Welp...I guess this is it, guys...I'm actually kind of sad right now. Do you have any idea how emotionally attached I've gotten to my characters in this fic? Well, anyway, thanks for sticking with me! And I've decided...I'm doing a sequel. When that will be, I have no idea, but it will happen...eventually. But anyway, thanks again for joining me on this journey with Ari and Ita! It's been fun!
ENJOI
Ari
"Hi," the boy said, "I'm Itachi, do you want to be my friend?"
"I'm Ari," I said.
"Hi, Ari, what would you like to play?" Itachi asked.
"Well," I shifted around nervously, "I don't really know how to play…"
Itachi cocked his head to the side a bit in confusion, but then he smiled again and held out his hand.
"That's okay! I'll show you," he offered sweetly.
"Ita…?" I asked, "Is there something you aren't telling me?"
"Hm," Itachi shook his head, "No."
"You're humming," I pointed out. And just like every time I've said something about it, every time since we were kids, Ita grimaced, his eyes narrowing as he pushed down a red face. It still cracked me up how I could get him like that. But then he did something I wasn't expecting in the slightest.
At first Ita shook his head furiously, biting his lip. His eyes watered a little as he began, "It's just that I thought..I…" He then made the mistake of finally meeting my gaze, and I saw the anguish that flooded his dark, beautiful eyes. When we made eye contact, his face contorted as he choked out a sob, turning his head downward to hide his tears. "I thought I'd lost you…!"
And with that, he pulled his bad arm out of the sling and grasped the back of my head with his free hand and pulled me to his chest as he cried. "I'm sorry, I…I don't know what's wrong with me but…I couldn't stand the thought of you dying! And when they wheeled you into the operating room to extract the poison…when they took you away from me…I didn't know what I was going to do if you died…."
Ita looked at me with sad eyes, "but what if…but Ari, what if I get worse? What if I become only a nuisance to you? You shouldn't waste your time trying to take care of me then. Why don't you just spare yourself the heartbreak and move on?"
I shook my head. Where was all this coming from? "Ita," I said, "we don't know that will happen. And even if it did, I wouldn't be wasting my time. I'm going to stand by your side. No matter what happens. We'll get through this together. I promise."
"But why?" Ita asked, "why go to such great lengths for me?"
I shrugged, "I don't know…I guess…well…you know wedding vows? Well…I've always loved the meaning behind them. 'to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.' I think those vows are beautiful and are the ultimate testament for one's love for a person. I want to stand by you, Itachi, in sickness and in health. I want to be by your side for better or for worse until death do us part. You can't change my mind once I've committed to something. And I'm committing to you."
"Ari…" Ita stared at me with wide eyes. He grasped my hand tightly and took a deep breath as he said, "go reach into the pocket on the inside of my Akatsuki cloak."
I raised an eyebrow, confused but did as he asked. I fumbled through his coat pockets and found a small box hiding inside. I pulled it out, eyeing it, confused. Itachi got out of bed, and walked towards me. "What is inside this thing?" I asked.
"Open it and see," Itachi breathed. I pulled the box open and gasped. Tucked neatly inside was a golden ring with a sparkling diamond resting at the top. I looked at Itachi and opened my mouth to speak, but I was at a loss for words. He took my hands in his and knelt down on the ground before me. "I know we're young…and I know we haven't been together for that long…and honestly, I was hoping to do this in a much more romantic situation than this but…life is short. I don't know when or where we'd be able to get married so I'm going to ask you now."
My eyes watered as I held down a lump in my throat. I eyed him, shaking as I said, "then go ahead and ask."
Ita took in a deep breath and said, "Ariala Uzumaki, will you take me to be your lawfully wedded husband, until death do us part?"
"Ari, no matter what happens, no matter what hell or high waters may await us," Itachi began, "but I promise to stand by your side and protect you and Hana with my life until the day I die. But even in death, I will not leave you. You may not be able to see me, but I will be there, guiding you towards happiness. I will carry you when you are no longer able to stand, and I will sing to you when you are unable to sleep, and I will hold you in my arms, protecting you from harm for the rest of eternity. And I will do the same for Hana, loving her as a father should. You may not know it, you may move on and find new love, and I may become nothing more than a painful memory. In fact, I hope that's one day the case, but I will always be there, watching over you. Do you understand?"
