A.N. Happy Memorial Day weekend!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or the Itachi books. This is just a tribute to my favorite character in a wonderful story!
Please leave a review!
Now:
"A curse mark?!" Tsukiko repeated incredulously, anger coiling tightly in her stomach as she watched Anko clutch her neck, grimacing in pain.
She, Anko, a few chunin, and the Third Hokage were all in one of the private monitoring rooms, a few days after the run-in with Orochimaru. After Tsukiko's initial report to him, the Hokage stayed at the tower to help search through the applications. Orochimaru had told Anko that some of his followers were taking the exam, and the Hokage wanted to figure out who they were.
There had been no luck so far, and Tsukiko had watched the forest for the rest of the five-day limit, keeping an eye on Sasuke and her own team. Chiyo and Midori had finished on the third day, and Sasuke's team had just barely made it, after a long series of conflicts. They were lucky though, as an extra fourth ninja had allied with them and helped the kids find their way to the tower.
Now, she'd been called back in as the Special Proctor, as well as Sasuke's guardian, to be advised on how the third exam would run. She'd also learned that Orochimaru had apparently given Sasuke a curse mark of some kind, which explained the way his chakra had been behaving the last few days. Anko had barely been able to stand when she'd been brought in, and the Hokage had to care for her himself. Now, a few days later, she was much improved.
Anko was seated on one of the blue couches with Tsukiko standing beside her. The Third Hokage stood by the monitors, facing them, while the other shinobi in the room stood back respectfully.
Lord Third nodded gravely, watching Anko closely. "Does the curse mark still cause you pain?"
"No, not really," she answered, taking a deep breath. "Thanks to you, it's much better."
"That's good but we'd better get back to business," a chunin with long spiky black hair and a white cloth over his nose spoke up. "This Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, the Legendary Three Ninja, isn't he? He's supposed to be so incredibly powerful that not even the Anbu Black Ops Unit could bring him down." He shook his head. "I'd heard a rumor that he'd died, but I guess that wasn't true."
The other chunin, a man with long brown hair that covered his left eye, stepped forward. "Why did he come to this village now, anyway? To attack a group of genin?"
"But Sasuke Uchiha isn't exactly a normal genin," Tsukiko said, her eyes narrowed warningly. "Anko, you said that he told you something about Sasuke being his successor? What exactly is this curse mark?"
Anko traded glances with the Hokage, who nodded. "I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "It gives you chakra when you're weak, but it feeds on you and tries to take over in return. It's incredibly painful once it starts spreading, but we can subdue it and seal it away. After that, it'll only act up when Orochimaru wants it to hurt. The mark is his way of controlling people, while testing their abilities and how their power increases while it's activated."
Tsukiko's jaw tightened, and her fists clenched. "I see," she said coldly, already forming a plan to hunt down the snake. She had a feeling her fear would be rather muted the next time she saw him.
The two monitors in front of her came to life, and a man appeared on the screen. "Anko, we've confirmed that twenty-five ninja have finished the second exam. Seven teams of three members, and two teams of two. One of these was originally a team of three, but one of their members was severely wounded and is unable to continue. She was conscious and walked to the tower on her own though, so we allowed her teammates to move on. As for the third exam, according to the rules, we'll have to hold a round of preliminaries—the first time in five years." Message delivered, the monitor switched off.
The Third Hokage pulled his pipe out of his mouth, frowning pensively. "Now, for the time being, we'll just continue with the exams as planned. But I also want to keep an eye on Sasuke." He turned to Tsukiko. "You will continue to act as my Special Proctor, with specific orders to protect the genin. Kakashi will also be helping to watch over Sasuke."
"Yes, sir."
His gaze softened. "Don't worry, Tsukiko. He'll be safe."
She nodded, a look of determination on her features. "Yes. He will be."
Then:
The man tossed the white files on his desk and looked at the subordinate standing before him, wearing a white tiger mask. Red shading stretched out to the sides from around the eyeholes, slanted upward as if expressing anger.
"Itachi Uchiha and Tsukiko Amaya, hm…"
The photos attached to the open files showed the faces of a young boy and a young girl. The two sets of eyes that stared back at the man, however, contained a strength and knowledge that belied their owners' ages.
"All involved assert that the academy has never seen such genius. Both completed their graduation exam four months after they commenced their studies and are scheduled to graduate in the springtime of the next year. Furthermore, the girl is well in control of the Gensogan, despite having received no formal training."
His gaze still on the files, the man listened to the excessive formality of his subordinate, and a smile crossed his lips. "I can just see the different departments fighting to get them."
The subordinate nodded. "Yes, sir. And after a request issued by Fugaku Uchiha, the Third Hokage has decided that the two will not be separated. They are to be partnered."
