Welp,

ENJOI


Ari

Ita wiggled nervously on the floor. It was late at night so we couldn't go out. Kushina sat in a rocking chair and attempted to so a blanket for her baby. Minato was working on dinner for the three of us. The house was silent. Today was Sasuke's birthday. But he was a month early.

"Ita?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Mm?" Itachi responded. He always made disgruntled, on syllable responses without opening his mouth whenever he was lying or nervous or both, and after a while, his series of "Hmphs", "Hns", and "Mmms" got really really annoying. But considering his little brother was about to be born premature, I muscled down the need to wring his neck and yell at him to form his words.

"You can talk to me if you need to," I sighed.

"What do you mean?" he asked, slightly confused.

"You're humming again," I pointed out. He raised an eyebrow at first but then his shoulders sagged.

"Oh, sorry…" he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. I narrowed my eyes and groaned…man, he did this a couple weeks ago too on my birthday…I don't know how they found out it was my birthday, but for whatever reason Shisui and Saya and Itachi all got the bright idea to throw me a haphazard surprise birthday party.

Shisui was two years older than us, a curly-haired adventurous boy, he was a first year academy student and a total ladies' man (though once I joined the academy, I realized that that was just an Uchiha thing). Ita looked up to his cousin, the two were practically brothers, but I swear, the only time I ever saw an evil side to Itachi was when he and Shisui were scheming…something.

Saya was Shisui's younger sister, and was the same age as me. It didn't take long for the two of us to become best friends. She too had long curly hair that she kept tied back in pink ribbons and wore the prettiest dresses. I envied how pretty she was…and how tame her hair was. But when those three got the bright idea to throw me a birthday party, Ita was put in charge of keeping me preoccupied while the other two "decorated" our secret hiding place, which was nothing more than a clearing in the forest just outside the village with the best climbing trees and a shallow pond that allowed us kids to exercise our imaginations to the fullest.

The party was a blast, we came home really really muddy when it was time for the actual party which the adults threw us, but man…that entire hour building up to it…

"Ita, let's go to our hideout!"

"Hnnnnnno"

"Why not?"

"mph"

"That's not an answer, Itachi…"

"Ngh."

He's a crappy liar, so I'm guessing he just grunts to avoid having to elaborate on his lies and people will make him out as the silent type and ignore him. But why he grunts when he's nervous…I can't figure out…I think it's partly because he's trying to keep his composure and doesn't want anyone to know how worked up he is. So, he grunts to avoid any more lying. But dear Lord, it's freaking annoying!

And I was getting these same grunts and one-sided conversations he was giving me on that day. I called it his humming, and it always embarrassed him when I pointed it out to him.

"So…what do you need to tell me?" I asked him.

"Nothing!" Ita snapped back, his face red. I jumped back a little. He'd never gotten angry at me before, and for a brief moment, the power in his eyes pushed through the gentleness, and all I could see was the evil man's face that took my parents from me. I let out a whimper, and in response, Ita shrunk away from me, hanging his head down. "I-I'm sorry, Ari…I didn't mean to yell at you…" His bottom lip quivered. I eyed him curiously.

"I think I'll go check on dinner now!" Kushina suddenly interrupted us. Grunting, she hoisted herself out of her chair and made her way into the kitchen, allowing us kids privacy.

"Ita…?" I asked softly, placing my hand on his. In response Itachi peered up at me with the most pitiful expression on his face. I wouldn't see worry like that again until we were both in the ANBU, years later, with an impossible mission on our hands.

"Hn?" he responded, wiping his nose.

I grimaced at his response but continued, "you can tell me what's bothering you…"

At that, Itachi turned away and wiped his eyes furiously, "'m just scared is all…m-my brother is coming too soon…and I'm never heard Mom scream like that before…"

Aw…Ita…without thinking, I wrapped my little arms around his neck in a gentle hug. Itachi whimpered slightly and returned the hug. I patted his soft dark hair, "It's okay," I cooed, "Sasuke and your mommy will be okay."

