Chapter 38 - Take Flight

The radiant sun shone in the sky high above, a glorious morning that signaled the start of a brand new day. The toddler-size terrorists, Naruto and Sasuke, woke up to blissful peace - too peaceful. They were bored and no one else was awake in the house. The only sound they could hear was animal chatter. Rolling out of bed, they first targeted Toshiro, their whipping boy, who was usually the victim of their rock-and-roll attempts. As though Toshiro could sense them from miles away, he ducked his head into the duvet and turned his back to them. Sasuke was about to kick Toshiro's back to test if he was really sleeping, but Naruto pulled him away. He spoke to him in a hushed voice so as not to wake Toshiro.

Naruto figured Toshiro might actually get mad at them enough that he would never play with them again. Last time, what angered Toshiro was when Naruto "accidently" ran into him while Toshiro was in the middle of painting, causing ink to spill everywhere. Before Toshiro could catch a breath to calm down and start cleaning their mess, Fugaku came home to see the two toddlers rolling around in black ink, staining the living room tatami floor.

When Fugaku told him off, Toshiro almost broke down in tears. He didn't talk back to his uncle, who also happened to be the head of their clan. Toshiro knew he wasn't really at fault. He did tell the toddlers to slow down. He did tell the toddlers to behave. He did tell the toddlers to chill. It was their fault they didn't listen. What more could he have done? He could put them to sleep using a simple genjustu, but that might get him into trouble if he was caught. It was always a lose-lose situation. Toshiro didn't know what he did to deserve this tormenting babysitting job. It was punishment as he was solely responsible for their every action when they were alone.

Toshiro was no fun. Sasuke diverted his target. He pointed his finger at Yuna and Naruto followed, whispering his plan to Sasuke before steadily stumbling their way to Yuna. She was having too good a time smiling in her sleep, so the toddlers decided she wasn't entitled to her happily-ever-after while they were watching grass grow.

Here came the terror duo...

"Wake up," Sasuke said.

"Neechan!" Naruto shouted.

"Wake up."

"Wake up, neechan!"

"Hurry up."

"Get up."

"Yuna-neesan!"

"WAKE UP!"

Plan N failed - N for "noise". They tried another approach: Sasuke's time to shine.

The toddlers began jumping up and down, shaking the tatami floor in the living room. Yuna turned away from the shock's origin, hiding her face from the blinding sun rays with her pillow.

Plan S failed - S for "shattering shake". Naruto and Sasuke were devastated. They were certain that bouncing ought to generate enough tremor to replicate an earthquake. They admitted their defeat after a good minute. Naruto was beginning to feel Yuna was ignoring him on purpose. He sat quietly and waited at the side. Sasuke took the matter into his hands.

Sasuke was always the boy on a mission. If they couldn't do it his way, they wouldn't do it any way at all. Sasuke eyed Naruto, then the edge of Yuna's duvet, communicating his plan. Naruto hesitated. When Sasuke sharpened his glare, Naruto gave in. Together they grabbed the edge of her duvet and pulled it off.

Yuna groped the air for her blanket. When she felt nothing, she instantly woke up.

At the side, Toshiro was folding his bed set neatly. He greeted Itachi, who was entering the living room. Itachi mouthed a reply and rushed to the toddlers, seeing how they were annoying the crap out of Sleepy Princess Yuna.

Oh no! Itachi and Toshiro thought when they sensed an unnatural chill in the air. By now they were accustomed to this feeling of dread. They could feel it coming - Yuna's volcanic outburst.

Yuna's eyes snapped open and she sprung up to see two toddlers. Her face twisted into an expression of rage. "Naruto! Sasuke!" she screamed.

She advanced on them, ready to pull their pudgy faces, but she softened as soon as the glee hanging on their smiley faces sunk in. They were so happy to see her. She lowered her hands. She just couldn't, not when she felt so loved. The toddlers might have been young, but they knew what they were. They were two fearless terrors who could get away with murder, even in the eye of the Ice Princess, because they were her precious little brothers. They knew Yuna couldn't be hard-hearted with them.

"Play!" Naruto clapped his hands.

"Play with us, neesan," Sasuke agreed.

Itachi let out a relieved sigh. Yuna no longer seemed to be angry. He could guess as much judging by the smile on her face and how she was now playing tag with them. Toshiro looked at his cousin with a creepy expression, smiling with a superior complex. Itachi frowned. "What is it?"

