Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto like, at all... Maybe just the changes I made? MMm.. Maybe not even then :p
"Normal Speech"
"Demon Speech"
'Thought Speech'
'Demon thought speech'
Third Academy Year
Mikoto Uchiha, head of the Uchiha Clan, sighed in exasperation at the sight before her, her son's rather untidy room. "I know he was in a rush this morning... But still..." Shaking her head she shot the room a final glance before heading back down stairs. The room was littered with books and training equipment such as weights, kunai and shuriken. The boy's bed was unmade and he had dishes still sitting on his desk.
A small smile tugged at the Uchiha matriarch's lips as she went about preparing herself some tea, last night's conversation with her son's replaying itself in her head.
The Evening Before...
"Argh! She's so annoying!" The outburst had come from the youngest Uchiha at the table, eliciting an amused chuckle from the elder of the brothers. "Fan girl troubles?" The amused undertone didn't go unnoticed by the other two Uchiha at the dinner table. Sasuke poked at his rice with his chopsticks as he huffed. "I wish, then I could just ignore it." This raised the brows of the two older Uchiha at the table.
Realising who his little brother was talking about Itachi grinned knowingly at his little brother. "What? Little Uzumaki-san is the one getting you all worked up?" He chuckled softly as he watched his little brother slump a little before nodding at his words.
"She never does anything in class, yet always gets top marks in any test we have like she isn't even trying. She hasn't even lost a spar yet. It's infuriating..." Itachi laughed out right at that, shaking his head a little as he did. "She covered the academy content prior to joining..."
Mikoto had remained quiet while the two brother's had talked, though chose this moment to interject. "You said Uzumaki, yes?" The boy's paused a moment before nodding in unison. "It couldn't be... Could it?" The question was more for herself than for the boys, though Itachi spoke up anyway.
"She was being raised by Kakashi-sama, but he's been out of the village for over a year on a mission." As Itachi finished speaking he glanced at his brother only to chuckle at the shocked expression on his little brother's face. "You didn't know little brother?"
Sasuke shook his head slowly as the shock wore off. Everybody in the Clan knew Kakashi, the only Ninja so far to become an honorary member of the Uchiha clan. "No... She always refers to him as Nii-san whenever someone brings up the subject." Itachi leaned over and flicked his brother's forehead playfully. "She's been training with Kakashi for years, rumour even has it that she is his apprentice. She's likely to be the strongest would be Genin to go through the academy for a while now. A proper Kunoichi." Itachi almost sounded impressed, almost.
Once again Mikoto cut into the boy's conversation, a small smile tugging at her lips as she gazed at her boys. "I would like to meet her." Silence fell at those words, both boy's staring in disbelief at their mother. "Maybe she could join us for dinner sometime this week and seeing how both my boys are so interested in the Uzumaki clan heir I should get to know her too, no?" With that she collected her now empty dishes and left the room, missing the look of shock that had returned to Sasuke's face and the slight furrowing of brows that Itachi had gained.
Present...
Laughing softly to herself Mikoto took her cup of tea and made her way outside, and settled down on the porch in front of her house, letting her look out over the street, watching her clan members go about their daily business. A small time of quiet before her duties as Clan head filled up her day.
The clan had changed a lot since the Kyūbi attack almost eleven years ago. The previous clan head and several other Uchiha had lost their lives while buying the Yondaime enough time to prepare for his confrontation with the demon fox. While Fugaku had become a hero, his death left a hole in the clan that Mikoto had done her best to fill. Taking up the role of Clan head she had stepped aside for her husband many years previous, she had made some rather drastic changes that would never had happened under the guidance of the previous Clan head and Elder's watch.
The changes had happened over the past eleven years, some had been sudden, though most had been gradual changes. Things like allowing the other clans to join the Konoha Military Police and abolish her clan's isolationism, allowing her clan members to find love outside of the clan, and even marry should they choose to. While some of the clan had protested to these changes, though they had as a whole adjusted and accepted that they had been needed, even if grudgingly.
The only dark spot was the disappearance of one of their more skilled clan members, while a suicide note had been found, there was no trace of a body, leaving no evidence to the contrary.
Shaking her head Mikoto pulled herself from her thoughts before taking a sip from her tea she savoured the taste while enjoying the nice weather while she had the chance.
Sasuke was brooding, once again they had been given a test and Naruto had once again aced it with what seemed little effort and was lying sprawled out on her desk next to Hinata supposedly asleep. Grinding his teeth together he glanced for the fifth time that morning at the red head lying asleep only to blink a little as he found the red head staring back at him. The icy look in her normally bright blue eyes sent a shiver down the Uchiha's spine. He looked away again, turning his attention back to Iruka at the front of the room. 'Did she know I was looking...' Shaking his head a little he dismissed the thought.
Naru was once again slumped over the desk before her, she groaned softly to herself as if in pain. "Boredom reaching maximum levels, unable to maintain quiet for much longer..." A soft giggle cut through Naru's talking. Turning her head she peered at her best friend with a fox like grin, the girl had a hand covering her mouth, trying to muffle her mirth.
"Already Naru-chan? We only got back from break a few minutes ago you realise..." Her gaze flicked briefly toward the clock as if to confirm what she had stated before she glanced back at her friend shaking her head a little. "You're going to get caught this time!" Naru simply poked her tongue out at her friend before giving a small giggle of her own. "We'll see."
As if on cue Iruka turned from the blackboard and threw the duster in his hand at his groaning student. His aim was true, though towards the end of its flight the brush swerved and crashed into the wall behind the targeted girl. "How does she do that... She didn't even blink, like she knew it would miss... "
The Hyūga next to the redhead giggled softly before she stood up and bowed. "Sorry for the interruption Sensei, I'll try and keep her under control." Naruto giggled at that though made no move to apologise for the interruption.
