So. Normally I do the "thank you for reviews" after the chapter's conclusion, but the ending of this chapter... Well, it'll ruin the flow, so I think I'll skip it this time. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be something else entirely. But after seeing everyone's responses to last chapter, and thinking it over... Well, I decided that this would work better. This chapter was written last night, so my editing isn't up to my usual standards since it's still fresh in my mind. That said, I really, really, REALLY want to hear everyone's feedback on this chapter. I've been waiting for this scene for a very long time.
On a final note: in my estimations based on Itachi and Sasuke's birthdays (June 9 and July 23) and their five-year age gap, the Uchiha Clan Massacre happened most likely in early to mid July, since Itachi was 13 and Sasuke was 7 at the time. I'm not sure I mentioned it in the story, but I happened to choose the date July 11th as a headcanon date, which is today's date. With that in mind, I honestly couldn't have picked a better date for this chapter.
Thank you for reading this in advance. I look forward to seeing your reactions.
Chapter 59
"Sometimes, there are things you just shouldn't know."
The first time Akari approached Inuzuka Kiba, her friendship with Hinata had only been a week dead and all the girls in the academy had silently snubbed her as a snob. Being alone didn't suit the bubbly and extroverted Akari, and while eating with Masaru was fine, she needed more than her beloved brother. No, Uchiha Akari thrived from being around others, and so for that reason she decided to approach the loudest boy in class besides the blond prankster her brother had claimed as a friend.
That, and one other reason.
"Doesn't the Inuzuka clan have dogs?" she asked bluntly. The brown-haired boy turned from his lunch as they sat on the playground, eying her warily.
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Where's yours?"
"What's it matter to you?" Kiba snapped irritably.
"I want to pet one," Akari replied, perfectly somber and serious. "I always try to pet Mom's cats, but they don't like it. Mom says dogs like being petted more."
"Are you kidding me? Inuzuka ninken aren't pets you just play with, they're ninken! Nin-ken!" The Inuzuka boy scowled and wrinkled his nose at her, the red fangs on his cheeks pulling with the motion. "If you're just here 'cause you think dogs are cute, then buzz off and talk to the other girls or something! I only talk to real ninja." With that he turned back to his lunch with a huff, effectively snubbing Akari. Because of that he didn't notice how her expression suddenly turned eerily blank, her black eyes flat and cold.
He also didn't see her suddenly lunge for him.
He yelped as the Uchiha girl jumped and latched onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck in a headlock. He clawed desperately at her arms to get her to release him, struggling to push her off, but Akari wouldn't let go that easily. "You're not even a real ninja!" she growled. "We're just academy students! Stop being a snob!"
Jerking her full weight to the side she caused him to topple over easily, still clinging onto him even as they crashed and partially pinned her left arm under his side. Kiba grunted at the impact, his nails digging deep into her arms as they crashed, but still she held her grip. "Dammit, how the hell are you still holding on!?" he demanded angrily.
"I've spent seven years wrestling with my brother almost every day! This is nothing!" As they continued squirming on the ground other students watched on in silence, a quiet murmur rising among the small crowd that had gathered. Kiba managed to roll over even with Akari still clinging to him, and as he did she spied Masaru among the watchers. Their eyes met for a brief moment, black on black—
And then Masaru woke up, his body jerking with a sharp intake of breath. Rolling onto his side, he groggily peeled open an eye to see Akari peacefully slumbering in her own futon, her blankets mostly kicked off and her limbs messily splayed around her. Masaru peeked at her silently, his hand unconsciously flitting to his left arm. Even now he could feel a small pinch from sharp nails digging into Akari's arm, his own arm just a bit sore and numb from being crushed.
Akari shifted, her head rolling to the side and one eye barely sliding open, her black iris barely visible in the darkness. "'aru?" she mumbled sleepily, barely audible and heavily slurred. "Wh'way? Y'druh't?" 'Why are you awake? You dream too?' He translated her sleep-addled speech easily, closing his eye and giving a minuscule nod.
"Yeah," he whispered, just as quiet and only slightly more clearly. "Kib gra'vyu. Arms're. Saw me. Weird." 'Kiba grabbed you. Arms sore. Saw me. Weird.' Akari made a quiet hum and fell silent, and when Masaru slit open a single eye he could see her face perfectly placid, already fast asleep once more.
