Trigger warning. Mention of child abuse/sexual abuse. Summary of the following scene will appear in bold after it's over, the same way I did it the first time I wrote this story.
STEPHANIE
I don't know when I got here, I only know that this world is ass. When I first woke up, I thought I was dreaming one of those dreams you have when you smoke and drink too much, but as the days passed by and I didn't wake up, I came to recognize this as some weird sort of hell. I died that night that I partied. I know I did. I remember feeling cold, then I woke up in a cave system. I don't know if the cold was from death or the bone-chilling stone around me.
Imagine my excitement when I saw Uchiha fans painted on the walls beneath torches. This isn't Konoha, from the anime, though. It's some weird cave system who-knows-where, but everyone here is Uchiha. My name is Uchiha Erina here–that's what they call me. Uncle calls me "Erina-chan" when he grabs me, stuns me with the sharingan and then touches me in the wrongest of places. It happens almost every day, and particularly worse when I bend over to pick up firewood or rice from the paddy near the mountain where the cave system is.
No one says anything. No one does anything. They all suck. And we're locked in at night, and watched over during the day. There's nowhere to run. The other kids avoid me. They hear me crying at night. Their uncles don't do anything to hurt them, but mine does.
I used to think that dying would be a relief. I used to think death just ended your brain and your consciousness and then that's it. Darkness. Silence. No more suffering. But now, I know hell exists. Hell exists in the form of being in a world you think you would love, and having the absolute worst happen to you. It makes me miss being alive. This dream is shit.
I'm in a six year old body and I can't even defend myself. Night time is scary.
So, so scary.
I pick the last bit of rice from the paddy and turn to head back to the cave. I know what's going to happen tonight. I grip the basket in my arms and squeeze it as fear and anxiety grips my chest. I dissociate on my way back. I try to project myself back to the world I was in when I was alive.
This has to be a dream. Maybe someone laced my weed and I'm in a coma. Maybe I didn't die. Maybe there's a way to break out of this hell.
My name is Stephanie. I'm twenty-four years old. My weed was laced during a night out and now I'm in a coma dream.
I have to find a way out.
Summary: Stephanie died and woke up in Uchiha Erina's body, in a cave system really far away where a renegade part of the Uchiha clan lives. Her uncle abuses her daily. She's convinced that this world is a dream. Her mental health is spiraling.
YUZUHA
Aaaaaaaaaaand guess who's in class sitting next to Itachi?
Hah! Me. That's right. I made it– Uzumaki Yuzuha, kickin' asses and taking names! Phase one of my plan is coming together! School is no problem. I have a twenty-year-old mind inside a six-year-old body so ten-year-old stuff is no problem. Math? No big deal. We're learning what I was re-learning in college the semester I died. I'm taking my time with it, but eye-patch sensei doesn't care as long as it's done right.
And the best part?
We're sparring right after lunch. Itachi's undefeated and Utau is itching to fight me. I'm itching to fight her. There's a competitive vibe between us in the classroom. It's actually kind of fun. She tries so hard to do better than me at academics. It pushes us both to be at the top of the class.
There are several different subjects that are taught.
Hand-to-hand
Academics–ninja stuff and math stuff and literature stuff
Kunoichi stuff for girls, and subtle ninja techniques for boys, which is bullshit, and gendered and stupid, but it is what it is. I wish there was at least one non-binary kid here, just to make them feel stupid.
Strategy– yes they have a class on strategy and logic.
History
Anyway, it's pretty straightforward. But hand-to-hand is my favorite. And as two in the afternoon rolls around, it tickles me pink when eye-patch sensei pairs usall for our matches. His name is actually Kensho-sensei but in my head he'll forever be eye-patch sensei. I don't care.
Utau smirks and I smirk back. We've been paired.
Girl, let's go.
I put my fists up, so does she, and eye-patch sensei blows a whistle to start the match. We lunge at each other and I keep up with her easily. Her fighting style is similar to Shisui's, but more…bold, I guess. She's less concerned about getting hit and more concerned about landing a hit. I can tell she's confident in herself and I love it.
We go back and forth until she's tired and I'm sweating even in the cool, fall air. It's nothing like the fight with the brown-haired mean girl during my assessment so I actually have fun as we go back and forth. The goal is to knock your opponent off their feet. I'm just waiting for a moment to either tackle her or get one of her ankles, or the back of her knees. Thirty seconds later, I'm grabbing her arm and flipping her over my back and onto the dirt. As the air leaves her chest, the circle of kids is so quiet you can actually hear the wheeze of it leaving her lungs. As she lays there and refills her chest, she's in shock. I got her!
"Winner–Uzumaki!" Eyepatch-sensei calls out.
"No way," some girl in the class whispers.
"How? Utau-chan is amazing."
Utau scrambles to her feet and glares at eye-patch sensei.
"I want to try again!"
She balls her fists at her hips. Eyepatch sensei shakes his head.
"The next match has to start. You can try again tomorrow."
He's not supposed to make consistent pairs out of us. He's supposed to rotate us all fairly, but eye-patch sensei is chill and doesn't really care. He has no problem accommodating Utau's need to redeem herself.
Utau opens her mouth to fight, but then closes it.
"Make the reconciliation sign and move on out. There's a million of you that we have to go through and limited time. Come on, hurry now."
I reach out my fingers and so does she. When she links her two fingers with mine, she squeezes them painfully.
I'm in shock. What a rude thing she is! But two can play at that game. I squeeze her fingers back and I swear I hear the first knuckle on my index finger crack.
"I'll beat you tomorrow," she whispers threateningly.
"No you won't."
"Yes I will."
"Won't."
"Will."
"Won't."
"Will!" She hisses and then lets me go. We bow at each other win tension and disappear into the crowd. Utau goes to her group of girls who are all older than her by a few years and I return to Itachi, my only friend here.
"You motivated her. It's been a really long time since I've seen Utau-san happy," Itachi whispers as the next kids are called.
"Really?"
"Mm." He nods and smiles as he watches the match start. Meanwhile, I wonder what kind of struggles she's going through that that's the first time she's been excited about something in a while.
"Huh. Interesting." I cross my arms and watch two older kids duke it out. Like Itachi, I'm looking for holes in their techniques. Where would I strike? I know he's thinking the same thing.
That weekend, I fully intended to spend my time training with Shisui. A knock on my door early Saturday morning blew a hole through my plans. When I opened my door, still in my purple pajama pants and matching t-shirt, I was not surprised to see two anbu soldiers. I sensed them as they were coming up the stairs of my building, but I didn't think they'd do any more than follow me from a distance like they often do.
"The Hokage requests your presence."
Well that's new.
"Okay. Let me get changed."
The sun has barely risen and I was about to make breakfast, but I guess that's no longer the plan. I close the door on their faces before they can say anything else and then fly through my morning routine. I put on my black leggings, then my burgundy shorts over them, then my long sleeved black shirt and my semi-cropped burgundy hoodie on top with the Uzumaki symbol and chrysanthemum flower behind it on the back. I slide my feet into black sandals, grab my weapons pouch because why not, and meet them at the door while running my fingers through my scarket hair.
