Alrighty, guys, this is a long one! And a quick correction, in the last paragraph of Chapter 12 I had a bit of a typo, when Ari was talking about "finding their flower" three years after that mission, it was really two years later. This chapter happens before Naruto Shippuden starts up. Oh! And to answer akira-chan's question, patience, my dear! You will have your answers in this chapter! And why thank you, I try to update as quickly as I can and I have been unusually free lately. Plus I was home sick today so maybe, just maybe, I will get TWO chapters out today! (but that's a big maybe) and also, my quick updates are also thanks to you readers and reviewers. I update my stories based on what my readers want (I am a people pleaser!) and since you guys have loved Broken Love so much, I've been more than happy to crank out these chapters. So thanks again and keep reviewing and let me know if you want more! :) And to Jennkuu (did I spell your name right?), yeah, your predictions about Ita are right, I'm sticking to the storyline as best as I can so...Ita and Ari are in for a tough reality check...have your tissues ready when I get to the end of Itachi and Sasuke's big fight, because I have so many feels about what I'm planning! But don't worry, I'm not a soulless fiend behind a computer screen, I intend for a happy ending! (just as long as Kishimoto doesn't pull a major troll in the next couple of weeks...) And thanks once again to all of my faithful and awesome reviewers! You guys rock! :)
Well anyway,
ENJOI
Ari
Six months before Naruto returned to Konoha, we met her. She was absolutely beautiful and when I held her in my arms for the first time, my life suddenly felt whole again as pieces finally started coming together.
But let's back up for a minute. Let's go to where this all started. Two years after the mission in the Land of Ogres, two years after Itachi proposed to me, we were living happily in our converted Uchiha hideout. It was the perfect place, hidden up in the mountains that started with the Hokage Faces in the back of Konoha and traveled north all the way to the Cloud Village. Between the mountain range and the barrier, the house was impossible to find if you didn't know it was there. So it became a place where we could live in peace, undisturbed. I spent my time equally divided between the house and the apartment I kept in Konoha, and my cover for being absent from the village so frequently was that I had been recently appointed as a village liaison and traveled to other villages frequently to uphold peace.
I wasn't sure why, but I couldn't help but notice Ita's heart condition getting progressively worse as the years went on, despite the doctor's assurance (well, Ita's, based on what the doctor told him…but that man does stretch the truth sometimes) that the medications would keep his disease from worsening. Over the course of two years, his prescription was changed from three pills a day to three pills a meal, and you could tell when he skipped even just one dose. When it went up to its maximum dosage, I began to worry that Itachi might get addicted to his medications. Of course, being Ita, I ended up having to worry about the exact opposite. I had to practically shove those pills down his throat. And whenever he came back from missions, I could tell when he had "forgotten" to take all of his pills.
Normally, Itachi would come home energetic and a little frisky, sneaking up behind me and grabbing me by the waist before he spun me around a couple of times. I would squeal as he did so, catching me off guard every time. He'd laugh as he'd turn me to face him and we'd share a long embrace before we would head off to our favorite tea shop (after Ita changed out of his uniform of course) for some of his favorite dango and we'd just sit and talk and enjoy each other's company.
When he didn't take his meds, however, Ita would come home sluggish and tired, and I could hear his ever step as he tried to sneak up on me. Instead of spinning me around, he'd wrap his arms gently around my waist and rest his head on my shoulder. I'd turn at him to smile, but immediately notice the bags under his eyes and the color drained from his cheeks.
"Hey, beautiful," he'd try to say enthusiastically.
I'd glare at him, "you forgot your meds again, didn't you…"
"Hm?" he'd ask, trying to play dumb.
"You're humming!" I'd scold, "Ita, how many times have I told you to take your meds as prescribed?"
"I did!" He'd protest, "I took all of them, I swear! It was just a long mission…"
"Are you lying to me?"
"Mmmm….no…?"
"So that's a yes then?"
At that, Ita's shoulders would sag and he'd look away, guilty as charged. I'd motion my hand for him to hand me his travel bottle and he would hand it to me, grimacing. I'd shake the bottle and find anywhere between six and twelve pills still inside, depending on how long the mission was. "Itachi!" I'd groan.
"I'm sorry!" Ita would plead and usually come up with one excuse or the other like, "we got ambushed," or "there wasn't time for every meal, so I had to skip a few," or "those pills are huge and I didn't have enough water to swallow them!" I'd sigh and shake my head. I figured those excuses were true most of the time, considering he came home perfectly fine most often. But the fact of the matter was that he just didn't like taking those damn things and if it weren't for me, he'd probably be dead already.
When he did come home that way, I wouldn't scold him any more than that, and when he would finish with his line of excuses I'd sit him down at the table and cook up a big hearty meal. The last doctor we saw who changed his dosage up to the maximum did say that if for whatever reason Ita missed a dose, we could give him four at a time for the next meal, but no more than that. So that's what I would do. I would plate up as much protein that I could find in the fridge and fit in the frying pan, get a bottle of sports drink and set out four pills next to his plate. He'd eat it all and hesitantly down his medicine. I'd then take him upstairs to our living room and set him down on the floor and he'd take his shirt off. I learned that if I used medical ninjutsu on him to heal any scrapes or bruises and then use it over his chest to help his heart beat for a few minutes, I could give Ita's body a little kick-start that made up for his lack of medications. After that, Itachi would go to our room and take a nap for an hour and then he'd wake up later, perfectly fine.
So of course, when Itachi came home one fateful day and wrapped his arms gently around me, his head resting on my shoulder, I instinctively turned my head to scold him. To my surprise, however, Itachi didn't have bags under his eyes and his color looked good, I shut my mouth but felt utterly confused.
"We need to talk," he said in a low voice.
Uh-oh…what was this all about? We went up to our room and I sat down on the bed, watching Ita as he changed out of his Akatsuki robe and threw it in the dirty clothes hamper. He changed into sweat pants but remained bare-chested as he paced around the room, not sure where to begin.
