Our time away from Konoha was blissful and restored our spirits to a healthy level of strength and tranquillity. I enjoyed every waking moment and wished for nothing more than to go back and continue to spend my days there in that little cabin with the family who had adopted me as their own. Unfortunately, life as a shinobi does not allow peace forever. Within a year of undertaking missions as members of team two, Itachi and I were recruited into ANBU, whereby we used our advanced skills for the benefit of our home.
I was placed in an entirely different sector of ANBU, taking me away from Itachi as I was tasked with infiltration and information retrieval and guardianship, whereas Itachi was given more direct missions, including assassinations. I protested silently at the idea of an eleven year old boy being sent out on such dangerous missions and being forced to take life, but my query was ignored when I went to Fugaka and quietly pleaded that he insist Itachi be given time.
The entire affair was quite distressing for me, but I held it in and did not show any of the emotions that I felt tremble within my chest, keeping my placid expression at all times in order to fool everyone around me. Everyone that is, except Itachi. He knew me too well, as well as how to read my eyes to know when I was feeling distressed. The both of us now had little tattoos upon our left upper arms to indicate that we were ANBU members.
Lately when my thoughts and feelings had becoming too much for me to understand, I had taken to climbing to the highest points of Konoha in order to gaze across the village, and one of my favourite places to go was Hokage cliff. I would sit upon one of the great heads of the four Hokage and try to puzzle through my own emotions, however mostly I would sit in a blank silence and stare into the distance, no better than when I had arrived.
I sensed Itachi approach long before he actually appeared by my side, now a tall and exceedingly handsome young boy of twelve, almost thirteen. Most times I could hardly believe how much he had grown, especially in the last few years, and now he stood only a few inches shorter than I. When he sat beside me, I continued to look onwards across the open skies and Konoha as it thrived beneath us, under the ever watchful eye of the Four Hokage faces.
"You have been coming here a lot recently, Yuki. What troubles you?" Itachi's soft voice was kind and loving, reminding me of his gentle and peaceful nature. I loved listening to his voice.
"Today is a sad day." I murmured in response, my gaze slowly turning to a crop of yellow hair in the distance, my eyes swirling into the Sharingan in order to properly see the yellow haired boy of seven, turning that age this very day. I could remember with perfect clarity the day Naruto Uzumaki was born, how much we all suffered and lost, how much I lost, and just how much the skies had cried cold tears as that tiny child had wailed.
Lifting my mask back from my face, I gave a long sigh as I watched Naruto swinging by himself on a lone swing outside the academy, completely isolated from all others who were playing freely. I felt sorry for him, yet I could not help but keep my own distance also, partly because I had been ordered to by the Hokage, and because I found it more interesting to simply observe. After all, I had never been much of a people person. "You mean the anniversary?" Itachi quickly caught onto my meaning, nodding his head in understanding as he also lifted his mask back from his face. He wore a fox mask whilst I wore one shaped like a cat, though I had no particular reason for choosing it. "Are you thinking of your parents, Yuki?"
"Hm." Giving a slight indication of my head, I continued to watch over Naruto with distance. The Hokage had approached me almost the moment I had entered the ANBU and ordered me to be one of Naruto's secret guardian operatives, recalling how I had shown the boy kindness on the day of his parents' funeral, no doubt. I reported directly to Lord Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, reporting all of Naruto's movements and of any incidents which might occur, but for the most part things were usually quiet.
"Is there anything you wish to talk about?" This time I shook my head, preferring the quiet. There were so many thoughts running through my mind that I hardly knew where to begin, and I was starting to get a headache. Itachi did not overtly show his concern, however he did reach for my hand with roughened fingers from all of his training. "I am here for you, Yuki, you can talk to me about anything."
"The winds are changing." The words came easily from my mouth, falling into a slight trace as shapes and images began to shift before my very eyes, tinted with a reddened hue. "And they are not favourable."
"Are you seeing a vision?"
"They are…confusing. They are no longer clear to me." Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose in an attempt to alleviate the headache with minor success. "I am confused about many things."
"Then tell me, Yuki. I can help." Although the sentiment was sweet, I did not wish to burden dear Itachi with any more than he already carried. I smiled to him, pulling my hand from his in order to rest my fingers against his cheek were lines were beginning to form upon his face from all the stress he endured. This life was aging him quickly, it was unfair to him. "Do not shut me out, I will help you if it is within my power." He pleaded softly with me, thinking only of my welfare yet so often neglecting his own. Such sweetness.
"No power can change all things." I told Itachi as I looked him in the eye as mine turned back to their usual shade of red currents. "And it falls to me to protect you, Tachi. I am Madara's descendant. The protection of the clan is my destiny, yours is elsewhere." Stroking back some of his hair, I noticed a new scar just on the nape of his neck which had not been there before, still a little fresh from where it was healing. I flinched a little, guilt striking me in the core to see him injured. "I owe everything to your family, you should not offer more."
"But Yuki, you are everything to us. To me. To Sasuke, where would we be without our big sister?" Itachi reasoned with me, turning so that we were facing one another and his hands grasped hold of my own. "I do not like to see you so distant, so trapped in your own thoughts and these visions. They haunt you like nightmares, isn't there a way to be rid of them?" I shook my head, wondering why Itachi would want these visions to stop. They had saved our lives many times and can be very useful. They have already assisted me in thwarting numerous attempts to take Naruto as well as pre-empt attacks from other ninja. "Sometimes I look at you, and you seem so lost."