They walk me there and it's actually humiliating. I look like a criminal being escorted to prison. The villagers stare and whisper and I wish with all my heart Shisui were there. I suck it up though and make it to the tower. By the time I get there I feel my bad mood rearing its ugly head. They knock on the hokage's office door twice.
"Come in!"
They push open the doors and don't move a muscle from there. I take the hint and step inside first, leaving them behind me.
Yeah, thanks, guys. That was a great way to piss me off in the morning. We should do it again sometime.
Assholes. I've seen this show in the past–they one-thousand percent could have carried me here princess style, but they chose to parade me through the streets like a villain.
Ego smarting, I bow to the third, politely, because I'm not so mad that I forgot my manners. There's still that.
"Ah, Yuzu-chan, good morning!"
I narrow my eyes at the lush red carpet in suspicion. This man has had literally nothing to do with me for the longest time. Why the sudden "Yuzu-chan" hm?
Fine. If he wants to be so informal, two can play at his game.
"Hey gramps! It's good to see you!" I'm six, I can totally get away with calling him that. He gives me a smile that barely hides a cringe.
"Ah yes. It's good to see you too. Come here for a moment."
I don't trust it but I go up to him. He turns to the viewing window and holds his wrist at his lower back.
"Come look at the village," he continues, "what do you see?"
Ugh I hate these kinds of questions.
My eyes barely clear the window sill. I stand on my tiptoes and look. I see people walking down the street and builders finishing up repairs on buildings ruined in the attack. What do I see?
"People," I finally answer honestly. "People to protect," I add. I have to look like a good ninja if I want to move up the ladder. And all the best leaders strive to protect the village as a whole, no matter how douchey the villagers are.
"Interesting. Even though they don't treat you well?"
He's right. I have every reason to hate them. I keep my cool facade, though and continue weaving the lie.
"Yes but that's what a ninja does. That's what mom and dad said. 'A ninja protects their village above all else,'" I quote literally no one. It's absolute bullshit that I pulled out of my ass on the spot.
"Your parents were noble people, Yuzu-Chan."
I nod, grateful that it worked and guilty at the same time.
"Do you know what I see?"
I stay quiet.
"I see unity. I see family. I see a village of many different hearts sharing the same bond."
Woooooooow. For someone who's been through a whole war that's a really idealistic viewpoint.
"Really?"
"Mm. The trust amongst the people has been broken here, but I don't think that it's irreparable. I have a plan, and I would love for you to help me with it."
I'm six. I don't see how I can help him. But I look up at him. He smiles down at me and pulls out an invitation card.
"You're friends with the Uchiha boys, right? Why don't you give this to Itachi for me, so he can give it to his father."
I take the card from him and see a little Naruto drawn on it. Inside, it's an invitation to a celebration for Naruto's birth. The late 4th hokage's son.
I smile, but not because it gives me warm fuzzy vibes that Hiruzen is inviting the Uchiha to a party. I smile because I did something right, even if taking Kurama was a total accident.
Naruto will grow up knowing who his parents were. I know that originally, they hid his identity because he was the fourth's son, but I wonder if having the nine-tails inside of him was a big factor in that decision because they're not hiding it from him or the world now. Now that the beast is in me, it's definitely changed his circumstances. I'll take all the hate if it means Naruto gets to live a normal life.
"Tell them that every clan head and their family is invited, including him."
"Okay."
"Thank you."
"Mhm."
"Go do that. When you come back I'd like for you to spend some time with Naruto. After all, you're his only remaining family now. It wouldn't be right to keep him from his clan either."
I look up at him almost too sharply. I wasn't expecting that. What warranted this? He must see the question on my face.
"I heard what the fourth said that night. If Minato and Kushina left Naruto in your hands, then who am I to keep you two away?"
His response doesn't answer the questions in my head or give me any additional information but whatever.
"Thanks, gramps." I smile warmly.
Gramps nods, then shoos me away with his hand.
"Go on. I'll be waiting right here when you've delivered the message."
I nod and leave the office with a ton of thoughts to sort through.
What the actual fuck just happened?
That whole event was too convenient. Something is up. When the doors shut behind me I turn to stare at them suspiciously.
He's plotting something.
But that only means that I have to plot too. Obviously if he considers me Naruto's family, I'm going to be at the party.
Every clan head is going to be there including the Uchi—
Then it hits me:
It's a political move. Gramps, you badass.
He gets to kill two birds with one stone.
It's a celebration—you can't be rude at a celebration for a baby of all things, it's a light-hearted, innocent event. That means everyone attending isn't going to give anyone any shit. It'll give the Uchiha a chance to redeem themselves to the major clans that might be sus of them and it'll give me a chance to look better if I'm introduced as a distant relative to the late fourth hokage and his wife.
Damn this might just work. It's actually genius. He's using Naruto's adorable babyness, Minato's memory, and everyone's collective idea of family to cool the tension in the air.
Impressed, I walk out of the tower and through the streets. It's become easy to ignore the villagers, especially when I'm lost in thought. I go over how this party might go in my head so many times I don't even realize I'm walking through the Uchiha district until I hear Aunt Kaya's voice.
"Yuzuha-Chan!"
I stop in my tracks, turn, and give her a bright smile when I realize who I'm talking to.
"Auntie Kaya!" I run up to her stall and smile up at her.
"How are you today?" She places her chin on her hand and smiles down at me.
"Im doing well. How are you?"
"I'm excellent. Are you here looking for Shisui-Chan?"
I nod my head. I mean, that's not an accurate answer because I'm technically looking for Itachi, but whatever.
"I think I saw him walking towards Itachi-Chan's house earlier."
"Where's that?" I ask. Perfect. She'll just point me in the right direction.
"Follow the main road and then make a left at the end of it. Their house borders the little wood right before the village wall.
I beam up at her. Damn, today is a good day. That makes my life so much easier.
"Thanks auntie!"
"Of course. You three should stop by sometime soon. I miss your adorable faces."
"Alright! Thanks so much!"
"Mm!" She nods at me and I wave and take off. My life just got so much easier today.
Mikoto gasps at me when she opens the door.
"Kushi…na." She looks heartbroken. Traumatized at the sight of me.
My life just got so much harder today.
I try to look confused and hide my panic. I forgot that I look like her friend and I don't know how this is going to go down between her and I. Does my appearance help me in this situation or hurt me?
"Hi Mrs. Uchiha. My name is Uzumaki Yuzuha.I have something for you and Mr. Uchiha from hokage-sama." She visibly stifles her pain and looks down at the invitation in my hands.
"Ah, Yuzuha-Chan." She's recovered and gives me a veiled smile. "Itachi has mentioned you at the table. You look so much like a dear friend of mine. For a moment I thought you were her ghost."
"Um, sorry."
"No please, don't apologize. Actually, why don't you come in? I just made lunch for the boys."
"Hey it's Yuzu!"