His smile dropped, and the man's visible eye narrowed, the other covered by bandages. "How strange. Why was this decided?"
"Fugaku Uchiha insisted that their teamwork was even better than their individual skills, and the Third Hokage personally visited the school to witness a sparring match between the two children and some of the upperclassmen. After seeing them fight, Lord Third granted the request."
"They were that impressive?"
"In under three minutes, they defeated three teams of other graduating students."
The bandaged man lifted his weary hips from the chair. As the shadow behind the Third Hokage, he had carried the burden of the village's darkness, but recently, he felt bitterly the weight of his own body. He wasn't so old that he knew death was upon him, but he was of an age to start thinking of his own life and the length of it.
Ten years from now, twenty years from now...he would certainly die. And there was something he had to do before that happened. Cutting out the root of the evil that had been growing since the birth of the village of Konohagakure was his life's work.
"A pair of prodigies too young to have been colored by anything…"
He turned his gaze to the darkness visible beyond the window. The black void had fallen deathly silent, as if devouring the fleeting peace. For men who lived in times of war, the night, with its swirling air of murder, was something yearned for.
"Well, let's meet them first, hm?"
"As you wish, Lord Danzo."
"Although the Great War is over, we cannot yet say that the world is now totally at peace," Tsukiko read, her voice strong and clear. "Even now, there are those who struggle through difficult days because of the sad incident of two years past. So how do we break this down? As young shinobi, this isn't someone else's problem. Today, we take our first step on the path of the ninja."
Carefully, she passed the scroll to Itachi, unable to keep a small smile from her face as she caught Mikoto's eye, and received a wink from the older woman.
Both children were standing on a raised platform, addressing a large crowd of people who watched with a mixture of pride, fascination, and disconcertment. Present were graduates, current students, parents, guardians, teachers, and even the Third Hokage himself.
Tsukiko was dressed in the dark blue colors of the Uchiha clan, her kunoichi outfit brand-new for the occasion. She wore the Uchiha symbol proudly, pleased to see Fugaku's nod of approval and Mikoto's happy exclamations at her attire. Her white hair, which normally hung two or three inches past her shoulders, was now in a complicated braid with a pin that pulled her bangs to the side, showing the silver headband that graced her forehead. Tsukiko felt very grown up, and made sure that her practiced section of their speech went without a hitch.
Beside her, Itachi was also formally dressed in a dark blue shinobi outfit that complimented his pale skin and dark eyes. He too had a gleaming silver headband that he wore with pride, despite his near-expressionless face. After carefully taking the scroll from Tsukiko, he spoke in a sonorous voice.
"In this chaotic world, it is certainly not a peaceful path," he read, continuing from where Tsukiko left off. "But despite this, we vow it here. Ninja are precisely those who dare to advance down a difficult path. Ninja are those who push forward and endure. Using everything we have learned at the academy, we will fulfill our duties as ninja of Konoha."
Itachi slowly rolled the scroll back up, and Tsukiko counted to three in her head.
'One. Two. Three.'
At the same moment, Tsukiko and Itachi bowed low to the crowd before them, and the Third Hokage gestured to them proudly.
"Valedictorians, Tsukiko Amaya and Itachi Uchiha."
Their grades had been nothing but perfect from the day they started school until their graduation. And although there had been some exceptional graduates during the days of the Great War, such as Kakashi Hatake, Tsukiko and Itachi were the youngest post-war graduates and co-valedictorians.
And thus, the curtain fell on their school days.
And yet, conflict continued to arise. There had apparently been all kinds of quarreling among the teachers about Itachi and Tsukiko reading the formal reply as the valedictorians.
The majority of the graduates were twelve years old. There were some who, like the two young children, had managed excellent grades and were graduating early, but at seven, Itachi and Tsukiko were indeed far too young. Even if they did have the grades, the thinking, and the ninja skills far beyond their seven years, there was concern that they were simply too immature to hold up before the other graduates.
And there was one more thing.
There were many complaints about their families.
In Itachi's case, his being an Uchiha was an issue, due to the continued suspicion over the Nine-Tails attack. These complaints came mainly from teachers with lineages connected to the Senju clan, an old rival of the Uchihas.
For Tsukiko, the problem was that she was an outsider who had been brought to the village in a time of war. Mutterings had already begun that her skills were due to the fact that she had been trained as an enemy spy, and had invaded the village. When she had initially heard these rumours, she couldn't even be angry. The idea was so stupid to her, that a four-year-old with murdered parents had been brought to the village as a spy, that all she could do was give a short, bitter laugh of acknowledgement. This, coupled with her allying herself with a powerful Uchiha, despite not being a part of the family, was worrisome to some of the other clans. After all, the Amaya clan had once been feared for their powerful ocular jutsu, which, at the time of the village's creation, rivaled Hyuga clan's Byakugan and posed a threat to the Sharingan.
