A/N: Home has become more of a full-on story with little sprinkles of memories here and there, along with a few time-skips, than a collection of one-shots and I will update the description after this chapter has been posted. I'd like to wish everyone the happiest of holidays, may the new year bring us health and good fortune! This will be a shorter update than others as I'm quite busy this time of year :) Ahem, my normal intro now: Hello and welcome to another chapter of Home! All of your reviews, follows, and favorites literally make me the happiest camper and I appreciate you all! This fic is VERY loosely based on the events of Naruto, Shippuden, and eventually Boruto(ish). Kishimoto owns the whole thing, but not Akuri. Nay, nay. That's my girl. This is cat-beta'd today, please forgive their inability to read.
X Akuri X
The sun had just barely risen above the horizon when I'd left the house, a very overdue session of training in the quiet forest was absolutely in order. Sunrise had to be one of my favorite parts of the day, the entire village slowly but surely waking and preparing for what lay in wake for them all. Life in the forest seemed bustling compared to Konoha in the early morning, birds twittering away from their perches in the trees and rodents scurrying to find food for their young in the dense underbrush. My location for training had been used by Itachi, a tall boulder in the center of it all with holey targets nailed to the surrounding trees. Sasuke and I used to come here to observe as often as we could in our younger days, our hopes being that we learned to be just as great as our elder brother. Once he'd realized he wouldn't have been able to shake us as spectators, Itachi had set to work to make tree stump seats for us. Before beginning my exercises, I sat down on the familiar left stump to go through the gear I'd brought to ensure there would be enough to only have to gather them up again once or twice to repeat the training a second time.
"I would have thought you'd have your own regimen, not using his still."
I whirled around quickly after jumping to my feet, my heart skipping a beat and my breath caught in my throat when I laid eyes on the tall form that mimicked my own so closely. My fist curled around the handle of a kunai, cursing myself silently for not being more aware of my surroundings. Sasuke stood before me, one hand on his hip as he leaned his weight on the according foot. His expression was somewhat inquisitive, though he remained cool and placid.
"Why have you returned?" I asked him, body tense and ready for a battle should he start one. "Are you under orders to infiltrate?"
"I do as I please now. I came to see you, little sister," he informed, keeping his distance. "I don't plan on attacking you, so you can lower your weapon. I came to talk."
"What about?" I demanded, though my guard remained on high alert in his presence.
"The goal you and I once shared, why have you abandoned it?" His question sounded sincere despite the neutrality of his expression, "after the massacre, you wanted to end Itachi's life. We made a pact, I expected you to want to carry it out with me."
"I know we did, I remember swearing a blood oath with you," I chuckled dryly at the memory, lowering my knife as a sense of ease and trust permeated the space, "believe me, Sasuke, I wanted to kill him for a long time. It was my reason for living."
"What changed that?"
"I started living to bring you back, to see my friends and peers succeed," I elaborated, holstering the kunai and retaking my seat on the stump as I faced my brother. "I remembered what love felt like, I didn't want to forget that ever again. Do you remember it, big brother?"
Sasuke's expression tightened minutely, but he unrooted from his place to claim a seat at the memorable right stump and faced me. The last time we'd been here, we were almost eight and had spent what felt like weeks training nonstop to become fine fledgling shinobi.
"The day Itachi killed our entire clan, I didn't think I could love anyone but you. Things changed the older we got," he admitted lowly, "and for a while, I cared so much for the people close to me. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi...but I never stopped wanting to make him pay."
Without a second of hesitation, I took Sasuke's hands in my own and squeezed them like our mother did when we were small, three quick pulses to silently recite an 'I love you' as a means of comfort. I heard his breath hitch and his calloused hands returned the sentiment, one thumb scrubbing over a scar on the back of my right hand as he studied our joined fingers. The was the last injury Sasuke had ever tended for me, the memory of him teasingly smooching the bandaged cut as I'd complained of it's pain.
"Who killed your child?" He asked after a long moment had passed.
"An Akatsuki member named Deidara," I revealed, squeezing his hands as the mention stung. "You would have had a nephew, I believe. I named him Itasuke, he was given Uzumaki as a surname."
"Will you allow me to be the one to avenge you son's life?" Sasuke's question was abrupt and jarred me briefly. "I have an opportunity to reach my goal, and I expect to encounter Deidara on my way to our brother."
I spent long minutes deliberating and processing his request, finally dropping my gaze down to our hands before shaking my head in response. For the first few months after I'd lost Itasuke, my only desire had been to absolutely obliterate the creative terrorist for stealing a potential future from me. Many of my nights had been sleepless as I'd longed to perfect my new weapon but had not been physically fit enough to pursue it, my chance now a mere proposition away. Even more, a childhood dream now within my reach.
