Hi, everybody! Sorry for the long update! I'm so sorry! I'm so focused in making the next chapter's fight scenes so the others are forgotten… and I haven't managed to make a decent one even until now -sighs-
Before we go to the story, I want to thank my greatest reviewers, Rhythmic, Kohaku-san, and Y.Mitsuki who are so faithful to my very ordinary fanfic. Thank you! Also for two new reviewers, kawai-kitsune22 and JayHun (glad my promotion in my other fic worked). I hope I won'tdisappoint you…
Ayame
Anxiety
Arashi had just returned from a solo mission when she threw herself on the comfortable couch in her apartment. Her clothes were dirty, stained by mostly dirt and blood, it wasn't her blood since she didn't seem to be wounded. She rested her sword on a small table beside the couch. She inhaled deeply, the mission was took longer than she anticipated but it wasn't a problem her though. She loosened her ponytail and made herself a fresh drink. She sipped her drink slowly as her mind wandered to her team.
She had started to teach her students ninjutsu that suited their abilities and bloodline limits. She taught two advanced fire element jutsus to Itachi that he was able to complete each in two weeks, she taught kage bushin to Shinji who needed a pretty long time to master it perfectly, while Ayame… she taught her a simple wind jutsu and about to teach her more. Ayame could grasp the basic of it easily and master it quickly, which was a surprise for people who didn't know her ability or her bloodline limit in this case. Wind element jutsu was considered the most difficult between all element jutsu since it required an excellent chakra control, complete concentration and the element itself was unstable, different from other elements. Ayame had those requirements, thanks to her bloodline limit.
Arashi rested her chin on her right arm thoughtfully. Ayame definitely inherited her father's bloodline limit, perfect control of her own chakra. Not an impressive bloodline limit indeed, compared to the Uchiha's Sharingan or Hyuuga's Byakugan. But being shinobi who used chakra most of the time, having a perfect control on their own chakra was a great advantage. Kyouki and his daughter didn't need to concentrate much to channel required chakra to perform jutsus. Just by thinking it, they could perform the jutsu easily, that's why Ayame didn't have any difficulty in ninjutsu and genjutsu. Even though so, being able to immediately grasp the concept just in few tries was pretty much of surprise. Ayame had her father's brilliance, one of the reasons why Kyouki was considered the most talented in his time, other than hard work and extensive training, which people often overlooked. It reminded her of Itachi, she smiled in amusement. In afterthought, she was stuck in teaching not only one prodigy, but three prodigies. She massaged her temple, her eyebrow twitched slightly. Somehow she had a feeling that she had been set up since the beginning.
On top of Hokage tower, Sarutobi once again felt some shivers down his spine, he sensed some kind of killing intent directed at him from afar.
-o-O-o-
In team 4's usual training ground, Ayame was helping Shinji with the Kage Bushin, he managed to make 5 perfect bushins, but he couldn't make more than that. It was pretty frustrating for Shinji, especially his teammates were able to learn the jutsu faster and perform it better. Ninjutsu was his weak point, he let out an exasperated sigh.
"Don't give up yet, Shinji. You can do it," Ayame smiled encouragingly to him. Shinji was sitting on the ground, his legs sprawled after performing Kage Bushin nonstop. He admired the girl more, probably she wasn't as skilled as him or Itachi but she was truly the best between them in ninjutsu and genjutsu. She was also a good teacher, giving them some pointers they need. Most of all, her ability to make people comfortable around her, he and Itachi didn't feel the need to act, they were simply themselves. They were getting to understand one another and feel comfortable in each other presence. Shinji dared to bet they had seen Itachi smiled much more often than anyone else. He even talked around them, heck around other people he barely spoke.
"What are you grinning at?" Itachi noticed his grin at him.
"Nothing, just remembering how many words you spoke before we get along like this"
Itachi twitched his eyebrow in question while Ayame chuckled,
"We nearly can count every word you spoke," she added.
"You really count it?" Itachi asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Nearly," Shinji answered, his grin became even wider. Itachi merely smiled and shook his head, he must admit he never talked this much to other people, except probably his mother and brother. He had never felt this comfortable around anybody. Everyone, especially his clan always looked up at him, unconsciously making him felt the need to fulfill their expectation, to be the perfect and strong Uchiha heir they wanted.
In team 4, he didn't feel that way, Arashi didn't treat him differently with his teammates, she scolded him if he did mistakes, gave simple compliments if he did well while most people would praise him. Shinji, even though they didn't have good start, had become one of few people who understood him best. Probably since both of them came from two of the strongest clans in Konoha, both of them exactly knew how it felt when people expected much from them. Although Shinji was much more straightforward about his thoughts than he was, it wasn't a problem for them to understand each other. Shinji was the only genin who was able to fight him equally. While Ayame, though she didn't come from any clan, she could understand both of her teammates well. She knew when to speak, when to keep silent and how to make them feel comfortable by simple gestures and encouraging words. In some time, she was like their little sister, sometimes acted childish and a little spoiled, in other time, she was like their older sister, scolding or lecturing them, and most of the time she was their reliable teammate in training and missions. Itachi was silently grateful that he was teamed up with them, and he knew his friends thought that way too.
