YUZUHA
"Eh!?" Shisui blinks at me with wide eyes. "A clan head meeting every week now?!"
"Mm. Gramps goes to them too while I babysit Naruto."
"Wow. Just 'cause all the adults got drunk at a party, huh?"
I shrug and lean back against the trunk of my christmas tree. The snow is almost at the tops of my tall winter boots.
"I've never had sake. Maybe it's magic." I'm such a liar.
I'm going to hell for this for sure. I've had so much sake in my last life. All different flavors from all over. When I was young–under the drinking age by several years, of course, I went to a party. They were having a sake night. We got so drunk. There were maybe fifteen of us but I don't even know how many bottles we went through. One of our most adventurous friends–AJ– had stockpiled the bottles all year. I think twice a month he bought a bottle or two or something like that. Best believe that was the first time I'd ever puked alcohol. That was the first time I woke up with a hangover and the first time–
I blush at the memory.
It was the first time Elias took risque pictures of me. We deleted them the next day, of course, but that was one hot ass night. Anyway, I've drunk my fair share of liquor and I know the powers it holds over you if you have enough of it.
Shisui laughs.
"Me neither. I don't think it's magic, though. I think it's just strong. But maybe if the major clans lead by example, the villagers won't be so tense. Maybe we can even move out of the district and turn it into a park or something."
When I look over at him, he's staring up at the snow built up on the branches, a big smile on his face.
"And hokage-sama really took you in?" he continues before I can say anything else, "What's his house like?"
"It's simple, actually. And he doesnt stay in it often. A lot of the time, he sleeps in his office."
"Wow, I'm gone for two weeks and everything changes. That's cool. I'm really glad you're not staying in your drafty apartment anymore. And it works out anyway since he's training you."
"Yeah he makes me get up really early. Like a whole hour earlier than I usually get up."
"Mm. What else happened?"
"Ah, maybe you've heard something about it. Mikoto-sama met with Itachi and me."
Shisui looks as if I stabbed him in the heart. He slaps a hand over his chest and gasps. He goes the extra mile and takes a huge step back. His face is an expression of shock and betrayal. He looks as if he's just been slapped.
"At Itachi's house?!"
I blink at him, confused.
"...Yes?"
"Without me there!?"
I give him a weird look.
"Sorry, dad, I didn't think that was a rule?"
He hugs himself dramatically and pouts.
"We were supposed to hang out there together–the three of us!"
I don't know what to say.
"It kind of just happened? I'm sorry?"
"Itachi, that weasel, betraying our friendship like this. He should be ashamed."
I can't help but go along with his theatrics. I drop to my knees and lace my fingers up at him.
"Forgive me, Shisui-sama! What have I done!?" The back of my hand flies to my forehead. It stings as it slaps but I don't react in favor of keeping in character.
"Unforgivable. I cannot condone this!" He speaks formally. "You must be punished."
I give him a terrified gasp and cup my cheeks with my hands.
"Oh no!"
"Yes," he seethes quite regally, "I shall see to it that you're both sent to– sent to–
He struggles to find a word horrible enough.
"The…stocks, your grace?" I suggest. I don't know where he became the king in this scenario but fuck it, this is fun.
"No! Worse. The stables. The horses have not had their toilets cleaned since I've sent the stable boy to the stocks."
I gasp dramatically again.
"No! Not horse poop! Anything but that!" I fall backwards onto the soft snow pretending to faint and Shisui cracks up laughing. I can't hold it back anymore and laugh with him.
"The stables are worse than the stocks?" I ask, breaking character. "Really?"
"I don't know. I think shoveling poop is worse and way scarier and grosser than sitting down with your feet bound, being bored."
I laugh at how seriously he takes cleanliness and being sanitary.
"The stable boy is punished daily already, then."
"No, see, I sent him to the stocks to give him a vacation."
"That's the worst vacation ever. You're a cruel king."
"Not as cruel as you are, princess. At least I don't betray my friends."
"Hey! That hurts y'know!" I pout up at him as I sit up.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
I smile and get up from the snow, then dust it off of my hair and coat.
"Anyway, what'd auntie Mikoto meet with you guys about? Something important? She's not arranging a marriage or something is she?"
I gape at him and tilt my head.
"Huh? Does that sort of thing happen often?"
He snorts and laughs.
"No! I mean, not with someone that's not Uchiha, at least. Arranged marriages are totally outdated. It rarely happens nowadays. I think Utau-chan's family still does it, but they have a fortune and generationally grow their wealth and whatever. I was just joking."
"Right, well, she said something weird, I think. She told Itachi and me to not show off our talents at school. Something about putting us out into the field earlier than necessary?"
Shisui frowns and nods.
"They did that to me. And my brothers."
My eyes go wide in shock. He has brothers? Yet another thing the manga and anime didn't elaborate on.
"Brothers?"
A sad look makes its way onto his face before he looks down.
"They're gone now. Anyway," he pushes the topic away and shakes his head, "they still do that to talented kids, so you should be careful."
"Gramps wouldn't actually do that, though. Would he?" I think of how kind and warm he's been to me. He wouldn't authorize something so radical. At least, I don't think he would.
Though, is that really so radical for this time period in the story? There is a straight up war between us and Lightning.
"He's got a whole village to protect," Shisui reminds me. I look at him and he looks back at me. It's the first time I've seen such a world-weary look on his face. His eyes make him seem older. Tired. I guess we've grown close enough for him to drop his bubbly facade for a moment.
This kid has actually seen some shit.
He never talks about his missions. He can't, they're secret no matter what level they are, but they must be harsher on him than I originally thought. It makes me angry. He's fucking nine years old and they're already putting him through shit.
No wonder Itachi was always portrayed as thinking about peace. If I saw my friends suffering and dying, I'd be looking for a solution too.
I need power. The stronger I get, the more impact I can make here and the more change I can initiate.
"Anyway, she told us to be careful. I don't know how I'm gonna hide my skills from gramps, though." Shisui sends me a worried look, but the corner of my lips quirk up in a smirk. "Itachi told her that we'd be 'stealthier.'"
Shisui snorts.
"It's not like him to take it easy on training. He's pretty serious about it."
That's when I realize that maybe Itachi and I have the same goal. Maybe, he's going ham and doing his best because he has the same motivation–stopping the bullshit.
"No it's not," I agree with a smile. I notice his hair is outgrown and look up at his wild curls.
"Are you growing your hair?"
He cringes.
"No. Not my style. My waves are crazy," he motions at his head. "Not everyone has silky straight hair like Itachi and auntie Mikoto. We can't all be blessed." He glares at the snow with envy and I laugh.
"Your waves are cute! I like them."
He blushes and gapes at me.
"R-really?"
It's the first time I've ever heard him stutter.
"Yeah of course."
He grins. "I guess my next stop is to get a haircut then. You coming?"
"Actually, I promised I'd meet Utau's friends today."
"Aw, man. I wanted to show Katsugi-San your hair. He'd love it."
I guess that's his barber?
"Next time," I promise. He nods back.
"Yeah, next time."
When we get to the district I head straight for Utau's address on the little paper she gave me earlier. When I get there, her house is not a house, it's a freakin' mansion. And it's as modern as it can get for this world. I gape up at it with an open mouth and forget to ring the doorbell. When I'm done being shocked I ring it once.
An actual maid answers.
"Ah, Ms. Uzumaki," she greets me politely and tucks a short lock of shiny black hair behind her ear.
I bow at her.
"Good afternoon!"
The maid smiles and her lashes hide her coal-colored eyes before she steps aside and welcomes me into the home.
Stepping into Utau's house is like stepping into an entirely different world. For a second, I wonder if I'm back home and have to look at the insides of my wrists and see the absence of my tattoos to confirm that I'm still here in this world.
The floors are all white marble. There's a space to leave your shoes and hang your coat, etc, which then opens up to a grand space with a few statues, paintings tastefully hung, and some filler furniture with no real purpose other than to display beautifully crafted vases filled with fresh assorted flowers. It all pales in comparison to this gorgeous wooden grand staircase. It looks like it came straight out of something on the Titanic. There's a gigantic clock face on the wall facing the door and everything. It's not a grandfather clock, but it sure looks expensive. It has shiny gold components and elegant hands.
