I eyed the setup on the table critically. I had splurged a bit on some coconut milk I found in the market (more expensive, considering it was taken from and made in some villages by the beaches that trailed into the cliffs of Wind Country). I needed it to try recreating a recipe I had in my previous life. Boiled some chicken with it, along with some green chili and corn. Not quite right… but close enough. Anyway, in case that flopped, I had grilled squid at the ready too, stuffed to bursting with onions and tomatoes.
All this was a ploy to finally get Naruto talking to me again.
A week had passed since I forced Naruto to own up to his prank. Seven miserable days of Naruto stomping around our home, speaking only when necessary in the morning and turning away from me at night. I never knew how much Naruto's babbling filled my life until it was gone.
I spent those days enduring what could only be a child's temper tantrum. I couldn't be the first to break, after all. I was the one teaching him a lesson. I suppose I underestimated how stubborn Naruto was. Considering what I knew of how he'll grow up, that was a stupid mistake to make.
But god, we've never fought this long before. Even the tantrum he threw about us sleeping in separate rooms—which was an argument I lost, by the way—only lasted a day.
It was when our week's worth of detention finished that I decided enough was enough. The silence hadn't made Naruto crack any, but it was easy to see the anger on his face fading into deeper and deeper misery. It only made my own hidden misery worse.
So, a special dinner.
Sure enough, I caught Naruto's eyes widening before he tried to school his expression back into a scowl. A scowl that didn't sit well on his face at all.
I pretended not to notice. We ate in silence, the way we've had all week in spite of my attempts to keep up a conversation.
For example:
I watched Naruto squint at the odd, very un-Japanese taste of the coconut-milk chicken, chew, then start eating faster.
"You like it?" I asked, my voice quiet.
His face immediately shut down into something sullen. He grunted.
I sighed and shoved a bit of chicken in my own mouth. It was chewy, slightly sweet, but it needed a little more oomph. Maybe more salt. Somehow, I got the feeling that eating with chopsticks changed the taste a little.
I put the chopsticks down. "Naruto," I said. He looked up, his expression wary. "We need to talk."
His cheeks puffed out, as if his stubbornness was rising to fill them. He kept chewing. But at least he didn't look away. I took what I was given and continued. "It's been a week, Naruto," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "You have to talk sometime."
His eyes narrowed. The chewing slowed to something deliberate.
I gritted my teeth, then forced myself to relax. "Can you at least tell me what you were thinking when you pranked Hinata? I thought I told you—"
"Why do you care so much?" he burst out. His tanned face boiled red with anger. My jaw dropped. "I'm the one who got in trouble, but you're more worried about her!"
"Because you hurt her!" Indignation made my voice rise. "I told you pranks are fine so long as you don't hurt anybody!"
"But she hurt you, dattebayo!" he yelled. "She made you cry! So why do you care what happens to her?"
I was shocked into silence. There were tears brimming in his eyes, as his lips wobbled in an ugly little grimace.
"Why do you care more about her than me?"
His voice was small.
"Oh no."
My frustration died in a blink. I scrambled off my chair and ran to Naruto's side. I threw my arms around him as he tumbled off his seat and started bawling. They were the sharp, desperate cries of a child holding a burden too long and too deep.
"Oh, Naruto." I had no idea what to say. Guild curled like a poison snake in my heart. "Naruto, I didn't- that's not what I—"
But I had, hadn't I? I was so worried about the Hyuuga, and the Uchiha, and the politics of the village, that I just dumped it all on my brother—my own brother, who didn't know any better. Who learned that pranking was the way to get back at people because I let him. The same person who just told him to own up to it without explaining anything.
All this crashed down on me with the weight of a sack of bricks. I slumped to the floor, cradling Naruto's shaking form.
"I'm sorry." Tears pricked at my own eyes, the shock of hurting the only person I had in this world without knowing hitting deep. "Naruto, I'm sorry, I wasn't—" thinking. Excuses. "I didn't mean it that way," I said softly. "I'm sorry that's how it made you feel. I'm sorry." Apologies that meant nothing, because he was hurt here. Right now.