"I know…" he said, "thanks…"

We spent the rest of the night playing in my room until it was time for bed. Because Ita was anxious and didn't want to be by himself and because I was practically glued to that boy, we both ended up collapsing on the floor in my room. Without a blanket in a chilly house, we both snuggled up close to each other and dozed off.


Kushina

"Those kids were supposed to go to bed hours ago," Kushina groaned as she discovered the light peering through the closed door to Ari's room. But when she opened the door, she found two sleeping kids snuggled close, their foreheads touching, Ari's hand in Itachi's. Kushina had to cover her mouth and suppress a giggle, the sight was so precious. So, being the expectant mother she was, she went and got her camera and took a picture of the two. Then she grabbed a couple pillows to place under the kids' heads, and pulled the quilt from Ari's bed and placed it over the two. She then turned off the light and left.

As she went back to bed, she found Minato reading Jiraiya-Sensei's book. She crawled into bed giggling and Minato looked up at her with a smile.

"What?" he asked.

Kushina in response turned the camera on and showed her husband the picture of the sleeping five-year-olds, "aren't they just adorable?"

"Oh wow…you know, Ari is really attached to Itachi," Minato thought aloud, "I hope she doesn't get her feelings hurt if he tries to branch out and make new friends next year at the academy…"

Kushina raised an eyebrow, "Oh, come on, Minato, they're just good friends. And you know Ari, she holds her friends close to her. She's the same way with Saya."

"Well, yeah," Minato said, "but Itachi was also her first friend. Now, I know that the friends I hung out with changed drastically after I joined the academy. Itachi's going to want to play with the boys his age besides Shisui. I just hope Ari isn't so attached to him that her feelings will get hurt when that happens."

Kushina pursed her lips, "okay, point taken. But as I said, Ari holds her friends close, and she's a fairly social girl. And I'm sure they'll still be friends…though you have to admit, this is a cute picture!"

"Yeah, we should show it to Mikoto tomorrow," Minato said, "you know, she's going to go crazy when she sees it."

"Oh gosh…" Kushina said, "To be honest, I'm going a little crazy. Imagine what they'd think twenty years from now if we pulled it out and showed it to them!"

At that, Minato let out a billowing laughter. The two probably wouldn't want their future spouses to see that photo. But, sometimes a little blackmail didn't hurt. What would be really funny though…

No, Minato wouldn't say it. They were five. Future planning like that was way too soon.

But Kushina verbalized those thoughts anyway, "What would be really funny is if they actually got married!"

Minato chuckled, "Just don't tell Mikoto that."


Ari

From the day we went to the hospital to meet his new brother, Itachi was wrapped around Sasuke's little finger. He loved holding baby Sasuke, and was very protective of the little boy. I loved Sasuke too, he was a cute kid. But, being the greedy little girl I was, I couldn't help but feel a little disdain towards the innocent infant. I began to see Itachi less and less, until I would have to go over to his house and drag him out if I wanted to see him. Even when I was over at the Uchiha's, Itachi wouldn't pay me a second glance.

And once again, I started to feel incredibly, and indescribably lonely.

Looking back, it was kind of stupid of me to feel that way. And our distance from each other back then was probably good for us. I got closer to Saya, and we had sleepovers just about every weekend, and I found I could talk to her about pretty much anything, including boys, things I couldn't talk about with Itachi because, well, he was a boy. All three of us started the academy a few months after Sasuke was born, and suddenly Itachi began accelerating in class and was placed two years ahead of Saya and me and with Shisui. Saya and I both excelled in the ninja academy too. We were considered the dynamic duo and were placed in a higher class as well, with kids much older than us, but still, Itachi just kept moving farther and farther away from me until I hardly saw him.

Until that fateful night on Naruto's birthday.