I see Shisui behind Mikoto and trailing behind him is Itachi. I smile and wave at them both.
"Actually, I can't stay for very long!" I look up at her. "I promised hokage-Sama I would see Naruto today!"
Her eyes widen in surprise.
"I see. Well you'll just have to come over next time. I would feel awful if you visited my home and left empty-handed," she smiles warmly.
I nod with zero intentions of ever coming back here.
At the end of the day, I'm still the nine-tails' vessel and her family is still rumored to have caused the attack. It's a bad idea to hang around here no matter what Hiruzen tries to do to placate the situation in the village.
I get that they're innocent. And they're taking a stand to show everyone they're innocent but they're playing with fire. I'm not about to let things go to shit like that. No way. I need to keep my distance. I've already hung out here way too much already.
"Awwww c'mon Yuzu, hang out with us! Lunch is so good too. Auntie Mikoto made rice balls and everything. "
Shisui runs up to the door and pouts. I give him a guilty smile and wave my empty hands in front of me.
"I can't. It's my first time actually meeting Naruto. I don't want to miss it—he's my only remaining family."
His shoulders slump, he sighs and then rolls his eyes.
"Fine, but tomorrow you're coming to the training grounds with us. No excuses this time."
I glare at him.
"I never make excuses."
"You do it to avoid people." He says bluntly with an annoyed expression and then crosses his arms.
I open my mouth to argue but come up empty. He's right.
"I—"
I have literally nothing. He raises a brow.
"See? I'm right."
I roll my eyes and decide to escape instead.
"I'll see you guys later! Bye!" I quickly now at Mikoto and spin around to dip.
"Hey! You can't just run away from that!"
"Shisui-kun!" Mikoto chastises him as I sail down the stairs and down the street.
When I get back to the hokage tower, Naruto is in the office in a bassinet with the third smiling down at him. The bassinet has little stuffed kunai plushies and elemental symbols hovering over it for entertainment, not that he needs them. He's basically a vegetable at this point.
"He's so little," I say as I peer on my tiptoes into the bassinet and remember when my little brother was born. He was also a little potato in a blanket.
"While he sleeps, why don't you read this book," gramps says and walks over. I take it and look at the cover.
"I got a full report of what happened at the academy. I'm sorry you went through that."
I take the book from him and shrug.
"It showed me that you're capable of more. So start with that book. Have it finished by the end of the week."
I read the title and hold back a smirk.
"Beginner's guide to symbols and seals" Perfect. I sit right there and flip open the cover to read the first page. Gramps chuckles and walks toward the exit.
"Where are you going?" I look up and ask. He sends me a warm smile.
"To get us some tea."
I smile back and return to my book. Even though this seems like a gift from the universe, I'm not so stupid as to relax. I'll need to be extra careful to perform well now. The third hokage is going to be observing me. I need to read this and understand it as fast as possible.
I need power. And proving myself to be a good student to continue learning under him is going to help me get that power.
Alright, Yuzuha. Let's do this.
"Yuzu! C'mon, it's boring if it's just me and Itachi." Shisui whines and crosses his arms with the fall sun at his back.
"Itachi and I," Itachi corrects and earns a glare from Shisui.
"I have to finish this book," I reply from my place under the oak tree in the training field. "Gramps said it has to be done by the end of this week. I'm right in the middle of it." I pick up my notebook and wave it around. "And I still need to study my notes on the symbols."
"Can't you take a break?" Shisui crosses his arms and walks over to me, kicking the dead leaves in his way as he does.
"No."
Itachi walks over and joins his cousin.
"I wonder why he's teaching you sealing techniques first. Our fathers and elders teach us elemental ninjutsu first."
I look up at Itachi.
"Can you do elemental ninjutsu?"
He smiles at me and doesn't even have to say yes. We have a unique understanding between us. Somehow, he knows what I'm thinking, and I know what he's thinking.
"Which ones?" I ask.
"The fireball for now, and a couple of others," he answers. "Maybe you can take some time to learn one?"
"Yeah you're gonna melt your brain if you study all day." Shisui grins from ear to ear. I look down at the book and frown.
"If only I could split myself in tw–"
I look up at them and they see the idea come to me.
"Well, you can. If you practice a little more. Your clones weren't bad, but they weren't great either."
I glare at him and he puts his hands up in defense.
"What? I'm not gonna lie."
"Clones retain information," I ignore the bruise to my ego.
"If you can make a clone, you can read the book and practice with us at the same time, and retain the information from both," Itachi smiles. "Show me your clone."
My heart drops to my ass and I get nervous. How does this kid manage to make me nervous?
"Um, uhh…" I don't even know why I'm nervous. It's just Itachi but like, at the same time it's freakin Itachi and he wants to see my clones.
Shisui holds his hand out and I abandon the book on a pile of dead leaves to take it. When I stand up and dust myself off, I take a deep breath.
I am not embarrassing myself in front of the Uchiha Itachi. Nope. Not gonna happen. This better be the best clone I ever make.
"Can I see you do it again?" I ask Shisui. My face is red, I feel it. I'm sure it matches my hair. I start to sweat even though the early fall air is cool against my skin.
"Hey, come to think of it, you should watch Itachi do it with your brain-eyes too. Maybe you'll get something out of it." Shisui grins and Itachi looks at him and then at me with a confused expression.
"Brain…eyes?" He looks up, trying to imagine what we're talking about.
I laugh. "That's what Shisui calls my sensory ability."
"It's so cool, Itachi! She can see people in her brain when she closes her eyes. Watch. Yuzu, how many people are in training ground seven right now?"
I'm thrown off and frown.
"I can't even tell where training ground seven is. I've never been there."
Shisui turns left and points his finger.
"It's that way."
I close my eyes and don't even need to turn that way. I count four light-bodies of chakra. Two are wasteful–they use their energy without any consideration for how much is leaving their bodies. The third is a little better, conserving their energy. She feels female. She feels stressed, too. The fourth is older–a teacher. Jonin. Frustrated, probably because his students suck. They must be fresh genin.
"Four. Ones a jonin. There's three more. Genin. Two of them are bad at chakra control and the third is okay at it, but not spectacular."
Shisui grins from ear to ear when I open my eyes and whirls toward Itachi, bubbly and excited.
"Betcha lunch and one mission's salary that there's four people there."
Itachi lifts his hands up and doesn't rise to the gamble.
"I believe you." He then turns to me and smiles. "That's an incredible ability."
I smile back.
"Thanks."
"Anyway, here we go."
Shisui lifts up his fingers, makes a hand sign and poof! There's a perfect clone. Both of them grin at each other and high five each other.
I take a deep breath.
I can do this. I have to do this. I have no choice; I will not embarrass myself in front of my favorite character.
Itachi places his hands together. I snap my attention to everything happening in his body and close my eyes to "see" better. I watch as his chakra moves through his body like a dance. The chakra molds, separates, leaves his body and then, poof! Another perfect clone joins our group.
I take a deep breath.
