A.N. Hey, everyone! Sorry for the wait, but I had some unexpected drama at school and within my family that put writing on the backburner for me. I hope this makes up for it!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except my OCs. Itachi, Naruto, and all that heartbreak belongs to Kishimoto. Thanks!
THEN:
Tsukiko's eyes widened in wonder at the sight before her, taking place a mere three days after her birthday. Itachi, kneeling next to her, had a very similar expression of disbelief and awe.
They were in a private bedroom in the house, normally empty. Today, however, there had been many people coming in and out of the small wooden room, as it was where something very exciting had occurred. Tsukiko and Itachi had been waiting patiently all day to go inside, their nervous energy making them jumpy. Now however, they were still.
"So?" Mikoto asked, lying on a futon, exhaustion evident in her voice. She looked weary, paler than usual with a light sheen of sweat on her face. Nevertheless she waited proudly as she watched her children greet the newest addition to their family.
Neither of them responded and instead sat, legs tucked underneath, staring at the creature before them.
The tiny newborn baby seemed to be intently focused on understanding his situation, while his unseeing eyes wandered around the empty space. He was wrapped up tightly, his pudgy face calm as his large head moved back and forth.
Itachi gently touched the baby's cheek, his hand trembling slightly for fear of hurting the child with his strength.
At the sudden feeling, the infant twitched with surprise. Shocked by this reaction, Itachi pulled his hand away and Tsukiko jumped slightly. Mikoto giggled softly as she watched them, her tired eyes bright with us shed tears of happiness.
Tsukiko felt brave enough to touch the baby's hand, which he had wriggled out of his bindings with a singular determination. Gently, she poked the small grasping palm, nearly jumping again at the surprisingly strong force of the infant's grip on her finger. She looked up at Itachi wonderingly, her eyes widening further in awe. He returned her look, his lips curling up in a smile at her ridiculous expression.
"Sasuke."
Mikoto's voice, filled with a mother's pride, sent a splash of warmth through Tsukiko, and the stirrings of an unfamiliar sensation of protectiveness.
"Sasuke…" Itachi murmured, gently touching the baby's cheek a second time.
"Sasuke," Tsukiko echoed. The moment she gave voice to that name, the warm feeling inside her morphed into an indescribable emotion. Different from the love she felt for her deceased parents, different from the love she felt for her friends and new family. In the end, five-year-old Tsukiko couldn't put the feeling into words. But faced with this child, so fragile, like he would shatter if she touched him, a sense of responsibility, an instinct to protect, activated within her. Here was someone she could grow stronger for, someone she could love with everything she had. Someone who needed her.
Nearly overwhelmed by the feeling, she turned her head to look at Itachi. The fire in his eyes met her gaze, and she saw a kindred desire to protect the tiny creature before them.
"Itachi, Tsukiko," Mikoto said gently. "Take care of your baby brother, hmm?"
Itachi nodded fiercely, and Tsukiko smiled. "Yes ma'am."
'Sasuke. My little brother.'
Given new incentive, a purpose, Itachi and Tsukiko threw themselves into their training with a frightening intensity. They had just one more year until the long-awaited start at the academy. Tsukiko had the sole goal of becoming stronger than anyone else, save perhaps Itachi. She would fight to protect Itachi's dream, the dream of ridding the world of fighting.
Fugaku and the other Uchiha believed that ninja could only exist in a world of killing. Tsukiko and Itachi set out to prove him wrong.
After all, as Itachi had explained to her, if you had greater strength, you could step in between people to stop them from fighting. If you were a ninja more powerful than the ninja at war, if no shinobi-however skilled-stood a chance against you, then everyone would listen to and obey your commands.
Itachi wanted to be that kind of ninja. He believed that if he was more powerful, more capable than anyone else, he would be able to stop even enormous fights like the last Great War.
Tsukiko wanted to remain by his side. She wanted to help him bring peace to the world, wanted to be strong enough to stand by Itachi proudly. After all, she had told him during training, if one ninja stronger than anyone else could stop fighting, then what could two do?
They used a grove near their house as a training ground. Wooden targets hung on the cedar trees in the cluster surrounding them. Each was about the size of a human head, with two black circles drawn on it.
The children stood back to back in the deserted wood, kunai tucked between the boy's fingers. Four in each hand, the eight kunai were his weapon of choice. As for Tsukiko, she held her hands up carefully, her eyes yellow. Wind would be her weapon.