"Why'd you get me into trouble?" Naruto whimpered. His voice was the smallest I'd ever heard it. Not even when we were four and he asked why Miyagawa-san was so mean. Not even when we turned six and he asked why people didn't like us. "I thought—I thought we were family. I thought we stick together. We don't leave anybody behind."
"We don't. I'm sorry." I held him close, feeling him tremble under my hands. "I won't do it again, I promise."
It was a promise I'd break several times over, in the far future. But I believed it then.
Slowly, his sobs died. I dried my tears on his shoulder. After a few more moments, he whispered, "Why?"
I closed my eyes. How to explain politics to a six-year-old? More importantly, how to explain why it mattered? I couldn't say it didn't, because it did. To me. And to the greater world in general.
…But, now that I thought of it, did it really matter? Did it really matter to us?
No.
The Plot tugged at the edges of my mind. What would happen if I just let things happen as they would? How would a feud with the Hyuuga have affected the Uchiha, who should be facing Danzo's own influence against them right now?
Shit. The Massacre. When did it—
Naruto sniffled.
I cast my mind back to the incident. "I…" Why did I care so much? "Because I like Hinata," I said slowly. "And I felt bad for her because she got hurt."
Naruto pulled back to glare at me. "But she made you cry -ttebayo," he repeated stubbornly.
"Even if she made me cry." I patted his back. The familiar pang of hurt at Hinata's face hit, and passed. "But… it's not her I'm angry at. It's not her fault."
"I-I can't p-play with y-you anym-more,"
"Why not?" Naruto demanded.
"Because there are times in our life when we have to do things we don't like." I wiped some of the tears from his cheeks as I thought. His nose wrinkled, but he didn't pull away. Something eased inside me. "Like… like going into the closets, because Miyagawa-san told us to." Not the best analogy, but… it was the closest I could get through association. "She said—she said she couldn't play with me anymore. Not she didn't want to. And I cried because—because I wish we could."
Naruto fell silent. I rubbed his arms, letting him think. I knew it was something he'd understand. It just so happened it was the first time I was the one to cry over it. "But… I didn't tell you to 'fess up because of Hinata," I said, speaking as I thought. "I told you to 'fess up because Sasuke was going to get in trouble."
Naruto twitched. "And?"
I glanced at his face. There was a dip in his tone there, a taste of bitterness I didn't expect. He just kept glaring at a spot somewhere off my arm. "He's your friend, isn't he?" I waited for him to nod. He jerked his head downward. "Well, friends are like family. We don't leave them behind." Something about his silence was starting to worry me. I shrugged. "Sure we got in trouble, but if we didn't speak up, Sasuke would have been in bigger trouble. He'd be in trouble with the school, with his family, and with Hinata's family."
Naruto's gaze snapped to mine. "Why?" he asked, surprised.
"Because he's part of a clan. And big clans mean big responsibilities." I sounded out the word slowly. The library visits were helping my vocabulary a lot. And Izumo-san—the librarian—was sweet, in a kind of bored, gruff way, helping me with the pronunciation. "They have to be nice to each other because… we're all a team, under the village. Under the Hokage." Amazing. Who needed teachers to indoctrinate my brother when I was doing it myself? "So, if Sasuke pranked Hinata, Hinata's family would think Sasuke's family was being nasty."
Naruto looked down. His lip wobbled. "Is that why Sasuke won't talk to me anymore?" he asked.
"What?" I stared at him. He squirmed, looking miserable. "What do you mean he isn't—what?"
It was the first I had heard of anything of the sort. Like I said, it wasn't like Naruto had been very chatty with me for the past week. But he also had taken to avoiding me during lunch time, so I hadn't noticed Sasuke disappearing from our company or anything. In fact, I had assumed they were spending time together because Naruto didn't want to spend it with me.
