Aha! Two chapters in one day! I am officially awesome! ^_^ *does happy dance* well anyway, this one isn't quite as cute as the last...actually it's kind of a downer...(because really, anything is a downer compared to meeting your long lost adopted daughter when you're Itachi and Ari! XD) But anyway, hope you enjoy this one! And be on the look out for a Valentine's Day Special next week! I'm posting it separately from this story, but it will be full of Itachi and Ari and Hana and uber cuteness so keep your eyes open! :)

Well, anyway,

ENJOI


Ari

Only once did Itachi "forget" to take his pills when he was out on a mission after Hana came home, and with an energetic three-year-old who had her daddy firmly wrapped around her little finger, Itachi never ever worried me with his recklessness again.

Granted, other, much more terrifying things came up, but we aren't quite there yet.

Hana would wait expectantly at the door when she knew either Ita or I were supposed to come home from a mission. As soon as either one of us walked through the door, she would leap into the air squealing, "MOMMY!" or "DADDY!" as loud as she could. She lit up our world when she would do that. But when Itachi came home one day, the life nearly drained out of him, Hana jumped on him and nearly knocked him over.

"Ita!" I cried out, running over to the two, "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Itachi panted, averting my gaze. He looked so much worse than I had ever seen him when he skipped his meds.

"How many doses did you skip this time?" I asked, alarmed. Hana glanced up at me nervously and released her bear-hug from her father. Despite her young age, Hana was incredibly smart and very mature. We couldn't tell her everything, but she knew and understood a great deal about why Itachi couldn't go into the village with us and what his heart condition meant.

Itachi shook his head, staggering to stay on his feet, "just one…why, do I look as bad as I feel?"

Not believing him, I motioned for him to show me the pill bottle. He pulled it out and I opened it. Sure enough, there were only three pills in there. This was bad.

"I'm taking you to the doctor," I said quickly.

Eyeing Hana's concerned and teary eyes, Itachi looked up at me and smiled, "Ari, I'm fine. I think my body is just getting a little too used to the medicine is all."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "what are your symptoms?"

"Well I'm tired, and I feel like I have a mild case of heartburn, but that's a given," Itachi explained, "my head is killing me though and I feel like I could barf at any moment…"

I sighed heavily. That sounded like withdrawal alright. As I feared, his body had gotten addicted to his heart medicine. But, that was much better news than I was prepared for. I led Ita into the kitchen and sat him down to make lunch. Hana followed closely behind us carrying her stuffed bunny, Tim-Tim. As soon as Itachi sat down, she jumped in his lap. Itachi gasped as she did, "Oof!" I looked behind and noticed his face growing paler.

"Hana, be careful, your father's not feeling well," I scolded her. Hana sighed heavily and looked up at Itachi.

"Daddy? Are we still gonna be able to play later?" she asked.

Sighing heavily, Itachi smiled and said, "I don't know, Hana, I'm feeling kind of sick but I'll try. If not, then maybe some other time, okay?"

I laughed under my breath as he spoke to Hana much like he spoke to Sasuke when he was little. Oh, how I missed those times…

I made the two lunch and started pumping fluids into Itachi to try and get him to feeling better. He took four pills to make up for his skipped dose and we went upstairs to do the medical jutsu. When I had finished, the color was already returning to his cheeks and he sat up, still looking exhausted.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

Ita smiled and said, "Much. Thank you."

"Yay!" Hana cheered, leaping onto Ita, "We can play now, right, Daddy?"

"Uh…" Ita started, smiling nervously. The first thing Hana wanted to do when either of us came home from missions was to play, and as much as it would break her heart to hear the two-letter 'n' word, Ita just wasn't up for playing.

"Sorry, sweetie," I said, doing what Itachi could never do, "Daddy still isn't feeling good. He needs to go upstairs and take a nap."

Hana looked up at Ita with sad eyes as she pouted, "But Daaad! You promised you'd play with me when you got home!"

Ita looked from Hana to me and back as he started to cave. He had gotten soft since when Sasuke was little, "Well…I guess I could try to—"

"Nope!" I said, "Ita, you look like crap. No playing for you until you're feeling better!"

Both Hana and Itachi deflated at that. Hana let go of Ita and placed her hands on her hips, scolding him, "Daddy, are you feeling sick because you didn't take your medicine?"

Ita knelt down by Hana and said, "Yes, Hana. I'm sorry, but I'll play with you when I'm feeling better, okay?"

Instead of the typical distraught "okay…" that Sasuke normally gave (which I'm sure Ita was expecting), Hana glared at Ita and shook her finger at him, "Bad Daddy! Didn't Mommy tell you to always take your pills? You better not skip on any next time you leave or else you won't be able to play with me when you get home and then I will be mad!"

At that, Ita's jaw dropped and he jumped back, his feelings hurt, "Uh…okay! I'm sorry!"