Iruka sighed, gently rubbing the bridge of his nose before turning back to the board with a shake of his head. 'If it weren't for the fact she is top of the class in every subject...'
Sasuke shook his head a little, dragging his gaze back from the pair in the back of the room to the blackboard, jotting down notes here and there as the lesson continued while his thoughts followed the same track that Iruka's had earlier. 'How does she always do that... Did training with Kakashi-sama really make her that strong she can just mess around in class like that...' Another sigh escaped the brooding Uchiha as he lent forward and resting his head on his arms, brows furrowed together in a frown.
Class had seemed to drag on for the Uchiha, he couldn't focus on what Iruka was trying to teach them, his mind kept falling back to what his mother had said last night. 'Why would she want Her of all people to come to dinner... A no name orphan... No Ka-san said she was a clan heir didn't she... And she is, or was being raised and trained by Kakashi-sama...' He gave a faint growl as he turned his head and peered back up at the red head, only to find those same icy blue orbs staring right back at him. Quickly looking away again he scowled down at the board, shaking his head a little at himself. 'Is she staring at me... Or does she just keep looking up at the same time... Or does she know when I am looking...' Once again he shook his head, giving an annoyed harrumph as he tried to focus back on his work for the umpteenth time that day.
When the day finally came to an end the Uchiha moved to approach Naruto and Hinata, only to find them already out of their seats and out the door. Frowning he followed after them, only to catch up to them as they slipped into the girls bathroom. Shaking his head he left to meet up with his mother.
At the Namikaze Estate...
Naru blinked a little, tilting her head as she glanced at Hinata who at that moment was sitting aside trying to catch her breath after their latest spar. "That's weird... The Uchiha was staring at me all day... Or at least kept looking at me, then followed our clones at the end of class..."
Hinata smiled a little at her friend before murmuring in her soft voice. "Perhaps the Uchiha has a crush on a certain red head?" She burst out laughing at her friend's horrified look. "It's not that shocking is it?"
Naru grumbled softly. "He's an Uchiha... Mum didn't have much nice to say about their clan as a whole... Just one or two of them..." Shaking her head a little to herself she sighed lightly. "Though they've changed a lot from what she had written in her journal." The pair went silent for a moment before Naru spoke up again. "So ready to go again? I want to try out a new jutsu, though... So you should probably release the restrictions of your seal..."
Hinata raised a brow at her friend though did as she asked, as she rose to her feet before slipping into her custom Jūken stance. Activating her Dōjutsu she peered at her friend curiously. "So what's so special about this new jutsu that requires my full speed?" Naru gave her best friend a fox like grin as she formed a single seal. "You'll see."
Naru hummed lightly to herself as she moved about in the kitchen, her thoughts wandering idly over the past few days while she unhurriedly made herself something for dinner.
Class had been same old, same old. Boring to tears and only Hinata had managed to keep her from simply skipping out all together. It was already bad enough she simply sent a single clone now, not even bothering to show up for physical training at school.
Training was going well, Yūgao had even started joining them every now and then to work on Naru's Kenjutsu and give the pair another partner to train with. Naru had recently even gone so far as to step up her training, working hard on the new jutsu she had developed. Her control wasn't anywhere near combat ready, but she thought it was coming along nicely, even Hinata seemed impressed, which was becoming harder and harder to do lately.
Hinata's training was coming along shockingly well too for that matter. The once shy Heiress having mastered her new gentle fist style to a level that she was pushing it further, adding new strikes and stances to the new form.
A knock at the door dragged the Red head from her thoughts as she glanced up a moment. Her brows furrowed before she gave an exasperated sigh. "I guess I was starting to push my luck... Oh well... Three weeks wasn't too bad..." Dropping what she was doing she moved from the kitchen to the front door and slowly pulled it ajar.
A pair of bright blue eyes rose to meet the steady gaze of obsidian staring down at the red head, a slight frown marring the otherwise impassive features of the elder Uchiha brother. "... Can I help you Itachi-san?"
Itachi eyed the girl for a moment longer before letting his gaze shift to the door she was still hiding behind, half wondering if the red head was hiding a weapon behind it well as herself. Clearing his throat Itachi brought his eyes back to the bright blue staring at him and murmured lightly. "Uzumaki-sama, it has come to my mother's attention that you have been... Ah... Hard to get a hold of... In recent weeks... So she has sent me in place of my little brother to formally invite you to dinner."
Naru blinked a little in surprise as Itachi bowed his head slightly. 'So that's why that teme was stalking me... He was going to ask me to dinner... God I am so glad I was avoiding him...' Giggling lightly she shook her head before raising a hand to tuck a loose strand of red hair behind her ear. "Your mother is inviting me to dinner? The Clan Head of the Uchiha? May I ask why?" Naru raised a slender brow ever so slightly at the faint look of discomfort that crossed the elder boy's features.
"Uh... My brother and I would be at fault for that... We managed to get into a minor discussion about you and it piqued my mother's interest. Apologies if this is causing any inconvenience..." Shifting a little, Itachi brought his arms up and folded them across his chest.
Naru laughed softly, shaking her head once again before pulling open the door and turning about as she called over her shoulder. "That I have got to hear... Come in, I'll put the kettle on."
Itachi shook his head, a little nonplussed at the abrupt change in body language, going from guarded to welcoming in little more than a moment. 'Well she's certainly hard to read... I wonder if that's the real cause for Sasuke-kun's discomfort...' Stepping into the apartment shared by a certain red head and silver haired Ninja, Itachi slowly glanced around as he followed the red head into the kitchen. The house was littered with pictures of the red head and copy ninja, some even having the Great Toad Sage in them. It was rather evident at that point to Itachi that Kakashi and Naruto were quite close.