Exhaling quietly, his eyelids slid shut a final time and his breathing smoothed out, sleep claiming him once more.
Masaru stared down Kiba coolly, his gaze cold and nearly apathetic as the tomoe of his Sharingan slowly spun. "Why did you want to come to our room?" he questioned, voice calm and casual. Behind him he could hear Akamaru growling, a low rumble ever-present in the room in response to his partner's nervous state, but Masaru ignored it in favor of focusing on the other boy.
With his Sharingan active he could see the tight tension in Kiba's muscles, the beads of perspiration forming on his neck and the miniscule flicker of his pupils as he swallowed. He could see hints of fear and nervousness, so alien on the normally bold and brash Inuzuka, but he didn't particularly care.
For his part Kiba felt every bit the part of trapped prey, his instincts screaming at him to run with his tail between his legs. It wasn't even the Sharingan that disturbed him so much, but his expression. Aloof and calculating, his face deceptively casual while just radiating a quiet sense of confidence and threat. Though he had only really started hanging around Masaru over the past month or so, the Uchiha's current demeanor did not match up with the awkward and shy boy he knew at all.
No, it did match up with one detail. It reminded Kiba of the change when they would spar—the sudden calm that would wash over Masaru, his moves confident and sure. Seeing that sort of look now, what should be outside a battle—it sent a prickle of unease down his spine, making him swallow harshly. He glanced at Akamaru at his spot behind Masaru, the small dog's hackles raised as he kept growling at the other boy. Though their gazes didn't meet, seeing his partner there, willing to back him up, gave Kiba a small burst of strength.
"You know, don't you," he said lowly, his voice strained and heavy as he turned back. He flinched when Masaru inclined his head, his face still placid and blank.
"Know what?" he asked, knowing perfectly well what Kiba meant, but he wouldn't say it out loud.
A flicker of resolve glinted in the other boy's eyes, his lips curling back slightly in the beginnings of a snarl fueled by nerves more than anger. "Akari," he grit out, the name forced and tight. "She—she smelled like citrus. Citrus and smoke, sometimes, but mostly just citrus."
Even as he spoke he could remember it clearly, the faint aroma of oranges and lemons and other citrus fruits that always clung to the girl. From the first time they met, when she'd dragged him down into the dirt and began wrestling, Akari had always carried that citrus-laden scent. It had been sweeter than he was used to, his clan always reeking more of the forest and dirt and dogs while other boys at the academy tended to smell of sweat and dirt.
Kiba knew it was a partially artificial scent, created by soaps and shampoos, but it had been more natural than the stuff other girls used. It had been natural enough that after she died he couldn't go to the market with his ma and sister for months on end, the aroma of oranges always sending him into a dark mood. They hadn't even been friends for three months before that bloody night, but that had been enough.
Akari had been pack, pure and simple, and Kiba would always remember his pack.
Masaru hummed, his thoughts flickering to the bathroom and the bottles of orange-scented shampoos and soaps that lined the shelves. "She always liked oranges," he reminisced, and smiled as he added, "She usually hated soft fruit though. Couldn't stand peaches and most berries. We used to argue about it for hours, I never could get that."
He laughed lightly, fully aware of how Kiba stood even more on edge as he stared at him. By this point Akamaru's growling had tapered off, the canine making a sound slanted more towards confusion than aggression. Masaru couldn't blame him. Akari had been before the dog's time, he had no background about Akari other than stories Kiba might have shared.
He turned his head slightly to glance at her half of the room, his gaze softening. He and Akari always had such different tastes. For all she liked to complain about the other girls at the academy for not taking their training more seriously, Akari had by no means been a tomboy. Her bookshelf contained a scattering of romance books and manga, the stuffed animals fluffier than his own and ready for cuddling. That had been the reason she approached Kiba, he remembered—Akari just wanted to pet a dog.
As far as he knew, she never got the chance.
His reminiscing smile faded as he turned back to Kiba, his face blank once more. "I don't like coming here," he said bluntly. "It feels too empty." Standing in their old bedroom left him in a melancholic mood. It made him highly aware of her absence, the missing spark in his life.
He didn't like it.