I spat out a laugh and bent over, holding my sides. I was laughing so hard I had started crying. Ita shot me a glare, his face red as he turned to go to our room and sleep. Hana looked up at me with a mischievous grin on her face. "Someone had to tell him!" she said.

"I heard that!" I heard Ita call out from our room.

I wiped a tear out of my eye and I gave Hana a high-five, "nice work, kiddo!"

Hana giggled and hugged Tim-Tim tightly. The little booger was definitely related to me. She was just as ruthless as I was!

Hana also adored Kisame. Well, she adored making fun of him at least.

"Fishy!" she squealed when he walked through the front door one morning, running up to give him a hug. Kisame shot me a death glare.

"I didn't teach her that!" I said.

Kisame rolled his eyes but knelt down and said, "Hi, Hana! But you know my name is really Kisame…"

Hana shook her head, "but you look like a fish. Oh! Can I call you Nemo?"

Hana's favorite movie was Finding Nemo, I think mostly because it made her think of her favorite blue Uncle. Kisame grimaced and told Hana, "no."

"What about Gill? You kind of act like him."

"No."

"Marlin?"

"No."

"Not even Bubbles?"

"NO!"

"Oh! But you look more like a shark! How about Bruce?"

"What kind of name is Bruce?"

"It's the name of the shark! Oh! Oh! You can be Dory! She's blue like you are!"

"Okay, Ari Jr.! How about you and your mom can discuss what other ridiculous nicknames you can conjure up for me!" Kisame held Hana up in his arms and set her down on the kitchen counter next to me.

"Calm down, Spongebob, she's just having some fun!" I retorted back at him as Kisame stormed downstairs to his domain.

"That's Jaws, for you, missy!"

"So your name isn't Kisame then?"

"Uggggh…."

At about that point, Itachi came down the stairs, laughing at the conversation he had overheard. He was fumbling with his shirt as he tried to put it on. I frowned, Itachi had been losing weight lately…he was all muscle as it was and as of late…that literally was all he was. He was starting to look a little frail. You couldn't tell at first glance, I don't think Kisame had even noticed the change, but I had known Ita long enough to realize that something was off…I just hoped that it didn't have to do with his heart.

"Hey, you two," he scolded lightly, chuckling, "be nice to Jaws, I mean Kisame."

"HEY!" Kisame called back up from downstairs. Hana let out a loud giggle. Shaking his head and smiling, Itachi came over to me and planted a big kiss on my lips. He wrapped my arms around my waist and kissed down my neck. I squealed as it tickled. Hana stuck her tongue out and looked away.

"Eww, gross, Daddy!" she teased. Ita chuckled but ignored her. I wrapped my arms around him as he kissed me, his hands drifted to the waist line of my pants.

"Ita…" I said, laughing lightly, "what has gotten into you?"

Ita shrugged as he pulled away eyeing me up and down, "I don't know…I just came down the stairs thinking about how lucky of a man I was and then I looked up and found myself hypnotized by your beauty."

I rolled my eyes, "smartass…"

Hana covered her mouth and pushed in a laugh and Ita shot me a glare. I had been trying to watch my language since Hana came home but…hey…Ita started it!

"Say what you want but it's true!" Ita said, a sly smile on his face. He then picked Hana up off the counter, lifting her high in the air as she squealed. He then brought her close to his face and gave her a raspberry on her tummy as Hana laughed and screamed wildly.

"Inside voices!" I hushed. Hana smiled brightly and she covered her mouth.

"Sorry," Ita said, his voice muffled as his lips were still pressed against Hana's belly, "my fault."

I groaned but smiled, "yep. That one's your fault alright."

After Hana spent "what felt like hours" begging, I finally agreed to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I worked on the pancakes while Ita scrambled some eggs and mixed together a fruit salad. The smells eventually drew Kisame out of his man-cave and he took a seat at the table. I had Hana wash her hands before breakfast and then helped her into her high-chair. All four of us sat at the table eating in silence.

"So Naruto should be coming back home soon, shouldn't he?" Ita asked out of the blue. I looked up at him, swallowing a pancake and nodded.

"Yeah. He gave me a call last night, actually. Said he would be home next week," I answered.