"Since when?" I demanded.
"Since the prank," Naruto replied. His tears were starting again. He scrubbed at his eyes, done with crying for the day. "He said… he said that because of me, his mom and dad got really, really mad at him. That it was my fault. And I—" He scowled, a familiar light entering his eyes. Oh, dear, pigheaded Naruto. "I told him it wasn't my fault, that I didn't make him help me, dattebayo! And he got really, really mad. And then he wouldn't talk to me anymore."
"Have you tried apologizing?" I asked gently. This was serious. This was not the time to think of teeny, round-eyed Uchiha Sasuke throwing a tantrum. I will not laugh.
Naruto squirmed.
"You did get him into trouble," I reminded him. "The prank was your idea. So even if you didn't make him help you, you still gotta apologize."
Naruto looked up at me, his eyes big and shimmery. "Do I have to?" he whined, puppy eyes on max.
A snort escaped me. "Yes, you do. If you want to stay friends with people, you have to apologize when you do something wrong. Because we all make mistakes. The important thing is you make up for it."
Naruto looked doubtful. "Alright." He nodded, his conviction growing. "I won't get caught again," he promised. "Believe it!"
I choked on a laugh. That was one way to look at it.
The weekend passed in general peace. We did the groceries together, and worked on our homework together. I used my paper to explain things to Naruto, which meant I never forgot to write my solution down, and even gave me a reason to crumple it up with hearty erasures every so often. I refused to let Naruto copy my answers, which also allowed me to still mess some stuff up while he'll –hopefully—get a better, and more honest score.
I really didn't want to say this about my brother, but he didn't need my help to do worse in class.
He loved doing the daily exercises our teachers taught us to do at home. Anything physical, he'd jump at it, with an enthusiasm that admittedly made his swings go wide and his aim about as precise as a weather forecast. But the minute we had to sit down and think?
Granted, I didn't have as good a time with that either. My attention would wander just as quickly as his would. But I still made an effort, because I knew why I should. Naruto, being an actual six-year-old, didn't care as much.
After our miserable week, the weekend was bright and cheerful. I even treated us to some pre-made teriyaki chicken don from a nearby grocery store for Sunday's dinner. I tried to get us into an actual donburi restaurant but…
The less said about that, the better.
I hadn't explored far enough to find Ichiraku Ramen yet. I'll definitely bring Naruto there someday.
Monday morning left me cheerful and optimistic. I waved Naruto goodbye before heading into my classroom, leaving him to go to his. The last I saw of my brother was him beaming brightly, before scurrying away.
Lunchtime with Shino found Naruto trudging over, his shoulders low and his face scrunched up in anger and misery. My heart dropped into my gut.
I ran up to Naruto and threw my arms around him. His hands came up and gripped my hoodie, while he buried his face in my shoulder. He didn't sob, but I could feel some tears soaking through the cloth.
Shino had leapt to his feet as well, but stayed off to the side, close enough to be with us but still too far to touch. He shuffled his feet. "Something is wrong," he stated, his usually-deadpan voice tinged with concern. "Why? Naruto-san appears to be crying."
Even for Shino, that was a terribly obvious thing to say. My heart went out to the poor, awkward boy, even as Naruto jerked his head up. "'M not!" He glared, then sniffed.
"Then perhaps you could explain to me why your face is wet."
Naruto's cheeks puffed out. "Naruto was going to make up with Sasuke today," I said quickly, before he could take offense and things devolved into a fight. Shino gave me a look. "Sasuke-kun," I amended with a wince. Sasuke had been just Sasuke in my head for so long, remembering to stick to what was actually polite was killing me. "But…" I glance at Naruto, waiting for his story.
"He just went 'hn' and crossed his arms—" Naruto did a ridiculously good expression of Sasuke's hn and scowl. "—and when I said it again he just turned around and put his chin up—" Up went his chin. "—so I got mad and I said 'Fine! Be that way, dattebayo!' and I left."