"I'm going with you," I declared, lifting my head to peer into his sable eyes, "Deidara's life is mine to take, but I want to help you take on Itachi. We were meant to do this together, he left only us for a reason. I need you to give me thirty minutes to prepare, wait here for me."
At first, he remained still before giving one succinct nod. We stood the moment we'd activated our Sharingan, hands falling away from one another as I faded away from my place.
X Naruto X
"All her note said was that she was going to make things right," I insisted at the early afternoon meeting in the Godaime's office, "for us and her family. She promised me that she'd come back home. I know that means she's going after Itachi, it was all she and Sasuke could think about when they were younger."
"It would seem that she still thinks often on it," Sai noted in his blasé fashion, "and with the rumors of Orochimaru's death, I wouldn't be surprised of she came into contact with Sasuke. What I'm really starting to wonder is if they'd had this planned for a long time, Akuri as an espionage to the leaf."
It was Sakura's robust grip on my shoulder that prevented me from assaulting the obsidian-haired painter and I settled for scowling, particularly irked at his suggestion as he himself was a spy. The silence of the room was disrupted by Tsunade rummaging through her file cabinet before slapping a healthily-filled record on her desk and beckoning Shizune closer to inspect it as her peer. The pair of them spent the next tense minutes reading through the file that I assumed to be the Uchiha in question. Yamato remained silent while our leader and her attendant studied the plethora of documents, crossing his arms and schooling his face into plainness. With as much dignity as I could muster, I took a deep breath and followed suit to attempt patience.
"Her grudge may or may not be with Itachi, but I do believe she may be gunning for another member of the organization. She could be after the one some of you have met, Deidara." Tsunade soon relinquished, finally addressing our squad before pressing on, "I'm not going to rule out a possible involvement with Sasuke, but until we know more she will be considered as AWOL. Not to be confused with rogue, but unaccounted for. I'm going to put together a dispatch team, they'll join you at the gates in one hour. I suggest you spend this time preparing, Shizune and I will see you off."
"Understood," Yamato replied for our team, our collective nods of respect toward the Hokage being met with her order of dismissal.
The moment we dispersed, I bolted for my home and made it to the door in what had to have been record timing. Once inside, I began gathering all of the provisions that I'd need for this reconnaissance operation and whatever tools I had lying around that could prove useful. It dawned on me soon after my bag had been packed that I could bring along a few of Akuri's things to enable ninja hounds to aid in the search, hastily rummaging through our laundry hamper to pull out the night shirt she'd worn to bed and stuff it into a side compartment. Before leaving for the gate, I walked over to the night stand where she'd left both the note and the amethyst necklace I'd given her that evening we'd gone to the spa. I'd surprised her with it at dinner, her whole face lighting up in adoration and gratitude at the gift.
"I'll bring you both home," I murmured in the quiet of our lonely home, "I swear."
With my declaration made, I locked the door behind me and made for the threshold of the village. A hearty portion of the Konoha Eleven were present and a wave of comfort rolled over me, having the confidence that this would be the optimal arrangement of shinobi to gather information on the Uchiha twins and potentially recover them as members of our village. We greeted one another and engaged in mission discussion, awaiting the send-off orders from our leader. Yamato and Kakashi were the last group members to arrive, the pair of them somberly approaching the rest of us with the Godaime and her assistant following close behind.
"Dispatch team," Tsunade's voice barked as she addressed our large squad, "your mission is to collect as much intel as you can on the Uchiha twins and their whereabouts, only if you remain uncompromised are you to engage or attempt to capture them. If you are able to do so without serious danger, bring them back to the Leaf. I want no casualties, everyone. Absolutely none."
With our orders delivered, the lot of us pushed forward.
X Akuri X
"I knew he had a sister, but I didn't think she'd be this...fit, such a nice body," Suigetsu nearly purred as he approached, arms folded nonchalantly behind his head and pointy-toothed grin on display. "Got a man, cuteness?"
"If you actually listened to Sasuke, you'd know that she is not single!" The redhead's fist connected with force to enunciate my marital status, her voice alone something to be unnerved by. She had to be Karin, as Sasuke had given me a short briefing on his team prior to meeting up at their rendezvous point. "You are such a creep, Suigetsu!"
The third and final member of team Hebi lumbered forward tentatively, brown eyes holding a warmness that I hadn't been expecting from a man fitting of Jugo's description. He stopped nearly two meters away and gave me a respectful nod of greeting.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Akuri. I'm Jugo, but I'm sure Sasuke told you a little bit about us."