"Itachi…what's this all about? Is something wrong?" I asked, my chest hollow. I didn't know what he was about to say, but I was almost afraid to know. Did something happen to Sasuke? Did the Akatsuki capture Naruto? Was he breaking up with me?
Itachi quickly sat down on the bed next to me and took my hand, "the Akatsuki's Leader wants to meet you…"
My eyes widened in surprise. Relieved that that was all it was, I let out a laugh, falling backwards on my back. That's all this was?
Itachi watched me, his eyes alarmed, "Ari, this is serious!"
I sat back up, forcing down my laughs, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but by the way you were acting I thought either someone had died or you were breaking up with me!"
Itachi shifted nervously on the bed, "well…if this meeting doesn't go well, someone might as well be dead…"
My smile fell as Ita said that, "what?" I bit my lip and explained, "well…Ita…I never really told you this but, after Sasuke fled Konoha, I think I might have run into the Akatsuki leader…his name is Pein, right?"
Itachi looked back at me, alarmed, "What? Ugh…Ari!"
"It's not like I planned it, or anything! And besides, nothing happened, so I didn't really say anything…I kind of forgot about that until recently!"
"That's why he wants to see you…" Itachi groaned, covering his face, "Look, I've never met Pein in person. No one has except for Konan. I don't know what you got from him after that confrontation, but Kisame accidentally mentioned your name in our last meeting and I had to explain to Pein that I was seeing you."
I took in a deep breath, worry starting to bubble up inside, "what did Kisame say…?"
"Nothing too bad," Itachi said, "He didn't mention anything about our relationship with the Leaf. The meeting was about hunting the Bijuu and—"
"Hunting the Bijuu?" I screamed, more alarms going off in my head, "Itachi! That's my family! And Naruto!"
"Please let me finish," Itachi pleaded. I shut my mouth and he continued, "We don't even know if we're going to go ahead with that plan. It was an idea that Pein had been playing with for a while and he threw it out there. All Kisame said was that my girlfriend had connections to the Tailed Beasts and that she wouldn't hesitate to take each and every one of the Akatsuki down if her family was threatened, even if I was affiliated with them. Pein asked me what your name was and I had to tell him. He didn't seem to mad though. He said that he recognized your name and wanted me to take you to the Rain Village to meet you in person."
"Okay…" I said, trying to control my breathing. I could see why Itachi was so disturbed when he came home. "So, how exactly do we get into the Rain Village? Outsiders have been kept away from there since the Third Great Ninja War."
"Well, the people of the village do not hate outsiders," Itachi explained, "It's Pein who keeps outsiders away. See, Pein and Konan are both from the Hidden Rain Village. He's worshiped as a god there and the Akatsuki are considered Pein's missionaries. We're welcomed in that village and we often use it as a place to hide if we're being trailed. The people of that village know me, as long as you're with me, you'll be fine."
"Well that certainly is convenient," I breathed, "so when to we leave?"
"Right now," Itachi said curtly.
"Right now?"
"Right now."
"Oh, thanks for the warning," I spat, changing into my shinobi gear, throwing my tank and vest on quickly. I grabbed my Leaf Headband to wrap it around my forehead but Itachi grasped my wrist tightly.
"Not that," Itachi ordered, "the Rain Village hates the Leaf."
I sighed heavily and put the headband back on my dresser. Itachi reached into my closet and pulled out a gray hooded robe that shinobi are given for cold-weather climates. He draped it over my shoulders and said, "you'll need this."
Itachi then changed into his Root gear and we both made our trek down to the village. I went into Tsunade's office and Itachi went down to Danzo's. When I stepped into Tsunade's office, I found her on the phone with Jiraiya. They were talking about the Akatsuki.
"Milady," I whispered, if you could put Jiraiya on speaker, I have something else to say about the Akatsuki…Haru discovered this on his last mission." Tsunade looked up at me and pressed a button on the phone. Jiraiya's voice echoed in the room. While the village thought that I was a liaison for the village, Tsunade knew that I was living in the outskirts of the village with my fiancé, a man who I had known for a long time, but was commissioned as a spy for root, exploited for his talents. She knew he could no longer show his face in the village nor could he reveal his identity as he had been forced to work for Root as a spy, doubling as a criminal, but to Tsunade, my fiancé was called Haru (and yes I got that name idea from Haru of the venom…I'm not creative with names). Only the elders knew that Haru was actually Itachi. At first the elders protested my living with Ita, but Tsunade, who had also suffered a great deal of loss between her brother and her boyfriend Dan, she understood my pain and allowed me to live with Ita. I desperately wanted to tell Tsunade that Haru was actually Itachi Uchiha. She was the Hokage after all, and she could help Ita's condition, she probably knew more than any of the other doctors we had seen. But the three elders and Itachi all refused to let me tell her. They all claimed that is was a secret that was meant to die with them. For now, I would respect their wishes, but I would only sit idly by temporarily.
"Ari, what did you find?" Tsunade asked. I took a seat at her desk and began to explain, careful to watch my words. Since the village wasn't in any danger, and I didn't want to expose Itachi's secret (yet), I spoke only half the truth.
"Haru was on another scouting mission for Danzo," I explained, "he's filing the report now, but he said he found several spots just outside the Land of Fire that appeared to be Akatsuki hideouts."
Jiraiya, being the one Itachi relayed any intel on Akatsuki to agreed, "yes, my sources have confirmed that the Akatsuki have left their marks in several areas. Since they move in pairs, they only gather at specific places, and go to the same hideout twice. I don't know how they are able to gather without gaining attention, but I think they're planning something big."
"Well, based on what Haru found, he says there is one hideout near the Village Hidden in the Rain that looks like it has been well used. He think the Akatsuki might be congregating there again, and he'd like to look further into the situation," I explained to the two, "and he'd like me to go with him."
"Absolutely not," Tsunade ordered, "Ari, you have no idea what you're getting into. Too little is known about the Akatsuki for you to just waltz into their hideout snooping around. It's one thing if Danzo wants to send Haru out, but I'm not placing any of my shinobi in danger!"
