Unedited & Originally Posted: 05/26/2017
Reworked & Reposted: 06/22/2017
Cat's Cradle
Chapter Twenty-Five
Five Lives Forever Changed
Kakashi walked home that night and everything was quiet.
The stars twinkled a little brighter, the streets looked a little different. Nothing seemed so boring as before and it was the oddest feeling he had felt sense departing Yugito with a kiss to her lips. Like he was seeing the world for the first time or perhaps, coming home after a long stay away.
He relaxed his shoulders, sighed into the crisp midnight air, and walked as if he were not rushed in the least.
Kakashi expected to feel something entirely different. Not the ease of pressure in his lungs and the knot in his shoulder working itself loose, and especially not the thoughts that were crossing his mind.
She'd tasted like rice and tuna and strawberries when they kissed, the scent that lingered in the air around her as if it were a second skin. Just a hint of sake was in there too but she didn't seem to like drinking as much as he did. Which was in a way, adorable.
He could picture her wrinkled nose and the quick shake of her head against stronger spirits. She had even disliked the sake served to them that night. Perhaps she'd never had it served hot, where he tended to like the flavor best. Still, he felt—he felt happy.
Funny how foreign the feeling was, but it reminded him of better times. With Minato, when it was just the two of them. It was such a long time ago and at best, the memories were difficult to know if they were real or just things he'd dreamed in a lonely afternoon.
Some of them, he knew for certain though, and they were a comforting weight. Like a warm blanket over the pain and feeling of loss during the realizations that he did not remember some things as well as he would like. The first meal they had shared came to mind, and somehow he could still recall the look of embarrassment when Kakashi gave his cooking a compliment.
Previously, he had been so cold to his new teacher. Having learned a lesson from his father, he hadn't wanted a repeat of the past, had wanted to keep to himself and refused to be moved on the matter. But in the second week that they'd known each other, Minato insisted on the both of them meeting at his home for dinner.
"Why?" Kakashi had asked, bewildered by the absurd request.
Minato hadn't budged, his expression something fierce and determined (a familiar look his son had inherited), "Your diet is awful, consisting of just bread and rice and junk. I intend to teach you how to cook."
At the time, Kakashi had hidden the roll of his eyes. He was unconvinced that they could even make time for it, especially with their schedules being so busy.
But his teacher hadn't lied and teach him to cook he had. Many things; like his favorite, salted broiled saury and rice balls and even mochi for a sweet snack if he was ever feeling up to it. Mostly he wasn't, but sometimes for celebrations he'd bring a box of them to Kushina and Minato so they wouldn't have to bother making them. They always did say he had a talent for it, cooking. Beyond his training, it was a refreshing change of pace.
Something less demanding and more of something to...enjoy.
It was the first glimpse he had taken into how Minato must have viewed him and their relationship. Strange analogy as it was, it made him understand for the first time how his teacher must have felt, like a chef pouring ingredients and mixing and hoping for a good result.
"How did you learn all of this? Did your dad teach you?" Kakashi had wondered out loud to him one evening, begrudging his inability to disconnect from the man who seemed to intent on having them be close.
"No, a...friend of mine did," then he had blushed and it had been the first indication of what was to come.
He hadn't realized it yet but a storm had been brewing for months; one with the strength of an oxen pulling three loaded wagons and with the looks of a whip made out of fire taut and ready to strike. Worse was the adoration clear in her gaze and the fear it struck into his heart.
Kushina, a girl.
One who bugged Kakashi even more, and seemed hell bent on seeing him at least once a week for a family dinner even though none of them were actually family and were all orphans with little to no business seeing each other. Perhaps that's why he liked them—loved them.
They didn't have much of a reason but they did it anyway.
"Minato must have felt this way too, about her," Kakashi realized and whistled out wistfully, hands in his pocket while he paused long enough to look at the empty playground.
In another world, Naruto could have played on the swing sets there with each parent at his side. Grinning and with no care in the world, things would have been different. Better. Kakashi might have never met Yugito but it was...she might have been worth giving up just to see that.
Kakashi looked to the sky, where the both of them might have somehow been. Most likely happy there, most likely happy to see how far their son had got on his own, and perhaps in disappointment at Kakashi. He couldn't blame them.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to the star-filled sky, "I should have been there for him. Like you were for me."
He should have been there for a lot of people. Much more than he had been for anyone in his life.
Perhaps that was why he felt he could give Yugito up so easily. It was best answered simply. Kakashi knew he did not deserve her or the happiness he felt. Not when he'd failed to earn it, or even felt prepared to return it to her, and especially not when he had never returned it to anyone else before.
Kakashi sighed into the air and hoped that whatever new memories they crafted together, he wouldn't make her sad. At the very least, he wanted her to be happy.
So happy, in fact, that she wouldn't mind him sticking around.
Five Lives Forever Changed
"Do your best, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata practiced in the mirror, seeing her face morph in concentration. The redness to her cheeks was still ever present but her delivery was getting better! Kind of. She could certainly do without the stutter every time she said his name out loud.
The once named Hyuuga heiress took a deep breath and released it very slowly in the hopes her heart would follow. It didn't.
"It's okay," she told herself, and trying not to let her panic engulf her, "everyone is nervous before an exam. Things will go fine! There's Naruto-kun and his clones if we get into trouble and of course, Sasuke-san will be there and he's always so impressive..."
Instantly her face twisted like she had been sucking on a lemon.
It was a bitter thing to admit in saying that Sasuke, the worst tormenter of Naruto, was impressive.
Hinata shook her head very forcefully before slapping her hands against her cheeks to snap herself out of her thoughts, "Doesn't matter! He's still a teammate and is...a better one than me."
She wilted.
It was at that moment that the door to the bathroom opened and the head of her little sister popped in with not even a hint of hesitancy in her actions. If only she would be like Hanabi. She'd never faint at the first sign of danger on a mission where she had been entrusted to protect the client.