"Please take these and follow me. Lady Utau is upstairs with Ms. Yui and Ms. Shiro." She holds up a pink pair of slippers and looks down at my boots. I look down at the snow melting off my clothes and hair and feel bad. I literally came here looking like a hobo.
Shisui, you could have said something before we said goodbye.
I growl at him in my head, even though he's not here right now. I take off my shoes and step into the slippers she offers, away from the puddle I've created. I give her my jacket and she hangs it while I frantically fix my hair and check my clothes. My leggings and thick socks look fine. They're black, they match. My plum shorts and matching cropped hoodie are unwrinkled and the black shirt I have underneath isn't disheveled.
Okay, we're good. We got this.
I don't even know why I'm having mild anxiety. It's not like her friends are mean. She wouldn't invite me here if they were. I follow the maid up the grand staircase. Deep in my imagination, I pretend that I'm in a ballgown, on my way to a fancy tea party. We get upstairs and the deep, garnet staircase rug flows into the upstairs hallway carpet. The walls are tastefully wallpapered in a light color and between every painting there is a pretty mirror and wall light. She takes me down the hall, around a corner and to an ornate white and gold door.
This looks like it's straight out of a Resident Evil game, except less ominous.
The maid knocks on the door and the giggles coming from inside stop.
"Come in!" I hear Utau's voice. It's muffled but I can recognize the bell-like sound anywhere.
The maid reaches to open the door.
"Um, what's your name?" I ask her.
She blushes and puts a hand to her mouth.
"My, how rude of me," she says as she drops her hands in front of her thighs. "Shizuka. Uchiha Shizuka."
I bow at her.
"Thank you, Shizuka-san."
"Of course. Have a lovely evening, Ms. Uzumaki."
I smile at her.
"You can just call me Yuzuha. It's alright."
She smiles, bows back and opens the door to let me in before shutting it behind me.
I walk into a cute sitting room with two mirrors on the left and right walls. The wallpaper is the same light color as the hallway and there is a small chandelier hanging from an elegant, domed ceiling. There is a chaise and a few plush, garnet-upholstered chairs, all set on top of a plush, light carpet. There is a wall straight ahead with light pinstripe wallpaper and a fancy mosaic mirror. There are doorways to the left and right. Utau pops out from one of them in a fancy, blue A-line dress.
"Wow, your dress is so pretty!" She looks like a doll.
"It's not…very ninja. I'm not allowed to dress how I want at home."
My face scrunches up.
"Ew what do you mean?"
She snorts and laughs, covering her mouth with a hand.
"It's one of the rules. Mother and father don't want me to be a ninja, actually."
I'm so surprised. Literally fuckin floored.
Wow, what the fuck.
"Well, you're at the academy though." I cross my arms. "When you graduate you better become a genin with me."
She gives me a smile but I can feel how stressed she is about the topic.
"Come on in!" She changes the subject. "We're having a tea party, like the ladies have on Inoue Island!
"Inoue island?"
Utau smiles and motions for me to follow her.
"It's an island really far from here. It's not even portrayed on the common maps because it's basically on the other side of the earth. The house is modeled after the houses there and a lot of our decorations are from there too!
We walk into her bedroom and it's literally like something out of the Hamptons, or at least, what I imagine the houses in the Hamptons all look like after watching a few episodes of that real estate show on Netflix that one time. I see the doors to a walk-in closet with its own sitting area. Her bed is gigantic and dressed in lavender and royal purple bedding. She has tasteful white and gold furniture that match the door to her room and tall, arched windows with many curtains both sheer and heavy. They're open to let the sunlight in.
I see her two friends sitting in the closet and they look over at me. One girl has pure white hair in a side pony on her head, light brown skin and striking teal eyes. She's dressed in warm-looking black leggings, tall blue socks and a thick, baggy, turtleneck sweater. The other girl has light brown hair loose down her back, light skin and wood-colored eyes. She's in a comfortable looking grey hoodie and black leggings like the other girl. She's also wearing socks.
"Is that really her?!" The brown haired girl asks and looks at me with wide eyes.
The white-haired girl rolls her pretty eyes.
"Yui, she's not a famous actress or something."
Ah, so the white-haired girl is Shiro.
Yui ignores her, gets up and runs to me.
"Wow, do you really have a monster inside of you? You look normal to me." She tilts her head, then eyes my hair. "I like your hair, it's really pretty!"
I can't tell if I should be offended or not.
"Yui! We're not supposed to mention that!" Utau glares at her but I wave my hands as if to wave away the tension.
"It's totally fine. I don't really care."
"They say it whispers evil stuff to you," Yui whispers, "Is that true?"
Damn this kid is honest.
"Um, no. Actually I forget it's even there."
Yui frowns.
"Adults are stupid and tell lies. Come play dress-up with us!" She grabs my wrist and drags me to Utau's closet. "Utau-chan just got a whole shipment of new dresses. Come see!"
Utau follows us and I can feel her happiness.
"So you guys are in a different class than us?" I ask them as Yui drops me off in front of Shiro and falls in front of a small hill of dresses on the floor.
"Uh-huh," Shiro says. There is a small tea set on a little side table next to her. She picks up a pretty flower-speckled tea cup with a gold rim and delicately sips from it. There are three other cups on a silver tray and a teapot, all matching. "The older kids have an opposite schedule of us, so we never get to hang out at school. I'm Shiro by the way. That's Yui."
I smile at her. "Yuzuha."
She nods and continues sipping the tea as she watches Yui pull dresses out of the pile. We're surrounded by clothes, shoes and lights and there is a gigantic mirror on the far wall and a vanity adjacent to it.
"Ooh! I like that yellow lace one!" Shiro exclaims and Yui pulls it to the side for her.
"Save that light blue one for me," Utau says, then sits in the comfortable-looking chair adjacent to Shiro. She pours herself some tea, blows on it and sips. I sit down next to her and soon, we're sipping tea in comfortable silence.
"So they say Inoue Island is always warm. Is that why there are no long sleeved dresses?" Shiro asks Utau.
Utau shakes her head.
"No, they ship out dresses all over the continents. There are definitely places that have seasons like us. These are the dresses that are going to be 'in' this coming spring. Mother and father are diving into the fashion industry next. We have a few high-end stores so we have to be in."
"Ah, I see."
"I found one for Yuzu-chan!" Yui pulls out a scarlet red dress that matches my hair. I gasp at it.
"Ooh, you can be the lady in red," Shiro's voice has a mysterious tone to it. She wiggles her fingers. "Like in the story."
"There's a story?"
"Yeah they tell it in kunoichi class, you haven't heard yet?"
I shake my head and Utau puts her teacup. Shiro smiles at her.
"Uta-chan tells stories the best."
"She's a fictional character, but still, a deadly one. The lady in red started out as a normal little girl to a normal family. They lived in a normal little village. Naturally, they never saw the battle coming, as it happened in the middle of the night. When enemy ninja discovered the little village, they pillaged it for supplies. When her family tried to defend their rice barrels, they were killed. But before they confronted the ninja, they hid their little girl underneath her mother's bright red kimono in their closet.
"The ninjas mistook it for laundry and never even noticed her. But the lady in red noticed them. And their headbands. And that night, after hearing her parents scream and watching their blood stain her home's floor, she swore revenge. So she picked up the kimono, retreated deep into the woods and picked weapons and scrolls off the corpses of the ninjas left behind. She built her own hut and trained every day. It took some years, but she grew into a beauty and wandered to the nearest most populated city. That's where she refined her skills in seducing men. She became an expert in information gathering and finally discovered where the ninjas that had slayed her parents hung around.
"She traveled far, her mother's elegant, red kimono draped over her body. She finally reached the village and slipped inside, pretending to be a civilian looking for work. She found a job as a bartender and one day, the ninjas came in–the same two men that slaughtered her family. She charmed them for hours, and made their drinks strong, then convinced them to follow her to her home for more fun and games.