She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the air around her fingertips, willing it to spin and build up power.
"Haah…" she heard Itachi sigh as he closed his eyes and slowly pushed the air out of his lungs from the bottom of his stomach. He was ready.
She crouched in sync with him, the air around her fingers spinning wildly like small tornadoes. Sucking in a ragged breath, Tsukiko focused on her hands, the chakra inside her carefully directed to her fingers.
With a burst of movement, she kicked off the ground as hard as she could, perfectly in time with Itachi. Her body danced in the air as she flipped upside down, now facing the boy. She watched as he held his arms to his chest, then threw his kunai out, eight flashes of light scattered in eight different directions.
A half second behind him, Tsukiko willed the tornadoes of wind after the kunai, throwing her hands out in a similar manner. The spinning air hit the handles of the weapons, giving them a powerful boost of speed and therefore, strength.
Thk! Thk! Thk! The sound echoed all around Tsukiko as she landed upright, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes.
Each blade had pierced the center of its target, sunk hilt-deep into the wood.
Pride filled the white-haired girl, and she grinned at Itachi. They really were stronger as a team.
"Nice work." A young-sounding voice suddenly came from behind her.
She spun around to see a boy with black spiky hair and the flat black eyes of the Uchiha Clan standing at the edge of the grove. He was clearly older than them. As proof of that, the silver of a Konoha headband shone on the boy's forehead.
'A shinobi!'
"How old are you?" The boy asked.
Tsukiko studied him suspiciously. She didn't know his name, but she had seen him before when she had accompanied Mikoto on errands. He however, unlike others of his age, had never been rude to her.
"Five," Itachi answered, a faint edge to his voice. While they weren't technically breaking any rules by practicing with the kunai, he knew his mother thought they were only throwing them at targets. If word got to her that they were trying complicated movements that essentially had him shooting weapons all over the forest, he doubted she would be pleased.
"That kind of mastery of kunai at your age?" He shook his head, whistling softly in admiration. "And teamwork? You guys are really something, huh?" The boy stretched out his hand. "Uchiha Shisui."
"I'm-"
"I know. Itachi and Tsukiko. Military Police Chief Fugaku's kid and ward."
He was very friendly, which was...odd. Most people stayed out of their way, either put-off by their intensity or uninterested in honing ninja skills. Evidently their confusion showed, since Shisui shrugged unapologetically.
"I heard you were strange kids and don't really talk to anyone. You really are stubborn, huh?"
"If you don't need anything…" Itachi trailed off suggestively, obviously impatient for the boy to leave. They only had so long to train everyday, and it was annoying to have to wait for this gawking older boy to take a hint.
"Well, I wouldn't say that." The smiling Shisui disappeared, his after-image blurring.
'Wow!' Tsukiko's eyes chased after his aura, impressed that he'd gone from no movement to such a high speed with no warning.
Above them.
As he danced up into the air like the children had moments earlier, both of Shisui's arms flew out, and eight flashes of light shot past their eyes.
"Whoa!" Itachi's surprised exclamation left his mouth before he even realized he'd said anything.
"Awesome!" Tsukiko clapped and jumped up and down, her smile practically stretching from ear to ear. "You're so fast!".
"How was that?" Shisui grinned as he landed. "I'm not too shabby with the kunai either, right?" He brushed invisible dust off his shirt and gestured for them to take a look.
New kunai stabbed into the surface of the targets on the cedar trees, immediately to one side of the kunai Itachi plunged into them earlier. Naturally, these were the ones Shisui had thrown, and they were just as deep as the younger children's combined efforts.
"I've been watching you guys training here every day for a while now." He slowly approached, holding out his hand once more. "Let's be friends."
Shisui's voice was warm, naturally pulling Tsukiko in after being surrounded by cold distance. Itachi shook his hand, accepting the ninja's friendship, and Tsukiko was quick to follow.
"Nice meeting you, Tsukiko, Itachi."
Tsukiko returned his smile happily, excited that she had a new friend.
NOW:
"You did what?!" Tsukiko shouted, a death-filled gaze trained at the wincing shinobi before her. Around her, the forest outside the western gate was completely silent, not even a breeze stirring. It was as if the world was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen.
Kakashi Hatake, also known as the Copycat Ninja, was a tall, handsome man around eight years her senior. He had spiked grey hair, and wore the typical jounin outfit, with an added mask to cover the bottom half of his face, and his headband tilted to cover his left eye, which contained the Sharingan. He was, besides Sasuke Uchiha, the only one in the village with that power, which was the reason Tsukiko had requested he teach Sasuke.
