Chapter 1
x
She flees from the hospital the second she can. Which, considering Tsunade's busy at the Hokage Tower and not present to man her hospital (prison) against escapees, is rather soon. Perhaps she should feel a little bad, her actions will undoubtedly pull Tsunade free form the tower to chase her down. Right now, Naruto doesn't care in the slightest.
Blonde pigtails snap about as the air races through them and Naruto curses her lack of balance, losing the weight of an arm on your right side appears to do that for you. Once again, she curses her current lack of fingers, unable to so much as create a shadow clone to aid her escape.
Her mind is whirling. It was all supposed to be over now; it was supposed to go back to normal. No more wars, no more Uchihas popping up out of the woodwork, certainly no more dead people. And yet, she already has two of the three happening right here.
Naruto ducks into her new apartment through the open window, slamming it shut and making a beeline for the bed.
Once there, she burrows beneath the thick covers, pressing her face into the pillow and sucking in deep breaths, each one whistling through her teeth. One hand clenches at the bed sheet beneath and hot tears gather in the corner of her eyes at the all-encompassing loss that is her missing right hand, how she can't clutch at the sheets with more fingers because those fingers are no more.
The stump has healed over nicely, it isn't as tender as it'd been when the flesh had been freshly healed. But it's still the most delicate part of her body, the one that throbbed with pain if she put too much pressure on it, if she caught it at the wrong angle. Naruto hates it.
Screaming, the pillow muffles the sound and Naruto whimpers beneath her breath once again. She needs to figure out what's going on, needs to figure out what had just happened. But to do that, first she needs to calm down.
.
It takes five minutes of meditation, of calm and steady breathing, before Naruto feels even remotely ready to start tackling the problem at hand. With Kurama sleeping right now, attempting to recover his chakra, that leaves her on her own with figuring this thing out.
Standing up, the blonde makes her way over to her desk, pulling out a piece of paper and picking up a pencil as she goes. It feels decidedly odd to be holding a pencil in her left hand, twirling it back and forth between her fingers. Sure, the academy train them to be able to write with both their hands, but it has been a while since Naruto had last exercised that skill.
With a sigh, the blonde drops down into a seat, drumming her fingers against her lower lip as she thinks.
She needs to tackle this problem like Sakura-chan would. The Kakashi-sensei method would be preferable, but Naruto's not that smart. She's probably the only one on Team Seven who can't recreate their sensei's usual analyse of the situation but that's not something that is gonna change any time soon. She just has to crack on, needs to take stock of what has happened so far, what information she already has.
First thing first, Uchiha Itachi is currently in the village. He'd been stood beside Sasuke but no one else had been able to see him. She likes to think there would have been a stronger reaction had anyone else spotted the Uchiha. Especially since no one but herself, Kakashi and Sasuke knew the truth at the moment. For the moment, that is. One of Sasuke's demands had been a declaration of Itachi's innocence, for the truth to come out so the village could know what a good protector it had lost in the run up to the Fourth war. Naruto, of course, had absolutely no problem with that. No, what she does have a problem with is the fact Itachi is dead and yet, somehow, still around.
He'd been stood by Sasuke's side, a sad smile on his face as he watched his younger brother in that short glimpse that Naruto had gotten of him. She knows for certain Uchiha Itachi is dead. Very dead. Sasuke has the man's eyes in his skull for god's sake, he couldn't' be anything other than dead.
And yet, he's still been stood there, neither alive nor dead. He hadn't been in the same state as he had been in the war, resurrected with the sclera of his eyes black. There's been no cracks painted across his skin, no deathly pallor to it. All the same, he'd not been alive. He'd been transparent. Like a ghost.
Naruto squirms in discomfort.
She really, really doesn't like that idea. Fuck ghosts. Ghosts are not supposed to exist. They're not allowed to. Does that damn Uchiha not understand that his ghostly presence wasn't allowed in her ghost free zone?
