BLOND HAIR
CHPTER 37: COME CLEAN.
Aoi woke up early in the morning; determine to finish the puzzle of her life once and for all. She decided to come clean with Naruto. She will meet him today and tell him the truth; he's her son. She knew it will be a big shock to Naruto and she realized that Naruto might reject her. She had prepared herself. She will accept whatever Naruto's reaction.
Aoi walked towards the administration building. She wanted to notify Tsunade about what she will be doing. She knew Tsunade might persuade to give it some tome but she was determined. She entered Tsunade's office and saw her was going through some paperwork. "I plan to tell him today….," she started when she sat in front of Tsunade. Tsunade looked up from behind the papers. She put the papers down. "You sure?," she asked back. Aoi nodded. "You know he might reject you…..," Tsunade clarified the fact. Aoi nodded again. Tsunade sighed. "Then good luck!." Aoi smiled and walked out of the office.
Aoi walked towards the training ground by the forest. She found out that Team 7 had no missions today. She decided that they were practicing so she headed towards the training ground. When she reached there, she saw Sasuke was sparring with Naruto. Kakashi was standing under a tree, watching them. Sakura was no where to be seen. Kakashi saw her and nodded. Aoi walked towards Kakashi and stood beside him as she watched Naruto and Sasuke. "What brings you here?," he asked after a few minute.
"I'm going to tell him the truth..," she replied. Her eyes were fixed on Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi nodded. "I'll wait till they finished sparring…" Kakashi shrugged. "That may take some time. Plus, he'll be too tired after the spar…," he explained. "Then, I'll just have to wait.. I've waited for almost 10 years. A few more hours won't hurt…"
About two hours later, Sasuke and Naruto stopped sparring. Both of them were panting and they were too tired to launch an attack. "That's it you two. Get some rest…," Kakashi commanded. They nodded and headed to where Kakashi and Aoi were standing. Aoi smiled at them when they approached. Naruto waved to her while Sasuke looked away.
When they reached the tree, both of them fell sitting on the ground. "I'm so tired!," he whined. "You two get some rest first. We'll continue after this. In the mean time..," Kakashi turned to Aoi. "Care for a round?," he invited. Aoi smirked. "Bring it on, boy!."
Naruto and Sasuke looked at Kakashi, surprised. They only saw Aoi fought once, when they first met. Aoi and Kakashi walked slowly to the field. They stood facing each other.
"Hand to hand combat. First one who landed a hit wins… Agree?," Kakashi explained. Aoi nodded, smirking. "Quite some time since we had done this right?," she started as she went into her fighting stance. Kakashi prepared himself. Naruto and Sasuke watched with interest. Sakura who just came back greeted them but were ignored by both Naruto and Sasuke. She starting to tell them about what she found in the forest. "Shut up!," Sasuke hissed. His remark hurt her but she followed their eyes and saw that Aoi and Kakashi were ready to fight. "Oh!," she exclaimed when she understood why they ignored here.
"Ladies first…," Kakashi muttered. Aoi smirked and lurched forward. She started attacking Kakashi with punches and kicks. Her speed was a match to Kakashi. Kakashi blocked all of her rapid attack. "Still the same old Aoi," he mumbled. Aoi said nothing, just continue smirking. "You ain't see nothing yet…."
Aoi jumped to the back and gained some distance from Kakashi. Kakashi watched her. "This is my new move. Tell me what you think about it…," she said as she walked towards him. Before Kakashi could respond, she had dashed towards him. Kakashi prepared to block a kick from her right leg that was heading towards his right rib.
Just seconds before her kick landed on his hand which was protecting his rib, she pulled back her right and use the right leg to hop. With the hop, she changed her attack and her left kick kicked the left side of Kakashi that wasn't protected. Kakashi was thrown to the right, but he control himself and landed on the ground safely.
He held his left rib as he landed squatting. He tried to stand up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…," Aoi warned as she pulled her leg. He ignored her and jerked to stand up. The moment his body straighten, the pain in his rib tripled. He fell to the ground kneeling as he held his rib tightly. Aoi smirked and walked towards him. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura ran towards their teacher.