"Tsunade," I said in a low voice, "it's not just that he'd like me to go with him…I have to go."
Tsunade eyed me suspiciously, "just what do you mean by that?"
I held my breath. I hated lying but I had no choice, "Lady Hokage…with the mission Haru and Danzo have in mind…they need my abilities unless Haru is looking for an early death."
"Ari," Jiraiya said through the phone, "there is a specific reason why you need to go…other than your psychic abilities, am I right?"
I nodded my head. Tsunade looked at me and in a low voice asked, "does this have to do with the Bijuu…your family?"
I sighed heavily, "I won't know until I get there."
"Alright, fine," Tsunade said, sighing heavily, "but as soon as you see even the slightest hint of trouble, call in for backup, don't try to take the Akatsuki all on alone. Got it?"
I stood and bowed, "Understood, thank you, Lady Tsunade."
With that, I took my leave and met Itachi standing in his Akatsuki uniform outside the village. We took off heading in the direction of the Village Hidden in the Rain. It didn't take long for us to reach the border. I held my breath as we stepped out of the Land of Fire. A misty fog began to surround us as the climate grew more and more humid. I began squirming from the humidity, why the hell did Itachi have me bring this heavy cloak, anyway?"
"It'll cool down significantly as we get closer to the village," Itachi said, noting my discomfort, "enjoy he extra body heat while you can."
I nodded, saying nothing as we continued. At one point, Itachi put his straw hat on, covering his face. I followed suit by putting the hood over my head. Not long after that, and I don't know when or how this started, it felt like we were in the middle of a monsoon. Itachi placed his arm around my shoulders, keeping me close, "from here on out," he explained, "don't leave my side. I have no idea what awaits us in the village."
"Alright," I answered, "you lead the way."
I was amazed by the architecture of the Hidden Rain Village. From the outside, it just looked like a dirty city, with large metallic buildings. As poor as the village was and with the lower standard technology, I wasn't surprised by its musky appearance. But as we stepped further into the village, I realized that the village wasn't dirty at all. It was just the fog from the rain which caused the musky appearance. Its large metallic building structures, its elaborate pathways. The Hidden Rain Village was probably even more impressive than Konoha. I looked around in awe. This village had really come back in recent years, and could probably even give the five great nations a run for their money…so why was it so secluded?
Ita led me to a bakery as we stepped inside. He took his hat off and I pulled off my hood, shaking my hair out like a dog. An elderly woman in the bakery look up as the bell to her door jingled. "Oh, hello, again, Master Itachi! It's good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Tanaka, how have you been?" Itachi greeted politely, a smile on his face. I eyed the two's conversation suspiciously. Itachi wasn't kidding when he said the people of this village knew him…
"And who is this lovely lady at your side, Itachi?" Mrs. Tanaka diverted their conversation, giving me a big smile, "is this that girl you're always going on and on about?"
Itachi smiled big, his face turning a light pink as he pulled me close, "yes ma'am!" he then led me over to the counter where the old woman stood and held his hand out to her, "Mrs. Tanaka, I'd like to introduce you to my fiancé, Ariala Drake."
"Pleasure to meet you," I said, bowing. "I take it you keep Ita well fed when he's away."
"I always do! And I make sure he takes good care of himself. I'm sure we both know how Itachi is with his medicine," Mrs. Tanaka gave me a wink. I nodded smiling blankly. So she knew about that too…? "Itachi's told me a lot about you, Ariala. I must say, you are beautiful, more so than I had imagined! And so polite! Itachi, you are a lucky man, finding such a sweet girl."
"Am I ever," Ita chuckled. I smiled up at him, blushing. Did he really talk about me with other people?
We sat down at a table and Mrs. Tanaka gave us plates of dango, rice patties, and other treats. Ita and I exchanged glances and Ita began to pull out his wallet, but Mrs. Tanaka refused any money. "It's on the house," she said.
We both thanked her and dug in to our food. I looked out the window as I ate, eyeing the down pour. "So…forgive my ignorance, but does it always rain like this?"
"Oh yes," Mrs. Tanaka said cheerfully, "tell me, how much do you know about the Rain?"
"Not much," I admitted.
Itachi chimed in, giving me helpful hints to go off of, "The Cloud is so far away from here that their people haven't had many exchanges with this village. And…a village like this is hard to explain, I figured I would just bring her here myself and have someone like you share its history. You are a great story teller, after all."
"Oh Itachi, such a gentleman!" Mrs. Tanaka blushed. She then sat down next to me and took my hands. With a warm smile, she explained, "The Third Great Ninja War wreaked havoc on this humble village. The Leaf and the Sand Villages exploited just about every resource we had, and being in between the two villages, our country was often used as a battleground. Our leader at the time, Hanzo, who had led our forces to success during the second war, was no match for a double-sided match. He couldn't maintain stability and our country broke out into civil war amongst the chaos. It was then when a group of three young people established an organization called the Akatsuki in an attempt to bring peace to the village. Hanzo couldn't stand the thought of another leader besides himself, and sought out to destroy the Akatsuki. Almost all of their forces were destroyed…but that's when He came…"
Mrs. Tanaka paused for a long moment, her eyes gazing off to a distant memory. I cocked my head to the side and asked, "who is 'He'…?"
"Pein," Mrs. Tanaka answered with a smile on our face, "the Lord came down in the form of a man with blessed eyes. He brought an end to the fighting of this country and has led the village with his glory ever since. We have no Kage, we only abide by the rules our God had laid down for us. He disappeared after the fighting ceased, no one knows where he dwells. But we know he is there, we know he protects us. This rain you see outside is not just a continuous downpour; it is God's holy rain. Through this rain, our guardian paper angel, and the Akatsuki missionaries, Lord Pein watches over His people, protecting us from any danger."