"You've done plenty already," Itachi sighed. He pulled away from me and then lied down on his back, looking up at the ceiling. I lied on my side, resting my head in my propped up hand as I stroked his face. "Why have you stuck with me for so long?" he asked suddenly, "surely you and Hana would be happier without me the way I am now. I'm a nuisance…"
"Uh-uh," I shook my head, "don't start that." Ita had been going through this depressed funk ever since he stopped going on missions. He started questioning his worth and would practically beg for me to leave him to die. He saw himself only as a nuisance, a waste of my time, what he didn't understand, however, was that this was the only way I could see myself spending the time we had left together: at his side, aiding him in whatever way I could. "Remember the wedding vows?"
"Ari, I—"
"Remember what they say?"
Ita sighed heavily, blinking away tears, "Yes…"
"In sickness and in health," I told him, holding his hand tightly.
"Until death do us part," he finished. We said those two phrases of the vows whenever either one of us started to grow weary.
"After death will we part," I assured him, kissing him gently.
*I'm…alive…? But how?* I thought, but I could feel myself drifting in an out of consciousness. As I attempted to regain consciousness, sharp pains would stab me everywhere as my body begged for me to give up. I was floating between a state of life and death, the only thing that was keeping me alive was this pair of arms which pulled me to my feet, cradling me gently.
*You didn't actually think I wouldn't keep my promise, did you?* A voice whispered inside my head. I-Itachi…? I must've been dead or dreaming. Itachi's voice chuckled at my confused thoughts and he said, *You don't have to fight to stay standing anymore. Let me carry you and I will protect you.*
"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."
2 Years After the Fourth Great Ninja War
"First day of school! First day of school!" Hana cheered as she jumped onto our bed one morning, forcing Ita and I to wake up. The sun danced on my eye lids as I awakened, part of me still lying in the dream world as memories of my time with Ita flashed through my mind. It and I were both lying on our sides, my back to his front and his arm wrapped around me. Hana jumped onto Ita first and tried to shake him awake, "Come on guys! Today's the entrance ceremony!"
"Okay, okay," Ita groaned, "I'm up!"
"No you're not!" Hana protested, "Your eyes are still closed!"
I turned my head to look back at Hana and asked, "What time is it…?"
"It's time to get up!" Hana cheered as she jumped from Ita to me. I let out an "oof!" and grimaced as she kicked my side on accident. I rolled on to my back, groaning as I struggled underneath the weight of the baby growing inside my womb.
"Hana, be careful," Dad scolded as our little flower climbed on top of me, "be gentle with your mother."
"I am!" Hana responded as she wrapped her arms around me, trying to get me to wake up, "but it's time for school!"
Sighing heavily, I pushed myself up to a sitting position, leaning some of my weight onto my hands as I said, "okay, I'm up!"
"Yay!" Hana cheered as she ran out of the room to pick out the clothes she wanted to wear. I smiled to myself as I struggled to stand. I looked down as I placed on hand against my back for balance and the other one underneath my stomach as the baby kicked inside. I frowned. I couldn't see my feet.
"Come on, Ita, time to get up," I said, waddling over to the bathroom.
"Five more minutes…" Ita groaned, taking one of my pillows and placing it over his head.
"Hey! If the pregnant woman can get up, so can you!" I teased.
"You're just up because you have no bladder," Ita retorted.
"And whose fault is that?" I raised an eyebrow.
Ita was silent for a long time before he finally sat up and groaned, "you win. I need to take a shower though…"
"After I pee!" I pointed my finger at Ita, glaring at him. No one got in the way of me and the bathroom when the baby started kicking. No one.
"Yes ma'am," Ita squirmed. He then reached out and pulled me into a hug, kissing my forehead as he whispered, "I love you!"
"I'll love you more if you let me pee," I sighed, my mind focused on only one thing.
"Right," Ita let go of me and we both got ready. I went through just about my entire closet before I could find something to wear that at least looked decent. My mood swings kicking in, I just about broke down in tears, feeling abnormally round and disgusting. Ita sat on the bed as he waited patiently for me to pick something. When I had just about given up, and rested my forehead on the mirror, my smooth-talking husband came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, gently rubbing my stomach as he cooed, "you look beautiful, regardless of what you're wearing or how your hair is. You don't have to impress anybody because the world already is."
"I'm so…fat!" I grimaced, staring down at my pregnant self. I was only six months along and I already looked like I was full-term.