"Not enough," I countered without venom, "but, likewise, Jugo."
With our introductions complete, Hebi's leader held our a hooded black cloak in my direction and I donned the garment obediently while we began walking forward toward the first of the several Akatsuki hideouts that had been marked on the map. For the first time in years, I walked side by side with my twin at the head of our entourage and I reveled in the joy of being so near to my other half. It was a bond that was difficult to accurately describe, as we hadn't come across many sets of twins over the course of our lives together or separately.
"Tell me what you can do with your Mangekyo," Sasuke requested, eyes still forward on our path.
"I can see things down to the molecular level and I can track them through the reverberation of visible sound waves as the atoms come into contact with one another," I clarified, facing his surprised gape with a proud grin, "you heard me use my voice trick when we last fought, I'm just manipulating the sound waves there. I can transport myself and up to two other people to a location of my choice, that's where it's hard to explain what exactly happens, but I call it phasing."
"That could prove useful," he uttered lamely, turning his gaze forward once more. "And you said that this awakened after the death of Itasuke?"
"At his burial, actually. I used to think it came from the death of your closest friend, but it seems to be any sort of significant loss," I informed, following suit and keeping my eyes forward to remain alert. "I lost a potential future, a son. That was the worst kind of grief to experience, big brother."
"We're going to ensure that you never have to experience that sort of pain again," he vowed, "and the rest of our family can rest easy knowing that we're going to make their killers pay. We're going to do great things, you and I."
With my heart feeling fuller than I'd have ever imagined it would on such an endeavor, I continued trekking with team Hebi for the rest of that day. Luckily, it wasn't until I'd laid down on my bedroll beneath the stars that evening that any sort of guilt or regrets started to pile up internally. My heart ached with homesickness for the partner that I'd left with nothing but a handwritten promise of my return and I feared what had been going through his mind when he'd woken that morning. I heaved a sigh and covered my eyes with my hands in the case that I couldn't hold back my tears, which had proved to be quite the feat since I'd welcomed Naruto back into my life after his unannounced and painfully long journey.
"I don't have honey, but I made you some tea," Sasuke's comforting voice startled me into a seated position with my right hand poised for a kunai, his half-smile was enough of a consolation for me to relax and make room on the bedroll for him to sit across from me to carefully accept the proffered mug. "It's been a while since I've made you tea, too."
"No kidding," I retorted after my first sip, unable to stop my nose from wrinkling in disgust, "I hate to be so rude, but stick to stabbing people. You're much better at that, brother."
For the first time in years, we laughed together.
X (life after death)
"How am I supposed to know how to braid your hair?" Sasuke's frustration at the requested task was palpable.
"Because I don't know how to do it, mom always did it for me," I responded, my voice breaking at the mention of our recently-decreased mother. I snatched the hairbrush out of his hands more aggressively than I'd meant to before releasing a long exhale of exasperation, "I'll just...never mind, Sasuke. I'll just wear it down today."
For a handful of seconds that felt too short, the grief and sadness permeated the room. It wasn't until Sasuke's grounding hand came to rest on my shoulder and he murmured our promise of exacting revenge that I gathered myself and feigned a smile over my shoulder, turning away to complete the brushing I'd started before I'd ever asked for hairstyling assistance. We took our turns brushing our teeth before toeing our sandals on and leaving the still-unfamiliar apartment we now called our home, a day of lectures and demonstrations awaiting us at the academy. Unintentionally, my pace hastened as my closest friend's apartment came into view and I wasn't aware of it until I found myself waiting at the base of the steps for my twin to reach me. Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed in mild annoyance, tilting his head toward Naruto's door in silent permission and rolling his eyes as I scurried up toward it.
"Naruto! It's me!" I called out as I rapt my small fist against the wood of the door. "It's time for school, lets go!"
The blond in question met me at the door with a gleeful beam, closing the door behind him and throwing his arms around me with joy. Naruto and my brother were the only people in the village that brought me any sort of joy following the death of the rest of my family, their closeness enough to stave off my anxieties of them joining the slaughtered Uchiha clan.
"I'm ready," he assured when he released my form, instead taking my hand in his to urge me back downstairs toward my waiting twin.
