"Eneko, how long have we been away from Konoha?" A slightly older Naruto asked the brown-haired kunoichi. She smiled at him.
"Around seven months, Naruto." She replied and kept walking. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look. They both slowed down a little so that they could talk without her hearing.
"Do you think she's okay, Naruto? She's always so optimistic…she must be in a lot of pain. She was really in love with him, Naruto. They were going to get married…and when he heard she died…you should have seen his eyes." Sasuke told Naruto quietly.
"Eneko's in a lot of pain, Sasuke, I know it. I hear her crying at night. She sings to him…from this far away. She misses him, Sasuke! We've got to be sure to be extra helpful in finding your brother, Sasuke! We can do it –ttebayo!" He cried, punching the air. Sasuke smiled and threw his fist in the air as well.
"Yeah! Come on, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled at him and they both ran forward. Naruto was chasing Sasuke and they were both laughing. Eneko started laughing too and Sasuke stopped and looked at her, alarmed. Her smile didn't reach her eyes…just like Itachi's didn't used to when she was on missions. He shook it off, thinking it was just a figment of his imagination. They stopped in a town to rest and Eneko treated them both to ramen.
"Hey, Eneko? Can this be a meal where we get to ask questions?" Naruto asked as politely as he could with ramen noodles hanging out the side of his mouth. Eneko smiled slightly and nodded.
"Of course, Naruto. Ask any question either of you want to ask." She told them, eating very politely and refined.
"Why do you eat like that? It's like you're all primed and proper or whatever they say about people like that." Naruto asked, spitting food at the dark-haired boy beside him. Sasuke picked food off his face with a disgusted look.
"Because, Naruto-kun. I am from the Winged Dragon Clan of the Hidden Twilight Village. We were kind of like the Uchihas of my village. I was given to Konoha as a peace treaty to marry one of the Uchihas so our Clans could live in peace and coexist." She smiled. "You can see how well that deal turned out. Even if I really did fall in love, it was all for nothing. The Uchiha Clan was murdered. The Winged Dragon Clan went into seclusion, not even telling any other members where they went. But such is the fate of a Clan that can't see the future and only sees the now." Her voice got darker as she went along. Sasuke and Naruto shared a scared look before the dangerous aura rising around Eneko disappeared.
"Okay, next question, Eneko-nee-chan. Why did you fall in love with my brother? Didn't you hate him because you were being forced to marry him?" Sasuke asked, confused. Eneko seemed to brighten a little at the question.
"Your brother…Itachi was always so wonderful, even when I didn't love him. You see, I didn't originally love him, Sasuke. I was angry; I'd even go far as to say that I wanted to kill him at one point. He was always so nice…so kind. I hated him for it…but slowly…I fell in love. I fell in love with his smile. The way he would talk about wanting to help you get stronger. The way his eyes would betray his emotions. I just…fell in love with him. And then…that mission…" she trailed off, looking out the window.
"Eneko-nee-chan? Why did you bring me and Sasuke along?" Naruto asked, nearly finished with his meal.
"I wanted Itachi to believe someone. And if he couldn't get over the fact that I was dead, Sasuke needed to help. And besides, Sasuke's like a little brother to me. I couldn't just leave him to fend for himself all this time. Itachi told him to tell me that he loved me, and now I'm returning the favor. Now, you, I wanted to bring you along because I wanted to help you achieve your dream, Naruto-kun. I've never met someone as motivated as you towards one goal, and I want to help in every way I can. Now, do either of you have any more questions or can we go?" Eneko asked, paying the people and standing up. Sasuke and Naruto both stood and followed her.
"Nee-chan?" Sasuke asked, following her. "Can I ask one more question?" His eyes traveled up to her trembling form.
"Yeah, Sasuke?" He heard the cracks in her voice. She was about to break. He took her hand.
"Are you giving up hope?" He asked quietly. A tear traveled down her cheek and she smiled at him sadly.
"I'm starting to, Sasuke…What if he doesn't want to be found? What will we do then?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. He squeezed her hand.
"Then we'll drag him back, kicking and screaming." He told her, smiling. She laughed and he relaxed. It was the first time she had truly laughed in a long time. She smiled, her energy back and started running.