Toshiro's voice cracked as he spoke through his laughter. "You're so funny when you're drunk!"

Itachi tried to recall what actually happened. He couldn't remember much after that point when he accidentally slipped about Yuna's menarche. He vaguely remembered throwing up and had his head held over the toilet bowl, but absolutely nothing after that. Apparently, and miraculously, he managed to head to bed with clean clothes.

"Was I that bad?" Itachi asked. Then he wondered if he really wanted to know. He knew he must have been freaking embarrassing to have Toshiro having the best laugh of his life. Not that Toshiro was fooled. No way! In fact, Itachi's poor attempt to pretend that he didn't care made the whole thing funnier!

"Yeah," Toshiro answered. It was a no-brainer.

Itachi winced. "Was it horrendous-"

"One hundred percent." Toshiro wiped tears of laughter off his cheeks.

"Great!" Itachi's sour voice spoiled his uncaring facade. He hoped his artificial smile would at least make him feel a bit better about himself. It's working. It's definitely working. It's totally working, he lied to himself.

"What happened will be remembered and talked about for many years to come," Toshiro assured him.

Itachi wanted to deny it, but he knew it was more than likely. He was just in denial.

"You really think so?" Itachi sighed. The conversation was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. Choosing the better of two evil, Itachi knew Toshiro would most definitely dig deeper if he had ignored him.

"Hell yes!" Toshiro gestured at Itachi with the painting brush on his hand. "I'm not going to forget any of that crazy shit unless my head is totally fucked, and I don't think others will forget it, either. Ha! Sh - "

"Language," Itachi warned, his eyes scolding Toshiro.

"Whatever." Toshiro shrugged and dropped the issue. Fugaku wasn't nearby, so what was the big deal? "Shisui swears."

Toshiro was smart enough to know how to act in front of someone based on what he knew about them. On a dog scale, with his knowledge learned from chattering with Kakashi, Toshiro concluded Itachi was a chihuahua and Fugaku was the pit-bull. Itachi might bark sometimes, but he always backed off. Fugaku, on the other hand, was the real deal. He was a biter, not a barker.

It was midday, and Tsunade and Shizune were waiting for Yuna at the East Gate, about to leave the village once again. Kakashi was tasked with lugging Yuna's luggage from home. Closest friends and family met her at the gate to see her off. It was obvious Kakashi was experiencing a major hangover. His eye was not focusing and he wasn't wearing his mask. Shisui came late to give him a can of energy drink. They were used to this. They knew as long as they could talk normally in front of the sannin, they shouldn't be in too much trouble. After all, Tsunade was quite the heavy drinker. Kakashi and Shisui often drank together and talked about their problems to each other, and usually downed a few cans of Red Bull the next day when they had to wake up from their half-arsed state.

Yuna went to the gate directly from the Uchiha's house and the others were there to see her off. Naruto wasn't sure what was happening, but he could feel it. Under Kyubi's influence, Naruto was very good at sensing negative feelings.

"Why you sad, neechan?" Naruto asked with tears forming in his eyes.

Yuna kneeled down to give her little brother a hug. "I'm not sad," she spoke, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. "It's just… I'll miss you very much when I'm away because you're my favourite brother."

Kakashi gave her the dirty eye when he heard that. "Are you sure you should show your favouritism when I took your luggage here, even though I could still be sleeping in bed?" he accused jokingly.

Throwing shade at each other was their way of expressing their sibling love.

"Thank you, Kakashi-nii," said Yuna. "Sorry, Kakashi-nii. Naruto is the brother who never ever talks back. That's why." She couldn't help but notice Kakashi was exceptionally slow today. Hangovers will do that to a person, she supposed. "Maybe you should learn from chibi."

"He's a toddler, and I'll be looking after him when you're away. Who's learning from whom?" Kakashi laughed.

Yuna sighed. "I just have to pray chibi gets fed properly, with something other than ramen every meal."

Naruto perked up at the mention of ramen.

"Also make sure he brushes his teeth, learns how to write…" she continued.

"I'll help out when I can," Yugao reassured. Yuna smiled thankfully. She could trust Yugao over Kakashi and Shisui looking after children any day. The best bit was that Yugao had learned how to use Naruto's constant craving for ramen to control him.