"Once inside, she worked her charms, and offered them water. Dehydrated from all the alcohol, the men took the water gratefully. Then suddenly, their vision blurred. They became horrifically sick, but before they could even vomit on her floor they began to shake uncontrollably. Foam spewed from their mouths until finally, their hearts stopped. She took their bodies to the cellar and buried them there, then disappeared. It seems like a simple enough story, if you don't take into account how she got away with it, and why she became so well-known as the lady in red.
"It's important to note that no one saw the two men enter her house behind her. Her genjutsu was so good that no one even heard their loud laughter and banter. She passed many people in the village on the way to her home before exacting her revenge. No one noticed a thing. Not until the new tenants in her home decided to do some renovations. You guessed it–they found the bodies. And tacked to the bodies was a note:
"Here lie two vermin. Murderers. Thieves. Liars. Perverts. The note detailed what the two men had done, and how they had murdered her family and ruined her life. She signed it The Lady in Red. Now, even to this day, some shinobi still tremble in fear when they see a lady in red at the bar. The end."
I nod my head, impressed.
"I like her. Let's do it."
We all get changed into our dresses and Utau teaches us more about Inoue Island culture and manners.
"Eh, Yuzu-chan! You look like a princess!" My dress is floor length and poofs out considerably. I spin in it. My hair is only neck-length but it looks like it blends in with the dress. I curtsy elegantly, like Utau taught us.
"Why thank you, lady Yui! You look elegant as well!"
Shiro laughs at my formal tone and Utau runs over to her vanity.
"Mother doesn't allow makeup, but I do have tons of hair stuff. Let's do our hair!"
We spend the afternoon being girly and cute. We pretend we're getting ready for a wedding, then an important meeting, and then a fashion show. Before I know it, it's evening and it's time for me to head out, according to the clock on the wall.
I groan.
"I gotta go. I have to wake up super early nowadays."
"How come?" Shiro asks and crosses her arms over the long pearls around her neck.
"I have to train before school. It's annoying to have to go to sleep early, but it's worth it if I want to be the strongest kunoichi in this village one day."
"Is that your goal?" Utau asks.
"Yep."
"Well, you can be the second strongest female ninja in the village, then. Next to me," she turns her nose up and confidently crosses her arms.
I snort.
"If we get paired up during sparring tomorrow we can see who's going to be number one."
There's a fire in Utau's eyes and she smirks.
"You're on, Uzumaki."
"Bring it, Uchiha."
Shiro and Yui grin and I get dressed back into my normal clothes. The magic ends when the dress comes off and I'm no longer a princess, a fashion designer, or a noble lady. I'm just Yuzha who has to make sure that her friends and loved ones don't get murdered one day.
The girls bid me goodbye and Utau personally walks me to the door. Shizuka-san hands me my coat and boots and I hug Utau before I leave.
"Thanks so much for coming over and meeting the girls." When she pulls away, she's smiling.
"Of course! I'll come over any time. See you at school!"
"See you then!"
I bow at Shizuka-san and leave with a big grin on my face. It's been so long since I've had a girls day. I mean, this has been a girl's day with really little girls, but whatever. It was still fun. I still got to play pretend.
I make my way all the way over to gramps' house and when I get inside the nanny is looking after Naruto. I play with my brother for a bit before she puts him to bed. I've had so many snacks at Utau's that I don't really need to eat. When I go to bed, I take a deep breath and exhale. The room is quiet and lonely. On nights like this, I miss Elias and my siblings from my old life the most.
I wonder if my siblings are even okay. I wonder if they're encouraging each other after my mother tears their confidence down and makes them feel bad for everything they do or don't do. I wonder if my sister has become the fighter in my absence–the one to scream and argue when she's gaslighting them and denying their reality as they know it.
Maybe when I accomplish enough things here, I'll get to go back. Maybe I'm not dead. Maybe I'm temporarily here while my old body's in a coma over there.
Would mom opt to keep me alive in a hospital bed, though, with round-the-clock care? That's so expensive I'd doubt she'd do it. Once she gets maximum social usage out of my situation she'll pull the cord if she hasn't already. I bet she'd use my coma to gain sympathy and get stuff from people.
Selfish.
I bite my lower lip and my anxiety spikes as I think about possibly never returning to my original body and the reality that I'll probably never get to see Elias or my sister or brother again. I turn over to cry into my pillow. I wonder if I'll ever get over the homesickness I feel. I mean, I love Naruto and my friends here, but I'd give an entire arm and leg to see my siblings and my boyfriend. I'd give an arm and a leg to simply tell them that I love them.
I wipe my tears and pray for a dream about them. At the very least, it would be nice to see them in my dreams.
I'll see you guys again one day. Maybe when I'm done wiping the floor with Danzo and Madara I'll find a way back.
STEPHANIE/ERINA
Trigger warning: Occasional mentions of sexual abuse. Gore. Violence. Skip the bolded part at the bottom to get a summary of this scene.
I made a friend. Sho was his name.
Was.
Sho was the first person to be kind to me. He was a year older, but he didn't avoid me like everyone else. Maybe he didn't know what has been happening to me at night. Maybe he knew and didn't care. Either way, Sho made me feel not so alone. Sho made me feel like it wasn't stupid to hope. Sho made me think I could find my way back to my body and escape this nightmare.
Sho got sick.
And no one did anything. They let him lay there and waited to see if he'd get through it, as if sickness is some sort of challenge or obstacle to overcome. His parents refused to believe in weakness. They scoffed at me when I stayed with him throughout his fever. I prayed for the first time since I could remember. I stopped believing in god when I had turned thirteen and was able to think for myself. God was all I had and God failed. God failed his chance at me believing in him, her, it, whatever, when Sho died. I prayed to every angel, every saint, every archangel I could think of. No one showed up for Sho.
I could handle the abuse. I could handle the torment of living in this shithole. I could handle sleeping on furs and flat rocks all night, but Sho, sweet Sho, who had a heart of gold dying because of their stupid pride was the last fucking straw.
As I stare at the warmth leaving my only friend's body, my vision sharpens. I feel something warm and thick dripping down my face, mixing with my tears as my heart breaks into a million pieces and I scream.
I just want to set this whole place on fire.
Sho's parents run into the room as I scream in agony at the stone ceiling of his room. They stare at their son's body, and his father shakes his head as his mother puts her hand to her mouth.
"He wasn't meant for this life."
I rise to my feet from my knees, my hands still limp at my sides, my head still tipped up. Like a demon, I strain my eyeballs until I can see them, even though I'm not facing them.
I'm gonna fucking kill them all.
"I'm gonna fucking kill them all," I whisper at the cieling.
"What did you say?"
Slowly, I turn my head to face Sho's murderers. I realize that everyone in this stupid fucking clan is a murderer. They let my uncle murder my innocence and their pride and blind faith in strength and willpower murdered Sho.
Murderers. All of them.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you all."
When I look up, they must see my eyes glowing in the dark. I know what's happening.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
This pain in my heart awakened my eyes and pushed them past their beginning stage. The power feels like a strong drink when it hits.
The mother screams and the father pulls out a knife, but it's too late. I imagine them on fire and the next thing I know, black flames shoot out of my eyes and set them ablaze.
How is it that I have the black flames Itachi is supposed to have?
I don't stop to question it. Watching Sho's parents burn alive satisfies something inside of me that's been scratching at the walls of my mind to escape. I cackle to myself as they try to crawl out of the room, but fail. The flames overtake them and I walk past their fading screams, and out into the rest of the cave.
Fuck you all. Fuck you for ignoring my abuse. Fuck you for pushing Sho past his limits. Fuck you for not teaching me how to defend myself when I begged you to.
I have a "fuck you" for everyone as I burn them all alive. They rush at me to take me down, but they're no match for the fire in my eyes. Uncle is amongst them. I save him for last. As everyone drops and rolls to try to put out the flames in utter vain, I calmly walk toward him. He takes several steps back, and activates his sharingan. Useless. All of their genjutsu was no match for my mangekyo. Their speed was useless when I could just put up a wall of fire around me that they'll run into, catch fire from and burn alive. Uncle, however, doesn't make any rash moves. It pisses me off.