Now however, she was regretting that decision.
"It's really not as bad as it sounds," Kakashi said, his hands raised in surrender as he tried to placate the angry woman. He was a few inches taller than her, but seemed to shrink under her fury.
"Oh really?" Tsukiko asked sarcastically, her rage mounting. "That's good. Because it sounded like you knowingly allowed three genin to fight an S-rank criminal, resulting in Sasuke's getting seriously hurt!"
Kakashi grimaced. "Okay, maybe it was that bad." His attempt at humor fell flat as her rage continued to mount.
Behind them, Tsukiko and Kakashi's teams stood wide-eyed, watching their senseis. Tsukiko's team had just returned from their own mission, a B-rank spying and information-gathering affair. The white-haired woman had been unsure of taking her team on a B-rank, which had only been offered due to there being two jounin on their team, but both genin had performed admirably.
Chiyo was a talented fighter, and very adept at finding mental and physical weak points in opponents. Midori, on the other hand, was a natural strategist and leader, her quiet demeanor hiding a sharp mind. Tsukiko was so impressed, she had offered to take everyone out to lunch and was privately considering recommending them for the next Chunin Exams.
And it was in this good mood that she returned from delivering a report on their latest mission, when they had heard that Sasuke's team was just arriving at the west gate. Postponing food, they decided to meet up with the other team and invite them along. Sasuke had been gone on a bodyguarding C-rank mission the last two weeks, and Tsukiko wanted to know how it'd been. That's when the bomb dropped.
Naruto Uzumaki, an energetic boy with blue eyes, blond spiky hair, and a bright orange jumpsuit, had immediately launched into how they fought against the infamous Swordsman, Zabuza of the Mist.
Panicked, Sasuke tried to shut the boy up, a cute pink-haired girl wearing a red kunoichi outfit assisting him, but the damage was done. Before Sasuke could clamp his hand over the rowdy boy's mouth, Tsukiko's face had turned cold, and she had flashed red, fiery eyes at their teacher.
"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto whisper-yelled, a freaked-out look on his face. "Who's that lady yelling at Kakashi?"
Before Sasuke could answer, the pink-haired girl hit the back of Naruto's head. "You idiot! That's Tsukiko Amaya! She's one of the best kunoichi in the Leaf!" The girl clasped her hands together, stars in her eyes. "She's amazing!"
"Cool! I'll bet she's an awesome fighter!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning as he rubbed his head.
"She's my guardian," Sasuke muttered, sending both of his teammates into shock.
Tsukiko's team looked surprised as well.
"But she's so young!" Chiyo said, looking at her teacher with wide eyes.
Midori winced as Tsukiko continued yelling. "I don't think I've ever seen her that mad. I kinda feel bad for their sensei."
Masuko grinned knowingly, winking at the genin. "I thought Tsukiko was one of those 'Mama Bear' types." She looked thoughtful. "I guess that makes me the dad of our team?"
"Tsukiko, I understand your concern," Kakashi said, trying to calm her. "But they were all exceptional, Sasuke especially. He only got hurt because he was protecting his teammates." There was unmistakable pride in the older man's voice, which gave the furious kunoichi pause.
The young woman's eyes softened marginally, and she looked at Sasuke with unconcealed affection. 'Protecting his team, huh?' She hadn't expected her lone wolf of a kid brother to do something like that. At least, not so soon. He had only been a part of the team for around three months, after all.
"Of course he did well," she said boastfully, her anger momentarily forgotten in the face of her pride. "He's an Uchiha, and a damn good kid. I wouldn't expect any less."
The young genin in question looked up in surprise. He had been expecting the lecture of his life for putting himself in near-fatal danger, but was instead greeted with approval.
Tsukiko measured her words carefully, wanting to encourage his teamwork, but remind him to be more cautious in the future. "I don't like the idea of you getting hurt, but I'm glad you're getting so strong, both physically and as a person."
The young ninja looked away with a huff, his cheeks slightly pink as he bit back a smile.
"Sasuke's blushing!" The pink-haired girl squealed, hearts in her eyes.
Tsukiko looked back at Kakashi with a hard glare. He, on the other hand, was not forgiven. "And what happened to Zabuza?"
Kakashi hesitated. "He's dead."
