Ari
I drifted in and out of a dream as I awoke; my parents and Kushina and Minato pleading for me to stay with them as their images flickered with the bright lights that stared down at me. I wanted to stay with the four, be in their presence and remain the little girl they knew so well for forever. Not to mention, every time the lights glared down at me, an unbearable aching would overtake my body.
"…and the patients name?" I heard a stranger's voice ask.
"Ariala Drake," Ita's voice answered. I suddenly grew very confused and disoriented. Drake? My surname was Uzumaki…but then as I found myself in a more stable form of consciousness, I remembered that for the sake of protecting my identity as my father's daughter, I went under a different surname out of Kushina and Minato's fears that my ties to the Uzumaki clan without the red hair would raise some questions.
"Age?"
"Thirteen."
"How long has she been unconscious for?" the stranger asked again.
"Three days, sir," Ita answered.
"And she received proper treatment for poisoning upon arriving in Sunagakure?"
"Yes sir."
Beside me I heard curtains being pulled on and a dark silhouette stood over me as even more light forced its way into my eyes. I moaned and squinted as I finally opened my eyes fully.
"She's waking up," a woman answered, "good morning, sleepy head!"
I looked around as my vision came into focus. A nurse with a Sand Village headband on stood over me, smiling sweetly. At the door where Itachi's voice came from stood a doctor and Ita. I was in a hospital room.
Itachi ran to my side and sat on the bed, his hand gently touching my shoulder. His touch sent a shock to my system for a moment and I gasped.
"Ari! Oh thank God you're alright," Ita sighed, his voice shaking. I stared at him for a long time, my eyes still trying to focus. His forehead was bandaged tightly, to help mend a moderate to severe concussion, and he was covered in bruises and bandages. His arm was even in a sling.
"You look terrible," I croaked, though I doubt I looked much better.
At that, Itachi let out a relieved chuckle, wiping his eyes. The nurse also laughed, "Quite the sense of humor, I see, well I'm glad to see that."
I cleared my throat and a burning sensation attacked it, it was so dry, "W-water…" I moaned. The nurse went over and grabbed a cup of water with a bendy straw like they use for kids and then propped me up with pillows and adjusted my bed before holding out the cup in front of me so I could grasp the straw with my lips. The entire time, Itachi grasped my hand tightly. It was then when I remembered all that had happened.
"How did I get here?" I asked when I finished my water, my strength and my awareness slowly returning.
This time the doctor stepped forward and began to speak. He smiled politely at me, "You took quite a number out there, kid. From what your partner tells me, you two ran into some serious trouble on your way to deliver us the scroll. And I must say that I am impressed, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone surviving being poisoned by Haru of the Venom."
I nodded feebly. Part of me was frustrated with myself. I had gone on plenty of A-ranked missions before. Heck, I'd even gone on a handful of S-ranked missions, but I'd never wound up in the hospital like this, nor have I had that much trouble. Especially not when Ita was with me. But I had to remind myself, we had just gone up against the strongest duo in the world. To even be alive was a miracle.
I turned to Itachi, "…but I collapsed in the field…did you…?"
"You're friend here carried you all the way here," the nurse explained, "he got you to border and we met by some of our medical ninja and they were able to give you some first-aid, but he rushed you to the hospital as fast as he could. I think he even made it here in record time, despite his broken arm and concussion. Though this young man refused any treatment until he knew you were in a stable condition."
I stared at Itachi with wide eyes. Ita's cheeks were a soft pink and he looked down, avoiding eye contact with me. "Ita…" I said, "you really did that…?"
Itachi shrugged, "What was I supposed to do?"
I remained silent for a long while as the doctor spoke with the nurse and attempted to explain some things about my condition to me. I didn't pay attention to a single word of it, my eyes were fixated on Ita as he stared intently at the doctor, taking in his instructions so he could help me recover after we left. There was some antidote I had to take every so often…but Ita…he really did that?
I glanced down at our hands, his still grasped hold of mine. My heart pounded for a second, could he still hear my thoughts?
I eyed him intently, but Itachi showed no signs of hearing me.
*Ita?* I asked, trying to see if I could communicate with him. Itachi jumped slightly but kept his eyes on the doctor.
*Woah! I wasn't expecting that…* he thought, *How come I can hear you now? After you passed out I could see your dreams for a little bit, but I let go of you hand to keep from intruding. But I haven't heard you at all since you woke up until now.*
*Really? Huh…*
*What?*
*I'll explain later…* And with that I blocked my thoughts. Itachi grimaced but continued to listen to the doctor. So…he couldn't hear my thoughts unless I wanted him to, and it was only when we held hands when we were connected. I focused slightly on Ita for a moment, listening to soft murmurs within his thoughts. I blocked them off, allowing his mind some privacy. So he could only hear me if I wanted him to, but I could hear him whenever I wanted.
Well this was a handy little power…
The doctor stepped out of the room and the nurse asked me if I wanted anything to eat. I was starving. She went out to order some food for me from the cafeteria, leaving only Itachi and I.
I leaned back against my pillows, resting my head. I then turned to look at Itachi, but he was silent and still avoiding eye contact.
"Okay, so I think I figured that mind thing out," I began.
"Hm?" Itachi responded. I sighed heavily but continued.
