In writing this chapter, I realized two things:
I should have put part of this into the last chapter for the sake of making the story flow a bit better...so...sorry, I may revise that later.
Apparently Itachi is Jesus. I don't know either...it just...happened that way...what's a good story without a Christ figure? XD
Also, we are at the end of this story (sad face :( ) but I have ONE MORE chapter after this to tie everything together so don't get sappy on me yet! Anyway,
ENJOI
Ari
"GYAAAAH!" I screamed as I fell backwards. Mom staggered forward, exhausted as she continued to fight Madara's control over her. I stayed in front of Hana acting as a shield and I dug my sword into the ground, holding onto its hilt for support.
"Run!" Mom pleaded as she stood over me, raising her sword. I heaved and tried to stand, but couldn't. I lifted my hand and tried to muster up enough chakra to use at least one phantom dragon against her as I glared up at my mother. Mom in turn closed her eyes as her sword came down on me.
But as if he were heaven-sent, a young dark-haired man bolted in front of me, deflecting Mom's sword with his as she shouted it, "Ari! You're such an idiot!"
I jumped and stared up at the young man. That voice…sure enough, I stared at the Uchiha symbol on his back, his duck-shaped hair blowing in the wind.
"Sasuke?" I asked in disbelief, "But how-?"
"He's not the only one!" I heard another voice call out. To my amazement, a resurrected Uncle Hashi came up from the ground with his Wood Style ninjutsu as he wrapped his dragon around the Juubi. "Madara, your opponent is me now!" he shouted with crossed arms.
My jaw dropped. What in the hell…? At around that moment, Dad's chakra form dissipated and Naruto fell to the ground as Obito made an attempt to attack him, but as a flash of yellow zipped past my sight, I saw Minato-sensei deflect Obito's attack, protecting the boy.
"Dad?" Naruto asked in bewilderment as he landed on the ground. He then looked over to me and nearly shit his pants as he shrieked, "Sasuke?"
"Put a sock in it, Loser," Sasuke spat back as he glared intently at my mother. I stood to my feet and took the brief pause as an opportunity to heal my shoulder with medical ninjutsu. I never got the chance to as Mom continued to attack me and that ended up really holding me back. As the pain ebbed away, I grinned.
"What brought you here, Duckbutt?" I teased.
Hana poked her head out from behind me, hugging my legs as she giggled, "You're Sasuke? More like Uncle Duckey!"
Sasuke grimaced and crinkled his nose, obviously disgusted by the remark as he asked, "who's this brat?"
"You niece," I answered flatly, placing my hands on my hips, "and you better be nice to her, Sasuke, she's worse about nicknames than even I am."
"Great!" Sasuke spat back, "just what I need, does she stab you in the forehead too?"
"Not yet," I rolled my eyes, sighing heavily. I then looked around and found that not only were Uncle Hashi and Minato-sensei here, but the second and third hokages were here as well. "So…how did you get all four of these people together?"
"I revived Orochimaru," Sasuke explained, "and he revived those four."
"You did what?" I spat, "please tell me what in the world made you think that that was a good idea!"
"He was the only one who knew how to use Edo Tensei," Sasuke shrugged, "and I needed answers."
"You couldn't just crack open a history book?" I face-palmed, groaning.
"I needed to hear things from their point of view," Sasuke spat, "history books really aren't good at convincing you that it was right to exploit someone's brother."
"Oh good grief," I groaned, "and where do you stand with this now?"
"Undecided still," Sasuke answered, "but Hashirama had already broken through the Edo Tensei's control and they really wanted to help, so I'll make my decision here."
"Well this is perfect," I snapped back, "do you have Itachi's eyes?"
"Yeah."
"Then whip up a Susanoo. Like, now," I watched suspiciously as Mom came to attack us again. I stepped in front of Sasuke and extended one of my chakra tails out to grasp hold of her. If I could hold her still, I could by time for Mom to break free of Madara's control.
But of course, because she was just that good, she released a chakra chain with an explosive tag on it and used it to swipe my tail away, blowing me backwards with the explosion. I wrapped my arms around Sasuke and Hana, trying to shield them from the explosion as we fell back to the ground.
"Damn!" I cursed angrily, glaring back at my mother.
"So is that your mother or something?" Sasuke asked as we sat back up. He looked from my mom to me and back, noting the resemblance between us.
"Yeah," I answered flatly.
Sasuke grimaced, "and the Nine-Tails is your father…?"
"Yeah."
"How did that happen?"
"Well, when a man and a woman love each other very very much," I began sarcastically, "and sometimes if there is sake involved…"
"That's not what I meant!" the Uchiha boy growled back at me. I rolled my eyes then focused my attention back to my mother. We were getting nowhere with her. I then looked up at the Juubi as it thrashed around, trying to fight the shinobi alliance. Periodically, its movements would stall and be shortened. I had a feeling that the Tailed Beasts were trying to separate and free themselves. I looked over to Naruto, Minato, and now Kakashi, who faced Obito now.
"How did you survive?" Minato-sensei asked with wide eyes, "and why are you doing this?"
"That's none of your concern," Obito spat back, "now make this easy and hand over the Hachibi and the Kyuubi already. You're all a nuisance. And give us the half-breeds while you're at it too."
"Not a chance!" Naruto spat back.
Obito then began to charge towards Naruto ready to attack, but Minato stepped in front of his son. At the last possible second, Obito disappeared, and then reappeared right in front of Sasuke.
"In that case, I'll just start by getting rid of this traitor!" Obito spat, aiming to attack Sasuke. With wide eyes, Minato threw a kunai towards Obito and began to teleport to the knife, but he was too late. Without thinking, I threw Sasuke and Hana both out of the way and turned my back towards Obito as he rammed his hand through my chest.
"ARI!" Mom screamed. Minato reappeared pointing the kunai at Obito's head, but he let out a yelp when he found the state I was in. I glared behind me, spitting blood at the Uchiha.
"But why…?" Obito asked in disbelief as he pulled his hand out of my chest. I coughed up more blood as I fell to my knees, kneeling over Sasuke. The boy stared up at me with panicked eyes as some of my blood dripped on him.
"MOMMY!" Hana screamed out, tears falling from her eyes. I forced a smile and reached up to stroke her hair.
"Shh…it's…it's alright, Hana…don't cry…" I managed to say. My entire body ached, but everything was slowly starting to go numb and my vision blurred. I looked over to see Naruto running towards me, tears falling from his eyes. I looked back at Sasuke who trembled.
"But why…? Why would you save me? I killed your husband! I'm…" he asked in shock, unable to find the words to express his emotions.
"Because…" I answered, finally understanding the instincts which led me to choose Naruto over my father, to stick with Itachi after he slaughtered his clan, and to of course, marry a man despite his impending death, "…that's my Nindo…my way of the shinobi…it's better to…sacrifice for love…than to have not loved at all…right?"
"Pathetic trash," Obito spat at me.
Minato let out a roar and as Obito attempted to strike me again, the Fourth Hokage rammed into his former student and knocked him out of the way.
As those two fought, Sasuke shook his head, still not understanding what I meant, "But…still, I don't get it."
"Sasuke," I began, struggling to stay conscious, "you are so precious to me…you, Naruto, Sakura, Hana…and Minato and Kushina-sensei…my mother and my father…my aunts, uncles…and of course, my Ita…you've all shaped who I am…and no matter how lost any one of your become or how distant we are from each other…I will never ever stop loving you. Any of you. Even if I'm forced to kill you as Itachi did to your family…even if it kills me in the end…I will never stop protecting you, protecting the person I know you can be…I will never stop loving you…that's what a shinobi is…at least that's what I think…"
At that, the boy's eyes widened and his lip began to quiver as he spat out, "I…I'm so…stupid…"
I attempted to lift my hand up and place it on Sasuke's shoulder, but in that moment Mom came up from behind me, crying as she warned, "Ari! Run! Please!"