"You murderer," he spits, "Psychopath!"
"You're the murderer. Pervert. You murdered my innocence. This is all on your hands. And theirs." I hold a hand out to the burning bodies and fading screams around me. Everyone is dead. I killed the kids that had bullied me too. The ones who called me a young slut and other awful things.
Uncle makes his move and launches at me but I'm not stupid. I'm in a kid's body but I'm an adult. I surround myself in a ball of fire as my eyes pour blood and then expand the fireball outwards. Any techniques uncle may have tried to utilize are stopped in their tracks as his face catches fire. When his body drops to the floor, I pick up one of the many knives on the floor and walk up to him. I watch him scream and inhale the scent of his skin melting off his flesh and bones.
It smells like roast pork. The whole cave smells delicious, like a freshly baked Christmas ham.
I wait for my opportunity, and step on his hair when I get a chance. It's not long but it's not short either. I weave my toes into his hair and curl them to grip tight and hold his head to the floor so he can't even move around to escape the pain. I wait for an opportunity, then slowly drive the kunai into each of his eyeballs before slowly pulling it out. In and out I stab, the way he stabbed me with his body parts at night.
"In and out!" I sing and giggle. "In and out! In and out! In and out!"
The grown man that has been my demon for the last year becomes a hysterical mess.
"Stop! I don't want to die!" He shouts with the last bit of strength his muscles have.
I laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh as his blood splatters across my legs and rough cotton dress.
SUMMARY
The rogue Uchiha clan's belief systems lead to the death of Erina's only friend Sho. She awakens her mangekyo, discovers she can use Amaterasu and sets everyone in the cave system on fire, then brutally gets revenge on her uncle. She snaps, mentally.
YUZUHA
The next three years pass by in a routine blur. Naruto and Sasuke start to grow up around each other. Every year there are big parties for each of them and the other clan kids, which all the clans are usually invited to. They even celebrate my birthday too! But Since my birthday is so close to Sasuke's, they usually just do a joint party for us on the twenty-third of July.
Every week since Naruto's welcoming party, the circle of clans has met to discuss things in the village. It's done wonders to ease tensions between the Uchiha and the village. Some minds can't be changed, but their voices aren't enough to drown out the unity amongst the shinobi in the village.
The police force grows. The village begins to rely on them. All the while, Itachi and I fly under the radar at school. Even though I should be downplaying my skills with gramps, too, I go ham anyway and he doesn't send me out in the field. I can't explain how, but I know he's waiting for a reason. I feel it in my gut. I often wonder if he knows Itachi's caliber as well and is sitting on it the same way he is on mine. Maybe the way politics have changed here is what is keeping him from pushing us out. Maybe he's saving us for a later part of the war?
Who knows?
He helps me learn Uzumaki-specific things like sealing techniques. We discovered that I have the ability to access the same kind of chakra chains that Kushina did, except, mine are a little different. The chainlinks are so tiny and so tightly knit that they look almost solid. So I can't really even call them chakra chains. They're more like chakra whips.
Many villagers still hate me, and I still ignore them. I'm still not welcome in many places, so I gravitate toward spaces run by the major clans that I've grown familiar with. I regularly play chess with almost everyone that went to Naruto's welcoming party. The Hyuga and Aburame leaders avoid me. They have no interest in entertaining my over-determined-to-win shenanigans but everyone else doesn't mind. I make sure to visit everyone regularly, just to keep my bonds with them strong. I might need them in the future, as manipulative as that sounds. It's always good to have friends in many places.
My friendship with Utau, Yui, and Shiro grows. When Itachi helps Fugaku out at the police station, and Shisui is away on missions, I hang with them. We all train together too. Utau loves the competition. On the weekends we challenge each other. She's come up with a really mean sound-based genjutsu. She likes to sing, so we decided to weave that into genjutsu. She's the first ninja we know of that uses her singing voice to trap people in a genjutsu. She loves how strong and capable it makes her feel. She takes steps every day to prove to her parents that being a ninja is her true path in life, whether they're watching or not. Everything she does is to prove them wrong and Shiro, Yui and I support her a hundred percent.
Shisui gets promoted to chunin and then jonin. It takes him weeks to come back, and every time he's back I feel a sadness inside of him grow. It makes me want to be stronger for him. It makes Itachi want to be stronger too.
Eventually, another spring rolls around, and Eyepatch-sensei comes into our classroom the day after we go through some tough exams.
"If your name is called, stand up."
Itachi and I look at each other automatically.
What are they doing? I telepathically communicate.
He holds up three fingers.
Three-man-cells? Already? We're only nine years old.
He shrugs one shoulder so discreetly that if I hadn't been paying attention I would have missed it. That's his best guess.
I thought this was supposed to happen after spring.
Sensei stops calling names. I paid zero attention. If my name were called, I definitely missed it. No one is glaring at me, though, so I assume I have nothing to do with the few kids standing up.
"Alright," sensei says, "now get out. You lot didn't make it. Better luck next year."
The kids gape at him and one girl starts to silently cry.
Ouch.
I can feel the slap of second-hand rejection from them and push their emotions out of my head. Once they leave, sensei picks up his clipboard.
"The rest of you graduate. Congratulations and pay attention. These are going to be your squads for the rest of forever if you're lucky."
If you're lucky.
No one seems to care about the weight that those words carry. They imply that some of the kids in this room will die before they reach old age. Dark.
He starts reading off names and I feel Itachi's energy shift. I look over and see the tension in his face. I start thinking the same things he probably is.
Did we do enough to balance each other out for them to put us on the same team? Did I tailor my talents to complement Itachi's enough?
"Uzumaki Yuzuha."
Shit, that's me.
I stand up. The rest of the classroom tenses up. There are kids here that don't want to be on "the demon girl's" team.
"Takagi Yusuke."
Okay okay. Itachi, right? Uchiha Itachi. Say it!
"Shimura Yusui."
I stand there for a moment as the other two boys get up and go stand next to the other groups at the side of the classroom. I'm frozen. Shellshocked. I actually stop breathing.
No fucking way. That can't be right.
"Uzumaki, go join your team."
I blink a couple times. I feel like I've entered the twilight zone—a space that makes zero sense. What stupid fucking parameters have they been looking at that we didn't predict? I look over at Itachi. He wears a blank expression. He's as shell shocked as I am. One of his brows twitches next to his long bangs—he's irritated. I pinch my brows in response but push my chair back and go as sensei starts reading other people's names off.
What the fuck is going on?
Yusuke is the tallest boy in class. He's a year older than everyone and has messy, straight brown hair, gold-toned skin and cool, olive-green eyes. He wears a combination of military green and brown with mesh peeking out from underneath and a signature, beige jacket with wooden snaps and clasps. He's expressive and grins down at me when I join him. I never really got the chance to talk with him but I know he was never a part of the kids who talked shit about me. We could've been friends if I hadn't been obsessed with training.
Yusui is the exact opposite. And truth be told, I've been worried about this kid since he joined our class last month. He's from Danzo's clan. I didn't even know Danzo had an established clan in the village until Yusui popped into my classroom. He has short, wispy black hair, skin paler than mine and sharp, gold eyes. He dresses in black, gray and white and has wide sleeves that I'm sure have things hidden in them.
"Uchiha Itachi."
The remaining girls clasp their hands at their chests. I mean, of course he became the class heartthrob even to kids older than him.
"Tamura Hanami." A girl with plum colored hair gets up. There's a gleam in her matching plum eyes, as if she'd won.
"Ueda Touma." Touma stands up and clenches his fist, then brings his elbow down in silent victory. Hanami looks like she has just stepped in shit.
"Alright, pick seats with your groups. Your senseis will come and pick you up for genin orientation and you'll get your headbands at the ceremony at the end of this week. Any questions?" Eye-patch sensei looks around the room.
