Here's another chapterr. Sorry ):
Chapter 7: Merry Christmas
True to my predictions, Naruto and Sasuke were uncontrollable without the older Uchiha around. Not that Seiichi or I were any more well behaved. The pranks that erupted within the walls of the Uchiha compound turned the place upside down.
On the first day, every house with the exception of ours had their salt and sugar switched, much to the annoyance of the clan. None of them bothered to figure out who did it though, and we got off scot-free.
On the second day, the Uchihas found their undergarments hung on their doorway, exposed for the rest of the clan to see. Sadly, most of those undergarments were either black or grey thus the streets were not as colourful as expected. The Uchiha were really mad this time, and tried to find out who dared to prank the almighty clan. Most of them suspected us, but had no proof.
The bomb hit when most of them came out of their houses the next day with bright multicoloured hair. This time, however, they came straight to the house and demanded for us.
"Is there a problem?" Mikoto, who answered the door, asked.
"This has gone too far, Mikoto-sama. The first two pranks we could let go, but this," he pointed as his hot pink hair. "This will affect me carrying out my mission, and not to mention the pride of the Uchiha."
Mikoto held back a giggle at his hair. Putting on a straight face, she asked, "Do you think my children would make fun of their own clan?"
"I- I didn't mean your children, Mikoto-sama. I was referring to the demo- I mean your guests." He said.
Mikoto narrowed her eyes at his slip. "I assure you that both Naruto and Mizuno have been very good children. Come to me only if you can prove that it was them. Otherwise, do not disturb me just to make false accusations. Good luck on your mission." She shut the door in his face.
The four of us, who were hiding behind the couch watching the whole scene, scampered away when she turned slowly to face us.
"Come back here! All of you have some explaining to do!" She shouted.
We crawled back and stood in front of her, facing the ground guiltily.
"I'll let this go if they really can't find any proof. But you guys will face the consequences if you didn't cover your tracks well enough, understand?" She glared.
"Hai..." we chorused.
"Don't worry okaa-san, we were extremely careful when we were doing the pranks. They won't find anything on us!" Seiichi assured his mother.
"I hope not... lunch is in two hours. Don't be late!" She gave her a salute before running off to do our daily training
.Naruto and I were improving a lot in our taijutsu, after sparring with the brothers and getting pointers from Fugaku when he returned at night. We aided Sasuke and Seiichi in the tree walking exercise, and trained our stealth together by carrying out pranks. Overall, I would say that life was definitely more eventful after moving in with the Uchihas.
The next day during lunch, Mikoto explained to us what would happen that night. "Be bathed by four so I can dress you up, okay? We'll be going to the festival in the village for family day."
Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of 'family day'. "We'll be joining your family?" He asked.
"What are you talking about, idiot. You're almost part of the family already." Sasuke told him.
Naruto looked like he was going to cry.
Mikoto laughed and ruffled Naruto's hair. "We are more than happy to provide you a home, Naruto-kun." She lifted her head to look at me. "You too, Mizuno-chan."
I smiled at her gratefully.
"Alright, enough sentimental stuff." Seiichi said. "Let's get back to training."
Mikoto pouted. "All you do now is train, Seiichi. You don't spend time with your okaa-san anymore."
Seiichi was silent for a moment, before he rolled his eyes. "We're going for a festival later. Isn't that spending time with you?"
Mikoto laughed and shooed us away before clearing the table.
"Let's spar today!" I exclaimed. "Me and Seiichi, Sasuke and Naruto. Okay?"
They nodded and we went into the field.
"Why don't you spend more time with your mother?" I asked Seiichi as the both of us walked away from Naruto and Sasuke, preparing to spar.
Seiichi did not answer, choosing to get into his stance instead. I frowned, getting into mine.
He came at me first, with a sloppy punch towards my head. I caught his wrist and twisted his arm, aiming a kick for his stomach. He blocked and headbutted me, forcing me to release my grip.
I recovered quickly, bending down to avoid a jab and executed a perfect leg sweep. Seiichi stumbled onto the ground, falling flat on his stomach. He did not try to get up, and just laid there unmoving.
I sighed and sat under a nearby tree, watching Naruto and Sasuke spar. After awhile, Seiichi got up and sat beside me.
"Why are we here?" He asked, in English.
"I don't know." I replied.
"They're gonna die, aren't they? And I'm powerless to stop it." He said.
"Would you stop it? If you had the power to?" I asked.
He shut his eyes, a pained expression on his face. "Would you?" He asked me.
I thought about it for awhile. In a way, I was also a part of the Uchiha family now. The death of the Uchiha clan would sadden me as well, though not as much as it would Seiichi. Afterall, it was the massacre that changed Sasuke from an innocent and cheerful boy to a person who only thought about vengeance. But it was either that, or a civil war in Konoha. Maybe I was selfish, or a coward, but the former definitely sounded better. I was too afraid of an unknown future, and Seiichi probably feels the same.