Next to her, Masuko stiffened, a look of horror flashing briefly across her face before her smile returned, forcefully plastered. Her hands shook slightly as the grey-haired ninja continued.
"He was an excellent fighter, and a worthy shinobi. It's a shame we were on opposing sides." He shot Tsukiko a meaningful glance, his gaze sliding to Masuko's quivering form.
She took the hint, gritting her teeth. "Alright, we'll continue this discussion another time," she said darkly, her voice full of promise. "I'm sure you need to report to the Hokage." Lightly, she turned to her charge. "Sasuke, I'll see you at home later, alright?"
He nodded, and Tsukiko addressed his team. "And I'm sorry to you two, for verbally assaulting your sensei."
"No problem, ma'am!" The girl said, stretching out her hand. "I'm Sakura Haruno, and it's an honor to meet you!"
'Sakura Haruno? Didn't Sasuke mention her when he was younger? Ah, is she one of his fangirls?'
"Nice to meet you, Sakura," she said politely, before turning to Naruto. "And you must be—"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage!"
Tsukiko blinked at the energetic greeting, then smiled as amusement took hold. "Well then, I'm honored, Naruto." She shook his hand firmly.
He looked surprised at her friendly response, before smiling confidently. "Anyway, it was nice to meet you, but we gotta go! I want to get home in time to catch the Ramen Fairy!"
"Ramen Fairy?" Tsukiko questioned, biting her lip to stop her smile.
Both Sasuke and Sakura sighed. "Don't get him started," she said waving her hand. "He's been talking about her nonstop the whole way home!"
Chiyo and Midori laughed as Naruto rounded on them smugly. "It's not my fault I'm the only one special enough to get visited by her!"
"And who is she?" Chiyo challenged, her hands on her hips.
"She's a fairy who leaves ramen at the front door of everyone she visits," Naruto explained superiorly. "Usually on Wednesdays. Sometimes it's other food, but it's usually ramen. Not as good as Ichiraku's, but delicious! I saw her once when I was little, and Iruka-Sensei told me about her."
Tsukiko glanced away, her face reddening. 'Oh dear. I guess he caught a glimpse of me once or twice.' She usually dropped food off on Wednesday, unless she was out on a mission. In that case, she gave it to Iruka to give to Naruto. She had no idea he thought a fairy visited him, or that Iruka had planted such a weird story.
Kakashi glanced at her knowingly. "Come on then, let's go."
Team Seven waved their goodbyes and walked away.
Tsukiko addressed her team swiftly, keeping an eye on Masuko. The "Ramen Fairy" bit had given her ample time to calm down, but... "Why don't you two go save us seats and order something, and Masuko and I will be there soon."
"Okay," Midori answered, allowing Chiyo to drag her off.
Once they were out of sight, Tsukiko turned away from the purple-haired woman and focused her chakra. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Her clone immediately took off, hurrying to place the food at Naruto's door before he returned.
"So it's you," Masuko guessed dully, leaning against a tree. "You're the Ramen Fairy."
"I suppose so," Tsukiko said, shrugging. "Naruto is a good kid, no matter what anyone says. He's hated for simply existing, and I can relate. So, I help him out."
"Yeah, I overheard a couple of the other ninja. He's the Nine-Tailed jinchuriki?" Masuko wouldn't meet her eye and seemed to be doing everything to stay away from their inevitable conversation.
Tsukiko nodded, willing to indulge her. "People are stupid," she muttered. "I remember the night the Fox attacked. It was absolutely terrifying. To know that that kid can keep that thing locked away...well, he's a hero in my book."
Masuko hummed in agreement, and a tense silence stretched on for several long moments.
Hesitating, Tsukiko continued, knowing she had to see if the older woman was alright. She had come to respect her in the last few months, and while they weren't exactly friends, she was worried about her in more than just a professional sense. "Masuko...Are you alright? You seemed pretty upset before, about Zabuza's death."
Hers smile dropped for a moment, mask falling away to reveal the sorrow underneath. "It's fine," she said lightly, turning away. "Zabuza was a year older than me, and a real terror. We weren't really close, but...I did consider him a friend."
Tsukiko nodded sympathetically, able to understand her pain. Friends were hard won and easily lost in this world of theirs. "Was he the reason your village…?"
She laughed bitterly. "No. Like I said, we weren't really close. Coincidentally enough, there was another of the Seven Swordsmen who abandoned the Mist. He and I...we grew up together, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I cared about him. I don't know that he ever saw me as more than a childhood friend at best and a sparring partner at worst, because he didn't even say goodbye. He was just...gone one day." Her voice grew quieter, sadder, and she slid down the tree to the ground, covering her face in a rare moment of weakness.