In the end, however, all those who opposed bowed before the children's overwhelming abilities and grades, and the way they excelled in all things, despite the issue of age and prejudice. There could be no other valedictorian, and so it was decided to reward them equally.
As they walked off the stage, and the crowd began to disperse, Tsukiko smiled contently. At last, they were on their way to becoming the strongest ninja ever.
She watched Itachi walk in front of her, his strides purposefully taking him in the direction of his family. Feeling suddenly mischievous, she nudged his shoulder with her own.
"So, how does it feel to be the third youngest valedictorian in Konoha's history?" Kakashi Hatake held the record for youngest, but his quick rise had also been in the midst of war and desperation for new genin.
Immediately, Itachi stopped, his sense of competition rising. "Someone else graduated sooner?"
Tsukiko could see the wheels turning in his mind as he scanned the crowd, as if another young, brilliant ninja would appear.
"Yup," she said happily, flipping her braid over her shoulder. "Me."
Itachi turned on her with unamused eyes. "We're the same age," he said flatly.
"No," Tsukiko said, giggling evilly. "You're two months older than me, so I'm the second youngest valedictorian!" She struck a pose. "Sorry, Itachi, but I win!"
He raised an eyebrow, unable to hide his smirk. "Our second youngest valedictorian is quite childish."
She pouted, puffing up her cheeks. "You're mean, Itachi! I'll tell on you to Sasuke if you don't stop!" It had become a game of hers to tell baby Sasuke whenever she thought Itachi was being a bully. Sasuke would always look at Itachi with narrowed eyes, as if to warn him off. Tsukiko found it absolutely hilarious, and so did Itachi, who had a hard time not laughing at his disapproving baby brother.
Of course, the reverse was also true. Itachi could tell on her and she'd be treated to Sasuke's grumpy expression the rest of the afternoon. But it was far more common for Itachi to tease her than the reverse, so it was usually the older boy in trouble with Sasuke.
He chuckled, and held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, I apologize! I don't need Sasuke glaring at me all day."
"Very well," Tsukiko said haughtily. "I accept your apology." She glanced around. "Have you seen your parents?"
"Over there," Itachi pointed, taking her hand and tugging her toward his target as sakura blossoms fluttered through the air around them.
Standing patiently in front of him were three people. His father, mouth pulled down at the corners despite the felicitous nature of the occasion. His mother, smiling gently to greet them from his father's side. And his baby brother, whose recent mastery of his ability to walk delighted him to no end.
His family, completed with Tsukiko at his side, her hand still intertwined with his.
Spotting his big brother and adoptive big sister in the throngs of people coming and going, Sasuke opened his adorably round eyes wide. "Itaaa!" he cried in a clear voice. "Kikooo!"
Their mother told him to call his big brother "Itachi" and his sister "Tsukiko," but he still couldn't talk properly, so that turned into "Ita" and "Kiko." And seeing his little brother calling out so happily and tottering toward him, Itachi felt an overwhelming feeling of affection.
'He adores me unconditionally.'
And as his older brother, Itachi had to protect Sasuke unconditionally. His hand tightened around Tsukiko's and she squeezed his reassuringly. They didn't need words to communicate their feelings of pride and protectiveness that surged as the younger boy slowly made his way to them.
His mother followed along behind the baby and his tottering steps and bright smile, hands outstretched to catch him.
Tsukiko let go of Itachi's hand to crouch on the ground, stretching her arms to the stumbling toddler. "Come on, Sasuke! You can do it!"
"Kiko!" He called back delightedly, speeding up his steps. Sasuke nearly stumbled, but caught himself and kept going, his smile wide.
"Be careful, Sasuke," Itachi said calmly, smiling at his brother's happy face. And then Sasuke disappeared from his field of view.
Someone stood between them, blocking his line of sight. A man...a dark man. Itachi couldn't exactly put into words just what was dark about this man, but the aura surrounding him, the grim look on his face, and his very presence brought a dark void to mind.
"Are you Itachi Uchiha?" the man asked looking down on him. The right side of his face was covered by bandages. He was clad in black, but his arm from his left shoulder was exposed, revealing the white robe he wore underneath. His left eye alone glared at Itachi.
"I am."
The man's eye flicked to Tsukiko. "And you are Tsukiko Amaya?"
She slowly raised herself off the ground, her face devoid of emotion as she met the man's gaze unflinchingly.
"Yes."
"I see…" The man's sinister aura seemed to intensify as he studied the two. Behind him, Itachi's mother grabbed the shoulders of Sasuke, as the baby attempted to continue to reach Tsukiko.