"Enough rest! I'll create 10 perfect bushins!" Shinji quickly stood on his feet. Itachi and Ayame gave him space and encouraged him silently. Shinji took a deep breath and concentrated, remembering the important steps to create kage bushin,
"Kage bushin no jutsu!" he cried, after performing the right hand seals. Puff of smokes appeared and when the smoke cleared, there were 10 bushins standing around Shinji. The two of them helped to check the bushins together and gave a thumb-up for their teammate.
"Yatta!" Shinji exclaimed his success, while Ayame and Itachi merely watched their still vigorous teammate in amusement.
"He did well, considering Kage Bushin is a jounin-level jutsu," Ayame spoke.
"Indeed. Though I doubt he truly needs it in real combat, he would've knocked them out with taijutsu only," Itachi replied.
"Probably, but we need to prepare for any circumstances, we can't rely to one aspect only," Ayame who was already used to with the more open up Itachi replied back. In the beginning, she was still amazed that Itachi started to speak in sentences than one and he even openly complimented Shinji or her. It had been six months since team 4 was formed and five months since they had started to build the bond between them. They had more missions than any other genin team, and since their successful C-class mission, they had been entrusted with more C-class missions, though it didn't mean they didn't do anymore D-class missions. So far they did well, every mission could be completed successfully. They had seen their sensei fought using her sword and their respect grew toward her, she wasn't called the best sword specialist for nothing. Shinji stopped his antics and glanced toward one certain spot, his teammates followed,
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sensei." Arashi appeared before them from the other side of the training ground. She seemed had refreshed up, there was no sign of yesterday's mission fatigue. She wore her usual attire and carried her sheathed sword. Arashi slightly smiled to see her students' wariness, they could easily detect chakra and memorize people's chakra signature now. She was about to teach them more to fully hide their chakra, except Ayame who had learnt it as if it was like her second nature.
"Ohayo. It seems everybody has mastered their jutsu," the children nodded to her words, she nodded in approval.
"Then I'd like to see how you use it in real combat," the children were unprepared for that, mostly because they could imagine getting burnt or slashed by the wind or being beaten up by a bunch of Shinjis –hey, one Shinji was already hard enough, and a bunch, no way!-, and it wasn't a pleasant thought. Arashi noticed their grim expression, after all the children knew what the other's jutsu did and she must admit facing more than one Shinji was pretty… terrifying. When she thought of that, she was restraining a chuckle,
"I will stop you before any serious injuries are inflicted." The children slightly nodded in hesitation, they believed in their sensei.
"Now, started from Shinji and Itachi." As soon as their names were mentioned, the two took their position in the middle of the clearing while Ayame and Arashi stepped back in safe distance to watch from sidelines.
-o-O-o-
(A/n: I'm not good in making fighting scenes, and to make long story short here's the brief summary)
The children had completely mastered the jutsus, but they hadn't completely known when the right time to use it. Itachi didn't really have much problem but sometimes he forgot to control the amount of the fire, he burnt a quarter of the trees around the clearing and some of Shinji's clothes. Shinji at first was trying hard to make a lot of bushin until he felt the effectiveness only creating two or three bushins though in some time he still failed to create perfect bushin. Ayame faired a little better than her teammates, probably since she didn't rush to use her new jutsu instead she observed the situation first. Wind element type jutsu seemed to suit her fighting style well, being a long-ranged type fighter and her excellent chakra control. Though she was still vulnerable if the enemy managed to evade her attack and launched a counterattack. In average, she was satisfied with their achievements.
"Good. You need to get used to using them in real combat. Itachi, learn better to control your fire. Shinji, just concentrate making two or three perfect bushins, learn to do it swiftly and don't get easily distracted. Ayame, overcome the jutsu's weakness," she saw her students nodded in understanding.
"Alright. I think we're ready for another mission," she saw the children gleamed with anticipation when they heard the word mission. She smiled inwardly,
"It is a C-class mission. Our mission is to deliver a scroll. Our client is a daimyo from Asagiri. We're going to pick up the scroll from him and deliver it to Soramachi. The mission will only take a day and a night since Soramachi-Asagiri distance isn't too far. We're going to leave tomorrow from East Gate at 0700 sharp. Training dismissed, have a good night rest"
"Hai," her students nodded obediently.
