Hey guys! Wooh! I've been on a roll lately! Just wanted to let you all know that I've really really appreciated the kind reviews and the story favorites! It really means a lot! And I'm glad you all like my story so far! So I hope you stay with me through this and continue to enjoy it!

ENJOI


Ari

There was one other thing that happened the night of our first kiss, and this particular moment filled my dreams for years after Ita left. The dream came every single night after the massacre, and it would sometimes be so real I would wake up and think Ita was still lying next to me. For the first year I had the dreams, I woke up to my own tears, mourning for what could have been, what should have been, but what never would be.

We drifted in and out of a restless slumber that night, both traumatized from Shisui's death, neither of us could leave the other for too long. I eventually gave up on sleep for the majority of the night and went to go work on Kushina's scrapbook.

There were several pictures that I had taken over the years, and I wanted to fill up the scrapbook with pictures of our broken family, but very few of those photos I felt were memorable enough to go into the scrapbook. After all, there was only so much you could do with pictures of you and your kid brother when nothing that exciting happened in the two or three short years you had together. But when Ita told her what I was up to, Mikoto offered me several copies of photos she had taken since I was little. She had photos that dated all the way back to before even Sasuke was born, so between her pictures and mine, I was able to fill a good five or six pages to make up for lost time.

I sat on the bed cutting up pictures and gluing them to the pages of the book, Ita propped himself up on his side and observed as I let my creative juices flow. I began with a photo of me and Ita holding a baby Sasuke at the hospital. That went right next to the picture of us napping. I added photos of birthday parties and family events that I had been invited to (which were surprisingly a lot less formal than Thursday Night Dinner for some reason). One of my favorites out of those was a photo taken on the beach. Saya's parents had a beach house in the outskirts of the Land of Fire right on the coast, and would often spend the summer there. On this particular vacation, their family had invited Me, Itachi, Sasuke, and even Naruto to come along (Saya's parents were much more laid back than Ita's, and her mom adored Naruto…though Sasuke and Naruto didn't really have much to do with each other on that vacation). The picture showed Shisui, Saya, Ita, and I all wading in the water in our swimsuits, our arms wrapped around our waists. Naruto and Sasuke sat atop mine and Ita's shoulders' respectively. There were also pictures of Ita throwing me into the water, and there were some pictures that I had taken of me and Naruto sitting on the tire swing, with Naruto on my lap.

I had also taken photos of Naruto's first day at the academy. Despite Fugaku's orders, Ita and I departed for our famous mission late so we could see our brothers entrance ceremony. Naruto got to meet his teachers, and he took an instant liking to a Chunin named Iruka, so I took a picture of Naruto standing next to him, and then Iruka offered to take a picture of the two of us standing outside the academy together. Then I had several pictures of Saya and I at our gymnastics tournaments—most of which were really cool actions shots that I fit onto one page with a photo of her and I holding our team's second-place trophy from regionals together.

And then there came my favorite picture: it was taken about a month before by yours truly when we had gotten home from a long mission. Ita was so exhausted from it that he dropped onto the couch before he had even managed to get his ANBU gear off. I had been lying on the floor next to him when Sasuke came home from school and was elated to find his big brother home, and ran up to sit on top of Ita to tell him all about the day. I ran home to change and make sure Naruto was home. Naruto had gotten his homework done early so he went to play with some kids on the playground. I ran back over to Itachi's to see if he had delivered the mission report yet, but ended up finding him sound asleep on the couch. Sasuke was laying on his stomach on top of Ita, his head resting on Ita's chest. Ita's hand rested on Sasuke's head. Lucky me had my camera in my weapon's pouch so I snapped a picture before taking the report over to the Hokage.

Ita glanced down at the photo of him and Sasuke as I glued it to the scrapbook.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"After one of our missions a month ago," I said, "you collapsed on the couch and Sasuke collapsed on top of you."

Ita's face flushed, "why are you putting that in your book?"

"Because it's freaking adorable," I said, "And besides, you and Sasuke are like family anyway. And he adores you, you know."

Itachi smiled at that, "Sasuke is such a sweet kid…I love him."

"I know you do," I said, "you know Ita, you're going to make a fantastic father someday."

At that Ita rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, a big smile on his face, "you think so?"

I nodded, "you're going to be wrapped around their little finger! So tell me, you're hoping for a little boy like Sasuke, aren't you? Or have you even thought about having a family."

Itachi chuckled, "I think about it all the time, actually. Though…I have to admit, as much fun as a boy would be, I really want to have a daughter."

I raised an eyebrow, "really?"

Itachi nodded, "yeah…I don't know, there's something about the thought of having a little girl that I really like. A gentle little girl with her mother's eyes and a kind heart."

I thought about that for a moment, "that really does sound nice…"

"A girl like you…"

"What?" I jumped at that, "Ita, I'm a wild animal, I don't think you'd want a daughter like me…"

Ita averted my gaze, his face still red as he mumbled, "well, if you were her mother, I'm afraid that would be kind of impossible to avoid…." But then he turned to me as if he hadn't said anything at all and said, "but you're a lot of fun. And you're really talented. I don't care how mischievous she is, as long as she is as full of as much kindness as you."