"So it works when we're holding hands and I have to open up some kind of channel between our minds. How that works, I don't know, but we can't hear each other unless I want us to," I explained, leaving out the part about me being able to hear him at all times. But then I thought for a moment and asked, "wait, so you could hear my thoughts when I was unconscious?"
"Mmhmm," Itachi answered.
I raised an eyebrow, "elaborate? Please?"
"Well, I could tell you were dreaming. I saw images of Minato and Kushina a lot. There were a few other people in your dreams…a red-haired woman with eyes like yours and…a tall man with red eyes who looked a lot like you…were those your parents?" Itachi said.
"Probably," I nodded. Then my face flushed as some of my dreams crept back into my memory, "how much did you see…?"
"Well at one point I let go of your hand," Itachi said, "some of your dreams seemed to be personal and I didn't want to intrude."
"How so…?" I asked. Oh god…he didn't find out about Dad, did he?"
"Hn…"
"Ita….spill it,"
"Well, after your parents appeared I saw the NineTailed Fox a lot, though he wasn't attacking you. And then…mmm," Itachi resonded.
Oh no, here it comes… "And then…?"
"Well for some reason, I showed up."
…..
…
What?
"Oh?" I laughed nervously. Oh shit, this was even worse!
"Like I said, I saw a lot of your parents and I wasn't sure why I was there, but I figured there were some childhood memories that were really personal so at that point I just let go of your hand. Your thoughts are yours, you know?" Ita brought up.
I sighed in relief, but I had no idea what he thought of me right now. Ita seeing himself in my dreams…how embarrassing! Though I was still holding his hand….
*Ari…if only I…if only I…* I heard him stammer. I glanced at him slightly confused; his gaze still wouldn't meet mine. I squeezed his hand a little tighter and noticed that he was trembling.
"Ita…?" I asked, "Is there something you aren't telling me?"
"Hm," Itachi shook his head, "No."
"You're humming," I pointed out. And just like every time I've said something about it, every time since we were kids, Ita grimaced, his eyes narrowing as he pushed down a red face. It still cracked me up how I could get him like that. But then he did something I wasn't expecting in the slightest.
At first Ita shook his head furiously, biting his lip. His eyes watered a little as he began, "It's just that I thought..I…" He then made the mistake of finally meeting my gaze, and I saw the anguish that flooded his dark, beautiful eyes. When we made eye contact, his face contorted as he choked out a sob, turning his head downward to hide his tears. "I thought I'd lost you…!"
And with that, he pulled his bad arm out of the sling and grasped the back of my head with his free hand and pulled me to his chest as he cried. "I'm sorry, I…I don't know what's wrong with me but…I couldn't stand the thought of you dying! And when they wheeled you into the operating room to extract the poison…when they took you away from me…I didn't know what I was going to do if you died…."
"Ita…" I whimpered. Tears stung the corners of my eyes and I allowed one to escape. My hand still held his, and I squeezed it tightly. I then pulled away from him as he sniffled and furiously wiped the tears from his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I shouldn't be acting like this…I don't know what came over me…" but as much as he apologized and wiped his eyes, he couldn't stop crying. My heart sank as I watched him. I hadn't realized how much I had worried him.
Not sure how to react, I gently let go of his hand and grasped his bad arm, "I thought you broke that arm…"
"Dislocated the shoulder," Ita corrected, "I can still move it…"
"But you shouldn't" I noted, "you have to let the joint heal."
"Sorry," Ita whispered as I guided his arm back into the sling. I then looked back up at him, my lip quivered slightly.
"No, I'm sorry," I said, "I was too careless…and if I had known how worried you would be about me, I—"
Ita cut me off, suddenly planting his lips on mine. My eyes widened in shock, I couldn't breathe. His kiss was gentle and warm, yet strong and passionate. I had never kissed anyone before, and I stiffened like a board as his lips touched mine.
As I was finally realizing what was happening, Ita broke away from me, his eyes widened in shock.
"I-Ita…?" I breathed. What…what was he thinking?!
"I am so sorry…" Ita mumbled, standing up slowly and backing away from me, "I don't know…."
At that point, the nurse came back in with a tray of food. "Here you go, dear!" the nurse said jubilantly as she placed the tray on my lap. I stared down at the food, my stomach growling. For a moment, I forgot about what had just happened. The nurse turned back to Itachi, "Young man, I think you've had enough excitement for one day. You're still a patient here and you should go get some rest, okay?"
Itachi nodded, his face ghostly pale.
"Everything alright, hon?" the nurse asked.
"Y-yeah," Ita stammered, "I just remembered that I haven't delivered the Kazekage that scroll just yet. I should probably go do that."
"No need to," the nurse said, "Lord Kazekage knows where you two are. He won't take the scroll until you are both well enough to leave."
"Well then…I'm going to go get some food of my own…" Itachi said, "I could use the exercise…"
"Suit yourself, but afterwards, you need to get some rest," the nurse ordered.
"Understood," Itachi said quickly, "Thank you, ma'am!"
I looked up, my face stuffed to the brim with food as I realized he was leaving. I gulped down the mouthful hard and called out, "Ita! Wait!" just as he left the room.
Did that actually happen?