"That is quite a beautiful story," I said, "I can see why Itachi has remained so loyal to Akatsuki for all these years." Next to me, Itachi pursed his lips, stifling a laugh. I groaned internally. Our hands holding each other, we exchanged a few brief sarcastic snaps at each other and laughed. We continued to eat as Mrs. Tanaka continued to talk, a warm smile on her face, but when her gaze drifted back to the window, her smile fell.
"Oh no, not her again…" Mrs. Tanaka mumbled, standing up. I looked out the window and saw a small girl looking inside, her little hands and face pressed against the glass. She was drenched from the rain and absolutely filthy, her face covered in dirt. She practically wore rags, as the baggy white t-shirt she was using as a dress had been torn up and muddied.
"Who is she?" I asked.
Mrs. Tanaka frowned sadly, "nobody knows…honestly, if there is one thing I hate about this village, it's the way they treat orphaned children. Especially those from the outside world. A child is a child, no matter what their heritage, right?"
"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked, observing the girl. She had beautiful violet eyes…I had seen those eyes somewhere before…
This time, Itachi stepped in, "because of the village's past, the Rain Village does not tolerate outsiders. Because of its instability until recent years, many families have been forced to abandon their children and orphanages are beyond capacity. They'll take in infants for a time, but, especially if there is evidence they came from an outside village, they abandon those children when they are able to walk."
"That's awful…" I said, my heart breaking as I watched the little girl. Her expression was like stone, not sad, not smiling, not like a child's. She almost looked as if she had been broken.
"It is," Mrs. Tanaka grimaced, "and this little girl has had the higher ups in an uproar lately. I can't tell you why, but they don't want us helping her…it's like they're just waiting for her to die. I've tried to give her food, but she refuses and runs away whenever I hold it out to her."
The girl and I stared at each other for a long moment. She eyed me curiously, and I could feel something deep down inside of me. I felt this absolute need to hold her in my arms and protect her from the dangers of this world. I don't know where this feeling came from; it was as if it had been inside me all along. And those eyes of hers…I could've sworn I had seen those eyes before. Those beautiful, purple eyes…
Without thinking, I stood up and grabbed hold of a couple large rice patties. I tucked them into my cloak and began to walk outside. Itachi called after me, "Ari! Hey! What are you doing? We're guests here, we can't threaten the village's authority!"
I ignored him and took a step outside. As I did, Itachi chased after me. Mrs. Tanaka put her hand on Itachi's shoulder before he left and I heard her say, "she has a kind heart…why don't we see what happens?"
I turned towards the girl and smiled at her. She stared back at me with wide eyes, fear taking over her facial features as she took a step back. I knelt down and held out a rice pattie and asked her, "are you hungry?"
The girl let out a shriek and turned to run. I chased after her as she ran down an ally and hid behind a few trash cans. I pushed the cans out of the way and knelt down next to her. She stared at me, whimpering, scared out of her mind. I held my hand out to her and said, "I won't hurt you. It's okay."
The girl's whimpering ceased, but she still trembled, eyeing me with stone eyes. I recognized the expression on her face. It was the same one I wore whenever I tried to hold my emotions inside, trying to keep people from seeing my weakness. My heart melted at the sight of this little girl. But it also broke. As I watched her more closely, I realized how hollow her cheeks looked and how pale her skin was. She was practically skin and bones, she was probably dying, and this girl couldn't be more than three years old.
"What's your name?" I asked. The girl said nothing. "My name is Ari. Aren't you cold?" I tried, holding my hand out to her. The girl looked confused, her gaze turning from my hand to my eyes. I smiled warmly and repeated, "I won't hurt you. Why don't you come with me? You must be starving and I'll get some good food in you and a nice warm bed, okay?"
Hesitantly, the girl crawled towards me, her eyes started to water. She still didn't trust me entirely, but I could see her shield starting to come down, revealing just how terrified of a lonely little girl she was. She didn't take my hand, so I reached out and touched her cheek. I had to fight the urge to pull away, her skin was ice cold. My heart broke as I realized just how weak and just how sick the little girl probably was. If I hadn't found her when I did, she would've been dead within the week.
The girl trembled at my touch and shrunk away. I then held out the rice patties again and said, "here. You need your strength."
At that, the walls came down. The little girl took on in her small hand and took a bit out of it. As she did, tears started leaking out of her eyes. She closed them tightly and sobbed, stuffing the food in her mouth. She took the other one out of my hand and ate quickly, but her shrunken stomach couldn't handle that much food and her face flushed a green color and she slowed her eating when she was half-way through. She only cried harder.
"Shh, it's okay, sweetie," I cooed, taking the rest of the rice pattie from her, "don't eat too fast or you'll make yourself sick."
The girl continued crying and she held out her arms, begging me to take her away from the hell she had been living. I scooped her up into my arms and held her tight. Her body was so cold… She buried her head in my chest, her little hands balling into fists, gathering my clothes up in them as she cried. I stroked her hair, humming a soft lullaby in her ear as I rocked her back and forth. I walked back to the bakery with the little girl in my arms. With every step I took, this strange protective feeling I had grew stronger and stronger. I had to protect this girl…I had to keep her from danger…and without even knowing her, I loved her more than anything in the world.
I gave Ita a bright smile as I walked up to him. He stared at me and the girl with wide eyes. It wasn't that he didn't want me to help the girl; he was just scared about how Pein would react. I understood that much, but in that moment, I didn't care. This little girl needed me.
"Ari, how did you do that?" Mrs. Tanaka asked, placing her hands on her hips, "I've been trying to feed this girl for the past year and she won't get anywhere near me!"
I shrugged, "It just took some time, I guess. But Ita, this girl is ice cold and I can't get her warmed up, can you put her in your cloak?"
Itachi gave me a shocked and incredibly confused look, "Wh-What?"
I rolled my eyes, "unbutton your cloak!"
Still in shock, Ita did as he was told. As the opening of his cloak got wider, revealing the gray tunic underneath, I placed the girl against his body and said, "Now button her in and carry her. We need to get her warmed up."
"But Ari—"
"Just do it."
