AN: I am still fixing the story, my apologies! But please enjoy and review!
Chapter Two: Assignment
Red was splattered on almost every surface as Naomi ran through the streets of her clan's sector. Shurikan and kunai knives were embedded in the stone of the buildings and the pavement. Her eyes darted around her, narrowed into slits as she took in the dead bodies of her clan members. She kept her features stony, evading the sadness that threatened to wash through her. When her focus came around to the front again, she stopped short, a few yards from a figure standing in her path. The figure opened its eyes, revealing red sharingan. Her jaw drop and her eyes grew icy…
Naomi's violet eyes shot open and she sat up stalk straight in her bed, gasping and curling her fingers around the sheets. Teeth gritting together she struggled to control her breath as she examined her room. There was nobody in it but her.
Satisfied that she was alone, Naomi sighed. Swinging her legs out of bed, she sat there, on the edge of mattress, with her shoulders slumped in almost defeat. The sun, coming in through the window behind her, glinted off something to the right. Taking an interest in the gleam, Naomi shifted her gaze from the floor to her bedside table. Reaching over, she picked up one of the numerous frames that were set up there.
The silver frame had the Leaf Village insignia engraved intricately around the edges. Held in the frame was a picture of three people standing in front of the Uchiha Clan gates. A small, sad smile touched Naomi's lips as she gazed down at hers and her brothers' faces. All three were smiling. Itachi had an arm thrown over Naomi's shoulders like the protective brother he used to be, while Naomi was holding up Sasuke, only a toddler at the time. It had been taken the day Itachi and Naomi had graduated from the Academy- at the age of eight.
Without any warning or any reason, a snap sounded through the room, and a crack broke across the glass. The split ran right across Itachi's face. Naomi gasped and almost dropped the picture, tightening her grip at the last moment. Squeezing her eyes shut, she dragged in a heavy breath. Cracks were a bad sign. Every time a crack appeared out of nowhere, something bad happened.
With a sigh, Naomi replaced the now broken picture back on the nightstand next to the one of her squad and stood to walk to her bathroom. She hadn't noticed the tears that had touched her eyes as she'd looked at the picture, but they were threatening to overflow down her cheeks when she looked into the mirror. Shaking her head, Naomi turned away and turned the water on, letting steam fill the room.
Sasuke could hear the clicking of sandals walking across the outside patio. Scrambling out of bed, he ran to the door, and just as he poked his head out of his room, Naomi passed on her way out to the assignments meeting.
"Naomi!" He called. His older sister turned with a smile on her face.
"Good morning Sasuke. I would have thought you'd be asleep still with the training you've been doing lately," Naomi laughed as Sasuke hopped forward to give her a hug around her waist.
"Nuh uh. I'm wide awake," he said, pulling away, but she could detect the tiredness in his voice. Her little brother- always trying to be a tough man. Naomi laughed and ruffled his hair. Sasuke groaned and backed up more, reaching up to fix his hair back into little spikes. This just made Naomi laugh again. Then her little brother looked back up at her.
"Are you being assigned another mission today?" Sasuke asked, his black eyes growing large and innocent.
Her smile turned sad as she took in the dark irises of her younger brother. It was eerie how much her little brother looked just how her twin brother once looked: small, innocent, kind and adoring. She couldn't understand what had made Itachi's eyes loose their humor and grow cold, uncaring and almost lifeless. She missed the loving brother he used to be. But she was the only one who'd even picked up on his hostile change.
"Yes Sasuke. I probably will be assigned a new mission."
She never could lie to Sasuke. Something about those large eyes always made her spill the truth, no matter how much she wished she could cushion the realities. He needed to know what it was to be a shinobi if he was going to be one too. No matter how much she hated that disappointed down fall of his face.
"Ah man. You just got home though," he pouted.
One side of her remaining smile dropped and she knelt down to look her little brother in the eyes. He'd dropped his chin to stare at the ground already, and so she placed a finger under his pointed chin and lifted, making Sasuke look at her. Naomi could see that he was trying hard not to cry. He tried so hard to be like Itachi, but they both knew it was Naomi that gave him the attention he wanted. It disappointed him the most when she was gone.