"I see." Shino adjusted his glasses. I hugged my brother again, only to whip around when he continued, "That makes sense."
"What?" Naruto and I exclaimed, a dattebayo?! trailing after.
Shino shuffled again, disconcerted at the attention. "Why?" he said, falling back on his own verbal tic in defense. "Because the Uchiha are known for being…" He paused. "…selective of who they befriend."
"What do you mean?" I demanded, dread crawling its way into my chest.
Shino tilted his head. He sounded sorry he brought it up at all. "They are not… known for being close to those outside the ninja clans in Konoha."
"You mean Sasuke doesn't want to be friends with me coz I don't have a clan, dattebayo?" Anger blazed in Naruto's eyes. The hurt was still there, but it was compounded now by the injustice of the thought.
My breath caught.
Something dark and ugly flashed across his face. "She deserved it."
"I'm sure that's not it, dattebana!" I leapt in front of him and waved my arms, as if I could physically block whatever thoughts were going through his mind now. Naruto blinked, then stared at me. I gave him my best grin. "I bet he's just grumpy. He'll come around, don't worry! Imagine it: when he starts missing you, he'll come crawling back and begging for you to be friends again!"
Naruto's confusion cleared. A tentative smile crept over his face. "Hehe." He rubbed his eyes, then put his arms behind his head, to match his Cheshire grin. "Yeah! That'll teach him, dattebayo! Besides, everyone knows we have a clan." He grinned at me. I nodded, beaming back.
"That's right! He'll be back in no time," I said cheerfully.
"I do not believe—" I shot a glare at Shino, stopping him in his tracks. I'll explain it to him later, I swore to myself.
Typical parents, an ugly part of me whispered. Selfish, hateful adults.
I shoved the thoughts back. I could hate Sasuke's parents. I could. But I couldn't let Naruto do it. He needed to stay that bright, cheerful boy that always found hope in a terrible situation. Not just for the world's sake. But for his.
I needed a plan.
It took me a while to work up to it. It was easy to put off. Naruto had found new playmates in Shikamaru and Chouji, as well as a kid with a dog from his class that could only be Kiba. Word had gotten out that Naruto had been behind The Poop Prank, and it had won him a bit of a reputation. From what I could tell, Kiba had been impressed by it, in the way that kids that wanted to prove they were better. His attempts at pranks were pathetic, though. He'd gotten caught and put in detention twice now, and Naruto lorded it over him with glee. So he'd taken to kicking Naruto's ass in conditioning instead.
Chouji was simply happy to have people who were willing to play with him, and where Chouji went, so did Shikamaru. Ino apparently preferred hanging out with girls her age at the Academy, so I didn't get to see her a lot. Shino and I kept to ourselves under the tree, with Shikamaru enjoying his naps near the two other kids who wouldn't bother him about them. Meanwhile, Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto tussled in the grass, Chouji chasing after them.
Suddenly, our little circle of two had blown up into six. It left me nervous. I would skitter around the edges, preferring to stick to Shino, who wasn't enthusiastic about talking to new people either. Shikamaru's sharp eyes caught everything, even when they were half-lidded. I was constantly on edge, trying to act the kid that I'm supposed to be. Kiba had no patience with my skittishness, so the moment he managed to assert himself over me, he was satisfied.
(It burned, a little. The way he automatically assumed he was better than me, just because I flinched away when he shoved his face close to mine. Naruto tackled him when he called me weird, though, so that took off the edge of my indignation.)
Sweet Chouji just gave me the space I needed.
And under all this was the voice that whispered, they'll leave too. Look at Hinata. Look at Sasuke. All these people are the same. Once their parents find out, it's all over.
It helped that they weren't always around. When the big clump of kids playing ninja in the middle let Chouji play, he and Shikamaru always joined their group. Kiba spent a lot of his lunch breaks with other kids from his clan, feeding their dogs together and letting the little puppies play with their kin.