Nobody says shit but the whole classroom is buzzing with every kind of emotion possible. The feelings swamp my head and my hand flies to my temple.
Sensei leaves the classroom and everyone erupts.
"Why'd they stick me with you!?"
"Yes, I knew they'd put us together!"
"I can't believe I'm not on Itachi-kun's team!"
So many different comments fly around the room. Yusuke turns to me excitedly. His energy overwhelms the cesspool of everyone else's and I gladly focus on it. Yusui ditches us to find a spot to sit in.
"Hey! I'm Yusuke, I know you know that but I never actually got the chance to introduce myself. And we never really sparred with each other either, so yeah, hi!"
I smile at him.
"Uzumaki Yuzuha. Hi."
"Awesome! Your hair is really cool! I've never met anyone with red-red hair. You know sometimes you see people with orange hair or kind of purpley-red but yours is Scarlet. Can I call you 'Red' as a nickname?"
I laugh.
"I've never been given a nickname."
"Nicknames are my thing." He bends down to whisper to me, "In my head I call sensei 'Eyepatch-sensei,' but don't ever repeat that because I'm sure he'll find me and stab me."
I snort, then whisper back, "I call him that in my head too."
Yusuke tosses his head back and laughs.
"We should call our guy 'grumpy,'" he says, as he looks over at Yusui reading a book in his seat. "Look at his face—his whole day looks ruined. He probably never has fun."
I snort.
"This is going to be interesting."
"I'll say."
Itachi walks over to us and Yusuke grins at him.
"Yo Itachi!"
"Hello," Itachi greets with a polite smile. He turns to me and frowns. "That was unexpected."
"Yeah, no kidding," Yusuke responds before I can, "I really thought it was gonna be you two on a team. You guys work together really well. Grumpy, Red, and I are the furthest thing from what I expected."
"Grumpy?" Itachi blinks, then turns and looks at Yusui. The corner of his lips quirk up and Yusuke looks proud of his joke.
"Not that I'm mad, so don't take offense," I warn Yusuke who puts his hands up in defense, "but maybe they made a mistake?"
Itachi looks at the door.
"Where is sensei?"
I close my eyes and concentrate.
"Tch, cafeteria. That guy's always eating when he's not saying something smart-mouthed."
"No shot he's in the cafeteria. How do you know?" Yusuke asks, surprised.
An evil grin spreads across my face. Yes, another victim.
"I bet you two gold pieces he's there."
I stick my hand out for him to shake on it but he reads my smirk and gulps.
"Uh, no. Pass. I don't like that look on your face."
I make a noise and roll my eyes in disappointment.
A woman walks into the room first. She's in black pants, tall black boots, a black, sleeveless turtleneck, and a green jounin vest. There's a sharp line of blood across the front of her vest—it is one-thousand percent not hers. Her left arm is bandaged right above her bicep muscle and on the bandage is the metal part of her headband. She has black gloves, a katana at her side and sleek, long, dark-green hair with some shorter pieces for bangs in the front. She has dark brown eyes and light skin.
"I'm here for Team six."
The whole room shuts the fuck up at her intensity but no one answers her. Only Yusuke is brave enough to say something.
"Um, sensei didn't give us numbers."
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly in barely-veiled, sassy frustration.
"I'm looking for Shimura, Uzumaki, and Takagi."
She looks at me because I'm very obviously the Uzumaki.
Yusuke heads over to her first and I feel Yusui get up. I turn to Itachi.
"Meet later?"
He nods. "Tree."
I nod back and follow Yusuke. Our teacher doesn't wait for us. She expects us to trail after her and like obedient ducklings, we do.
"So um, my name is Yusuke—
She holds up a hand to silence him. It's such a sharp movement that there's no question about her intent. It's a very clear "shut the fuck up." Her movements have purpose but I can't tell what it is. She has some objective she wants to reach with us and I feel that she has a plan but I don't know what it is, only that she's going over it in her head.
She takes us all the way to training field six which is a really shitty, rocky sort of field. There's grass and dirt but someone clearly fucked it up and never fixed it. There are lesions in the ground from someone's wind jutsu.
When we stop in the middle of the field, she turns around. I sense the attack in her intent a second before she launches at us. I barely have enough time to shove Yusuke out of the way and at the same time use his body as a point to bounce off of. I knock all of my weight into Yusui to save him too, who then grunts and falls over. I trip over his stupid legs and as my palms connect with the pebble-speckled dirt, I hear the ground right where I was standing crack open with a gust of wind in its wake. I turn my head and see another lesion in the dirt, and sensei's sword drawn. That's when Yusui gets mad and kicks my legs off of his.
"Get off me!"
"Gee, you're welcome Yusui, I'm so glad I just saved your stupid life!" I fly up to a standing position and so does he. Sensei—we don't even know her name yet— is already flying at Yusuke, who then struggles to hold his own against her. Based on the movement of her body, I can tell she's on the cusp of being a smidge too difficult for him to deal with alone. She's holding back a lot.
"I don't need to be saved by some demon scum. Your whole existence is a stain on my life. Stay out of my way."
I take a deep breath and make a hand sign. Three clones pop to life around me and I switch places with one of them.
"Great, you stay out of mine too."
"Guys! A little help!?"
Sensei's sword clashes violently against Yusuke's kunai. I can tell he barely had the chance to draw his weapon before she got to him. His wrist is straining from a poor grip.
No one tries to fuck up my friends and gets away with it.
I growl and launch at her. When my clones reach her she blasts Yusuke away with a gust of wind off of her sword that sends him rolling backwards across jagged rocks. My fist connects with her palm as the sounds of Yusuke's jacket tearing fills the clearing in the background.
Yusui attacks with two kunai in his hands, dual-wielding viciously. Somehow, sensei dodges in just the right way as we're coming at her from both sides. We use so much force that when she dodges our simultaneous attacks, we can't stop in time and crash into each other. His forehead hits my temple and we both grunt and fall to the ground.
"Ow!" I roar. "That hurt y'know!"
"My jacket!" Yusuke cries in the background.
"I told you to stay out of my way!"
"Fine, hotshot! Go take a crack at her yourself then!"
I jump away and leave him to the wolf in favor of checking on Yusuke. The sounds of battle continue in the background as I reach my friend.
"Wow, you really left him, huh?"
I fall back as if I've been slapped.
"What?! You heard him didn't you?" I glare down at him and put my fists on my hips.
"Red, he's still our teammate. You don't just leave teammates behind."
I shove my finger toward Yusui in the background.
"He hates me. This is the worst decision gramps ever approved!"
Yusuke drags his palm down his face in frustration.
"Well, clearly he's about to be toast. We need to come up with a plan!" Yusuke looks at my clones, hovering tensely in the background of Yusui and sensei's fight. "Three clones is pretty impressive. I can only make one. Nice work."
"Hah, thanks." I smirk proudly.
"What if you pretend to make one more?"
"Pretend?"
He tosses me a smirk and I see what's playing out in his olive eyes.
"I see what you mean. Let's do it."
"Shadow clone jutsu!" I shout and fake the jutsu while Yusuke pretends to go hide behind a tree. In reality, he replaces himself with a rock while transforming into an identical copy of me at the same time. Yusui's holding his own, but barely. It's only because she's going easy on him, like Shisui sometimes dares to do with me. Freakin' jonin, trying to be humble about how OP they are.
Yusuke and I charge at her and so do my clones that have been hanging back. Between the clones, and Yusui we start to push her back, or at least push her to the edge. She's good though and manages to blast Yusui and three of my clones away at the same time. She strikes Yusuke, thinking he's my final clone, but he takes her foot to his gut like a champ and clamps on tightly, digging his fingers into her boot. I see her eyes widen just a bit. She wasn't expecting us to come up with a solid plan. Little does she know, my best friend is one of the youngest jonin on the roster and that gives me a sick advantage in both strategy and technique. I don't get to see him as often anymore but when I do, there's a whole lot to learn.
I have a ton more up my sleeve than just some clones and tricks.