Itachi sighed heavily and obeyed me. He took the girl in his arms and as I pulled mine away from her, the girl let out a scream and reached towards me. I smiled gently and stroked her hair, "it's okay. This is Itachi, he will take good care of you, don't worry."
The girl looked up at Itachi with curious eyes. Still stiff with confusion, Itachi forced a smile and said uncomfortably, "hello there, little one. What's your name?"
The girl said nothing, but stare up at him with those big beautiful eyes of hers. As her eyes locked onto Ita's, I saw his form relax, his eyes softening. I could tell he had the same feeling bubble up inside of him that I had. He held her tightly, trying to warm up her body, "you really are cold…let's take you back to the Tower and get you a nice hot bath."
"If you guys want, I can make something and bring it over," Mrs. Tanaka offered, "my treat."
"That would be much appreciated, thank you," Itachi said.
Mrs. Tanaka gazed at the girl with a nervous expression on her face, "you two just be careful," she said, "I don't know how the village would react if anyone saw you two with this girl…but…Itachi you are a chosen one of Pein, wearing the uniform of the Akatsuki…perhaps this is a sign that you two were meant to find her…"
Ita and I exchanged glances before we nodded and took our leave. Itachi led me to the Tower, which was supposedly where Pein lived and was an apartment complex that the Akatsuki would use when the stopped in the Rain Village. Itachi had his own living quarters in the Tower, complete with a bedroom, kitchenette, living room, and a full-sized bathroom. As soon as we got home, I dunked the girl in the bathtub. Letting her soak in the hot water, I made Itachi take his afternoon dose of pills before I sent him out to the store to find the girl some actual clothes. As I scrubbed the girl clean, having to change the bath water twice, I thought hard about what Mrs. Tanaka had said.
And come to find out, it really was a sign that Ita and I were meant to find this little girl.
Itachi
Fumbling through the clothes racks, Itachi grimaced. What the hell was Ari thinking sending him out all by himself? He didn't know the first thing about shopping for girl clothes! He drifted over to a rack in the kids section that was covered in pink. Girls like pink, right?
As far as he could tell, just about every girl but Ari did…shrugging, Itachi grabbed a handful of pink dresses, shirts and shorts. That would do for now, right?
He was on his way to the check-out when Itachi remember that Ari had asked for some underwear…he walked over to several packages of kids underwear, eyeing them confused. There was more than one size?
Noticing his distraught face, a mom with her kids in the shopping cart came over and said, "first-time parent?"
Itachi nodded. You could say that… "Yeah, my…wife…and I just…adopted. The little girl came to us sick and Ari's at home taking care of her and she sent me to do the shopping…but I have to be honest, I don't know the first thing about girl clothes…"
The mom chuckled, "well, that's awfully sweet of you. And you're a missionary, aren't you? Well, God must have sent me to help you out. And it's the least I can do for all of your good work. So tell me, how old is your little girl?"
"Three," Itachi guessed, "though she's small and malnourished. The orphanage struggled to keep her and her roommates fed."
"Ah, that makes sense," the mom said, frowning. Her smile came back and she reached over to hand Itachi several packages of underwear. "They're all different sizes," she explained, "you can see which one fits, but I imagine that you can keep the bigger package for when she grows. And here…" the mom too the clothes out of Itachi's hands and grabbed some different clothes off a rack. She kept the pink dress but pulled out a yellow sweater, some black leggings, and a pink coat and a pair of pajamas. She even grabbed a pair of shoes. The woman led Itachi to the checkout and pulled out her wallet, "these should do for now until your little girl is well enough to try on some clothes. And I'm buying. Consider it a token of my gratitude."
"Wow…" Itachi said, "thank you so much…."
After thanking the mom several times, Itachi made his way back to the Tower. He walked inside and heard Ari's voice coming from the bathroom. Poking his head in, Ari was wrapping a towel around the girl's body to dry her off. It was amazing how much better the girl looked when she was clean. Her cheeks were a rosy pink and her skin was a light peach color like Ari's and her silky hair was a dirty-blond, just a few shades lighter than Ari's brown hair. And those eyes…he hadn't seen a deep purple like that before, but they certainly were pretty.
"Now, doesn't that feel better?" Ari said, a bright smile on her face, "isn't it nice to be squeaky clean?"
"Mmhmm," the girl muttered in a cute little sing-song voice.
"My, don't you look lovely," Itachi said to the little girl, a smile on his face, "you certainly clean up well."
"Oh, just in time!" Ari said. She stood up and took the girl in her arms, walking out of the steaming bathroom and into the bedroom. She sat the naked girl down on the bed, still wrapped up in a towel and took the bag from Itachi's hands. She pulled out all of the clothes and chose to put the girl in the sweater and leggings. When the girl was dressed, Ari stood back, admiring her work. "Wow, Ita…you did good! They're big on her, but she'll grow into them. I must say, when I sent you out, I wasn't sure what I was going to get back."
"To be honest, I wasn't either…" Itachi mumbled, letting out a nervous laugh. Ari jumped next to him as she remembered something else. She swiftly walked over to her backpack and pulled out a hairbrush. She sat on the bed behind the girl and began brushing her hair.
"If your hair is anything like mine," Ari told the girl, "we better brush this mane out before it turns into a tangled mess!" At that, the girl let out a bright laugh that was so beautiful and so filled with joy, Itachi's heart warmed up at the sound. When that little girl laughed, all the troubles and inconsistencies of the world vanished. Ari must've felt that too as her smile dropped for a moment and she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She then looked up at Itachi and said, "Ita? Mrs. Tanaka will be over at any minute, but I was going to make some hot soup anyway. Could you go in the kitchen and pull out some pots and pans and get dinner started?"
"Of course," Itachi said smiling. He walked over to the two girls and gave Ari a big kiss. He then knelt down beside the little girl and kissed her forehead, "careful, though, Ari, you might just spoil her." He winked at the girl who in turn giggled lightly.
As Itachi walked to the kitchen, his heart filling with a joy he had never known before, he couldn't help but wonder if that little girl in the bedroom with Ari was the little flower they had been waiting for all along.