"Okay. Let's do this," I pep talk myself. I don't even focus on their clones as they poof away. I focus on the grass and leaves on the ground. I make the hand seal and feel something starting inside of me.
"Don't mess up her face."
I snap my head up, embarrassed and glare at Shisui for bringing that up.
"That was my first attempt at a shadow clone! You can't hold that against me."
"I'm just teasing," he laughs.
"I'll get you for that. Just you wait. One day, I'll knock you over and you won't even know what happened!"
"Gotta make a clone first, though," he winks. I feel like mocking him but I don't. Something about Itachi's small smile is encouraging. I focus on the ground again, close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can feel my energy inside of me, and try to get it to move correctly.
Don't make a fool of yourself.
But I do. My clones come out so-so over and over and over. But I don't give up. I listen to every pointer they give me, and every piece of advice. Eventually my clones get better. I make one after the other until finally almost an hour later, there is a perfect clone standing right next to me. I look at her, impressed with myself. She looks the best out of all of them! I walk around her and check her out.
"You got it!" Shisui cheers. "I knew having Itachi here would help." He loops an arm around his cousin's shoulders, proud.
"I didn't do much."
"Don't be humble now. You can gloat, you deserve it."
"Go read that book please," I ignore Shisui and talk to my clone. "We need to get through as much as possible today!"
She salutes me.
"Got it boss." She then walks over to the abandoned book and notebook next to it and opens right to where I left off.
I cross my arms.
"Okay what now?"
Itachi and I look to Shisui and Shisui grins.
"Now we can race to the hokage mountain and see who gets there first."
"Um, no. I'm not leaving her by herself." I point to my clone, dutifully reading.
"She's a clone," Shisui gives me a weird look, "she'll be fine."
"I care about her. Leave me alone," I pout and Itachi chuckles.
"We can try to walk on water in that little pond over there. You seem to have good control of your chakra. Walking on water should be no problem."
"Alright, let's do it."
"Awesome!" Shisui bubbles with excitement. "How much about chakra control do you know right now?"
"I mean, just what the academy teaches and what I see the Anbu do when they watch me."
Shisui cringes.
"They watch you?"
I nod. "Well, come to think of it, they haven't really followed me since I started hanging out with gramps."
"I still can't believe you're getting away with calling him that."
"It fits him," Itachi says and Shisui looks at him like he's crazy.
"Did your little brother keep you up all night again? You sound like someone who hasn't slept in a week. He's basically the most powerful ninja in Konoha right now and Yuzu has the guts to call him 'gramps,'" he snorts and laughs, "it's insane."
Itachi chuckles.
"Well," I defend, "he certainly reminds me of my grandpa." My true grandpa, from my last life, who really was warm and kind just like Hiruzen is to me.
"Okay, let's get started," Shisui changes the subject. "Watch and learn."
By the end of the week, I'm walking up walls like a spider, on water like Jesus, and making clones and sealing stuff into storage seals. Let me tell you, that shit is so convenient.
And it isn't long after that that I start to hang out with little Naruto in his nursery while gramps gives me book after book after book to read. And after each book there is always a test—a creative one. Itachi eventually starts making it a habit to help me study and then prepare for the wildest test he could dream up. Sometimes, we hit the nail right on the head and I see exactly what's coming before gramps throws it at me. Other times we miss it completely and I walk into what feels like a pop quiz. It's like a game of detective for us.
Shisui leaves on missions more and more and more and then, it starts to be me and Itachi, playing chess out of boredom in our free time. I skillfully avoid going to his house or even the district for roughly three weeks. I think I'm doing a good job.
Then, it snows while we're training and we decide to take a shortcut to the road that we usually take to go home. And as the snow comes down, we hear a commotion in the training ground next to the one we're passing through.
"Give it back!"
We freeze. Itachi looks at me and he doesn't even have to ask, I'm already picking at the energy I'm feeling with my mind.
"Utau," I identify her.
And she's panicked and upset. Motherfuckers.
"I thought it sounded like her." He looks at the trees separating the two training grounds as if he can see through them. My blood is starting to boil and I can't control it. I mean, I sure as hell try but something about the feeling from the other three girls in the clearing makes my fist itch. They're bullies. They're enjoying watching her stress out. It makes me sick with rage. It reminds me of when I was in school in my last life and how my bullies enjoyed stripping my peace away from me back then.
"Let's go." Adult me comes out like a boss. I'm ready to square up.
Utau's been a pain in my ass. We scrap every chance we get, sure, but our rivalry has become fun for both of us. So much so that I might even consider her a friend. And trust and believe, no one fucks with my friends.
We take off into the trees and before I could burst through like an explosion Itachi puts a hand on my shoulder and grabs a fistful of my plum-colored coat. I look at him as if he had just slapped me.
"Why are you stopping me?"
Is he insane?
"She may want to handle this herself."
We look through the bushes and there are three girls. One has a short black bob, tan skin and mean, green eyes. She has a dark evergreen coat. The second girl has long, wavy-blonde hair, light skin, blue eyes and a ruby red coat. The third girl has brown, shoulder length hair cut into a perfect face frame and gold-toned skin. She has amber eyes and wears a brown coat.
Utau is standing in the middle, a mix of emotions on her face, her shoulders tense.
"I'll be taking this from you, rich girl. You can have it when you come back with money."
There is an expensive-looking comb with beautiful gold and crystal attachments on it in her hand. Green-eyes waves it above Utau's head, tauntingly.
"I'm not giving you any money any more. Give me my comb and leave me alone. Forever." Utau holds her ground.
As you should, girl. As you should.
"Hah!" Green-eyes laughs. "Or you'll do what?"
"I will fight you, Kanae."
"You raise a hand to me and I'll make sure you end up in a cell somewhere far underground where your traitorous Uchiha ass won't see the light of day. "
That's it. That was all it took for my patience to snap like a dried spaghetti stick.
"Let me go." I growl softly, but loud enough for Itachi to hear my tone.
"If you hit them you'll get in worse trouble than Utau will."
"I don't care! Stop making sense, I wanna punch them!"
I try to wrestle the fistful of my coat he has away but the kid has a grip like no other.
"Let her handle it."
I watch her fists ball up.
"I'm not four years old anymore, Kanae, and we're not on the playground anymore. That comb is mine. Give it back— this is the last time I'm warning you."
"What are you going to do? Fight the three of us?"
"Stay here," he whispers, "let me handle it."
I glare at him because I want nothing more than to break that girl's face, but,
Fine.
I force myself to calm down and watch Itachi walk through the bushes and into the snow-covered clearing. Utau looks humiliated and I understand what's happening. Her crush came to save the day but in a clan where power is most respected, that looks weak. This isn't romantic, it's humiliating for her.
As I'm stewing, Itachi politely smiles at the three girls.
"It would be a shame for me to have to make a police report about a stolen comb today," he says casually.
The blonde girl looks horror-struck. "P-police?"
Yeah, hold on. "Police?" Did they already make a headquarters in the district?
"You're lying." Kanae doesn't look convinced.