Saya and Shisui were both out of town with their parents. So the evening before, when the Third Hokage and the village elders came to pay us a visit, Kushina made a phone call to Mikoto just before sitting down to talk with our guests.

"Hey, can you watch Ari tomorrow? I have an appointment and something came up with Naruto," she tried to explain.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" Mikoto responded.

"Yes, yes, everything is fine," Kushina assured, then whispered, "but you-know-what is starting to cause some trouble for me, and we think its best that I have Naruto tomorrow before it weakens anymore. You didn't hear that from me."

I was supposed to be in bed when this happened, but when I heard voices at the front door, I snuck my way downstairs and listened in on that phone conversation. When I heard Mikoto's voice on the other end, my stomach dropped a little. Oh great…I got to spend the day with Mr. Know-it-all-sir-gives-no-craps. The other ladies' man. I didn't hate Itachi, in fact, part of me was excited to finally see him again. But I was so freaking tired of hearing all the girls in class fighting over who would be Ita's first kiss. Who would date Ita. Who would have Ita's kids. Saya and I would just sit awkwardly in the corner with no intention of joining in because really, we couldn't see what the hullaballoo about him was.

"I heard Itachi likes girls with long hair!"

"No! Itachi prefers the tomboys! He needs someone who can keep up with him in battle!"

"Ew! Gross! He only dates the pretty girls!"

"He just needs a friend, that's all!"

I'd roll my eyes and Saya would laugh. In reality, we were the only two girls in the whole class who actually knew Itachi well enough, but Saya was Ita's cousin and I…well…I was considered too wild and I wasn't pretty enough to be considered "Itachi's type" by the other girls. So when some of my classmates saw me walking around town the next day, as Kushina handed me off to Mikoto, as I offered to take baby Sasuke into my arms and carry him all the way back to the Uchiha's, as Itachi greeted me with a big hug and a "I've missed you so much!", I became the first name on the Ninja Academy's #1 Most Wanted List.

But in reality, that was the least of my worries.

It was just after dinner and Mikoto and Fugaku had gone out on an errand, leaving Ita and I to watch Sasuke. Sasuke had gone to sleep so Itachi and I were working on our homework. God…it was so easy…it was too easy. I had been moved up several years ahead with Saya, but I desperately wished I could be in the same class as Itachi and Shisui. They're homework was at least somewhat challenging. And they were learning ninjutsu! I was still stuck on "how to hold a Shuriken properly without stabbing your eyes out like a moron" and "don't eat the funny looking mushrooms when on a mission or you'll hallucinate."

"You okay?" Itachi asked. I sat up, confused, before I realized I had been groaning the whole time.

"Yeah, this is just really really easy…" I groaned, "I wish I was in the same class as you, I mean, I already know chakra control, so why can't I be learning ninjutsu with you guys?"

Itachi nodded and frowned before he let out a "Hmm..yeah…"

I glared at him and then dropped my book on my face before moaning, "Whaaaat?"

"What?" Ita asked.

"You hummed at me," I explained.

"Oh…" Ita's face turned bright red. He hated it when he was caught humming! "Well, it's just…I wish I was with you guys. I mean, the homework in my class is still really easy, but the teachers won't move me up any farther because they're afraid it'll be too hard on me. The kids in my class are a lot bigger…and kind of mean…and…they hate me because I'm in the top of the class. And my dad well…" he paused and looked back to make sure Fugaku was out of hearing range before whispering, "…he won't let me play with my friends anymore. He makes me train all the time."

I frowned. I had no idea how miserable Ita had been feeling. And to think all this time, I hadn't even bothered to see him because I thought he had his own friends in his class. In reality, I was the one who made new friends and left him.

"Why can't you play with your friends?" I asked. Ita shrugged.

"Well, he thinks I'm some kind of genius…but I'm not that smart!" he groaned. I rolled onto my stomach and raised an eyebrow.

"Ita?"

"Hn?"

"I hate to tell you this, but you are some kind of genius," I explained.