It was a fact that Hinata would never be able to live down. The only bright side to the huge embarrassment who complimented her as if she had done it on purpose. It was only Sasuke who had explained the reason why—her bumbling idiot self had fainted just as she needed to duck from an oncoming shuriken attack. As if she couldn't have just deflected it like a normal person! Even her teacher had told her not to worry but she did.
What if something happened again? What if it happened and she was still useless and someone died?
"You look worried," Hanabi noted, entering fully when Hinata didn't tell her to go away.
"It's just nerves for the test today. I'll be fine." She even smiled just to be more convincing.
Her sister squinted at her in that accusatory manner of hers, making it clear that she wasn't buying it. Hinata held up her hands up in a show of peace, hoping that the young girl didn't go off the rails to lecture her again. Her sister picked up too much from their father sometimes.
"It's true," Hinata went on, "the second exams is a very big hurdle that not many teams pass."
Hanabi released a sigh before nodding. Then she just stared curiously while Hinata set aside her toothbrush to dry and finished packing up her pack for the long duration away from home. She already had another toothbrush packed away, but travel size.
It was comforting to think about. If Hinata wasn't prepared one way, she was in another.
She could do this. She could look Naruto in the eye, ignore the rush of anxiety and the thoughts in her mind telling her to run away before her heart could give out.
"I can do this," she whispered to herself and after giving her sister a kiss to her forehead, she left with a determination to succeed.
Five Lives Forever Changed
She had been prepared for the awkwardness; had spent the entire night worrying what they might say to each other and envisioned the possibilities that wouldn't give him second thoughts. There weren't many that she could think of.
So, as he entered her room and before he could say anything, she kissed him over the mask and refused to let him speak.
He pulled away just long enough to slip down his mask and the familiar feeling of his lips on hers was enough to evaporate her concerns. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his back and sunk into his body to the point that she wouldn't be surprised if she made an indentation. With a soft sigh tickling her lips, he shifted to kiss her on the cheek and moved to gaze at her in concern highlighted by his lifted brows.
"You called me here for something," he reminded her, "is everything alright?"
"Yes," she told him with a pleased smile, her mind still stuck on the sensations that lingered. Then, as he continued to stare at her with the inadequate answer, she snapped back into attention and refocused, "Itachi will be here soon, I have something to show the both of you."
"And that would be?" he asked, shifting the both of them until his back was to the bed and she could see them in a mirror atop a vanity. It was strange to see herself in his arms and odder yet was the thought that it was the vision a stranger might see. In other words, a flip of perspective.
His gaze on hers was so warm and her expression softer than she realized it could be.
The blush in her cheeks deepened and she pressed her face into his shoulder with a thankful sigh. She breathed his scent in and let it fill her thoughts for a moment before she had to face the real world.
"Yugito?"
"I'm fine," she mumbled before pulling away entirely and making her way to the hideaway spot she'd created with the note in mind, "I haven't actually read it yet, thought it would be better to wait until the team gathered."
"Gai is coming then?" Kakashi asked, surprise flitting across his face.
Her face screwed up, "He declined to go because of a date with Saki-chan as he so sweetly called her."
With a knowing look, he grunted in understanding at the explanation before lifting a brow, "Looks like we're missing an opportune moment."
Yugito grinned but shook her head in bemusement. Thumbing the note in her hand, she sighed.
"Still kind of weird of him," Yugito muttered, "He's not the type to deflect a mission. Though I did tell him it probably wouldn't be important and we can just fill him in on the details later."
"He's in the honeymoon stage, I believe. It's not everyday he gets a girlfriend," Kakashi said, apparently not surprised. Then he gave her a look that if she gave it words said, I'm jealous, come kiss me!
So she did—a quick chaste action that came to her as naturally as breathing.
No chance for awkwardness there.
A knock came at the door and with a little reluctance, Yugito parted from Kakashi and went to answer.
At the sight of Itachi, Yugito pulled him in and shut the door. Turning to the boys with a grin on her face, she held up the note from Fugaku and tried not to panic. She had no idea what would be inside and though it wasn't very possible for it to hold a weapon, she couldn't be too careful.
"Do you think the Sharingan scan this for danger?" she asked and passed it over to Kakashi, who shifted it in his palm. Pulling back his headband, it was not the first time she'd seen the eye but it still gave her a chill. Uneasy, Yugito looked off to the side and tried not to make her discomfort obvious.
After staring at it for a second, Kakashi folded it open. It was a jolt to her system and she started forward, concerned but felt her pulse slow when she noticed nothing bad was happening.
"Don't scare me like that," she muttered and snatched the paper from his hand before looking down at the writing. Finely printed and as if whoever wrote it had calligraphy training, the lettering was beyond her skill level and even a little hard to read because of it.
Thank you for taking care of my son.
"Is that it?" Itachi asked, bearing an emotionless mask.
Yugito made a face, "It can't be it. Maybe if we—."
Itachi snatched the paper and thumbed with his nail at the edges. Yugito wasn't even sure anything was happening but before her very eyes, a side of the paper separated and peeled back. Beneath, the lettering was less visible and not any easier to read.
"He's asking for you to join the Hokage in a meeting with him," Itachi deciphered and Yugito squinted at the text.
"Seems suspicious," she muttered, then shrugged, "does it give a date and time?"
"No, only to request a meeting with the Hokage prior to the final exam."
"Well, this was the weirdest thing I could have imagined happening," she mumbled, then leaned her cheek against Itachi's shoulder and looked up at him through her lashes. "What do you want us to do?"
"That's mean of you," he said quietly, "leaving the choice to me."
For some reason, she smiled at that.
"Well, you don't have to decide now," she informed him, patting his forearm and disengaging long enough to join Kakashi on the bed, "At the very least, we have a few weeks to think about it."
"And plan, just in case," Kakashi added, looking up at Itachi. It was his own way of showing concern.
Itachi blew out a breath and though he was still in his disguise, it was the first time since arriving in Konoha that she could fully see only Itachi in his expressions.
"First, can we go out to get something to eat?" he asked, shifting in place where he stood.