I turned to face my mother and with my last ounce of strength, rolled onto my back as I blocked Mom's sword with my own hands.
"Sasuke! Take Hana and run!" I ordered. Sasuke didn't hesitate to do as I asked and he took the little girl into his arms and leapt into the air, rejoining Naruto. I pushed Mom off me and staggered to my feet. Mom raised her sword to me again, tears streaming down her face.
"Ari, just give up already!" she pleaded, "just run from me! I will break free of this control eventually, but you don't have to kill yourself!"
"I'm…your…opponent…" I panted, hunching forward slightly as I placed my hand firmly over the gaping wound in my chest.
"Just stop…" Mom begged, "I'm going to kill you if you don't run!" Mom charged towards me again and weaved hand signs for a Lightning-based attack. I struggled to weave my own hand signs to use Wind Style. I bent the air current around me and formed a ring of wind, my feet balancing on it as I rode the circular air current which surrounded me like a skateboard. Mom shot a stream of Lightning at me and I spat out an air bullet to deflect the attack. I was able to dance around her in battle for a few brief moments, but as my body started to fail me, I vomited up blood as my body pitched forward, threatening to collapse. My mother took the opportunity to punch me as hard as she could, knocking me back ten feet to where Sasuke and Naruto stood.
"Ari!" Naruto fell to his knees, trying to help, "we need a medic!"
"Naruto…" I panted, "…stop…"
"But Ari-!"
"Get out of here!" I screamed up at him, my limps no longer able to move. I glanced back at my mother who walked towards us, her body hesitating with every step. She was so close to breaking free…
Ignoring my please, Naruto and Sasuke both leapt in front of me and attempted to attack my mother head-on. They managed to hold her off a little longer, but even those two were tiring from non-stop battle. Hana knelt down in front of me and placed her hands over my wound and tried to stop the bleeding.
"You'll be okay…" the little girl whimpered.
I smiled and reached up to Hana with a trembling hand as I stroked her cheek, "don't worry about me, sweet flower…it'll be alright."
"You're not going to die, you got it?" Hana ordered, her eyes watery, "remember your promise!"
"I…know…" I managed to choke out, my vision fading.
"Mom! Don't go to sleep!" Hana pleaded, shaking me lightly. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but when I blinked again, Mom was staring down at me, tears falling from her eyes.
"Please get up, Ari…GET UP! RUN!" Mom begged me as she lifted her sword into the air.
Hana let out a scream but then bent over, placing something around my neck. I opened my eyes enough to see a little silver chain cupped in her hands before she wrapped it around me. She then got up and stood over me, lifting her hands as she glared at my mom and ordered, "You leave my mommy alone!"
"Hana…" I moaned weakly. What was she doing? She had to run away!
"Run away, child! Both of you! Please!" my mother wept. She then swung her blade down to kill us both.
As I fell into the darkness, I heard Hana cry out, "DADDY PLEASE HELP MOMMY!"
Chinatsu
She fought off the Uchiha and Kurama's jinchuuriki with ease. Damn her regenerative abilities, thanks to the Edo Tensei, her body did not tire nor could she feel pain. She continued to pull away from the threads which kept her as Madara's puppet. There was just one string left, she was so close. But that string was enough to get Chinatsu Uzumaki to raise her sword against her own daughter.
"Please get up, Ari…GET UP! RUN!" Chinatsu sobbed as she lifted her sword. Dammit, why couldn't she cut that last thread? Why couldn't she control her body? The little girl beside Ari glared up at Chinatsu and stood over her mother's body as she lifted her hands after she fastened a silver necklace to Ari's neck.
"You leave my mommy alone!" Hana ordered defiantly. Chinatsu admired the little girl's courage. She reminded Chinatsu so much of Ari when she was that age…but the sight only broke Chinatsu's heart even more. If she had known it would come down to this…would Chinatsu have even submitted to her feelings for Kurama in the first place? Shaking the thoughts away, Chinatsu stared down at the necklace around Ari's neck. It was silver with silver rings surrounding the chain and the gold circles around the necklace Ari originally wore seemed to fit into those rings perfectly, making the two pieces of jewelry to appear as one. But the woman could not focus on the neckwear for long as she grimaced, her body acting on its own again.
"Run away, child!" Chinatsu pleaded to the little girl, "both of you! Please!"
But Hana did not budge and Ari's eyes closed as the woman lost consciousness. No. No, no, no, no! Chinatsu let out a scream as she swung her sword down and Hana closed her eyes as she yelped. Chinatsu could not look as he sword stuck.
But it was not a child nor was it her unconscious child which she struck. Chinatsu opened one eye to see Ari's hand reached up, straight as a bored, grasping tightly to Chinatsu's blade. She was still unconscious, but something looked as if it were controlling her.
"What?" Chinatsu asked in disbelief. Ari opened her eyes then, her expression stoic.
And two Sharingan stared back up at Chinatsu.
Ari struggled to sit up as she threw Chinatsu to the side. Hana stared up at Ari in disbelief as she sat on her knees and patted the little girl's head. Ari smiled, and in that instant, Chinatsu realized that it was not actually Ari who spoke, "you're alright, Hana. Everything will be alright. Go find the medical unit behind the front lines. They will protect you from here on."
Nodding in bewilderment, Hana did as she was told and made her escape while she had the chance.
"Who are you?" Chinatsu asked with wide eyes. Ari's body stood, and Chinatsu watched as the wound in Ari's chest began to heal, her body regenerating. It was the work of medical ninjutsu, but no chakra was used to heal it. Unless the healing was done from within.
"If I can fight in her stead, then Ari has time to rebuild her chakra and heal her wounds," the voice that came from Ari's mouth was still Ari's, but it was deeper and more articulate. She then lifted her hands and smiled, "this is the least I can do. And perhaps even with my genjutsu I can help free you, Lady Chinatsu."
Chinatsu smirked and she placed her hands on her hips, "you died before you were destined to and your soul still lingers so you slip into your fiancé's body just and force her soul back into it just as she is about to die…you really are a genius. But you can't stay there for long. Two souls cannot occupy one body."
Through Ari, Itachi Uchiha narrowed his eyes and said, "I will stay here as long as I can. I won't let Ari die here. Not now."
With that, Itachi charged forward at speeds Chinatsu hadn't seen since she first began her fight with Ari. Chinatsu struggled to deflect the attacks; the fighting style she was encountering was totally different from Ari's. Chinatsu smiled, perhaps there were some nice level-headed men within the Uchiha…
Naruto
He sat up with a moan as he held his aching head. Groaning, his mind suddenly started racing as he realized what was happening. He sat up, panicked, but was shocked to see Ari going head-to-head with Chinatsu as if she had never been injured.
"Ari!" Naruto called out in disbelief. What was going on? Was he seeing things?
"Wait a minute," Sasuke noted, "that's Ari but…her moves are different. At least that's not how she fought the last time I saw her."
Naruto watched Ari carefully. She moved with speed and grace as always, but Sasuke was right. Something was off. She wasn't using her twin swords and her swift taijutsu attacks against Chinatsu, though still affective, looked more like love taps compared to the full blown kicks or punches Ari normally delivered. And then Naruto saw something even stranger. As Ari leapt into the air, Chinatsu spun around in a circle and unleashed a massive Wind Style attack as she called out, "Wind Style: Divine Galestorm!"
Ari then weaved several hand signs (at a greater speed than usual…which is saying something because she was fast at hand signs) as she puffed out her cheeks and then blew a massive fireball out of her mouth as she called, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" the fireball blew the Galestorm back towards Chinatsu, the wind-based attack only fueling the fire as it scorched Chinatsu, and even caught Obito and Madara.
…
"Since when can she use fire style?" Naruto asked stupidly.
"Since when can she use a jutsu made by the Uchiha?" Sasuke asked. Ari landed on the ground in front of the two boys, glancing back at them with a stern, but surprisingly calm, expression before taking off towards Chinatsu again.