It had almost been a year since the mission that promoted Itachi and I to the ANBU. We were called away on missions just about every day, and sometimes we'd be gone for weeks on end. I felt bad for leaving Naruto alone, but every time I came back, he awaited me patiently at my front door, his arms spread wide for a hug and stories of my travels.
"That's so cool!" he would usually say, standing on his chair as we ate dinner and interrupting my story yet again, "Do you think I'll get to do that when I become Hokage?"
"I'm sure you will," I would say methodically, "but sit down and eat your greens first."
And at that, Naruto would groan, "Ariiii! You aren't my mom!"
"Hey now, just someone has to do that job for you. If you don't eat your vegetables, you won't grow up to be a big and strong Hokage!"
Naruto would pout and glare at me, but slowly take a bite out of whatever was on his plate and muscle down the rest of his meal.
Itachi and I also saw a lot more of each other after we were promoted. That kiss, however, never came up in conversation. He never brought it up and he acted as if nothing happened in that hospital room, so I brushed off the incident as a slight onset of momentary Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder coupled with a concussion. Nothing more. He was probably just freaked out about my near death experience and didn't know how to handle it.
But our friendship grew stronger as we trained our newly discovered ability to read each other's minds. As we got better, our fighting and strategies became incredibly more efficient. The Leaf buzzed with news of this Ultimate Tag Team after we defeated Haru and Kokoro, and we were beginning to develop names for ourselves. As we became more and more unbeatable, the Hokage quickly caught on and soon only sent the two of us on missions together. Shisui joined ANBU shortly after we did and he would sometimes accompany us on missions, but the Leaf's Ultimate Tag Team was inseparable.
Even though Itachi and I grew closer, the rest of the Uchiha suddenly started distancing themselves from the rest of the village. Mikoto still loved having me over, but I could tell Fugaku didn't want anything to do with me. And then finally it all blew up between he and I.
It started out as an afternoon on the trampoline with Saya. She too had been growing more quiet around me. She had even stopped asking me about Itachi.
"Saya?" I asked her as I came out of a backflip.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Is something wrong?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she brushed me off quickly as she stepped out of the trampoline. I followed close behind, hopping into the grass. At around that time, we saw Itachi as he opened up the gate to the backyard and came over to us.
"Hey, girls, what's going on?" he asked.
"Oh nothing," Saya said, placing her hands on her hips, "Shisui went to run some errands. He'll be back in a few minutes."
"Actually, I was here to see your mom," Itachi said, "my parents were wondering what time you guys were coming over."
"Oh yeah! Um, I think around five-ish, is that okay?" she asked.
"Definitely. Okay, I'll let my mom know," Itachi said as he turned to leave. I stepped forward slightly and called after him.
"Wait, are you guys having dinner or something?" I asked.
Saya nodded and rolled her eyes as if I were an idiot, "It's Thursday."
I raised an eyebrow. Itachi shook his head, chuckling and he elaborated, "every other Thursday our families get together for dinner and either one of our houses. It's a lot of fun and we usually have a movie or game night."
"That does sound like fun," I thought out loud…family night…wouldn't that be nice…to have that perfect family dinner…
"Say, why don't you come over tonight?" Itachi offered. I jumped and froze.
"Uh, what?" I asked, then waved my hands in front of me, "Oh, no, I couldn't possibly do that! I mean, Mom always said that dinner was the most important time for family and I don't want to intrude on that…and besides, Naruto is coming over tonight and I have to have dinner ready for him…"
"Then bring Naruto with you," Itachi said, "it'd be fun."
At that Saya jumped and glared at Itachi, she grew nervous and said, "Itachi, I don't think that's such a good idea…"
"Why not? It'd be fun," Ita said, "and Naruto and Sasuke are classmates, it'd be good if those two had someone to play with."
"You sure about this?" I asked, "I mean, your parents will be okay with this?"
Ita nodded and smiled, "you haven't been over in a while and my mom has been dying to see you again. Don't worry. I'll see you at five then?"
"Y-yeah!" I said. As I walked home to get ready for dinner I jumped with excitement. Finally, I could be a part of a nice family dinner. And with Naruto too! When Naruto came home from school, I had him shower and get ready and we played tag the whole way over to Ita's.
Unfortunately, fish don't survive too well out of water. At all. And that's what Naruto and I were on that night. Fish out of water. The first part of the memo I had missed was that apparently Thursday Night Dinner at the Uchiha was a fairly formal occasion. Ita opened the door with a smile and neatly combed hair and a button-down shirt and corduroy pants. I stepped in wearing a worn-out v-neck t-shirt and ripped jean shorts. I hadn't even bothered to brush my hair either.
"Sorry," Ita apologized over and over again, "it's become a habit so I forgot to warn you about the attire. I'm so sorry."
Mikoto was thrilled to see me, Sasuke had boatloads of things to tell me, and Fugaku even managed to force a smile and a polite greeting. But everyone stared at Naruto like he was some alien. No one bothered to say two words to him.
"Hey Sasuke," I said, patting the little boy on the head, "you're classmates with Naruto, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Sasuke said smiling.
"Have you two ever introduced yourselves to each other?" I asked. At that, Naruto peered around me shyly, his blue eyes hopeful and watching Sasuke intently. Sasuke grew a little uneasy watching Naruto, his nose cringing slightly.
"No…" Sasuke mumbled.