Shisui said smugly, "We are adults. We got this." He held out his hands for reassurance - not that it was working. The entire ex-Team 13 froze before rolling their eyes. "Hey! Show me some respect, guys. Whether you like it or not, you are my students."

Shisui was ignored. Toshiro tapped his shoulder and gave Shisui a bitter smile. Yugao gave Yuna a quick hug when she let go of Naruto.

"Will be back to shop with you. ASAP!" Yuna said in her silly voice.

"Have a safe trip!" Yugao wished everything would go well. Yuna was in desperate need of the training to control her abilities, or else she might lose all control of herself. They made silly faces at each other as a BBF promise ritual and giggled. Yuna walked over to Shisui.

"Thank you for everything, Shisui-nii," Yuna bowed. Shisui felt a little weird about it. He meant it as a joke when he demanded respect from them, and she delivered.

"Yuna, I was joking. Above all, you're my future second-cousin first-removed in-law to a guy who happens to be my best fri - "

"Will you drop it?" Itachi interrupted, his voice in a dangerously flat tone that practically screamed, This is your final warning.

Shisui shut up immediately. Squirt talked back! Beside them, Toshiro bit his fingers and mentally screamed. Itachi usually stayed in silence and ignored them; he was aggressive today. It sounded like he was pissed off. Seriously pissed! Shisui held his hands out again, but this time defensively. Although Itachi didn't mind, he knew Yuna didn't like being the subject of a joke - a joke which was now getting to him, too. Mostly because deep down - and he would not admit it with a clear head - he could see what his heart wanted with what happened the last few days. He wanted to bury all his feelings within the depths of their friendship. Yuna saw him as her best friend and Itachi would much rather stay that way than to risk losing her forever.

Yuna changed her focus on Toshiro, hoping that should ease Shisui's discomfort. "I wish you the best of luck in merging your artistry with ninjutsu."

"Next time we meet, we'll fly on my ink bird," Toshiro said. Earlier, Toshiro asked Yuna to take him up to the sky with her swan after breakfast. Toshiro gave a comical salute to remind her to keep his drawing, to think about what he said to her earlier. He wanted her consider it for real and not subdue it just because everyone was joking about them. Yuna shook her head, smiling and all the while thinking this kid was acting a little too mature for his age.

At last, her other best friend. Itachi.

Yuna didn't know what to say. She had so much talk about, yet there was so little time. For a good while she just stood there, him staring at her, waiting for her words. Yuna stole a glance at Shizune, who was mouthing something about they were behind schedule. Yuna opened her mouth, ready to say the words she had been dreading, the words she didn't know how to rephrase to make them sound less negative.

"Please don't let me come back to the news of my dead best friend." Her voice was soft, as though she was begging him. "My heart can't take another blow like…" She fought herself from mentioning Minato and Kushina, the day when her teacher Orochimaru revealed his betrayal, or the day how she thought she lost everything and was left alone in the battlefield when she was only four. Her throat was dry. She couldn't talk about any of them. She wanted to move on - and her way to move on was to look forward and not feed on the dark past.

She knew about Itachi's promotion. He would be working as an ANBU-rank shinobi soon. They were better paid, and the missions were more challenging, more dangerous. It was unusual for an underage shinobi to make the rank. She knew Kakashi also had, but it wasn't a surprise. They were both classified geniuses. The village needed their strength.

Itachi instinctively pulled her into an embrace. "I'll look after myself and Naruto and sometimes Kakashi-san if he needs someone to bail him out. Don't worry."

Yuna didn't want to see his face. She knew he was getting better at hiding things from her. She could still see through him easily, but they promised to stay true with each other. She didn't want to see him lying to her because he didn't want her to worry. She wrapped her arms around his neck to avoid meeting eye contact. Despite his best effort to conceal his emotions, his eyes often cheated him. The changes in him would be discreet. Yuna could still read him like an open book.

"You can be so reckless. Do you think I don't know?" Yuna asked worriedly.

"Of course I am, but I always pull through," Itachi answered half-heartedly.

Yuna pulled away, pouting as a smirk spread across his face. She knew he was kidding, but still!

"Don't you ever die on me, Itachi. I won't have any of that nonsense," Yuna commanded, taking on an assertive stance to keep herself from breaking down in tears. She wanted to let him know just how serious she meant it.