Aoi knelt in front of him. Kakashi was frowning from the pain. His students stood besides him. "That was your new move? The hopping thing?," he asked. Aoi shook her head. "The hop was a trick to change my attack at the last minute. That's my old move… New to you I guess. The new move was when I kicked you. It hurts, doesn't it? Say three times more?," Aoi guessed.
Kakashi nodded. Aoi smiled. "Let me take a look at that…," she told him. Kakashi pulled his shirt up. Sakura gasped. "How come there's no bruise? There's not even a sign that he was kicked," she analyzed. Aoi nodded. "Seconds before I kicked you, I concentrated some chakura at my kicking feet. The damage is done inside. Not outside. It's the same as Hyuuga's Jyuuken, only that I don't see the chakura holes. Plus, I concentrated the chakura only seconds before the hit landed. It saves chakura. I used only small amount of chakura, but I guess it still hurts right?," she looked at him with a guilty face.
"Nothing that I can't take," he defended. Aoi smiled and hovered her hands on the place she kicked. Blue light emitted from her hand. It continued for a while and she stopped. She stood up and looked at Kakashi. Kakashi pulled down his shirt. "Thanks for that," Kakashi thanked her as he stood up. Aoi smiled.
"So, I guess you're the loser here.. How about a treat.?," she chirped. Kakashi froze. Before anyone could do anything, he disappeared with a puff of smoke. "Oww… I though we can eat lunch for free today!!," Naruto moaned. Sasuke was expressionless while Sakura was a little disappointed. "Who said we can't?," Aoi asked puzzled. The three of them looked at her. "He's gone. How's he supposed to pay when he's not here?," Sakura asked Aoi. Aoi smirked and showed them what she was holding in her hand. They gasped. "We don't need him. As long as we have his purse…," she laughed.
"When did…?," Sasuke blurted. He himself wasn't that fast to grab Kakashi's purse when he was disappearing. Aoi grinned. "He's fast. But not fast enough for me!." They nodded as they gulped down. They have forgotten that Aoi was a ninja, a very powerful one. "Let's go! Seeing that we have all his money, we can eat anywhere…," she pulled their hands and they headed towards the village.
Kakashi walked towards his apartment. "Thank God I escaped fast enough. If not, my money will disappear," he reached for his purse. He froze when he realized his purse was gone. "Aoi…," he whispered in horror and he ran towards the village. He had to find them before they finished all of his money.
Aoi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto was eating dinner in the restaurant happily. "Order anything you want. It's Kakashi's treat!," she announced to the three of them. They giggled. "He shouldn't mess with you around ne," Sakura pointed out. Aoi nodded. "Maybe he's forgotten about that. It's been quite some time since we last saw each other..," Aoi laughed and took a sip from her orange juice.
After an hour, they finished their food and they were chatting. "Oh, Aoi-sama. Why did you come to the training ground today?," Sakura asked when she remembered. Aoi realized she had forgotten the real reason she had come. "Well.. I have something to talk with Naruto…," she explained. "Huh? Me?," Naruto was surprised. Aoi nodded. "You can talk to me right now!," Naruto suggested. "Well…It's a personal thing..," Aoi trailed off. Sakura noticed that Aoi wasn't so comfortable to talk about it with her and Sasuke around.
"Maybe we should leave so that you two could talk," she looked at Sasuke as she stood up. Sasuke ignored her, he wanted to know what Aoi was going to tell Naruto. He wasn't very interested in Naruto but he wanted to stay and hear what Aoi was going to say. Naruto looked at Sakura. "It's ok Sakura-chan. You can stay. I have nothing to hide from the two of you….," Naruto insisted. Sakura sighed and sat down again.
Aoi watched them. "Ok, if you insist… Well.. How to start.. ok!," she mumbled and lifted her head. "You know that I have.. had a husband…," she started. Naruto nodded. "The Fourth Hokage.. Yeah, why?," he asked back. Sasuke and Sakura were surprised. They knew nothing much about Aoi. "You're married? To the Fourth?," Sakura gasped. Aoi nodded. It made them listen carefully.