In that glance, Naruto saw it and his jaw dropped.
"Was that—" Naruto started.
"—A sharingan?" Sasuke finished with wide eyes, "How did she manage that?"
Within Naruto, Kurama slammed the ground with his fist and called out, "That's it! Naruto! Look closely at Ari, are you sensing more than one chakra within her?"
Naruto examined Ari closely, she was definitely emitting two types of chakra from her body…but how?
"It's Itachi," Kurama explained, "he's using Ari as if she's his jinchuuriki in order to buy her some time to heal!"
"Itachi?" Naruto blurted out in shock. Sasuke jumped and gave Naruto a confused look and Ari turned her head back to Naruto, pausing just long enough to flash a smile. Yep. That was Itachi's Mongekyo alright. "Itachi, but how?"
"It's difficult to explain," he responded in Ari's voice.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke gasped in utter shock.
At that, Itachi gave a smirk as he knocked Chinatsu back and shouted, "I'm making time for once!"
Ari
I awoke feeling as if I were floating. Did I…die? I opened my eyes and looked around. I was…standing? And…still fighting Mom? But I couldn't control my movements at all, I felt as if I was being moved by puppet strings. Actually, it felt more like I was watching from a distance as someone moved me around.
"You're finally awake," I heard Itachi's voice say in my head. I gasped and suddenly, I felt as if I was standing in darkness, watching the world outside my body as if it were a television. In front of me, Itachi stood, controlling my movements.
"Ita? How did you—?" I began to ask, but found I was at a loss for words.
"If Madara can defy all logic, then so can I," Ita spat, a little pissed off. He then calmed his anger and turned back to mile at me, his face emitting a soft glow as he asked, "how are you feeling? I used some of your chakra to heal the wound in your chest and I've been able to fight off your mother. I still have plenty of chakra left, you can just rest for now until you're ready to fight."
"But how did you get into my body?" I asked still in shock.
"You just about died, you know," Ita smiled sadly, "I couldn't do anything to protect you on the outside, so when I saw your soul began to slip away, I took the opportunity to pull you back in and used the empty space to control you."
I narrowed my eyes still confused, "yes, but how are you still here? Two souls don't fit in one body."
"Remember that mission at Utsukuma Inn when Kagami stole your soul? You were still able to fight your way to the surface," Ita explained.
"Because she had my necklace," I countered, "for something like this to work, the host needs an artifact that belonged to the soul they're taking that can be worn and used as a medium, so how-?"
I momentarily took back control of my body and looked around as I placed my hand to my collar bone. I fingered the two necklaces around my neck and looked down to see silver and gold sparkling on my collar. I then gave Ita control again and spat out, "Where the hell did your necklace come from? I left it with your body! Both times!"
Ita shrugged, "Hana had it and put it on you."
"Where did she get it?"
"I don't know."
"You didn't even ask her?"
Itachi sighed heavily and said, "Look, Ari, when you live with two girls who are descendants of Tailed Beasts and one is telepathic while the other sees the future, you learn to not question the random shit that comes up out of nowhere."
I groaned, sighing heavily. I then centered myself and built up as much chakra as I could, "alright, Ita," I said, "how long do you have?"
"Just a few minutes," Itachi said, "but the last thing I'm going to do is use Tsukuyomi to free your mother. She's broken from the Edo Tensei's control, but Madara is using a genjutsu to subdue her."
"Then let's finish things now, what do you say, want to go one more round as the Silent and Deadly?" I asked.
Itachi smirked, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Naruto
At some point, Ari had to have come back out because there was no way Itachi could come up with that many uses for every single cuss word in the book. And ones that were not even invented yet. When Itachi (or Ari, he wasn't sure) started gaining the upper hand over Chinatsu, Obito managed to step in and aid the Uzumaki woman. To make matters worse, the Juubi singled Ari out and started attacking her.
"THIS IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR YOU ASSHOLES!" Ari roared. Naruto caught a glimpse of her eyes and noted that they had returned to their ice blue. Yeah that was Ari. She landed on the ground and skidded backwards slightly, growling as she crouched down. Her chakra cloak was tinted red and more heavily armored than it had been before, decked out with a shield and sword leaving Naruto to assume that Ari's cloak had mixed with Itachi's Susanoo.
Ari blinked and sharingan returned to her eyes as Itachi groaned, "calm down…you said you wanted to fight…"
"Okay, this is really weird," Naruto groaned.
"Tell me about it," Kurama sighed heavily, "Alright Naruto, I've rebuilt my chakra. Let's try to hold this form for as long as we can!"
"Right!" Naruto cheered, releasing Kurama's chakra. They began to step in to help Ari out, but it seemed like she didn't really need help. Or they…Naruto watched Ari as her movements would be powerful, blowing her opponents away with Wind Style as she flew through the air like an acrobat and drew her swords. Then suddenly she would land on the ground and go more on the defensive, her movements more subtle, relying on genjutsu. Then her moves would return to normal, and then they would go back to more Itachi-style fighting. And back and forth until Naruto noticed the movements synchronize and blend into one clean form, Ari's left eye an ice blue and her right eye a sharingan. Naruto's jaw dropped as he observed the two fighting as one. They weren't called the Ultimate Tag Team for nothing, that's for sure.
"Snap out of it!" Kurama barked suddenly, "we have job to do too, you know!" Naruto shook his head fervently and nodded. This was it, the last and final push to this battle.
Ari
I was seriously beginning to doubt that my mother was actually human. Where were all these attacks coming from? I was beginning to grow really annoyed and impatient with this whole scenario. Ita said that it was a genjutsu that kept Mom under Madara's control and that he was waiting to use it until I was ready to fight on my own but…my wound had healed a long time ago…
Itachi chuckled listening to my thoughts, "So impatient. I just want to make sure you have as big of a lead as possible. You mother may not tire, but Obito and Madara are. The more we can exhaust them before I run out of chakra the better."
"Okay fine, I see your point," I nodded, "but what are we going to do about the Juubi?"
If I could have covered my ears to avoid listening to Itachi's head spin faster than the speed of light, I would have. As he calculated, I felt a serious migraine coming on as I was caught between trying to decipher his thought process and blocking it out entirely.
"You said you and Hana heard the voices of the other Tailed Beasts within the Juubi, right?" he asked suddenly.
"Yeah," I answered.
Itachi thought some more and I groaned, trying to dodge several simultaneous attacks from Mother and Obito. I glanced up to find Hashirama and Madara going at it and reshaping the landscape in the meantime. Itachi then asked, "Is there a way to separate the different chakras at all?"
"You mean like how Naruto pulled Dad's chakra out of his body?" I asked him in response, and idea sparking in my mind.
Itachi then jumped in shock, his sudden motion causing my stomach to flop as we were in the cramped space that was my head. "That's it!" he cheered, "Ari, I think I know how we can stop the Juubi."
"And I think I know where you're going with this," I said, "but we're going to need some major sealing jutsu…preferably my mom as she's the best one there is on this battlefield."
"Alright, shall I activate Tsukuyomi then?" Itachi asked.
"Well…" I grimaced, not sure how I felt about that.
"Ari," Itachi said softly, "I have to go."
"I know but…you aren't going to make me go blind…are you?"
"Ari!"
"What? It's a legitimate question!"
"Using the Mongekyo one time is not going to do anything to your sight. And besides, it's my sharingan in your eyes, it should work!"
"Ita, I don't know about this…"
"Do you want to win this war or not?"
"Okay! Okay! Just get it over with already!"
Chinatsu
She was amazed at how well Ari and Itachi were able to coexist and fight together in one body. Kurama and his Jinchuuriki joined the battle, fending Chinatsu and Obito both off. But then Ari turned to Naruto and ordered, "Naruto! Stay behind me!"