"Catch me if you can, boys!" She yelled over her shoulder. Both of the boys laughed and started running along with her. They ran for a few miles when the gleeful expression on Eneko's face changed to one of pure shock and she stuck her hand out in front of the boys to stop and silence them.
"What is it, nee-chan?" Naruto asked loudly. Sasuke clamped a hand over his face.
"Shut up Naruto. That's the sign to shut up." He whispered furiously to the loudly dressed shinobi. "But what is going on, nee-chan?" Her eyes were frantically scanning the horizon.
"He's close…he's so close…" She whispered, more to herself than the two boys. She finally snapped out of it and turned to the two boys. "Itachi's close…and he's with someone with an extreme chakra signature. Stay by me and don't do anything stupid, do you hear me, Naruto?" She asked the blonde in particular. He nodded frantically and the two boys followed Eneko swiftly and silently. Soon, two tall figures appeared, walking down a road. They were dressed in long black robes with red clouds imprinted on them and large straw hats. Eneko pulled out her cloak and pulled the hood up, signaling Naruto and Sasuke to do the same. When the two figures were close enough, the three cloaked Konoha ninja leapt out of the trees and onto the middle of the road.
"Is one of you two Uchiha Itachi?" Eneko asked in a deeper, whisperier voice. The shorter of the two figures stepped forward, signaling his partner to step back.
"Who wants to know?" He asked coldly. It took all of Eneko's self restraint to hold back from running and hugging Itachi. She merely decided to test him and held out her hand. Her engagement ring sparkled in the daylight's rays and the figure stiffened.
"Does this mean anything to you?" She asked in the same disguised voice. She shuddered, almost feeling Itachi's glare.
"Where did you get that?" He asked, venom dripping from his voice. She looked back at Sasuke, who nodded. Eneko slowly brought her hands up and pulled her hood down.
"Itachi gave it to me as an engagement ring." She replied, not disguising her voice any longer. She motioned for Sasuke and Naruto to pull their hoods down as well. Itachi took his hat off, undisguised hatred in his eyes.
"You have done your research, but how dare you take a ring from a fallen shinobi's finger?! You have dishonored yourself and everyone around you. Prepare to die." He snarled, doing a few hand seals. Sasuke slid in front of Eneko.
"Aniki, you have to believe me. This is Eneko. She didn't die all those years ago! She took care of me after you left. Test her! Ask her any question you like, but you'll have to go through me and Naruto to get to her. You'll never be able to kill her, aniki. But give her three questions to answer and she'll answer all of them like Eneko-chan would. I know this is Eneko-chan, Itachi. I can feel it. Believe me!" He yelled at his older brother. Itachi stopped, doubt flickering through his eyes along with sorrow.
"Sasuke…Little brother, you've grown…" He said in a faraway voice, then his head snapped back up and he looked at Eneko. "Fine. What Clan were you originally from?" He asked. She smiled; he was giving her a chance.
"The Winged Dragon Clan of the Hidden Twilight Village. They've all disappeared now that the Uchihas are dead." She replied. Itachi nodded slightly to himself in satisfaction.
"Good answer. Next question. What was your favorite flower?" He asked her. She relaxed slightly.
"White tiger lilies. You told Sasuke-kun to put them on my grave." She answered. He nodded again.
"Very good. Last question. Where did I propose to you? Only Ene-chan and I know this. We never told anyone else." She smiled, tears in her eyes.
"You proposed to me under the waterfall where we had our first true date. You told me that you loved me truly and deeply and that nothing would ever tear us apart from each other. We shared our dreams there, at that waterfall. And the rainbow of the waterfall's spray seemed to reach us and you told me that it was because I was the rainbow of your life. The one that made the end of every rainy day seem like a miracle." She told him, remembering herself. Itachi smiled, and it looked as if his heart was now melted.
"It is you, Eneko…you're alive…I can't believe that you're alive…" He murmured. She couldn't help it anymore. She ran towards him and hugged him around the neck. He captured her lips with his, tears streaming down both their faces. They stood there in an embrace for a long time, just enjoying each other's company.
"I finally found you…Itachi…. I finally found you…" She whispered, tears of happiness falling off her face like the rains that relieved a starving village from a drought. He smiled at her and they hugged again...happy to be in each other's arms at last.