"The night he died was the night I gave birth to my son. But he died, or so I was told. The truth is, he didn't die at that time. My husband took our baby and sealed the Kyuubi inside of him…" Sasuke and Sakura froze. "That means..," Sasuke muttered. Aoi nodded. Naruto was still clueless. He looked at Sasuke with confusion. "The Kyuubi was sealed inside of me….," Naruto thought out loud, he still don't understand. "That means…," Sakura muttered. Aoi nodded. "Naruto, you are my son," Aoi whispered loud enough to be heard by the three of them. Naruto was astound. He flabbergasted. "No.. it couldn't be.. They said my mother died when she gave birth to me.. She died…" He stopped when he remembered what Iruka told him.
"They're willing to die for each other. The Fourth died protecting the village, at the same time protecting her. She died trying to revive her. She used up all her chakura to revive the Fourth after the fight. But they both died. That was what everyone thought until she came back. Konoha's Romoe and Juliet. It was a tragic love story."
"They thought you died but you didn't die….," Naruto muttered as the reality sunk into him. Aoi nodded sadly, she was watching the confused Naruto with a pain expression. Naruto jerked up from his seat and started running out of the restaurant. Sakura called him. "Naruto!." She stood up and watched him. "I'll go after him. Sasuke, you stay her with Aoi-sama….," Sakura directed as she ran out; following Naruto.
Sasuke didn't reply or anything. Aoi said nothing, staring at her plate. After a while looked up. With a small forced smile, "I better get back. He need some time to think. I'll find him when he's calm..," she told Sasuke as she slowly stood up. Sasuke stood up and announced. "I'll walk you home…" Aoi nodded and thanked him. They wlaked out of the restaurant side by side.
Naruto jumped from a rooftop to another. "Naruto!!," he could hear Sakura was calling him from behind but he didn't stopped. "Naruto! Stop… Argh!!!." Naruto stopped and turned around. He saw Sakura had tripped and she was rubbing her knee. He ran to her. "Are you ok, Sakura-chan?," he asked her. Sakura looked up and saw Naruto was helding out his hand towards her. Sakura took his hand and he pulled her up. They stood facing each other. "Naruto…," Sakura started. Naruto turned around and walked a few steps forward. He sat at the edge of the roof. Sakura sighed and walked to him. She sat by his side.
Aoi and Sasuke walked in silence. "The moon is very beautiful tonight…," Aoi commented as she looked up and saw the moon. She stopped and stared at the moon. Sasuke watched her. Aoi sighed as she closed her eyes. "No need to worry.. He'll come back to you..," he muttered. Aoi opened her eyes and looked at Sasuke. She smiled. "Yeah.. Maybe…," she replied as she continued walking. "He's an idiot if he rejects you. Everyone wants a mother….," Sasuke trailed off. Aoi nodded. "You too?," she asked without looking at him.
"Having a mother won't be too bad, I guess…," he replied uncertainly. Aoi stopped walking. She turned to face Sasuke. "Do you miss her?," she asked. Sasuke looked away. He didn't reply anything. "Sometimes…," he finally whispered slowly, but Aoi heard him. Aoi watched the boy in front of him. Her heart broke when she remembered what happened to his family. Sasuke looked up and saw how she was looking at him.
"I don't need pity from you! All of you are the same, you either look at me with pity or hatred," Sasuke snarled. His words didn't hurt her at all, she knew it was the words of the wounded.. Sasuke was pissed. "Stop looking at me like …..". Without much thinking, Aoi leaned forward and pulled Sasuke into her arm. Aoi's action surprised both Sasuke and herself. She hugged him tightly. At first, Sasuke struggled but he stopped when he felt the more he struggled, the tighter she hugged him.
Sasuke let himself hugged by Aoi. He felt powerless. He hated being powerless compared to anything but he knew he couldn't do nothing. Her embrace was too warm and calming, he knew he couldn't escaped. "I don't pity you, Sasuke. I care for you…," she whispered. Sasuke didn't reply but Aoi knew he accepted what she had said. "You miss her, don't you?," she asked him in a whisper. Sasuke nodded slowly. "I can't replace her. That's a fact. No one can replace you mother. But if you need someone, I'm willing to be that person. You can always come to me…."
Aoi waited for his answer but he didn't nod nor shake his head. She sighed, feeling defeated. But she knew the answer when he curled his arm around her waits. She smiled and tighten her hold. She kissed the top of the boy's head. "You'll be just fine….'