And… why was it only Itachi?
Where are all the others, all the other souls of the dead who'd died in the war, all those that, like Itachi, had been brought back to fight?
Naruto peels her head out of her hand, blowing her cheek up and face scrunching at the taunt pull of her skin where the pencil has left an imprint. She squints at the world around her suspiciously. But no, there are no other ghosts. So, why is it only Uchiha Itachi she can see?
And why is it only she could see him? Not even Sasuke (Sasuke of the funky eyes) who would have made more sense with his Rinnegan appeared to be able to see his brother. That would have been a much more logical conclusion. Let the bastard see ghosts, not her.
Sighing harshly, Naruto reaches up to grip at her ponytails (a nervous habit formed years ago, way back in childhood), only to let out a desperate cry when she feels no pressure on her right ponytail. Because the hand is still gone.
Sakura and Tsunade need to hurry up with that prosthetic, she doesn't know how much more of this she can take, reaching for something and not being able to pick it up with her first choice of limb. Sometimes she can still feel the fingers, phantom digits that twitch to her desire, that trick her into believing her arm is still there.
Pushing herself away from the table, Naruto stares down at the small nine-tailed fox she'd been absentmindedly doodling onto the paper in front of her, a bittersweet smile sweeping across her face. She can't wait until Kurama wakes up. The fox'll know what is going on, this is like his area of expertise or something. The strange and unnatural. And what's more unnatural than a ghost? Nothing as far as Naruto is concerned.
Plucking up a plain orange sundress and a fresh pair of undergarments, Naruto disappears into her bathroom, ready for a shower to work the kinks out of her back. The hospital beds are, in no way, shape or form, comfortable.
.
Head under the spray of the shower, Naruto watches the dark blonde strands gather, fanning about to form a curtain before her breasts, water dripping from their ends.
For years she'd kept her hair short, to keep the villagers from grabbing it, to keep the enemy from grabbing it. But then, then Jiraiya had come along, come along and told her all about her mother, who had worn her brilliant red hair long, as long as her calves.
And so, Naruto had gained a new goal. To grow her hair out, to let it grow as far as she could deal with. It now comes to rest midway down her back after four solid years of growing and doesn't plan to stop there. She wants it to go at least to midthigh, as homage to her mother, in the same way her orange and black flame cloak is a nod to her father.
Even if she hadn't known it when the toads had passed on Jiraiya's last gift.
Flicking the long strands back over her shoulder, Naruto snatches up the shampoo bottle, scowling when she realises she has to squirt the substance directly onto her head. Sure, she'd been trained to use her left hand, but that was with the impression she'd be on infiltration, posing as someone who preferred to use their left hand over their right. She is so not trained to handle a missing limb.
There's so much more she has to think over now, and it's not pleasant.
Rinsing the suds from her hair, Naruto plays with the idea of leaving the shower right away, but knows that the second Sakura or Ino or even Tenten see her, they'd be furious about her lack of conditioner usage.
As a fresh genin, Naruto hadn't bothered too much about her boy short hair, washing it thoroughly with soap every few days and leaving it at that.
Unfortunately, when she'd grown it out long, she'd found out that apparently more length meant she had to take better care of it, according to her fellow females. Even Hinata had agreed, and the Hyūga were unofficially the best at hair care in all of Konoha.
With a sigh, the blonde quickly returns the shampoo bottle to the shower basin, plucking up the conditioner.
The things she goes through so her friends won't yell at her.
.
Water droplets still dripping from her hair, Naruto scoffs as she walks out of the bathroom, swearing under her breath as she does so. Putting up pigtails is so much harder with only one hand. No, wait, it's impossible.
Snarling, the blonde throws the bobble to the floor, tears of shame burning in the corner of her eyes. What if Sakura never figures out the prosthetic? Would she be stuck like this forever, not even able to tie her own hair up?