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"What makes you say that?"

"Ita!" I scolded, "you're five years old and you're in class with nine-year-olds! They thought Shisui and Saya and I were some sort of prodigies when they had to place us two years ahead of everyone. And look at you! And you still say your homework is easy!"

"mmmgh," Itachi groaned.

"Humming," I stated.

"But I don't want to be smart," Itachi whispered, "nobody likes me because of it."

"I like you," I said.

Itachi looked back at me, "really?"

I smiled, "you're my first friend, of course I like you!"

At that Itachi laughed, "thanks Ari! Say, I have a question…"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always call me Ita?"

"Because Itachi is too hard to say," I explained. Ita frowned.

"It's not that hard…"

"Well it's harder than Ita! Like Ariala is harder than Ari!"

"Your real name's Ariala?"

I blushed, "yeah…what, you don't like it?"

"No…I think it's really pretty…" Itachi looked away, his face a light pink.

"Th-thanks," I stammered. We had finished our homework and went outside and sat on the porch. We took turns holding Sasuke on our laps. The night was calm.

A little too calm.

I couldn't help but notice recently a terrifying aura that seemed to seep through Kushina's kind one. It seemed angry, vengeful, and…really familiar…but because it was masked so well behind Kushina (as if it was sealed away) I couldn't figure out who or what it belonged to. The wind blew gently, and I caught the scent of this aura again. A chill ran up my spine.

"You okay?" Ita asked.

"Yeah," I said.

Ita narrowed his eyes at me, "you know how you make fun of me for humming sometimes?"

"I'm not making fun of you, Ita, I'm just pointing it out because I hate it when you keep things from me," I correct.

"Well you know how you say I hum sometimes when I get nervous?" Ita corrected.

"Or when you're lying, but yeah," I said, "why?"

"Well, you get really quiet."

….well, that's karma I guess…

"I'm just thinking is all," I say, crossing my arms and looking away.

"About what?" Ita asked. He leaned forward trying to see my face. When he did Sasuke started to moan, so Itachi returned to his original position, hushing Sasuke before he woke up fully.

I eyed Itachi, concern encased his kind dark eyes. Sighing, I gave up and explained, "I just have…this really weird feeling. Like something bad is about to happen…"

The wind blew again, it whistled through my hair similar to how Auntie Tabi would sneak up on me when she came to visit. But this was a different whistle. It was almost…like a roar. A deep, menacing, yet protective roar…

Itachi noticed this too and looked up, "yeah…I know how you feel…I kind of wish Mom and Dad were home right now…"

In response, Sasuke whimpered and started to cry. Itachi looked down and hushed him, "It's okay Sasuke, as your big brother, I'll protect you no matter what."

I smiled as I watched the two. Ita was so sweet with Sasuke…and he was kind. I lied down on my back and looked up at the stars. Life was so…peaceful here.

Of course as I began to doze off in my thoughts, I was jolted awake as the earth shook violently. "What was that?" I screamed. I was thrown upward a bit and flipped forward onto my stomach. I looked up at Itachi who was curled up in a ball protecting Sasuke. When the tremors subsided, he looked around.

"I don't know!" Itachi said in a panicked voice. But then it quieted down again.

"Earthquake?" I guessed. But then that aura wafted up into my nose again, this time, Kushina's scent couldn't mask it, and suddenly I realized just who's aura that was.

"DAD!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I leapt onto my feet and bolted farther into the village.

"Ari! Wait!" Itachi called back for me, "What's wrong?"

I ignored him and kept running. Panicked, Itachi took off after me with Sasuke in tow. I stopped in my tracks, the scent vanished. Itachi finally caught up to me and grasped hold of my arm, "Ari, we have to go back home! My parents will get really mad at us!"

"Ita…" I began, "would you call me crazy if I told you I thought I sensed my dad?"

Itachi gave me a puzzled look, "well, Minato's at the hospital with Kushina so—"

"Not Minato," I corrected, "my actual dad."