Naruto stepped out in front of me, a big smile on his face, as he held out his hand and announced, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"
"That's nice…" Sasuke muttered as he turned to leave. Ita and I both stared at the two boys and exchanged nervous glances. Well this was awkard…
Naruto's smile fell with his hand and he looked to the ground. He rubbed his eyes and let out a soft grunt. I knelt down and held his shoulders as I whispered, "Sasuke's just a little shy is all, don't take that to heart. He'll come around once he warms up to you."
At least…that's what I hoped.
Sitting at the dinner table didn't get much better. I learned in the ten minutes that we sat there, barely grazing through our appetizers, that Naruto and I had absolutely no table manners.
Well, Naruto was a given, I was constantly fighting with him to sit at the table properly and chew his food, and use his fork…but what I didn't realize, however, that despite being able to remember my parents as well as Kushina's and Minato's teachings about sitting at the dinner table, I ate like a savage. Maybe it was the habits I had picked up from going on one too many missions. Maybe it was just that I had come unprepared, expecting this dinner to be different from previous gatherings at the Uchiha's house when I was younger. Maybe it was a mix of the two. But I never realized, that you are supposed to use a different fork with every course, nor is there any such thing as finger food at a proper meal. And don't even get me started about the knives.
Naruto didn't seem to care and dug right into his food, grabbing hold of the stuffed mushrooms with his hands and shoving them into his mouth. I started to dig in but stopped when I noticed no one else had started eating, and everyone was staring at Naruto.
"Psst," I whispered quietly. He didn't hear me. I reached my leg under the table and kicked the boy's shin and Naruto paused and glanced at me. I swiftly motioned for him to stop eating and Naruto spit out his food.
Fugaku cleared his throat, "shall we say grace now that we've helped ourselves?" He glared at Naruto and then shot me a dirty look. Mikoto elbowed her husband for him to stop so he sighed and opened his palms, we all joined hands at the table as Fugaku said a quick prayer. Now, it was time to dig in.
I hadn't even gotten food on my plate when I heard Sasuke shriek, "WILL YOU LET GO OF ME?"
We all froze and saw the two boys squirming and pushing on each other.
"I thought we were supposed to hold hands!" Naruto fought back, "And you wouldn't take mine, so why won't you do it?"
"We already said grace! And you're gross, so why would I even touch you!"
"Hey, both of you, knock it off," Itachi ordered sternly.
"But he started it!" both boys pushed away and pointed at each other, yelling the same thing at the same time.
"I don't care who started it, this is supposed to be a family gathering! No fighting at the table!" Ita said.
At that, Naruto slunk down in his chair and stopped. He turned to Sasuke and said, "Sorry…" I sighed in relief at Naruto's actions. He was constantly causing trouble, but in that moment I realized that he probably wasn't the instigator in most of the messes he got himself in.
But Sasuke continued, "He's not family! He's not even my friend!"
At that, Naruto shot back up and started arguing with Sasuke.
Good feeling gone.
"Oh yeah?" Naruto shouted back, "how many friends do you have? You're just a stuck up jerk who doesn't talk to anyone!"
"Oh! Like you should be talking! You don't have any friends! And I don't talk to losers!"
"Who're you calling a loser? I'd watch your mouth because you're talking to the next Hokage!"
At that Sasuke spat out a mean little laugh, "How could someone like you be Hokage? No one likes you, you freak! You're just a loser that everyone hates!"
At that, Naruto's rage boiled over, "THAT'S IT!" Naruto lunged at Sasuke and threw a punch at him, but Sasuke quickly toppled over and overwhelmed Naruto, beating the little boy to a pulp.
"Naruto!" I cried, rushing over in an attempt to pull them apart, "Sasuke, stop it!"
Sasuke refused to listen and continued to punch Naruto. The blond-haired boy tried to shield his face but Sasuke stood and started to kick him, beating his hands into his face. Behind me, Saya let out a scream and it took me, Itachi, and Shisui combined to finally pull the two apart. Itachi held Sasuke by the waist, who struggled in his older brother's grasp. I held Naruto by his waist who hunkered down into me. Shisui stood between us.
"I think we've had enough excitement for one day!" Shisui stated angrily, shooting Naruto a glare. Naruto trembled in my arms. I looked down at him, his face was puffy and swollen. His nose and lip were bleeding, and a black-eye was forming. The boy in my arms whimpered and then broke out into sobs.
"I NEVER EVEN DID ANYTHING TO YOU!" Naruto waled.
"Naruto…" I whispered. The boy pushed himself out of my arms and glared at me, his eyes full of sadness and pain.
"I hate you! I hate all of you! I wish you had never brought me here in the first place!" he cried as he ran past me and out the door, sobbing. I stood up and quickly went to follow him, but Saya grabbed my arm.
"Let him go, Ari," Saya said, "he isn't even worth your time."
"Excuse you?" I barked, glaring at her.
"Ari, he's a monster! You're wasting your time with him; he doesn't even deserve your kindness! And look what he did to Sasuke!" she said, gesturing at the boy. I eyed Sasuke up and down. So far all I could see was a red cheek from where Naruto had slapped him.
I gasped out loud. This was insulting! Was I the only one who could see that Naruto wasn't the one who started it? I glared at Saya and asked sarcastically, "Who are you?"