-o-O-o-
Ayame prepared her gears in her room as usual, there was no useless thing that would only add more weight to her backpack. She was already getting used to the life of a shinobi that she barely knew when she was enrolled to the Academy. Missions and training had taken a lot of part in her life, something she was always looking forward to. But she realized she hadn't experienced the depth of it yet. They were still mere genin, she knew it would be harder if they were going to be a real shinobi.
She let out a sigh and sat close to the open window where she had complete sight of the village and the memorial. Her trained eyes could easily outline Yondaime's face on the memorial. She had known pretty much about her father from Sarutobi and all the books she could lay her hands on about him. She knew what her father had gone through until he achieved the title of the strongest shinobi in the village, until he was feared and respected by both allies and enemies… until he was dearly loved by his subordinates and the villagers. A small smile appeared on her face, she couldn't help to feel proud for having Kazama Kyouki, the Yondaime, as her father.
When she thought of the future somehow she felt her stomach turned. She had been feeling uneasy since she had the news of the mission. It seemed something was going to happen in the future, in the mission. She had this kind of feeling before, twice and she had learned to believe it. She clutched her heart that was beating rather rapidly to the thought and hoped she was mistaken. Then she sensed a familiar presence behind her door.
"Sarutobi-jiisan, you can come in," Ayame didn't bother to move her gaze. The door swung open, revealing Sarutobi in casual clothes, instead in his Hokage robes.
"I thought I've concealed my presence," Sarutobi smiled in amusement as he sat beside Ayame who now moved her gaze to the only father figure she had, smiling back to him.
"I suppose it can't be helped. It's my gift after all," she replied. She had found out her bloodline limit recently. Not much though, she realized Arashi didn't tell her everything. Before Sarutobi opened his mouth to speak, Ayame beat him to it,
"She only told me that my bloodline limit is related to chakra. Ability to control and sense it"
Sarutobi hid his amazement how easily Ayame read her like an open book. Then his thoughts returned to what Arashi had told Ayame about her bloodline limit. He must admit it was a wise decision. There was more to the bloodline limit than just perfect control of chakra. Knowing Ayame, he knew she noticed.
"So, another mission?" Sarutobi changed the topic smoothly.
"Yeah, delivering a scroll from Asagiri to Soramachi. I suppose it won't take a long time"
"…But it's not exactly what you were thinking before, is it?" Sarutobi asked her gently.
"Not really… Just thinking random things…" Ayame shrugged it off lightly. Sarutobi merely twitched his eyebrow slightly, he knew Ayame didn't think of random things, or she wouldn't seem so serious but he also knew when to drop it off.
"Okay, but you better get some rest, young lady. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow," Sarutobi pushed gently Ayame who was giggling to the calling toward her bed. Ayame didn't resist it, she obediently laid herself on the bed and Sarutobi pulled the blanket over her.
"Oyasuminasai," he kissed her forehead.
"Oyasuminasai," Ayame smiled and closed her eyes to sleep. Sarutobi watched his foster daughter peaceful face affectionately, when he was sure she was fully asleep he left the room after. What he didn't notice was that Ayame was holding her blanket tightly.
-o-O-o-
They met in the appointed place and time. Ayame and Itachi as usual were the ones who arrived first, followed by Shinji and lastly, their sensei, Arashi. Shinji and Itachi sensed that there was something troubling their youngest member, but Ayame hid it well so they dismissed the thought quickly. They headed to Asagiri first to retrieve the scroll, the daimyo himself handed the scroll to Ayame's surprise and her keen observation felt anxiousness and apprehension from him.
It is supposed to be an ordinary scroll, right? Ayame thought, but didn't speak her wonder or to be more exact, suspicion. Arashi didn't give a sign that she shared the same suspicion but Ayame noticed she did.
Only with a short break, they resumed their mission to Soramachi. The distance from Asagiri from Soramachi wasn't as far as their first C-class mission. With constant pace and without any break between they reached Soramachi right before the sun set. After asking the directions from the villagers they arrived in their destination. But unfortunately, the intended recipient wasn't present so they decided to wait for the scroll needed to be delivered in person. They found a comfortable inn to stay for the night, as usual they paid for one room and Arashi went out for some things that they weren't really aware of.
Ayame decided to sleep early, she was pretty exhausted after all the running from Konoha-Asagiri-Soramachi nonstop. She had another reason though, the feeling of uneasiness was still haunting her and she hoped after she had a good night rest the feeling would go away.
-o-O-o-
Ayame found herself awake in the middle in the night to her dismay. She tried to return to sleep but she couldn't. It seemed sleep evaded her and she still had that nagging feeling. She rubbed her eyes and sat herself on the bed. She scanned the room only to find her teammates' sleeping bags were still curled neatly in the corner of the room. She frowned, then where her teammates were? She decided to look for her teammates.