"Oh," I said, my face turning red, "So…what would we name her?"

"What?"

"Well, you said 'if I were her mother'…so, what would we name her?" I asked.

Itachi thought for a long moment, "well…I've always loved the name Hana…"

I smiled warmly, "you'll have a little flower, Ita…"

At that, Ita gave me a warm and genuine smile and said, "a beautiful wild flower. Just like her mother."

As the dreams continued, I had begun to long for a little girl too. Someone I could teach how to dance and do gymnastics, who would hopefully be a lot more graceful than me. But the more I longed for a daughter, the more I'd wake up from my dreams crying, mourning for my little Hana who would never be. But years passed and I slowly began to accept the fact that Ita was gone and had possibly even moved on, or never loved me to begin with. I still wore my necklace though—I never took it off. Occasionally I'd look in the mirror and wonder if Ita wore his. After all, he had taken the gift with him that night. Whether he actually kept it or not, I didn't know. I tried to push the nightmare of the massacre out of my mind as much as possible, so I didn't bother mulling over that topic too much.

The first couple years after the massacre, Sasuke came over for dinner just about every night. Naruto grew more independent and started preferring sleeping in his own bed after dinner, so I'd walk both the boys home and Naruto would happily dance his way into his apartment and pack his school bag and get ready for bed without my help. But Sasuke would cling to my hand the entire way to his house and usually asked me to stay by his side until he fell asleep. I didn't mind at all. I loved both those boys, and I probably needed Sasuke's dependency on me to help me get over the fact that Naruto was growing up and didn't need me as much anymore. But Sasuke too grew out of that phase and eventually got used to living on his own and stopped coming over for dinner. He'd still ask to train with me though, which I didn't mind. Naruto didn't like training with me, even when he fell behind in school. He insisted on doing it himself, he wanted to prove that he could become a strong ninja just as I had through practice and dedication. He still came over for dinner…sometimes, but he could leave my house on his own now. Roughly four years had passed since Ita left, Sasuke and Naruto were growing up and on the verge of becoming fine shinobi, and I was so proud of them. But Ari suddenly started to feel incredibly lonely all over again.

Those little brats didn't even call to let me know they had graduated from the academy!

You know how I found out too? All the sudden, I stopped seeing Naruto completely, and he wasn't coming over for dinner. I went to his house after about a week to see if he was okay, and that little brat opened the door with his blue leaf-headband plastered on his forehead!

"Naruto!" I shouted, "what is on your head!"

"Oh yeah, I'm a ninja now," Naruto stated as-a-matter of fact.

"You WHAT?" I screeched, "Since when?"

"Graduation was last week," Naruto explained, "and Sakura, Sasuke, and I passed the last test and we're training with Kakashi-Sensei now."

And that was that.

No mention of his final exams.

No mention of his squad.

No mention of Kakashi (and how the hell did they pass Kakashi's test? He was the strictest teacher there was!)

No freaking phone call or visit or showing off his headband which he had worked so hard for!

My heart practically shattered.

I shot Naruto a nasty glare and crossed my arms, "so you mean to tell me…" I began, "that you graduated from the academy, passed Kakashi's test, and became a genin, WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME? You haven't even come over for dinner!"

Naruto jumped and gave me a really snarly comeback, "Well it's not my fault! I've been busy training and catching up to Sasuke! I didn't have time to bother you with something unimportant!"

"Unimportant?" I growled, "Listen up, Narutard! In case you haven't noticed, I've been the one who has fed you and has paid your taxes and for the clothes on your back for years now! The least you can do is tell me when you've reached an extremely important milestone in your life so I can celebrate with you! Do you have any idea how bad I feel for missing your graduation?"

"What graduation?" Naruto barked back, "I didn't tell you about it because I thought I was going to fail! The test was on clone jutsu which I couldn't do, and so I did fail at first!"

"Are you serious?" I scoffed, "Dude! What happened then?"

"Well…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, "after you went on that mission the other night, I snuck out and stole a forbidden scroll which taught me how to do the shadow clone jutsu…it turns out that I'm really good at that, so Iruka Sensei passed me and gave me his headband!"

"You…stole a forbidden scroll…from the Hokage's library…" my jaw dropped to the floor. Why didn't I hear about this either?

"But I learned the shadow clone jutsu! Wanna see?" Naruto asked. Without awaiting an answer, he weaved a few hand signs and suddenly I was standing in front of ten Narutos.

"Wow…" I mouthed, "that is impressive…" I then shook my head as his clones disappeared and continued to scold him, "but you stole from the Hokage!"

Naruto shrugged and pouted, "Well, it's not like it mattered…I was tricked into it by Mizuki sensei. He tried to kill me because I'm the NineTailed Fox…but Iruka protected me."

I fell on my ass.