"You are the bearer of bad luck," the man said suddenly.
"Bad luck?" Itachi questioned, slightly startled by the strange accusation.
"They call chaos, those lines," the man said, pointing at the lines running from Itachi's eyes down to his cheeks. "Chaos will follow you throughout your life."
'The stain of a single drop falling on a clear day.'
Who exactly was this man?
"I have a question for the two most talented geniuses ever to grace the halls of the academy."
Itachi and Tsukiko waited silently for the man to continue.
"One of our own betrays us, stealing village secrets," he said, directing his question to Tsukiko. "You've known this person all your life, and they come to you for aid when they are wounded during the theft. If you help them, they will escape with the information about the village. What do you do?"
Tsukiko's expression never changed, and her words came with no hesitation. "Capture them for questioning, if possible. If not, kill them and recover the village's secrets."
The man smirked, his gaze calculating. "A proper answer indeed." He turned to Itachi. "Ten of our brethren have been shipwrecked. One of them has caught a nasty, infectious disease. If he is allowed to live, the other nine will also get sick and die. If you were the captain of that ship, what judgement would you hand down?"
The question of why the man would ask something like that when they were meeting for the first time flitted through his mind. But in the same instant, he was offering a response, his own thoughts in simple words.
"No matter what happens, the one who is sick is destined to die. If I were the captain, I would think that my first priority would be to save the lives of the other nine. I would choose to kill the one and save the nine."
A bold smile crossed the man's face. "Another proper response." He moved toward the children. "I look forward to the day we meet again," he said in a near whisper as he passed Itachi.
Itachi felt the malicious echo sully his heart with darkness.
'That man is to be closely watched.'
Instinctively seeking a comforting warmth, he took Tsukiko's hand in his own, her troubled gaze meeting his silently.
"Itachi...Tsukiko…" His mother came racing over, Sasuke in her arms. "Are you both alright?"
"What did he say?" his father demanded concernedly, having come chasing after his mother at some point.
Itachi's eyes met Tsukiko's for a moment, searching for a response to his father's question. She blinked once. 'Lie.'
"Nothing important."
"Oh, really?" his father asked, turning his eyes on the man's departing back.
"Who is he?" Tsukiko ventured carefully.
"Danzo Shimura. He's a close aide of the Third." A dark shadow lurked in Fugaku's voice as he answered her.
"Chaos will follow you throughout your life."
The words Danzo left lingering in the air became sharp thorns and pierced Itachi's heart.
Placing a hand on his aching chest, and feeling Tsukiko press her shoulder against his, Itachi stared at the man's back as he walked away, until he disappeared.
Now:
Tsukiko stood next to Anko, another three ninjas on her right. Across from her stood Ibiki, with four more ninjas at his side. In between them, on a slightly raised platform, was the Hokage. Behind him were the nine senseis of the nine teams that had advanced. Four of those nine were the rookie Leaf genin, and six of the nine were Leaf teams. The other three were from the Sand, Sound, and Rain.
Masuko grinned at her from her spot in line, her canine glinting. She'd been thrilled to be the "official" sensei of their team, and seemed to enjoy glowering at the short Rain ninja next to her, who looked decidedly uncomfortable being next to someone so obviously ready for a fight.
Finally, all twenty five genin were lined up before them, waiting to hear the Hokage's speech before the preliminary round could begin.
Anko, armed with a small microphone headset, spoke first. "First of all, congratulations on finishing the second exam!" Her expression was honestly surprised, like she didn't quite believe it.
Tsukiko understood. Usually only three or four teams passed, so this was quite impressive. At Anko's words, several of the genin began speaking quietly, likely checking who else had passed.
Behind her, she heard Guy trying to pick a fight with Kakashi, Masuko egging him on.
'Great,' she sighed mentally, watching her purple-haired friend get Guy riled up. 'They've met.' Kakashi was ignoring the both of them, seemingly zoning out.
Eyes gliding over the genin, Tsukiko noticed several things. Firstly, Sasuke, though scratched and dirty, seemed to be in decent enough shape. He caught her eye and smiled confidently. She nodded, although if he thought she wasn't going to grill him on what happened, he had another thing coming!
Secondly, her girls.
Chiyo was grinning at Masuko, her spirits high. Her normal purple jacket and pants were torn and bloody, revealing the white shirt she wore underneath. Her already messy hair looked like a bird's nest, her two short braids tangled in her thick black hair. Seeing Tsukiko, she almost waved, but caught herself at the last second and settled for a wide smile.
Behind her, Midori was a little more solemn, though she did smile at both Masuko and Tsukiko. Her dark green shirt was covered in mud, and her black pants had a large hole in the knee. Still, she looked slightly better than Chiyo, her golden hair splattered with mud, but still in its usual ponytail. Her green eyes were shining with pride, and she held herself a little taller.