Using his last moment to tease before her leave, he replied cheekily, "I vow to thee, Hime-sama."

"Good."

They stood and locked into each other's eyes.

The people who were there knew that was a tease on Yuna's hidden identity. The words Itachi chose just happened to be the same words used in wedding vow. The legendary sucker Tsunade couldn't take it anymore. She was on a roll with Yuna's extreme winning streak by her side. They were so heading to a casino once they got to the Land of Wave.

"Hurry up and kiss him!" Tsunade shouted from a distance. "We need to get going. I have a meeting and you're coming, Yuna." The others who didn't know Tsunade had no clue what "meeting" she referred to - a meeting with her good friend, the casino.

Yuna pushed Itachi away on a reflex. Itachi looked away, blushing hard and avoiding her eyes. Yuna flashed bright red, staring at the ground to find some comfort.

"Don't keep Tsunade-sama waiting, Yuna," Kakashi said all-knowingly.

"Before you go, you should at least thank him for saving you and for multiple times, princess," Shisui threw in a lewd voice.

Yuna fought with herself. That's right! From helping with her disguise in skiving during their time in academy to preventing her kidnap by Kirigakure, and more recently, helping her to get out of her violent dream-waking state and buying her pads, Itachi had always come to her aid. He was always there to save the day. He was her knight in shiny armour, and he's not blond!

Maybe one day she would see him differently and fall in love with him like her foster parents did. Their love was indeed fairy tale like, fitting for a princess. Yuna hated to acknowledge it, but she was born a princess. With all the society's stereotypes about princesses, it was expected for Yuna to grow up and dream of someone loving her in such a way. And now would be her last chance in a while to show Itachi just how much she was thankful to all his help. Maybe she had to kiss him after all.

On an impulse, Yuna kissed Itachi on the cheek, then turned her heels and ran for it.

Yugao's mouth dropped open. When she recovered from her shock, she started to chuckle.

Itachi just stood there.

Did Yuna just…? Did she...? Wait… Impossible!

It took some time till Itachi's mind cleared. He needed that time to process what just happened. Tenderly, he brought his hand up to his cheek, lingering on the spot her lips had touched his skin. He remembered it when he felt his own fingers touching his own face. Her lips were softer than his fingertips. It was only a fraction of a second and now he remembered how she felt like, and he would remember it no matter how much he might want to forget it to avoid confrontation between his logic and feeling.

"Did Yuna kiss me?" Itachi asked, looking straight into nothing. He didn't blush and he didn't stutter.

"Yes," everyone replied.

Itachi jumped a little. He proceeded to walk ahead of the crowd, so they couldn't see how red his face was. If he had been blushing when Tsunade shouted at them, he was blushing twice as hard now.

"Welcome back to reality, Itachi. That was 8 minutes and 23 seconds," Kakashi said, looking at his watch. He turned to Shisui. "And you, my friend, owe me 10 pints."

Shisui kicked the ground and the tiny rocks rumbled to voice out his inner frustration, wishing Itachi had only taken 5 minutes instead of Kakashi's winning guess of closer to 10. "Damn, Squirt." He flung arms open. "Why are you so whipped?

"He actually is," Toshiro agreed, chuckling. His head kept nodding like an automated toy.

"Toshiro-chan, do you know what they're talking about?" Yugao asked the young Uchiha with doubtful eyes. Toshiro slowed down his continuous nodding and looked at her.

Itachi turned to see them, pretending he had calmed down. "Sorry. Were you talking to me, Shisui?"

He didn't fool anyone. He was still blushing.

To the west side of the tail end of Land of Fire lay the Land of Water, a small nation on an island. There, their placid waters entered the great ocean that bordered the Land of the Water's marine territory. According to the locals, a swan had appeared in the estuary of the river. The great white bird seemed out of the place amongst the natural inhabitants in the swamp. Mudskippers were skipping around the prop roots supporting the scrubby trees, alert of the foreigners. After landing briefly, the swan flew away, leaving its owner awaiting her long-lost cousin.

In the shade under a tree, a tall, slender woman stood and watched the eddies swirling and disappearing through a welcome breeze of coolness. Arcing fish, appearing as crescents of white, livened the surface of the river. It was a slice of mellow harmony amid the fragrant leaves.