It was on those days that Naruto would sit with me and Shino, his smiles just that little bit smaller, and his grins falling just that little bit faster.
And every time that flash of anger and hurt would pass through his eyes, I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking, Sasuke won't be my friend because I don't have a family. And I would feel afraid again.
One day, I looked at the calendar and knew it was now or never. This had gone on long enough. I had to try. If it didn't work, then… then the voice was right, and Naruto would never lose that hurt in his heart. But if it worked…
I was terrified. This went against everything I knew, everything I could remember of the Plot. But I had to try. I had to give the world one more chance to prove me wrong. Because no matter what the Plot said, no matter what my memories showed of what he was supposed to be, Naruto was still my brother. And I didn't want my hopeful, cheerful little Naruto to learn how to hate.
I marked down a certain day on the calendar and nodded to myself.
One last chance.
Following someone isn't easy. Especially in a village where ninja watched over everything.
The next day, as soon as class was dismissed, I hid under the stairs and watched Naruto thunder past, arguing happily with Kiba. The spot I had been watching Uchiha Mikoto from had finally come in handy. From it, I managed to catch her son leave for home, without him seeing me.
As soon as Sasuke turned the corner, I left my hiding place and took off my hoodie. Underneath was my best—my only—sundress, made serviceable for physical conditioning with the leggings underneath. Even as I walked—fast, but calmly!—towards the school gates, I tied my hoodie around my waist, and a spare hanky around my head like a bandanna.
I couldn't wear my hoodie to hide my hair today. As much as it helped me get around markets without too many glares, it would only make me look suspicious. With my hair in a small bun, hopefully the hanky would do in its place. I crossed my fingers, prayed no one would look too closely at my face, and followed Sasuke home.
My excuse to Naruto was that I needed to buy some emergency groceries, so he could go home without me. He had blinked, opened his mouth to protest, paused, then closed it, a mischievous light glimmering in his eyes. I resisted the urge to remind him not to hurt anyone. He's learned his lesson.
To give Sasuke some credit, he seemed to have some awareness he was being followed. I kept at least two blocks behind him, with plenty of crowd between us. Still, I would catch him looking over his shoulder, a puzzled frown on his face. I had enough sense to keep walking with a disinterested air, relying on adult legs to hide me from sight. At least I didn't jump from cover to cover, like… like a ninja.
Asking about the Uchiha compound had proved futile. Anyone I asked looked at me like I was crazy, or worse, suspicious. One person was questionably kind enough to tell me not to go anywhere near the place, if I knew what was good for me. So I had been reduced to following Uchiha Sasuke home like a stalker.
It was… worrying, in a way. A lot of it was because I was one of the Demon Twins, I knew. No one wanted to talk to me more than necessary. But a part of me couldn't help but worry at the genuine… fear that seemed to lurk behind every person I asked. Just because I said the name "Uchiha."
When was the Massacre supposed to happen? It couldn't be so soon… Could it?
Slowly, the amount of people on the street petered away. More and more of them got replaced with pale-skinned, dark-haired people, walking in twos and threes towards a wooden arch in the distance. There was no gate, but I could clearly see the symbol at the top of the arc.
The uchiwa.
I watched Sasuke disappear between two guards and bit back a curse. Of course they had guards. And of course I couldn't just follow Sasuke through. Already, I was getting the odd glance, catching on the red peeking out of my bandanna, my tanned skin, and the black marks around my eyes.
Before anyone could get concerned enough to approach me, I steeled myself and marched towards the compound entrance. Any attempt at casually walking in was barred by one of the guards. I looked up to meet his gaze, only to flinch as the light from the setting sun bounced off his hitai-ate.
"Where do you think you're going, little miss?" the guard asked.
His voice seemed pleasant enough, with a touch of amusement. I squinted at him. "I-I'm here to see Uchiha Sasuke-kun," I said. My voice did not shake. "He's my—my classmate."
I made a desperate wish to sink into the ground and disappear. I couldn't have lied more obviously than if I had said the sky is green.