I took a step away from Saya and finally, Fugaku spoke up, "If you go after that boy, you will not be welcomed back in this house again."
"Fugaku!" Mikoto scolded, "Isn't that a little extreme?"
Fugaku ignored his wife, "I have tolerated your wild behavior in my house for long enough. It was fine for a while but ever since you started taking care of that garbage, you've caused nothing but trouble for me."
"Oh really?" I retorted, "and what have I done that was so wrong? Or are you just pissed that your son is friends with some half-breed street rat that's accepting to everyone and not just the snobby upper class like yourself?"
Fugaku's eyes widened and he glared at me fiercely, "Listen, you brat. You have no place bringing some freakshow kid like that into my house, bringing danger to my son, and then attempt to bring this on like it's my fault! I'm willing to forgive you for today, but you can't be seeing that boy again."
"Well, I guess I don't need your forgiveness then," I responded, "Good day to you, sir!"
"Why the hell do you associate with that brat anyway?" Fugaku roared, "He's nothing! He has no place in this world! He's a monster! A demon! You're better off without him, so why—"
"BECAUSE HE'S LIKE ME!" I roared back. Everyone grew silent and stared at me, their eyes wide.
"Ari, he's nothing like you—" Saya cooed, "don't listen to what the other girls say—"
"Oh my god I am so sick your short-sighted, snobby-nosed, judgmental clan!" I screamed at her. Her eyes widened and her face paled as she frowned with concern. I continued, "I don't give a rat's ass about what other people say about me! And you know why? Because none of you know anything about me! You just don't! So what gives any of you the right to tell me what to do? You can say what you want to me, but I swear if any of you treat Naruto like that again, I will kill you! I don't care what the charges! He hasn't done anything except to have been born in the wrong place at the wrong time! He's just a little boy!" I took a breath, my body shook violently. Tears welled in my eyes. No, I wasn't going to cry…I wasn't going to cry. Itachi took a step towards me and reached his hand out but I slapped it away, glaring at him. To my dismay, the tears began to fall and I whimpered, "You never gave him a chance!"
With that, I bolted out the door, wiping the tears out of my eyes. I ran home, but Naruto wasn't there, so I ran to his apartment. He wasn't there either. Terrified, I roamed the city calling out Naruto's name.
"Naruto! Please! Come out! I'm sorry!" I cried. The longer I searched, and the longer I failed to hear a response, the more uncontrolled my crying became until I fell to my knees sobbing. I covered my eyes and leaned forward, pressing my forehead against the ground as I curled into a ball. I felt helpless. Lord only knew where Naruto was or if he was okay.
A hand reached out and tapped my shoulder.
I jumped and turned around to see Itachi standing over me, a sad smile on his face. "Hey now, no need to cry."
"Don't coddle me!" I barked, swiping him away, "And what do you want…?"
Itachi knelt down and touched his hand to my cheek, wiping my tears away with this thumb. I pursed my lips and tried to stop crying, but I couldn't.
"I think this is the first time I've seen you cry…" he said quietly. I glared at him and he corrected himself, "I came to apologize for my family. And I'm so sorry I didn't give you enough of a heads-up about dinner tonight. This whole thing is my fault. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," I whimpered, wiping my nose, "I'm just too different to fit into a family picture…and I hadn't realized just how much people hated Naruto…I shouldn't have put him in this situation."
"Ari, don't blame this whole thing on yourself," Ita cooed, rubbing my shoulder, "you are right to take Naruto in, and it isn't fair for him to be treated so poorly for a situation that he couldn't control. In reality, it should be my family, no, all of Konoha, who should be more open-minded and accepting of him. You have a kind heart Ari, I just wish my father could see that."
I sniffled, "Thanks…I just wish…I just wish everyone would give him a chance…I mean, he may be a jinchuuriki but he's still human. Unlike me, he still has a chance to fit in somewhere."
"Now what do you mean by that?"Ita asked, confused, "you're still human too. And you have a chance…don't you?"
I said nothing.
"Ari?"
I bit my lip.
"Ari, tell me what's really going on," Ita pleaded, shaking my shoulder lightly.
"Well, it's no secret that I'm different from everyone else," I began, my chest hollow. There was no way I could tell him.
"Being different is good," Ita said, "but I can't help but notice that you've been hiding something from me since the very beginning…and after what you've said tonight…Ari, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
My lip quivered, the tears threatening to poor out again. Dammit, dammit, dammit!
"Itachi…" I began, my heart pounding, "I'm not entirely human…"
Itachi narrowed his eyes. That wasn't at all what he was expecting. "I'm sorry, but what do you mean?"
"My mom's name…" I breathed, a lump forming in my throat, "is Chinatsu Uzumaki."
At that Itachi's face paled. I don't think he quite understood what I was getting at, but he had heard the stories of the Uzumaki sisters from the early days. He knew what happened to my mother.
"And my dad's name is Kurama…" I explained, "And he's…well, I mean to say that the Kyuubi is…" I broke into sobs as I choked, "The NineTails is my father!"
Itachi
They had found Naruto sitting on the swing outside the academy by himself.
"You want me to go with you?" he offered. Ari shook her head.
"I think I'm just going to take him home," she whispered back, "give him a look over and make sure nothing is sprained or broken."