"Are you going to take Hana back to meet him?" he asked. I chewed slowly, thinking about it. Huh…that hadn't even crossed my mind yet. Hana knew all about Naruto and Sasuke from the stories Ita and I had told her as we put her to bed at night and from the pictures in the scrapbook that I showed her. I had been so busy lately though, I hadn't even thought about going back to Konoha to be honest…

As Ita said that, however, Hana bounced up, standing in her high chair, "I wanna meet Uncle Naruto!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," I said, "and sit down, you'll fall and hurt yourself. But yeah, I guess I'll take her to Konoha. She'd love Naruto." I sat back in my chair, thinking about Naruto. The first thing he'd probably do when he got back to the village was eat at Ichiraku's with Iruka, then after visiting several of his friends, he'd eventually wander his way over to my house for dinner. And then, after finally remembering that bet he made with me, he'd ask to fight me and test his strength. I smiled to myself…how was he going to react when he saw Hana? I didn't know, but I figured Hana would eventually win Naruto over and he would become the goofy, easy-going favorite uncle to Hana like Uncle Hashirama was to me. I never saw him much, but he was a really fun, and really nice guy. He even got my dad to laugh a couple of times!

"Hana," I said, "you want to meet your Uncle Naruto next week?"

"Do I ever!" Hana said, a big smile on her face. I sighed, chuckling as we finished breakfast. I took Hana upstairs to help her get dressed and Ita followed close behind. I had a feeling that Naruto's homecoming wasn't the only thing he needed to talk to me about…

"So Ita," I said, "I got a letter in the mail when I was at my apartment the other day. It was a post card from the Academy…they offer preschool classes and day care. I figured one of these days, we're both going to be on a mission at the same time, and I think it'd be good for Hana to meet some kids her age. Kids can start when they're four and a half or five, and I was thinking about signing her up next school year. She'll be old enough by then."

"Four and a half? That early?" Ita asked, a perplexed look on his face. He looked down at Hana as I pulled her pajama shirt off. She ran over to the closet and pulled out the pink dress Ita had picked out for her the day we met her. Hana had put on weight since she had been living with us and hit a growth spurt so the dress fit her perfectly and she loved wearing it. I was amazed at Hana's progress. She had gone from a skeletal, frightened little thing, to a normal healthy kid in just six months. I felt she was ready for the next step and learn how to play with kids and not just her slightly dysfunctional parents. Ita, on the other hand, looked a little anxious at the thought of turning his little girl over to a teacher he didn't even know. "But…she's still a little…small for that…don't you think?"

"She's as big as any other kid her age, Ita," I said, "and she needs some friends her age. I was only a little older than her when I met you, Saya, and Shisui. And you had those two to play with since before you were even potty trained!"

"Well, yeah," Ita said, "but I come from a big family. They're my cousins…"

"Ita," I said, "it's okay to let your daughter go a little bit."

Ita grimaced and looked away, a pained expression on his face as he crossed his arms. My face fell when I saw him. Hana truly was Daddy's Little Girl... Hana wriggled her dress on and ran over to Ita, patting his leg.

"It's okay, Daddy!" she said, "you don't need to be sad! I'll have lots of fun playing with new friends! Don't you worry!"

Ita sighed heavily and knelt down as he pulled her into a big hug, "you don't have to grow up, you know. You can just stay our little flower forever if you want!"

Hana giggled lightly, "But Daddy! I have to grow up someday!"

Ita let go of Hana and smiled, "you're right sweetie. It's just hard to let happen sometimes!" he kissed her cheek and Hana ran out of her room to go play with her toys. Ita sat back on the floor, leaning against the wall. He gazed up at the ceiling, his eyes watery. I got down on the ground and crawled next to him, quietly closing the door and sat cross-legged. Itachi sighed heavily and muttered, "can we just go back to when she was a baby…? Please?"

"Ita," I said softly, in partial disbelief, "first off, we didn't even know her when she was a baby. And second, it's been six months!"

"Six months that went by really fast," he said. He then looked down on the ground, his expression darkening, "and besides…life is so short…it just keeps getting away from me when all I want is to stay here…stay with you and Hana…grow old and live happily in the village…"

"Itachi, where is all this coming from?" I asked, slightly alarmed, "come on, you're twenty-one for crying out loud!"

"But I feel like I'm eighty!" he groaned, "well…I don't feel like an old man, I just…I feel stretched, I feel like I can't do the things I used to…I can't even have sex with you…I sometimes just wonder…how long will I even be able to live?"

"Itachi Uchiha," I said in a low voice. Now he was starting to really scare me, "is there something wrong?"

Itachi jumped out of his trance and shook his head, "No."

I narrowed my eyes, "Itachi…if your condition was getting worse…if you were dying, would you tell me?"

"Hmmm…"

"Would you tell me?" I asked again, raising my voice. I grasped hold of his shirt collar and shook him lightly.

"Of course I would," Ita said, looking me in the eye. I relaxed and sighed in relief, but then Ita said, "you would have to give me time to tell you, though. You know how I am, I hate worrying you."

At that, my expression hardened, "just how long would you need?"

Itachi kissed my lips gently and said, "I don't know. But Ari, you can have my word that I would tell you if I were dying."

I crossed my arms and eyed him skeptically, "I just hope you wouldn't tell me when you were on your deathbed and it was too late. Look, I just want you to be honest with me, okay? And sometimes, honesty isn't exactly one of your strengths. The shinobi world got the best of you a bit when they made you a double-agent, you know that?"