When he stepped into the kitchen he found a cup already sitting steaming on the table with a chair pulled out for him, while the red head had her back to him, once again busy doing whatever she had been before he had interrupted her with his arrival. "Almost two years... It must be hard without him..." It was a simple comment, and Itachi didn't expect the reaction it got from the red head. Her body stiffened almost immediately, shoulders squaring off as she tilted her head just enough to peer back over her shoulder at him. The cold steel in her normally bright blue eyes warned him to drop it, though the cheery voice that escaped the red head denied the look that had lasted barely a moment as she turned back to her task.
"He'll be back soon. Nii-san doesn't like being away for too long, two years is the longest, so he'll be back soon. He promised he'd always come back from his missions when he went without me..." Naru's hand tightened about the knife in her hand, knuckles turning white from the tight hold before she willed herself to relax. 'It's okay, nothing to worry about... It was just a simple statement, Nii-san will be home soon. Everything will be okay...'
Silence stretched between the pair for a couple of minutes, the only sounds being made was the preparations the red head was making for dinner. Though these too paused a moment as she glanced back again at Itachi, half turning to look at the Uchiha. "Did you intend to stay for dinner? It wouldn't take too much longer to prepare enough for two..."
Itachi paused, lowering his tea a moment to eye the red head, before giving a very Sasuke like shrug as he took another sip from his tea. "If this tea is any indication, dinner should be good. If you wouldn't mind me imposing, I'll stay." He pulled his gaze from the girl, peering curiously about the house from where he was seated. 'It's clear she misses him, not surprising I guess, seeing how close they are...'
Dinner had been pleasant, Naru having led the conversation for the most part, talking about non-consequential matters such as how her day had been, how school was going and the like. Itachi had even managed to talk the red head into agreeing to join them for dinner sometime next week, though Sasuke would let her know in a couple of days when exactly she'd be expected.
Naruto stared quietly at the picture on her bedside table from where she lay on her bed, it was before she could remember, but it was one of her favourite pictures in the house. It was of her and Kakashi, they'd been walking around the village and someone had snapped a picture of him and the red head on his shoulders. While the genjutsu had shown her as a silver haired child, hair to match her brothers, the photo that had caught her brother off guard had shown the truth, Kakashi with a small red headed child riding his shoulders.
"I want you home Nii-san, why is your mission taking you so long to complete... What are you doing... I miss you Nii-san..." A single tear trickled down the curve of the girl's nose before dripping onto her pillow. Closing her eyes she tried to will herself to sleep.
Mikoto raised a brow at her son as he walked in, clearly trying to keep from being too loud as he walked through the house. "You were gone quite a long time... I thought you said you'd be able to manage inviting her?" A small smile tugged at the corners of the Matriarch's lips as she watched her son's growing discomfort.
"Uh... She invited me in... It would have been rude to turn her down... Especially seeing as we were inviting her to dinner ourselves..." Itachi tried to remain cool under his mother's gaze, one of the few people who unfortunately was able to see past his cool exterior.
Mikoto laughed softly at her eldest son, shaking her head a little as she raised a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter. A moment or so later she spoke again. "So you had dinner with Uzumaki-san? My, my... Whatever would Sasuke-kun think if he found out mmm?"
Itachi gave his mother a rather horrified look. "You wouldn't..." Though from the look on his mothers face he couldn't be sure whether or not she would tell his younger sibling. "Please mother... I'd rather he not find out... With his angst at Naru's classroom behaviour..."
"You convinced her to come to dinner?" When Itachi nodded Mikoto smiled a little to herself before giving a light roll of her shoulders, a telling gesture that her two boys had seemed to pick up in their own way. "I suppose I can keep your date quiet for now then." She let an amused smirk cross her features as she watched her son blush ever so slightly at her words before he gave a very Sasuke like grunt and walked off. 'Ahh... I enjoy teasing you too much for my own good Itachi...' Mikoto giggled quietly to herself as she turned her attention back to what she had been doing before Itachi had distracted her.
The Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan stood quietly, a look of mild surprise marring her features. Her gaze was caught upon the young girl standing in her doorway.
Naruto squirmed beneath the Uchiha Clan head's gaze, shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot a moment before she bowed low. "G-Good evening Uchiha-sama, I hope I have not too arrived too early for dinner..."
Mikoto couldn't help but giggle as she took in the girls attire, shaking her head a little to herself. "You are aware that it is an informal occasion, no?" She all but laughed at the look of distress upon the Red head's face. The girl had arrived wearing a formal kimono in a shade of royal purple with a plain beige obi tying it off. Rising from the hem of the dress were foxes stitched in a bright orange thread, the foxes were depicted as playing with one another, or in different poses from the hem to about knee height, each fox no more than a few centimetres in length. A similar pattern started at the edges of the sleeves working back up to about mid forearm. Beyond the girls kimono she had her hair done up in a near bun, held in place with a pair of silver chopsticks.
Naruto's face shifted from embarsement, to annoyance before finally ending up on something akin to defeat. With her cheeks still flushed a light shade of pink she bowed again politely before murmuring in a voice that wouldn't have sounded odd coming from the Hinata. "I... Uh... Was led to believe that it was a formal invitation... Itachi..." Shaking her head a little she let out a soft huff at herself before continuing. "If it's alright I can go change and come back, I shouldn't take too long..."
Taking a moment to get her amusement in check Mikoto shook her head at the red head as she ushered the girl into the house before she could even turn to leave. "Nonsense. I'm sure I have a few things from my younger days that would fit you. You can change here and return the clothes when you come to visit next time." A soft giggle escaped her once more before she spoke in a teasing tone. "Though from the amount of effort you put in, one would almost think you were trying to impress someone, one of my sons perhaps?"