"After he left, Zabuza and I became friends until he abandoned the village as well. Then, the village elders decided that I must have influenced their precious Swordsmen to turn evil and wanted me out of the picture. They planned a mission for me that I wouldn't return from, and a year or so later, I was betrayed."
"I'm sorry," Tsukiko said, her head low as her emotions boiled up inside her. She understood all too well what Masuko was feeling. "My village sold me to the Mist during the war, but a Rain ninja intercepted the notes they sent and came for me. He killed my parents."
Masuko shook her head, her voice bitter. "This world of ours is rotting." She raised her eyes to reveal a dark misery that Tsukiko had only ever seen reflected in her mirror.
Throat tightening with emotion, the younger ninja sat next to Masuko. "I want to find a way to end this cycle of hate and death," she admitted quietly. "But every time I think I have the answer, life throws me another punch." Itachi's face flashed in her mind, and she gripped her knees tightly.
When Masuko next spoke, her voice was small and timid, barely a whisper. "The worst part is that it's our emotions that drive these fights. The very thing that make us human is our greatest strength and greatest weakness...and it hurts so much." Her voice became a muffled sob. "It hurts to love someone you should hate, to be forced to fight them and realize they're not who you thought they were. But you can't stop loving them."
Tsukiko felt her memories threatening to overwhelm her, and she bit her lip hard to keep herself grounded where Masuko was not. "I know how you feel," she replied, speaking without thinking about spies or what she should and shouldn't say to someone she hardly knew. "I'm in love with a guy who killed nearly everyone in his clan before fleeing the village."
The admonition, that she still loved Itachi, was physically painful. She tried her best to avoid thinking about him, but his presence was like a shadow over her life, haunting her. And yet, until that exact moment, she hadn't admitted it to anyone, not even herself, that those feelings were still very much alive.
Masuko shook her head with a short and bitter laugh, punching the ground in frustration. "We really know how to pick 'em, don't we?" Her anger and heartbreak was palpable, as was her confusion. "One of my oldest friends is dead, the only guy I ever loved is a traitor and a murderer, and all I can think about is how much I'd like to spar with them one last time. One last time…"
Tsukiko closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to let her tears escape. If anyone caught her crying over Itachi, it would give Danzo yet another reason to have her watched. But it was hard, especially being with Masuko. The older woman seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.
"One last time," she echoed, a muted whisper in place of sobs and screams of how it wasn't fair that he was free of her and she was trapped by his memory.
The two women stayed there, tucked under a tree outside Konoha, for several more minutes, gathering themselves. When the tears and agony had relented, they each saw the other in a new light, with new understanding. They were veterans of the worst life could throw, and they were still standing, stronger than before.
"Let's go get some food," Masuko said finally, taking a deep breath as she stood. "The girls are waiting for us."
Tsukiko nodded, glancing up as her clone returned. After undoing the jutsu, she knew her plan had gone off without a hitch. Naruto was fed, and the Ramen Fairy had got away.
She sighed heavily as memories of that not-so-distant night swirled back. It had truly been a terrifying experience, but she'd had Itachi...back at a time when he was her strength instead of her weakness.
THEN:
She looked up at the moon.
'Just us and Sasuke.'
Mikoto and Fugaku had gone out, leaving Sasuke in her and Itachi's care. Unable to sleep, they had decided to sit on the veranda, the light of the moon washing over the Uchiha compound. Sasuke was tucked into Itachi's arms, cooing contentedly.
Tsukiko sighed, leaning her head on Itachi's shoulder. The moonlight was dazzling that night. The full moon, shining so radiantly that it nearly erased the light of the surrounding stars, seemed like it would fall from the sky.
Her nightmares were less and less frequent, but she and Itachi had picked up the habit of stargazing most nights, enjoying the peaceful quiet night entailed. No matter what troubles the day brought, night was always serene. The Amaya clan had an affinity for nighttime, their name literally meaning "night rain." Adding Tsukiko's "child of the moon" to that and it seemed destined to be.
A gentle breeze softly stroked her cheeks, and she breathed the night air in. Flowers, trees, and...
"Ugh!" She exclaimed, jerking her head away from Itachi.