WHAT?!

I had heard Mizuki was arrested, but THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED?

"NARUTO!" I screamed, "Why don't you tell me these things?"

Naruto's face paled and he looked away, "you hate me now don't you…because of what I am…I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd find out about me and hate me…"

"What?" I asked, standing back up, "Naruto, I would never ever hate you." I placed my hand on his cheek and rubbed it lightly, his big blue eyes gaze up at me slightly confused.

"But I'm the NineTailed Fox…" he said.

I rolled my eyes, "Naruto, you aren't the NineTailed Fox. You have him sealed inside you. And besides, if I hated you for something that was out of your control, we would have never met."

"You mean you knew?" Naruto asked.

I nodded, "I was there when it happened, Naruto. My parents were killed on that night too. I didn't say anything because you didn't know and I didn't want you to be afraid of yourself and what people thought of you."

Sighing, Naruto said, "well…I'm going to get my picture taken with my team. You wanna come?"

I laughed, "of course! I need a good picture of you in your ninja gear to put in my scrapbook!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Oh, geez, Ari…not that again! And when will I get to see your scrapbook?"

"When it's finished," I answered curtly.

"And when will that be?"

I shrugged, "Who knows."

"ARI!"

"Hey! You didn't tell me anything about being a ninja and I missed a perfect photo opportunity of you and Iruka! This is pay-back!"

At that, Naruto groaned. Though we did eventually run into Iruka and had lunch at Ichiraku's with him where I was finally able to snap a photo of the two. As Naruto got his picture taken with the rest of Team 7, I stood behind the photographer and got my own picture.

"Ari, is this really necessary…?" Sasuke groaned when he saw me.

"Everything is necessary," I stated. Beside him, a pink-haired girl who was obviously infatuated with Sasuke glared at me.

"Sasuke-kun, who is this?" she asked.

Sasuke grimaced, "the Loser's older sister. She's a friend of the family and dated…my brother."

At that, Naruto started squealing, "She's not my sister! And I'm not a loser!"

The girl sighed in relief and then gave me a big smile as she introduced, "I'm Sakura Haruno! And Sasuke, I didn't know you had a brother!"

Sasuke grimaced. I was surprised he was able to introduce me like that. I was relieved though, Sasuke was finally showing some steps towards healing and getting off his revenge seat. If he could talk about Ita…if only through one brief statement about me, that was better than nothing.

Before the picture could be taken though, Naruto and Sasuke got in a grudge match and it was impossible to get a good picture of the two smiling. Kakashi placed his hands on both boys' heads and laughed as Sakura gave a cute smile. In the end, the two were glaring at each other, but it ended up as a good picture.

A few weeks later, Team 7 was sent out on an escort mission that blew up into chaos after a rogue ninja and former member of the Mist's legendary swordsmen attacked them. Kakashi had called in for backup once they reached the town where the bridge builder lived, out of fear that another attack was going to ensue. Strangely, he requested that only I came, saying that he wanted to give his team a chance to prove themselves as strong opponents in battle. I sighed as the Hokage handed me the briefing on my mission. Kakashi was a great ninja and after working with him for a number of years, I trusted his judgment. But this…this was a little questionable even for him. I had a feeling Naruto somehow got to the copy ninja.

I packed my medical kit—I had no idea what shape I was going to find those four in. I had been trained to be a medical ninja and was pretty good at it, however fighting was my preference, so I didn't bring more than a first-aid kit with me unless I felt my medical ninjutsu was going to be necessary. I also packed my camera because, as beat up as Naruto would probably be, even he would want some pictures to show off the accomplishment of completing a B- or A-ranked mission as a genin.

As this mission was S-ranked, I arrived in my ANBU gear, my twin-swords strapped to my back and my mask over my face. When I arrived to the coastal town, I was surprised to find that I had just missed the fight. It was snowing as I walked around, the town nearly deserted, but I discovered a big crowd gathered on a partially completed bridge. I watched as a fairly robust and nicely dressed man fell to his death in the sea. It was from a distance, but I recognized this man: Gato was listed in the Bingo Books as an S-ranked con artist who had left most of the Land of Mist in ruin and massive debt over recent years. I stood there observing the scene for at least an hour, trying to figure out what the situation was, but eventually the town all came down from the bridge in two single-filed lines. In between the two lines, I saw Kakashi's team carrying someone on a stretcher. Behind them were four other people carrying a second, smaller stretcher. Kakashi recognized me and motioned for Team 7 to quicken their pace.

"Did I miss out on all the fun?" I asked.

"Just barely," Kakashi said, "I didn't think they were going to send you in as an ANBU."

"When Zabuza's name was mentioned, the Hokage felt it best to list this mission as S-ranked," I explained. I glanced down at Zabuza's body. The stretcher behind him carried a boy about Naruto and Sasuke's age dressed in the Mists' ANBU uniform. "So what exactly happened?"