"We can't be ninjas if we have a criminal record," the third girl says. She's disappointed. She enjoyed the power she had over Utau.
Kanae looks from her friends' worried faces, to Itachi's calm expression, to Utah's gritted teeth and trembling body. My anger starts to die down. This was definitely a more diplomatic solution than the can of whoop-ass I wanted to open up, that's for sure.
Kanae finally yeets the comb at Utau. Utau catches it before it hits her in the chest. Then, Kanae turns around without anything more than a glare and leaves with her squad.
I emerge from the bushes the moment I know they're not coming back for seconds.
"How long were those idiots bullying you for?" I ask Utau, but it seems to hurt her feelings.
"None of your business!" She shouts in my direction.
She bows sharply towards Itachi, says a quick, "Thank you!" and then turns to run.
"Hey wait! Come back here and hang out with us!" I shout at her.
But it's too late. She zips out of the training ground and leaves me feeling confused. I turn to Itachi and he shrugs.
"My house?" He asks with a small smile. It looks innocent but it's not.
"Not you too!" I whine. "He's polluted you hasn't he?" I hiss at the image of a smirking Shisui in my head. He'd probably stick his tongue out at me if he were here.
Itachi laughs.
"Shisui hasn't put me up to this, I promise. My mother has been asking about you. It would be good for her to hear things from you directly."
"Asking about me? What do you mean? Like what's she asking?"
"Simple things. How you're doing, what are your interests…stuff like that."
The Uchiha Mikoto is asking about me. That's suspicious. I wonder why.
"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Shisui—
He holds up his hand and cuts me off.
"Just one lunch."
I look at him and he looks back at me. It's a battle of wills now, and it doesn't take long for him to win. How can I say no to this kid? I sigh and drag my hand down my face.
"Okay, just one lunch."
He smiles and starts to lead the way. I follow him in defeated silence, like a prisoner in invisible shackles. I follow him all the way to his house and all the way to the mud area beyond the front door where I slip off my shoes. My toes are so cold they're red. I'm going to need to ask gramps for a pair of boots or else I'll lose my little piggies to the frost.
"Ah Itachi! Welcome home." Mikoto pops out of the kitchen to say hi in an olive green dress and white apron. Her hair is shiny and neat and her smile could warm the iciest of hearts. Her dark eyes fall on me. She blinks twice in surprise, but then smiles. "Ah, Yuzuha-Chan! What a surprise. Welcome!"
The floors in Itachi's family home are dark wood and the walls are warm, light colors. The furniture looks expensive and it's the most culturally traditional house I have ever been in. Once we're in the main hall, to our left is the kitchen and to our right are two rice paper doors, open just a smidge to reveal what looks like a sitting room.
Absolutely none of this is interesting compared to the baby Sasuke in Mikoto's arms, chewing on a lock of her hair. This kid lights up at the sight of his older brother. He coos, giggles, spits, holds his baby hands out and then kicks his feet to get to him. Itachi smiles and goes right up to Sasuke and takes him from his mother. And that's it, folks. As far as little Sasuke is concerned, he's in heaven on earth.
"Hello Sasuke." Itachi smiles down at him.
Sasuke makes baby noises and bops Itachi's mouth with his left hand.
"He's missed you all morning," Mikoton says as she walks over to the countertop in the kitchen.
"I've missed him."
She tosses a dazzling smile over her shoulder at her sons and motions for us to sit.
The kitchen has a huge tub-like stone sink situated in front of a large and tall window, and a stove in the far corner. It has a huge countertop with storage cabinets underneath and a long and low dark wooden table with sitting pillows around it situated directly in front of a fire pit with a cast iron tea kettle hanging over it from an iron hook. From the sitting area to the edge of the fire pit is a floor of tatami mats. The kitchen space has a warm wooden floor and the far walls are covered with rice paper doors beyond which I assume is the outdoors. Despite the chill outside and the thin barriers between inside and outside, the house is pleasantly warm.
I have literally zero knowledge of how I'm supposed to act so I send itachi a panicked look to which he nods at the pillows around the table. I assume he means to sit down so I do, but only after I see how he positions his legs. Should I be sitting on my feet as a girl? Should I be crossing my legs like him? Is it acceptable to do that since I'm a kid? The panic settles inside of me like poison.
I have no manners. I have no manners. I am in a fancy home and I have no manners.
I stay quiet throughout the anxiety attack and watch as Itachi sets Sasuke down on a sitting pillow in between us.
"Watch him for a minute. He can't crawl yet but I'm sure he'll figure it out any day now."
Itachi slides the sitting pillow closer to me.
"Okay."
Sasuke stares at me, assessing me. I stare back and then watch his line of sight travel up to stare at my head. I'm sure the brightest thing to his undeveloped eyes is my hair. He waves his hand and pats his tummy with his other one in excitement, then coos and babbles.
"How was training?" Mikoto asks. Itachi says nothing and I scramble to respond to not seem rude.
"Uh-good!"
I glare at him because he totally could have answered that one, and he sends me a small smirk.
He's doing this on purpose. He's enjoying seeing me flustered, the sadist.
Little scoundrel. I'll get him next time we spar.
"That's it? Surely you both learned something."
We learned that super-confident Utau has secretly been bullied by some douchebags since she was four.
"It started to snow right when we finished our spar," I say instead.
"Ah. The first snow. That means that at the end of this week we'll be meeting your brother!" I have no idea what she's talking about and feel stupid for a second before I remember.
"Oh the party!"
Mikoto smiles over her shoulder as she prepares something from a bowl.
"Yes! I'll be bringing Sasuke. It will be good to have him meet someone his age."
"Naruto's kind of a vegetable right now. He lays there, sleeps, eats and cries. That's about it."
Mikoto chuckles.
"Babies are like that for a while, but if you pay close attention you'll start to see their personality form. Sasuke-kun is starting to have a little bit of an attitude."
I look down at the little demon child. He reaches up at me. I give him my finger to hold and he clamps his little hand around it with some force. He seems entertained by me curling my finger for a bit so I keep at it. He tries to yank my hand down to get my finger in his mouth but I don't let him. He tries anyway with a determined expression on his little baby face.
"I see that."
He gets frustrated and I realize I have to distract him with something else so I grab a piece of my own hair and wiggle it around in front of him. He forgets about my finger entirely, kicks his feet and giggles.
Eventually, tea and salmon onigiri is served and Mikoto sits across from us after taking Sasuke into her arms. We say the traditional "thanks for the food" and dig in. Mikoto is graceful in literally everything she does. I don't know how it's possible to look like a queen while eating with an infant to hold, but somehow she makes it happen. When she finishes her rice ball, she clears her throat. Her eyes turn sharp and her expression grows serious.
"Now that I have you both here, I'd like for you both to listen."
She's anxious on the inside and what she says piques Itachi's interest. Itachi and I don't look at each other, but I can tell we both want to. It's something we do regularly. I don't know how but when we do, somehow there's a silent plan we end up forming, if we determine that one is needed.