'Good,' Tsukiko thought fondly, smiling back. 'She's gained a little confidence. If nothing else comes out of this, she'll have at least learned to trust her instincts.'
The final thing she noticed was the red-haired Sand ninja. He stood next to Chiyo, a complete opposite to her happy and excited aura. And like Misora had noticed, not a scratch on him. His clothes weren't even dirty, which was at least true of his teammates. But no, he stood staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging his sensei.
That is until Chiyo said something, possibly congratulating him. Then his gaze flicked to her, murderous aura rising.
Chiyo's grin widened, and held her hands up in mock surrender saying something else. The Sand genin's gaze lingered on her for a long moment before switching to Tsukiko, obviously recognizing her. At Tsukiko's answering wink, his glare deepened before returning to whatever he'd been looking at previously, offering nothing but silence.
The dark-haired girl covered her mouth to muffle her laughter, looking at Tsukiko with wide, mirthful eyes as if sharing a private joke.
She returned Chiyo's smile, but her mind wandered, wondering how Chiyo could act so carefree around someone so angry. In Tsukiko's case, she'd had a lot of experience reading the usually expressionless Itachi, so the whole "I'm a brooding killer" schtick didn't affect her in the slightest. What experience did Chiyo have?
Again, the uneasy feeling that not everything was okay with Chiyo's homelife reared its ugly head. She and Masuko had both broached the subject carefully, but Chiyo had denied any such suspicion easily, saying she was just under a lot of pressure. Meeting her parents, Tsukiko didn't see any outward signs of them being abusive, but her instincts told her something else was going on.
Movement from Sasuke grabbing his collarbone distracted her, and she frowned as he grimaced in pain.
"Alright, now pay attention!" Anko called, having given them enough time to accept that they'd passed. "Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you. You better listen carefully, maggots," she added dangerously, giving no sign that she'd been in great pain only a few hours ago. Turning to the old man, she bowed her head respectfully. "Lord Hokage, they're all yours."
He nodded before stepping forward to the edge of the step and clearing his throat, unlit pipe hanging from his lips. "First, before I tell you what the third exam entails, I want to explain something about the test itself. Listen closely now, it's something that all of you need to understand." He paused, making sure everyone's attention was focused solely on him and his words. "I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these exams.
"Why do you suppose our country holds these exams in conjunction with our allies?" He questioned. "It's to raise the ability levels of the shinobi and increase friendship between allied nations to be sure, but it's important that you understand it's true meaning. The exams are, so to speak…" He trailed off, glancing at the Sand genin before taking his pipe out of his mouth. "They're a representation of the battle between allied nations."
Lord Third's words made several pairs of eyes widen, especially the rookie genin who were suddenly understanding the weight of the exam.
"Now, if we look at our history, all the countries that we're currently allied with were once neighboring nations that continuously fought with each other for power. In order to avoid destroying each other's military strength meaninglessly, those nations picked champions to do battle on behalf of their country, on a mutually selected location. That was how the Chunin Selection Exams originally began."
To no one's surprise, Naruto interrupted.
"Well, uh, that's great, but why do we have to go through with these exams, then? I mean, it's not like we're doing this to pick chunin to go fight."
"Well, actually," the Hokage corrected, smiling wryly. "There is no question that part of the point of these exams is to select shinobi worthy of becoming chunin. That's just not the whole story. These exams also allow for a place where shinobi can carry the price of their nation on their backs, and fight against other ninja for their very lives." His gaze hardened.
"Many leaders and people of prominence from various countries are invited to attend this exam as guests and also possibly to seek shinobi to work for them. This exam could determine the course of your ninja work from here on out. And more importantly, those rulers will watch your battles and take note of the strengths that each ninja and each nation is developing. If there is a gap in power between the countries, the strong nations are inundated with job requests for their ninja. And conversely, the requests to countries that are deemed weak, decline. Therefore, the stronger our nation is, the better our position when it comes to negotiating with neighboring countries. So it's important to show how much military strength our village has."
Tsukiko's eyes focused on the Sand jounin among the other senseis, searching for any reaction to the Hokage's words. She had already told the old man of her theory, and he seemed to think it a logical one, no doubt why he arranged this little speech.
The Inuzuka boy, with his dog stuffed inside his jacket, was the next to speak. "Okay, but even so, why is it necessary for us to risk our lives?"
A fair question, and one the Hokage was expecting.