"In the end, Zabuza was a fine warrior and he saved this town of Gato's wrath. The boy Haku was one of his students…they both died as fine shinobi," Kakashi said, "we plan to give them a proper burial."

I nodded, "I see…so I guess it's good that I came in as an ANBU. You want me to lead the funeral services?"

"I think that would be great," Kakashi said.

One other job of the leaf's ANBU is to be present at the funerals of shinobi who were KIA. They lead the procession to the burial ground and light candles around the graves of the shinobi, and if they had one, they place the signature weapon of that shinobi on top of the grave as part of the ceremony and then later give it to the next of kin. If the body was not recovered, then the ceremony would occur at a special tomb and the ANBU are also tasked with engraving the name of that shinobi onto the stone.

The funeral was a nice ceremony, and Zabuza's sword was placed in the ground behind his grave. When everyone had left, Team 7 and I remained at the burial ground.

"Say, lady…" Naruto eyed me curiously, "why do you sound so familiar?"

"Naruto, are you some kind of idiot?" Sasuke retorted.

I laughed and lifted my mask so they could see my face and winked, "well, the funeral's over so I guess I don't need this anymore."

Naruto and Sakura both jumped when they saw me. Kakashi laughed and Sasuke scoffed arrogantly. We went back to the bridge builder, Tazuna's house to recover. All four of them were badly beaten, especially Sasuke, so I administered my medical ninjutsu as soon as we stepped in the door. We stayed another couple of days at the town while the group recovered. I was glad we stayed though, because the day we were set to leave was the grand opening of the Great Naruto Bridge, and we got to christen it.

"All right! This is so cool!" Naruto skipped around, eyeing the plaque with his name plastered on it, "Ari! Ari! You gotta get a picture of me!"

I reached into my medical pouch and pulled out my camera, "Lucky you, I forgot to take this out of my pack before I left!" I snapped several photos of Naruto posing in front of the bridge and by the plaque. I then motioned at the other three, "Alright, now everyone gets in! This is the day that Team 7 accomplished their first ever big mission!"

Sakura jumped right in next to Naruto as Kakashi and Sasuke followed close behind as I took several pictures. Sakura asked, "Hey, Ari, do you think you could print some copies for my mom? She's been wanting a photo of me with my friends as ninja."

"Of course!" I cheered. I then looked back, "Hey, Tazuna, you and your family get in the picture too! You guys were an important part of this mission."

Again, I took a few more pictures and then Kakashi spoke up, "Ari, you should get in the photo too."

"What? Me? No," I laughed, "I wasn't a part of this mission; I just came here for the clean-up is all!"

"Are you crazy?" Naruto shouted, "if it weren't for you I wouldn't even be here! I want a picture with you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "He has a point, Ari…I awakened my Sharingan here and if it weren't for your help with chakra control then it wouldn't have happened.

"Come on, Ari!" Sakura pleaded. Tazuna stepped out of the picture with his daughter and offered to take the camera.

"You go in, Ari," he said, then called out to his grandson who had been glued to Naruto since the funeral, "Inari, you stay in and stand next to Naruto."

"Okay, Grandpa!" Inari responded then adjusted and jumped on Naruto's back. I walked in and took my place on the other side of Naruto, wrapping my arms around him in a fake choke-hold. Sakura stood on my other side and I placed my arms around her shoulders. She stood close to Sasuke who crossed his arms, and Kakashi stood on the other end with his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. It was a proud moment for Team 7, I could tell as I watched the three kids beam. Even Sasuke had a small smile on his face.

Okay, being there on that day made up for Naruto not telling me he was a ninja.


It wasn't long after that when Kakashi recommended all of Team 7 for the Chunin Exams. Sakura had taken a sudden liking to me and often came over in between missions. She reminded me a lot of Saya, but there were elements to her personality where I saw a little Ari in that pink-haired girl, especially on the day she came over asking about the Chunin exams.

"I just don't know about this…what if I can't keep up? Or what if something bad happens?" she asked, "I don't want to see Sasuke or Naruto get hurt…and I don't want to get in their way…"

"Sakura, you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for," I explained, "it's incredibly rare that someone your age would have the chakra control that you do. And you have such a caring heart, so I understand why you would be scared of seeing your friends get hurt. But I think it's also for that reason that the Chunin exams will be good for you."

Sakura looked up at me, "what do you mean?"

"Well, I was a lot like you when I took the Chunin exams," I mused, "my teammates were incredibly reckless and a little cocky, and there were a lot of things that happened to them that could have been avoided if they had just thought things through. But parts of our struggles were my fault too. I was the protective one of the group and was too careful. I learned from the exams that I needed to let them go and trust in their decisions. They may not all be right, but there is a time to hold your friends on a leash to keep them from being stupid and there is a time to see where that stupidity will take them. What I'm trying to say is, Sakura, is that the Chunina exams will be incredibly difficult, and there will be parts of it that you might wish you hadn't experienced, but whether you pass or not, you will learn valuable lessons from these exams and grow stronger as a team. I think you'll be able to flourish from this experience."