"Your teachers have noticed your talent. If you two aren't careful, they're going to send you to the front lines. You'll be amongst the youngest ninjas on the roster. I won't allow this to happen so please, for the sake of your mother's nerves, Itachi, lay low." She turns her attention to me. "And Yuzuha-Chan, I know you're fiery and competitive. That's an amazing quality, but it's not wise for you and Itachi to openly try to out-do each other. There are eyes everywhere. It would be a shame for you both to be pushed into the field so early. So have a little mercy, won't you?" She graces us with a sweet smile that I don't think anyone could refuse.
I'm stunned. I mean, I know the Anbu watch, but would gramps really consider—actually, never mind. They sent Itachi into Anbu at twelve. Why would they hesitate to make him a genin at six?
As for me? The sooner I'm out there, the better. I have goals to accomplish. A whole plot to manipulate and a lot of bad guys to take down. The sooner I have power to play around with, the better.
But maybe it would be smarter to build stronger bonds here first? Crawl before I walk?
I look at her and start warring with myself on the inside while Sasuke coos and reaches his hands out to wave at my head. Only Itachi's voice breaks through the chaos.
"Yes mother, we'll be stealthier." It's the most obedient response I've ever heard leave a child's mouth. I smirk at the fact that he said we'd be stealthier. Not that we'd stop our personal progress.
Mikoto notices it too and frowns.
"Itachi," she pouts, "are you trying to stress your mother out?"
He smiles at her.
"We'll be careful, right Yuzuha?"
He looks over at me and tilts his head. I smile and nod.
We'll be sneaky.
When his eyes meet mine, the thought is conveyed and I feel an agreement happen between us like I normally do. We're gonna go ham in training tomorrow and it's going to be even more challenging trying not to be obvious to any prying eyes.
Challenge accepted.
It'll be like playing a video game on hard mode.
We eat lunch and chat until I feel a strong ass energy reach the front door. The person is in a sour mood and the energy feels masculine. Older. Like fire on a freshly quenched blade. I turn my head to the door before I hear it open.
"Ah, your father is home."
Mikoto smiles and gracefully rises to her feet with Sasuke still in her arms. I have zero idea how she does that. Somehow she pulls off being a mom to a baby, not looking tired and moving around like a ballerina all at once. I could never.
I hear their voices chatting softly in the distance as I feel the tension in Itachi's energy rise. I look over at him.
What's wrong?
I don't have to say anything and neither does he. He shakes his head.
Not now.
He'll tell me later. I hear no footsteps but I do sense Mikoto and Fugaku moving into the room.
Damn do they make an entrance. Like, maybe it's because I'm a Naruto fan but like being here, physically and seeing them, like, down to the detail in the fibers of their clothing is a different world compared to the 2-d versions of them on tv or paper.
Fugaku's dark eyes darken more when he sees me. Then he slides his gaze to Mikoto.
"In our house, Mikoto?" He asks as if she brought in a stray dog he doesn't approve of.
Ouch.
But I get it.
"Well, she's no stranger to the district at this point." Mikoto frowns as Sasuke gums on her hair, oblivious to his father's irritated energy.
"That's part of the problem."
"Or the solution."
He ignores her and looks directly at me.
"You. Out."
He doesn't have to tell me twice.
I rise off of the pillow and keep my shoulders straight. He may think I'm vermin but I still have self respect. I have to have my self respect. I bow deeply at Itachi, then turn and walk towards his parents. When I stop in front of them their presences are so opposite. Mikoto let's the hurt show on her face while Fugaku feels like a ballista, ready to fire at the slightest inkling of a wrong move. I bow to them both regardless of their feelings toward me.
"Thank you for the hospitality."
"Don't let me catch you in the district again. Stay away from my people." Fugaku runs over any answer Mikoto can give me. He's acting like a super dick but I can't blame him. An entire clan of people relies on him. Any threat to their safety has to be dealt with swiftly and curtly. If I were him I'd probably make the same choice.
"Of course." I don't even sound mad.
He steps aside and lets me through. I try not to feel the sting of rejection. Honestly, he's solving a lot of problems for me. I knew coming here was a bad idea and I always wanted to change the plot from afar, not from near. I'm an intruder in their world anyway. I shouldn't be in their lives. If anything, him kicking me out is doing me a favor.
I hear Itachi's voice right before I hit the little mud area before the door to the street.
"Father, you should know our teachers are most likely going to put us on the same team."
Oof.
Even at six years old Itachi's got rebuttals. And good ones too.
I leave before I hear Fugaku's response. As I walk through the district I silently bid it goodbye. I'll miss auntie Kaya's sushi the most. Not because I care about the food, but because my fondest memories of this world are at her sushi stand. They're memories I have with my first and only two friends.
On my way out, I sense Utau's chakra.
"Hey!" She calls out to me and I stop. I smile at her.
"Hey!"
She runs up to me, a shopping bag in hand. The pretty comb from before is pushing one half of her shiny black hair back. It suits her. When she reaches me she lets the bag hang in front of her thighs.
"Um, you didn't really do anything for me back there, but thanks for trying. I saw how mad you were. That meant a lot. You're really not all that bad, if I'm honest." She blushes. She is embarrassed but her words are genuine.
I laugh.
"It's no big deal. I really wish I could've decked all of those girls, though." I punch my palm with my fist and grin. She smiles back at me.
"We should hang sometime. I have two friends that would like you. Maybe we can shop together?"
"I'd love to but I've just been banished from talking to any Uchiha from now on." I shrug. She looks confused, then frowns.
"Really? Who has the guts to say that to you?"
"Itachi's dad."
Her jaw drops but then she snaps it shut and covers her mouth with a pale hand.
"Well I think that's stupid. You didn't do anything wrong, I mean… unless you did?"
She gives me a look and I shook my head.
"He made the right call. It's no secret what I'm carrying, y'know?"
I put my hand to my chest where I feel the seal that holds back the nine tails.
Utau frowns, but then smiles.
"Well, I'll still get to kick your butt at the academy, at least."
I smirk at her competitiveness.
"Hah! You'll get to try." I cross my arms she shoots me a determined grin.
"I'll put you on your butt next time. Watch me!"
"I'm looking forward to it!" A cold chill whips through my jacket and I shiver. "Anyway, I'll see you later."
"Until tomorrow!" She waves at me and I wander away, feeling better. I made another friend, however weird and competitive this bond seems to be. Eventually, I find myself at the hokage tower. I have nowhere else to go and I want to see Naruto and be in the warmth. My apartment is cold and I don't want to go back to a rinky-dink space heater and drafty windows.
When I get to the office, I knock and gramps lets me in.
"Ah Yuzu-Chan. You look chilled to the bone. Tea?"
He already has a cup prepared. He's been watching through the Crystal ball and I can sense his tension. He probably thinks I'm upset.
"Gramps, you don't have to act over-nice. I'm fine."
He frowns.
"Someone just told you you can't see your friends." He makes it sound like I'm not not normal. And actually, it's not normal for a six year old. I should have ran out of there crying, humiliated, but it's too late to act childish now. I put a hand to my chest.
