Disclaimer:I don't anything from Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. Natsu is totally my slave though.

Chapter 3: Crescendo

Summer came not too long after the graduation for upperclassmen and school let us out for vacation. And with summer came along more free time which actually meant more time for training. I was improving my aim and overall physical body at a snail's space. Slowly, but surely.

I spent a lot of time training, ending up sweaty, sticky, and really gross right after.

That summer was also when I got my own apartment. Orphans in the academy could apply to get their own living area but most didn't. It wasn't for lack of want, just most of them were still too young to properly take care of themselves or they didn't know about it in the first place. I didn't have either problem.

I had done my research; I missed the privacy and comfort of having my own space.

Basically, I didn't have to pay rent, and I still got the monthly check for being an orphan which is what I was given to use for food, clothes, ect. But that was only until I finished with the academy and had a stable enough income to support myself. That was when I'd begin paying for my own stuff.

It did explain how Naruto had had his apartment despite his lack of guardian.

The apartment I got wasn't really anything special. It had a kitchen that was connected to a small living room. There was a hall with two doors leading to a little bedroom; the other door being a bathroom. It was quaint and cozy.

At times like this it really came in handy to have the mind of an adult. Even before getting an apartment, I had saved most of my money, only using it for things like some snacks since we were fed in the orphanage, clothing, or not totally necessary things like Itachi's gift and a little toad plush I had gotten for Naruto.

Despite the apartment needing a good scrub, I was still pretty damn pleased with it overall. I spent about a week cleaning it, getting second hand furniture and just making the place more homey and lived in.

I gave the kitchen a bit of special attention and treatment. My mom had owned a restaurant; it was safe to say that I really liked cooking. Making meals in my house had been our girl time and though the thought brought with it a pang of nostalgia, it wasn't the same, almost unbearable pain of before when it had sunk in just how much I had lost. I took it as a good sign.

The only downside of having my own place was that I got to spend less time with Naruto. It made me sad and guilty at the same time. As of now, I was the only one who showed the poor baby any affection. He had started crawling not too long and whenever I visited (and I made sure to visit as much as possible) he'd come to me excitedly.

I had read somewhere in half-remembered books on child development and care that I had kind of memorized for Lulu that children, especially in the first years of their life, needed attention and affection to help the brain develop well.

In the show, Naruto hadn't been stupid, a bit dense at times sure, but not stupid. If he had had someone caring for him from the beginning, someone to teach him to think through situations a little better, how much would have original events changed?

I figured I might as well find out. It was something at least. A start.

0o0o0o0o1o0o0o0o0o

One of the first things I'd done after successfully making my place my place, was to hunt down Itachi.

It wasn't easy at all. That guy was slippery and pretty good at not being found. Which was just ridiculous. After having spent an entire morning looking for him, and steadily getting more fed up as the hours ticked by, I finally pinned down the elusive Uchiha at a training ground a little ways from one of his regular training grounds.

"Natsu?" He sounded surprised. Itachi landed a few feet in front of me, breath slightly irregular and sweating. From the slightly noticeable bags under his eyes and paler than usual complexion, I could take a stab in the dark and guess the stupid idiot had been training himself into the ground since graduation.

Honestly, it was a good thing I was such a doting friend.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, putting away the kunai in his hand. He eyed me slightly wary, probably already guessing that I wouldn't let him continue his training right now. Damn right I wasn't.

"Looking for you," I answered not being able to help raising an eyebrow at him. I frowned. I hadn't seen him since graduation. I think he kind of expected our friendship to dissolve after it. Well, he had another thing coming. Motioning for him to follow me I said, "Join me for lunch. I haven't seen you in a while."

He fell into step next to me without a fuss, which made my lips twitch into an almost smile. Itachi was a big softie sometimes.

He didn't seem to want to talk, which I took in stride. I was just happy to be seeing him after not being able to do so for almost two months. I was rather content in just explaining what I'd been up, and I was a bit eager to show Itachi my new apartment.

We arrived quickly enough and I led him in and into the kitchen. I had prepared the onigiri already before having gone looking for my friend, so all I did was put the kettle on the stove for tea. There was a box of dango on the kitchen table as a little dessert.

I knew Itachi was fond of the snack, and since I had half expected him to be running himself haggard, I had stopped by to get some earlier as a sort of treat. Never let it be said that I didn't take care of my friends.

After serving the tea, we ate in silence. It wasn't awkward, despite the fact that I hadn't seen him for a while. It was like the silence we would sometimes have back in the academy when we sat under our usual tree.

Afterwards I had even managed to rope him into helping me with my aim, with a lot of exasperation and some reluctance on his part. It would still technically be training, I'd be getting a little more practice in with someone who was pretty damn good at it, and it was far less strenuous than the training Itachi had been doing before.

All in all, I counted the day as a win.