"Got it!" Naruto responded, "but why?"
"Just give me a second!" she responded. Ari then released her chakra chain and managed to wrap it around Chinatsu when she was distracted, pinning her to the ground. Ari then pounced and landed on top of Chinatsu, holding her down with all her strength. The sharingan in Ari's right eye began to spin and form a Mongekyo and Chinatsu gasped as she was caught in a genjutsu. But in a brief moment, Chinatsu's body relaxed as she rested on the ground. She felt so much freer suddenly.
Ari yelped and sat back, holding her head in pain as she snapped, "Dammit, Ita! I thought you said this wouldn't do anything!" She then blinked her right eye several times as it watered, turning a little red, "god…damn! That hurt!"
Chinatsu then sat up as the chakra chains disappeared and she eyed Ari curiously, "What did you do to me?"
Ari shook her head and rubbed her temples, struggling to get her headache to go away as she answered, "Madara was using a genjutsu on you to keep you under control even after you broke free of the Edo Tensei's control. Itachi used his ultimate genjutsu, the Tsukuyomi, on you to counter Madara's to free you."
"Wow," Chinatsu said with wide eyes, "tell him I said thanks."
Ari heaved a heavy sigh and said, "I guess he heard you…he's gone now though…" Ari then shook her head, fighting her grief as she grasped Chinatsu by the shoulders and said, "Mom, we need to gather Dad and the others quickly. I think there is a way we can beat the Juubi once and for all, but we're going to need some damn good sealers to help us pull this off."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then," Chinatsu grinned. She then took Ari's hand and the two leapt onto Kurama's head. But Chinatsu frowned as she did so, noting that her gorgeous fox was nothing more than a chakra cloak at the moment, "you're not fluffy anymore, dear!" she teased.
Kurama glared up at Chinatsu and said, "never mind that! Have you been freed?"
"Yes!" Chinatsu responded, "but can you pull away from this battle for a moment? Ari has a plan!"
Ari
I gathered Gyuuki and Bee, Dad and Naruto, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Mom, Sasuke, and the Hokage with the exception of Hashirama who continued to fight Madara and as quickly as I could, I explained, "Okay! For this to work, I need the Nara clan to hold the Juubi down for as long as they can with the shadow possession jutsu. Shikamaru, relay that to your men and wait for my signal!"
Shikamaru nodded and quickly left to gather his clan. I pointed to Minato and Kakashi and said, "you guys know Obito best, I need you two to take him down. I don't care how and I know he's your friend, but you guys are the only ones who can do this."
"Understood," Kakashi said in an urgent voice.
Minato-sensei grinned as he noted, "Ari, you've certainly grown up."
"As for the rest of us," I explained, "when the Juubi was trying to take mine and Hana's chakras, we heard the voices of the other Tailed Beasts. They're still alive in there, but we need to separate them if we're going to stop the Juubi."
"How do you suppose we do that?" Sasuke asked me skeptically.
"Tug-of-war," I grinned, eyeing Bee and Naruto, "and a hell of a lot of good sealing jutsu. Naruto and Bee, since you guys are familiar with the tug-of-war thing you guys did to gain control of Uncle Gyuuki and Dad, you can just do the same thing for this instance. Sasuke, I'm going to need your Susanoo, all you have to do is take hold of one of the Tailed Beasts' chakra and pull it out of the Juubi. Mom, you and I will use the Extraction seal to pull all seven of their individual chakras to the surface so Sasuke, Bee, Naruto, and the others can choose a tailed beast and latch onto it, then we will use our Chain Seal to pull our own beasts out. Do we know of anyone else who can use the chain seal?"
The others looked around and shook their heads. Minato-sensei spoke up and noted, "Kushina could, though there are very few in even the Uzumai clan that can use the Chain seal."
I cursed under my breath and said, "Aunt Mito could use it too, couldn't she Mom?"
Mom nodded her head in response and explained, "the Chain Seal is our strongest sealing jutsu, but only those with special chakra are able to use it. Ari, I think you and I are the only two on this earth currently who can."
But then, Tobirama spoke up, "I could revive Mito and this other woman with the Edo Tensei. That should help."
"Do it," I ordered, "now."
Tobirama glared at me, "I don't think you're in the position to be making orders, Half-Breed."
"Would you like me to shove your pride up your ass? Because I'm about to," I snarled back. Yay. My favorite Uncle Tobi…right up there with Shukaku. Best. Family. Ever. Shaking my anger off, I looked around, "wait…didn't Orochimaru bring you guys back? Where is he?"
Sasuke sighed and explained, "He's choosing not to partake in this war currently. He feels that since he is dead anyway he might as not get involved with the problems of the living."
"But you revived him," I narrowed my eyes.
"I did," Sasuke said, "but in order to give him his arms and ninjutsu back to use the Edo Tensei, he had to be used as a sacrifice to cut the belly of the Reaper Death Seal. Before the wound killed him, he summoned himself with the Edo Tensei along with the Hokage. As soon as he deactivates the jutsu, he'll disappear as well."
I rolled my eyes, "Lovely. Tobirama, are you going to summon Kushina and Mito or not?"
Groaning, Tobirama weaved hand signs and summoned two coffins. As the doors to those coffins fell to the ground, my aunt and my second mother stepped out, looking around horribly confused.
"Ari? Naruto?" Kushina blinked a few times, "you're grown up! And…Minato, what are you doing here?"
"We brought you guys back with the Edo Tensei," I explained quickly, "look, there's not a lot of time, but I need you both to use the Chain Seal."
Mito narrowed her eyes at me, confused, "Ariala…you should have died…but why do you need the Chain Seal?"
I pointed to the Juubi behind them and said, "we need to free my Dad's entire side of the family. Madara revived the Juubi by sealing seven of the nine tailed beasts and then used a portion of Dad's and Gyuuki's chakras to make an incomplete version of the monster." I then explained the rest of the plan to everyone before we broke. Kakashi and Minato left to face off Obito in one final battle while Hashirama still fought on with Madara. The seven of us then took our positions and I signaled Shikamaru to use the shadow possession. The Juubi's movements halted as the monster struggled in its own shadow's grasp. Mom and I lifted our hands and weaved the signs for the Extraction Seal, pulling the seven individual chakras to the surface.
"Everyone!" I called out to the Bijuu with my mind, "I need you to listen carefully. My friends and I are here to free you. We will each grab onto one of your chakras and attempt to pull it out of the Juubi, much like a jinchuuriki would attempt to control your power—as Naruto and Bee did. I need you to help us win this game of Tug-of-War, help us as best you can so we can separate you guys and save you, understand?"
"We got it!" Matatabi's voice rang out, "just let us know when!"
I then called out to the rest of my team and ordered, "we're going to go in order by number of tails starting with Shukaku! When someone grasps hold of his chakra, let me know! Ready!"
Dad leapt forward and grasped one of the Juubi's tails. Red chakra began to bubble to the surface as he called out, "Got him!"
"Shukaku?" I asked, "Do you have hold of Dad's chakra?"
"Yeah…" Shukaku barked grudgingly, "Of all people…really Kurama?"
"Just shut up and let me help you for once, you drunken fool," Dad barked back, "And stay away from my wife!"
I groaned and threw a chakra chain with a sealing tag on it as it wrapped around another of Juubi's tails, I felt a pool of chakra and began to lightly tug on it, Aunti Tabi then responded, "I've got hold of you, dear!"
"I got Matatabi!" I called out, "next up is Isobu, the three-tails!"
Sasuke charged forward and grasped hold of a tail with his Susanoo, he grunted as he pulled a portion of the turtle's chakra out and answered, "I got him!"
"Son Gokuu! The Four Tails!" I called.
"On it!" Bee answered
"And I will take Kokuo!" Mom released her Chain seal as she said that.
"And I will take the Six Tails," Mito said, "what was his name again?"
"Saiken!" Mom and I both responded.