Yugito hopped up, excited, "Of course! Let's grab Kakashi's students and make an event of it!"
"Yeah," Itachi agreed with a smile of his own, looking anywhere but at her face. It was as if he was giddy in his own excitement and perhaps unconsciously, he had already made it to the door, "I'd like to see him before I decide."
Five Lives Forever Changed
"That's my brother isn't it?" Sasuke hissed under his breath toward Kakashi, though Yugito could hear it quiet clearly. When no one answered him, he sighed, "Okay, I understand but I want answers later."
Yugito released a breath, exasperated but continued to slurp up the noodles in front of her.
"Are you and Nee-chan really dating?" Naruto asked, squinting and somehow still breathing after inhaling three bowls. It was the first thing he had said since being initially invited out and she couldn't help but laugh at his curiosity.
"I'm crazy in love with her," Kakashi said out loud in a very flippant, unfeeling tone.
"He's my stalker," Yugito added, quite lovingly as she kicked him in the shin.
"H-How did you meet?" Hinata whisper-asked and it took a second for Yugito to think of what to say.
Then she blushed and pressed her hands to her face, squirming as she said, "I thought I would die! The moment he saw me, he was so intense, and then he reached out to me and—."
"Hey," Kakashi interjected, pressing a hand to her shoulder, "don't go giving them the wrong impression."
"Eh?" she blinked innocently, "They already know you're a pervert, so what's the harm in being honest?"
First there was silence, and then, Kakashi leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Otherwise, you'll be punished."
He pulled away with a grin.
For a moment, she could barely even swallow but somehow managed as she collected herself. She recovered quickly, leaning on her elbows to look at him through her batting lashes.
"Hm~?" Yugito snickered, "And you have it in you to do that?"
"Yugito-san," Itachi as Takeshi interrupted, "how delicious is your ramen?"
"Very delicious," Yugito responded, grinning before taking another mouthful.
"Adults are weird," Naruto muttered, wide-eyed and with his cheeks as red as ripe tomatoes.
She fought off the temptation to squeeze them.
After all was said, amidst the bickering between Sasuke and Naruto, she never did get to. She distracted herself by playing footsie with Kakashi and ignored the tension of Sasuke's gazes towards Itachi. By the end, Hinata barely managed to restrain from fainting and excused herself early, which introduced perhaps the most surprising moment of the meal.
Sasuke stood up and held out his arm for the Hyuuga to take.
She looked at him hesitantly.
"Come on," he muttered, "I'll walk you home."
"You d-don't need t-to," she told him softly.
"If you pass out randomly on your way home, I don't want to be responsible for it," he said, his tone sharp and firm.
With a shaking hand, she placed it on his forearm—which didn't seem to satisfy him as he adjusted her hold to hook around his arm.
"You can lean on me," he told her, clearly unhappy with the situation.
Yugito didn't know at all what she was seeing. Naruto was too busy stuffing his face for her to ask him.
"I'll go with," Itachi suddenly said, standing up.
Sasuke blinked but said nothing as he nodded his understanding.
The three of them left silently.
"How weird," she murmured before turning back to her third bowl.
Yugito decided to take a page out of Naruto's book and left those questions for later. Eating was more important.
Five Lives Forever Changed
Itachi had been expecting to feel pain when he looked at his little brother, but rather, he could barely contain himself from humming his joy. Just like the first time he spotted him walking in the crowds, the first day he'd arrived back in Konoha.
At a glance, everything looked the same—the people, the streets, the shops.
But when Itachi looked closer, there was no denying it.
It all looked mismatched. Old faces swapped with new faces. Stores he'd once frequented gone or replaced. Even the scent—once inviting and commonplace—became distant and estranged. Itachi saw nothing familiar in it. Nothing that truly reminded him of home.
Then he saw his brother, head poking tellingly around the bend of a corner. Beside him had been a girl and the two of them had walked without a word exchanged between them. She looked nervous and his brother looked...as he did every time their mother had told them to be kinder to strangers.
A mixture between earnest and annoyed.
Itachi couldn't help but laugh and muffled it by keeping his hand pressed against his lips.
His brother was still just as cute as he had always been.
Odd as it was, he was just happy.
It was in that expression that he truly felt as he had all those years ago. The thought that Konoha had always been worth protecting. The thought that Sasuke had been worth sacrificing everything he'd once held so dear. If just to see his brother grow up.
"Children can change so much," he had murmured to himself.
Then he'd turned back to Yugito and the both of them had gone on.
Now, looking at him after the lunch, Itachi felt no different.
He could remember it well—the ideas that had led him to do what he had done.
Even then, Itachi could not bring himself to regret it.
He had always wondered, in his time spent away from Konoha. About a lot of things, actually, but mostly about Sasuke. If faced with the came choices as he had been, except knowing what the future would bring, would he do it again? He'd been unsure for a time, wondering if he'd imagined all the emotions that had acted as a catalyst to his decision.
But, in seeing his brother, he knew.
I'd do it again.
Again, he was reminded of being small, of being young.
"You have to protect him. Your little brother. More than you'd protect anyone else."
Itachi was, as always, a dedicated man to his missions.
"So, you're him, huh?" Sasuke asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Hinata looked confused by remained quiet.
Itachi looked down on his brother and smiled.
He was sharper than he'd expected, that was for sure.
But proud. Unbelievably proud.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not."
Sasuke's face screwed up—reminding Itachi that he was still a kid—but he didn't look as if he would argue.
"It's you, for sure," he muttered out lowly, not looking up. His eyes were glued straight ahead. "Enough of an asshole to be him, at least."
Itachi's lips quirked.
How uncute of him.
Five Lives Forever Changed
"Well done, everyone, for making it here," Yugito said to the crowd of Kumo genin that huddled together. Most of them were grinning as they looked at their surroundings, eating it up with a voracious hunger she'd only seen in the likes of Kumo-nin. The others looked mostly scared out of their minds and already, Yugito could picture clear as day how her own chuunin exams had gone.
Four words to explain it; she could have died.