"You really think so?" Sakura asked, a small smile growing on her face, "you really think I'm ready for this?"

"Of course I do!" I said, "Kakashi recommended you for it, didn't he? I've worked with that lazy bum in ANBU for years and I know he wouldn't put you guys in a situation that he didn't think you were ready for!"

At that, Sakura giggled, "Thanks! Say, do you think we could have dinner together tonight? I mean, you, me, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sure," I said, "if they're up for it and your parents are okay with it!"

So of course, my house was filled with twelve-year olds that night who were fighting and stuffing their faces and making a mess and having a blast just being kids. Kakashi showed up late (as always) but I managed to save him a plate. The three passed out in my living room early on in the evening. Sakura's parents a call and her dad came over to take her home. I then took Naruto up to the guest room and Sasuke up to my room to put them to bed. As they had to report to the exam area the next day, Kakashi told me when the two needed to be up by and then bid me goodnight and I made a bed out of my couch.

The next day Naruto and Sasuke were off to meet up with Sakura and go off to the Chunin exams. Because the exams were such a big deal and the five great nations usually put up a temporary peace treaty for the exams, I was off from missions, though I would be later called in to supervise the Preliminary Exam and the Final Exam which would take place at the stadium. But for now, I had the day to myself and decided to work some more on my scrapbook.

I had gotten behind and hadn't put anything in since before Naruto's graduation, so I ran over to the pharmacy to get photos printed and began filling my scrapbook.

Remember that dream I mentioned earlier? Well, the first part of its significance begins in this moment.

I had taken a break from my hobby, leaving the book on the table, to do some baking. Because I doubled as a medical ninja, I worked part time at the hospital when missions were slow. The patients at the hospital loved my pies, and I had signed up to bring some in over the weekend. I had the front window open to let a light breeze in, the hustle and bustle of the day singing into my kitchen.

And it was faint, almost completely disguised by Konoha's daily song, but my ears caught them as I turned back to the scrapbook while the oven preheated. A whistle so soft, it could have been mistaken for the wind, so soft, that normal human ears should not have caught it. And she came so suddenly, I'm still thankful for the reflexes gymnastics gave me as I spun around, kunai in hand, and blocked the two-tailed Bijuu Matatabi's swift attack.

"You've gotten strong, and quite beautiful, my dear niece," Auntie Tabi smiled, "you know, you actually inherited that speed of yours from me, I hope you realize."

"Auntie," I breathed, relaxing my battle stance, "what are you doing here? And I thought they had sealed you too."

Tabi frowned, "they did, sweetie. They sealed all of us. Which is why I'm a little confused as to why you've been raising your father's jinchuuriki all this time."

"It's complicated," I explained, "his parents took me in after Mom died but were killed when Dad broke through his previous jinchuuriki's seal…I just…I don't know…he's like a brother to me…"

"Don't worry, Ariala, you don't have to explain your actions to me. I understand completely," she said, taking a seat at my kitchen table, "humans have such a captivating way to them, don't they? Which explains why you fell in love with that Uchiha boy…what was his name, Weasel?"

I flushed, "Itachi…and how did you find out about that?"

"Itachi, Weasel, honey, it's the same thing…and I get around, you know," Matatabi explained.

I nodded, somehow, that didn't surprise me. But still confused, I asked, "Auntie Tabi, if you were sealed inside a jinchuuriki. How did you get here? Did you break through your seal somehow?"

At that, Auntie frowned and looked away, her violet eyes glistening, "Actually, dear…that's part of the reason why I came to see you."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"I didn't break through the seal…he let me go…" she explained sadly.

"What?" I asked, still confused.

"Toshio was his name," Tabi explained, "despite the scorn he received, he didn't mind having a monster such as myself sealed inside of him. He went to great lengths to try and become my friend…and it worked. Because he released the seal voluntarily, he survived my escape. And he reminded me a lot of your mother, Chinatsu. He had such a positive light to him…he was so sweet…"

"Auntie…where is Toshio then?" I asked. Tabi gave me a hard gaze as she grimaced.

"The Cloud didn't like the fact that Toshio had let his Bijuu free. And…his feelings for me were too strong…he died trying to make sure I wouldn't be sealed again," she explained. I knelt down and took Auntie Tabi's hands. I see how it was, she fell in love with this Toshio, just as my parents had.

"Auntie, I am so sorry," I whispered, "I'm sure Toshio was a great man, and if there is anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, sweetie," Tabi breathed, wiping her eyes before any tears could actually fall, "you are such a sweet girl. So full of kindness. You would have liked Toshio. But there is a favor I need to ask of you. One last thing that came out of losing Toshio."

"What, Auntie?" I asked, completely unprepared for what the two-tailed Matatabi was about to tell me.

"I'm pregnant," she stated.

I sat there, motionless, "What?"