Chomping down on her lip in order to stop the tears, Naruto turns her gaze to the kitchenette of her room, and then stops cold. There's someone in her apartment, someone who most certainly should not be there.
Uchiha Itachi glances back at her, his expression almost nervous and that spoke volumes on his usually emotionless face. Naruto can feel her ribs expanding outwards as she draws in a sharp, shocked breath, heart beating horrendously fast in her chest.
"My apologises Naruto-chan, I did not wish to invite myself in, but given the circumstances…" Itachi trails off, evidently taking in her rapidly beating heart, the way her one hand is clenched up in panic.
Slowly his hands rise, placing them on either side of his head. A surrender position. Not hands up and free like the civilian police use, seeing as a skill ninja would be able to fly through handseals before another could blink. With the fingers curled up and around the skull, it'd take a second long for hand seals to be formed, a second she could use to her advantage.
Still, Naruto's breath's caught in her throat, and she hacks out a cough, trying to voice her thoughts.
"A-are you a ghost?"
The Uchiha stares back at her for a second, then his eyes -dark eyes, not the Sharingan- turn to gaze upon his obliquely transparent hands.
"I believe so. Though I have met no other like me, nor has anyone been able to see me. All except for you."
There's a lull in the conversation as Naruto digests what she's been told. So, she'd been thinking the right thing earlier today then? He really is the only ghost around? And, and she's the only one that can see him?
Stumbling over to the kettle, Naruto struggles for a few minutes to fill it up with water, to open her cup ramen.
Eventually though she makes it to the table with her steaming snack, sitting herself down, kicking out the chair opposite her as she does so. Itachi appears hesitant to move but, at her jerky gesture, carefully takes a seat. Naruto tries and fails not to grimace when his hand passes through the table. They sit quiet for a moment, Naruto clicking her chopsticks together and then repeating the action as her mind whirls, trying to find something to say.
For a heartbeat, she thinks that Itachi's going to fill the silence as he leans back slightly, hopefully cautious of going too far and phasing right through the chair.
Naruto shudders at the thought.
"Thank you, Naruto-chan. For bringing Sasuke home."
Warmth that has nothing to do with her cup ramen hit her stomach and Naruto looks away, feeling the heat rise on her cheeks.
"I just gave the bastard a little push."
Itachi's soft smile dims slightly, looking quite blatantly at her upper right arm, which isn't attached to a whole lot else.
"No, you did not. Thank you, for taking your promise so seriously."
Rubbing sheepishly at the back of her neck, Naruto shuffles about on her seat, watching Itachi attempt to rest his elbow on the table, only to pass right through it. From the man's pinched expression, this has happened a few times already. She feels pretty damn sick at the thought of it.
"Wh-why are you a ghost?"
She really, really does not want to end up a ghost herself. When she goes, she's going to the same place as her parents. But not before she's lived a good long life, until she'd done right by Kurama, by the Leaf Village and by all her friends.
"I believe it has something to do with the circumstances of Edo Tensei. Due to the influence of Shisui's eye, the implanted will, I have concluded that my soul has been cut off from the Pure World, so to speak. When Kabuto was forced to release the jutsu, it only released the hold that kept my soul tied to the sacrificed body."
"So you're stuck here?" Naruto sums up, mouth having popped open in horror at the thought. The Pure World's supposed to be the end, the place after death. Her parents are there, and she doesn't doubt that Itachi's are. To be cut off from family, and for his only family to not know he's here-
"Wait! I've gotta tell Sasuke you're here!" Naruto shoots to her feet, squeaking when her ramen almost topples free of its confines. Almost, because she's Uzumaki Naruto and she'll never spill a cup of ramen for as long as she lives.
Itachi draws her eye with his movement, standing back and away from the table now as he shakes his head. "If Sasuke were to know I was here, he would not live his own life. He would attempt to live for me, from a misplaced sense of guilt. Please do not inform him."
The blonde's brows pucker, a frown forming across her lips as she slowly sits back down.