She had been a thirteen year old jinchuuriki and still nearly died in the second exam, of which they all would be facing next. In the Forest of Death, which didn't exactly get its name for no damn reason. She had never been there herself, of course, but she could imagine it very well from stories she'd heard.
Yugito looked at all of them and couldn't help but worry. Ay had explicitly told her that it was her duty to make sure none of them died, that if one of them did—well, it would cost her the kage position she so wanted and would also be another heavy guilt she'd have to carry with her. Which she didn't need. At all.
"Please don't disappoint me," she told them, smiling.
"Yes, ma'am!" the crowd of genin shouted out, half of them nervous and the other excited but all of them distinctly aware of their surroundings. Yugito felt pride and love well up within her, hoping for the best and almost positive nothing could go wrong.
After all, she wasn't alone.
Five Lives Forever Changed
Yugito was searching too long and quite impatiently at that.
Can you sense him? She wondered and felt Matatabi's chakra shift inside her.
Not very well, was the response.
"Tch," Yugito gritted her teeth, and took off in the direction she knew she'd be able to Naruto in.
If he makes a move on them, I suppose we'll just have to interject with force and run the risk of being seen by others.
You have to be careful. We can't run the risk of Kumo being kicked out on the account that you look suspicious.
Yes, yes, Yugito thought with a rush of speed as she worked on closing the gap between herself and Team 7.
She was in part weirded out by the large house-size tree branches and thankful for the easy stepping path that let her push forward so easily. But...it didn't change the sense of dread that filled her each time she went deeper into the forest. She had a feeling that it wasn't just the trees that were bigger than normal and Yugito abhorred any chance to see supersized bugs and other predators. She could handle them without a problem, of course, but—ugh—they sure would haunt her nightmares.
Alerted by her senses, Yugito dropped down to a lower branch and watched on as Naruto bickered with Sasuke. It was weirder yet to see Hinata with them, hesitant in her expression. She looked like she wanted to put a stop to their fight but still didn't have the courage to.
Yugito grimaced, pulling up short on what to think when her vivid memories were trying to paint an entirely different picture.
I hope Hinata being on their team doesn't mean we're doomed, Yugito thought and though she considered the girl cute, she couldn't help but feel conflicted.
It's only natural to be wary, kitten. Keep a careful watch on her.
I just feel...bad for Sakura. She was so badass when she grew older! It'd be my fault if she could never rise to that potential. Yugito lamented in her guilt for a while longer with those thoughts, praying she hadn't just doomed both girls to being mewling kittens in their ineptitude. Or worse, dead in the future.
Have faith in them, Matatabi chided her for her doubts, tone gentle but firm.
Do you? Yugito wondered, hesitating, Do you have faith in them?
Of course and if it comes to it, we'll just have to teach them ourselves. Inwardly, Yugito could feel all too well the cat licking its paw as if the beast hadn't just suggested what she'd just heard.
Me and teaching does not mix, curt as she informed Matatabi.
The cat didn't respond but a sense of amusement filled the connection between them, leaving even Yugito wanting to laugh.
Instead, she held it in and readjusted her focus to be firmly set on the three kids making their way steadily through the forest. Yugito kept up with them, a set distance between them but close enough that, with her extended hearing, she could pick up on hints of their conversations.
"We're going to have to lay a trap and wait for someone to ambush," Sasuke was saying, sounding a mixture of impatient and annoyed.
"I don't know—trap—dattebayo!" Naruto responded, grumbling too lowly for Yugito to pick up on what exactly he was saying.
"Well, I do!" Sasuke responded, his tone sharp.
"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata hesitantly started up, "Sasuke-san is...r-right."
They were facing away from her but she could practically feel Sasuke's smirk.
"Hinata-chan!?" Naruto cried out, indignant and perhaps even confused.
Yugito half expected something less out of her, to faint after hearing Naruto's disappointment in her. It was a surprise when something entirely different happened.
"We c-can't wait for someone to come to us w-when it could make us disadvantaged. With my e-eyes, I can look for people a-and a scroll!"
There was a pause in their conversation and although Yugito was impressed with the heiress, she feared it might have been too much in speaking up against her crush.
Then Naruto let out a self-deprecating laugh before scratching at the back of his head sheepishly, "When ya put it like that, Hinata-chan! Ok, turn on your eye thing and let's find a scroll and get ourselves out of this place!"
Yugito breathed a sigh of relief but ducked even further below them in the chance Hinata spotted her. Sure would be embarrassing if a genin would be the one to find her—an almost kage.
It never happened but instead, the confidence in them and coupled with the relief that they were working better together than she expected, led her thoughts in a different direction.
Hey, it's been awhile since you've invited me into the link.
You're too busy for that right now, kitten.
Yeah, I know but...it just kind of struck me that I could talk to Naruto in it. Communicate better if it had to come to it.
Then another thought came to her.
Do you think you could connect me to Gaara later? she asked Matatabi.
No, not unless you want your soul to be eaten.
Uneasy, Yugito hesitantly ventured to ask, Why?
In the state of mind he's in, Gaara and Shukaku will eat anything that comes into their domain. Even worse is that the link between my brother is so fractured at this point, I'm not sure even I could get into contact with him.
Yugito blinked and felt the puzzle pieces connecting, Shukaku-san was the one you were trying to talk to all this time?
Well, I can't leave you to doing all the work, Kitten. I've been...inspired by you and I hope to one day heal the rift between my siblings just as you hope to unite the shinobi nations.
She didn't know why she wasn't surprised upon hearing the news but she didn't care to figure it out. Yugito was pleased as it was to have helped the beast within her and even happier at the sentiment of true unity and peace coming to their land one day.
Seemed like a dream, but one she was hoping to make come true.
We will, Matatabi told her, we will.
Five Lives Forever Changed
Dread filled him but he didn't let it take hold.
Itachi stiffened but forced himself to relax.
"You thought I wouldn't find you?" Orochimaru asked, voice melodic and dripping with contempt all at the same time. "Disguised as you are, as if I wouldn't know."