Itachi grimaced, sighing heavily as he stroked my cheek. Grimly, he said, "I know. Believe me, I know. And I'm sorry…just try to understand that I do the things I do to protect the people I love most. I've made some mistakes along the way, some really big mistakes, but I'm trying, Ari. I really am."

"And I know you are," I said gently, kissing Ita, "I just want you to know that you can come to me if something were wrong."

Itachi smiled and pulled me close. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his soothing heartbeat. As soothing as it was…it was a little too rhythmic for my taste as a medic.

"But Ari," Itachi said, "I will have to be going out on a mission here pretty soon. Pein is gathering the Akatsuki."

I sat up, eyeing Ita, "what for?"

Itachi shrugged and explain, "let's just say, Deidara and Sasori are on the move. Go back to Konoha and spend some time with Naruto before you guys are called in for your own mission…you might need to find a babysitter if I'm not back in time."

"Ita…" I glared at him, "elaborate. Please."

"Ari, I need you to stay calm," Ita said, pressing his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm calm," I said.

"Well stay that way," Itachi warned. I shrugged, awaiting for him to talk and then just about had a heart attack when he said, "Deidara and Sasori were sent out to capture the Shukaku."

"WHAT?" I screamed, leaping to my feet. I bolted down the stairs and ran to gather my shinobi gear. Hana shrieked at the noise and chased after me.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" she asked.

"Ari! I told you to stay calm!" Itachi yelled at me.

"I AM CALM!" I screamed back.

"Then what is your definition of calm?" he groaned.

"NOT BLOWING THAT GOD AWFUL CAVE YOU GUYS HIDE IN TO KINGDOM COME!" I roared. Hana watched me, holding Tim-Tim tightly, horribly confused. Kisame made his way up the stairs to where we were, covering his ears as I screamed and stomped around.

"I take it you finally told her? Huh…I thought she'd be a little more upset than…raging…" Kisame groaned, "You know, Ari, I never know what to expect from you…"

"Finally? FINALLY? How long has this plan to hunt the Bijuu been going on?" I screamed, glaring at Ita who backed away from me, his eyes wide.

Behind me I heard Kisame let out a long groan, "Wait, that's what you're stomping around about? ITACHI!"

"I'M WORKING ON IT!" Ita roared back.

"Oh? So there's more?" I growled, "What else do you need to tell me? Huh? What, is this whole fiasco with your heart just a dumb-downed version that you've been keeping stuff from me and really you've had this problem since you were a kid? Huh?"

Ita's face paled and he glanced over at Kisame before he looked back at me and said, "you need to calm down!"

"Why aren't you answering me?" I screamed at him, swiping his hand away.

"Because you didn't ask me a question!" he protested.

"Well then fine! I'll ask you then!" I roared. Our shouting match came to an abrupt halt, however, when I heard soft whimpers coming from Hana. I looked down to see her staring up at us, tears coming out of her eyes. My heart broke to see her so upset and I felt horrible because I knew that was my fault. I knelt down and said, "Oh sweetie…I'm sorry you had to hear that…"

"Why are you guys fighting?" she whimpered, "don't you love each other?"

"Yes, yes, we do," I said softly, "Daddy and I love each other very much…it's just sometimes, we don't always agree with things and, well, you know I have a bad temper, which I hope you never get from me by the way, but at the end of the day, we still love each other and nothing will ever change that. I'm sorry, Hana…"

Hana nodded and held me as she whimpered softly. I looked back at Ita sadly to find him glaring at me and crossing his arms.

"My fault," I admitted.

"Damn right it is," he grumbled back. He then sighed and knelt down next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry, Ari."

"Me too," I said, "but this conversation's not over."

"Understood," he said, "postponed to a later date when we're both calm and collected and being mature adults."

I rolled my eyes, "so in other words, this conversation is postponed indefinitely."

"Well, I didn't mean it like that," Ita said in a goofy tone. Hana let out a giggle while still in my arms. She sat in my lap and I held her tightly as we sat on the couch upstairs.

"So…they really are hunting the Bijuu after all," I said, holding my breath, "I had a feeling that's what Pein was planning when he sent you and Kisame after Naruto but…I thought that plot fell through…"

Ita nodded, "well, if it makes you feel better, they're going in order by the number of tails…so at least Naruto will be safe for the time being."

I held Hana close, trembling as I shook my head. I had gotten to know the Sand's jinchuuriki Gaara in recent months. He had become the Kazekage. He was a sweet kid…I hoped he could fight his pursuers off. And Uncle Shukaku…well…he was kind of a drunk asshole but he was still family…but if they were going in order by tails then…

"Aunt Tabi will come next," I said, alarmed, "after Shukaku."