Itachi nodded in understanding, "I'll leave you two alone then." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders for a brief moment and turned to leave, allowing Ari and Naruto some privacy.
"Ita?" Ari called after him as he left. Itachi turned.
"Yeah?" he asked.
Ari gave a weak smile and said, "Thank you."
"Yeah, don't mention it," Itachi said and made his way home. When he gained some distance, he turned back around and watched as Ari knelt down in front of Naruto. They exchanged words, and at one point Naruto was shaking his head defiantly, but as Ari coaxed him, Itachi could tell Naruto finally gave in and threw his arms around Ari, crying. Ari then lifted Naruto into her arms and proceeded to carry the boy to her house. Itachi then finally made his way to his own home, thinking hard on everything that had happened.
And kicking himself for being so stupid when Ari needed him most.
Itachi had never seen Ari cry before. Well, he had seen her cry once on the night of the NineTails' attack, but he never really counted that. That was more of an extreme situation. But Itachi still occasionally had nightmares about that night, a four-year-old Ari's sobs echoing in his ears.
When Ari broke down into tears, at first Itachi had absolutely no idea what to do. And then when she delivered the biggest bomb shell of all…Itachi was still in shock over that. He had no idea what to think of her.
Was he afraid? Not in the slightest. Itachi had known Ari long enough. Hell, he'd even read her mind on several occasions. Knowing where Ari came from didn't change anything about her. She was still the same little firecracker with a hot temper and a (mostly) happy-go-lucky attitude. Nothing would change that. And in fact, that actually explained a lot about Ari. Her cat-like battle stance that she would take, her speed and strength, her heightened senses, and that wild instinct of hers. But was he in shock? Incredibly so. He had heard the stories of Chinatsu Uzumaki, the woman who tamed the Bijuu, but to most shinobi, the stories never amounted to anything more than that. And Chinatsu had died almost eighty years ago, so how did Ari wind up in Konoha at this point in time? And how did the NineTails even manage to…? Itachi wasn't going to delve too far into that topic. But most of all…how did Ari feel about Naruto, the jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi?
So, Itachi being Itachi, as Ari wept and cried, "The NineTails is my father!" Itachi stood there like a complete idiot at a loss for words.
"Well…" Itachi started, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Fugaku Uchiha is my father."
Ari looked up at Itachi, eyeing him skeptically, "what do you mean by that…?"
"Well, you said your father's name was Kurama and he is the Kyuubi," Itachi said, still with no idea with where he was going with this, "so I'm telling you that my father's name is Fugaku and he is the leader of the Uchiha."
"But Itachi," Ari repeated, "my dad is the Kyuubi."
"And?" Itachi asked, "You're still Ari."
Ari nodded and hiccupped, "there is one more thing…Kushina and Minato's son wasn't a stillborn…those two are really Naruto's parents. I don't know why the Third Hokage kept that a secret but…Naruto is my brother as far as I am concerned, and it's my job to protect him. And I hate seeing him being treated this way by people…"
"I know," Itachi said, "but that's why he has you, right? And I'll be there to help you as best as I can. I won't leave your side no matter what happens."
Itachi kicked himself mentally, replaying the conversation in his head over and over again. "Fugaku Uchiha is my father." What was he thinking? He was so stupid!
He groaned as he opened the door to his house. The others had already finished dinner by the time he returned and were sitting in the living room enjoying each other's company.
"Hey Itachi!" Shisui called to him, "I saved ya a seat!"
Itachi peered into the living room; Shisui smiled and patted the space on the couch next to him. Itachi smiled politely and turned his cousin down, "Thanks Shisui, but I think I'm just going to get something to eat first."
At that, his mother stood up, gesturing for Itachi to go into the kitchen, "I saved you a plate, follow me."
Itachi wandered into the kitchen and was surprised to see not one, but three plates waiting for him all wrapped in foil. Mikoto placed two of the plates in a basket along with some forks and napkins and a Tupperware box filled with leftover cake that Shisui's mom had baked.
"I feel bad about what happened," Mother explained, "I figured the least I could do was bring them some dinner, don't you think?"
Itachi nodded in bewilderment, "yeah, I think Ari would really appreciate that."
"So do you want me do deliver the food or would you rather stay the night at Ari's tonight?" Mother asked.
Itachi was caught off guard suddenly, "W-what?"
Mikoto smiled and reached over to kiss her son's forehead, "Itachi, I know you love your father, but sometimes he's wrong too. You don't have to hide your feelings for Ari because of him. And I think you both need each other's company tonight, don't you?"
Itachi stared at his mom in awe, but his face lit up in a bright smile and he hugged her tightly, "Yeah, you're right. And thanks, Mom."
"Not a problem, dear," Mikoto said, "just don't do anything too…risky, alright?"
"Mom!" Itachi groaned, embarrassed, "I'm not like that!"
"I know, I know, but it's my job," Mikoto sighed. She then packed Itachi's plate in the basket and handed it to him. "I think everything is in there," she said, "I'd just be sure to go out the back door. I don't plan to tell your dad where you are until he's cooled down, so for now, you aren't feeling well and went straight to bed. Got it?"