"Think about this objectively, Naruto-chan. Were Sasuke suddenly able to speak to your mother, would you be able to go on, knowing he could relay any message she had to you, would you be able to go about your day, knowing it was Sasuke who could interact with her, not you?"
Naruto opens her mouth to argue, but closes it after a second's pause. Itachi's right. No, it wouldn't fair on all three of them, not at all. Sasuke's just starting to build his life up again, she can't put this on him, not right now. Not while the both of them are still recovering from the loss of their arms. Not when Sasuke is slowly starting to accept a future in Konoha, a future with his teammates and the others of the Rookie Eleven.
Drumming her chopsticks upon the rim of her now empty ramen cup, Naruto glances across at the spectre of the man now standing opposite her. To know that he'd sacrificed so much to keep the peace of the Leaf Village, and is suffering for that, even now… She doesn't like it. Why do they all get to live happily, when Itachi can't even have his peace in death? It isn't right and it certainly isn't fair.
Inhaling a large gulp of air and aggressively cursing her empty of all other ramen cupboards, the Naruto's brow creases as she thinks, looking over at Itachi once again.
The dark-haired male is politely looking away from her, staring out the window and watching over the village the softest of smiles on his face. He really does love this place.
Naruto's heart leaps up into her throat, hardening her resolve.
It's decided then, she thinks. While she's waiting for Kurama to wake up, while she's waiting for the world to recover from war, she'll help Itachi get his peace. She'll help him move onto the Pure World as he so clearly wants to, so he can get that peace he's fought so hard to give to all those that still live. It makes perfect sense; ninja have invented ways to summon souls back from the Pure World, surely sending one back isn't that difficult?
And if it is, well, she's not Konoha's most unpredictable ninja for nothing! That much she knows is the truth. But hell, she's going to have to do some research. Lots of research. She needs clones, which means…
"I need to see a woman about an arm," Naruto declares, getting to her feet once again and throwing her empty ramen cup in the bin.
Dark eyes track her movement across the flat, watching as she puts her sandals on. Naruto's sure he doesn't miss the way the muscles of her right shoulder, her right upper-arm twitch, wanting to help the left but no longer capable of it. Twisting this way and that to make sure her footgear is on correctly, Naruto turns to look at her unexpected guest, frowning at the blonde hair that attempts to get in the way. Man, how had her mum dealt with it this long?
"Are you coming with?"
Itachi tilts his head to a side, considering. His eyes, still that dark shade of grey, continue to weigh her up before he gives the shallowest of nods.
"You are the only one I can interact with, Naruto-chan."
"But… don't you wanna watch over the bastard?" That makes no sense in her mind. Itachi had done everything for Sasuke, had given up everything for his little brother. Naruto's not jealous, she's not. She may or may not be a little in awe, however.
"Sasuke is in a better place than he has been for years. I need not observe his every movement."
"Yeah, right. That makes sense, I guess." Scratching at her cheek, Naruto spins on her heels, playing with the idea of leaving via window but deciding it's perhaps not the best of ideas. Unbalanced by a missing arm, it'd be just her luck to misjudge a jump and slam into something. Probably in front of Kiba too, and the fucker'd never stop laughing at her for it. So, yeah, she'll pass on future humiliation, thank you. Soon enough she'll have a second arm again. Zetsu's clone cells ahd been good enough to give Obito use of his body again, surely that means Tsunade, the greatest medic in the elemental nations, could turn it all into something that she can use?
Naruto crosses her fingers and hopes reverently that such a thing is true. She really, really doesn't like the idea of only having one arm forever.
"Please refrain from informing anyone of my presence, Naruto-chan."
Glancing back at the Uchiha as she locks the door up, Naruto gave a small smile, determination burning even stronger in her stomach.
She'll see him free of this latest torture, that she promises.
"Will do, Itachi."
.
.
Being back in the Leaf Village is both his antidote and his poison.