"I know Sasuke, but it's what I have to do. You know that. It's a lot of commitment to be a member of the Anbu unit." Leaning forward, she pulled him into a hug. "That is what you want to do when you're older right? Be Anbu?" She could feel him nod against her shoulder, his little arms twining around her neck.
Naomi smiled to herself. It was good to know that Sasuke was still a little boy, and could act like it, no matter how much he tried to be all grown up. He was constantly imitating Itachi, sometimes even their father.
"I love you Sasuke. But I have to get to that meeting now," Naomi whispered. Pulling away, she kissed his forehead. Sasuke scrunched up his nose and rubbed his forehead, all boy again. This made Naomi laugh. "Bye, Sasuke."
"Bye Naomi!" Sasuke yelled over his shoulder, waving as he took off in the other direction. Naomi sighed and turned, walking straight into Itachi.
Eyes narrowing, she took a step back to look up at her twin brother. His eyes were flat black, no emotion showing in their depths.
"Naomi," he said in a falsely pleasant greeting as he nodded towards his sister.
"Itachi," she responded in the same manner. Then without another word to each other, they walked past one another, Itachi moving in the direction Sasuke had gone, Naomi heading towards the house's front gates.
Once she was through the gates, Naomi shivered and leaned against the stone wall, throwing her head up to look at the sky. Closing her eyes, Itachi's lifelessly cold eyes stared back at her from behind her closed lids. She hated what was becoming of her brother. He'd once been the best brother anyone could have. But lately he'd become so detached and unreachable. He put up a deceiving front to Sasuke, but Naomi saw the growing darkness in his black eyes. It scared her to think about what could possibly be going through his head. His eyes darted around as if he was afraid something was going to attack him, or as if he were daring someone to question his abilities. It just simply wasn't like him.
Unable to delay any longer, Naomi frowned, and shoved her shoulder blades away from the wall. Placing her hands together in a series of motions, she disappeared in a puff of smoke. Within a blink of an eye, her feet came down on the stones in front of the Anbu headquarters at the center of the Uchiha clan.
Taking a second to readjust her Leaf Village headband, and run a hand through her black hair, Naomi looked up at the clear blue sky. A ring of gray clouds was circling at the outskirts of town, threatening to close in on the bright blue. That made a shiver run through Naomi's spine. Those clouds were so ominous.
Biting her lip, Naomi leveled her gaze on the doors, and stepped forward, squaring her shoulders, all business.
"Wait! What are you doing?" he said, eyes widening in shock.
The second person said nothing as he crept forward, a kunai glinting in his hand and eyes gleaming red. The first person backed up, blinking. When he opened his eyes again, sharingan had turned them red. But he was too slow. In the second it'd taken him to conjure up his sharingan, the second person had lurched forward in attack. The first man was defenseless against the second's speed. Before he could so much as raise his arms to defend his face, the kunai had been swept in an arch across his throat.
Blood spilled everywhere and his body collapsed to the ground. The man that'd killed the first lifted the corpse up and dumped it in the river. Without blinking, or any emotion breaking across his face, the remaining man turned away from the scene and walked calmly in the other direction.
The room grew silent and the Anbu members, along with a few scattered Jonin stood as the Hokage walked in. Naomi stood stalk straight, stiff faced. She was a person that enjoyed laughing, but when it came to her work as a ninja, all joking manner was gone and she was all business. Her eyes, always keeping the Hokage in her peripherals, scanned the lines of Uchihas, and other Jonin and Anbu operatives. She knew everyone there. Every single one of them had been a part of her life since she could remember. But there was one stony face that should have been there, but was absent.
She ignored the flash of worry that shot through her. Two years ago, Itachi wouldn't have missed a meeting for anything. He would have been punctual, early even. But a couple of years can make a lot of differences.
Escorting the Hokage were his son, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kakashi Hatake- both highly talented Leaf Jonin. Once they'd walked the length of ninja, the trio turned to face them as the ninja closed ranks to face the Hokage. All of their hands were folded behind their backs.