Naruto's body tensed slightly at the suggestion and she started to shake her head emphatically as she went to voice her denial, only to stop as she heard the Uchiha Matriarch's laughter. 'Calm down idiot... She's just teasing you...' Shaking her head a little Naruto spoke once more. "That was awfully mean Uchiha-sama... It's not my fault that Itachi misled me ya know."
Mikoto laughed softly once more as she led the girl through her house and upstairs to her room. "Should I make sure to remind you for next time Naru-chan?" Pushing the girl ahead of her they stepped into her room before she closed the door behind them. "Now, let's see if we can't find you something suitable to wear mmm?"
Naruto blushed a little and shook her head at the teasing jab the Clan head shot at her. Smiling a little to herself she peered about Mikoto's bedroom, taking in the small token's she had about her room of her family and deceased husband.
The pair chatted idly, getting to know one another a little as they found some clothing from Mikoto's wardrobe that fit Naruto, they ended up settling on a skirt in black that reached the girl's knee's and a loose top in a similar shade of purple to the kimono she had arrived in.
Dinner had gone alright, it had been a quiet affair for the most part, the talking mostly being done by Mikoto and Naruto, though Itachi joined in every now and then. Sasuke remained silent throughout the meal, spending the entirety of the meal staring at the red head, much to the amusement of his mother and brother.
Naruto and Mikoto had left the table shortly after the conclusion of the meal, the two boys being left to take care of the dishes. Leading the red head out to one of her favourite spots she settled down on a cushion and motioned for the red head to join her on the other.
"So I suppose I should tell you why I invited you to dinner then, no?" Mikoto watched the red head, regarding the young girl seated beside her as she waited for the girl's response.
Shifting around a little till she was comfortable the red head remained quiet, using the time to collect her thoughts. Nodding her head a little to the Uchiha matriarch she murmured lightly as she turned her gaze to peer out over the small pond that had a pier sticking out into it, a spot she had seen the younger brother training his Katon jutsu once or twice. "Mmm... If I had to guess, I'd say that it was because you and my mum were close... And you wanted to find out how much I was like her..." Pulling her gaze from the pond she peered over at Mikoto. "Close?"
Mikoto smiled at the red head and bobbed her head lightly as she tilted her head, listening a moment to the two boys inside arguing. "Mmm... Almost spot on really. Kushina was my best friend, we spent a lot of time together, we were even pregnant at the same time so we spent most of our time talking about our plans for the future. She wouldn't admit it, but she was terrified you know... The one thing that had the Red Hot-blooded Habanero terrified, whether or not she would be a good mother for you." Her smiled shifted into a tender look as she gazed over at the girl seated beside her. "I'm sure she'd be proud of you."
Naruto sat silently as she listened to Mikoto talk about her mother, soaking in every little detail that the Uchiha Matriarch was giving her. "She'd have been a great mother. If her diary is anything to go by at least..." A small tear rolled down her cheek despite the bright smile upon her face. "Thank you... I... It means a lot to me to hear that. Mum and Dad... I wish I could have met them both..."
"You're more than welcome Naru-chan. If you like you can come around whenever you like and we can talk about your parents or just chat and have tea like your mother and I used to." She smiled warmly at the red headed girl, before rising and murmuring lightly. "Would you like some now in fact? Or something else to drink? I'll get one of the boy's to bring it out to us."
Naru bobbed her head lightly in way of a nod as she wiped her eyes, blushing a little in embarrassment. "Hai, I'd like that very much." Naruto took the time that Mikoto was gone to collect herself. "I should have approached her sooner, tonight has been great..."
Itachi nudged his brother lightly with an elbow as he placed another clean dish in the rack to drain while Sasuke finished drying the dish he held. "You know, keep up the way you are going and someone is going to think you have a crush on her." Itachi kept his tone neutral, though his gaze lingered on his little brothers form, to let him gauge his reaction.
Sasuke all but dropped the dish he had been about to put down in the pile before him at his brother's words. "I d-don't like her! She's annoying, who could l-like someone like her!" Sasuke almost yelled his denial at his brother, cheeks flushing lightly with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, body tensing slightly.
Itachi raised a brow at his brother's reaction before smiling lightly to himself, an almost knowing look crossing his features as he peered down at his younger sibling. "Relax little brother, I was just poking fun. Though if you want people to believe that you are going to need to be a little calmer with your rejection, not to mention a little quieter." Chuckling lightly he turned his attention back to the sink before him as he resumed his washing.
Giving their trademarked grunt Sasuke pulled another dish from the rack to dry trying to ignore his brother's chuckles. 'I don't feel like that about her... She's just a pain... An annoyance I need to put out of my mind..." Nodding lightly to himself Sasuke quickly caught up to Itachi in their shared task.
Several months sped by, the young Uzumaki heiress stopping in to visit the Uchiha matriarch becoming a common thing, even to the point many of the remaining clan members were on friendly terms with the red head.
While for the most part the red head spent most of her time talking with Mikoto, it wasn't unusual for her to be found sparring with the younger Uchiha. This happened to be what the red head was doing today, or had been. Sasuke lay sprawled out on his back, panting heavily as he lay there, body shaking from the intense spar, though Naruto seemed barely winded.
Naruto didn't say anything, she had learned over the months that mentioning anything about the spar after beating the boy so soundly only aggravated him, usually resulting in a rather annoying argument that she had no desire to take part in.
Unfortunately that didn't stop others from saying anything, such as the boy's older brother, who happened to appear at that moment a small grin tugging at his lips as he eyed his downed brother. "What? Still unable to match Uzumaki-san Sasuke?"
Naruto shot a glare at the older brother, though a faint sigh of relief escaped her as Sasuke did nothing but grunt, apparently too tired to respond anymore than that.
Itachi peered at his brother a little longer before turning his gaze to the red head, his small smirk slowly slipping from his features as he walked over to his brother and helped him up. "Before you leave Uzumaki-san, would you care for a spar? Seeing as my foolish little brother here still hasn't seemed to learn his lesson, and you barely seem tired."