I start going through the hand seals I learned. My element isn't water, it's wind, but water comes easily for some reason. I really thought it was gonna be fire since all three of my closest friends wield fire, but nah. I'm the weirdo that learned a water jutsu from a random scroll I found at the library. It's the most basic one, but I'm not trying to be flashy here.
"Water whip jutsu!"
Like a waterbender, I guide water out of my palm and try to snap it near her face but with inhuman strength she yanks Yusuke off the ground while rotating her body backward in an impressive backflip. Yusuke wails in confusion and my whip catches the center of his back. He cries out in pain, lets her go and she jumps away to get some distance between us. Yusui gets frustrated and dives back into the fight.
"Yusuke!" I whacked the wind out of him. I can see his mouth open but his lungs aren't expanding.
Fuckfuckfuck!
I run and try to catch him but I'm a half second too late and he crushes my arms as he falls right on top of me. My neck cracks as my chin slides up the side of his thigh. My arms are stretched so far forward that the backs of my arms are scratched by the rocks on the ground.
"Owwww!"
"Crap! Sorry!" Yusuke barely catches enough air to apologize. I groan up at the sky as my throat aches from the impact. Yusuke rolls off of my arms and grabs my wrist to yank me up to my feet. I rub the back of my neck in pain. At the same time Yusui slides past us so suddenly we both yelp in surprise. He's blocking a kick to his face with his forearm. I feel the chakra around her leg as Yusui slides past us. She's not fucking around.
Fine. I won't fuck around either.
I summon my energy and imagine my chakra slinking out of me like gramps and I practiced. I shoot my chakra whips out of my feet and through the ground right under her. She senses them last second and dodges with a smirk. They shoot up out of the ground to chase her and sail past her face and shave a sliver of hair off of her bangs.
"That's so cool!" Yusuke gushes at my technique like a girl with a crush. "Okay okay okay! Me next! Me next!"
He flies through a few hand signs and I hear the crackle of lightning forming at the palms of his hands. It's stable around his hands and so bright I can't stare at it for too long.
Sensei smirks and lifts a perfect brow.
"Aw, how cute."
"Hey don't make fun of me! Do you know how long it took to make a little bit of lightning and get it to stay!?"
His shame makes his chakra waiver and he loses it.
Fuck.
The lighting disappears and he screams while looking at his palms.
"Sh-shit!"
Sensei flies at him and I whip at her feet to keep her away from him.
"Oh no you don't!" I yell. Around my body, shuriken fly at her from both Yusuke and Yusui's pouches. With my whips, we start chasing her around. She's buying time but I know there's a short window of opportunity we have before she shifts to ninjutsu to kick our asses. She's really tough.
"Hey, we have to come up with something," Yusuke grits his teeth before throwing a kunai.
"I have an idea," I almost whisper back as beads of sweat form on my temple. It's not easy manipulating my chakra like this. She moves so fast it almost hurts to keep up with her.
He grunts as he throws two shuriken. I back them up with my whips.
"All ears, Red. What is it?"
I watch as Yusui grunts and comes at her with two chakra-coated kunai. He's doing decently but gets in the way of my and Yusuke's attacks. We can't support him without the risk of hurting him. He literally has no intention of working together.
"Freakin' idiot!" I get frustrated and yell at him but he doesn't care.
"Red?"
"Right. You're lighting, I'm water. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?"
His face lights up and his eyes shine as if he's just seen the prettiest thing ever.
"It's beautiful."
When he's done fangirling over the lethality of our plan, he gets ready.
"I'm gonna churn out as much water as I can. When there's enough and she's standing on it, you do your thing. Don't electrocute yourself. Got it?"
"Ah, about that—
I shoot him a sharp look.
"We're not risking your heart stopping. Either you can do it successfully or you can't and we try something else. Choose."
And choose quickly.
"I can do it. I just need to not be distracted. If I close my eyes and focus I'll make it happen."
"Alright. Let's go."
I retract my chakra whips and charge at her. She kicks and launches straight through every water whip I make, but it's fine. I mean, act like it's not fine, but it's exactly what I want.
Yusui progressively gets angrier at me as time passes by. There are moments when he wants to kick me away but he refrains. I know this because I feel his aggression and violence shift towards me every so often, but we eventually settle into a rhythm.
"Hey! Let me handle this!" He shouts in between strikes. "Your water whips are clearly garbage!"
"I won't go down without trying!" I cover for myself before he shoots my whole plan to shit.
Shut the fuck up, Yusui. Don't call attention to my whips being intentionally shit!
Yusuke throws some kunai and shuriken here and there to look like he's doing something until finally, I feel his chakra shift.
It's game time and Yusui has no clue what's about to happen 'cause he's a dick and doesn't want to work together.
I shoot my chakra whips through the ground at the exact time Yusui barrages her with all his strength. He continues to go at her while I wrap the whips around her feet. That's when Yusuke does it. He sends his lightning through the water on the ground. The puddles glow brightly as the lightning crackles through the water.
We're playing a dangerous game. Yusui's in the path of destruction and so are my chakra whips. We have no idea what lightning does to chakra to be honest. We never tested it before this but my teammate is trusting me, so here goes…
It's all up to timing. I move my whips at the last second and wrap them around Yusui before the lightning jumps to his kunai and fucks him up. I toss Yusui to dry land, watching the attack reach sensei.
I hold my breath as Yusui slams into a tree. I'm petty. I don't even care. He's not dead or electrocuted and that's all that counts.
Yusuke's watching with wide eyes and a gigantic grin.
Right as the lightning is supposed to strike—mind you, all of this happens in like half a second– she fuckin' teleports.
I groan in exasperation.
She pulled a freakin' Shisui on us.
Yusuke groans with me and throws his fingers into his hair in exasperation.
"Aw, come on! We worked hard on that one! What the hell!"
Suddenly, a timer goes off in the woods. It freezes all three of us.
"Huh?"
We all look at each other, breathing hard from the exercise. Sensei emerges from the bushes. She has some sweat on her brow. I consider that a success. Hah.
She stops in front of us but none of us tense. The timer has us all thinking.
Was this a timed exercise?
"Hmm, not bad for two geniuses and a newbie. I say you three passed. You have shit teamwork though. That won't do." She crosses her arms and glares down at us as the timer stops.
I take offense to that and cross my arms back.
"Yusuke and I have great teamwork," I counter pettily, "Yusui is the only one here that can't find a rhythm."
Yusui sends me a nasty glare.
"Pretty bold of you to say considering you're the newbie here!"
"Pretty bold of you to say, considering your first day of class was a month ago!"
"Cut it out!" Sensei snaps. "I don't know what kind of history you two have but this kind of crap doesn't fly in three-man-cells. Out there on the field it's life or death. And if you can't respect your teammate, you die. You hear me?"
I stare at her tensely, but I have no counter to that. She's right. I let this asshole little kid get to me, but somehow, I just can't help it. He grates on my nerves. Little shit.
"Now sit down. We're going to do an ice breaker. Maybe that'll foster some respect among you three."
"I don't have trouble respecting anyone," Yusuke whines.
"Sit."
Our asses hit the ground. Yusui's still fuming. I stopped caring two seconds ago.
"Okay. Start with your name, your likes, your dislikes, a hobby you have and your goal as a Konoha ninja. You," she nods at Yusuke, "go first since you like to talk so much."
I've never seen jovial Yusuke mad but here we are. He blushes a deep read and glares at her feet.
"I-I don't talk too much!"
Clearly, it's a sore spot for him. Someone must have ripped him for talking a lot in the past. That is so mean of her. But there's a purpose to this. Shit talking throws Yusuke off. He's a bubbly over-thinker and clearly has trouble concentrating. She's already started working on developing him and highlighting his weakpoints.
"Whatever, just go."
"Takagi Yusuke. I like training, learning things that interest me, and exciting things. I don't like bullies," he lifts his gaze to look at her, "My hobby is wood-carving and my goal is to make a name for my family and make my parents proud."
She says nothing and looks at me.
"Uzumaki Yuzuha. I like training too. And making friends and allies. Writing stories is my hobby. My goal is to become feared in every land and protect my little brother."