Ari
The girl's hair was really really thick, just like mine. It felt like fur. But the difference between our hair was while mine, which had been cursed with the course stringy texture of Uzumaki hair, this pretty little thing had silky smooth hair that you could just run your fingers through all day if you wanted. It kind of reminded me of Itachi's hair. As much as I made fun of him for keeping his hair long, I just loved playing with it. I loved running my fingers through it and braiding it, and messing around with it. I even think that was part of the reason he kept it as long as my hair was, down to the tip of his shoulder blades.
I continued to talk to the girl, and slowly a big beautiful smile grew on her face as she would erupt into cute little giggles. She even started talking in a cute, sing-song voice. She spoke like a songbird. After a while, I learned to stop asking for her name because every time I did, that smile would fall and either she would start whimpering or her walls would go back up. I would sigh heavily and have to work her back out of it, starting all over again.
We walked out into the kitchen to find Itachi had gotten the soup started. Mrs. Tanaka had already stopped by to drop off some of her baked goods, but had left before I finished cleaning the girl up. Itachi was a pretty good cook, he had learned from his mom and aunt, the two geniuses in the kitchen. Despite his skill, Ita still insisted that I could cook circles around him and suddenly lost his confidence in the kitchen when I was around. I couldn't tell if that was because he felt inferior to me or if he was just flirting, but I would sigh and reassure him that he knew what he was doing. We loved cooking together though, teasing each other and having friendly competition. Kisame, of course, loved eating whatever concoction we managed to conjure up. I made a makeshift high-chair out of a stack of phone books and set the little girl down in it. She watched intently as Ita and I cooked together. I silently warned Ita not to ask the girl for her name and the three of us talked and joked and laughed. We felt like a real family.
"You guys are funny!" the girl giggled, spitting out some of her food as she did so. I chuckled and shook my head.
"Keep your mouth closed, sweetheart," I scolded lightly, "and don't talk with your mouth full."
The girl sat up straight and stiff and gulped down her food, eyeing me with a straight face, but her smile crept back and she spat out a laugh.
Itachi chuckled as he eyed me curiously, "ooh, strict now, are we?"
"Hey! Table manners are important!" I responded.
"Yeah, says the one who couldn't get through ten minutes of dinner with my family!"
"Hey! That wasn't my fault!"
The little girl kept laughing, her giggles so full of joy. Ita and I smiled at the girl and then smiled at each other. Itachi reached over and kissed my cheek gently and I leaned into his chest. I could get used to this…
But then there came a knock on the door and I felt Ita's body stiffen.
"Something wrong?" I asked as Ita looked up, his eyes hardened. The girl noticed this and her giggles ceased. Confusion and worry fell over her features.
Itachi shook his head, "it's a little late for guests…" but he held me tight and as he spoke out loud he though to me, *hide the girl and brace yourselves…its Pein…*
I held my breath and nodded, "come on sweetie, let's get you ready for bed."
The girl whined and said, "but I'm not tired…"
I gave her a skeptical grin and said, "after all you've been through? I doubt that's true." I took the girl in my arms and she gave out a big yawn. Yeah…not tired, huh? I stepped into the bedroom and locked the door, pulling her clothes off and exchanging them for pajamas. Man, Ita even thought of pajamas? I narrowed my eyes and had a feeling that Itachi had some form of help when he was shopping. Itachi was a gentle man and had the fatherly touch, but when it came to girls, he was sorely lacking in a certain acuteness to the female mind and their needs that causes him to be completely oblivious to what are otherwise obvious things. It's gotten him into a lot of trouble with me plenty of times. Which is why I say Ita has the fatherly touch and not the motherly touch.
I tucked the little girl under the covers and kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes to sleep. Around that time, Ita knocked on the door and said, "Ari, can you two come out?"
I groaned. Dammit, Ita, I just got her to bed! I picked the tired little girl back up and unlocked the door, but I froze as I saw Pein and Konan both eyeing me with mild disapproval.
Oh shit…
Itachi
"You were supposed to report to me immediately," Pein noted as he stepped in. Konan came in close behind. Itachi held his breath as he eyed Pein curiously. The man was tall, the Rinnegan intimidatingly powerful, and his skin looked almost like paper, as if he were a corpse.
"Forgive me, Leader, sir," Itachi bowed, "we ran into some…trouble…along the way."
"There is no need to explain, Itachi," Pein said, "I know everything. The rain showed me what happened."
"Hn," Itachi responded in acknowledgement. Of course…but Itachi had a bad feeling about this. For whatever reason, Pein didn't seem to care less about what happened to the orphans of this village. And the little girl Ari had saved seemed to scare even Mrs. Tanaka. Itachi had to admit there was something different about the girl, something not completely inhuman about her. The only other person Itachi had ever sensed that feeling with or seen that much discomfort from other people towards them was Ari. But that was because she was half—
Oh…oh no…
Itachi groaned internally, pursing his lips. Pein looked around the living quarters and then eyed the closed door.
"Why is she hiding in there?" he asked.
"She's putting the little girl to bed," Itachi explained.
"You know you aren't supposed to just take children off the street…especially not her. She's too dangerous," Pein noted.
"I am aware, sir," Itachi said, "but Ari…she has a one track mind. You can't convince her otherwise when she's decided on something."
Pein smiled at that, "an adamant woman…that certainly explains why she has stayed by your side after all these years. You two are lucky to have each other."
"Believe me, I know," Itachi sighed.
"Go get her," Pein said, "I want to meet her. And I want to see this child."
His heart pounding, Itachi knocked on the door and said, "Ari, can you two come out?"
In a few moments Ari stepped out holding the little girl who looked half-asleep, and by pissed look Ari was giving Itachi, he had a feeling she had just gotten the girl to bed. But Ari's expression changed when she saw Pein and Konan standing in the living room, waiting for her. Itachi took hold of her hand and led her closer to Pein.