"He's not wrong for protecting his clan. I know what the villagers are saying." I shrug. "It's fine."
I go to Naruto's bassinet. He's cooing and reaches out. I put my finger in his hand and let him squeeze. He has such a soothing chakra. It feels like a warm summer breeze.
"Well, I have something for you anyway." Gramps changes the subject in a light tone.
I turn around, finger still in Naruto's tiny hand, curious. He has a cardboard box in hand and opens it up to reveal a gorgeous pale yellow kimono with scarlet red chrysanthemums on it. My eyes grow wide with surprise. That's like something you'd see in the Uchiha district market.
"Wow, that's so pretty!"
"It's your kimono for Naruto's welcoming party. The first snow has come and it's about time we introduce him to the other clans."
To be honest I've been so busy training I forgot about Naruto's first birthday party entirely. Gramps must have wanted to wait until the sting of the attack lessened. And the first snow is always met with appreciation and excitement. It's the perfect time for a party to unify everyone.
"That's great, I'm so excited! When is it?"
"In a few day's time. When the preparations are done."
I smile at him.
"Can I have another book on sealing techniques now?"
He smiles. "A test always comes first."
I roll my eyes and sigh.
"Ugh fine."
The party takes place in the early evening at a neutral meeting hall across the street from a freshly built park. The park has no playground but it has a really nice cobblestone path that's perfect for an evening stroll. As gramps and I walk past it, we pass a few young couples, chatting happily during an evening stroll. It's cute and quaint.
Once inside the hall, there is a table of food and refreshments against the far wall and a few genin are making some last-minute touch-ups on decorations. Everything smells delicious and I can't wait to dig in. There is a huge round table in the center of the hall and strategically placed seating arrangements. I pray that he didn't put me anywhere near people that would hate me.
There is a little playpen for children off to the side, carefully guarded by Anbu in the shadows. I'm sure their only job is to always have an eye on that playpen throughout this entire night. Naruto is in the playpen on his back with a rattle in hand and a stuffed animal of a lion next to his head.
The metal dangling from the pins in the space buns on top of my head jingle as I leave gramps and run up to him to say hi. Gramps thought my choice in hairstyle is weird, but I don't care. It's popular where I came from. My hair is too short to fit inside the buns so I did it half up and half down, too. I think it's cool.
"Hi Naruto."
He looks over at me and smiles as he shoves the rattle into his mouth and drools on it. I love this kid. I reach down and put my finger up to the palm of his free hand. He squeezes it and I smile at the warmth.
Little by little people start showing up and I recognize them all. The most prominent clan heads in Konoha are all here with their spouses and children.
Aburame. Inuzuka. Nara. Hyuuga. Yamanaka. Akimichi. All the babies get dropped off after I wisely leave the vicinity of the playpen. I don't know how these people feel about me, so I drift over to the food table where the servers ignore me.
Shikamaru's dad places a shogi board on the table in front of him for I'm assuming some matches after dinner, and greets the Akimichi's and the Yamanaka's. The wives start talking amongst themselves and the husbands separate to chat and laugh amongst themselves.
Alcohol is served almost immediately—I can smell the sake from my place next to the food table and soft traditional music starts playing on a shamisen in the background. There is a singer singing softly and someone playing a drum. It's super chill and inviting and the sake loosens everyone's shoulders up.
I sit back and observe until the Uchiha family shows up. The women greet Mikoto eagerly as if they haven't spoken to her in ages and she meets them with amiable energy. Fugaku doesn't have a chip on his shoulder but he doesn't look open either. Regardless, Shikamaru's dad starts talking to him anyway and pours him sake that he can't refuse. I feel Itachi before I see him or even hear him.
He had apologized to me in class the day after the incident but now every time he sees me he feels sad. I smile at him.
"Hey!"
He smiles back.
"Hi."
"The adults already have red cheeks."
"Empty stomachs. The servers haven't served any food yet," he says. "This is boring."
I snort. On the contrary, I'm finding this fascinating. I'm reading everyone's body language and energy, picking up on all the unseen things.
"If you could read their feelings you'd be so entertained," I reply. "Akimichi-san still has a crush on his wife. He keeps looking over at her and the more he drinks, the more nervous he gets. Nara-san wants to play shogi very badly and Hyuga-san is sour. He doesn't want to be here."
"I'll be right back."
Itachi leaves me but I watch him walk over to Shikaku. He excuses himself and politely asks to borrow the board. Shikaku is amused and hands it to him only if he promises to play against him later. Itachi becomes excited and agrees before coming back to me. Shikaku's eyes follow him until he reaches me. Itachi nods his head at the playpen and we settle on the floor in front of it. Some babies are crawling around but Naruto and Sasuke are babbling and drooling at each other. Naruto reaches for Sasuke and Sasuke awkwardly swats his hand away in the clumsy baby kind of way that babies do. Naruto sighs in frustration but tries again anyway.
And so it begins.
I shake my head and watch as Itachi sets our pieces up.
"Do you know how to play?"
I smirk.
Actually, yes. And I'm quite good too, if I do say so myself.
In my old life, Elias and I used to play all the time. He was one of the smartest people I knew so shoji with him was always challenging. I managed to beat him a couple of times and he started calling me "the General."
I loved it. The memories make me miss Elias so much. We were planning on moving out together after I finished college. We had a great relationship and I'm so upset it had to be cut short. In my heart, we're still together.
Itachi shoots me a curious look. The feelings must be showing on my face. I look back at him and when he realizes he's not going to get an explanation, he makes the first move. I move after that and the game begins. The first few moves are crucial but also boring. They set up the way your "army" is going to proceed. Neither of us moves fast. I'm sure if we play a few more games this part will go much quicker in the future but for now, we're both thinking carefully about each move.
An hour later, I discovered just how vicious we can both be. Itachi's moves are cut-throat and sinister and they force me to stay sharp and meet his level of violence and tact. I'm so concentrated on each move I don't even realize that the adults have gathered around us to watch.
Itachi places his gold general in a spot and I smirk.
"No!" Shikaku's fingertips fly to the slicked-back part of his hair and I snap my head over.
Ah-hah. He sees it too.
I turn my attention back to the game and read Itachi's expression. He's cool as a cucumber even though that move was risky.
He's got a plan. Is that general bait, then?
The adults chuckle at Shikaku's reaction. He's red in the face like a coach ready to yell at a player on the field.
"Don't count him out yet," Fugaku says proudly. "Watch," he promises. It makes me sus as hell and I push their chakras out of my head and assess every part of the board. My eyes dart around but I don't see what trap he's laying, if he's laying one at all.
From there, it's a bloodbath. The music in the background fades away. Even the curious voices of the adults don't faze me as I focus on not getting my ass kicked. Itachi is an incredible strategist. Even at this age.
The match funnels down into a tense few moves and finally, I fuck up. Bad. There's a general I forget about because Itachi creates a distracting situation on the board. I have to choose the lesser of the two evils.