Itachi was silent.

I furrowed my eyebrows. But why was his scent inside Kushina…? "Is it possible for someone to be sealed inside another person?" I asked again.

"Well, the only sealing I know of is Kushina being the Jinchuuriki for the NineTailed Fox…" Itachi mumbled, but he jumped and covered his mouth, "I wasn't supposed to say that!"

My knees suddenly grew weak and began to trembled. I spun around and grasped Itachi's shoulders, shaking him lightly, "What do you mean 'Jinchuuriki'?"

"Well, legend has it that the NineTaile Fox attacked the Leaf when it was first founded…and the First Hokage, Hashirama, sealed the demon inside his wife, Mito, and became what's called a Jinchuuriki. Other countries did it to the other eight Tailed Beasts too…when Mito died, Kushina became the new Jinchuuriki. But that's a secret I wasn't supposed to tell so you can't say anything, okay?"

I was speechless…this whole time…Kushina…I trusted her…! I trusted Aunt Mito! How could they…? Why would they…? Are they the reason Mom was dead too? Did they send Madara after us? Was this the Leaf's doing?

I didn't have time to process my thoughts because just as he said that, there was a loud popping noise—the noise of a huge summoning—and we felt a huge sonic wave nearly blow us off our feet. And then, a loud, rage-filled roar deafened our ears.

I had only heard that roar once before.

We looked up and in the center of the village stood a massive figure that dwarfed the mountain of the four Hokages. My jaw dropped and I took a step back. Itachi let out a scream, "THE NINE TAILS!"

I couldn't move. At first my heart skipped a beat at the sight of my father, but he quickly started destroying the buildings. Shinobi lunged towards him but he easily swiped them away. He let out a loud roar. I covered my ears and screamed.

"ITACHI! ARI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING OUT HERE?" Fugaku screamed as he ran towards us. Mikoto followed close behind, tears streaming down her face but her focused remained on us kids.

"Get inside, NOW!" she ordered. Itachi nodded and ran towards the house, but I defiantly ran forward, towards my dad. I couldn't get my mind off of anything else.

"ARI, GET BACK HERE!" Fugaku screamed after me. He lunged and grabbed me by the waste, "It's too dangerous!"

I growled and struggled in his grasp. Without thinking, I reached down and bit his hand. He howled and let go. I dropped and dashed away.

"DAMMIT ARI! YOU'LL GET KILLED!" He shouted.

"BUT MY PARENTS!" I screamed back. At that time, I don't know who I was referring to when I said that, whether it was my actual parents or Minato and Kushina.

Mikoto and Fugaku froze in place and as I ran away I heard Mikoto whimper, "Does she know about Kushina…?"

Dad suddenly disappeared, and I recognized Minato's time-space ninjutsu that he was so famous for. I kept running, searching for where Dad would appear again. I felt another tremor, and a loud roar to my right. Fugaku was close behind me, and I took off towards the Kyuubi.

"She's fast…!" I heard Fugaku shout to himself, his voice deadening as I distanced him. I looked back slightly and discovered he was no longer behind me. Huh…how fast was I running…?

I brushed the thought off and pushed my way through barricades of shinobi.

"HEY! Get back here!"

"Isn't that the kid Minato adopted?"

"WAIT! IT'S DANGEROUS!"

They all chased after me, but I didn't care. I approached a barrier, near the clearing where the hideout was in the forest. There I could see Dad…but he…shrunk…and I could hear a baby's cries…

"Naruto!" I shouted out loud and kept running. I could see Minato and Kushina—Kushina was bloody and on her knees—and they held baby Naruto. Dad stood over them, growling and struggling in chains that protruded out of Kushina's back. But suddenly, a pair of hands grasped me by the waste, pulling me back.

"NOO!" I whaled, fighting against the Third Hokage.