Mito nodded and said, "Saiken? Can you grasp onto my chakra?" In response, a portion of chakra bubbled to the surface where her chakra chain was wrapped around the Juubi.
"And that leaves me with Lucky number 7!" Kushina cheered enthusiastically as she released her seal.
In response Aunt Choumei cheered, "Hey! You know my nickname!"
"On my mark, we'll pull them apart!" I ordered, "Bijuu! I need you to help us! One…two…three!" We all grasped hold of our assigned chakra and pulled as hard as we could. The Juubi thrashed in response, fighting against us, but the individual bijuu sealed away fought hard to free themselves, handing onto our chakra for dear life. After what felt like an unbearable amount of time, I heard the ear-splitting roar of the Juubi as it suddenly started to break apart.
My eyes widened in shock as a shockwave was released, blowing us all back several feet, as if the Ten-Tails had exploded. I hit the ground hard, coughing as the dust settled. When I looked up, I was amazed to find that where the Juubi once stood was all but a mountain of rubble. I stood and looked around, but where were the other Bijuu?
As if to answer my question, Madara stood up after the commotion, his eyes widening in both shock and rage. He want to attack Uncle Hashi out of anger, but a flash of blue came up from behind and slashed his arm off. Madara fell forward, hastily attempting to regenerate, his eyes full of a mild panic. Before him stood none other than Auntie Tabi who sauntered over to him with her hands on her hips, smirking devilishly as she said, "I think you've done enough damage for one day, sir!"
Son Gokuu came from out of the sky and landed beside his sister, "It's time for you to pay for what you've done, you sick bastard!"
Behind him, came the other tailed beasts standing before Madara in their human forms. My eyes widened as Mom came over and helped me to my feet. I looked over at Naruto who stood beside Sasuke and Kushina who also stared at me in shock.
"I think it's time to put on a show, Gyuuki I'm gonna let you free to go!" Bee rapped as he shrunk down back to normal. He placed his hand on his stomach and turned his seal counter clockwise. A mass of chakra came out from behind him and reformed into my uncle's human form. Gyuuki stared down at his hands and looked up at Bee in shock.
"Bee…but why?" Gyuuki asked.
Bee grinned, "Well you ain't killin me if I let you go free. On my own accord I say, this gonna be yo lucky day, my brotha!"
"Wait, you can do that?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
I nodded my head feebly, thinking back three years when Aunt Tabi first got pregnant with Hana. "Yeah…I think you can," I said, "Hana's father was Matatabi's jinchuuriki before Yugito and he let her go. But it was assassins who killed him, not releasing her."
Naruto gave me a big grin as he placed his hand over his own seal and released Dad. As he reformed next to Naruto, he looked around in shock and asked, "What on earth are you doing?"
"You aren't some monster fox, Kurama," Naruto answered, "you're my friend and comrade. And you're Ari's dad. You deserve to live freely, you don't need to be sealed away or exploited anymore."
Dad smiled and let out a laugh as he said, "Naruto…thank you." He then made his way over to Mom and I, his smiled growing bigger and bigger as he wrapped his arms around the two of us in a bear hug. I hugged my dad tightly, resting my head on his chest, giggling and allowing a tear to escape my eye.
Madara was sealed away and killed and Obito was tied up and brought forward with most of the army about ready to kill him. Naruto and I walked over to the man who glared back up at us. I knelt down in front of Obito and held out my hand.
"Are you done?" I asked, "It grows tiresome to be so full of hatred, you know."
"Don't bother showing me any sympathy, half-breed!" Obito spat back at me, "I could have created peace, I could have created a paradise where you could live happily with Itachi, why wouldn't you accept it?"
"Because paradise or not, it isn't real," I answered, "it would still only be a dream and everyone has to wake up from their dreams someday. It's better to have loved and lost to have never loved at all."
"And to have lost that love…" Obito looked away, "that pain is unbearable, so why?"
This time Naruto stepped in and answered, "because no matter how much it hurts to lose someone, there are so many others who still care about you and wish to look after you and make you happy. Itachi may be gone, but Ari and Sasuke still have me around. They have all of us from the Hidden Leaf!"
At that, Obito sighed heavily and shook his head, "Is that how it is then? Would I have just been happier if I had died back then? Or if I had accepted Rin's death and returned to Konoha?"
I shrugged, "No one can say, but you don't have to be lonely anymore. You don't have to fill yourself with so much hate where you love for Rin used to be. It doesn't have to be like this."
Obito smiled sadly and shook his head, "I've been in the darkness for too long…forgive me…I'll just get out of your way then."
"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. But then, Obito slid out of the robes that bound him and ran away. We all chased after him, but as we did, I realized he had attached explosive tags to himself. "Obito! Stop!" I called out.
When he had gained a good distance from us he turned back and smiled, "Kakashi, you weren't the piece of trash after all. Thank you all, but it's time I leave." He continued to run until he was out of sight and moments later, we heard an explosion in the distance. Behind me a few people let out stifled screams of horror. My jaw dropped in shock, but Mother took a step forward and placed her hand on my shoulder.
"It was to be expected," she sighed heavily, "those who live past their time of death become a nuisance to the living, often times causing hardship and adversity to those they were once close to. And in the end, once they realized their mistake or once they've nearly destroyed all their bonds with people, they inevitably destroy themselves."
I looked up at Mom and gave her a suspicious look, "Alright…so does that mean…it's all over?"
Mom looked down and smiled at me as she said, "yes!"
I smiled in relief and as the realization that we won the war rippled throughout the army, cheers broke out amongst the crowd. I looked behind me and saw Hana wriggle her way past everyone to find me. She cheered wildly as she ran up to me and leapt into my arms shouting, "Mommy! You did it!"
I giggled as I spun Hana around, holding her tightly, "We did it, sweetheart!" I kissed the top of her head and then looked up to find my Mom smiling warmly at us, her eyes slowly drifting into a memory. Naruto then came up from behind and threw his arms around me as if he were trying to get a piggy-back ride. I grunted as I staggered forward slightly, both of us laughing wildly. Kushina and Minato then came forward to see us, Kushina squealing.
"Ari! You've gotten so old!" she teased as she gave me a hug. She then looked at Hana and smiled, asking, "who's this?"
"Hana," I said, I then gave a grin and explained, "she's a little flower that came to Itachi and I like a miracle."
Kushina's eyes sparkled and said, "Itachi?"
"Yep," I answered.
Kushina then leapt into the air and squealed, "I so called it!"
At around that moment, Mito and Uncle Hashi stepped forward and began speaking to my mother and Dad stepped forward, arms crossed, and Kushina turned around, the two exchanging a brief staring conest.
"Kushina," Dad began.
Kushina in response narrowed her eyes and gave a sly smile and asked, "yes?"
In response, Dad gave her a warm smile and said, "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I don't think she would be where she is today without you or Minato."
At that, Kushina jumped and her smirk fell as she and Minato exchanged confused looks. Minato then smiled and answered, "you're welcome…but thank you for allowing us to take care of her. She was a real joy."
I giggled and looked over to Naruto to find he was still grinning at me. I sighed and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, holding him tightly as I kissed the top of his head. In response, Naruto made a disgusted noise and tried to duck out of my grasp but I pulled him into a choke hold and teased, "you aren't getting away from me, Foxy-Boxers!"
"Why are you still calling me that?" Naruto whined, "I'm not your dad's jinchuuriki anymore!"
I laughed but then paused when I looked up and saw Auntie Tabi standing a few feet away from us, her eyes focused intently on Hana. I released Naruto and walked over to her. Hana lifted her head which had been resting on my shoulder and gazed at Auntie in awe. Neither of them had ever even seen each other yet. I smiled and held Hana out, in mild shock, Tabi took Hana into her arms and Hana smiled and said, "Hi Mother!"
As happy as I was for them, I couldn't help but feel my heart sink a little. Auntie smiled down at Hana and kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek gently, "Hello dear Hana."