"You aren't fat, Ari, there's a baby in there. And you're as beautiful as ever," Ita reassured. I smiled up at him, feeling better. He then bent down and kissed me on the lips and we shared a long embrace. I then hobbled downstairs to fix Hana some pancakes for breakfast. Itachi fixed her a lunchbox and put it in her backpack. I then helped Hana braid her hair and before we knew it, we were off for Hana's entrance ceremony at Ninja Academy. Tabi and Dad met us there and we all celebrated Hana's first steps at becoming a shinobi. She went around and met the kids in her class, she was excited to discover that our neighbor who Hana absolutely loved to play with, Kai Senju, was in the same class as her. And, they both had Iruka-sensei as their instructor.
"Okay, just one more picture!" I begged, "you and Kai together with Iruka. Come on…please?"
"Mom!" Hana crossed her arms embarrassed, "you already took a bunch…"
"But I need more!" I protested, "I'm cherishing this moment!"
"Okay, just one more," Hana said. She and Kai wrapped their arms around each other and smiled as I took a picture.
I then looked up at Ita and said, "now you get in there!"
"Mom!" Hana smacked her hand to her face, her cheeks turning red.
"I can't help myself!" I pleaded, "please? For you pitiful and pregnant mom?"
"How many more?" she groaned.
"I don't know," I shrugged.
"Not too many more," Ita answered for me, looking at his watch, "Ari you have a doctor's appointment in less than an hour."
"Then quickly get into the picture, Ita," I ordered, snapping my fingers. Itachi groaned and I took a picture of him and Hana together. Then Hana and Auntie Tabi. Then Hana and Dad. Then I found Naruto and dragged him into a picture with Hana. Then I got all of them. And then Kai's mom, Kana, offered to take the camera and got a picture with all of us together.
"Are we done yet?" Hana asked, "classes will be starting soon…"
"Ari, we do need to go," Ita coaxed me, wiggling the camera out of my grasp.
I groaned, rolling my eyes and said, "Fine!" I then bent down (as best as I could) and gave Hana one last goodbye before she and Kai ran into the school to start their first day at the Academy and Ita and I went to the hospital for my appointment to finally see what gender our baby was. If it was a boy, Itachi claimed that he promised Shisui to name his son after him. I never made any promises to Saya, but if it was a girl, we might as well name her after my best friend too.
My jaw dropped however, as we stared at the ultrasound to find not one, but two babies. One boy and one girl. The doctor then took the time to explain to us that multiples presented a risk of being born premature and that I could technically go into labor within the next month or so, and we went through formalities. She then left the room and left Ita and I alone. My shirt still pulled up to expose my stomach, I placed my hand on my belly, rubbing it subconsciously as I said in a daze, "Shisui and Saya…I guess we get both of them!"
Itachi let out a laugh as he covered his face, trying to hide the fact that he was getting emotional. He then composed himself and placed his hand on mine as he smiled down at me and said, "I love you so much."
I smiled back at him and giggled as he leaned down to kiss the side of my stomach Saya was on and then the side where Shisui was. He then stood up and kissed me gently on the lips and I reached up to stroke his cheek as he did so. Five years ago, when he first proposed to me, I didn't know it was possible to love Itachi any more than I did then. But as the years passed and our family grew, my feelings for him back then seemed miniscule compared to how deep my love for this man had grown to be.
Even though there was a risk of premature delivery, I reached full term. Actually, I didn't go into labor until two weeks after my due date, and when I did I was so huge I could barely walk. It was a Saturday morning in early November. I was waddling around the kitchen trying to tidy up the house as most of our family was coming over for dinner later that night. Itachi was out running errands and off to pick Hana up from school when I felt a sharp cramp stab me in the side.
"Agh…" I grunted, bending forward a little as I held my stomach. It went away though, and I returned to my chores. I made it into the living room and was looking for the vacuum when I nearly fell over as sharp pains attacked my side again. I let out a scream as I fell onto the couch. I didn't know what exactly was going on, but as the pains continued, I realized that it was time. I staggered over to the nearest phone and called Ita. I heard him pick up his cell phone and didn't give him a chance to answer it when I asked, "where are you?"
"At school waiting for Hana to come out," he answered .
"Has school let out yet?"
"No, we've still got another fifteen minutes. I'm just sitting out here talking with some other parents."
"Dammit!"
At that, alarm raised in Ita's voice as he asked a little urgently, "what's wrong?"
