blinked and stared at him, very nervous now. Toshiro sighed and looked up at the waitress. "My sister will be joining us."

"Oh! Natsumi-sama." She nodded. She wondered what had Konoha's Uchiha so upset. Last time she checked, the Uchiha and Natsumi hadn't been anything more than friends. "Well alright. I'll be back in a moment." She bowed and left them then.

Toshiro glanced over at his brooding friend and stifled a laugh. "Why so blue Akito?"

"Shut up." He said, turning his angry glare onto his friend. He would be damned if he admitted that he was afraid she was going to stand him up. Uchihas never admitted their insecurities.

"Be nice Akito-kun. I'm sure Natsumi-chan will be here soon." Minako said, looking sideways at her friend.

"Don't worry Akito," Toshiro said simply, picking up his menu and reading through it. "She's here." But he left out the fact that her aura was as black as their father's rimmed eyes. The door to the restaurant opened and the pink haired beauty walked in, searching around for them. Once she spotted them she locked eyes with relieved deep green and didn't look away once as she made her way towards the table. She grabbed the chair and jerked it out, sitting down harshly and grabbing her menu. She opened it and finally lowered her glare to the innocent paper.

"Hi Natsumi-chan! I'm glad you and Akito-kun could join us on such short notice." Minako greeted, giving her friend a bright smile.

"Yeah. My pleasure." She said sharply, closing her menu and setting it down.

The waitress came back then, having seen Natsumi enter. "I'll take your drink orders now if you're ready." She informed them with a smile. Then she turned to Akito. "We'll start with you. What would you like?" she asked, leaning her hip casually against the table.

"Water." He said, his gaze never leaving the woman across from him. There was something off about her, but he didn't know what.

The waitress looked over at Minako then. "Water with six ice cubes please." She requested.

She nodded and wrote down the specifications, already knowing what her Kazekage wanted. "Natsumi-sama?" she asked, pressing her lips tightly together. The pink haired woman was glaring back at Akito, not letting her eyes leave his either.

"Lemonade, please."

She wrote it down quickly and then took their orders seeing they were ready. Once that was done she rushed off to tell the kitchen.

"What's your problem?" Akito asked, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair. He was never one to beat around the bush, and was too impatient to wait for her to reveal what was bothering her.

"What's my problem? What's your problem?!" she yelled, getting the attention of all the diners around them. Toshiro was wide eyed. He really hated public scenes. Minako just looked between her two friends, eyes mirroring her fiancé's.

"My problem is not knowing what your problem is!" he yelled back, sitting up straight.

She leaned forward, gripping the table tightly. "How could you do that to me?! And then act like it's nothing!"

Toshiro picked up his menu and hid his face behind it. Minako just followed his lead, since he had more experience in his sister's behavior than she did.

"Do what to you?!" he asked, placing his own hands on the table now. God she was so infuriating.

She just huffed and kicked him as hard as she could from under the table. "Don't pretend like you don't know! Seven months?!"

A thud was heard as Minako's head hit the table. She knew exactly what Natsumi was talking about. Akito looked from her back to Natsumi, still confused. "What about seven months? Seven months for what?" he asked, brow furrowed.

Minako's reaction gave Toshiro the confirmation he needed. That was just like his sister to walk in and hear the wrong part of a conversation and then up and leave. Something she regrettably got from their father. "Natsumi…you don't understand. It's not what you thin-"

"Shut up Toshiro!" she seethed, standing up and throwing her napkin down. "You're a jerk. I can't believe I saved myself for you. And then you go and do this!"

"Do what?!" he asked, standing as well. "Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?!"

"You went out with Minako!" she shouted, now having said it aloud it hurt even more. Tears were forming in her eyes, "For seven months!" she pushed her chair away and stormed out. She didn't want to cry in front of him, or anyone in her village. They never saw her weakness and they never would.

"That's what this is all about?!" he asked no one in particular. "Gah!" he screamed, storming out of the restaurant as well.

Minako picked her head up off the table and looked at Toshiro. "Next time, remind me not to invite anyone." She said, smiling slightly.

"Will do." He agreed, looking up as the waitress came back with their food.

"Where did Natsumi-sama go? And Uchiha Akito?" she wondered, placing their food down.

Toshiro laughed. "Who cares."

Akito stomped down the streets in his unsuccessful search for Natsumi. Tired of walking around like an idiot, he went to the hospital to talk to her sister. He walked straight up to the receptionist. "Where is Satomi?" he asked.

The receptionist looked up at him, startled. "Uh…well currently she is in the sick ward. But you can't-" she began, talking to his retreating back. "-go back there." She finished. Oh well. She was used to people from Konoha just doing as they pleased in the hospital anyways.