Pein's eyes widened when he saw Ari, "Just as I thought…you're the woman who was looking for Sasuke Uchiha…"
Ari gave a polite smile and said, "long time, no see, Pein."
*Lord Pein* Itachi correct her.
"Lord Pein," Ari correct herself.
"Indeed. It seems you have fared well in the past couple of years. How have you been?" Pein asked.
"Oh, can't complain," Ari shrugged, "I've been busy, you know, missions, stuff at home, this piece of work right here," Ari pointed at Itachi as she cracked the joke. To Itachi's surprise, Pein gave a small smile.
"And now this child," he pointed out. Ari's face fell and her body stiffened as she nodded. Pein continued, "now, normally outsiders are not welcome in the Rain Village, especially not from the Leaf…" Pein paused to shoot Ari a glare. Ari in turn gulped hard and held her breath. Pein continued, "I must admit, I'm surprised that despite everything, you still stand at Itachi's side."
"Well, it's as I told you when we last met," Ari explained, "though I love the village, I am a wandering spirit. I bare no grudges over people I never met, nor grudges against people caught in political strife."
*Ari!* Itachi hissed, drawing in a sharp breath. He clutched Ari's hand tightly, his heart racing, and his body began to tremble.
"Political strife?" Pein asked, his interest peaking.
"Y-yeah," Ari's voice shook as she tried to make up for her slip of tongue, "well, I'm sure you heard from Ita here…the Leaf and the Uchiha both had issues. Both the clan and the village can be so arrogant sometimes…real slave drivers looking for their own personal gain. I admit, I get really annoyed with it, but poor Ita was caught in the middle of everything. You can't blame him for what he did. I would have done the same thing if my clan or my village were exploiting me the way they did him. I mean, that is kind of why most shinobi go rogue. No one is perfect."
"You make an interesting point," Pein noted, nodding his head, "although Itachi never gave his reasons for leaving the Leaf Village, but I can understand why he felt the need to destroy his clan. Such arrogance and hatred gets so tiresome after a while…"
Itachi sighed in relief, his cover not blown after all.
*sorry…* Ari thought quietly.
*It's alright…but thanks for the save,* he responded.
"Well, Lord Pein, you've met Ari, is there anything else you need?" Itachi asked, trying to be respectful. He wanted nothing more than to get this meeting over with and get the hell out of this village.
"Well, yes, but there is just one more thing I must ask her," Pein said. He then turned his attention to Ari and asked, "Why are you helping this child? Is it because she is like you?"
Ari's eyes widened in surprise as she looked down at the girl who was now asleep in her arms, she then looked back at Pein and said, "Well, sir, I don't quite know what you mean. I don't know your village's customs and I apologize if I have broken any rules, but my heart broke at the thought of no one helping this dear child. A child is a child, no matter where they came from, right?"
"Indeed that is true," Pein noted, "but surely you realize that she is different from other children. Much like you were…much like jinchuuriki are…"
Ari narrowed her eyes and turned away from Pein slightly, shielding the girl with her own body as she asked, "What are you trying to say?"
"Well, you are the child of the Kyuubi," Pein stated, "and yet you raised and nurtured your father's jinchuuriki. Don't you feel as if you betrayed your father?"
Ari glared at Pein, saying nothing. Itachi wasn't sure Ari even knew how to respond to that. He wasn't sure Ari had an answer. She didn't seemed to know why she made the decisions she did. Ari had incredible instincts, that most of the time led her in the right direction. Over the years, Itachi had learned not to question Ari's instincts, but when someone like Pein asked for her reasoning, he wondered how Ari would even be able to answer his question.
"I don't need to explain to you or anyone why I make the decisions that I do," Ari explained in a hardened voice, "have you ever had to weigh the lives or needs of the two most precious things in the world to you? Have you, Pein?"
At that, Pein gave Ari a startled look. Ari bared her teeth and answered, "I do that just about every day with Naruto. With Ita. With the village. The things I love the most in this world go together like oil and water, they aren't supposed to mix. And yet I am like the spoon that stirs the solution together. It's not an easy job, Pein, let me tell you. But I love each and every one of the people who have come into my life. I love Naruto, but I also love my father. I love my mother and my family, but I also love the village that sealed my father away, killed my mother, and began the hunt for my aunts and uncles. And most of all, I love Itachi, even if he did flee the village, even if he did kill the Uchiha, even if that clan did produce Madara, the one who began my suffering in the first place. I don't care how they are tied to each other, everyone deserves love and I wish nothing more than to give it to those who have accepted me for me. Do I need to make myself any clearer?"
"It's an interesting answer," Pein noted, "but what if the Akatsuki were to hunt down the jinchuuriki and kill them? What if your fiancé was the one ordered to bring in Naruto Uzumaki, rip your father out of him, and then destroy your father as well? What would you do?"
"I'd kill you first," Ari replied. Itachi eyed Ari, stunned. Did she have any idea what she was saying? Ari took a deep breath and said, "if you were out of the picture, then Itachi wouldn't have orders to follow. And Naruto wouldn't have to die."
"So you would hate me," Pein stated.
Ari shook her head, "no. I wouldn't hate you. I would hate the fact that I would have to kill you. But I won't kill Itachi, and I won't sit idly by and watch Naruto and my father both be killed senselessly."
"I see," Pein remained silent for a long moment before he finally asked, "now what of this half-breed girl in your arms? What do you plan to do with her?"
"Take her with me," Ari answered, "like I said, everyone deserves love, and I will give that to them. I will give that to her. I don't care where she came from; she's a little girl who needs me."
"Very well," Pein said, "you may take her with you. Leave tomorrow, and protect this child with your life. That is what you have vowed to do after all as her mother…"
With that, Pein and Konan left. Itachi closed the door behind him and let out a heavy sigh. Thank goodness that was over. But as he thought long about that conversation, his anger started boiling up inside of him. What had Ari just done?
He turned back to face Ari who now stared down at the girl slightly dumbfounded. She had jumped at the word "mother", and her face had paled. Itachi glared at Ari, "Well, I hope your happy! Way to go, Ari!"