"They're coming!" was all I could manage before a contraction came on, much worse than the previous cramps that came before. It took all my strength in that moment to keep from screaming and blowing Ita's ear drums out.
"Oh!" Ita choked out, "Okay…uh…stay there, I'll come to get you."
"Well it's not like I can go anywhere else!" I snapped at him. On the other end, I heard Itachi talking to Kana, asking her to take Hana home once school was out. He then got back on the phone with me and told me to hang tight. We lived five minutes away from the Academy, but it felt like hours before Ita finally ran into the front door, sprinting up and down the stairs like a maniac.
"Okay, I'll pack your things for the hospital!" he said over and over again, "do you want an extra change of clothes? A book? What?"
"Let's just GO!" I roared as my contractions worsened. Ita jumped in response and helped me stand, leading me out the door. We rushed to the hospital and checked me in, and an hour later I was lying on a hospital bed with my legs spread open, screaming. And to make things worse, we found when they attempted to give me an epidural that anesthesia didn't work on half-breeds. Which meant no C-section. Which meant I was stuck pushing TWO babies out through the natural birthing process. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!" I whaled, glaring at Itachi as I clutched his hand for dear life.
Trying not to let his feelings get hurt, Ita stroked my hair gently and assured, "you're doing great Ari, just hang in there!"
"You can tell me to hang in there when you're lying in a bed pushing two watermelons out of you!" I snapped back at him. Ita grimaced and said nothing after that. Shizune sighed heavily and sat back as the contraction ebbed away and I was able to relax a little more.
"Not yet," she said, "probably by the next contraction, you'll be able to push."
I groaned and leaned my head back, are those two ever going to come out? I had been alternating between normal contractions and back contractions throughout my labor, and my entire spine was aching and tensed. I pursed my lips together as I tried not to cry from the pain. "This sucks," I mustered.
"I know," Ita said gently, rubbing my cheek with his thumb, "are you in any pain?"
"My back hurts," I complained. Shizune then stepped forward and placed her hand behind my shoulder.
"If you sit up and hold onto a pillow, we could massage your back and make you more comfortable," she offered. Feeling defeated, I did as she suggested and I leaned forward, asking Ita to rub my back for me. That man's hands were magical. Even in the pain I was in, he nearly managed to put me to sleep. But fifteen minutes later, another series of contractions started again, these were the worst of all. I screamed several times and suddenly Shizune said, "Ari, get ready to push."
"I'm not ready!" I spat back, trying to find a way to position myself so it wouldn't hurt so much. But of course it didn't matter if I was ready or not, those little brats wanted out, and they wanted out right then and there. I let out a scream as I pushed as hard as I could. I could feel a head sprout out as I took a pause to breath. It was the strangest feeling I had ever experienced in my life. And that included when my soul was sucked out of me.
"You're almost there, Ari, I can see the head," Shizune encouraged. I groaned. "Almost there" really meant, "Almost half-way there." There didn't seem to be an end to this! I grunted as I pushed more, and within a few moments, I heard the cries of a newborn baby. I gasped, panting as I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the cries, allowing a tear to escape my eye.
"Saya!" Itachi breathed, in shock. Shizune then brought the baby girl over to me so I could see her and she laid the baby on her stomach against me and I placed my hand on Saya's back, kissing the top of her head.
"Oh my goodness," I whimpered, "I finally get to see you, gorgeous…"
Before I could really bond with my newborn daughter, another contraction struck me and Shizune took Saya away and handed her to one of the nurses to get cleaned up. Exhausted, I mustered up the strength to give birth to my little man. I cried when I saw Shisui as he came out kicking and screaming. My babies were born, and they were healthy. What had started with a dream of a flower had blossomed into three beautiful children Itachi and I could call our own. There was nothing more that I could have asked for. As they cleaned Shisui up, Shizune brought over a pink baby bundle. I held my arms out as she placed Saya in them and I stared down in awe at the beautiful little girl as she slept with her hands curled into fists. She had rosy cheeks and dark fluffy hair. When they brought Shisui over, I handed Saya over to Itachi and the big lug started crying, "she looks just like you…she's so beautiful!"
I giggled as I traced my finger along Shisui's nose. He looked exactly like Itachi, only without the high nose ridges. I chuckled to myself as I shook my head and wondered where my genes had gone to in that little boy. I leaned my head back against my pillow, completely exhausted as I fought to keep my eyes open. Itachi stared down at our infants and then kissed my head as he asked, "can I bring Hana in here? She'll want to meet her new brother and sister."