It's incredible, to walk through the streets again. But to not truly be there, to not enjoy the peace they are experiencing, to be unable to interact with his brother who is steady for the first time in years…
It hurts.
These streets are not familiar to him, all the houses new, all the land laid flat in the aftermath of an attack. There's pleasure at seeing the village at the calmest it has ever been, but pain, over not being able to fully appreciate it.
He is neither dead nor alive.
It's been that way since his temporary body had flaked away, since his spirit had remained alongside Sasuke as the body dropped to the floor.
Unseen, unheard.
Neither present or absent.
He had taken to following Sasuke, as no other option had presented itself during that time he'd stood by a frozen Kabuto's side, unable to do anything. He'd made his way to the Leaf, had shed tears over his sibling's missing arm. Even more so when he noticed the matching injury that Naruto sports.
But the girl has been true to her word, has brought Sasuke back to the village. Has supported him and built him back up, even if his brother is still very obviously fragile. He should really have a handle with care sticker labelling him right now.
Only Naruto seems capable of bringing out the best in him, though Itachi really isn't that surprised. From what he's heard, what he's seen, Naruto has brought out the best in everyone. It is why there is now peace. Tentative, infant peace, but peace all the same.
Only Sasuke… Sasuke is the only one that Itachi would prefer to see him. Naruto, there is no better person than Naruto, it is only Itachi's love for his little brother that has him believing otherwise.
When he had followed Sasuke to the girl's hospital room, he'd instantly clocked on to her the moment those blue eyes landed on his form. She had seen him. Looking right at him, at this body that was both here and not. And she had panicked.
Itachi had been quick to work out it was a childish fear of ghosts, but since Edo Tensei had been used so liberally in the war, he doesn't doubt that more than one ninja has walked away with a fear of the undead. He'd given her space, meanwhile mulling over what to say to the girl.
What else can he say? Thank you had obviously been the first thing on his list. She'd stopped the war, she'd saved lives, the village. She'd saved Sasuke. Itachi cannot even begin to describe the gratitude that wells within him because of that.
To ask her not to tell his little brother had hurt. But he knows Sasuke wouldn't be able to leave it alone. He would badger Naruto to be their middle man, to stand between their conversations. And the blonde would be too kind, too polite to say no. He doesn't want that for the whiskered teen; she's already done more than enough for them. For all of them. He refuses to add more to her workload.
Instead, he's began to consider at what he is able to do in this form.
The answer is obvious. He wants to help his village, even if it is from the shadows, from this in-between world he is now stuck in. And as a ghost, no one can stop him from snooping now. Naruto could relay the information.
He can still keep the village safe.
The new purpose burning bright inside of him, the idea taking root almost instantly. Yes, it sounds good. If he isn't allowed to move on, if he has to repent for his sins, then he will do it the only way he knows how.
By protecting that which he holds dear.
.
Phasing through another person the street, has Itachi grimacing. Just because he can pass through people, it doesn't mean his sense of touch has disappeared. He just can't actively move things, can't make an impression upon anything.
He can still feel the slick muscle of the human body, the sharp corners of a wooden table.
The silken blonde strands of Naruto's hair as she runs ahead of him, greeting every person that takes the time to acknowledge her. And there are quite a few.
It's obvious why Naruto's taking this whole ghost business so well. She's at the end of her tether, struggling to handle the fact she only has one arm now. With a ghost haunting the village, well, that's something she's clearly content on ignoring for the moment.
He's seen the way her remaining upper arm had twitched, had watched as it tried to aid its match, but had been unable to.
Something heavy sits in his stomach, well aware that it is because of Sasuke's ideals, ideals that were unfortunately twisted… this was the cause of Naruto's injury. Of his little brother's injury.
He'd seen his younger sibling cry when he thought there'd been no one in his hospital room. Itachi had forced himself to stand vigil by his brother's bedside, aware that had he made a better choice, had he handled the situation with Sasuke better, then maybe his baby brother wouldn't be missing a limb right now.