"Why have you come to me?" Itachi asked, dropping all other pretenses and turning to face the man in a woman's skin. "Weren't you going to be after my brother?"
"What business would I have with him when I can have the older, stronger brother instead? A fully trained shinobi, strong enough to kill an entire clan...well, almost an entire clan." Orochimaru laughed, "Someone stopped you, didn't they? A very pretty girl, and closer to you than anyone has ever been before...such a fascinating story, I would say, as I've been following it quite closely."
Orochimaru grinned and chuckled, soft and somehow far reaching in its effects.
It's a game, Itachi reminded himself. Outwardly, he remained calm. Face impassive, expression unfeeling. Just as he had always trained himself to look when he was most afraid.
"So you've been watching us. For how long?"
"For quite a while," Orochimaru said with a grin, "and I know many things."
Itachi hummed his acknowledgement but said nothing more. Staring and gauging his opponent, waiting. There was little he could think of to say without being outright blatant about it. Or, perhaps that was best?
"What things?"
"Ah, where to even begin? Would it mean anything to you if I told you I knew all about your little inventor friend?" Orochimaru's grin stretched wide. Teeth bared clear to see, purple gums and a tongue that snaked out through the gaps. Even in a different body that could have been, he was nothing beautiful to look at.
Inwardly, Itachi could feel his impatience grow.
If he knew about Tobio, he knew about the trip. Then...did he know about other things as well? Yugito's knowledge of the future, or what their plans were? Was that why he intercepted him instead of his brother? Itachi wasn't so sure and he loathed the uncertainty.
"Are you leaving me with no choice then?" Itachi asked, looking at him through hooded eyes.
"Ah, but you do have a choice! Submit to me, and your brother will be left untouched but...try and fight it and I can promise no such things." A satin voice with a deal that marked him a devil spilling through his mouth words as if they were rancid wine. Itachi decided that in them, he did have a third option.
Fight it and kill him.
Itachi needed to end this now—he needed to do it for everyone.
Kill him now, and save the Hokage. Kill him now, and save a lot of people. Kill him now, and keep his brother safe.
The only choice he had to make was how to do it.
"Hm?" Orochimaru lifted a brow. "It looks as if you've come to an unfavorable decision. Will you die here or shall I take you nevertheless of your concerns?"
You won't be enjoying this for long, Itachi thought but didn't say.
"I won't let either of those things happen," he stated firmly, in a tone of voice he'd once used to order his ANBU operatives.
"My, you've changed!" Orochimaru realized with a pleased grin as he walked closer. "What happened to your sense of sacrifice? Has your time spent with her, really made you so selfish? You can't even let yourself die for your brother?"
Itachi gritted his teeth but said nothing. He didn't need to. His reasons were clear enough to himself.
I'm living for more than myself now.
Determined, he vanished from where he stood in the form of countless crows scattering.
He saw Orochimaru's back but before he could strike, Orochimaru dissolved into snakes. Feeling his presence close by, Itachi spun and deflected the Sannin's strike with a kunai. Sparks flew and with his mouth firmly closed shut, Itachi pressed forward and with his freehand, he snapped a kunai up from his pouch and aimed for the jugular.
Orochimaru looked up—Itachi shift gears, eyes on his.
It didn't work, a clone dispersing in his hands like ash sifting through his fingers. Of course, it could never be so simple.
With laughter sweeping in the air, Orochimaru dispersed into snakes and left Itachi standing, drawing his entire concentration to be sure where of he was coming from next.
"It's far too early in the day for this, don't you think?" Orochimaru asked and Itachi sent a ball of fire skyrocketing towards the source of his voice.
Trees caught fire but the man was nowhere in sight.
"Frustrated so soon?" that sugar sweet voice crawled towards him.
"Katon—Hōsenka Tsumabeni!" Itachi shouted as he formed the final seal.
He moved fast, his fingers numb as they griped the shuriken in his palm before he blew furiously the flames that coated them. He sent them flying through the air, knocking and embedding into every dark shape he noticed moving.
"Are you so intent on burning everything to the ground?" Orochimaru tauntingly asked and his chuckle reverberated through Itachi. Behind him, the voice came right behind him.
"Magen—Shinkarasu," Itachi calmly said, turning just in time to watch another clone disperse.
Orochimaru continued to laugh.
"Ah, this taste of your power—I know when I consume you, it'll be so delicious," the snake's voice was carried along a breeze. Itachi knew he would have to get serious soon if he wanted to shut him up any time soon.
"Stay still while I kill you," Itachi told him, impatient to move on.
"Not so soon," Orochimaru begged off, laughing at the tail end before humming in bemusement. "I only wanted to say hello for today."
"You're not getting away," Itachi ground out, agitated but unwilling to show it on his face. Instead, he kept his expression impassive.
He wouldn't lose control. He wouldn't lose him.
Five Lives Forever Changed
He's gone, Matatabi interjected as Yugito watched a freshly patched up and successful Team 7 make their way to the tower.
Orochimaru? Yugito wondered, confused. But he never...what do you think happened?
"Are you sure you can see the tower, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, sounding amazed and happy all at once.
I felt him clashing with the crow not too long ago and while I can still feel your crow, I cannot sense the snake.
Yugito tensed, worried as she looked down to the trio below her.
"Y-yes," Hinata said softly, words carried by the wind, "we'll be there tomorrow if we can keep our pace the same. And not...g-get into trouble with o-other teams."
"Wow, Hinata-chan! You really are our most valuable member! Just like Kakashi-sensei was saying."
I'll...go to Itachi. Yugito decided, torn as she looked away from her boyfriend's students.
It was stupid and distracting from the seriousness of the situation but, she was happy. She couldn't stop the rush of pleasure that shot up her sternum at the thought of, boyfriend. It was like she was some sort of teenage girl, pining for the next time she could see him. It was kind of scary at the same time, how such a word could hold her emotionally captive.
Something so simple and yet, such a sweet and powerful thing. Yugito had never had a connection like that to anyone before.