She could easily sense her friends' presence and she followed their chakra signature to the backyard of the inn. It appeared to be a beautiful garden, she inhaled the strong scent of earth and trees. She loved that scent much, she was a nature lover. When she saw her friends' backs who were sitting on a small grassy mound comfortably, she easily hid her presence. Itachi had one of his knee propped up, his hand rested on it. Shinji was lying on the grass, his hands on the back of his head. Both of them were staring at the starry night, and none of them spoke. Ayame walked to them stealthily and stopped when she was right behind them.
"What are both of you doing here?" Ayame saw her friends were slightly surprised to her sudden appearance, "If I was an enemy, I could kill you easily. Fortunately, I'm not and will not"
She sat herself between the two boys who merely looked at her in amusement. She moved her gaze toward the heavens, it was a beautiful night indeed. The sky was clear, showing the bright light of the stars and the crescent moon. She felt the breeze playing with her short hair.
"It's a beautiful night"
"Yep," Shinji spoke his agreement.
"So, how do you end up here?" Ayame asked without moving her gaze.
"We can't sleep," Itachi provided an explanation.
"We decided to take a walk in the garden and here we are," Shinji spoke casually.
"Why don't you wake me up then? I'd really like to join you," Ayame asked, she was a little bit disappointed that they didn't wake her up.
"You seemed sleeping peacefully," Itachi simply answered.
"What were you talking about?" Ayame understood their reasoning and changed the topic smoothly.
"About everything.. and nothing," Shinji grinned.
"Really?" Ayame twitched her eyebrow teasingly. Itachi looked at both of his teammates and couldn't help to smile. He felt truly comfortable around them. Ayame realized Itachi's gaze and smiled kindly to him,
"What are you thinking?"
"Just… feeling glad," Itachi couldn't really describe it.
"Why's that?" Shinji sat upright, getting interested in Itachi's words.
"I used to think how hard it was to find true friends… who see and accept me as I am, not as the Uchiha Itachi. I'm glad that I found it"
"Why do you think it's hard?" Ayame asked gently.
"…I spend most of my time training and studying," Itachi answered.
"For the clan… right?" Shinji moved his gaze skyward. Itachi didn't reply, he simply looked to the grass underneath them. Ayame looked at Itachi sympathetically, she knew how high the clan's expectation to their heir was.
"You know Itachi…," Shinji spoke, his eyes were still on the beautiful dark night sky, "There are times when you need do what you want instead what the clan want. They should understand that. They shouldn't forget that you're an individual, you have your own will. You lead yourself, no one should order you what to do and decide for you"
"True," Ayame agreed, slightly surprised to hear such wise words from Shinji, "But we must not forget we are not living on our own, we need others, as much as others need us. We influence one another. It's not wrong trying to fulfill the clan's expectation but don't forget yourself. What exactly you want for yourself, you have the right to be selfish in certain times"
"Yeah, that's totally right!" Shinji chuckled, he moved his gaze to a surprised Itachi, "Try to stand up for yourself. Everyone deserves to be happy, Itachi, you're not an exception"
"For the first time in history, Shinji is right," Ayame remarked.
"Hey, do you mean I'm always wrong?" Shinji protested.
"No. It's just the first time you say something smart," Ayame spoke casually. Shinji twitched his eyebrows in irritation, he inched closer to Ayame his hands raised in front of him. Ayame knew what Shinji was about to do, but Shinji was much faster, he tickled Ayame on her sides.
"Why you…" Shinji kept tickling Ayame, who was giggling uncontrollably. Itachi was restraining a laugh when he saw the scene unfold. At last Shinji stopped his assault, grinning in satisfaction as Ayame looked angry though she was smiling.
"You. Shouldn't. Do. That. Again," Ayame threatened Shinji, "Or I'll secretly rub itching balm on you that won't last for weeks." The grin disappeared from Shinji's face, knowing well that Ayame was capable of doing that.
"Oh-kay, I won't," Shinji waved his hands in surrender. Ayame moved her attention to Itachi who was watching in amusement.
"You deserve to be happy, Itachi. You can do it without exchanging it with other people's happiness, or in your case, the clan's. We believe you can," Ayame spoke in the team's behalf.
"Thank you," Itachi smiled gratefully to his friends, his best friends. Ayame and Shinji exchanged relieved looks, Itachi had their full trust and support for always.
Author's Note: Duh, I really want to have that kind of friend… Someone you can rely on and accept you for what you are… So, I suppose it makes you wonder why in the end, Itachi changes to the Itachi we know in the manga. Oh yes, this is not an AU. Unless you want me to change the entire Naruto universe :) Which is not really impossible in fanfic world XDD See ya next chapter! I'll do my best to make the story more interesting! Don't forget to leave a review!