"I'm four months along with a little girl," she continued, "and this child is all I have left of Toshio, but I have no idea how I'm going to raise her. I've been running from the Cloud for the past three months, and I fear that they won't stop until they've captured me and killed his child. Ari, it's so selfish of me to ask you this, but you are the only other person in this world who will know my daughter's pain. The pain of being a half-demon. Is there any way possible that you could take this girl in? I won't throw this burden on you immediately, I'll raise her for as long as I can, but if the Cloud catch wind of where I'm hiding, I need for her to be safe somewhere, and you're the only other family I have right now…"

I remained silent for a long time, I was completely stunned. I held Auntie Tabit's hands tightly as I stared into her dark purple eyes. I was completely unprepared to raise a child, but deep down I knew that this was my chance to be a mom. To have my little girl, regardless if she was my child by blood or not.

"Of course I will," I said. And then, Auntie broke into tears. It was the first time in my life that I had seen a bijuu cry.

"Thank you so much, dear," Auntie sobbed, "how will I ever repay you?"

"Just show your daughter the same love you have shown me," I said, "only without the constant sneaking up on me. That'll be my job."

Auntie let out a light laugh, "Alright, deal. Well, I guess I shall take my leave."

"Wait," I said, "don't you need a place to stay?"

Auntie shook her head, "no thank you, dear. I can't stay in one place for too long. I'll have this baby and raise her for as long as I can, so I don't know when I will bring her to you."

"That's fine," I said, "but what are you going to name her?"

Matatabi's eyes widened as she said, "I haven't even thought about it…I don't know. I'll let you pick something."

"Well if you don't mind," I began, a light blush dancing across my cheeks, "I'd like to name her Hana…"

Matatabi narrowed her eyes as she thought of the name, she then looked back at me and smiled, "it's perfect. Hana it is then."

As she left I couldn't help but feel a bittersweet feeling deep within my heart. I went up to my room and cried silently with tears of both happiness and loneliness.

He didn't know it yet, but Itachi would finally have his flower.


Of course, good things for jinchuuriki, bijuu, and half-demons can only come in short bursts. After the several months it took for the Chunin Exams to unfold, Naruto and Sasuke had made it past the preliminary rounds, but news of Orochimaru's return spread like wildfire among ANBU, and Sasuke was his next target. And the young Uchiha had been hospitalized for a week with the cursemark on the back of his neck as proof. It wasn't long before the Final Exam when I was called into the Hokage's office.

"I heard news about your aunt, Ariala," the Third Hokage said coolly as he inhaled a long breath of smoke from his pipe.

"Oh?" I said, "what do you mean by that?"

"The two-tails was recaptured by the cloud," he explained, "I don't supposed you know anything about that, do you?"

My face paled, "No…well, I heard she had broken through the seal of her last jinchuuriki but I didn't know she had been recaptured…"

Everyone in the higher ups of the Leaf—ANBU and government officials—knew that I was the child of the NineTails, but the Hokage also knew about my conversation with Auntie Tabi and agreed to help support Hana and me, but that piece of information was shared only between the two of us so we masked our words in case anyone was listening.

"Well, this occurred yesterday, and reports say that she was found with a newborn child," he explained, "they didn't say this, but I have a feeling that child was like you. Was it?"

I gulped hard and nodded my head. Oh no…but Tabi was supposed to get Hana to me if things got to dangerous so where did…?

The Hokage answered my thoughts for me, "out of fear that this was the case, the Cloud shinobi felt it best to kill the child after they sealed the two-tails."

Tears stung my eyes. Dammit…could I ever find peace? Would this world ever stop taking people I loved from me? Tabi had entrusted that little girl to me! She was supposed to be my daughter! They couldn't just…kill her! "Why are you telling me this?" I asked, my voice croaking.

The Hokage sighed and in a low voice said, "because you had the right to know. As painful as this news is, those two are still your family, and you deserve time to mourn for your lost child."

"I was supposed to raise her…" I choked out, "She was…she was supposed to be mine and Ita's flower…"

At that, the Hokage's eyes widened, "I-Itachi, you say…?"

I jumped and looked up at him before I sniffled, "it was just a childhood fantasy when we started dating. It's just a fantasy I've had that's helped me cope with his leaving. Nothing more."

At that, he relaxed, "Oh…so you haven't seen him at all since that night…"

I eyed the Hokage suspiciously, "now why would I? He's a criminal isn't he?"

"Ari, you're a smart girl," the Hokage spoke carefully, "surely you of all people know that there is more to Itachi Uchiha than meets the eye."

I didn't ask any further questions as other people were drawing near the office, but I wanted so badly to as the Hokage what he meant. Suddenly my suspicions of a secret plot against the Uchiha that expanded further than just a crazed young man thirsting for blood arose once more. Was there something that Itachi knew that provoked him to kill his family? Was it an order from the village? I would never get the chance to as the Third Hokage those questions, because, as I mentioned earlier, happiness for outcasts like myself can only come in short bursts. Tragedy struck Konoha during the week of the Final Exam. Orochimaru attacked the village and nearly crushed it with help from his following from a newly founded Sound Village, and he had assassinated the Kazekage and disguised himself to sneak into the exams without being noticed.