That maybe Naruto wouldn't be missing one either.
Had he not tried to do everything on his own, had he accepted help instead of going unaccompanied, had he just trusted in others as much as he had his own abilities… Things might have turned out for the better.
"Itachi?"
Snapping his gaze up to look at the whiskered blonde that's stopped just outside of the Hokage's office, the Uchiha forces his expression to soften, to halt reflecting his bitter thoughts.
Naruto stares back at him for a second, blue eyes dripping with curious suspicion, but nevertheless she accepts the fact he isn't going to say anything.
Instead, she turns on her heels, pushing open the door to the Hokage's office and striding into the whirlwind of chaos as if it isn't there.
Itachi follows in a somewhat more cautious manner, each and every ninja passing him by without so much of a first glance, never mind a second. He's grown use to it, these past three days, but it still catches him off guard whenever he's not fully focused, can still sting. It has been a long, long time since people had ignored him in such a manner, a long time since no one had been watching.
He takes note of Naruto's expression, shocked and quite clearly confused. She'd obviously been hoping she isn't the only one who can see him. Itachi's unsure why it's only her, he still doesn't have an answer for that, no matter how much he has spent that past hour pondering over it.
"Baa-chan! Is my new arm done yet?"
Itachi smiles, unable to help himself. He'd heard the rumours of course, but this is the first time that he's actually been able to witness Naruto address the Hokage as something so familiar as 'Baa-chan'.
The girl shoots him a funny look, but continues onwards regardless.
"I wanna go on an adventure!"
The busty blonde Hokage, who'd previously been snapping out orders before Naruto's exuberant entrance, pauses, sharp honey eyes assessing every inch of her fellow blonde.
"Excuse me?"
"I've got some questions that I want answers to. I wanna go on a journey of self-discovery. Like Pervy Sage did. But I need an arm for that." As if to emphasise her point, Naruto waves her stump up and down, reminding Itachi rather forlornly of a chicken.
It's not the kind of action one would associate with the strongest ninja in the world. And she is, his brother a close second. It's Naruto's will, her charisma, that won her that title. She's never lost when it really counted. The fact the Leaf Village still stands makes that abundantly clear.
"Konoha is recovering from war, the citizens are insecure and this peace thing is as fragile as the Hyūga clans' hair-care ego, and you want to just leave?"
Naruto splutters, eyes darting around the room in an effort to keep from looking at him. Itachi's surprised to find out there's a small does of amusement bubbling away in his stomach. He has no idea what Naruto had been expecting, but this kind of reaction clearly isn't it.
"Please Baa-chan? I'll stop by all the villages and make sure everything's running right, and if you fix me up with a new arm I'll be able to defend myself just fine! You can call it a diploc- diplowam-"
"Diplomatic?" Itachi offers quietly, watching as Naruto straightens, flipping him a thumbs up behind her back with her one good arm and thus, out of view from Tsunade.
"A diplomatic mission!"
The Hokage heaves a sigh, nursing her temples with one hand, the other twitching for something. Itachi's sharp gaze picks up on the shape her fingers attempted to form, not the kind of grip required for a kunai, but something leaning more towards, a bottle?
Well, if his information is correct, then Tsunade's still as notorious a drunk as she'd been before taking up the hat. Clearly some things will never change.
"So you'll let me?"
"Fine brat! Stop by in morning and we'll talk it over. Now I've gotta go look at those blasted cells again."
Naruto whoops in victory, spinning on the spot and shooting out towards the door. Itachi doesn't miss the way she reaches out to snatch up his wrist, but remembers at the last second she'll just pass right through him.
'Well,' he muses, following after the young woman that's making a beeline to the new market place, 'at least this in-between won't be terribly boring'.
EDIT (14.07.19) ...slowly... very slowly...
Tsume
xxx