Hana then turned back and looked at me a little confused, "Am I staying with Mother now?"
At that, my eyes widened and I could feel my heart break. Tabi then looked up at me, her expression a little hopeful. What was I supposed to say to that? I could tell them both 'no'. After all, I was the one raising Hana. But…I wasn't exactly her mom either…
Fighting the tears, I forced a smile and choked out, "If that's what you want, Hana."
Hana and Tabi's eyes both widened as the stared at me. Tabi breathed out, "Ari…"
"Auntie, you are Hana's mother after all," I explained. Unable to bear the sight of my flower in another person's arms (though really, she wasn't mine, I guess) I took a step back and said, "I'll let you two get to know each other, then."
Hana cocked her head to the side slightly confused, but oblivious to my pain she smiled and said, "Okay!" before turning back to face Tabi and asking her a plethora of questions. I walked back to my mother and the others numbly. Did I just…give up my daughter? I knew it was the right thing to do…but why did it hurt so much?
And to add insult to injury, as I looked around in the crowd gathered, I discovered the five kage had returned. Well, four of them at least. Everyone was relieved to see that they were alright after facing Madara alone, but the celebration skidded to a stop when they saw the Kazekage, the Mizukage, the Raikage, and the Tsuchikage working together to carry a stretcher with a wrapped up body.
"Granny Tsunade…" Naruto breathed out, staring at the stretcher, "What…happened?"
Gaara stepped forward and said in a solemn voice, "we were all dying, but she used the last of her chakra to save us. Her last words were asking us to protect Naruto and that she had no regrets. She died smiling."
After that, we all bowed our heads in a moment of silence to pay our respects to our fallen Hokage. Tears were shed for the rest who had fallen, but after about an hour, Tobirama finally stepped forward and said, "we should all probably go soon. We've overstayed our time on this earth already."
But then Mom stepped forward and said, "well, before we do, there is one last thing I want to do, if you all don't mind." The others who were resurrected nodded their heads in agreement and Mom turned to me and said, "I want to give you something."
I raised my eyebrow, slightly confused, "what?"
"Because Madara and the one who actually summoned me have been killed, I cannot return to my resting place by normal means. I can, however, exchange my soul for one that was taken before his time in order to die again," she explained.
My eyes widened and I asked, "you mean like…Ita?"
Mom then smiled and said, "yeah. He or really anyone who was killed in this war could be brought back to life. But in the state I am in, I can only revive one person."
A mixture of shock and indescribable joy began to well within me, but it was quickly shot down as, overhearing the conversation, Rock Lee leapt into the air and suggested, "we could bring Neji back!"
I frowned, Neji was a friend of Naruto's, a prodigy of the Hyuuga clan who gave his life to protect Naruto from one of the Juubi's attacks. He was also one who had been taken from this world far too soon.
Another Leaf shinobi stepped forward and suggested, "or Lady Tsunade! She is our Hokage after all!"
Before long, arguments broke out among those nearby enough to have heard what my mother had said. I looked around, realizing that there really was more than one person taken before their time—whatever that means—and frowning, I swallowed my tears back as I yet again forced myself to do the right thing. I whistled loudly to get everyone's attention and ordered, "STOP FIGHTING!" the group froze and turned to me as I took a deep breath and said, "I think it's only fair that we allow this world's savior, Naruto Uzumaki, to decide who can come back to life! Don't you all agree?"
Everyone looked around at each other but then nodded, turning their attention to Naruto. I walked over to Naruto and placed my hands on his shoulders as I faked a smile, "you're on, Naruto."
Naruto stared at me with wide eyes as he asked, "who should I bring back?"
"Whoever you want," I smiled, "Neji, Tsunade, anyone."
A small smiled began to form on Naruto's face as he nodded, and then gave me a big hug thanking me. As he turned to my mother to make a decision, I walked away from the rest of the group and towards the nearby trees. I needed to be alone, I didn't need to know who Naruto would bring back, it would be either one of those. I found a tree I could lean up against as I sat down. I hugged my knees to my chest, and with no idea of what to do with myself, I began to cry.
Naruto
He thought long and hard, so many people had died who didn't need to. So many people he cared about. And really, it didn't matter who Naruto brought back, there would still be some hurt feelings. But as long as everyone understood his reasons for bringing the person of his choice back, he knew it would be fine.
Though there was one name hanging in the back of his mind that he just couldn't ignore. One name that stood above all, and Naruto felt that this one name was that which would not be so easy to get over if he wasn't brought back to life.
Naruto turned to his friends and motioned for them to form a circle. Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Sai, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Ten-Ten, and Lee all gathered and Naruto began by asking, "Sasuke, what are you going to do after this? Will you come back to the village?"
Sasuke shrugged, "I need some time to travel the world. There's a lot I still need to learn before I return home."
"But you won't destroy the village, regardless of who I bring back?" Naruto asked.
Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke hesitantly shook his head, wondering where Naruto was going with this.
At that, Naruto smiled, his friend was finally back. But then Naruto turned his attention to everyone else and said, "Guys, I know we've lost a lot of friends in this war, but there is one person I absolutely have to bring back. We have to bring him back. We owe him that much."
At first, when Naruto told them the name of the person he had in mind, even when he told them the truth and why he wanted to bring this person back his friends jumped back in shock, "Naruto, that's crazy!" Shikamaru blurted out, "Look, I know what you said, and I understand where you're coming from, but will the rest of the village settle for this?"
"If you guys do, everyone else should," Naruto answered, "Please, guys. We owe it to him and his family. They deserve this."
Sighing heavily, Shikamaru nodded and said, "alright, but talk to the others first so they at least know what's going on."
Naruto nodded and then turned to face the army. He knew he wasn't supposed to speak about what had really happened, but he had no other choice as he said, "everyone! The person I wish to bring back from the dead is a person you probably are not expecting. Some of you might even be angry when I say his name, but what you all don't realize is that this person is a hero. The crimes he committed against the Hidden Leaf were only acting on orders to prevent civil war from breaking out. I can't tell you everything about that, but he was a hero who accepted disgrace in the place of honor and hatred in the place of love. Even then, he still died for the sake of the people he loved most. And furthermore, without this man, we probably would not have won the war. Will you help me bring this man back?"
As expected, the army was shocked when Naruto said the name of the person, but slowly, as Naruto continued to tell the tale of his fallen comrade, a few people came forward and started cheering as everyone came to an agreement. Smiling, Naruto looked to Sasuke who only stared at him in shock. Naruto then turned to Lady Chinatsu and asked, "Alright! Chinatsu, I know who we're going to bring back!"
Ari
I continued to cry as I buried my face into my knees. I froze, however, when I heard footsteps approaching. I paused and looked up to see Dad standing over me, a frown on his face.
"Can you just leave me alone?" I asked whimpering, "I know I shouldn't be like this but I just need a minute."
Ignoring my pleas, Dad took a seat beside me and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close. I lost it at that point and began to sob. I felt like such an idiot. We won the war, didn't we? Why was I so upset? I knew the moment Itachi returned to the village three years ago that if I were to confront him like I did, my life would not end the way I had planned it. Even Hana could not stay with me; I knew that from the get-go. I knew the consequences of loving a man who was out of my reach, and yet I still did. So why did I still feel so miserable?
"It's alright to be upset, Ari," Dad whispered in my ear, "mourning for a loved one is only natural, it's what makes us who we are."
"But I knew he was going to die," I cried, "and I've had more than one chance to say goodbye to him. It's been months since he first died so why does it still hurt so bad? Why does it hurt now more than ever?"
"It's as your mother said," Dad answered, "it was not his time."
"I still have no idea what that means," I sniffled, wiping my nose.