"But I am right here." His words baffled me further. How could I be lost when I was sat right before him? Sometimes I do not understand what people mean at all, perhaps this is why I prefer to observe from a safe distance as an attempt to try and learn their ways. Itachi gave a strained look, as if he were frustrated that I was not understanding his meaning so I leaned a little closer to him, trying to read his expression for any clues. "I am right here, Itachi." A blush touched his cheeks, rosy and cute as he blinked at me before shyly averting his gaze.
"I-I know, Miyuki. I can see you." Softly smiling once again, I released his hands and stood up to enjoy a blast of strong, fresh air. I held my mask against the top of my head to ensure it did not come loose, casting my sight back over the village for a while longer. "I will be leaving again soon, Yuki."
"Hm." Although I did not want Itachi to go, I knew it was his duty, and with the way he was performing during missions it was likely he would be elevated to captain very soon. His father was immensely proud of his progress, though I knew better that Itachi took no pleasure in his duty. I always thought that he would be just as happy on a little farm somewhere in the hills, a quiet place where he could grow things and live undisturbed from the turmoil of the world. "You will be safe." A soft chuckle sounded as my adopted brother rose to his feet, seemingly amused.
"Is this a premonition of my future you have seen?" He questioned me teasingly, standing over the village beside me as his longish hair caught on the wind. I noticed how it flayed around wildly, blowing in all directions so I turned towards it without even thinking, took one of my own hair ties I carried and neatly tidied his hair into a ponytail.
"No. I just know." I responded eventually, ensuring that his hair was now effectively tamed and would no longer bother him. "Come home soon."
"I shall do my best, my dear Yuki." Even young, Itachi had such a smooth way of talking, and was always very affectionate with me. We were special to one another, that much was clear, so after I had finished with his hair I waited until he had turned to face me, lifting back his mask a little further so that I could lean down towards him. My brow rested against his, eyes closed to inhale his presence and bottle it up to last until he came back.
His hands strayed to mine once more and I let him hold them, not noticing how he entwined our fingers. Saying goodbye in our own fashion, I did not pull back until I was satisfied I had expressed my farewells to him properly, though no words ever passed my lips. Itachi was very used to this method of mine and seemed not to mind, for in return he would lift up two fingers and press them into my forehead, his own way of showing affection and also saying goodbye.
"I shall return to you soon, Miyuki." With a final promise, Itachi had no other choice but to suddenly disappear from sight or risk being late to join up with his team. I missed him the moment he was gone, a sore loneliness beginning to ache in the crevasses of my heart, so I turned my focus back to Naruto and also Sasuke, who had finally made an appearance. He did not tend to join the other children in play, preferring to practice or study alone, though the other children did pester him quite incessantly.
Deciding to move closer, I jumped across the village before taking a seat upon a pole, watching from a distance where no one could see me. I knew for a fact that Itachi came to this very same spot often to watch over Sasuke without his little brother ever realising. His missions often kept him away, but any time he had spare, Itachi would devote to watching over Sasuke from the shadows. I was home more often, meaning that I was more directly involved in Sasuke's upbringing. Mikoto was also often away from the house these days due to clan meetings and other duties, meaning Sasuke was often left in my company. I do not think he minded it so much because I was there, but I did feel that the young boy missed his family who were very rarely all in the same place at the same time. Sometimes I would catch Sasuke moping around, so I had vowed to myself to do my very best to give Sasuke reasons to smile.
That meant every morning and every evening, I would take Sasuke to school then be there for when the final bell rang in order to walk him home. I was always on time and would stand in the exact same spot so that he would always know where to look for me. The moment he'd step outside, Sasuke would turn towards me and his face would light up, beaming as he came running towards me. "Yuki onee-chan, I got my score from the last test. Look! See? See?" Excited, Sasuke continually waved sheets of paper in front of me until I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder to calmly anchor him.
"Sasuke, if you wave your test around, I cannot properly see." I informed him logically, taking them from him in order to read through his answers and see the perfect score marked at the top of the page. "Well done, you scored better than I did."
"Really? Is that true Yuki onee-chan?" Sasuke seemed to be happy to be told that he was advancing far better than I had at his age, giving me a childish grin before reaching to take my hand. He told me all about his day and I listened intently, saving every word to memory in order to relay even the smallest details to Itachi when he returned, as I knew he also loved to hear about how Sasuke was doing when he was so far away.
We did not go directly home, instead we stopped to pick flowers for his mother and spent some time together as we usually did. Sasuke would chat and I would listen, occasionally answering or commenting about something, and as we walked Sasuke would insist on training in some manner. Today he wanted to practice his ninja skills in tracking, locating and sneak attacks, meaning we played ninja hide and seek, or ninja stalker.
I would walk along as normal, pretending not to notice that Sasuke was following me and he would then practice his sneak attacks, training in a fun way which always had him laughing in stitches. He had fun, and that was what mattered. Eventually he would tire himself out to the point where I would carry him home on my back, flowers in his hand to give to his mother when we'd drift inside just in time for dinner. Mikoto would always laugh and smile, asking us what we had been up to and, as if suddenly renewed with fresh energy, Sasuke would launch into a full epic tale of our adventures together.
This was my life, and when Itachi was also home, I felt like everything was complete. These precious few years were engrained into my memory, and sometimes at night I would allow my Sharingan to activate and play them once more like dreams, surrounding myself in the warmth and splendour of innocence and family until everything else faded away, and I was left with a fulfilled sensation in my heart.