"Why did you want to come here?"
"Mom?"
Masaru tugged on his mother's shirt hesitantly as she stood at the kitchen sink, scrubbing the dirty dishes left from breakfast. The woman hummed lightly, not turning her gaze away from her work but inclining her head slightly towards him to indicate he had her attention. "Yes, Masaru-chan?" The small boy paused, not so much out of hesitation or nervousness but simply needing to look for words.
"Akari and I had the same dream again," he told her.
"Oh?" Ryoko set aside her current plate to pick up another, rinsing off the remaining crumbs before dousing it in soap. "What happened this time?"
"She was at the doctor's office getting a shot." His face screwed in discomfort as he recalled the memory, rubbing his arm. "It hurt." His mother paused at this point, turning curious black eyes towards him.
"You felt Akari getting the shot?" Masaru bobbed his head in silent confirmation, still rubbing the smooth skin on his own arm. "Was it just in the dream, or did you feel it yesterday?"
He frowned at that. Faintly he recalled feeling a sting in his arm sometime yesterday while his sister had been gone, but it had been dull and brief. "It was stronger in the dream," he finally settled on. His mother looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, seeming to contemplate something. Eventually she smiled, turning back to the dishes with a fond hum.
"The wonders of twin telepathy will never cease to amaze me," she mused aloud, a note of quiet awe in her voice. "You two have such a wonderful connection."
"What's twin telepathy?" The question came from Akari this time, still sitting at the kitchen table and fiddling with a wrapped popsicle. Ryoko set down the dish briefly and strode over, neatly swiping it away before she could open the wrapper.
"Nope, too early for sweets," she declared cheerfully as the five-year-old whined in dismay, stowing the icy treat in the fridge. "Back to the point, twin telepathy is a special bond between twins that lets you share pain and dreams."
"Are all twins like that?" Masaru asked, looking at her curiously, and Ryoko tapped her chin with a thoughtful hum.
"I don't think so. Hiashi and Hizashi didn't really seem to have it, and they were identical twins."
"Then how do you know we have it?" Akari questioned, still pouting over her lost treat. Ryoko smiled at her, bending over slightly and holding a hand over one side of her mouth.
"Because you're not the first twins in this family," she confided in a stage-whisper. The twins both perked up at that, looking at her with matching looks of sparkling curiosity. Pleased with their reaction, she straightened and nodded. "My mother and Aunt Natsume were twins, and before them my grandfather, Kagami, was the only child out of five who wasn't a twin."
"You have an aunt?" Masaru asked, at the same time Akari blurted, "You have a mom?" Akari's question elicited startled looks from both her family members, Masaru looking confused and Ryoko just staring at her in mild shock. After a moment the adult regained her composure and laughed lightly.
"Yes, Akari-chan, I had a mother," she confirmed with a teasing smile, laughing more when Akari pouted and shrunk back in embarrassment. Ryoko turned back to the sink to resume scrubbing the dishes, her smile fading slightly as she continued. "She died when I was young, well before you two were born. I was never very close to her, I'm afraid. Aunt Natsume was the one who told me about their dreams. They used to dream about each other's days, just like you two."
Masaru listened with rapt attention, leaning forward. Their mother never spoke of her family, and in the small bubble their family lived in he had never thought about the lack of grandparents or other close relatives. His mind flitted back to the graves of Uncle Obito and their father, providing a reasonable explanation for their absence that left him quiet and somber.
A glance at Akari told him she'd reached a similar conclusion, but the gleam of curiosity in her eye couldn't be snuffed by just that. "What kind of dreams did they have?" she asked, leaning forward. "Did they feel pain too?" Their mother hummed, back still to them as she poured soap over another dish.
"Oh, it was probably the same as you two. They'd see memories from each other's days, and sometimes they could sense if the other got hurt." At this point Ryoko paused, her hands stilling briefly. "Well... There was one story though. Aunt Natsume said that my mother got captured on a mission, but no one else knew. She could tell because she could feel my mother's pain and dreamed about her, she even knew where it was. So Aunt Natsume ended up sneaking away from her own team to go find her."
Two pairs of sparkling eyes bore into her back, both five-year-olds leaning forward expectantly. "Did she save her?" Masaru asked breathlessly, and Ryoko glanced back at them with a bright smile.