Sighing, Dad explained, "there are three types of people in this world: those who die too soon, those who refuse to die, and those who die precisely when they mean to. The majority of the world dies at the time they are meant and within those people is a spectrum of those who are full of greed and those who are completely selfless. But on the extremes of either end come two other groups. Those who are so full of greed that they refuse to die at their destined time usually manage to stay alive by taking the life of another in their place. These people become hazardous to those around them and are extremely difficult to get rid of, even when their existence could mean the destruction of the world around them. But they do not care, they just want all the power and the life they can take. Madara is a good example of this. But then there is the exact opposite. There are people who are so selfless, that they are not only willing to give their life for the sake of others, but they go out of their way to sacrifice themselves so people they may not even know can be happy, regardless of whether or not that sacrifice is necessary. This is what Itachi is, and Ari, you would have been the same way if it weren't for Itachi's will and your promise to stay with Hana. These people die far too soon, and usually it can be at the hands of the greedy, and when they die, it is far worse than if anyone else were to die. If an average person dies, though the loss is painful, the friends and family that person left behind can heal the wound of their loss with the support and love which surrounds them. But if the selfless die too soon, those wounds do not heal. Although you are strong enough to move on with your life, you will never be able to recover from the loss of Itachi because you cared so much for him and because he gave his life when he shouldn't have needed to."
"Oh great," I whaled, "and I had the chance to bring him back…but I didn't….what kind of person am I?"
"A selfless one, just like Itachi," Dad smiled sadly, "and just like your mother. You did the right thing, if you had asked to bring Itachi back, there would have been an uproar because people simply do not know the truth, but you sacrificed your own happiness so the rest of the world can be content. You have such a kind heart, Ari, and I'm very proud of you, but it also hurts to see you suffering so much."
"I'm sorry," I whimpered, leaning against Dad. I felt so helpless…I should be stronger than this…
"Don't be," Dad said as he kissed the top of my head, "the life of a selfless person is hard, but there is still reward that can come from it, you know."
I looked up at Dad and narrowed my eyes, wiping tears away, "what do you mean?"
At around that moment, Hana and Tabi came up to us and Hana leapt into my arms cheering, "Mommy! Mommy! You have to come see!"
"Hana?" I asked in disbelief, "Why are you still calling me, 'Mommy'?"
"Because, silly, you are my mommy!" Hana giggled. She then stood and grasped hold of my hand, "now come on! I have to show you something!"
I looked at Tabi, confused and said, "but…you're her mom, Tabi…"
At that, Auntie broke out into a fit of laughter and said, "No I'm not, Ari! I'm her mother, but I'm not her mom. Hana was always meant to be with you. I just helped her get here."
At that, my eyes widened and I asked stupidly, "so…she can stay…with me?"
"Of course she can!" Tabi smiled, "what, did you think that just because you freed me that I was going to take your daughter away from you? I'm not some monster, Ari! Besides, I was never cut out to be a mom, I prefer being the favorite aunt anyway!"
I couldn't help but smile as I pulled Hana into my arms and hugged her tightly. Hana groaned and pushed away, taking my hand, "Mommy! Come on!"
"Okay, okay!" I snapped, "where are we going?"
"You have to see who Uncle Naruto brought back!" Hana cheered. At that I frowned. I knew it was either going to be Neji or Tsunade…couldn't I just see them when I wasn't an emotional wreck? But as we stepped out of the trees, we were all greeted by a round of applause. I looked behind me to see who they were clapping for, but when Dad and Auntie shoved me forward, I suddenly realized that they were clapping for me. Why? Like hell I knew!
"What's going on?" I asked as Hana led me forward. As we walked, the crowd separated and created a path for us. We were then greeted by each of the tailed beasts who patted me on the shoulder as I walked past, cheering me on. Uncle Hashi and Aunt Mito stepped forward to give me a hug, telling me how proud they were to be my aunt and uncle. I looked behind and found that Auntie Tabi had joined the other bijuu, but Dad followed closely behind me, grinning wildly. I then looked back forward and Kushina and Minato stepped forward to stop me.
"Ari," Kushina smiled as she gave me a hug, "I'm so proud of you…and thank you for taking care of Naruto."
I was at a loss for words as I hugged Kushina back. She then let go of me and allowed Minato to embrace me. As he took a step back, I was greeted by Sasuke who stood with his arms crossed. He blinked several times and avoided eye contact as if he were trying not to cry.
"Why so emotional, Duckbutt?" I teased, placing my hands on my hips.
"I'm not emotional!" Sasuke snapped back.
I chuckled, "you react just like your brother, you know."
At that Sasuke smiled, though he was trying to hide it, and he gave me a quick and slightly awkward hug as he said, "I'm sorry…about everything."
"Don't be," I said, brushing his bangs out of his face, "I'm just glad you're with us again, and safe too."
"Thank you," Sasuke nodded as he stepped out of the way. I took another step forward and was greeted by both my mom and Naruto. Dad then stepped in front of me and turned to face me as he placed his arm around Mom, a smile on his face. Naruto ran up to me giggling as he threw his arms around me.
"Ari, you're the best, you know that?" he asked me.
"Naruto…" I breathed in shock, "I'm not that good, but thank you."
"Are you kidding me," Naruto pushed me back, grinning, "thanks to you, I'm not lonely anymore like I was when I was a kid. And now I can say that I have two moms looking out for me!"
My eyes widened and I glanced back at Kushina who was smiling brightly, then Naruto continued as he embraced me again, "thanks for being such a great mom, Ari…I mean, Mom."
"You don't have to call me Mom, Naruto," I chuckled, fighting the tears, "it's weird coming from you."
"Okay good!" Naruto laughed. He then looked back at my parents and then stepped away. Mom stepped forward and gave me a big hug.
"Ariala, I'm so proud of you," she said, "you've grown up to be such a beautiful woman and you've impacted so many lives in ways I could only dream of. Thank you for being my daughter, and thank you for being born to us."
"Mom…" I breathed out, starting to lose it all over again. She then stepped away and she and Dad joined the others who were behind me. My gaze followed her as I faced everybody. "Why are you all telling me this?" I asked, "and Naruto…who did you bring back anyway?"
"Turn around and look!" Mom teased. Curious, I turned my head back to see the last person standing before me, but when I did I let out a scream and I covered my mouth, fighting to stay standing as the tears poured out of my eyes.
"ITACHI!" I sobbed. In response, Ita laughed and held out his arms as he took a step towards me. Without thinking, I ran up to him and threw my arms around him, surprising him and knocking off balance a little. He was wearing the tunic and pants he wore under his Akatsuki cloak, the same one he had on when he died. He needed a shower (but then again, we all did) but I buried my head into his chest and listened to his heart. His beautiful, normally beating heart!
"I'm home," he whispered gently in my ear, "I hope you didn't miss me too much."
"Oh my god!" was all I could choke out as I sobbed. I then looked up at him and placed my hands around his face, looking him over. He was missing his leaf headband and necklace, both of which I had. And his eyes…well, first of all he had eyes! "But how…? And…your heart…your eyes!"
Mom then stepped forward and placed her hand on my shoulder explaining, "Itachi, you were really beat up, let me tell you. I used my powers and was able to give him a new, healthy, heart and I transplanted Sasuke's eyes into his, so now both brothers have the Eternal Mongekyo, and neither of you will end up going blind."
"You can do that?" I asked stupidly, "as in…swap eyes?"
"Sure you can!" Mom smiled, "as long as both pairs are intact."
I exhaled a breath of air it seemed I had been holding since Ita first got sick as I looked up at him, he was so beautiful. I started crying all over again as I hugged him tightly. Ita held me close, chuckling as he himself were trying to fight the tears. This couldn't be real. Were we certain that Obito hadn't won the war and cast his genjutsu on the moon?
I then turned back to Naruto, holding Itachi tightly and asked, "But…why, Naruto? You couldn't have done this all for me!"
"Sure I could!" Naruto grinned, "and Sasuke too! You and Itachi both sacrificed so much for the sake of the village and the world…you guys at least deserve a happy ending."
