The first year of academy was slowly but surely coming to an end. The tree branches were empty, their beautiful green leaves missing. With the way they were groaning and creaking during windy days I can say for certain that they were ready to cover themselves in a snowy blanket and wait for spring to come. The one who said that time flies when you're busy doing what you like surely knew what he was saying.
"I think we are done for today, Shun." After hearing those holy words I crumble to the hard ground with a loud groan.
"Kami, it's finally over!" I say, letting my left arm fall on my face, covering my eyes from the light wind.
"You're such a whiny baby, Shun. We were going easy on you this time." I hear the voice of my best friend coming somewhere from my right.
"Sure you were." I reply, not convinced in the slightest.
"Yes, we were. I mean, I know I was. I can't really speak for Itachi-kun, but I was certainly going easy on you just so you won't complain again about how hard the training is." She almost shouted, seeing that I wasn't persuaded by her answer.
"It seems we must change tactics, Hana-san. Going easy on him didn't work as well as we hoped it will." Chimed Itachi. "If this didn't work, then we can try something different..." He trailed off, looking contemplative at the grey sky. Practically hearing the smirk in his voice, I lift the arm that covered my eyes just so I can glare in his direction.
"If he doesn't want to train, then who are we to stop him from doing it, right?" He asked, glancing in Hana's direction. I'm more than sure there was some sort of hidden meaning behind that silent exchange because a small grin started spreading on Hana's face.
"You're right, Itachi-kun." She answered. "Who are we to stop him from laying around? We will keep improving after every training session and in the end we will graduate, leaving this slacker to stumble alone on his way to become a ninja because he was too lazy to train with us when he had the chance." Hana said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"WHAT?" I lift myself from the ground looking between the two traitors that are more than ready to throw me to the lions. "You can't do that, guys! We're friends, right?" I ask, a tint of hope coating my words. "Right?"
"Yes, we are friends." Itachi sighed, right hand going through his bangs to stop them from obscuring his vision due to the wind outside.
"But know that we won't stop the training just because you don't want to improve yourself." Damn it Hana. You know I'm too lazy for this ninja thing. Well, maybe lazy is not the right word, more like unmotivated to continue with it.
"Fine, you win." I say with a pout, trying my best to convey my irritation with the whole situation. Hana rolled her eyes and Itachi looked unimpressed by my attempt of making myself the victim.
I guess you're wondering how I got stuck with these two hard-headed kids, right? Well, remember when I gave Itachi the bento box I prepared for him? Yeah, it kinda started from there...
The day after I was bit by that evil dog at the Inuzuka compound, Itachi came to me during lunchtime to offer me a bento he made himself as thanks for the one I made him. After that, we pretty much started some sort of a bento exchange between us that led to him asking if Hana and I wanted to train together.
And the rest is history.
Now, after months of training and spending time together, we came to the conclusion that we are indeed friends. Even if I consider them little monsters that are trying to kill me every chance they get.
"Man, I'm starving!" Hana, such an honest kid, how can you not love her? She's like my spirit animal, always hungry and ready to fight anyone for no reason but she's too energetic to completely represent me.
"Yeah, me too." I cut in.
"We could all go to my place." Suggested Hana. "Kaa-san is not home but I'm sure we still have some leftovers from yesterday to keep our hunger at bay."
"That's not an option, idiot." I say, shoving her playfully to the side.
"I'm certain the only ones who will get to eat are the dogs from your compound. 'Cause last time I checked, one of them already got a taste of me!" I'll never forget that day. It was a disaster, well, not completely, because that's how I met Inari, but it still has a low score compared to other more pleasant memories.
"If it wasn't an option I wouldn't have offered the idea, you idiot!" She replies shoving me to the ground. The push was stronger than I expected, the moment my body made contact with the dirt left me breathless for a second. Taking advantage of my condition, Hana climbs on my fallen body and without a second thought, she starts tickling me.
'Oh, Kami! I hate when people tickle me.' In practically no time, my best friend has me in tears from too much laughing. She shows no signs of wavering in her attacks when I almost start to beg her to stop, but thankfully she stops when she hears Itachi speak.
"Uh, I think you should stop, Hana-san." He says. "He looks like he's going to pass out any minute now."
Hearing him say that makes Hana hesitate in continuing with my torture. One look in my direction convinced her he wasn't actually wrong, because my face was so red that you could probably confuse it for a tomato.
'Itachi my man, I owe you another one.' First, he shows me how to properly throw a kunai and now he saves me from my own best friend. What's next? He shoves me aside and takes a hit that's meant for me?