"The country's strength is the village's strength," he intoned. "The village's strength is the shinobi's strength. And the true strength of the shinobi is only achieved when it's pushed to its limits, such as in a life or death battle." The Third Hokage pierced the genin with a hard look. "This exam is a chance for each nation to display the strength of its shinobi, and hence, the strength of the nation itself. It's because this is an exam where your life is on the line, that it has meaning. And it's for this very reason and for the strength of the nation that your forerunners fought in this exam. It's truly a dream worth striving for."
Now a girl wearing a pink tunic with her hair in buns, interrupted. "But then why did you use the expression, 'friendship,' before?"
"You've only remembered half of what I said," the Hokage rebuked. "You also mustn't have the wrong idea of the exam's meaning. This is a custom in which balance is preserved by fighting and dying. In the world of the shinobi, that is friendship. The third exam is a fight for life with the pride of your village and your own dreams at stake."
The Hokage's words sent a shiver down Tsukiko's spine, reminding her of her own dream. To be the strongest, the greatest of all the ninja and to end war. When had that dream been forgotten? When did she give up on it?
The answer of course, was obvious. That night, the one that changed everything. But...just because she had put everything aside to raise Sasuke, just because she was without the one person she trusted the most, did that mean her dream had ended before it even truly began?
'No,' she decided, her fists clenching. 'It doesn't end here.' Sasuke was old enough to take care of himself, old enough to risk his life for his village. Now, she could throw herself back into her training with that same intensity she'd had as a child, guiding her team to become stronger than they'd imagined. She didn't need Itachi, she had a team now, a new family in Sasuke, Masuko, Chiyo, and Midori.
'I'll show you, Itachi,' she promised. 'From now on, it's going to be you chasing after me.'
Then:
"Starting today, you four will be working under me as genin. Some of our missions will be tough. So you need to rely on each other, and make it out alive together!" the man in his forties shouted loudly, his headband tied so tightly, it looked painful.
Yuki Minazuki. He had been assigned to be the jounin supervisor for Itachi, Tsukiko, and two other graduates. In contrast to his lyrical name, he had a burnished face, and beneath the headband digging into the short dark hair on his head were eyebrows like old, used brooms. The eyes that sat below the unkempt brows were like a fish's, the nostrils were large, and although the man's lips were quite thick, his mouth was absurdly small.
They were seated on stone benches in the park, where the ridiculous man in front of them began his spiel.
Itachi felt his mouth quirk as he felt Tsukiko's disappointment. She had been looking forward to having what she called a "heroic sensei," someone who could teach them better maneuvers and tactics. Needless to say, this man did not fit the part.
Not that it mattered. The only thing Itachi cared about was that both he and Tsukiko were placed on the same team. The identities of their sensei and other teammates meant little to him, although it was interesting to note that they were on a five-man squad instead of the usual four. But, the number of graduated students was not divisible by three, meaning that there were either one or two teams of five, or teams with less than four, which was unacceptable.
"Rely on each other. As if," the genin next to Itachi muttered, too quiet for Yuki to hear.
'Although, had I been able to choose my teammates, I would not have chosen him.'
Tenma Izumo. The leader of the group that had tried to force Tsukiko and Itachi to their knees and apologize, back at the academy. While Yuki continued his superficial lecture, Tenma sat holding his knees, alternating between glares at Itachi and wary glances toward a smiling Tsukiko.
"We got the village albatross and cursed girl hanging around the neck of this team. To hell with teamwork."
The other genin, a girl, was sitting on the other side of Tenma, with short, spiky brown hair and defiant green eyes. "Look, you, could you just shut yer yap already?!" She shouted, interrupting Yuki's lecture. Her name was Shinko, and she was the same age as Tenma. "Ever since school, you've been yammerin' about Itachi on and on and on. But you're a genin now, yeah? So just quit with all yer whining already!"
"Shut up!" Tenma shot back. "You're just a girl. And you know, this has been bugging me since we were at school—your accent's so messed up, you stop making sense halfway through a sentence!"
"I only moved house to Konoha three years afore. I kin't help it!" Shinko yelled, pursing her lips.
"Would you both stop it, please?" Yuki timidly tried to calm the bickering pair, but they simply glared at each other, and gave no sign of stopping.
Itachi felt Tsukiko lean against him, a habit she developed when she was tired, of either training or of people. "What a lively team," she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. "A sensei with no authority, a loud girl with a temper, and a former bully who was terrified of my Gensogan. No problems here, I'm sure."
The corners of his mouth turned up, and he nodded. "We would've been more than adequate with just the two of us."
"Girls are always nice to good-looking guys, anyway!"
Tsukiko's body shook with smothered giggles, and Itachi felt himself turn slightly pink.
'What a sad argument.'
"Wh-Why would I be all up in here for Itachi like that? Looky you, the lad's only seven! I'm thirteen, hear? I def don't fancy him!"
"Age doesn't matter when it comes to love, right?"