Ita let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head, "that's assuming everything will go according to plan."

Hana stiffened in my arms and looked up at Ita and me. She knew what that meant. "But…" Hana said, her voice shaking, "Auntie Tabi is my…"

"It's okay, Hana," Ita stroked her hair, "we won't let anything bad happen to Auntie, okay?" Hana nodded her head feebly, clutching Tim-Tim tightly as she leaned her head against my chest. Ita then looked up at me and said, "I'll be gone for a few days with Kisame to make preparations at the rendezvous point since we're the closest to it, but that will only be a day or so so I'll be back by tomorrow night. I already gave Jiraiya the coordinates of the hideout if Gaara does get captured. If that happens, Kisame and I will stay around here to do the sealing, so if you're called in, I can at least watch over Hana."

"Ita, I don't like this," I muttered, as if it would change anything, "I don't like this at all."

"I know," Ita said in a low voice, "I don't like it either. But we'll get through this, just like we always have."

I nodded and he kissed my forehead, and then kissed Hana's. He stood to head to our room and said, "I have to get ready to go now, I'll let you know when I leave."

I got up to get my things together as well so I could head over to Konoha. Hana attempted to pack her things in her pink backpack, making sure to bring her favorite toys and only the prettiest dresses. I stepped in to check on her, later on in the day and chuckled to myself before I helped her pack everything else that she needed for the stay in Konoha. I had her things divided between the house and the apartment, but certain things she had to have with her at all times. Like Tim-Tim, for example.

When we were ready to leave, I packed Kisame and Ita both some lunches and tucked Ita's travel bottle of medications in his lunch. I gave them their food, which they gladly accepted. Ita pulled me into a tight embrace before we parted, "everything will be okay," he whispered.

"I know," I said back. We then shared a kiss and Ita knelt down to give Hana a big hug.

"Remember to take your medicine, Daddy," Hana said, "or else we won't be able to play!"

Ita chuckled and poked Hana's forehead, just like he did with Sasuke, "Don't worry, I won't forget. I haven't since you first came home, remember?"

"I just want to make sure," Hana smiled.

And with that, Itachi and Kisame left for their mission, and Hana and I left for Konoha to welcome my little blond-haired boy home. I wondered what Naruto looked like now. Had he grown at all? How strong was he? Was he still my little boy who would want dinner when he got home? I was about to find out.


Naruto

"Man, it's good to be home!" he cried out, standing atop a telephone pole in the center of the village. Naruto had paid several visits with all his friends, from Kakashi, to Sakura, Granny Tsunade, even Konohamaru. Naruto had also had lunch at Ichiraku's with Iruka Sensei!

But there was one person Naruto hadn't seen yet…

"You know, I think Ari's got dinner waiting for you," Pervy Sage said to him as Naruto walked the path that led both to his home and Ari's. He had been wrestling with the idea on whether or not to see her. Did she even remember him?

"How do you know?" Naruto asked, a little sad, "she hasn't come to see me yet…"

"Knowing Ari," Jiraiya began, "she was probably just giving you time to spend with your friends. There are a lot of people who've been dying to see you over these past three years. And she knows when she can always expect you at her house, right?"

Naruto smiled. Pervy-Sage was right! "Okay! Well, I'm off to dinner! See ya!"

Naruto jogged towards Ari's house and sure enough, as he drew close, he could smell Ari's stir fry recipe wafting through the streets. The lights were on in her apartment and he made a bee-line towards her house.

He paused though, and for a moment wondered if Ari had moved somewhere else, because a little purple-eyed girl stared out the window of Ari's apartment, watching Naruto confused. When she watched Naruto for a moment, the girl broke out into a huge smile as she left the window.

"Mommy! It's him!" he heard a small voice call out. Moments later, the little girl came bursting out the front door and leapt into Naruto's arms giggling, "Welcome home, Uncle Naruto!"

"Uncle Naruto…? What is this, some kind of joke, kid?" Naruto blurted out. He then looked up to see Ari peer her head out of the door.

"Hana!" she called out, "get back in here!" But then Ari looked up and saw Naruto and a small smile crept up onto her face, her eyes beginning to water. "Naruto!"

Ari ran up to Naruto and pulled him into a gentle hug. Relaxing in her arms, Naruto hugged her back and smiled, "I'm home…Ari…"

"Welcome back, kiddo," she said softly, "let me look at you!" Ari pushed Naruto away from her, holding his shoulders and keeping him and arm's length away from her. She twisted him slightly, eyeing him up and down. "Ooooh, you've gotten so handsome, Naruto! I'm going to have to fight the ladies off of you here, pretty soon!"

Naruto let out a goofy laugh and said, "yeah? You think so?"

"Just don't let that get to your head," Ari said, narrowing her eyes as she tapped the side of his head lightly. Naruto laughed but looked back down at the girl who beamed up at him.