He walked to the sick ward and began to look around. Once he found Satomi he walked straight up to her. "I need to talk to you." He said, skipping formalities.

"Why?" she said, giving him a not so welcomed stare.

He ignored the look and continued. "Your sister is going crazy about something stupid, and I don't understand why." Was all he said.

She arched her brow and shut the door she was about to go in. What was up with these Konoha shinobi and coming to her with their problems? Didn't they understand that she didn't care? "Natsumi always goes crazy. I thought you already knew that."

"Yeah, but it was over the fact that Minako and I dated for seven months. Three years ago." He continued.

Her face fell and she sighed. Sometimes this boy just didn't get a hint. "Really…you don't know why she's upset about that? I mean, her and Minako were only rivals for more than half their lives over you. Natsumi's insecure about herself." She explained, taking the chart from the door and skimming over it. "She likes attention and when you don't give it to her she freaks out. It's just like she says, she's a princess. And she's completely in love with you. So let me put it in physical terms you can understand." She stopped and clicked her pen, beginning to write on the paper. "Pretend Natsumi took a big jagged piece of glass and stabbed you in the heart…over and over…and over again."

He grimaced at the image. "Sounds painful. But it was nothing. We never went anywhere, never did anything, we didn't even hold hands!" he explained, still not completely seeing why she was upset.

"Okay?" she rolled her eyes, unaware of why he was explaining this to her. "And you're telling this to me why? I'm not the one who cares…in fact, I actually kinda hate you and you really annoy me. So why don't you go find your little ball of sunshine and tell her." She gave him a dismissive hand gestured and grabbed onto the door knob of the hospital room. "And if you can't find her, which I'm assuming is the case since you came here…she's probably either on the outer wall or training." And with that she went in to check on her patient, shutting the door behind her.

He left then, heading straight for the training fields first, since they were closer. Not finding her there, he went to the outer wall and began to walk it. Spotting her in the distance, he used his speed to catch up to her. Once he was in front of her he stopped. "We need to talk." He said, looking into her pale eyes.

Her hateful glare was no different than earlier. "What if I don't want to talk to you?"

"Then you will remain upset and unknowing of what didn't happen between me and Minako." He explained, crossing his arms.

Her lip twitched into a sneer. It irritated her to know he knew how to manipulate her so well. She looked away from him then and stared off into the desert. "Fine. What?" she turned away from him, facing her beautiful sand ocean.

"We never did anything. We didn't go anywhere, we didn't do anything. At all. I didn't even hold her hand. The only reason we dated in the first place was because everyone in the village thought we should. So we decided to try it. But it was just too weird." He finished, hoping that she would be okay enough with that answer.

But of course her reaction was quite the opposite of his expectations. Just like it always was. She glared at him, somehow even angrier than before. "Oh so, because someone told you to you just went and did it." She held her hand out, trying her best to control her sand with her emotions, as chaotic as they were.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Nobody told us to do anything. It was more of a 'what if' type of thing. But, just as with the marriage idea, we both decided that it was best if we split up, since our interests lay elsewhere." He walked up to her then and gave her a meaningful look. "You're the only girl I've ever held hands with." He said, smiling at her softly.

She didn't move and her angry façade didn't fade. She didn't understand his need for a 'what if'. She had never 'what if'd' anyone! "Well…what's different then?" she asked.

He blinked at her. Something told him he needed a really good answer for this one. "What's different is that I never pictured myself kissing Minako. Or anything romantic that leads to that." He said, dropping his arms in defeat.

"And?" She arched a brow. She would make him say it that's for sure. "You see it with?"

He sighed in defeat. Why did she always make him say it? "The only person I've ever seen myself doing any of that stuff with is you Natsumi. Always."

She tried her best to fight the smile forming on her face. But of course, her brilliant glow returned. She stepped closer to him, placing her hands on his chest. "Is that so…?" she looked up at him and slowly smoothed her palms up his neck. She brought his face down to hers and pressed her forehead against his. "I've never imagined anyone but you with me." She whispered to him. She wanted a kiss and she was going to have it. Just before their lips met, a guard came up, making his rounds and gasped.

They pulled apart quickly and looked away from one another. The guard gulped. "I'm so sorry Natsumi-sama. Uchiha-sama…I did not mean to interrupt."

"Hn." Was all he said as he looked across the desert, successfully putting his stoic face back in place.

"Um no. It's alright." She waved, blushing a dark shade of red. She looked back at Akito and offered her hand to him. "You want to go for a walk?" she asked softly. Their moment might have been ruined, but she'd be damned if she didn't get to spend more time with him.

"Of course." He answered, smiling down at her as he linked his fingers with hers.

They left then, making sure to avoid all the areas anyone they might know would be. Their kiss would just have to wait until the perfect moment.