Our trio continued the stroll in the direction of the academy, our chatter drowned out by the sounds of the morning bustle as shops sold to their early birds and restaurants advertised free tea with breakfast. I was sorely tempted after the incredibly lackluster breakfast of toast and milk that Sasuke had served, but knew that even between the three of us there still wouldn't be enough money to purchase anything. When we passed the village's famed barbeque establishment, my heart squeezed as the memory of our last family dinner out of the home resurfaced. Itachi had been named Jonin and our parents deemed a night of being served such exquisite cuts of meat and delectable drink to be an appropriate gift, doubling as a familial celebration. I so desperately wanted to go back to that evening.
"You okay, sis?" Sasuke's question cut through the memory and I was released from the trance I'd seemed to be caught in. "You got pretty quiet over there."
"Yeah, just tired," I supplied automatically, "I didn't sleep the best, it was hot in my room last night."
The half-lie seemed to satisfy him, our walk to the academy reaching it's end as the opened gates drew near with the accompanying sounds of our fellow classmates chattering outside of the doors prior to the start of our lessons with Iruka. Parents hovered about, conversing with one another or watching their offspring with the loving eyes my mother used to cast on us whenever she would walk us to school. Naruto's small hand grasping my own brought a small smile to my face, meeting his own thoughtful grin the moment I looked up.
"You get used to it eventually," he comforted before puffing up his chest proudly, "besides, you've got the toughest guys in school to walk you here and back. You don't have anything to worry about, 'Kuri."
"My knights in shining armor," I mock-swooned, giggling when he caught me in the midst of a dramatic sway. "I wasn't gonna fall over you know, I've got really good balance."
"It looked like you were," he argued lightly, righting me and turning his attention to our sensei's voice calling for the class. "We should get going, Sasuke's already in line to go in."
We filed in nearly a dozen heads behind my twin, entering the auditorium-style classroom and scanning the double desks for an empty pair of chairs. The blond behind me spotted a seat first, jerking me to the left by my wrist to a desk in the middle of the arrangement on the second to last row from the top. Sasuke was further forward and to our right, eyes fixated on Iruka where he stood while awaiting the rest of his pupils to acquire seats. Naruto began to animatedly converse with Shikamaru the moment the spiky-haired shirk chose his place in front of us, the two of us exchanging a kind wave before engaging in the amicable discussion. The chattering amongst the students continued until the last one had found his place and Iruka called for attention.
With most of my distractions quieted, I paid rapt attention to the Chuunin instructor. I had to learn if I wanted to reach our goal.
X Naruto X
"You should really get some sleep, Naruto," Sakura advised gently that night after we'd set up camp, "we won't find them any faster if we aren't well-rested. I know how you must feel, but if there's anything I know about those two, they'll be alright."
"My fear is that they won't come back after this, or not the same, at least," I divulged, looking up from my task of splitting grass blades, "what if...what if killing Itachi breaks something deep inside, something I can't fix."
Sakura hunkered down beside me and placed a calming hand on my shoulder, her delicate pink brows creased in consternation but sea foam eyes filled with compassion. I hadn't seen her like this towards me singularly in a long time and it poured a warm resolve down to my core. The way my comrade looked at me instilled a new vigor to my soul and my hand clasped over hers. After years of knowing Sakura, there were moments where we didn't have to exchange words to convey thoughts or feelings and this was a comfortable one of those.
"The one thing that won't change is how she feels about you," she assured before issuing another pointed suggestion, "I'm going to get some shuteye, Captain Yamato is going to take the first watch. Get some rest, Naruto."
As though in compliance, I settled back on my bedroll and pulled the blanket flap over myself and gave the medical nin a comforting smile. When her form was no longer in my sight, I folded my arms behind my head to pillow my neck further and gaze heavenward. With the light from the campfire smothered and gone, I could make out nearly every star in the stratosphere and it brought me an unfamiliar, bitter sweetness. I'd spent hours upon hours searching the stars and naming constellations with Akuri in our childhood, grinning with delight whenever she'd located her favorite - O'rion's belt. When the three-dotted arrangement came into view, I smiled without mirth and thought about where she could be or what she was doing. Was there a chance that my partner was looking at the same constellation and recalling the same memories?
"There's Gemini," I murmured under my breath as though she were beside me in the darkness, pointing at the faint collection in the sky without raising my hand. After making the statement, a hot stream of liquid fell from my right eye without my permission and trickled down over the ridges of my ear before pooling in the outermost shell. All it took after that was a careful swallow of the ball forming in my throat to bring on more unwanted tears, the salty tracks audibly gathering and falling down to the cotton casing of the pillow below my head while my form trembled with the effort of weeping silently. This had been escalating inside for almost two days and I felt poisoned by it, crying being the only way to expel the toxins that seemed to congregate in my chest.
Sleep didn't come to me that night.