"Who is this kid, anyway?" he asked, pointing at the girl.

"Oh, that's right; you two haven't met yet…" Ari said, picking the girl up. She looked a lot like Ari…her eyes were a different color and her hair was a lot lighter than Ari's, but there was still a resemblance. "Naruto, meet Hana. Hana, this is Naruto."

"Um…hey," Naruto said. So…what was Ari's relationship to this kid…?

Hana held her hand out to Naruto and smiled, saying, "Hi! Mommy says you're like her little brother, so I'm going to call you Uncle Naruto, okay?"

"M-m-mommy?" Naruto jumped back, shrieking. Ari raised an eyebrow, confused. Naruto continued, "Agh! I thought you said nothing was going on between you and Itachi! ARI!"

"And nothing is still going on, you idiot!" Ari scolded Naruto, smacking him upside the head. "Geez, does she even look like him to you?" Hana opened her mouth and started to answer the question, but Ari swiftly covered it and continued, "Look, going by blood relations, Hana is technically my cousin. However, her mother couldn't keep Hana safe and was sealed away, so she asked me to take her in. Yes, Hana is my daughter, but we like to say that she came to us by love, not by blood."

"Oh…" Naruto nodded his head, things slowly started to make sense. But as the gears started turning, Naruto caught wind of another thing Ari had said, "wait…when you say sealed away…what do you mean?"

Ari rolled her eyes, "into a jinchuuriki, genius."

Naruto eyed Ari, horribly confused. "What's a jinchuuriki?"

Ari's eyes widened and her mouth made an 'O' shape. She then gave Naruto a glare and said, "Naruto…do you not remember me going a little crazy during the last mission we were on together…?"

"Well, you kind of looked like the Nine-tails, but that was after I pumped you full of its chakra, so that's understandable!" Naruto said. He also remembered a few things that Ari and the Kyuubi had both mentioned, but he doubted any of that was true.

Ari gave Naruto a blank stare before she said, "Naruto…we have a lot to talk about…but let's have some dinner first.

After dinner, Ari put Hana to bed in her room and prepared the guest room for Naruto. The two then went to the living room and sat on the couch, Naruto stared blankly at Ari as she told him her story.

"Naruto…you should have realized by now that I am not entirely human," Ari said, her arms crossed.

"Eh? Of course you're human!" Naruto protested, "Sure, you're different and you're abnormally strong, but you're still human!"

"No, Naruto, I'm really not," Ari sighed, "I would've told you this sooner, but I honestly thought you knew by now. I'm only half human."

"Then what's the other half?" Naruto rocked back and forth uneasy, almost afraid of what Ari would say next.

"Bijuu," she said with a straight face, "or more specifically, I'm half Kyuubi."

"That…doesn't make sense…" Naruto said.

"Naruto, my father is the Nine-tailed Fox," she said. At that, Naruto's heart about stopped in his chest. His breathing quickened and his limbs went numb.

"What?" he asked.

"I understand if you're afraid of me," Ari said, "but I won't hurt you. I'm harmless."

Naruto lowered his voice, he almost felt hurt by the news, "I'm not afraid of you," he said, "but why?"

"Why what?"

"Why don't you hate me?"

Ari's eyes widened at the question, but then she gave Naruto a warm smile and placed her hand on his cheek, "Naruto, I have to admit, there was a time when I did hate you. I knew what you were from the start, I saw my father get sealed inside you. I feel horrible for feeling such a deep anger towards someone who was completely innocent…but that night when I walked up to you I…I don't know, I just looked into those big blue eyes of yours and I saw how lonely you were and I saw me. We had suffered for the same reasons. But Naruto you…you're the kind of person that can change people's view on life. All it takes is that goofy smile of yours and people come to like you instantaneously. You're impossible for anyone to hate."

"You really think so?" Naruto asked.

Ari chuckled and said, "of course! You're my little brother! I know you better than anyone."

At that, Naruto giggled, "well awesome! Wait…so when you said Hana was your cousin…"

"Her mother is the Two-Tailed Cat," Ari said.

"Oh…" Naruto said. Now everything made sense…

Yawning, Naruto went upstairs and crawled into bed. Instinctively, Ari went to tuck him in. Naruto gave her a weird look, "Ari, I'm not a kid anymore…"

"Sure you are," Ari said, kissing him on the forehead, "to me, you'll always be that little kid who came over for dinner."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but deep down, he felt very comforted by that thought. As long as Ari was around, he'd have someone to come home to and have dinner with… closing his eyes, Naruto fell into a deep slumber.

He was finally home.


Ari

Just as I had feared, Tsunade called me into her office just days after Naruto returned. When I stepped in, I was surprised to find Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto all waiting for me. As I joined the trio, Tsunade wasted no time briefing us on our mission, "the Kazekage has been captured."