There was an awful smell hanging in the air, causing her to cover her nose and Itachi to furrow his brow. Sasuke began to fret in his arms, perhaps sensing the change in his company, or perhaps because of the keen sensitivity of a baby noticing something out of the ordinary.
Itachi stared at the moon in the sky. "What is this feeling…?"
"I don't know," Tsukiko replied, shuddering at the evil aura that slowly began to seep into her body. It felt like chakra, but it was so fueled with rage and hatred that it felt nearly painful.
Sasuke began to cry.
"There, there." Even as Itachi rocked the baby soothingly, his eyes stayed focused on the moon, like a seer trying to read the future..
The wind blew once more, smelling like a wild animal. Tsukiko shook her head to try to clear her nose. "It's smells like a fox den," she complained. Her father had found one once and brought her to see the fox cubs. They had been adorable, but the smell had been tough to handle.
"I don't like this feeling," the boy muttered. "Why are Mom and Dad always out at times like this…?"
Sasuke began to cry even harder. Now was not the time to worry about unpleasant smells. Tsukiko leaned her head on Itachi's shoulder again and let Sasuke hold onto her finger. "It's okay," She said softly. "Big brother and sister are here."
Itachi looked down at his adorable baby brother, a smile creeping across his face. "Don't cry, Sasuke. We'll protect you, no matter what."
Sasuke's cry changed from a scared wail into something sweeter. It was still almost as powerful, the faintest of differences in the strength behind the wail. Rather, the change was more in the baby's mindset, because he knew he was safe.
The dark-haired boy allowed his glance to slide over to Tsukiko. She was leaning into him, her warmth comforting as she smiled at Sasuke, but her eyes shone with a fear he understood.
'Something's coming.'
He felt it too. An instinct to run and hide, only overshadowed by the instinct to protect. Itachi held Sasuke with one arm, using the other to wrap around Tsukiko. Whether it was to comfort him or her, he was unsure, but the look of gratitude she shot him filled him with confidence. He would protect them, both of them, no matter what.
Tsukiko's gasp startled him, and made him look up.
He froze, unable to believe his eyes. There was an enormous creature in the distance, visible by the light of the moon. A sinister-looking fox, its burnt orange color blazing in the moonlight, roared in anger. Nine massive tails whipped around it, destroying buildings and homes alike. Ninja, resembling ants in comparison, leapt at the beast, attacks futile.
Itachi pulled Tsukiko to her feet. "We need to stay here in case Mom or Dad returns, but we should be ready to run!" He tightened his grip on Sasuke.
Her fear-filled eyes met his and determination took hold. "Right." Her eyes began to swirl, switching colors rapidly before ending on green. Earth.
The familiar pang of envy at her gift didn't come this time. All he felt was relief that she was in control of herself enough to activate the Gensogan. His own chakra hummed in his veins, demanding to be used.
"We should get away from the house," Itachi advised, eyeing the fox monster. "If that thing hits the roof, we're done for."
Abandoning the relative safety of home, they fled down the road, making sure to stay in sight of the house.
"Debris might fall toward us," Tsukiko said, stepping in front of him. "I'll deflect anything that comes our way," she promised. She took a deep breath, tasting fox and burning wood in the wind as she focused. Below her, she could feel the earth, a solid mass of rock that resisted change. Earth was strong, it's stubborn nature the most difficult for her to control. But adrenaline filled her veins, danger making her stronger. Chakra buzzed around her, and she directed it to her hands, ready to punch anything that came her way.
"Itachi! Tsukiko!" A voice cried, a familiar dark-haired woman running toward them.
"Mom." Itachi's voice was strained.
"Thank god you're safe!" Mikoto wrapped her arms tightly around the two older children.
"We didn't want to worry you if we ran away and you came home, so we waited for you."
"Mm hmm." She nodded, tears spilling down her face.
Two sets of eyes, narrowed with the tension of having to protect each other and Sasuke, relaxed to some degree. But this was fleeting. When Itachi noticed something closing in from behind his mother, those eyes quickly regained their original grimness.
"Mom!" He practically threw Sasuke to his mother. And then he flew.
A boulder tossed into the air by the Nine-Tailed Fox shattered near their house, and the pieces danced fatally above their heads. One chunk was falling toward his mother's back.
Tsukiko sensed the boulder just as Itachi leapt into the air. Their training took over, and she reacted just as quickly. Itachi was attacking, so she would defend.