"A problem has risen in the Hidden Rain Village," the Hokage's withering, but strong, voice rang through the room, "They've requested the Leaf's help. We cannot release any information except to those that are assigned this particular mission. This team will be made up of five ninja, headed by Asuma."
Kakashi handed a file to the Hokage. His wrinkled hand gripped it tightly as he opened it to announce the operatives that would be assigned the mission to the Rain.
"Accompanying Asuma to the Rain village will be as followed." He thumbed one page off the top and then began reading the names.
"Hideki, Etsuko." A tall brunette girl stepped forward. Naomi recognized her from the academy. Etsuko was three years older than her.
"Isamu, Kiyoshi." A blond male, that'd been four years ahead of Naomi, followed Etsuko.
"Isamu, Yori." Another blond, Kiyoshi's younger brother, went up as well.
Two spots left. Naomi thought to herself. Part of her wanted her name to be called, but the worried part at the back of her mind didn't want to get assigned.
"Uchiha," Naomi's breath caught in her throat, "Haru." The air released. Naomi's cousin, his short hair swishing about, joined the team.
"And coming in as second in command will be, Uchiha, Naomi."
Naomi nodded slightly, more to herself than anyone else, before stepping up to join her team, standing next to Asuma. Itachi hadn't even been named to the mission squad. Half of Naomi was surprised at this, but a more rational part understood that it was probably his reclusive behavior that was taking away his assignments.
"You six will leave at dawn tomorrow. Instructions will be given in the briefing room in two hours," the Hokage said to the mission squad. They all nodded their understanding. The Hokage nodded in return and then turned back to the crowd of left over shinobi. "Dismissed."
The room went up in smoke as shinobi disappeared, except for Asuma, Kakashi and Naomi. Asuma had placed a hand on Naomi's shoulder before she could poof away, signaling her to stay put. Not being in ceremony anymore, the three assumed an air of relaxed friendliness and casualty.
"Are you alright Naomi?" Asuma asked.
Naomi sighed. Asuma had been like another older brotherfor years. She couldn't hide anything from him, but she still tried.
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Naomi's voice was tight with her attempt at not sounding stressed or worried. Asuma and Kakashi each raised an eyebrow, knowing Naomi all too well. They were five years older, but have been on numerous missions with Naomi since she had previously been promoted to a chunin. Asuma had tutored her through her last year at the academy and Kakashi had been her sparring partner while she was in training for her Chunin and Jonin exams. They were also the ones who had discovered her talent as a medical ninja. The three were thick as thieves and knew each other front and back.
"It couldn't be the fact that you've been pretty mopey lately, Uchiha," Kakashi stated matter-of-factly.
Grimacing, Naomi shrugged. "I don't know. Something's up with Itachi, but I don't know what it is."
"Probably just doesn't want to deal with his kid sister anymore," Asuma laughed, nudging Naomi in the shoulder with his elbow.
Naomi shoved back, forcing a smile. "I guess, even though I'm technically not his kid sister. We're the same age, remember?"
There was so much more to it than Itachi being a little off though. She couldn't bring herself to tell her friends. There was no easy way to explain the change she'd seen in her twin. Everything they used to share seemed to have been washed away. Friendly openness had been replaced by cold walls.
"I'm sure he'll get over it Nay. He's just being a teenager," Kakashi assured with an arm thrown over her shoulders.
Asuma punched her lightly in the shoulder, "Yeah I'm sure it's nothing too serious. Now come on! You promised you'd help me get a date with Kurenai!"
Naomi rolled her eyes. Asuma had been trying to get Kurenai to go out with him since they were at the academy together. Obviously, without luck. Kurenai was like a big sister to Naomi, and Naomi had always thought Kurenai and Asuma would be cute together.
"Fine Sarutobi, I'll help you out," Naomi gave in. A huge grin broke out across Asuma's face at Naomi's compliance.
"Thanks Uchiha! I'll owe you for sure."
"Oh yes you will," Naomi agreed. Without another word the three went up in smoke, disappearing to go find Kurenai. It always humored Naomi to watch Asuma fall all over himself trying to talk to her.