"No, I wouldn't." I replied.
He nodded."Itachi felt that the massacre was a better choice. I guess he's right."
I frowned. "It doesn't mean you should distance yourself from your family, you know. That would make your parents sad..."
Seiichi sighed. "I know."
I put my arm around his shoulders, in an attempt to comfort him.
"I'm fine, really. I had lived for seven years knowing all this anyway. I'm more worried about Sasuke, and even Itachi." He said.
"You're worried for Itachi?" I asked.
"He sacrificed himself for all of us, then died. That's not gonna happen this time, not when I know the truth." He declared.
I smiled. "I won't let him die, either."
Seiichi raised his eyebrows at me. "Why? Are you in love with my brother now?"
I flushed. "What? No way! It's just-"
"He's sooo hot and noble and... perfect?" He gushed.
I growled, standing up and pointing towards the field.
"Get up, Uchiha Seiichi, break is over." I said in Japanese, effectively ending our discussion.
Seiichi laughed and walked towards me. "I won't go easy on you."
"You won't have the chance to." I grinned.
The match ended with Seiichi winning, just like always. I swear I was going to beat him some day, maybe after I got used to swapping styles while fighting.
We had taken a bath, and I was waiting for Mikoto to finish dressing up the boys. I was in my room alone, as Naruto got dragged into the brothers' room.
The door creaked open, revealing Mikoto carrying a green kimono and a box of accessories. She ordered me to stand up, as she got to work.
Soon, I was dressed in the kimono and had my hair up in a bun, with a white sakura flower attached to it.
"You look beautiful." Mikoto said softly. I probably reminded her of my mother.
I smiled at her. "Thanks."
She patted my head. "The boys are downstairs, could you make sure they don't mess up their clothes while I get ready?"
"Sure." I laughed. We walked down the stairs together, and I entered the living room as she went to hers.
When I stepped into the room, I felt three pairs of eyes turn to me. The three boys were sitting on the sofa, watching me as i walked in. Naruto was wearing a blue kimono with the same spirally patterns as mine, while Sasuke's and Seiichi's had the Uchiha fans on theirs, wearing black and silver respectively.
"You guys look good." I told them, walking in their direction.
"So do you." Sasuke said. Was that a blush on his face?
"You look reeeaally pretty Mizuno! You should dress up like that more often!" Naruto grinned.
I smacked his head. "How am I going to train in this get-up, baka!"
"You should act like a lady more often too." Seiichi commented.
I smiled, sitting down close next to him. I placed my hand on his tigh, sliding my hand up and down. "Is this lady enough, Seiichi-kun?"
He smirked. "Not really. Want to move closer?"
"What are you two doing?" Naruto asked.
"You'll be sitting on his lap if you move any closer." Sasuke said to me.
I blinked a few times, remembering there were innocent kids who weren't actually twenty-five years old.
Seiichi rolled his eyes. "We're bonding, Naruto, bonding. You wanna join in?"
Naruto looked confused. "Why are you two bonding for?"
I laughed and sat beside him. "It's to improve family relationship. Like this." I gave him a hug.
He just grinned and hugged me back. "I like bonding."
Mikoto walked in then, smiling at the loving scene. "I see you guys are getting into the mood already. Shall we go?"
"Yea!" Sasuke cheered. "I bet I could win more games than you all."
"You're on!" We accepted the challenge.
"Control youself. Don't bring shame to the Uchiha name." Fugaku commanded, walking into the living room as well.
"Hai!" We said, putting on our shoes and running out of the house.
We went to the village, played games, bought food to eat, and took a full family photo, excluding Itachi. It was a pity, that he couldn't spend the last family day with his family.
I requested for a small print of the photo, deciding to give it to Itachi when he returned.
"Is that for Itachi?" Seiichi asked when he saw the small photo.
I nodded.
"So... there was something between you two after all."
I gave him an exasperated look. "I just thought it was sad he couldn't join us today, okay?"
Seiichi laughed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a locket. "Here. I won this at one of the games just now." He said.
I took the necklace and slid the picture into the locket. It fitted perfectly.
"It would be a nice Christmas present for him." I told Seiichi.
"We don't celebrate Christmas anymore." He reminded me.
"I know." I sighed. "But here." I took out a box from my bag of prizes and handed it to him. "Merry Christmas!"
He opened the box, carefully taking out the bracelet inside. It had ten coloured stones strung on it, an English letter carved on each.
"Earthlings?" He asked.
I held up my wrist, which held the same bracelet, for him to see. "Just a little token for our little club."
"I think we're still on Earth, though." He said.
"If you're gonna nitpick at my present you can just pass it back." I growled.
"Just kidding." He strapped the bracelet on his wrist.
The festival ended with bright fireworks lighting up the skies of Konoha, as we sat outside the Uchiha compound watching it. Fugaku had his arms around Mikoto, while the rest of us lay on the grass watching the show.