The shadow watched Aoi since she left the restaurant. He knew that the boy who was walking with her was Uchiha Sasuke. He smirked. But his smirk vanished as he watched Aoi hugged the boy. And his anger grew when he saw the boy curled his filthy arm around her waist. He decided that he should show himself.
"I kinda had the feeling that she's.. a mother. I want her to be my mother.. But when I heard it with my own ear, about the truth, it's kinda… mind boggling….", Naruto told Sakura as he looked up at the moon. Sakura nodded. "You just need some time to accept it…," Sakura rephrased. Naruto nodded. Sakura nodded slowly.
Aoi let Sasuke go. "Okay?," she asked. Sasuke nodded, slightly embarrassed. "So, let's continue walking me back home," she chirped as she continued walking. Sasuke walked by her side.
Suddenly, they stopped walking when they noticed there's someone standing in their way. They couldn't tell who was it because the person was covered by the building's shadow. After a while, the person stepped forward, letting the moonlight shone on his face, letting Aoi and Sasuke recognized him.
"Hello.. Am I interrupting something?," he greeted. Aoi tensed as Sasuke growled when they saw that person. He had red eyes which was blazing like blood.
After Naruto had walked Sakura back, he himself headed back to his apartment. He had a very tiring day. His spar with Sasuke took all his energy and hearing the truth about Aoi added the burden. Naruto sighed and quicken his pace. He was thinking only about his bed.
"Itachi….," Sasuke snarled through gritted teeth. Itachi smirked. "Love to see you again little brother. But 'm not here for you…," he told Sasuke and turned to look at Aoi as he walked towards them. Sasuke was about t lurch towards his brother but Aoi raised her hand, stopping him. "Calm down Sasuke….," she whispered, her eyes were fixed on Itachi. Sasuke looked at Aoi, considered his choice and he stopped.
Itachi's smirk went wider. "Looks like you've tamed him, Aoi," he commented. Aoi smiled back at him. "You mean like I tamed you before?," she asked sarcastically. His smile vanished. This time it was Sasuke's turn to smirk. "What do you want, Itachi? You shouldn't be here..," Aoi asked him. "And you're supposed to catch me. They will be suspicious if you let me go just like that," Itachi replied. Aoi snorted. "You don't have to worry about that…,"Aoi told him. Itachi looked deeply into her eyes.
"Sasuke, whatever you do, don't look at him straight in the eye!," Aoi warned Sasuke. Sasuke nodded. "You told him to do something that you yourself not doing…," Itachi commented when he noticed that Aoi was looking at him straight in the eye. Aoi said nothing. "You know I could send you to hell if you continue looking into my eyes…," Itachi threatened. Aoi smiled.
"I've been through my own hell, Itachi. Yours doesn't scare me," Aoi replied. "You seemed sure…," he commented. Aoi stared at him in the eye. "Why are you doing this? Getting involved with my broher?," he asked her calmly, eyes still fixed on her. Aoi sighed. "I just want to stop history from repeating itself…" Itachi raised his brow. "History? You mean me?," he asked with interest. Aoi nodded sadly.
"When you told me why you did it, I feel guilty. And if I can ever stop it from happening again, I will. It maybe too late for you, but not for him…," she whispered. Sasuke heard what Aoi was saying and he can only guess what I meant. Itachi nodded.
They stared at each other for a few minutes before Itachi started to turn around and walk away. Aoi looked at him walked away. "Itachi!," Aoi called. Itachi turned slightly. "Thanks for the blanket..," she thanked him. Itachi looked surprised. "You knew it was me?," he asked. Aoi nodded. "Yeah, since I reached there. I noticed you were around. But I was too sad and angry to care…," Aoi confessed. Itachi smirked. "That was indeed a rare sight..," he commented. Aoi nodded, slightly embarrassed. Itachi smirked and walked away.
Sasuke heard Itachi's footsteps. He lurched forward, angered. Aoi caught him by the wrist. "Let him go.. it's not the time… yet," she advised. Sasuke gritted his teeth but he stopped. Aoi gave him a small smile. "I'm going home..," Sasuke muttered and walked the opposite way which Itachi had went. "See you again…," Aoi waved at him. She watched him until he faded from her sight. Aoi sighed. "I'll try my best. I don't want what had happened to Itachi happens to him too…."