0o0o0o0o2o0o0o0o0o

The rest of vacation was pretty much uneventful. I trained, visited Naruto, and even managed to get a promise from Itachi to come by my apartment at least once every two weeks to eat and catch up.

Before I knew it school had started back up again.

My routine didn't change much. I went to school, visited Naruto, and had my semi-weekly lunch dates with Itachi. It was during one such lunch that I brought something up with my friend.

"Hey 'Tachi, what do you know about seals?" I asked casually once I'd finished eating.

"I am not very well versed in the subject," he responded thoughtfully after some silence. "Not many care to learn it. It is an obscure art." He paused. "Are you interested in it?"

"A bit," I admitted. "I can't find much on it in the books I could get and I know it's supposed to be taught by a Master but I'd like to know the basics at least." Fuinjutsu was as complicated as it was interesting. I wasn't planning on becoming a Seals Master but I was curious about it.

"Do you think you can get me a book on it?" I asked, putting on my best puppy dog eyes. If it had been anyone else but Itachi, they would have rolled their eyes. As it was, he looked as if he was about to give into the urge.

"I will see what I can do," he said, giving in. I smothered a grin but from the look on Itachi's face, I probably wasn't all that successful.

My birthday was coming up so he'd more than likely give it to me then. Itachi's birthday had already past, I'd managed to get him to tell me when it was a while back. I'd made him a cake and gotten him a new set of kunai. He went through them pretty quickly.

"Thanks!" I chirped, smiling.

0o0o0o0o3o0o0o0o0o

Time kept on passing and fall was right around the corner. The weather got cooler but still pleasant. That was the good thing about Fire Country, pleasant weather year-round.

I went through the book Itachi got me with single minded intensity. It was interesting, and this was barely the basics. Needless to say, it kept me very entertained.

Naruto was older now and was developing well. He was going to be a year old soon, which made me worried. The Kyuubi attack was still fresh in a lot of people's minds. The wounds were still new. I hoped they wouldn't go after a defenseless baby, but you never knew.

These people wanted a scapegoat, something they found in Naruto. They were mourning still but it wasn't an excuse to blatantly neglect a child as much as they had done.

There wasn't much I could do about that. There wasn't much I could do about anything right now. I scowled.

I hated being helpless.

0o0o0o0o4o0o0o0o0o

October tenth rolled around rather quickly. People spent it either locked up in their homes or drinking themselves into oblivion. Some did both.

There was a cemetery for civilians and a different one for shinobi. My current destination was the one for civilians. Not too long after I'd been thrown into the orphanage, I was given a paper telling me where this body's parents had been buried. I had never visited before.

I skipped school, packed a bento and a thermos of hot tea before heading out. I stopped by the flower shop to get three different types of flowers. Purple hyacinth for please forgive me, bluebells for gratitude, and cyclamen for goodbye.

I found their graves easily enough and cleared any weeds that had popped up before setting down the flowers. I sat in front of the two graves, going through the memories of the body I was in before remembering all I could from my world, all the happy times spent with my family. I was probably there for hours, silently mourning.

I ate my bento and drank my tea there. Mom and I had done that sometimes for dad after he had died, eating a meal and pretending to eat with him though he wasn't there anymore. When the sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was noon or later, I stood up, stretching my legs. I wanted to stop by and see Naruto, to make sure he was okay and wish him a happy birthday.

When I left, my shoulders felt lighter than before.

0o0o0o0o5o0o0o0o0o

"I hate you."

I glared at the tree in front of me. I was sweaty and dirty and really in need of a bath. My chakra reserves were good for my age and I had semi-good control so it was baffling why I couldn't seem to learn tree walking.

I had already spent two days on it, carefully toeing the line to chakra exhaustion. I wanted to know my limit, but I was incredibly careful to not actually kill myself from exhaustion. That'd just be embarrassing.

I tried again, managing to beat my previous record but still falling.

I stayed on the floor, catching my breath and panting.

Maybe I wasn't using enough chakra. Seeing as the tree hadn't explode, I wasn't using too much. I wrinkled my nose but dragged myself up. I wasn't going to stop until I had gotten this down. And I swore I'd get this down.

With renewed vigor, I ran for the tree again, making sure to use more chakra than before. To my surprise, I stuck. I kept running up before I stopped and just stood there, still sticking to the tree. I grinned.

Holy fucking shit.

With the way I was improving, I might actually make it.

Shinigami could kiss my ass. I was going to do this. I was definitely giving this world a better ending. Failure was not an option.

Because of my internal celebration, my concentration and chakra wavered. I fell off, landing with a thump on the ground.

"Ow," I groaned. I looked up at the sky, being unable to help the smile that graced my face. God, those thoughts were corny. Still, I was proud.

This was progress. Baby steps were the key.

Preview:

I twitched, staring intently at the little book.

I shouldn't, really really shouldn't. But I was so so curious.

Fuck it. I snatched the book. Curiosity killed the cat, but whatever.

Please leave a review.