Yell at me if I ever think like this again, Yugito begged Matatabi, embarrassed by herself even if only the cat could listen to her.
While Matatabi was like a second soul to her, even Yugito felt ashamed of her idiot thoughts at times.
Hurry up and go, the cat chided her and with a grateful chuckle, Yugito abided.
Five Lives Forever Changed
"What does it mean?" she asked though she knew no one would be able to give a solid answer. How were they supposed to know what it meant? Orochimaru hadn't done anything. He'd done nothing. What does it mean?
Kakashi rested his palm at her back and she leaned into the touch, finding it a curious thing. It was a foreign feeling—the security. Somehow, she found herself comforted by such seemed to be such a small act.
"We have to tell the Hokage," Itachi spoke up from his corner in the room they'd taken over.
Gai nodded in agreeance, stepping off the wall before muttering, "it's too dangerous not to. We don't know what he's planning and any time spent deliberating on this will only just be more advantageous to him."
"It is best," Yugito agreed with a sigh. Though she still didn't like it. She worried it would make things too complicated to keep track of, and her tendency to want control in all matters wasn't helping her much.
Yugito knew that objectively speaking, telling the Hiruzen the necessary information to keep Konoha safe wouldn't be any worse than the clusterfuck of disaster that was heading their way already anyway. In fact, it would be the most helpful and useful thing to do.
The only thing to do.
Shit. She hated being caught in a cat and mouse game.
"While we're at it, we should schedule that meeting like my father asked," Itachi added, not meeting her gaze when she looked up in surprise.
She squinted at him, concerned.
"I'll be the one to tell the Hokage," Kakashi murmured close to her ear, taking her attention from Itachi momentarily. "I'll ask about the note Itachi's father left too. Gai, come with me."
"Understood, my dearest rival!" the green-clad ninja said with a nod, and though he looked as if he was trying to sound glum, he somehow made even that energetic.
Yugito watched them go with half a mind. She didn't know what to think or say. In part, she felt like a failure, though she knew it was too obscure of a feeling to attempt to explain. It wasn't as if she could help that Orochimaru had chosen then to act out of accordance with her memories.
What else am I going to be wrong about?
She'd always known it was a possibility but having to face it so soon felt more than a little bit unfair. Maybe it was punishment for finally being happy for once.
Yugito collapsed on the sofa in the room and slapped her hand on the cushion next to her, waiting for Itachi expectantly. His warmth was comforting as he landed beside her and she immediately went to rest her head on his shoulder before his hand came out unexpectedly to stop her.
"I don't want to talk about my dad," he said, surprising her as she lifted a brow at him.
Was she really that much of a mother hen?
Yugito looked to the ceiling and fought off the temptation to coddle him. So much had changed since the first time she'd met him-it was ridiculous to think about.
"Good, cause I want to take a nap instead," she told him, sighing, "and dream about the good old days when you followed behind me like a lost kitten. You were much cuter back then."
"You mean, when you dragged me around everywhere," he corrected her.
She scoffed, looking over at him. If he wasn't so damn cute, she would have hung him from the trees for that comment.
"I remember so well when you cried in my arms," Yugito reminded him. "I realized for the first time what it must be like to have a little sister."
"I'm pretty enough for it," Itachi agreed with a nod, making her reach for his cheeks.
She pinched them and glared.
Seconds later, they dissolved into laughter.
Five Lives Forever Changed
"While we're looking for him, I'd preferred if you stayed in the tower," the Sandaime informed her, looking tired. "While it might not be a matter of trust, I do have worry for your safety. I hope you understand."
"I do," she murmured, not fully believing what he was trying to tell her.
Why would they care about her safety when she was a jinchuuriki?
"And about your circumstances, Kakashi has explained them to me," he added and she was mildly surprised. She wondered what that was in reference to, thinking of a dozen issues and not finding one that stuck out in particular.
"Oh?" she prompted, noticing her boyfriend stiffen where he stood.
"But perhaps we should save all of that for another time. For now, we both have other matters to focus on," Hiruzen gave her meaningful look but for the most part, she didn't think much about it.
She hadn't a clue what he meant by it, after all. If it was a euphemism, he was failing spectacularly.
"The preliminary exams will be commencing in a few more days time. You'll be free to attend if you so desire," he informed her diplomatically and turned to leave the room. "For now, you should get some rest."
Rest. Rest for what? It wasn't as if she had anything else to do, with the Kumo students being taken care of by their jounin teachers. In the end, she had nothing to do except be an utter waste of space.
He seemed uninterested in her dilemma in how to be less like a piece of shit than she was.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," she told the shutting door as he made his way through it, vanishing.
With a sigh, Yugito sunk into the chair beside the table that Itachi was sitting at, writing. Seemed he at least was having fun with their inconclusive break from concern.
"You need to rest," Kakashi told her and pointed towards another door she'd been wondering where it led to. "It's the bedroom."
She yawned just thinking about it, reminded of the fact that it was close to twelve in the morning.
"I will, eventually," she told him, and met his gaze squarely. "So, what did you tell him about me?"
Kakashi looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"I trust you," she informed him dully, "whatever you told him, I don't mind. I just need to know so I can act accordingly."
"I told him only as much as I needed to," he started, shifting awkwardly in place. "I told him that we discovered Orochimaru after going to investigate on a suspicion you had. Revealed Itachi's identity when he kept prodding for more and after that, I told him what Itachi told us. That Orochimaru had left but was clearly planning more."
"But what of that is my circumstances?" Yugito asked, curious.
She had a feeling that if he didn't have a mask to hide it, he'd be blushing up to his ears.
"As for your circumstances, I...I told him we were..."
"Dating?" Yugito blinked.
"Yeah."
It certainly wasn't what she had been expecting.
Placing her chin into her palm, she gave him a tired smile.
"What was his reaction? An order to break up with me?" she wondered and couldn't be sure what she would do if faced with the option. For all she knew, it could be their destiny to end and she would be wasting energy, trying for no damn reason.