"Please, Ari, it's too late!" he pleaded. I struggled out of his arms and ran towards the four, but as I got close, an invisible force electrocuted me and threw me back. I screeched and the Third Hokage caught me. "Ari, don't!" he ordered.

I managed to catch the attention of Kushina and Minato who both looked up. Minato summoned a stone out of the ground and placed Naruto on it, but both of them gazed at me, sorrow encased their eyes. I screamed and struggled in the Third's grasp.

"BUT THAT'S MY DAAAAAD!" I howled. At that the Kyuubi let out a low growl and turned to me, he then turned back at the new family before him. Lifting his paw, he swiped at Naruto, attempting to kill him, I screamed again, "DAD STOP! STOP THIS EVERYONE! PLEASE!"

But Naruto wasn't struck. Instead Kushina and Minato took the blow, Dad's claw piercing through both of them. I froze and melted into the Third Hokage's arms, tears streaming down my face. The Third relaxed his grip on me but held me tightly. "Ariala, I'm so sorry," he wept.

Minato summoned on of his frogs and Kushina weakly turned back to me. "Ari…" she mouthed, "I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to come to this…"

The parents then turned their attention to the newborn child and exchanged words to Naruto. Kushina was crying. Then, Minato began to weave hand signs. I looked up at my Dad and we locked eyes on each other. He was baring his teeth, enraged, but never before had I seen the sorrow in his eyes that I did on that night.

"Ari…" he bellowed, "Forgive me…"

"SEAL!" Minato shouted, and my father's chakra was sucked into Naruto, disappearing forever. Minato and Kushina then dropped to the ground, dead. The chakra chains disappeared along with the barrier. I wriggled my way out of the Third Hokage's arms and sprinted towards the three. Naruto was whaling. I glanced over at him, a black pinwheel-shaped seal was plastered on his stomach as the baby boy cried in pain. I looked over at Minato and Kushina, their bodies lying on top of each other. I didn't know what to do.

"Ari!" I heard Fugaku call out as he ran up to me. Mikoto held Sasuke and Itachi followed close behind. When they realized what was before me, Mikoto stopped and pushed Itachi back.

"Oh my goodness," she wept as she covered her mouth. Fugaku continued forward and looked at the Third Hokage, who stood over me.

"What happened here?" Fugaku asked. The Third sighed and made up the biggest lie he could think of.

"It was a still-birth," he explained, "but the NineTails managed to break through the seal. He captured Kushina and killed her. Minato found this child in his dead mother's arms and had no choice but to seal the fox into him. And it cost the Fourth Hokage his life…"

"Ari…" I heard Itachi call out to me. I couldn't say anything. I just stared down at Kushina and Minato's limp bodies.

"I see…" Fugaku said, "so this child is a monster now…what a cruel fate."

"Fugaku, please do not share the identity of this child to anyone. I will not allow Naruto to be cursed by the people of this village, do you understand?" The Third ordered.

"Naruto?" Mikoto asked, "that was supposed to be the name of their boy…"

"Since their son didn't survive, Minato gave this boy his name, since he is now Minato's legacy. But do you all understand? No one is to utter a word about this boy's identity as a Jincuuriki," The Third repeated.

Everyone who was around nodded in acknowledgement, "yes, sir."

I remained frozen like a statue. Itachi walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and looked at him, his sad eyes watched me carefully. His touch barely grazed my arm, as if I would break if he were any less gentle.

"Ari…?" he asked, "are you okay?"

I stared back down at Minato and Kushina, and then took a glance over at Naruto. He whaled and wriggled as if he were in pain. And that menacing black seal stared up at me, taunting me.

Tears welled in my eyes and fell down my cheeks. I pursed my lips, trying to hold in the pain but I couldn't. It finally occurred to me what happened. And not just on this night, but on the night my mom cast me away to this time in order to keep me safe. I was cursed and hated by the village as much as this boy was, and we wouldn't ever be given a chance.

I fell to my knees and screamed out my sobs.