"Wh-What are you talking about! I don't fancy him! Tsukiko's the one draped all over him, so ask her!"
Instantly, Tsukiko's head shot up from the spot on his shoulder, her face turning red. "Please don't get me involved in a stupid conversation," she snapped.
Itachi cocked his head, confused at her response. The discussion was indeed a waste of time, so why did she react so harshly?
Yuki waved his hands at the four of them frantically. "Stop fighting! We're a team!"
Tenma and Shinko glanced at their sensei, before immediately shouting at each other again.
"Haah." The three of them were so pathetic that Itachi couldn't help the unconscious sigh that slipped out.
Naturally finding fault with this, Tenma raged. "What're you all exasperated for?!"
'I can't spend time with these people…'
Itachi stood up, eyes closed.
"You jerk! You running away?!"
"Itachi, go on and give this arse a piece of it! You too Tsukiko!"
Ignoring them, Itachi looked at Yuki. "I was told that today was just a meet-and-greet?"
"R-Right." Yuki was clearly the most concerned about Itachi and Tsukiko, the youngest members on the team.
"So then, haven't we finished what we came here for?"
"I-I suppose we have."
"Then Tsukiko and I will take our leave."
Yuki nodded slowly. "Alright. We have our first formal mission tomorrow, so please make sure you're both on time."
About to walk away, Itachi stopped and looked at Yuki over his shoulder. "I understand."
Tsukiko bowed politely. "Yes, Yuki-Sensei. We'll be there."
"You're just running away, jerks!" Tenma shouted, standing up.
"An' I'm not done with my talking yet!" Shinko grabbed onto the hem of Tenma's trousers, pulling the boy to the ground.
"What are you doing?!"
"Yer such a loudmouth!"
The sound of their bickering in his ears, Itachi didn't turn around again. He could tell this wouldn't be easy.
Tsukiko threw her hands up in frustration. "It's just not working today!"
Itachi laughed at her expression, distracted from his Fireball practice by her outburst. "You're not focusing," he noted, watching the movement of the water critically.
She huffed, blowing her white bangs out of her eyes. The stubborn strands refused to stay in a ponytail. 'My hair's getting long.'
"I know, Itachi," she sighed, allowing the water to fall out of the sky. She had been attempting to freeze the water into kunai-like projectiles and aim them at targets placed randomly by Itachi. Normally, she could do it quite easily, but as Itachi said, she wasn't able to concentrate. Water was a flowing element that relied on change. In order to force it to freeze instantly, or change directions, she needed to have very precise chakra control.
"I just...I'm worried," she admitted, flopping flat on the ground resignedly. "About our team. We seem to be saddled with the most useless people imaginable. How are we supposed to improve? It will be the academy all over again." Tsukiko looked up at the sky, frowning in thought.
"Perhaps," Itachi agreed, laying next to her, his own eyes watching the clouds lazily float by. "But we will at least be out on missions, able to test our abilities to some new extent."
'Someone's acting all high and mighty today.'
"Don't act so patient!" Tsukiko teased, glancing at the older boy. "When those two started fighting, I thought your eyes were going to roll so far back you'd see your own brain." Just the image of him looking so exasperated would keep her amused for weeks.
"Oh?" he questioned, tilting his head in her direction. "And what made you so upset that you had to join in their fight?"
Heat bloomed on Tsukiko's face and she determinedly stared upward, finding relief in a cool breeze that washed over her. In truth, she wasn't sure why she had reacted the way she did. All she knew was that when Shinko had implied that she was in love with Itachi, she had immediately lashed out, not wanting Itachi to hear. But why? She didn't like Itachi that way...did she? He was almost her brother!
"I..don't know," she responded truthfully, unable to think of anything else to say. She felt like her heart was aching, and couldn't help but clutch at her shirt. "I just...I felt like I was embarrassing you."
"Hmm," he replied, seeming somehow disappointed. "I see." He was quiet for a moment, his face thoughtful.
Tsukiko dug her fingers into the rich soil underneath her, frustrated that she couldn't properly explain exactly what she had felt. The smell of the forest calmed her, as did the feeling of being connected to the earth. Connections, bonds, were very important, and her bond with Itachi was the most precious thing in the world to her. She wouldn't risk it.
"It doesn't bother me," he said finally, startling Tsukiko out of her thoughts.
Curiously, she looked back at him, surprised to see him watching her intently, a faint line of pink on his cheeks. "What?"
"I don't like it when other people touch me," he continued, his onyx eyes never leaving hers. "Especially in public. But...it doesn't bother me when you do it. I'm used to you laying your head on my shoulder, or holding my hand. I don't want you to stop doing that simply because you think it will embarrass me."