I chose the wrong one. His pieces eat mine alive. I can almost hear them screaming on the battlefield and I hold my face and whine in pain as he picks them off one by one. Finally I lean backwards until I'm lying on the floor on my back in defeat. It has come to the last move. Anything after this is redundant. Half the adults exclaim in pain with me, Shikaku included.
"Nooooo why did you do that!?"
"I don't know!" I shout and slap my hands over my eyes in embarrassment.
"Do you give up?" Itachi asks. Something about those words infuriates me.
"No." I sit up with steely determination and face him. He smiles at me. "I don't care how futile it is," I say, "a true leader never gives up."
I feel a sense of approval amongst the adults watching. Surprisingly, Fugaku is one of them.
Interesting.
I move my pieces with grace.
"Checkmate," he finally says.
I deflate, even though I knew it was coming.
"I was doing so well, too." I rest my chin on my palm and frown at the carnage amongst the pieces on the board.
Itachi reaches out a fist and I bump it.
"Good game," he says.
"Good game," I say back.
"That's it?"
I look over and find Fugaku with his arms crossed. Mikoto is beaming mischievously behind him. All the clan heads are super drunk. Their eyes are glassy, even in the slightly-dimmed lighting of the hall.
"Huh?"
"You're going to just let him get away with that?" Shikaku asks.
I look at them stunned.
"I guess we can have a rematch."
I look over at Itachi and he nods. We reset the board and begin again.
This game takes longer. We've learned each other's tactics the first time around. Some adults give up and leave to do other things but Shikaku and Fugaku keep pounding down sake and watching us intently. I start to feel the pressure to perform, but push it out of my mind like they teach us to do at the academy.
We play so late into the evening that I don't even notice how hungry I am until I hear the servers packing up the tables. I almost win this time. I'm closer than before but he pulls a wild strategy last second and gets me. I scrape tooth and nail at the end but still lose.
"Eh, I guess Yuzuha-Chan isn't as good as we thought," Shikaku sniffs. My mouth drops and I snap my head towards him.
"As expected of my son. Well done, Itachi."
Somehow that stings even more. Why did they watch so intently if they had no faith in me beating him?
I will not be insulted.
"I'll play against both of you," I challenge them and cross my arms. They look at me in shock and Shikaku tosses his head back and laughs.
"Alright. Come by the Nara clan estate this weekend. I'll teach you a thing or two. Hey, Fugaku, why don't you come. Mikoto can bring Sasuke by, too. Yoshino could use the company."
Fugaku looks surprised but smiles at his friend.
"Deal."
Damn gramps, you outdid yourself.
To me, it looks like the bonds between the clans are slowly repairing. I suppose all it takes to cure tension is four gallons of sake and some good food.
"Hey Fugaku! Shikaku!" Choji's dad waves them over. "Leave the kids alone! Come talk!"
"The game's over anyway." Shikaku downs the last bit of sake in his dish and stands up. He extends a hand towards Fugaku who takes it and groans like an old man when he stands up.
"Loose muscles remind the body of its elderly pains," he grumbles and the two walk off laughing.
"I haven't seen my father smile in a long time. This was very nice of hokage-sama to do."
I look over at Itachi and find him smiling at all the clan heads gathering to talk. Their expressions and emotions go from collaborative and serious—as if they're discussing how to solve a problem— to jovial as they crack up at Choza and Shikaku's jokes.
"Your mom looks really happy too. I'm glad Naruto brought everyone together."
I look at Naruto in the playpen. He and Sasuke had been laughing at each other and tugging on each other's onesie sleeves and sharing toys. The other babies were also playing and laughing amongst themselvesl. Now they're all passed out and sleeping cuddled up to each other. This was a genius idea and it happened because Naruto doesn't have to be hidden away.
I don't know how I got here, but it looks like my meddling has made a positive impact.
I sense a dark energy approaching, bursting my little bubble of happiness. My head snaps over to a doorway at the far side of the hall. Out of the shadows, Danzo—the mother fucking Shimura Danzo—appears. He breaks through the shadows of the hall beyond that doorway as if the darkness is responding to his command. His energy feels like thick, dark ink. No, like sludge—heavy and suffocating. His irritation hangs around him like smoke from a nasty cigar.
He actually hates that this is happening. Like with every fiber of his being.
This scumbag. I look at his eye on the bandaged half of his face and read a calculating look. He's plotting something elaborate. I clench my fist inside my kimono sleeve. What can I do as a six year old?
Genuinely nothing. For now, at least.
My stress spikes and I start to run through every snippet of information I can remember about him. I'm going to demolish him one day. Count on it.
"Ah, that's Shimura Danzo-Sama. Have you ever met him?"
"No. I don't like his energy."
"Mm. He's mysterious. I've seen him outside of the hokage tower a few times."
He's more than just mysterious. He's god-damn megalomaniacal. And it's pungent in his entire chakra.
"I don't like him, Itachi." I turn to him and we share a look. His eyes slide over to Danzo, then back to me.
"We'll be careful of him, then." He smiles at me but I know when he's doing his best to assure me despite feeling uneasy about it too. I nod and drop it, then start packing up the board and all its pieces into its wooden case.
"Well then, I'll have a squad stop by tomorrow. We'll team up with you and help," I hear Fugaku's voice as he approaches Itachi, who stands up and hands the board to Shikaku.
"Thanks, I really appreciate that," Shikaku says. "Thanks Itachi." Shikaku ruffles Itachi's hair. Itachi turns to me and waves. I wave back with a smile and watch Mikoto bid the women goodbye. She comes over and picks Sasuke up out of the playpen.
Naruto wakes up, becomes inconsolable and his crying then triggers the other babies, Sasuke included.
"Ah, it seems like they've bonded tonight." She turns to Fugaku. They seem to communicate the way Itachi and I do. Volumes are spoken between their shared gaze. Fugaku looks at me, then back at Mikoto. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Fine. They can visit the house, so long as hokage-sama approves of it."
Mikoto's pretty face splits into a gorgeous smile.
"How fun!" She pats Sasuke's back. "Don't worry, Sasuke-chan. You'll see your friend soon." She continues to pat his back and console him as she turns to me.
"Stop by any time," she invites with a wink. I give her a small smile in response. She rejoins Fugaku and Itachi and with one last goodbye they leave as a family, Fugaku on wobbly legs.
When everyone's gone, gramps finds me and holds out his hand after taking Naruto into his arms.
"Come on now, time to go home."
"Hm?" I ask. Gramps only smiles down at me.
I know that smile.
There's a surprise coming, I know it.
We leave with good feelings. The whole vibe of the place is positive, save for Danzo's brief and sinister appearance that I don't really think anyone noticed through the haze of their inebriation. The women of the clans might have, since new moms don't drink but they had also been engaged in their own banter.
I spend the entire walk wondering what kind of techniques I want to learn to counter Danzo's. I already know he's going to be my first challenge, before I even get to take a whack at Madara.
I'll murder him before he gets a chance to take any one of my loved ones' lives.
Count on it, motherfucker.