Yuna saw a swan land and fly away. She pointed ahead and ran toward the woman beneath the shade. Tsunade and Shizune followed closely behind. They looked around cautiously and checked if there was any Hunter-nins nearby who were ready to engage in combat. From their last encounter, it was certain that Kirigakure did not want to kill Yuna. They might have deploy their best asset, the Seven Swordsmen, for the mission. Yuna would have been dead if their mission was assassination instead of abduction. They wanted Yuna of Asuka alive. That was the only reason why it was possible for Yuna to hold out her own during Chūnin Exam. As for why they wanted her alive while the rest of her family was murdered, they could only suspect it would be revealed in due time.

Yuna was too young when her birth family died. She vaguely remembered her older cousin did not inherit the Asuka trademark blue hair luckily. She had long brown hair that was down to her waist. She did have green eyes, but they were of a paler shade. Apart than that, Yuna could not remember much about Mei, the other survivor of the House of Asuka's annihilation ordeal. Yuna wasn't completely sure how to feel about the meeting, anxious or excited.

Running toward the back of the figure, Mei turned to face the blunette in front of her. Mei was in her working attire: a standard gray flak jacket over a full body mesh armour, a shirt covering half of her upper legs, and high-heeled sandals with shin-guards reaching up over her knees. Yuna stood in silence and waited for Tsunade and Shizune to walk over, hoping they could help her with her twisted tongue. Yuna quickly turned to seek help from Tsunade and Shizune, wishing they could tell her what she was supposed to say. They eyed Yuna to focus on Mei and not them. Yuna turned back her head and waited with her head facing the ground. She still didn't know what to say to her.

Mei had been in contact with Minato when the Imperial Guards had found her residence in Konoha. She also instructed the swans to keep a close eye on her. Mei had also been writing to her since Yuna's spoken contact with the swans. She assured the young one they would make it, but that she must become stronger to protect herself first. One day, they, what left of a glorious dynasty, would restore peace in the Land of Water. They might not ever reveal their birthright identity. The privileges were no more and only it was their role being descendants of the Asuka. They were born to serve the people.

Yuna was standing and waiting. Mei guessed Yuna must know she was Mei, despite having not seen her for so long. Frankly, she couldn't blame the child for not knowing how to react. She was her last close blood relative.

When Tsunade and Shizune were close enough, Mei spoke softly and quietly. "Thank you for coming. My name is Terumi Mei, daughter of Nana of Asuka." From what Mei gathered, the blond woman before her must be Tsunade of the Sannin, herself a maternal descendant of the Namikaze. She held out her hand for a handshake with Tsunade. "On behalf of my late family, I thank you very much for giving Yuna shelter in the time of our desperation. We are in debt to Konoha and I will personally return this favour in the future."

"Those people spreading mist around the canal, are they your men?" Tsunade asked.

Looking at Mei's confident stance, she seemed a promising kunoichi who could hold out her own, and she must be of high rank to have a handful of men under her direct command. Tsunade had to make sure they were talking to a friend, not an enemy in disguise.

"Yes, I brought my best sensors to locate you and to make sure we are out of their sight," Mei said with a cautious smile. Needless to clarify who "they" were, they found trust.

"I wasn't doubting you. It's just to confirm." Tsunade took Mei's hand and shook it. "I didn't sense any hostility toward us. I wouldn't have let Yuna get ahead if I didn't think it's safe."

Even if they were talking to an enemy, it wasn't too difficult to make it out with Tsunade and Shizune, Yuna thought. She wasn't scared about her safety knowing she couldn't be more safe. She was scared to say something stupid.

Mei kneeled down to Yuna's height. Their eyes met and they gazed at each other, mentally taking note of each other's facial expressions and their choice of clothing. Yuna could see Mei cared deeply about her appearance, judging by her smooth skin, neat makeup, and how her working attire complimented her body shape. From first glance, Yuna was surprised to find all these similarities between them.

They were born Asuka princesses and now they were foremost kunoichi for the villages they served. They had no time to mourn for the deceased. Mei took the initiative and gave her little cousin a welcoming embrace. As much as they tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an uproar. The walls came tumbling down.

"I'm so glad to see you safe and healthy, Yuna," Mei said.

"Me too."