Naruto had at the moment Itachi had collected his brother turned to leave, pausing only when Itachi had spoken to her. Tilting her head she peered back over her shoulder, eyeing the boy curiously. "An ANBU wishes to spar with a pre-graduate academy student? I hardly think that is fair..."
Outwardly Itachi seemed to pause at that, though a small smile tugged at his lips before rolling his shoulders lightly in way of a shrug. "I was simply wondering if you wished to see how you fared against an elite of Konoha. Of course I wouldn't go serious on you, we can't have the Uzumaki Clan heiress being seriously injured now can we?"
The faint furrowing of the red head's brows let Itachi know he had her, a subtle shift of his weight and he moved his brother over to where he had been standing observing his brother's beating. Settling his brother down he moved back to Naruto and bowed lightly. "Of course, if you are interested I'm more than happy to oblige."
Naruto huffed faintly, knowing she'd been had. Shaking her head a little to herself she simply bobbed her head before murmuring in a light tone. "I'll happily accept the offer, but how about some rules, you know, to make things a little fairer for me. Taijutsu only spar, and no Sharingan, how's that sound to you?"
Itachi smirked faintly, before dipping his head at the red head's term. "Acceptable for me Uzumaki-san. When you are ready, ladies first after all." His smirk grew a little as he noticed the faint twitching of the Uzumaki's eyebrow before the girl disappeared in a red blur.
Reacting on pure instinct the older Uchiha back peddled, hands moving to block the red head's rather surprisingly hard blows. His brow's furrowed, she was faster than before he noted, apparently holding back Sasuke more than he had expected. Once again the red head disappeared in a blur, Sharingan activating on instinct, which was the only thing that kept him from taking the next four blows, blocking the first two punches before jumping over the low kick, then being forced to flip back as Naruto flowed into an uppercut.
Naruto sprung back, scowling at the older Uchiha. "Tsk, tsk Itachi, I thought we agreed no Sharingan." She slipped into a loose stance though made no move to attack as she waited for the older boy to deactivate his Sharingan.
Itachi cursed inwardly before shaking his head a little to himself as he deactivated his Dōjutsu, pitch black onyx returning from the glowing red. "My apologies, instinct kicked in before I realised it had happened. I'll refrain from now on." He rolled his shoulders slowly before calmly slipping into his clan's interceptor fist opening stance.
The pair waited a moment before Itachi made the first move this time, just as Naruto slipped into a stance he was unfamiliar with. Itachi's speed was impressive, especially seeing as his specialty lay in Genjutsu, though he wasn't ANBU for nothing. Shockingly, for Itachi at least, Naruto was able to keep up at first he thought it was luck, his blows being tapped aside, or dodged, the red head's natural flexibility coming into play as she twisted and twirled out of far too many of the boy's blows.
It took a moment or three before the Uchiha realised that despite the fact he was landing far too few blows, the girl was entirely on the defensive, she had yet to attack at all, and for all it was worth his blows we being deflected too well to cause any serious damage. 'I'm going to lose if I keep this up, she's just going to wear me down...' A small smirk tugged at Itachi's lips as he picked up the pace, his speed and strength increasing as he started reinforcing his limbs with chakra.
Naruto was grinning, it wasn't every day she got to fight against such a skilled opponent, and it was pushing her to her limits to keep up with the ANBU classed ninja before her. "Clearly elite Jōnin, easily A-rank..." Two quick taps later and she skidded backwards as the Uchiha finally landed a solid blow, the force disengaging the pair.
The red head panted softly as she eyed the Uchiha, silently releasing her restriction seal, hoping it would give her the edge she needed to keep Itachi on his toes. She knew the only reason at this point she was doing so well was because she had limit his use of his skills to Taijutsu, something she was fairly proficient in, and the fact he couldn't use his Sharingan.
Itachi dipped his head lightly to the red head as he spoke up, giving the girl a moment to catch her breath. "An odd taijutsu style you have, I must admit though, despite the apparent openings it has, they are clearly there to bait your opponent in. Very impressive, even if you don't seem to attack with it at all." The older boy paused a moment, glancing over his shoulder at his brother before mouthing 'Watch this.' And disappeared in a burst of speed, expecting to take the red head by supprise.
Bright blue eyes followed eyes followed the older boy's movements as she shifted her stance, tapping Itachi's straight punch to the side, catching the Uchiha off guard before quickly spinning under the arm and tapping him twice in the side as she spun out of his reach, offsetting the Uchiha's balance and causing him to stagger a half step before he caught himself. A small smile of victory flickered across the girls features as Itachi paused in his attack, confused as to how she had kept up with his movements before shaking his head a little to himself and resuming his attack.
'Training with Kakashi, of course she is going to be able to deal with faster opponents...' The spar started to get quite heated, the older Uchiha forcing his body to work harder as he pushed the girl further and further back, blow after blow being blocked or dodged. They broke apart again, a broad grin crossing the girls lips before she dropped to one knee, wincing heavily.
Itachi chuckled faintly to himself, shaking his hand in an attempt to return feeling to his fingers, that last blow had hurt his hand nearly as much as he figured it had hurt the red head. Shaking his head a little he spoke up. "It seems my estimation of your skills was more than a little inaccurate. Far better in Taijutsu then I gave you credit for..." He relaxed a moment, rolling his shoulders lightly before slipping back into his clan's style of taijutsu.
Naruto was panting quite heavily at this point, the last blow had hit her in the side, winding her. Pushing back up to her feet she rubbed her side for a little longer before slipping back into her previous stance, breathing calm though she looked a little worse for wear. 'Not good, even without his Sharingan he's still really strong. I guess ANBU really are as good as their reputation...'