She raises a brow at "feared in every land" but it isn't a lie. I'm gonna need power and with power comes fear. I'm gonna become everyone's boogeyman. Count on it.
"And you. Delinquent." She turns her gaze on Yusui and I feel the subconscious oof roll off of Yusuke. Yusui ignores her though.
"Shimura Yusui. I don't like to talk about myself so I won't. My goals are private. You don't need to know about my hobbies."
I roll my eyes. How informational.
"My name is Sato Mira. You three irritate me. Your vibes are shit. Our first mission is tomorrow. If you suck you're getting sent back to the academy so get it together or fail. Sink or swim. Got it?"
There isn't much room for questions. She's very straightforward and there's nothing to misunderstand. She waits another second and teleports away. Yusuke's shoulders drop and he rolls on his back, splaying his arms. He exhales in an exaggerated manner.
"I thought we were dead, guys."
"We weren't." Yusui and I say simultaneously, then glare at each other.
"Shut up," he says.
"Make me," I say in a dark tone.
He moves to stand up but Yusuke grabs his tunic and yanks him down before he can start a fight with me.
"God will you guys stop?! We literally almost just died.
"And I told you we totally didn't," I say, "she was going easy on us. And I'm totally gonna fight him one day." I point a finger at Yusui, who smirks.
"I look forward to the day I can smack the demon out of you."
I gape at him.
You mother fucker–you did not just go there!
"I might just try to find ways to release it when you try!"
"I'll have every jonin in the village murder you if you even dare."
I roll my eyes.
"If you can't take the heat don't stay in the kitchen, kid."
"You're younger than me, don't call me a kid."
"Who cares?"
"I do. Will you guys shut up? Can we just be happy that we're not dead?"
Yusui growls. "For the last time, she went easy on us!"
Yusuke laughs.
"I know, I know. I'm kidding. You're both funny when you're mad. Your face shakes." Yusuke cracks up as he points at Yusui's face. I snort because it's true.
"And your face gets red. If you weren't a girl it would never be cute."
I stick my tongue out at him.
He rolls back then flips forward to his feet.
"Well, I'm gonna go get my jacket fixed. Bye!" He runs off, leaving me there with Yusui. I get up and gather the kunai I left behind in the field. Yusui gathers his and after mine are collected, I start gathering Yusuke's.
"Why are you picking up his slack?" Yusui asks before leaving.
I bend up from the ground and wipe Yusuke's kunai off on my leggings.
"Why not?"
"Tch. Annoying." He turns around and leaves.
You're annoying.
But I don't say it out loud. I'm tired of arguing with him. And anyone who judges me based on something I can't control doesn't deserve my energy. Yet, I have to find some way to be civil with him. I have no doubt in my mind that Mira-sensei will send us right back if we can't get along. That lady doesn't play any games.
We can't suck tomorrow.
I pace at my tree for a whole hour before Itachi arrives. I have so much baggage to unload that it's evident on my face when he arrives. I can tell he can tell because he shoots me a guilty look. His day went a whole lot better than mine and he knows it.
"What happened?" He asks.
I pout.
"If that stupid idiot doesn't stop arguing with me we're totally gonna get sent back to the academy!" I wail and throw my hands into my loose short bob. "Why did they set me up to fail!? How did we not end up on the same team, Itachi!?"
"I figured it out."
That stops my freak-out and I blink at him.
"Wait, really?"
"Mm. They grouped us based on personality and mindset, not just our skill sets."
I gape at him.
"But we totally vibe though!" I wave my hand back and forth between us.
"Exactly," he smiles warmly, "We think too much alike."
I cross my arms and frown.
"That's stupid. Imagine all the things we could do and how great our teamwork would be. They should've just paired Yusuke with us. We'd be great."
"Tell me more about your teammates." He sits under the tree, and I join him, a lot calmer than before.
"Well, Yusuke reminds me a lot of Shisui, just way less focused. Yusui is mean and prejudiced and doesn't want to work with anyone. He doesn't seem like someone that can work on a team."
"Then I see why they put you three together."
I frown, confused.
"You're gonna have to explain because I still don't see it."
"Only because you don't want to believe it."
"Let me wallow in denial!"
I roll onto my back on the grass and loose leaves on the forest floor beneath the tree.
"Yusuke is friendly and willing enough to make any situation work. You and Yusui are both very talented, but headstrong. Yusuke could learn a lot from both of you and both of you could learn a lot from him."
"Great so I got stuck on a team doomed to fail because they put this guy in our class last second?"
"You're not doomed to fail. You just need to pass hokage-Sama's test." Itachi winks and I fly into a seated position so fast I rustle his ponytail in the process.
"This is a test isn't it? It's 'cause I can be hotheaded," I realize, "isn't it?"
"And impatient."
I look over and glare at him.
"You don't have to twist the kunai once it stabs, y'know?"
He laughs.
"Well, what are your teammates like?" I ask and hug my knees.
"I'm their Yusuke."
I suck in air between my teeth. Poor Itachi. That must be a nightmare.
"Touma-San really likes Hanami-san. But Hanami-san is annoyed by him."
"And she's obsessed with you."
"I did not want to mention that part, thank you," he says dryly. I snort.
"Who's in denial now, huh?" I smirk at him. Revenge is sweet, so so sweet.
He smiles back. He'll get me back for that one when I least expect it.
"How is your sensei?"
"Mira-sensei is mean. But she takes her role seriously. She's pushing all of our buttons already. What's yours like?"
"Yuki -sensei is patient, kind, and skilled."
"Well, you guys must get along great, then."
"Thank you," he smiles at the indirect compliment.
The wind blows and pushes my hair into my face.
"Ahrrg!" I whack it out of the way. "I'm gonna shave my head bald I swear!"
Itachi laughs.
"It's not funny! The one day I don't tie my hair back I get pushed into a brawl with a jonin! There were a few times she almost got me 'cause all I saw was the red of my hair!"
"You should have asked me. I always have spare hair ties."
"Mm. Next time I'll ask."
"Here. Take this one."
I look over and in his hand is a scarlet red hair tie. In his hair it stands out prettily. In mine, it blends in. I take it and pull half my hair back into a messy bun at the back of my head.
"Ah, freedom," I sigh contentedly, "Thanks!"
We eventually roll around to the Uchiha district. I wonder if Utau survived the day and I want to find her to talk about her team and what they're like. We go to Itachi's house instead and Mikoto bombards us with questions.
I talk all the shit about Yusui with her. I tell her about the teamwork between Yusuke and I. I tell her my worries about being sent back to the academy. I tell her how dumb it is that they didn't put Itachi and I on the same team because we get along too well. Mikoto smiles and listens and supports and I never really had someone do that. I come to the realization that she feels more like a mom to me than my mom ever did. That almost makes me cry when the thought crosses my mind, but I push it away. Itachi jumps in to talk about his team and distracts me from the feeling. I can explore it later, when I have some space to cry.
"Eh, that's a nice hair tie, Yuzu-Chan. It looks familiar, actually."
I touch my messy half-bun and laugh.
"Itachi's letting me borrow it. I really should have asked to borrow it before the whole thing with Mira-sensei and my team."
"Eh, is that so?" Mikoto gives me her version of the Cheshire cat's grin. Her eyes slide over to Itachi who blissfully hoists three-year-old Sasuke up over his head in front of the table. Sasuke giggles with glee but I don't miss a beat. I know that look. She's shipping us in her head.
Hell no. He's nine years old.
That's an exaggeration but he's a kid and in my brain I'm an adult. Do I have a crush on older Itachi? Hell yes. Little Itachi? Hell no. And furthermore I'm not here to have relationships like that. Even in the future. I have bad guys to slaughter and chop up into bits for the fuckery they're going to try to cause.
Sorry Mikoto. Not a chance.
I pretend like I missed the thought cross her head and drink the tea she made for us.
I sense Utau's energy entering the district and my head lifts up.
"Utau-Chan's back! Hey, wanna go hang out!?"