I whimpered as I stepped forward to pull Naruto in a tight hug as I spun him around, the boy completely off guard, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Several people stepped forward and to my surprise, they all came to pay Ita and I their respects and welcome Ita back to the Leaf. I couldn't believe this. This was just too good to be true. The entire time, Hana was resting happily in my father's arms, enjoying the sight of her parents together again, but after a while, she grew impatient and jumped out of Dad's arms and ran to mine and Itachi's.
"See! I told you that you'd like the surprise!" Hana giggled as I scooped her up.
I laughed, wiping the tears that wouldn't stop and said, "you're right, Hana! You're so right!"
Hana then giggled and turned to Itachi as she held her arms out. Ita took her in his arms, letting out a relieved chuckle as he held his little flower close. I looked over to see Sasuke watching us hesitantly. I narrowed my eyes at him and motioned for him to come over. Heaving a heavy sigh, Sasuke stepped forward and said, "Itachi?"
Ita looked up, his face lighting up at the sight of his little brother. He didn't give Sasuke time to speak as he pulled the boy into a tight embrace cheering, "Ah! I missed you so much, my little brother!"
At that, Sasuke's eyes widened as he began to cry. He wrapped his arms around Ita for a moment and then pulled away as he rubbed his eyes, trying to keep from losing his masculinity. Sasuke then looked at Hana skeptically and smirked, "so…this is your kid?"
"Yeah," Ita responded as he introduced, "Hana, meet Sasuke."
"Oh I already know him," Hana announced, patting Sasuke's head, "and his name isn't Sasuke, it's Uncle Duckey!"
At that, Sasuke's grin fell and he glared at Hana, "What?"
"You're hair looks like a duck! I already told you this, Uncle Duckey!" Hana explained, completely serious. At that I pitched forward and started laughing so hard I could barely stay standing. Soon, everyone else started laughing, the atmosphere full of joy.
"Great," Sasuke pouted, crossing his arms, "another Ari."
"Oh come on!" I teased, patting the boy's back, "you know you love us!"
"Yeah…unfortunately I do…" Sasuke groaned as everyone else laughed. We all stood around and visited, but pretty soon, it was time for the resurrected to go.
Kushina and Minato gave Naruto and I a hug goodbye, then Kushina looked up at Itachi and grinned, "Itachi, I just want you to know that I called it. Your mom and I knew you two were going to get married, but your dad didn't believe me. But I was right, and I'm going to tell him so."
Itachi chuckled. At this point he held Hana with one arm and wrapped the other arm around me as he said, "You know, I saw that picture you took of Ari and I when we were four now that you mention it. And Mother wouldn't stop talking about that bet you two made with Father."
"Good!" Kushina grinned.
I then looked at her and mentioned, "and I've been keeping up with that scrapbook you started, Kushina-sensei. I've got a few more pages left before it's finished."
At that, Kushina smiled and said, "I'm glad to hear it. And I'm glad you two can finally be together. Take care!"
And with that, Kushina, Minato, Mito, and the other Hokage all dissipated as their souls vanished. Mom was the last one to go. She came over with Dad, and they shared a group hug with us as Mom bid her final goodbyes. She then turned to Dad and, standing on her tip-toes gave him one last kiss, departing as she did so. Her soul lifted into the air and Dad's gaze followed her as she disappeared, a smile on his face. Dad then looked back at Ita, Hana, and I and his smile grew even bigger as he went over and slapped Ita on the back.
"Welcome to the family, Itachi!" he greeted heartily, sounding a little like Son Gokuu as he did so.
Ita grunted and looked up nervously as he realized that his father-in-law was the Nine-Tailed Fox now on the loose. He smiled and said, "Th-thank you, sir."
"Oh, cut the formalities!" Dad barked, "That's Kurama to you! Unless you get on my bad side in which case it will be Lord Kurama almighty sir!"
"Dad!" I scolded, "behave yourself."
"Hey! I didn't get to run parent's approval on him when you guys first started dating! I need to set the boundaries you know!" Dad retorted. I shook my head as I rolled my eyes. Soon after, we returned to Konoha, and with several casualties and the village still in need of some rebuilding, we had to go straight to work as soon as we returned home. Itachi and I had to reenlist into the ANBU to pick up some slack while the village stabilized, all five great nations having to reformat their government system slightly to help maintain the new peace that had settled throughout the world.
After the funerals were over, Itachi and I were finally able to get married. It was a simple ceremony, nothing to big, but finally, finally, we were able to say our wedding vows to one another.
Until death do us part. And even after death, we would still be together as we were able to prove.
However, there was still the issue of electing a Hokage. The two advisors approached Ita and I one day as we were busy moving into our new house, Homura was the first to speak as he said, "Itachi, as you are well aware we are in need of a new Hokage. I don't know if you know this but, the Third Hokage praised you highly and wanted you to succeed him."
Itachi didn't give either elder the chance to ask the question as he lifted his hand and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. It's not my place to."
"But you are one of the most qualified shinobi for the job," Koharu said, "you've done more for this village than any shinobi could ever dream of. After all the sacrifices you made, this is the highest honor we can give you. Won't you please accept it?"
"I don't need any honor or special recognition," Itachi said, "besides, I'm not well-known enough to the rest of the village to be able to take that role on and maintain their respect. And I'm not the only qualified shinobi for the job. There is one other who I think can do better than I. He may be young, but he's the right one for the job."
I smiled and shook my head. This was so like Itachi, he was so humble.
"You can't mean Naruto Uzumaki, can you?" Koharu asked. She then shook his head, "Itachi, believe me, we considered him as well but he is still inexperienced, there is much he has to learn before he is ready for the position. So much that you could teach him before he steps forward as the Hokage."
"Which is why I will act as the Sixth Hokage's personal advisor," Itachi answered, catching the two elders off-guard, "I believe there is an opening for that position, isn't there? That was Danzo's official title after all, even though he did more with Root."
Koharu and Homura looked at each other and nodded as Homura said, "very well. If that's what you think should be done, we will trust you."
And not long after that, we were all standing beside Naruto at his coronation ceremony. I had tears in my eyes as I watched Naruto finally realize his dream, the entire village of Konoha cheering him on. And shortly after that, Sasuke left the village again.
"I need more time to learn," he explained, "it's still hard for me to understand the importance of this village and I think by seeing the world I can finally understand."
"Do what you need to do, Sasuke," Itachi said, "and know you can come home whenever you need to."
With all of that said and done, life slowly started to settle down. We had a house, a new Hokage, and we could all sit down at the table together and eat dinner. But most of all, Ita and I finally had each other. The night when we finally got all of our stuff moved into the new house, we had gone out to dinner to celebrate. On our way home, Hana held each of our hands as Ita and I swung her around and skipped most of the way home. Hana bolted into the house and ran upstairs to her bedroom but as I tried to enter, Itachi scooped me into his arms and carried me in the front door bridal style. He ran up the stairs and into our rooms, setting me gently on the bed, kissing my neck passionately.
"Ita…" I gasped, pleasantly surprised, "what's all this for?"
Ita sat up and grinned, "I'll explain after we tuck Hana in."
I rolled my eyes and sat back up. Once Hana was asleep we went back to our room and Ita locked the door behind him. He then picked me up again and gently set me down as we shared a long and passionate kiss. Ita broke away from me panting as he said, "Today, my love, is the start of the rest of our lives. No coup d'état, no Akatsuki, no wars, and most importantly, no heart problems on my part."
A small smiled crept up on my face as I realized what he was getting at. Giggling, we pulled each other's clothes off and spent the rest of the night intertwining ourselves in the net of love as we gave ourselves to each other, ready to finally spend our lives together and love each other as true lovers should.
Like I said...Ita is now Jesus apparently O_o And There's one more chapter left! And possibly a sequel but I don't know yet!