The pair had failed to notice Mikoto's presence as she settled herself on the back porch of their home next to her other son. "Mmm... Naru-chan is quite the little fighter isn't she? That's not a style I've seen in quite a long time... Good to see that she takes after her mother in more than just looks."
Sasuke just nodded idly, he was struggling to keep up with his brother's movements, and while Naruto wasn't moving much it was clear she was able to not only keep up with his movements but counter his attacks to some extent. 'She's so much stronger then she let's on in class, or even when I spar with her... Why does she hold back so much...' A small scowl crept onto the younger Uchiha brother's brows as he continued to watch the fight.
Naruto's reprieve ended shortly after she had slipped into her taijutsu stance once more, the older brother once again jumping on the offence, attacking rather ruthlessly as he took advantage of any slip up he could get out of the tiring red head, as impressively few as they were.
Naruto almost seemed to dance through Itachi's blows, bar the odd minor blow the older boy managed to land. The seemingly gentle tapping of Naruto's counter strikes seemed to carry enough force for the most part to push the older boy's blows off course enough for her to slip through his guard and out of his reach, unfortunately the purely defensive nature of the taijutsu style didn't allow for taking advantage of the openings it opened in another's guard.
It caught Itachi off guard, the sudden shift in stances the red head displayed mid spin. She tapped another blow off course only to shift her stance the moment the blow had passed safely away from her. The stance change was so sharp that Itachi almost missed it with his lack of Sharingan. One moment she was fighting defensively, the next Itachi was knocked back across the yard landing heavily before his mother and younger brother, a split lip for his troubles.
Naruto panted heavily as she tried to calm herself down, the small break given to her by the shock of having landed such a strong strike on the ANBU. By the time Itachi had risen to his feet and slipped back into stance the red head was once again calmly staring at the boy, her grin still as large as it had been the entire spar. 'He's still underestimating me, though I doubt I'll be able to pull that off again.' She slid back into stance, one Mikoto instantly recognised, if the gasp escaping her lips was any indication.
The pair who had been sparring paused a moment to peer over at their audience. Sasuke glaring at the red head while Mikoto had a hand covering her mouth, trying to hide the sheepish look that flickered across her features. Naruto raised a hand and waved at Mikoto as Itachi bowed his head lightly. "Mother."
"You may want to be careful with that style Naru-chan, those who knew your father will recognise it immediately, and if they were an enemy..." Mikoto left it at that, she was sure she didn't need to tell the red head what would happen if it was found out by her father's enemies that she was his daughter.
The red head simply nodded lightly before glancing back at Itachi. "It was one of the reasons I asked that he not use his Sharingan, I don't want it used by non-clan members..." She paused a moment before shrugging a little to herself. "Not that you would have stolen it on purpose, but it's not something I want taken from me like that."
Itachi nodded lightly before slipping from his taijutsu stance before bowing politely to the red head. "I think we should stop there for now, though I'd be happy to spar again in the future." Itachi regarded the red head a moment as her stance tensed a moment before taking a little longer then she perhaps should have to relax. A brow raised slightly in question though the older boy remained quiet.
Naruto sighed faintly to herself as she reactivated her restriction seal back to the appropriate level, her body tensing a moment as she felt herself adjust once again to the added difficulty to her movements. "Mm... I think I'd like that... I had fun." She tilted her head to the right, eyes closing a moment before she bowed to the Uchiha matriarch a small smile on her lips. "I think I'll excuse myself, I should probably go get cleaned up after that..." She raised a hand, waving at Sasuke. "See you at school Sasuke." With that the girl disappeared in a poof of smoke.
"She knows Shushin already!?" Sasuke all but yelled as the girl disappeared, causing his older brother to chuckle lightly. "That's what you yell about? That she knows the Shushin... Not that she was fighting almost on par with an ANBU?" That quietened Sasuke down a moment before he glanced back and forth between his mother and brother. "Could I up my clan training? I know my Sharingan hasn't awoken yet but..."
Itachi chuckled as his mother ruffled his younger brother's hair. "I suppose I could try and scrounge something up that you could use till your eyes come into their own." He gave his typical shrug before glancing at their mother. "Though I'm sure Mother could teach you far more then I."
Mikoto sighed ever so slightly as her eldest son turned her youngest's attention fully on her. Raising a hand to her head as she shook it a little, fingers running through her hair. "We'll see Sasuke. Right now however you two need to get cleaned up for dinner." She got a pair of affirmations as the two boys headed inside to do just that.
Later that Night, elsewhere in the Elemental Nations.
"Bear what's your ETA?" The com crackled in his ear, deafening him momentarily as it cut through the silence that had been lingering beforehand.
"Two minutes, I have Eagle with me, though I lost contact with Badger I th-" The com crackled again before another voice cut in.
"This is Badger, we've been compromised, enemy is moving to intercept rendezvous point." Silence followed before Badger repeated. "We're compromised, enemy already on route to rendezvous, pulling back to point B."
Bear's voice crackled back in over the com, his panicked tone causing a curse to escape the fourth member's mouth. "Taichou, Eagle says the enemy is on our tail, we won't make it to the rendezvous, they're too fast..."
The fourth member's voice cut through the com's, quickly silencing the other squad members. "New plan, rendezvous is now point B, we're pulling out, mission is over. Badger hold at point B and wait, if we're not there in twenty get the info back to Konoha at all costs. Bear I'm coming to you, I'll get you and Eagle out of there."
Three Days later
Naruto Uzumaki sighed lightly in contentment as she lay in the shade of her and Hinata's usual tree at the academy, enjoying a moment of respite having just finished her lunch. "Lunch should last longer, class has been even more tedious lately. I didn't think it was possible for it to get more boring, but somehow..."
Hinata giggled faintly as she glanced up from her bento chopsticks paused halfway to her mouth. "Some of us haven't covered the entire curricular material you know. Let alone all of the extra your Nii-san had you study. Hinata winced slightly as she noticed her friend tense up, internally berating herself for mentioning the absent ninja in question. "Sorry..."