Tsukiko nodded slowly, a shy grin creeping back onto her red face. Confidence filled her, and an impulsive thought hit her. She quickly leaned in toward the older boy and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Itachi."
Itachi's eyes grew wide in surprise, and his mouth opened slightly, no words coming out.
The younger girl leapt up from her spot, giggling at the stupefied look on his face. "I'm going for a run," she said swiftly, too scared to see if he would get angry. The wind blew her long hair back as her legs began to pump, pulling her away from her partner. Her heart was racing, and happiness exploded through her chest.
'What is this feeling?'
A.N. Can you feel the feels? We're starting to get into some actual romance here! *gasps dramatically* And my least favorite character of the ENTIRE series makes an appearance. Honestly, Danzo's the Umbridge of Naruto! The only ones I hate almost as much are Zetsu and Kaguya for being stupid and ruining one of the best anime villains. Oh, well. And yes, I did create a two-man Rain team for the soul purpose of getting their butts kicked by Chiyo and Midori. I have no shame about it.
Now to answer a few of my more popular questions. I answered directly to the people who asked, but I thought you guys would also like to know. Here are my favorite five!
"When does Tsukiko get lightning?"
—Patience people! It'll happen! It's an evolution of her eye, because to me, (even though the show treats it like a normal element) Lightning is a combination of other elements and is really advanced.
"What's the deal with Orochimaru? Is he going to be one of Tsukiko's main villains?"
—Yes and no. See, my own feelings about that guy are pretty weird. When he first showed up, I thought he was the creepiest creeper to ever creep, and as I was 11 when I started reading Naruto, he freaked me out. But somewhere along the way, I really started to like him. I don't know when it happened. All I know is that when he showed up again in the Ninja War, I was SUPER excited! And then weirded out, and confused as to when I started looking forward to him. Now, I adore Mitsuki in Boruto. So, Orochimaru is one of the characters that I find enjoyable to write about, because he's just so darn creepy, and fully realizes it! So, Tsukiko is going to have an interesting time with that guy.
"Will Tsukiko join the Akatsuki?"
—This one is probably my most popular. All I can say is that, as much as Tsukiko loves Itachi, she feels immensely betrayed by him. There's a fair bit that hasn't been disclosed about their interactions "that night" and some of it is going to directly conflict with flashbacks. You'll see what I mean. I will say that meeting him again will be difficult, in more ways than one.
The questions boiled down to: "Gensogan. Why and how?"
—I'm really glad I got this one. See, when I started writing down qualities for Tsukiko, I wanted her to be a match for Itachi. Specifically, I wanted her to be able to somewhat counter the Sharingan. So, giving her something uncopyable, like a kekkei genkai, seemed obvious. But then I thought about Genjutsu, and specifically how you break it. It's mentioned over and over that "breaking" a Genjutsu requires pain or being able to break your chakra flow. Ok, so how could my character do that easier than others? Oh! I'll giver her several clashing chakras, with the ability to switch between them. This switch to different chakras will break most Genjutsu. (Basic level. Not like, say, Tsukiyomi, or Mangekyo stuff that can only be broken by Uchihas of the same blood...just an example…) From there, it was no jump to use the chakra types or "elements" (AKA Gensogan—Element Eye) and incorporate some moves from my favorite tv show, Avatar.
"Will Chiyo, Masuko, and Midori get their own stories?"
—I mentioned this possibility, and a lot of you guys seem to like it! Masuko probably won't get her own, as she's so closely tied to Tsukiko, but I do plan on having some chapters in her perspective further down the line. As for the other two, yes, I plan on it. Their stories will touch this one, and vice versa. Anyone who reads this will learn their love stories just as anyone reading theirs will learn about Tsukiko. Basically, when I started reading Naruto, I had huge crushes on two specific characters. And, when Itachi showed up, I thought he was super cool, but I hated him. I have a little brother and sister, so as an older sibling, I thought he was awful. Then, as I got older, I fell out of the series before Shippuden, only picking it up when I was 16. And holy crap did I cry when I found out about his past! And he became my favorite character. Now, the other two guys I liked still remain some of my favorites to this day, and I thought they deserved a little attention as well! Chiyo's should be pretty obvious right now, what with her expressing a desire to travel between other villages and such, but Midori is a shy one, so we haven't seen much of her. That will change.
Anyway, thanks so much for all the love! If you have any more questions, comments, or even ideas on what you'd like to see, I'd love to hear it! I know the basic outline of how this ends, but any fluffy flashback moments, specific fights you want to see (Tsukiko VS ?, Masuko VS ?, etc.) or moments in the series you want brought out. I'm basically skimming through the chunin fights, but some get more attention than others, and any iconic fights (you know the one) will definitely get more time.
Have a fantastic weekend and I'll see you guys next Friday!