"Of course," she confirmed cheerfully. "If she didn't, I wouldn't be here now." She offered a small shrug as she rinsed off the plate, adding, "You're a bit young for me to tell you all the details. That said, they had a special bond. Years later, Aunt Natsume even sensed when my mother died." Stacking the plate onto the counter, she turned to them with a softer, more gentle smile. "You two have such a wonderful connection, just as strong as theirs, and their aunts and uncles before them. I envy you two, you know.
"As long as you have that connection, you'll never be alone."
Masaru stared at Kiba silently once more as he awaited his answer, watching impassively as the boy grew even more rigid at his query. "I..." Kiba trailed off, gulping yet again. "I... That's..."
He couldn't finish the sentence, shuddering too much under Masaru's gaze. Those eyes held no malice, no anger or loathing like he'd expect with such a hostile atmosphere. They showed no emotion, nothing he could read at least, and he had to wonder if that just made it worse. Not for the first time he thought back to how Masaru behaved in spars.
Mentally, he found himself reviewing his odds if Masaru were to suddenly attack. While Kiba and Akamaru had the numbers advantage, they tended to match pretty evenly during spars. What made him wary was that during spars they held strictly to certain rules to hold back—and more importantly, he hadn't been keeping up with Masaru since the invasion. If Masaru had been training during that time, and if he could keep Foxfire longer now—
Kiba's thoughts suddenly broke off as he realized just what he was thinking, sucking in a sharp breath. "Shit," he breathed out shakily, and Masaru blinked.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, perfectly polite and placid, and Kiba shot him a dark look.
"Everything," he grit out, his voice more gravely than he'd expected. Just now, he'd been looking at Masaru as a threat. They were supposed to be allies—friends, even—he shouldn't be thinking like that. Yet Akamaru had begun growling again, and Masaru still had that unsettlingly empty look on his face that made his hair stand on end. They shouldn't be enemies, but right now Masaru gave him distinctly enemy-type vibes.
Naturally Masaru remained silent as Kiba seemed to get consumed by his thoughts, perfectly patient and willing to let the boy organize it. As it stood neither of them had any plans for the day, beyond a vague knowledge Masaru should go back to the Haruno household after their "team bonding" time ended. With the upheaval after Hinata's departure things would be quite chaotic among the upper echelons, and he'd been reasonably certain no one had followed them.
No one would think much if a couple of genin and a ninken disappeared for a few hours. It would get a bit trickier if only one of them went back though, but if it came down to that, Masaru could work with it. He wouldn't like it and he'd probably want to vomit once all was said and done, but he'd do it anyway.
Right now, Kiba was not his friend. Kiba was a threat, pure and simple. And threats either needed to be eliminated, or else silenced—peacefully, if possible.
Kiba's gaze flickered towards his partner behind Masaru, staring at Akamaru for a moment as if silently communicating with their eyes. His mouth formed a thin line as he turned back to the Uchiha boy, seeming to reach a decision. He finally rose from the floor to his full height, no longer looking up at Masaru like a submissive puppy but instead meeting his gaze levelly as an equal.
"Akari smelled like citrus," he repeated, more firmly this time. "She always used the same stuff."
Masaru blinked once, inclining his head to the side. "And?" he pressed, and Kiba's fists tightened at his side.
"Back during the invasion," he started lowly. "When we were looking for Hinata. I know I smelled it—that exact same citrus." He scowled, nose wrinkling at the memory of citrus intermingling with Hinata's lilac and lavender somewhere beneath the thick stench of blood and death, and stared Masaru straight in the eye.
"Akari's alive, isn't she?"
Kiba's words rang through the twins' childhood bedroom, leaving heavy silence in its place as even Akamaru fell quiet at the stunning implications. For a long time, Masaru didn't respond, just continued to meet Kiba's anxious stare with a flat one of his own. Finally, he exhaled and dipped his head forward, his mouth twisting into a mocking smile as he looked at Kiba with callous red eyes.
"Congratulations," he drawled, offering a sarcastic clap that matched his condescending gaze. "You managed to figure out the secret not even the Hokage knows. And now you need to convince me it will stay that way, or I'll have to kill you."