Naruto raised a hand and waved Hinata off before sighing again, this time resignation clearly audible in the sound that escaped her. "He's never been gone this long... A year tops... I don't like that he is gone... And even less how he left... We got into a huge fight about it... You know I'm officially his apprentice right?" When Hinata nodded Naruto continued. "Well I'm not officially a ninja despite that, and he decided not to take me on this mission, saying that I wasn't ready, and that he was being assigned a team. I guess the Jiji had something to do with it too, me not going that is, but it was Nii-san that had the last say..." Naruto trailed off a moment, her gaze lightly panning about before it settled on Hinata. "Only one nearby is Yūgao-nee... The main reason why though is because of my heritage and uh... My Kekkei Genkai..."
Hinata tilted her head at this, she knew Naruto's parentage already, and could understand the political ramifications of not only being the fourth Hokage's daughter but the last known surviving member of a once powerful clan. "Kekkei Genkai? I wasn't aware of the Uzumaki having one, and the fourth didn't have one either unless it was hidden."
Naru smiled faintly, shaking her head again as she glanced about again, still noting no one close enough to overhear. "No, I have a Dōjutsu, the doctor that Jiji has looking after my medical records thinks it's a mutation caused by my mum's unique chakra and my dad's."
Hinata blinked once, then twice before shaking her head a little her brows furrowing in thought before she sighed faintly. "I give up, I don't think I have ever seen you eyes look any different than they are currently."
Naru bit her lower lip a moment, before murmuring faintly. "Hinata, could you?..." Hinata nodded lightly and activated her Kekkei Genkai before looking about. "Still clear, within my range of sight at least." Naruto nodded lightly at that as Hinata deactivated her Dōjutsu. "Okay, watch closely, it isn't really too noticeable unless you pay attention.
Hinata nodded lightly again as she watched her friends eyes. Naruto paused a moment, casting a final glance about before locking her gaze with Hinata's and activating her own Dōjutsu. Twin gold bands bloomed into life within the red head's eyes, one ringing her pupils, the other circled the edge of her irises. The bands gave her eyes a faint glow, even her usual bright blue eyes glowing along with the gold bands. Hinata gasped softly, as she gazed into her friend's eyes. "Pretty..." The single word was but a breath but was enough to give the red head a dusting of pink across her cheeks and cause her Dōjutsu to deactivate.
"It's n-not that great ya know..." Naruto raised a hand and rubbed lightly at the back of her head in embarrassment. "It lets me see chakra, and how it's manipulated... Oh and I can copy elemental Kekkei Genkai while they are active, but I lose that when I deactivate them." Naruto shrugged a little as if dismissing them.
Hinata however was amazed, a new Kekkei Genkai and a Dōjutsu at that, and being able to copy elemental Kekkei Genkai, if only temporarily, was something that she was sure nothing else could do. "That's incredible... Oh... Oh I see... If the council heard about your eyes, and that you are the last of a clan you'd be forced into the CRA." Hinata wrinkled her nose at that and shook her head a little to herself. "I can see why Hokage-sama and your Nii-san would want to keep you out of the spotlight as long as they can."
Naruto murmured lightly as she glanced aside, eyes distant as if something distracted her. "Mmm... I guess, it's what I got into a fight with Nii-san over though... And what I said to him... I was so selfish, he was just looking out for my safety..."
It was at that moment that Yūgao appeared next to Naruto, resting a hand upon the red head's shoulder. "He'll come back, don't worry, he's never broken a promise. Especially not one concerning you Naru-chan." At Naruto's nod Yūgao smiled behind her mask. "You need to be careful though, couldn't you have waited till you got to your parents house before showing off your eyes?"
"Sorry... But we were careful... You saw didn't you? We both checked." Naruto looked off to the side again, brows furrowing once more as she turned faintly as if following something before shaking her head a little to herself. "Did your shift end Yūgao-nee?"
"Mhmm, Boar has taken over for the next shift. So I figured I'd come see my cute little imōto." She laughed at Naruto's indignant huff as the cat masked ANBU ruffled her hair while she sat down. "So I hear a certain red head gave the Uchiha's resident prodigy a run for his money mmm?" The underlying amusement in Yūgao's tone was impossible to miss as she watched the red head squirm.
"Ahh... It was just a friendly spar... Nothing serious really... He caught me after Sasuke and I had finished... I couldn't really say no?" Yūgao laughed at the red head before her, shaking her head a little. "I didn't beat him ya know... And I did restrict him to only Taijutsu and no Sharingan..."
"From what Boar said you were on pretty even footing once you deactivated your seals and went all out, and he said that if you had used your father's Taijutsu from the start you probably would have beaten him." The pair of academy students could hear the smile in Yūgao's words as she spoke. "So much for hiding how far you've progressed huh?"
Hinata interjected before Naruto could respond. "You mean Itachi? Itachi Uchiha?" Hinata was shocked, she'd heard from her father how strong, or rather how much promise Itachi had shown, graduating early at the age of seven at the top of his class, and mastered the Sharingan by the time he was eight. He was Chūnin by ten and half a year later enrolled as ANBU. And yet, sitting before her, her friend had not beaten the Uchiha, but had competed with him apparently well enough to make him struggle. Shaking her head a little she murmured lightly to herself. "Just how far ahead are you..."
Naruto winced at the question, even if it had been rhetorical. "I... It's not like that Hinata... You're catching up fast, really you are... Don't worry too much about it, we still have another year once this one ends before we graduate, and you'll be caught up before you know it..." Naruto hated herself at that moment, she knew that no matter how much Hinata trained she wouldn't be able to keep up with her advancement unless Naruto stopped using the Kage Bunshin to train with or somehow managed to lose the Kyūbi, but what were the odds of that. And while Hinata could use one or two shadow clones without too much worry thanks to Naruto, it was nothing compared to the thousand Naruto could spit out and still go about her usual training regime.