Itachi nodded and went straight for Ari's apartment. When he got there, he peered into the window to see Ari icing Naruto's eye. They were talking and at first Naruto looked displeased, but Ari put on a goofy smile and poked the boy's stomach, saying something silly or motivational, or both, causing Naruto's face to light up as he giggled. Ari then scooped the boy up in her arms in a huge bear hug and spun him around. As she did, Itachi caught a glimpse of Naruto's face.
Geez…Sasuke really did put a number on that poor kid. Itachi didn't know whether to be disappointed in Sasuke for instigating that fight and hurting someone that badly or impressed at how strong his kid brother was. Itachi went to knock on the door, and decided to settle for both feelings.
Ari
As I sat Naruto back down in the chair, his stomach growled. Shit! I forgot all about dinner! I handed Naruto the ice pack and swiftly made my way to the kitchen.
"Keep icing that eye, Naruto, I'll make us something quick for dinner, okay?" I said pulling out pots and pans and digging through the pantry. Man…I meant to go grocery shopping that day but with all the excitement, I had forgotten.
And as if on cue, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, now what?" I groaned, walking over to the door. As I opened it, I saw none other than Itachi, holding a basket on his arm.
"Do you have room for one more at the table?" he asked, holding the basket up, "my mom saved us some leftovers."
I opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in, "You have perfect timing…" I muttered. At that, Ita grinned.
"I try," he said. We went into the kitchen and Ita pulled out all of the food. It was still warm, and even when it was a little squished, it looked incredible. Ita pulled out an entire half of one of Shisui's mom's famous cakes and put it in the freezer. He turned back and said, "since my aunt makes plenty of cakes, my mom thought it'd be best to just leave what was left of this for you to enjoy."
"Wow," I said, smiling slightly, I then tilted my head back and called out, "Dinner's ready!"
Only a few seconds later, Naruto came bolting into the kitchen cheering, but he came to an abrupt halt when he saw Ita. Naruto stopped and glared at him for a while before he finally spoke up and said, "You're that ponytail guy! What are you doing here?"
"Now, Naruto," I said, "that's not a polite way of greeting someone. Ita here brought us dinner. Isn't that nice?"
Naruto eyed Ita skeptically, "So, Ita's your name?"
Itachi grimaced, "my name's actually Itachi." Ita then knelt down and placed his hand on Naruto's head, "Naruto, I am so sorry for what my little brother did to you. That was really mean of him and I just want you to know that Sasuke is sorry for what happened, and I'll make sure that he makes up for it."
Naruto shrugged, "It's alright. Shit happens."
"Naruto!" I scolded, my face flushing.
"What?" he asked.
"Watch your language!" I reminded him, but that boy just shrugged and rolled his eyes as he took a seat at the table. I groaned and placed his plate in front of him and Naruto dug in immediately. "Table manners," I stated as Naruto attempted to use his hands to eat his steak.
Naruto glared back at me, "well it's not like you have any! You just said that you live like a savage compared to the froofroo Uchiha!"
Arrgh! Did he really have to say that in front of Ita? Really? "Naruto," I hushed him, "I meant that as a joke! And at least I know how to use a fork!"
I covered my eyes, avoiding Itachi's gaze. This was so embarrassing. But to my surprise, the Uchiha next to me broke out into a fit of laughter.
"No, no, Naruto's right," Itachi giggled, "we really are froofroo!" I shot up and looked at Itachi.
"What?" I asked as both Naruto and Itachi broke out into belly-laughs. Naruto continued to lay on his jokes and minor insults as I attempted to control his tongue, but after a while I gave up. Itachi wasn't being much help and was actually fueling Naruto, so I figured I'd just join in. That evening at the table was full of smiles and jokes. It was probably the best family dinner I had ever had, even if it was incomplete.
After cake, Naruto grew sleepy so I took him up to the guest room and put him to bed. Itachi and I sat on the couch in the living room alone. We were silent for a long time.
"So…" I finally broke the silence, my heart a little heavy, "you're okay…with me? I mean…with everything I told you?"
"You mean your dad?" Itachi clarified. I nodded in response. Ita just smiled and said, "Of course I am! I mean, I'm still a little shocked and there are still some things about that that I'm confused about but that doesn't change who you are. You're still the little girl I met at Kushina's house one day with no idea how to play games."
"Oh, God," I groaned, covering my face, "you still remember that?"
"Of course I do!" Itachi chuckled. He then looked away from me, his face turning a light pink as he said quietly, "How could I forget the first time I laid eyes on the prettiest girl in the Leaf Village…?"
"You're kidding," I breathed out. Where was Ita going with this…?
"No, not at all!" Ita looked me in the eyes with the most sincere expression on his face. He then turned away from me and whispered, "I mean…I've had the biggest crush on you since…"
"I'm sorry, I don't think I caught that," I said, my heart pounding. There was no way, no freaking way that Itachi was telling me what I thought he was telling me.
Itachi took a deep breath and grasped hold of my hand as he finally said, "Ari, I…I can't stop thinking about you. I think you're beautiful and funny and so incredibly amazing. I don't know how you can do most of what you do, but I think it's the greatest thing ever. And…I never wanted to admit it to you, or even myself, I was afraid of ruining our friendship…but ever since that mission where you got poisoned…and you almost got killed…I couldn't let you slip away from me again. I had to tell you…"
I remained silent for a long time. There was only one thing that kept creeping into my head.