Yuna could hear the sound of happiness in her cousin's voice. It was shaky, but only because she was trying to hold back her tears of happiness. Yuna broke down in tears as she returned the hug. The muffled sobs wracked against Mei's chest and she pulled away.

They both wiped their tears and suddenly found themselves giggling together. They might have been apart for all these years, but they were still family.

Mei suggested to go a place where she had prepared to talk over things rather than staying on the same spot. As long as they were out of the opposing party's radar, they could do a face-to-face catch up over a meal in a safe environment.

"Kiri is currently short of Jonin to meet the request demand. I'm hardly free with just work. That is the reformation preparation aside. I don't have the privilege to meet anyone," Mei joked, changing the direction of their catch up to a lighter matter. "I don't think I'm going to get a boyfriend at all within the foreseeable future."

What's this all of a sudden? thought Yuna. She stopped in her tracks. "You're so pretty, Mei-neesan. Why do you say that?"

"I'm 19 and you're 11. You have a boyfriend and I don't. Maybe I won't be able to get married even when I reach 30 with all this going on," Mei sulked, twisting her hair with her fingers. "Can you have a look into my love life when you get the chance? Write to me and tell me what you see, please." Mei could use Ice Release though she avoided it to conceal her identity, and she had plenty of other tricks up her sleeves, but she did not inherit the ability to have foreseeing dreams while Yuna did.

Yuna began to nod without a second thought - then quickly shook her head. How had Mei picked up such a rumour from miles away?

"No, I don't," Yuna denied straight-out. "Who told you that?"

"White Lady told me you have a guy," Mei said.

"Oh my word! Even White Lady now?" This teasing was endless! Even her own animal summon was convinced about this non-existent romance. "Itachi is my best friend, not my boyfriend."

"You kissed him," Mei added. "I don't think you kiss your best friend."

Yuna was rendered speechless. Just how did she know that?

Mei pointed to her nose. Her secretive look said it all - she had her way of knowing things! "I have my eyes and my ears everywhere, Yuna-chan," Mei told her in a singsong voice.

"I kissed him to thank him for saving me. B-b-besides, Tsunade-sama told me to."

Tsunade brushed it off. "Yes, I told you to, because you two were getting too lovey-dovey just standing there, wasting my time. You kissed him. Not me."

Yuna kept blushing. "Can we talk about something else? Please!" She began to squirm from the embarrassment, wishing that she could shrink into nothingness. "Oh, before I forget, Mei-nee, did you know Jun-nii was part Uchiha?" said Yuna, hoping that might divert Mei's attention.

"I didn't. Do you mean how he could see chakra, copy other people's abilities and read mind when his eyes turned red with tomoe circling his iris?" Mei asked.

"Yes, that cousin of yours was definitely half Uchiha," Tsunade concluded with her vast knowledge in medicine. "Sharingan is strong, but it is also extremely hard to handle. Not all members of the Uchiha clan possess the Sharingan. Most bloodline diluted descendants often don't have their Sharingan awaken until much later in adult life or not at all. If Jun was half Asuka, then he must have been half Uchiha and a child prodigy to use it so expertly." Tsunade heard of the story from Yuna of how she was saved on the battlefield.

Yuna was surprised to find out not all Uchiha could manifest the Sharingan and use it. "But Itachi's been using his Sharingan for as long as I know him. That's like... since he's 6."

"Deary, he's a genius." Tsunade squinted her gaze toward Yuna, pointing out the obvious as though saying she should know this better than anyone else.

"So that's his name, Itachi. And a genius, is he?" Mei said, mocking a little. Now she learned the type of guys Yuna liked. "I heard the Uchiha are quite hot. It makes sense because Jun was a pretty boy."

"Some are," Tsunade answered. They looked at her to ask if there was a story behind that comment. "I dated one a long time ago." Then there was the look of surprise on their faces, Tsunade shrugged. They didn't get the name of the Uchiha she dated, but that guy happened to be Toshi, Shisui's big brother.

"No, he's quite average," Yuna denied again. She knew Itachi was good-looking. She must deny it for now to make herself sound less suspicious.

Tsunade told Mei everything she knew. Mei only believed the misinterpreted truth to be more, and the little princess wasn't really a child. From the hue across her cheeks, it was certain Yuna cared about how others talked about her relationship with this boy. Yuna gave up hope that they would never be teased. Instead, she should learn to ignore them like Itachi did.