Itachi smiles but shakes his head.
"Yuki-sensei gave all of us formations to study." He sets Sasuke down on the pillow and pulls out a small book from his weapons pouch to show me." I give him a grossed-out look. "More formations?"
Itachi shrugs and pulls the book away from Sasuke before the slick little kid could grab it and put it in his mouth. Determined, Sasuke starts to climb up Itachi's side. He manages to clamp onto his shirt with his little fists and try to reach up. Itachi yanks the book out of reach just in time and shakes his head.
"No no, Sasuke. I know exactly what you want to do to this book, and I can't allow it. I can read it to you later if you'd like though."
Little Sasuke looks betrayed and looks at me, stricken.
"Zuzuba!" He yells out to me, mispronouncing my name like toddlers who learn how to speak usually do. He then points at his brother, as if I could somehow make a difference in the situation.
"Sasuke, are you gonna try to chew on the book?"
He doesn't really get what I'm saying so he just grins at me. That face doesn't work on me though. I sigh and shake my head. He pouts and looks at Mikoto instead.
"Mama!"
Mikoto chuckles and walks over to him.
"Why don't I get you your own book that you can read, or chew on, while your big brother reads his book, hmm?" She picks Sasuke up and walks to the exit of the kitchen.
"Yuzu? Coming?" she turns to ask me while Sasuke plays with her hair and tries to chew on it.
I guess she wants to walk me out. That's nice of her. I turn to Itachi and smile.
"See you tomorrow!" I wave at him, catch his responding nod and then turn to follow Mikoto. Sasuke's play room is located upstairs and she stops with me at the exit of the home.
"You should bring Naruto-kun over soon. Sasuke-chan misses him."
"Ah, That's right." Last weekend I didn't bring him because I had no time to stop by the office. "I'll bring him this weekend."
Mikoto smiles. "Thank you."
I nod, bid her goodbye and leave. Then, I run straight to Utau's house. When I get there, she lets me in eagerly. She looks like a distressed noble lady in a pretty light blue dress.
"Yuzu! I thought you'd never come. Come upstairs!"
Once we're in her room she crashes on her bed and hugs a pillow.
"I'm doomed. I'll never become a ninja. I'm going to get sent back to the academy."
Never have I ever heard her talk so negatively.
"Ew, what makes you say that?"
I sit down next to her and she rolls over, pillow still clutched in her arms.
"My teammates are total idiots and our sensei is going to test us tomorrow. I don't even know on what. They don't want to work together and Koku-sensei is not forgiving. He's an ice cube. A handsome ice cube. I'm going to fail. And father will make me work for the family business full time." She looks…awful. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
I know she's been having arguments with her dad about her future. She wants to be a ninja—the strongest woman in the Uchiha clan. He wants her to continue the family business when he and her mother retire. They're obsessed with money and she's heard them talking about arranging a marriage, too. Being a ninja is her only way out.
"That's not going to happen! Get a hold of yourself! I grab the shoulder that's available to me and shake her by it. "Listen, you're talented enough to get through anything. They probably put you with two losers because you're their only hope of getting anywhere. If anyone is going to drag them to success, it's you. If they're lacking in, like, everything you'll make up for it. I know you will." I smile at her.
"You really think that?" Her eyes water.
"Of course. The most important part of any genin test is teamwork. It's not about the individual. So you just have to do your best to work together tomorrow. And if they don't then that's on them. They can go back to the stupid academy. You're going to pass no matter what."
She smiles at me and rubs her eyes.
"Thanks, Yuzu."
"Mn! Now tell me all about them!"
Utau and I spend hours talking but I have to go home at some point so I finally do. It's late at night but the streets are safe thanks to the police. I wave at a couple of squads on my way to gramps' house.
Tomorrow marks the start of my career as a ninja and my path to victory.
Count on it!
STEPHANIE/ERINA
The days following the murder are both empty and blissful. I lost a friend but at the same time I lost many demons as well. Now the only ones left are the ones in my head.
I wonder what point in the timeline I'm in.
The Uchiha clan members I killed were not anyone I knew from the anime or manga. Does Konoha even exist yet? For all I know this dream could be taking place even before Madara's time.
What a shitshow. I can't even look forward to the infinite Tsukuyomi.
I have a theory that maybe it might take me home. If this is a dream, maybe another dream will send me back into my body. My real body, not this fake bullshit dream body.
I wander around for a while and find a vast canyon. Night descends and I can't see anything but the gorgeous night sky. It's so beautiful that I sit, hug my knees and cry up at it. The kunai I've been carrying clatters to the ground beneath me and I wail at the top of my lungs.
I cry because I'm scared. I cry because I'm alone. I cry because I can't determine if I want to be alone or not. Do I want a hug or do I want to never be touched again? I cry for the woman I once was. I cry because I wish I had never smoked that night. I wish I had just gone to my regular plug that I trusted most. I wish I had never gone to that party.
This reality is hell.
What did I do to deserve this anyway? I try to think back to every bad thing I've ever done and I can't think of anything that would deserve a trip to the wrong time period and the wrong personal situation in this world.
I didn't do anything to deserve this. This is bullshit.
I don't sleep for three days and after that, nighttime always brings nightmares. I don't sleep well ever again, actually. And to a non-sleeper, time sort of just slips past. Everyday is exactly the same. The emptiness, the sadness, the hunger and sleeplessness never stop, they just rotate in a never-ending cycle.
I cried the first time I had to kill a rabbit to eat. I cried and debated on killing myself but I was so hungry and already dying that I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'll never forget that bunny. I still talk to him sometimes.
Eventually, I hit up some disheveled little villages to beg or steal. No one really talks to anyone. And it takes theft in four different villages for me to run into him by a river.
Tobi.
I blink at him in shock at first. He's sitting on a rock in the middle of a river outside the shit little village I just stole some bread from. I take a bite of the stale roll in my hand and watch as he turns to face me. I see nothing, even through the hole in the mask across his face.
"Oh? A little kid? What are you doing out here with no shoes?" He asks in a child-like voice after noticing me watching him.
Inside, excitement bubbles for the first time in years.
I am in the right time period. I'm exactly where I need to be.
Excellent. Fuck this place, all of it. If anyone is going to tear this world to bits, it's Tobi and Madara. And I'll be right there to help them do it.
"I know your real name," I say, as I come up with a quick plan. I need to market myself to his needs. I'm little. I'm probably nine years old or something like that. I need to prove myself useful despite my age and inexperience, and if I don't have any battle skills, I might as well provide him with information he needs that I might have from knowing the story.
He laughs and slaps his hand over his stomach.
"This is a fun game! Let's guess Tobi's real name! Guess his name! Guess his name, child! Maybe Tobi will guess yours too!"
He doesn't believe me.
"Uchiha Obito."
He's upon me so fast that I don't even have any time to flinch. His fingers wrap around my throat and through the eyehole of the mask I see it: the sharingan, blazing angrily like a red light. I would tremble and shake but I'm so tired, I can't.
"And how would you know that?" His whimsical facade flips off like a light switch.
"I am an oracle. And I've come here to help you liberate this world."
He pauses and regards me for a moment.
Now I have his attention.
"Prove it."
"You want this hell to end just as badly as I do. I know where you're going to find all of the tailed beasts and when. A few things have to happen first, though. We can't rush the plot of this story or too much will change. So what do you say?" I hold up my hand to see if he'll shake on the deal.
Short seconds pass by, but they drag. He's deciding for what seems like forever. Slowly, he peels his fingers off of my throat, and I relax as he takes my hand and shakes on it.
"I suppose in the meantime we can teach you some things."
"That would be great."
And that's the exact moment that I decided to have fun with this dream. Why play on the side that wants to keep you trapped here? I mean, I could have walked the other way the moment I saw him. I could have asked for directions to the land of fire. I could have shown my eyes to the guards at the gate and told them my story, but that's boring. It's vanilla and I want to go home, really go home.
So Akatsuki it is.
He begins to walk down the river bank and I follow, obediently.
Just you wait, guys. I'm coming home.