I stood numb during the entire briefing. This really was happening afterall… Sighing heavily, I returned home to grab my things, and discovered one of Itachi's crows sitting on the window sill, eyeing me expectantly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I said in a hurry. The crow looked around and poked its head in further and I said to it, "Kurenai is watching Hana right now. I'm on my way to get her!"

With that, the crow hopped a little bit and took off. I stuffed everything into my travel bag and packed Hana's bag for her. I then ran over to Kurenai's to pick up Hana.

"Hi, mommy!" Hana greeted, jumping into my arms, "how was your day?"

"It was good," I said, "now, we need to get going. Daddy's home now and he wants to see you. But we have to be quick because I have a mission to go on."

"Okay!" Hana said, taking her backpack from me.

"Thanks again, Kurenai," I said.

Kurenai smiled back to me and said, "don't mention it. But are you sure you don't want me to look after her for a few more days? It's hard being a single mom, especially with all these missions you're sent out on."

"Yes, I'm sure," I said, "Haru just got back from his mission and he's going to take her while I'm gone."

"Oh, I see, well tell him I said hi, okay? And take care!"

"Thank you!"

With that, I sprinted back to the house as fast as I could. I told Kakashi where I was going and said I would meet up with them on the road. As I walked into the front door, I set Hana down and she ran upstairs, looking for Itachi.

Ita came downstairs slowly, pale as ever, as Hana leapt into his arms. He looked up at me and panicked slightly, "you came home quick…"

"Yeah, I have a mission to get to," I said, "so how long is this sealing going to take?"

"Three days," he said, "but honestly, it doesn't take that much of my attention to get through it. I'll take care of Hana. Deidara and Sasori are still about two days away from the hideout so you still have time. Just act quickly."

"Itachi," I said, eyeing him suspiciously. He did not look well at all, "what's in your hand."

Ita's eyes widened and he set Hana down, "why don't you go in the living room and play, I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay!" Hana ran upstairs.

"Stay out of Mom and Dad's room for now, though!"

"I will!"

"What's in Mom and Dad's room…?" I asked Ita, narrowing my eyes.

"Ari, don't worry about it. I made a bit of a mess, but it's almost cleaned up and—"

"What kind of mess…?"

"Don't freak out on me if I tell you."

"I make no promises. And it's not 'if', you're telling me what's going on. How many doses have you skipped this time, Itachi?"

Grimacing, Itachi answered, "none."

My eyes widened and I ran up the stairs. I waltzed into our room and looked around. The room in general was a bit untidy but nothing out of the ordinary. I looked over and found the light on in the bathroom and made my way over there. Itachi followed close behind, holding his breath. What I found, I had completely unexpected. I backed away slightly as my knees buckled underneath me. I fought to stay standing. Most of it had been cleaned up, but the toilet was still covered in blood splatters, and there was a smear on the floor where it looked like Itachi had slipped and fallen. I glanced back at him and noticed a small bump forming on his forehead. My world suddenly started to fall apart as I realized that Ita's heart condition really was as bad as I had feared.

"How long have you been keeping this from me?"

"Ari, I—"

"HOW LONG?"

Ita pursed his lips and closed the door so Hana wouldn't hear us. Quietly, he said, "I was diagnosed with this when I was ten, okay?"

The room started spinning. I looked from the blood on the ground and back up at Ita. I grasped hold of his still clenched fist and pried it open to find his blood stains on that too.

"Ten? You've kept his from me for over a decade!"

"I kept it from you because the disease was under control," Itachi said, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, obviously it's not!" I screamed at him, "So you've really been lying to me all this time? Those meds you've been taking weren't just to prevent this disease from spreading, it was just to keep your symptoms down!"

Itachi looked away from me and frowned, "I was going to tell you—"

"When? On your deathbed?"

"For god sakes, Ari, LET ME FINISH FOR ONCE!"

I froze and backed away from Ita. That was the first time he had ever truly raised his voice at me. His roar was so loud the bathroom shook. I held my breath, hoping Hana didn't hear that. I nodded, fighting back tears and said, "Okay…go ahead. Explain yourself."

Itachi sighed heavily and paced back and forth, "This disease…it's genetic. My uncle had it and my mother and father both carried the gene for it. So, I ended up getting this. Sasuke's safe though. We had caught my condition when I was in the early stages of its progression and the medicine I had then kept it from getting worse. My parents didn't want to worry the rest of our family so we kept quiet. When I left the village though…well, those meds were really expensive. And when I was in the hospital a couple of years ago, well, back then I had reached the point where I would need an entire heart valve replaced, but Tsunade is the only person in the world who can do that kind of surgery."

"Ita!" I gasped, by this point I was crying, "then why don't we just tell Tsunade the truth? She's the Hokage! She can help you!"