"No," he told her, looking away as he continued, "he said it might prove good for relations with Kumo, if there was a marriage."
Marriage. It echoed in her ears and she wanted to choke.
"Strange," she commented, trying not to show how weird what he said made her feel. "I would think he would hate to have anything to do with Kumo. Especially to give up a shinobi like you to a Raikage." Not something to be so easily approved of, at least.
She hated just thinking about it but it was true.
"I was...surprised too," he told her and she could nearly see a smile beneath his mask. "It seems that he's known of our relationship for a while though. Gai was an idiot and reported our interactions in his mission report."
Yugito squinted at him, concerned, "Did he talk about the other stuff too?"
"No, doesn't seem like it."
"So...he's known about us before we even did," she murmured, laughing to herself. "So far as to notice you that night I brought you with me to that gathering."
"He's always been acute on things like that. Minato-sensei has told me that he was the reason why he even managed to propose to Kushina-san."
Kakashi's gaze turned soft, speaking about them.
Yugito rose up out of her chair and tried for a smile as she held out her hand.
"We should get some sleep."
Five Lives Forever Changed
"It'll be just sleeping," she told him, a bit nervous as she noticed how big the bed was that Hiruzen had assigned them to.
"I did say you needed to rest," he told her, somehow making her feel even more awkward.
"But why? I haven't been doing anything," she bemoaned.
"You've been doing that," he pointed out with a lifted brow, "worrying about things that you can't help."
"It's not just things I can't help," she muttered, though there was plenty of that too. "It's the memories. I just didn't expect for them to be so useless. After all this time, I thought they were something of a curse that had been turned into an advantage for us."
"They're still an advantage," he told her even as she squinted at him, disbelieving. "It's because of you that we knew about Orochimaru's plan to attack, and even if it didn't go down exactly as we expected, there's still plenty more that you know that'll help us take him down."
"I guess," she huffed out, hand on her hip as she nibbled on her lower lip. She wanted to rip her hair out.
This is so damn frustrating! She internally screamed.
Hush, you.
Sorry.
"Listen," he called to her, closing the distance between them as he reached for her palms. He met her gaze, matter of fact in his attitude, "it's going to be fine. Thing's will work out."
"You don't even fully believe that," she muttered, hating how whiny she was being.
Ugh, she was awful.
Yugito should have just let herself be comforted instead of arguing with him.
Kakashi laughed, surprising her.
"No, but I believe in you and that means a whole lot more to me."
She felt her face go red before she could fully process what he'd said, blinking at him. If he wasn't holding her hands, she would have tried to hide her reaction. Instead, she blurted, amazed, "that was so damn cheesy!"
Kakashi blinked at her. "Woman, I'm trying to inform you of my unending devotion and you can't even take me seriously."
Yugito burst into hysterical giggles, falling into him when it became a struggle to keep upright.
"I'm never saying anything this embarrassing again if this is the reaction I can expect," he muttered into her hair, hand shifting onto her waist.
"Sorry, sorry," she apologized, still trying to beg off the following rounds of laughter she couldn't wholly keep herself from.
Kakashi chuckled alongside her after a while and for a moment, she let herself experience the warmth as it was.
They were alone, concerns just an echo away.
Tired as she was, it was the sense of comfort that relaxed her further and made it hard for her to keep her eyes open.
This is mine, she thought and it was a realization that sent waves through her. She couldn't get swept away from them, however—she had something to hold on to now.
"I once thought I'd be alone forever," she whispered and it was an odd thing to recall where she had been only years ago. Desperate for an escape, aching for someone to listen and understand. Doubting the reliability of the world and others, second guessing not just those around her but herself. Constantly thinking of the harshities and extremities that she knew she would have to face and overcome.
It's so different now, she thought and for a second she thought she'd make a fool of herself and begin to cry.
Something was wrong with her, to be so happy and yet want to sob for it.
Kakashi ran his hand from her palm all the way up to her shoulder and gently, he pulled her in. Yugito sank into his warmth with a sigh that escaped without her permission. But he didn't seem to mind and neither did she.
"I've thought the same," he admitted and in those words she found hope and desires she'd kept herself from for a long time.
She could envision fantasies with those words—of the two of them in the future. Not alone. Maybe with the tinkling laughter of children around but not alone. With each other.
Yugito ached for it badly but she couldn't say it out loud. Not for him to hear, when she didn't know if he wanted the same things and not for him to hear, for expectations to build and destroy themselves. Still, she rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.
It was quicker than she expected it to be.
"You stand so close and it makes me want to pounce," he said warningly and soon, her own heartbeat escalated and she pulled away. Nerves hit her then and her cheeks heated at the thought of what he was implying.
"We're supposed to be resting," she reminded him, and snorted, "plus, Itachi is in the room next over."
Kakashi blew out a breath and surprisingly, he was giving her a weathered eye-smile, "It's a big bed you got here. It'd be a shame if one side was left cold."
She eyed him through her lashes and chuckled at his moronic way of making a suggestion.
"It's late, we should get changed for bed," she suggested, unable to resist the call of his waggling brow.
She watched him take off his mask, revealing his grin and his way too adorable mole. His smile broadened in the wake of her reaction.
If possible, it made her even redder. If only he wasn't so damn attractive!
The both of them undressed, refusing to acknowledge each other and while she focused on getting her pajamas on, Kakashi clambered into bed with nothing more than his underwear. She wondered faintly if she would even make it through the night alive.
"Come to bed, Yugito," he ordered and held open his arms.
Way more shy than she needed to be, reluctantly she crawled onto the bed and somehow found herself slipping under the covers. Seconds later, Kakashi pulled her in even closer by the waist and though it was sudden, she decided she didn't dislike the way their bodies seemed molded to be beside each other.
Kakashi blinked languorously upon noticing her expression.
"What?"
The redness in her cheeks deepened and for a moment, it was all she could do to keep air in her lungs. She pursed her lips and shook her head, embarrassed.
"What is it?" he asked again and brushed her chin with his knuckles, as if he had been unable to resist.