I nodded and Itachi poked his head out of the room and into the hallway where Hana, Dad, Tabi, Naruto, and Sasuke all waited for us. I heard him say, "Hana? Can you come in here for a bit?"
I heard Hana's flip-flops clap as she raced to the room and swung open the door, smiling from ear to ear. Her look of excitement then changed to awe as she stared at the little boy in my arms. She then looked up at the little girl in her Daddy's arms as Ita took her hand and led her to my bed. Hana sat on my lap and stared at Shisui with wide eyes. Itachi sat down next to her and kissed the top of her head as he introduced, "Saya, Shisui, do you two want to meet your big sister?"
"Hi guys," Hana waved shyly, her cheeks flushing a light pink. She then turned towards Ita who held Saya out to her.
"Do you want to hold your little sister?" he asked. Hana nodded her head, but was a little hesitant as she had never held a baby before. Itachi was great with her and placed Saya in Hana's arms. "Watch the head," he instructed gently, keeping his head under Saya until Hana was comfortable enough to hold her in her lap. Hana beamed as she stared down at her sister, rocking the baby gently. Itachi then took Shisui from my arms, getting to know his son and I relaxed and closed my eyes, ready to sleep. After some time alone, Shizune came to take the babies back to the nursery. Hana was tired and went home to spend the night at Kai's house while Ita stayed at the hospital with me. As I yawned, ready to fall asleep, Itachi kissed my forehead and clasped his hand around mine.
"I love you," I said softly.
Itachi chuckled, "I love you too. And thank you…for making me a father again today."
I smiled as I closed my eyes, drifting to sleep.
1 Year Later
Finally, my scrapbook is done. I saved the last page of a scrapbook to put everyone in our family in. At the center of the page, I've cut out a picture of a table. I spent a while trying to scavenge up some portraits of Aunt Mito, Uncle Hashi, and Mom as cameras were not the most popular thing to use almost a century ago. I took the most recent pictures of each tailed beast I could find (most of which were from the last time they came over for dinner last February for Hana's birthday) and glued them all to the page. I had taken my camera to the local pharmacy the other day to get pictures developed, so now I have photos of Naruto and Sasuke and a photo of Hana, Ita, and I with the twins at the hospital the day they were born to place in the scrapbook along with an old picture of Minato and Kushina. I then dig out an old photo of Kisame and glue it next to a picture of Hana standing next to the fishbowl with her first gold fish that was named after him. I then find pictures of all Naruto's past teachers, from Iruka to Kakashi to Jiraiya and glue them next to a photo of Naruto standing in his Hokage uniform. And finally, I find a family shot of the Uchihas—Sasuke, Ita, Fugaku, Mikoto, Saya, Shisui, and their parents and place them next to Minato and Kushina. The page is crammed full and stands out from all the others, but it's perfect. I smile to myself as I take a marker and write out the words "Family Dinner" at the top.
"There," I say, "Now dinner is ready, Mom."
At that moment, Itachi comes into our room, changing into his ANBU uniform as he asks, "are you ready?"
"Just about," I say. I get up to fasten my headband to my waist like a belt, also decked out in my ANBU uniform. As I finish getting ready, Itachi walks over to the bed and examines the scrapbook.
"You finished it?" Itachi notes with a smile, "but what are you going to do with all those other pictures you've taken?"
I grin and say, "well this scrapbook was what Kushina started to take Naruto and I from the day she and Minato met to the day he and I grow up and start our own families. So, I'll make a scrapbook for Hana, Saya, and Shisui."
Ita starts laughing as he says, "you're going to drive Hana crazy. You know she hates taking pictures."
"She'll thank me for it later," I roll my eyes, "I don't know why though, she's so photogenic."
"She's shy," Itachi explains, "she doesn't perceive herself to be as pretty as others think she is. She's just like her mom in that way."
I eye Itachi skeptically as she wraps his arms around me, both of us staring in the mirror. "What does that mean?" I ask him.
"Ari, you don't like taking photos either," Itachi tells me, "you like taking photos of other people, but how often do you actually get in the shot?"
"Oh shut up!" I snap at him playfully. Itachi laughs and jumps away as I try to shove him. We finish getting ready and then leave the house, drop Saya and Shisui off at the babysitter's, and head up to the Academy.