"Ari!" Itachi grasped tightly onto my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, he fought back tears and said, "I think we both know that it's too late for me…"

I gasped out a few sobs, fear striking me in the core. This couldn't be happening…Ita, we…we had just started our family…we had just gotten engaged…our lives were finally started to come together again.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to force away the tears as I pushed him away. Despite the fact that my world was falling apart, there was still a world beyond our bathroom door, and I had a mission to attend to. I opened the bathroom door and said in a low voice, "This discussion isn't over, Itachi. We'll talk more when I get back. Just don't die on me before then, got it?"

"Understood," Itachi looked down at the ground. As I was about to step out of our room he then looked up and said, "Ari?"

"What?" I snapped back.

"I love you," he said.

"Do you?" I asked him. At that point, I only felt betrayed. He had lied to me so much I couldn't see how he could possibly love me.

At that, Ita's heart broke as he said, "more than you could ever know."

"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things I don't know, apparently," I barked back as I stormed out of our room, leaving him alone. I made it to the top of the stairs before guilt and grief overwhelmed me and I turned back, running to Itachi as I threw my arms around him, crying. "I just don't want to lose you…!" I cried, burying my face into his shoulder.

"I know," Itachi said, his voice shaking, "I don't want to lose you either…I'm so sorry, Ari. I'm so sorry…"

I pulled away from him and wiped my eyes, "well…at least you told me…" I whimpered, "I was honestly expecting to find out you were dying of heart failure after you had already died…"

"Ari, I would never do that to you," Ita said, frowning, "of course, my word isn't very trustworthy right now. I just didn't know how to tell you…I didn't want you to suffer any more because of me."

"My suffering isn't because of you, Ita," I said, "yes, it's hard. Yes, this isn't how I wanted things to turn out. But we have each other, and we'll get through this, just as we always do. It's just like the wedding vows, remember?"

Ita sighed as he recited, "for better or for worse…"

"In sickness and in health," I looked Ita in the eye, placing my hand on his cheek.

"Till death do us part," he finished in a solemn voice. I really had to fight back the tears on that one. Never in a million years had it ever occurred to me that Itachi's death was imminent. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had always known that this heart condition which sporadically came up on us two and a half years prior would end up being more serious than I had been told. But now, to know that he was actually dying…that I would actually lose him for good…I didn't know what I was going to do.

"Save your breath on that one," I said, more for my own comfort than his, "you can't get rid of me that easily and this discussion isn't even over. We'll talk more when I get back."

"Alright," Itachi said, "be careful."

"You too," I said. I then reached up to kiss him. I then pulled him into a tight embrace and we held each other for a long time, neither of us wanting to part. Finally, I let go and we held hands as we went to check on Hana. She was playing with her toys and telling stories, happy as ever, completely oblivious to the horrors that would await us in the coming months. In that moment, it was hard for me to believe that a happy ending could ever come out of this nightmarish tale. But miracles still await those who need them, even half-demons like me and Hana.

I gave Hana a kiss on the cheek and she hugged me tightly. I then kissed Ita again and began to walk out the door. I turned back before I left to watch Ita rolling on the floor, playing with Hana, the two as happy as ever. I sighed heavily and stepped out the door. That image of my daughter with her father, as happy as a girl could be, would eventually become the one thing that could comfort me at night.

I quickly met up with Naruto and his team, apparently I still looked a bit shaken when we met up because all three of them gave me quizzical looks. "Is something wrong?" Naruto asked.

I snapped out of my trance and shook my head, "no, not at all. Sorry, I was just thinking is all."

We had our work cut out for us when we made it to the sand. Gaara's brother, Kankuro, had been poisoned by Sasori, and Sakura quickly proved herself as a worthy and able medical ninja, extracting the lethal poison from Kankuro's body and deriving an antidote. We met one of the village elders, Granny Chiyo, and were quickly filled in on the situation. This sounded like more of a handful than we were anticipating. Three days had already passed since Gaara had been captured, which meant the sealing of Shukaku had already begun and we only had three days left to locate the Akatsuki hideout and save Gaara. I was glad Itachi had given Jiraiya the coordinates, which he had handed to Kakashi, but still…this was a bigger task than I had anticipated.

On our trip to locate the hideout, we received news that Guy's team had been dispatched and they were on their way to meet us. We ran through a forest, enroot to the hideout when, of course, we were brought to a screeching halt.

Kakashi saw him first, "everybody, STOP!"

Sakura, Naruto, Chiyo, and I all stopped, our eyes widened in shock as we discovered who was standing before us.

Naruto growled next to me and muttered, "I know you…Itachi Uchiha!"

"That's it! You're dead!" I screamed, my rage boiling over. I was going to kill him. Frist he lied to me, and now he was just going to leave Hana home alone? That bastard!