"About the food..." The prodigy trails off, looking around the training ground for the rest of his shuriken. "Kaa-san told me to invite you to dinner because she wants to meet 'the classmates I'm training with' as she said." He adds, putting back the shuriken and kunai he used during training today.
"Really?" I think I'm left deaf in my right ear by the sheer volume of Hana's voice. Itachi offers her a slight nod of his head.
"I've never been to the Uchiha compound! I've heard it's huge!" She keeps on babbling, gesturing with her hands how big she thinks the place will be.
And that's how we found ourselves in the Uchiha household. We were enthusiastically welcomed by the Uchiha matriarch who couldn't stop smiling once she saw how 'cute and small' we were. Her words, not mine.
After she almost strangled us to death with her motherly embrace, she told us to make ourselves comfortable and to take a sit at the low table while she prepares the dinner.
Once seated, Itachi came into the room with some tea and a small beaming ball of sunshine on his tow that he introduced as his younger brother, Sasuke.
"He is so cute!" Hana was already on her feet and ready to grab the poor kid's rosy cheeks. Fortunately for the small Uchiha, she stopped in her tracks once she felt a glare that was made specially for her.
"Oh come on, Itachi-kun! You can't keep that cute baby just for yourself." She pouted. "Can I hold him?" She asked, a small ray of hope showing itself in her eyes.
After placing the tray on the table, Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose in quiet exasperation pondering whether leaving his brother in the hands of the likes of Hana was worth the beginning of a headache.
"Fine." He said with a sigh. Hana was practically beaming. "But try to keep your voice to a normal level. Otou-san is home and he doesn't like when it gets noisy in the house."
After he made sure the warning reached its supposed target, Itachi turned to his younger brother who was looking around with big wide eyes. The heir nudged his brother to go to the Inuzuka female that was smiling hopelessly at the kid, waiting for him to come to her. Seeing that his precious aniki wanted him to do something, the almost two year-old Sasuke started his small journey to the girl.
Not wasting any precious moments of her 'playing time' or what Sasuke was about to consider torture, Hana takes the baby in her arms and plops herself at the table, placing the poor kid in her lap.
"You are so adorable!" She gushes pinching Sasuke's cheeks. "I mean, not as cute as my brother, 'cause he's the most adorable baby in the world, but a strong candidate for the second place." More gushing sounds. Ugh, why must girls behave like that around children and dogs? It would be funny if it wasn't so disturbing. I hated that in the past when I was a girl. I certainly hate it now that I'm a boy.
Finally understanding the position he got himself into, Sasuke turns his head towards his brother silently pleading for help. Unfortunately for him, Itachi was calmly sitting at the low table munching on some dango, pretending not to see the look he was receiving.
Noticing his brother's lack of attention, the small child puffs his pink cheeks in exasperation before turning his attention on me. I don't know if the past lives are supposed to follow you to the next ones, but apparently in my case they do. My dislike for kids of all ages is not as pronounced as before but it was still there.
The look Sasuke was throwing in my direction was enough to make me lose my appetite for the sweets on the table. I'll have to give the kid bonus points for his effort and perseverance because all the action happened in the span of a couple minutes. Hana was still none the wiser.
After some minutes of silent pleading and trying to keep his tears to himself, Sasuke finally loses his temper and with a swift motion, he punches the lights out of my poor best friend. Ok, maybe he didn't really knock her out, but I'll bet my sandwich recipe that the punch hurt as bad as it looked.
Being caught by surprise by the small baby hand that wasn't supposed to hit her, Hana gives a high-pitched scream and throws the poor kid out of her lap. Sasuke doesn't seem to mind the action 'cause in the next second he turns around and starts crawling to his brother, trying to hide from the beast known as Hana.
"You snotty brat! How could you do this to me?" Here comes the renowned temper of the Inuzuka clan. "I was just playing around and you spoiled-"
"Hana, cut the kid some slack. He's just a baby. They don't know what they're doing." I interrupted the raging girl before she said something she'll regret.
"What's with all that noise?"
Hearing those words, all four of us stopped whatever we were doing.
My lungs weren't collaborating with me, 'cause I'm certain my breath left my body and wasn't interested in getting back to keep me alive. I mean why would I even need that air, seeing as the owner of the voice was sure to kill us all once he reached the room.
The next few seconds were painfully agonising for us. I was shaking like a leaf, Hana's eyes were as wide as the shuriken targets and I could swear I saw Itachi take a gulp of air before the shogi door was opened. To increase the beatings our poor hearts were taking, the person on the next side of the door stopped just before entering the room, leaving us with only the view of his right foot and his hand on the doorway.