The students at the academy love it when they get guest speakers, and there are different dates set aside for students, depending on what year they are, to meet different shinobi in a lecture. It has always been a tradition for the Hokage to come and visit the first-year students, but in the past couple of years, different shinobi have visited the school for different reasons. Dad and I usually take one day in December before finals to meet with the fourth-year classes and take them out on a tour of Konoha, even taking them to the mountains a little bit as we give them a lesson on the history of the Bijuu and Konoha. Itachi will meet with the fifth-year students about to graduate and give them a lesson on genjutsu as it is not typically taught at the academy since few shinobi use it in comparison to ninjutsu and taijutsu. And for the second-year students, Ita and I will tag-team and take one day in the beginning of the school year to give a lecture on what it means to be a shinobi. Since we started this lecture, it has become popular among the academy and the students love it when they find out Ita and I are coming, sometimes the older kids will sneak in to hear our lecture again. It's really nothing more than a question answer session and sharing our experiences with the class, but the kids love it (though last year, I could only stay for part of the day as I was big and pregnant, so I kind of abandoned Itachi for the majority of it).
This year is particularly special for Ita and I because Hana was a second-year student at the academy and would get to be a part of our discussion. She was bouncing off the wall this morning, unable to contain her excitement that her parents would be coming to school for the famed Ultimate Tag Team Lecture. We walk hand-in-hand on our way to the Academy, planning on meeting the students just after lunch. Wearing our masks, we use a teleportation jutsu to appear magically before the class, making all the students shriek in surprise. Except for Hana, of course. She recognizes our ANBU masks and only crosses her arms, waiting for us to reveal ourselves.
"I got urgent news," I say, joking around, "the situation is dire and the only way to help is by calling in the Silent and Deadly!" At this point, I remove my mask and all the students start cheering.
Itachi plays along as he takes off his mask and says, "now tell me, who is the one causing you all so much trouble?"
All the kids leap into the air and raise their hands, begging to be picked. Itachi hops around his audience, his sharingan activated as if he actually has to attack someone. He then scoops down and picks up a little boy in the middle of the crowd and carries him on his shoulder as the boy squeals and is carried to the front. He looks over and sees Hana sitting towards the front so, just to tease her, he goes over and grabs her as well, then sits the two up front. I cross my arms and say, "What's this? Not one but two trouble makers? Unbelievable!"
Hana and the little boy are unable to control their laughter as Ita and I pretend to interrogate them, imitating Ibiki from the interrogation corps of ANBU. We play several different role-playing games throughout the session, picking out kids to act out different scenarios like they're shinobi on a mission. We then enter our Q&A session where the kids get to ask us whatever they want and we all talk about what they think it means to be a shinobi and why they want to become one in the first place. And somewhere in the midst of the questions of "how long have you been a shinobi?" "What was your hardest mission?" "How did you and Itachi get to be teammates?" and "How do you guys work together?" there always always comes the one question that everybody wants to hear the answer to and it's usually phrased in one of two ways:
"How did you and Itachi fall in love?" or "Could you tell us the story about you and Itachi?"
This year, it's Kai who asks the question. He and Hana are sitting together and they both scoot forward, eyeing me intently. Hana has heard bits and pieces of the story, at least the parts she was not there for, but I was saving the entirety of this story for this moment. I smile and exchange glances with Ita. As I had left him, he was forced to tell the story by himself last year, so I knew that it was only fair to tell it this time. Besides, I was better at telling the story anyway.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you the story," I say, taking a seat on Iruka's desk, "but before I do, I need you guys to do something for me, okay?"
The entire class nods and I look to the back of the class to find little heads poking through the door as the older students are filing into listen to the story. I smile and continue, "this is a very long story so I have to leave some of it out, but there is a meaning behind every word I say. I want you all to listen well to this story and walk out of here asking yourself what the story has taught you about what it means to be a ninja, okay?"
"Okay!" the all respond.
I smile and cross my arms and say, "well, before I officially begin, I have to tell you a little bit about myself and where I come from. Consider it a prologue to the main story. I will take you all the way from the day I was born to the day our twins were born, so brace yourselves for this tale. Are you ready?"
Growing too excited to contain themselves, all the kids start cheering out, "Yes!"
I laugh as Itachi wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head as I begin to tell the tale of a half-demon and a rogue Uchiha the same way as I have just told you: "I come from a huge family."
THE END