"Is he expecting you?" he asked again. His partner made a very Uchiha "Hn." He shot her a glare, then turned back to me.
"N-No." It would have been easier if he wasn't friendly. I could have bluffed my way to oblivion if he hadn't been friendly. Damn it, weren't the Uchiha supposed to be stoic with little sticks up their butts?!
"Sorry little miss." He shook his head. That touch of amusement was still there. "You can't go in if you're not a clan guest."
"I just need to talk to him," I pleaded. My dress was starting to crumple under my grip. I wanted nothing more than to run away. But I had already dug my hole, so I was going to dig my feet in and stay there. "It's important."
"Just wait for him after school like everybody else," the other guard spoke up, sounding extremely bored.
"Kiku," Guard the First scolded her. But there was no hiding the laughter in his eyes now.
It took me a couple of seconds to understand.
I spluttered. "I'm not—I'm not here to confess to him!" I cried in outrage.
"Of course not." Guard the First nodded. He was grinning now though, a sneaky little smile that meant he was clearly laughing at me.
I felt my face heat. Anger took over any fear I had left. "I'm here to talk to his mom, dattebana! Alright?" I stomped my foot, scowling as Guard the First's grin only widened. Kiku looked like she was just getting more annoyed. "His mom! Not Sasuke! I just need to see her for a little bit—" I tried to take one step around the guard, and just like that, he wasn't laughing anymore.
"Ah, ah, ah." He stepped in front of me, blocking my way. "Sorry, little miss. But like I said, only clan guests are allowed inside the compound."
His serious expression poked a hole in the balloon that made up my anger. I struggled to hold on to it, because to let it go meant to be overwhelmed with fear again. "At least let me send a message," I said, trying to sound angry and not desperate. If Sasuke came here, I could make him let me in, right? Somehow. "You can let me do that, right?"
The guard shook his head. "No." He eyed the other people going in, who were shooting us even more questioning looks. "I think it's time you went home."
Home meant failure. Home meant Naruto still angry and hurt, and him and Sasuke never speaking until they were put together on Team Seven. Suddenly, I got an image of Naruto when he was older, with that anger and hurt drawing lines across his scowl, as he faced down his old friend and decided to kill the village traitor instead of bringing him back.
One last burst of courage gave me the strength to push against the guard's strong, ushering hands. "Just tell Sasuke I need to talk to him about my brother! I have to talk to him about my brother!" My feet skidded against the dirt path. I scrabbled to find a grip on the guard's sleeves, but my nails wouldn't catch on the tied-down cloth and my fingers slid over hard armor underneath. "C'mon, dattebana!" I all but screamed in frustration. The damn guard didn't even grunt when I accidentally (not that he'd think that) kicked his shin. "Just one little note! He's my brother's friend! I have to talk to him about my brother!"
"Kiku-san, Ryoji-san. What's going on?"
I whirled around. A familiar long-haired girl walked up to us, a curly-haired boy just a few steps behind her. Hope, bright and uncontrollable, no matter how reluctant, burst into my chest. I threw myself at the girl with a cry, even as the guard greeted her in surprise.
"Uchiha-nee-san!"
"Itachi-sama!"
I felt the blood drain from my face. Slowly, I looked up from my grip on a dark blue shirt, and locked eyes with Uchiha Itachi.
His face was bright red.
Beside him, the other boy bent over, put his hands on his knees, and started howling with laughter.
A/N:
Edited: 01/15/2020
Me? Make a corny throwaway line from 3 years ago relevant again? I too am amazed. No, seriously.
This chapter actually went on for longer than planned. It was supposed to include the actual interactions with our important Uchihas (sorry Kiku, Ryoji, and Takashi) but then Kiba and co decided to arrive years too early, so… /shrug
Oh, also, for the curious, the recipe Minako tried to recreate is a version of ginataang manok, or chicken stewed in coconut milk. Google recipes if you want to try it!