"I'm going to become the Hokage." Naruto suddenly declared.
"Why the sudden thought, Naruto?" Mikoto asked.
"I'm happy now, here, in this village. I wanna protect that!" Naruto said cheerfully.
"I'm sure you can." Mikoto laughed.
"Yeah, in a hundred years." Sasuke snorted.
"What did you say, teme!" Naruto hit him lightly.
"You'll make a horrible Hokage if you are angered so easily. Shinobi should control their emotions." Fugaku scolded.
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Can you train us tonight, Fugaku-san?"
Fugaku looked thoughtful. "I guess. Follow me."
The family, excluding Mikoto who left for home, got up and followed Fugaku to the lake. He made some hand seals, spitting out a huge fireball.
My eyes widened. Was he going to teach us the fireball jutsu?
Fugaku turned to us. "The hand seals are horse, snake, ram, monkey, horse, tiger. Practice the seals first, then use chakra."
"Whoa that's so cool!" Sasuke exclaimed. "I can't wait to do it!"
"Patience, Sasuke." Seiichi said.
I laughed when I saw Naruto itching to try it out too. I went through the hand seals a few times, without the chakra. After all of us did it for around a hundered times, we turned to Fugaku for permission to perform the jutsu. At his nod, we spread out to different sides of the lake, trying it.
When I channelled chakra to my mouth, I felt a strange pull on my abdominal area. It felt different from the previous times I used chakra, so I held it back. The results were disappointing. I only managed to spit out a sphere the size of my fist.
I looked around at the rest. Sasuke managed a half a body sized ball, and Seiichi's slightly larger than his. Naruto, however...
"Did you see that?" Naruto asked excitedly.
We were stunned. Naruto's fireball was almost as big as Fugaku's, but it felt different. It was more sinister, more deadly. He must have accidentally drawed on the Kyuubi's chakra due to the large amount of chakra required for this technique.
"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked.
I saw Fugaku frown. He probably did not expect the Kyuubi to appear now. He looked struggled, debating whether to reveal the secret or not.
"It's the Kyuubi, isn't it?" Seiichi said.
I whipped around to glare at him. What the hell was he thinking?
"How do you know about it?" Fugaku asked Seiichi, his eyes stern.
"I... guessed? Is it true?" Seiichi put on his best innocent look.
Fugaku sighed, motioning for us to sit down. We obeyed, waiting to see what he was going to tell us.
"The Kyuubi was the beast that attacked Konoha and killed the Fourth, wasn't he?" Sasuke asked. "What does it have to do with Naruto?"
"The Fourth sacrificed himself to save the village, he wasn't killed. He exchanged his life to seal the Kyuubi into somebody, a newborn." Fugaku informed Sasuke.
Naruto looked confused. "Sealed it?"
Fugaku nodded. "It was too powerful to be killed, so he sealed it into a baby."
"Our birthday's on the day the Fourth died. So..." I feigned realisation
He nodded again. "It was sealed into Naruto."
Everybody went silent, the truth sinking in.
"Why didn't anybody tell me? Is that why everybody hates me so much?" Naruto asked.
"This is an S-class secret, so none of you are to tell anybody about it, understood?" He said.
Naruto and Sasuke nodded dumbly, while I went back to glaring at Seiichi. He had alot of explaining to do.
Suddenly, two ANBU landed in front of us, looking around. "Fugaku-sama, the Hokage requires your presence."
"I understand." Fugaku turned to us. "Can you kids go back to the compound by yourselves?"
We nodded, and he disappeared together with the ANBU.
"Does it hurt? Having a beast in you?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence as we walked.
Naruto laughed at his question. "I didn't even know I had something like that. It... it doesn't hurt me. It's other people who do."
Sasuke slung his arm around Naruto's shoulders. "We'll get stronger so no one can bully you anymore, okay?"
Naruto grinned at him. "Obviously, no one would dare to bully the future Hokage!"
I saw Seiichi smile from the corner of my eye. Maybe, maybe letting Naruto know of the furball would be better for him afterall. Furthermore, allowing Sasuke in on the secret made them closer, and would help him to understand Naruto more.
That night, I went to the balcony once again to clear my mind. The world now had deviated a lot from the canon storyline. How would that change things?
"You shouldn't dwell on things too much, you know." Seiichi walked up beside me, carrying a box in his hands.
"What's this?" I asked, pointing at the box.
He passed it to me, gesturing for me to open it. I lifted the lid, eyes widening at what I saw. It was a real, metal kunai, unlike the one we use for training, and had a globe drawn on the hilt.
"I thought you said we were still on Earth." I said.
He rolled his eyes. "Maybe we aren't."
I smiled and put the kunai back into the box. "Thank you."
"Merry Christmas." He told me.
"Merry Christmas!" I laughed.