Hinata smiled softly at her friend before shaking her head a little. "You're right, and besides, I'm far better off for training with you then not. I should be grateful not depressed about the gulf between us in strength." She gave a slight roll of her shoulders in way of dismissing the topic. "Besides, if you did that to Itachi, imaging what Sasuke is thinking right now." The look of horror on Naruto's face was enough to cause both Hinata and Yūgao to break out laughing.
"Kami... What have I done... He was watching too..." Naruto dropped her face into her palms groaning softly to herself. Naruto's body language changed abruptly, she tensed as she glanced off again, her head jerking out of her hands. "What is it Naru-chan?" Hinata queried her friend, activating her Kekkei Genkai to try and see what Naru was sensing.
It was only a breath of a whisper and before Hinata could react Naruto was gone, a red blur the only evidence of her leaving, a purple blur following not even a half second later. "Nii-san..."
A frown marred the Hyūga heiress' features as her best friend rushed off, leaving her to clean up their shared lunch. Her gaze lingering on her friends back as she disappeared beyond the range of her Dōjutsu.
It only took a few minutes for the pair to get their destination, Yūgao paused at the entrance way, her gaze lifting to eye the building as a sense of dread ran through her like ice creeping through her veins. It was then that she picked up on what Naru no doubt had felt earlier, the flickering chakra within the building, sputtering like a dying candle. '... I'd know that chakra anywhere... Oh Naru...'
Said red head slid to a stop as an ANBU appeared before her, a faint growl dying in her throat as she realised that the ANBU's back was to her and he was already talking, the voice identifying the ANBU as male. "How is Kakashi-san? Did we make it back in time?" The male's voice shook with exertion, almost sounding like he'd been running for hours.
Naru's body froze, her gaze shifting from the back of the ANBU to the two others, one standing and one slumped against the wall seated on the floor, then past them to the door of the emergency room ahead, the light above indicating that there was activity beyond the door. As if the noise hadn't been noticeable before Naru picked up the sound of urgent voices, and rushed footsteps in the room beyond as another pair came racing up behind.
The ANBU in front of her froze, as if finally noticing her presence, apparently more exhausted then the sound of his voice had let on. The faint sound of a gasp escaped him as he gazed down at the red head, knowing already who she was; Kakashi had spent the entire trip back from their mission talking about her, despite the situation they found themselves in... Shaking his head as if to rid himself of that thought he reached out, his voice softening slightly with his knowledge of what was beyond that door. "You shouldn't be here Uzumaki-san..." Before his hand could reach the red head's shoulder however another voice cut over his.
"Naruto, stop!" Yūgao darted round the corner, sliding to a stop as she spotted the red head she'd just yelled at. Her heart clenched as she saw the look on Naruto's face as the girl turned to look back at her, the almost knowing look in the red head's eyes, like a punch to the stomach. "D-Don't go in there Naruto..."
The ANBU moved at Yūgao's words, only to find the person he was blocking had already moved past him and her hand was on the door pushing it open. Blinking in surprise he reached out to grab the red head only to have his hand knocked aside as Naru pushed open the door.
Time seemed to freeze the moment the doors opened far enough to let the five standing in the hallway see into the room. Med-nins and Doctors a like froze as they lifted their gaze from the patient before them and look back out the door at the five standing there. The ANBU behind Naruto frozen, hand knocked aside by the red head's free hand, her other holding the door open, gaze on the wounded body of their fourth team member. The two other ANBU in the hall frozen, one staring at the back of the red head and the other at the floor. Yūgao only steps from Naruto, hand stretched out to grab the girl. Naru stood frozen, as if ready to push further into the room but stopped when he eyes had fallen on the reason she had run out of school. A look of growing horror flooding her eyes as her mouth opened to cry out.
The patient head tilted to look towards the door, one eye swollen closed the other curved upwards in his patent eye smile gazing back at the red head. He smiled, visible on his unmasked face, as he murmured quietly, his words enough to break the spell that had seemed to freeze time despite being all but a whisper. "I'm home imōto..."
Three things happened almost simultaneously as the words left Kakashi's mouth. The first was Yūgao catching Naruto, arms quickly coiling about the red head as she started to pull the girl away from the room. The second was the anguished scream that tore from Naru's lips as she was dragged kicking from the room. "Nii-san, no!" And the third was the sudden slackening of Kakashi's body, as if the words were given with his last remaining breath.
The room became a hive of activity once more as the Med-nin's and Doctor's moved with quick efficiency as they worked to save their patient, their bodies quickly hiding the damaged form of Kakashi's body from the red head's sight.
The damage was done though, the image burned into her mind, the broken body of her beloved brother; Left arm missing from about mid bicep, the ragged wound still seeping blood. A hole in his right side, not appearing to pierce right though, though gaping enough to see inside. The blow to his head looked bad, though not much was visible bar the fact his Sharingan eye was sealed closed due to the swelling. His body was riddled with smaller less life endangering wounds by themselves, but together...
Naru was inconsolable, grief sapping her strength as she struggled to get free of Yūgao's grasp. In the moment their gaze had met and he'd uttered those words she'd felt it, his chakra blinked out, even now she could feel the growing frenzy of chakra as they fought to revive him. Something in Naru broke at that point, she turned, burring her face in Yūgao's shoulder as she broke down, her anguished sobbing the last thing the three ANBU in the hall heard of her as Yūgao disappeared in a Shunshin.
Author's Note: So, another chapter updated ^^; Sorry about the lateness n' all... Like forever I know, real life can suck can't it? Heh heh... Anyhow... Hope you enjoy ^^