"Hey!" Ari snapped back in a hushed voice, "don't get mad at me! You're the one who sprung this on me all the sudden! How was I supposed to know how this would end?"
"That's why I told you to stay close to me and do exactly as I told you!" Itachi whispered harshly back, "but did you listen? No! You never do! You just had to waltz outside and chase after that girl because you're some kind of saint who absolutely has to help everybody!"
"Some kind of saint?" Ari glared at Itachi, her face paled and her eyes got a little bloodshot. Itachi's words had hurt her, and part of him felt guilty. Ari continued, "Well I am sorry that my childhood sucked! I'm sorry I spent most of my life alone! And I'm sorry I wanted to help out my family!"
"Your what?" Itachi's eyes widened as he shouted, waking the little girl up. Her eyes fluttered open and she yawned. Ari shot Itachi a nasty glare before she looked back down at the girl, her eyes soft.
"What…happened?" the girl yawned.
Ari stroked the girls hair and kissed her cheek saying, "sorry, did we wake you? Don't worry about it, you just got back to sleep."
"Okay," the girl mumbled and closed her eyes. Itachi watched as Ari tucked the little girl into bed. Part of him yearned to be by Ari's side, kissing the little girl goodnight, but in that moment, he didn't feel it was his place to. Not yet.
Ari stepped out of the room and closed the door before she sat down on the couch in the living room, crossing her arms, "Itachi…" she began, "Pein wasn't kidding when he made the comment that she was like me…"
"Just what exactly do you mean?" Itachi asked, confused.
"About three years ago, my aunt, the Two-Tails, came to me for help," Ari explained, "this was just before you returned to the village…she had fallen in love with the man who was her jinchuuriki. He freed her from his seal and they conceived a child together. Since then, Auntie Tabi was resealed, and her newborn child had been supposedly killed when they found her but…"
"But," Itachi finished for Ari, his chest hollow, "you think that this little girl in the bedroom is that child."
"She has her mother's eyes," Ari explained, her eyes gazing at the floor, focused on a memory that only she could see. She sighed heavily, "Ita…you have to understand, I can't help but feel this incredible need to help her, protect her. I'm all she has in this world!"
Itachi frowned, kneeling down beside Ari as he took her hand, "That's not true," he said, "she has me too, remember?"
Ari looked up at Itachi with hopeful eyes, "You really mean that?"
Itachi smiled and said, "of course! We're the Ultimate Tag Team, aren't we?"
Ari's lips quivered, a big smile spreading across her face and she threw her arms around him saying, "Thank you!"
After that, Ari and Itachi changed and got ready for bed. With on bed in the small apartment, Ari and Itachi crawled into bed on either side of the little girl. Ari slept holding the little girl close to her. Itachi watched the two, his arm wrapped around both of him. He closed his eyes as he drifted to sleep thinking, "for as long as I have left, I will stay by your side…and when I die, I will look after you, I will guide you and carry you in my arms for always…"
Ari
We got up early in the morning and left the village before the rest of the world woke up. Itachi carried the sleeping little girl bundled up inside his cloak, shielding her from the cold rain. We stepped back into the Land of Fire around midmorning as the sun rose slowly into the sky. At around that time, the girl finally awoke and looked around, confused.
"It's not raining anymore…" she mumbled. Itachi set her down and she walked around on her little legs.
"We left the Rain Village," I explained, "and we're taking you home."
"Home?" she asked still confused.
I nodded, "we're from a place called the Village Hidden in the Leaves, also known as Konoha. That's where I live now, and we're taking you there to live with us."
The little girl's lips quivered and tears threatened to bubble out of her precious little eyes, "you mean…I don't have to be alone anymore?"
I shook my head, taking her into my arms, "Of course not, sweetie. You'll never be alone again. Of course, I still don't know your name; will you please tell me what it is?"
At that, the girl started crying even more, "Well…I don't have a name…they all said that I was a monster…!"
"A monster?"I asked, my heart breaking at the thought of what this child must have gone through, "now why would they say that?"
"They said that my mommy…that my mommy was some sort of demon with two tails…and that I should have died but the lady that my mommy was sealed into brought me to the village…but they said I didn't deserve to live…I don't even have a name!" the girl cried into my shoulder and I looked at Itachi. He too wore a sad expression as he looked down at the girl. As heartbroken as he story made me feel, an insurmountable amount of happiness welled inside me. This was her…this was my baby…!"
"But sweetheart," I hushed her, stroking her hair, "you do have a name. It was given to you before you were born."
My little flower rubbed the tears off of her face and she looked up at me confused. "I do…?" she asked.
Ita also gave me a weird glance as I turned to face him. With a smile on my face and hiding back the tears I said, "Yes. In fact, long ago, before you were born, your mother came to me with a little blossom growing inside of her. She feared that the world wouldn't understand the love from which her baby came, and she knew that she would soon be sealed away. She had asked me to take care of this flower when she had passed. And through love, not blood, Itachi and I became parents," I paused and stared into Itachi's eyes for a long time. His eyes widened and began to tear up as he realized what I was saying. I looked back down at my little flower and said, "and do you know what we named her?"
"What?" the little girl asked.
I smiled, my voice cracking as I answered, "your name is Hana. Do you like it?"
Hana stared at me with big eyes, a teary smile spreading across her face as she threw her arms around me crying, "You're my mommy!"
I hugged Hana tightly and walked towards Ita who still looked dumbfounded. I said to Hana, "of course you do! And you have a Daddy! In fact, he is the one who named you…"
Hana looked over at Ita and reached her arms out to him giggling and crying at the same time. Itachi let out a laugh as tears began to pour out of his eyes. He took her in his arms as he cried and whispered into her ear, "My little wild flower!"
And just like that, our little family which began with what seemed to be an impossible dream took form in a little miracle. Suddenly, I had become a mom, and Itachi had become the dad of a little girl he always wanted.
And we had finally found our little wild flower.