"Itachi, what's the meaning of this?"
The poor boy didn't stand a chance against the withering look his father was throwing him. Watching us with a frown deeper than the Kirigakure's waters, Fugaku looked as imposing as ever. His serious eyes were tracing our every move without even bothering to acknowledge us.
Discretely throwing a glance in Itachi's direction, I decide it was time to put my manners to use. In a swift yet stumbling motion, I got on my feet and without a second thought, I proceeded to deeply bow in front of the frowning man.
"Hello, Uchiha-sama. My name is Nakamura Shun and I am one of Itachi's classmates. It is an honor to finally meet you." All this time, my eyes were glued to the spotlessly cleaned floors. With my weak willpower, I was not able to make eye contact with the Uchiha patriarch not even for a mere second.
As if being shaken by my introduction, my best friend gets up from the table and walks towards the older man. Noticing my slight shaking form, she nods her head as a small encouragement and proceeds to mumble a small greeting. "Hi! It's a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha-san." Then, as if struck by something, she remembers that for a proper greeting, you also need to introduce yourself. Not missing a beat, she adds: "I'm Inuzuka Hana." She discreetly says, hiding her discomfort under a big smile.
"Hn." Yeah, that's the best we'll ever get from Fugaku, especially after we made a ruckus in his house.
"Itachi, come with me." He orders the kid and leaves expecting the boy to follow him. Being a dutiful brother, the Uchiha heir tells Sasuke to behave before he got up and left the room after his father.
"Do you think he'll kill Itachi?" Asks Hana after some minutes of dead silence.
Before I get the chance to throw her a 'what is wrong with you' look she continues. "Or even worse! What if he kills Itachi and blames us for it? That can't happen! This is my first time visiting the Uchiha compound. What will my mother say when she hears it?!"
My poor best friend is practically eating her nails with all the stress of the situation. "Shun are you even listening?"
"Yes, I am." I tell her, rolling my eyes. "You have to calm down. We won't be blamed for murder because nothing is going to happen. Worst case scenario, we will be forced to stop coming here. Best case scenario, I don't know." I say shrugging.
Apparently, luck seemed to be on our side.
After the terrifying meeting with Uchiha Fugaku, Itachi has been returned to us completely unharmed and only a little bit shaken.
When asked about the 'forced interrogation', we found out that his father only wanted us to be responsible children and to keep the noise to a minimum because he had a meeting with some Police Force officers this evening.
Life is full of different lessons that are taught to us through the people we choose to surround ourselves with. In our case, today we learnt that if Fugaku says something, you don't ask, you simply comply. And us, being the small soldiers that we are, we chose to follow his request to the letter.
The only sounds that were heard throughout the Uchiha manor were my occasional slurping of food and Hana's subtle attempts of beckoning Sasuke to her side while we enjoyed the delicious food prepared by Itachi's mother.
After we finished eating, Hana and I collectively decided it was time to call it a day. I silently prayed not to meet Fugaku on our way out because my poor psyche couldn't possibly handle another encounter with that man. His wife on the other hand, was a godsend because she didn't want to let us go without taking with us the home-made sweets she packed.
"Thank you very much for letting us in your home and for the food, Mikoto-sama." I say while giving her the most respectful bow I could manage while holding the packed sweets to my chest.
"Oh, nonsense, Shun-kun." She smiles down at me. "The two of you are always welcome here." She continues after hugging Hana and I.
"Be careful on your way home!"
"Don't worry, Mikoto-san. I will protect Shun if something were to happen to him!" Claims Hana with a toothy grin.
"Protect me? I am the man here, idiot! It's my job to protect my girl friend not the other way around." I huff in feigned exasperation at my best friend.
"I'm sure you will, Shun." I hear Itachi add under his breath while trying his best to fight a small smile from showing on his face.
"I'll pretend I never heard you doubting my male abilities in front of your mother, Uchiha." I say squinting suspiciously in his direction.
"Anyway. Have a nice evening, Mikoto-sama! Say hi to your brother for us, Itachi." I bid goodbye to our host and her son before turning around leaving the Uchiha manor with my best friend in tow.
Who would have thought there'll be a day when I get to meet Itachi's parents? Me neither.
The Universe keeps surprising me with every new day spent in this world. Hopefully, these surprises will be only of the good kind, but knowing my shitty luck there's got to be something bad in store for us in the near future.