"The way you say my name," she forced out, not even thinking, just talking and saying out loud her thoughts as if he couldn't hear them. "I never thought my name was pretty but the way you say it sounds...nice."
Kakashi hummed out his understanding before quietly, under his breath, "Yugito..."
She turned her head towards him and shifted her legs so that they slid against his. She wiggled her toes and gave him a look.
"At this point, I think you're trying to torture me," he accused, matching her grin.
"Ufu," she laughed and eyed him sharply, "got a foot fetish then?"
"I think it's a you fetish, idiot."
Yugito couldn't help the stupidly cheerful giggle that left her. It made her feel young again, like a child experiencing something new for the first time. She wanted to know more about him. Wanted to spend more than just a night with him. It felt better this way, stark in the way it stood out from all the time she had spent so alone. All the while, she couldn't stop herself from getting closer.
Turning on her side, she tilted her head so that it rested beneath his chin. Her hands went to grasp his shoulders and she pressed her stomach against his, entwining their legs together. She'd never been so close to anyone before, not in her entire life.
She loved it.
"Who gave you your name?" she wondered, sinking into their shared warmth, "Your father?"
"As far as I know. What about you?"
"A nurse. She raised me until I was three and then had to return to her family," Yugito answered honestly, and he was the first person she was telling this to, "I don't have any memories of her but I suppose she was the closest thing I ever had to a mother."
"I never knew my mother either," Kakashi admitted quietly, then very softly, "she died because I was born."
She paused her breathing, and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.
I used to think the same way, she recalled distantly, with half a mind.
It was painful. For her to be so happy but for his words to express so much pain.
"Nonsense," she quickly corrected him but was only speaking the mantra she had told herself so often, "none of us make the choice to be born. It's entirely unreasonable to have a sense of guilt for something you had no power in."
"Sorry," he said and for a moment she detected uncertainty in his tone, "Should I not have...?"
Yugito frowned, and while she didn't want to pull away, she did. Shifting, she unraveled her limbs from him and his limp touch allowed her to. He wasn't looking at her anymore and he was perhaps not looking at anything anymore, but distant memories separated from her.
Annoyed, she pulled her leg over his stomach and sat on him.
Leaning over him, and letting her hair slip over her shoulder, she willed him to meet her eyes.
"Thank you for telling me," she whispered, and pressed a kiss to his forehead before resting hers against his, "but you're a dumbass if you think that way even now."
His expression softened, "Can't have you doubting my intelligence, can we?"
Yugito squinted her eyes at him and knew he was trying to deflect with humor. She wouldn't let him.
"I'm happy you told me that because if you hadn't, I wouldn't know you thought that way. But," she sucked in a breath and willed herself not to act like a baby and cry in front of him, "even if I'm happy, I still can't ignore it as if it's something normal and just existing as a part of you. Because it's not your fault your mother died giving birth to you. Just like it's not mine either. Or would you want me to think that too?"
"No," he admitted quietly before leaning in to kiss her. His hands gripped her waist and even though she should have stopped him, she didn't. She let him flip their position, let him settle her beneath him and let his hands touch her. His fingers roamed and caressed her, and running up her sides and eliciting a soft moan each time he strayed a little further down.
"Kakashi," she mumbled and he paused long enough to meet her gaze.
"I want to touch you everywhere," he told her and smiled in a way she had never seen before. It sent a thrum of heat through her and felt like lightning in the way it jolted a reaction out of her. It was unbearable, the heat felt close to consuming her and it probably would have, had it not been for Kakashi.
Abruptly, he rolled off of her and landed to her right.
Disorientated and confused, she turned on her side to look at his face for answers. His cheeks were flushed but it was the only indication that anything had happened at all. She didn't know whether to be thankful or not and settled for the former, if only to curb her disappointment.
"Why don't you like your name?" he suddenly asked, shifting to look at her closer.
"Well because...because it's...a strange name," Yugito answered, and then felt her cheeks flush. "No one really knew what to expect from me when I introduced myself. For a long time, I was called by another name actually. I made them stop after a while but, it was probably a nicer name."
"What was it?" he asked, his eye shining and his lips quirking up in an expectant smile.
"Yuiko."
"Thoughtful child?" he wondered and at her nod, his grin broadened, "It's fitting."
"It brought too many bad memories with it," then Yugito shook her head. "No. Not bad. Too many good memories."
"Why is that?" he asked in a whispered, hand coming up to touch the edge of her chin.
"Well, the name was given to me when I met my...my father. He fostered me for a while and during the time I was supposed to introduce myself, I spoke too quietly and he thought my name was different. After that it sort of stuck. But now, when I'm called that name..." She trailed off, unsure how to explain it.
Kakashi seemed satisfied, just listening to her speak.
Yugito smiled at him and ducked her face into the crook of his neck. For some reason it made her a stupid amount of happy to be telling him something so mundane.
"Later on, I'll tell you more about that man. He was very special to me," she added quietly, and settled in closer to him.
"I'd like that," he whispered and it was in his arms accompanied by the sounds of his soft breathing, that she fell asleep.
Five Lives Forever Changed - End
Boy, am I glad I reworked this chapter. I'm really liking it a whole lot more for it and I'm less stressed for the next chapter. At the same time, I feel like I've been wrestling with this chapter for fifty years of my life even though I barely just turned nineteen. I just wanna move on so let's just...do that.
Beyond that, I have an announcement! I have a new discord server (not the Sakura one, though you can join that too). It's basically a place where I can talk to you guys in a group setting and where you can keep up to date with all the bullshit I'm working on. Like a book club for my writing, lmao.
Link is on my profile!
Obscure Story Recommendations;
Whispered Nothings by MidnightSinXOXOXO. A reborn SI fic, genres marked as tragedy and adventure. Beautiful writing style, fun dynamic characters, killer sense of humor. The complete package of awesome, basically.
The Pickle Jar by Weird0-Lover. A Kakashi x Ayame romance fic. It's so super good, easy to read and with loads of fun involved. Please give the author your love and tell her I sent you if you do.
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