"Ari?" Ita asked, his face getting red, "I didn't…creep you out, did I?"
"So that kiss was real," I stated, looking up at him. Itachi jumped and shook his head.
"Of course it was," Itachi said sounding hurt, "why wouldn't it be…?"
I laughed feebly, "all this time I wrote myself off as someone who was way out of your league. So when you kissed me, I figured it was just because of the head trauma."
Itachi rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "well, I admit that I was feeling abnormally courageous that day…but you aren't out of my league, Ari. You're the only girl I can think of…but…I don't want to ruin our friendship, so if you don't have feelings for me, I understand completely. Just think of it as if tonight never happened and—"
"Ita," I cut him off, leaning my head on his shoulder, my heart pounding, "you go from one extreme to the other, you know what?"
"What do you mean?"
"When you aren't humming, your mouth is running at a million miles a minute," I explained. Itachi shook slightly underneath me.
"S-sorry," he stammered.
"It's fine," I said, "I think it's kind of cute…"
"Really?"
"Yeah. In fact I think you're kind of cute even," I said, closing my eyes. This was so weird, us being this close. We were great friends, and we made the ultimate tag team on the battlefield, but as far as I was concerned, that was the only area where we made a great team. But sometimes the two of us were just full of surprises, and this one ranked up there with our mind-reading trick.
"So…you do have feelings for me?" he asked.
"That's not what I said," I teased, and for a moment Ita's face fell. But then I added, "But yes, yes I do." And Itachi sighed in relief. Growing tired, we both we upstairs to my room. It was a normal thing for Itachi to come over to my house and stay late—it usually happened a few nights in a row after an argument with Fugaku when he needed time to vent or get his mind off things; Itachi and his father were growing more and more hostile with each other by the day and I had no idea why—and we'd stay up late sitting on my bed, playing music or watching stupid movies or just talking.
It was almost midnight when I looked at the clock, my eyes were growing heavy. I turned back at Ita, "do you need to be getting home soon or did your dad have an aneurism when he found out where you were going?"
Itachi shook his head, "my mom's orders were for me to stay the night here and make sure you and Naruto were okay."
"Oh," I said. Well that was thoughtful of her, "well, Ita…I hate to offer you the couch."
Itachi looked down and traced circles on the bed, "It's fine, your couch is quite comfy."
I rolled my eyes. It was a piece of crap, and he knew that. My face flushed and I offered, "you could stay in my bed for the night."
"Ari, I can't do that, you shouldn't have to sleep on the couch," Ita said.
"Well…what I mean is…my bed is a full-size and can fit two people…"
"Oh."
"Agh, that's awkward, sorry, I shouldn't even be bringing this up," I laughed nervously. God, I was such an idiot!
"Ari it's fine!" Ita assured, "this isn't any more awkward than my confession. But are you sure? You mean you don't mind?"
"Well," I said, my voice raising an octave, "it would actually be kinda nice…I mean…my house is cold at night and blankets only do so much so…some extra body heat is always appreciated."
"Oh, I see how it is!" Itachi teased, "using me as your personal heating pad!"
"You know me too well," I rolled my eyes. We both crawled under the covers and laid there awkwardly on our backs.
"Okay, so this is kind of weird…" Ita said out loud.
"You want me to take the couch?" I asked.
"No, no, you're fine…just takes getting used to…" he said. I nodded, my memory flashing back to the last time we slept together. It was the night Sasuke was born and we had collapsed on the floor in my room and the next morning I woke up under the covers lying next to Itachi. Kushina even took a picture of us asleep and put it in a scrapbook she was starting. I wonder…
I hopped out of bed and ran to my closet, searching my way to the back where the box of Kushina and Minato's belongings rested. Itachi sat up, confused, "what is it?"
"I've got something to show you," I said, pulling the box out. I dug through it, looking to see if the scrapbook was still there. I reached towards the bottom and pulled out a yellow binder with purple ribbon decorated on top with the word "Family" embroidered into it. Aha!I crawled back into bed and snuggled close to Itachi, holding the book above our heads.
"What is this?" Ita asked, looking as I flipped through the first few pages of the scrapbook.
"It's a scrapbook Kushina had started with family pictures. She wanted to make a keepsake for Naruto and I that walked us through her wedding day all the way to ours," I explained as I flipped through their wedding photos and pictures of me when I first came home and Naruto's ultrasound picture. Finally I flipped to the last picture placed in the book before Kushina and Minato died. It was a picture of four-year-old versions of Itachi and I sleeping snuggled close together, our foreheads touching, my hand in his.
Itachi let out a surprised chuckled, "When was this taken?"
"On Sasuke's birthday," I said smiling, "After we fell asleep, Kushina found us on the floor and took a picture of us."
"Wow…that seems like so long ago," Ita breathed. I nodded in agreement and placed my head on his chest. Ita looked down at me and smiled, "you think we're still that cute right now?"
I laughed, "I'm sure Kushina's looking down on us right now laughing."
"Probably," Itachi agreed. We laid there for a while after we turned out the lights. Slowly, I drifted off into sleep, Itachi's soft beating heart rocking me into my dreams like a lullaby. This was so weird…but it felt so right. Eventually we both fell asleep, his chin touching the top of my head, and my hand in his.