The Third Hokage managed to stop Orochimaru, and after much fighting, myself along with several other Jonin and ANBU stopped the assault of his followers, but not without severe damage. Uncle Shukaku was temporarily released from his jinchuuriki, Gaara, and wreaked havoc, drunk as ever. Naruto and his friends managed to stop him, but were badly injured. The village as a whole was left in ruins, and the Third Hokage lost his life upon Orochimaru's defeat, completing this tragedy.

More Funerals.

The entire village mourned the next couple of days. We mourned for our fallen friends and family, we mourned for precious parts of our life that had been destroyed, and we mourned for our beloved Hokage. However, we as a whole knew that the Third Hokage would not want us to dwell on tragedy, and many say that we all carry the Will of Fire deep within us, because the day after the funerals ended, Konoha was back to working hard on rebuilding life. One of the legendary Sanin Jiraiya had returned and had been training Naruto. Jiraiya had been a close friend that Ita, Shisui, and I studied under briefly and he would take us on missions when Fugaku couldn't. He was a pervert, but a respectable man nonetheless, and Naruto practically worshipped Master Jiraiya, thought he would never admit it. So even though we were temporarily without a Hokage, the village still felt fairly secure.

And then that's when he came back. And then, of course, my life seemed to spin even more out of control.


Itachi

They had wandered the village pretty much all day since they appeared. Itachi grimaced at the poor security that was stationed outside of Konoha. He didn't care if tragedy had struck, they needed more ANBU stationed outside the gates.

And that was exactly why Itachi Uchiha returned to Konoha, four years after he killed his clan.

As a member of the criminal organization, the Akatsuki, Itachi and his partner Kisame Hoshigaki were sent on a mission to Konoha to retrieve the NineTails' Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. But Itachi had other reasons for accepting the mission.

To attract just enough attention to get the Leaf Shinobi back on their toes and protecting Konoha as they should, and to remind Danzo of the deal they had made after his mission to destroy the Uchiha clan. Just because the Third Hokage was gone didn't mean Danzo could take out Sasuke as if he were some kind of threat.

So when the jonin Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi stepped before them, Itachi was almost relieved. But he felt guilty because he knew he would have to kill them if the fight went on too long. But then Kakashi Hatake appeared just as the two were struggling against Itachi and Kisame to help take the reins of the fight.

But Kakashi's sharingan was no match for Itachi Uchiha's Mongekyo, and it didn't take much effort for Itachi to pull him into Tsukuyomi. In a matter of seconds, Kakashi collapsed to the ground in pain.

"Kakashi, what happened?" Asuma asked, he and Kurenai were both ordered to keep their eyes closed to avoid Itachi's gaze, "one second you tell us to close your eyes and the next you're on the ground!"

Itachi sighed, it looked like was going to have to kill all three of them.

"Well, you three look like shit, did I miss all the fun?" a cheery, bell-like voice asked from above, catching everybody off guard. Kisame and Itachi both jumped and looked up. Sitting on top of Kisame's Samehada of all things was Ariala Uzumaki, better known as Ariala Drake, Ari for short. The demon of the Leaf as she became known. One half of the ultimate tag team. It had been four years since Itachi had seen her, and there she was, sitting on top of the wide blade of Kisame's sword, looking back and forth from the two Akatsuki to the three Leaf Shinobi.

"Well it's about time, you showed up, Ari! Where the hell were you?" Asuma barked.

"Watching the fight," Ari stated nonchalantly.

"This whole time? And you didn't think to come and help us!" Asuma shouted back, his temper boiling over.

Ari threw her hands up, her ice blue eyes wide with innocent confusion, "I thought you could handle it!"

At that, Asuma groaned, but remained still, "well, close your eyes, Ari! Itachi's Sharingan is powerful, you don't stand a chance! Kakashi took one look at Itachi with his Sharingan and collapsed to the ground!"

At that Ari and Itachi exchanged glances. She looked right into his eyes, despite Asuma's warning, and gave him an angry smirk. Itachi tried to keep his heart from beating too hard. Typically a smirk like that meant Ari was in a fairly sarcastic mood, and, when he was on the receiving end of that mood, Itachi could never see the light of day with her.

And the way her nose crinkled when she gave that smirk and the goofy pranks she'd pull were the cutest parts of that mood that Itachi still loved.

Ari leapt off of Samehada and stood in front of the three, Ari scoffed at her comrade, "Asuma, you forget that I spent several years on a team with Itachi. I know him like the back of my hand."

"But he's one half of the Ultimate Tag Team!" Asuma shouted back. Ari rolled her eyes in response.

"Do you have short term memory loss or something?" she snapped back.

Kisame let out a chuckle and grinned, "my, you are a tiny thing, aren't you? I didn't' even notice the weight change when you were sitting on my blade."

Ari narrowed her eyes, "I'm an average height, thank you. I'm not that short. You're just gigantic."