Chakra making her green eyes glow, Tsukiko fell to her knees and grabbed the dirt. It offered no resistance to her now, tamed by her adrenaline-fueled desperation. She looked back at Mikoto, ensuring they hadn't moved.
Mikoto was clutching her baby to her chest, her surprised eyes fixed on Tsukiko and Itachi, still airborne. There was a question there, wondering what had happened to make her son leap into the air, and her adopted daughter fall to the ground.
Tsukiko's hands sank into the ground like clay, the earth ready to obey her. With a mighty pull, two large sheets of rock sprang out of the ground, tilting to form a tent-like structure over Mikoto and Sasuke.
Relieved, the young girl turned her eyes to Itachi.
The rock was enormous, large enough to easily crush a mother and her three children.
"I'll protect you," he murmured. He clenched his fist tightly, chakra glowing.
The physical arts of a shinobi were not about strength. He might have been a small child of five years, body as yet undeveloped, but as long as he managed to knead his chakra properly, he could smash even this enormous rock.
He brandished his fist high in the air. Chakra filled his arm, covering it with faint blue flames.
The rock slammed into Itachi's fist, and exploded with a shriek.
In this world of shinobi, even a child could lift hundreds of pounds of rock, or destroy boulders, as long as they simply kept up with their ninja training.
Showered in a rain of pebbles, he landed soundlessly on the ground, next to a smiling Tsukiko.
"Are you alright?" He asked turning to his mother. His eyes brightened at the rock structure, and he turned an impressed gaze to Tsukiko. "Good job."
Tsukiko glowed with pride. "You too!"
Unable to conceal her surprise, Mikoto stared at her children with saucer-like eyes. She was a jounin, which was precisely why she was amazed at their instantaneous action. Her son had destroyed a boulder several times his size, and her adoptive daughter had protected her with the Gensogan, her eyes glowing green even now.
"It's dangerous here," Itachi said gently, concern for his mother and little brother evident. "Let's get to where everyone else is."
"Right…" As pulled to her senses by his voice, she stood, and Tsukiko raced over to take her hand. Itachi took Tsukiko's and began to pull the odd train along. "You haven't even started at the academy, but you can already do something like that. You really are your father's son, hmm? And Tsuki, you definitely are very strong."
She was no doubt praising them, but this wasn't the time for that. A sense of duty filled Itachi's heart—he had to get his family to a safe place. All around him, he could hear the shrieks of girls and the shouts of boys, mixed with the roar of destruction; it was overwhelming. He gripped Tsukiko's hand tighter, trusting her to hang on to his family.
Images flashed past him, searing themselves into his mind. People running around trying to escape, bleeding. A man who had lost his arm, yelling at a fellow ninja. A young woman staring blankly at a mountain of rubble, like a marionette with the strings cut. A child wailing loudly, trying to rouse a now-cold mother.
In the core of his brain, Itachi heard an ear-splitting screeching. They hadn't actually run that far, and yet he was having trouble breathing. Overlaid on the scene before his eyes was the battlefield he had seen when he was four, the battlefield his father took him to to show him the truth of the world. The place where he had decided to become the strongest ninja.
'War…'
A dull pain raced deep into his eyes. Just like the moment he had stepped onto the battlefield, waves of power coursed behind his onyx orbs. He felt like the world was dyed crimson for a moment, but the sensation quickly subsided.
Behind him, Tsukiko felt like she was being choked. Cold dread stole her breath, leaving her struggling for air. Blood and bodies were everywhere, and the air was filled with a never-ending scream. Flashes of her mother's body, the empty village, blood on the Rain ninja's clothes, flickered across her brain. Her grip on Itachi tightened, needing to know he was there. He looked back at her, panic and fear echoing her own. There would be no one to save them but each other, and if they faltered, they would break their promise to protect Sasuke.
Tsukiko gasped shudderingly, her legs seemingly heavier than usual. Her heart and head pounded in sync, the waves of power behind her eyes switching rapidly. To anyone looking, it was a frightening sight, her eyes flashing in different colors, never staying on one for more than half a second.
"Is something wrong?" Mikoto called from behind Tsukiko, having noticed something strange going on with her children.
"We're alright, Mom." Itachi's answer was thrown back quickly, like a lifeboat on a sinking ship.
They ran desperately, trying to escape the massive violence of the Nine Tails. From the bottom of their hearts, the two young ninjas prayed for the strength to stop war. Their desire in that moment was one and the same.
They wanted to be strong ninja.
A.N. Aaaaand that's a wrap!
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