Kisame laughed back and Itachi suppressed a light chuckle. Even with two criminals in front of her, Ari was still capable of cracking jokes.

"You're quite the feisty one, aren't you? Itachi has told me a lot about you, Ariala Drake. Though it's hard to believe that such a cute little thing as yourself could carry a name like 'The Demon of the Leaf'."

"Don't underestimate her, Kisame," Itachi warned, "she may have a small stature, but she is stronger than even you."

"Yeah, yeah," Kisame retorted and lowered himself, ready to fight. Itachi grimaced. Going up against Ari was not a good idea…they were starting to catch a little too much attention now.

"Ari, stand down. It's a bad idea to take the two of them on, I don't care if you do know how to fight against Itachi's sharingan! We need to call back-up!" Asume ordered. Ari brushed the man off and took a step forward.

"I'm afraid back-up is an even worse idea, Asuma. And let's not forget which one of us is in ANBU," Ari narrowed her eyes and Asuma jumped, grimacing, "I'm the only one who could even think to take these two on right now, too little is known about the way they fight as a duo and dragging anyone else in this mess is a suicide mission."

"But Ari! Itachi was part of the Ultimate Tag Team! He was an ANBU captain when he was 14! He alone will kill you! We need to retreat!" Asuma pleaded.

"And then what?" Ari barked back, "let them run around the village! Besides, you're forgetting who I am, here! It's as Kisame said, I'm the Demon of the Leaf. And also, the other half of the Ultimate Tag Team…"

Kisame lunged at Ari swinging his sword. Ari easily maneuvered past him and sent a force from her palm that blew Kisame back and directed him away from the three Leaf Ninja. Kisame grunted and swung at her again, this time Ari blocked his sword with her bare hands, pushing back against the blade as she finished, "…IS ME!"


Ari

I danced with Fish-Sticks in the river for a few minutes, dodging his attacks and trying to tire him out. But he just kept coming. Kisame Hoshigaki was a bottomless pit of chakra. Thankfully, due to my heritage, so was I, and I had no problem keeping up. I weaved several hand signs and sent out several chakra chains from my body, and leaping into the air, I spun around and flung them at Kisame, striking him. The chains wrapped around him and pulled him up towards me, I made another hand sign causing the chains to turn into light whips and they burned his skin, causing the whips to explode, dropping Fish-Sticks to the water.

Kisame grimaced as he crouched down, glaring at me, holding his burnt arm. I landed a few feet in front of him, smirking wildly.

"You still think I'm cute?" I asked sarcastically.

Fish-sticks spat out a laugh, "you're good! I'd like to see what you and Itachi can do together…but too bad you guys aren't on the same team anymore."

"Kisame," Ita broke into the conversation, "let me handle this."

Fish-Sticks shrugged, "suit yourself."

Ponytail took a step towards me and I lowered myself. I had dabbled into the art of Genjutsu, but my abilities were nowhere near the level of his visual prowess, and Itachi also knew that I could easily break through any genjutsu, and even an attack like his Tsukuyomi would hardly have any effect on me. Plus, neither of us seemed to want to attract attention. Itachi didn't look like he wanted to get caught in the middle of hundreds of angry Leaf Shinobi, and I didn't want any unnecessary casualties by people rushing towards the sounds of explosions…so ninjutsu was out of the question. Which meant this battle would be one of my favorite kinds: a battle of taijutsu.

We were both incredibly fast and strong, but while my strength and speed to trump his, his sharingan could read my movements quickly to avoid my attacks. We danced around each other, striking each other and blocking each other's attacks. I was so used to Ita's moves that this felt more like training than an actual battle. As we slid and dodged each other, we would pull up massive amounts of water and after a while, the water we brought up began raining down on us as if it came from the sky.

"You've gotten stronger since I last saw you," Itachi noted.

I glared at him, "so have you. But this is no time for small talk, Weasel!"

"Weasel? That's a new one…" Itachi stated, raising an eyebrow. He gazed at me with those same expressionless, cold eyes that he did the night he left. I bared my teeth at him and let out a growl that sounded more like an animal than a pissed off human. I kicked Itachi in the stomach and reached out to grasp the collar of his cloak, but he pulled away from me and I grabbed onto a chain around his neck, pulling it off of him and fell backwards, letting go of the chain.

I sat up and looked over at Itachi, who crouched down. His hand jerked up to his collar-bone and his cold eyes turned to a wild panic as he looked around. I suddenly grew really confused. That was Ita I was staring at now, it was no longer an Akatsuki member with cold eyes.

"Where…?" he asked quietly to himself. Just as he did, the chain I had grabbed onto but let go fell back into the water and began to sink. Itachi quickly ran to it and reached into the water, pulling a necklace out and returned it to its place around his neck before anyone else could notice. Itachi sighed in relief and subconsciously clasped onto the necklace resting on his collarbone.

My eyes widened as I sat up, placing my hand on top of my own necklace.

He was wearing the silver necklace I gave him.

I still had my Ita afterall…