Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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Chapter 4
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On the way to her home, Naruto was skipping again, a happy smile on her face. She was singing in the street joyfully while she thought back to her day at school.
"Weee eeer' fiiighting dreaama', ta-akamiii wo meeezashiiite~"
After her exam (that she had totally aced, dattebayo!), it had been a calm day to spend alongside Sakura-chan and Ino-chan. School was so much more interesting with her friends! They had learnt about the five elements and chakra today. At first, it had made no sense to her, but thanks to Sakura-chan's drawings and explanations and Ino's helpful comments, Naruto had finally managed to understand the most important parts of the lesson. Theory wasn't that hard when it was explained with easy words. Sakura-chan should definitely become a teacher; she'd be the best at it in Naruto's opinion!
Since she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, she missed a man coming out of a store as she went past it and they collided briefly. Even if it didn't hurt, she stepped back and let out a cry of surprise.
"Hey, careful, kiddo!" the man warned as he glanced down at her.
Naruto rubbed her forehead sheepishly. "Eh, it's okay, I'm sorry," she grinned bashfully.
When she looked up at him, she noticed that he was staring at her with a barely concealed anger in his eyes.
"Fuck off, brat," he snarled at her, his eyebrows narrowed and with glowing pupils.
Naruto tensed, her good mood dropping suddenly. There it went again.
She swallowed and glared at the man despite the painful weight that was settling in her chest. "I didn't do it on purpose, you're at fault too-ttebayo!" she retorted defensively.
His eyes widened slightly with rage filling them and he approached her menacingly, his teeth visible from the grimace he was making. "You damned little bastard-!" he started.
But Naruto didn't let him the time to finish his answer. She gritted her teeth and stomped on his foot, causing him to scream in pain (serves him right!) before she ran past him as quickly as she could.
Idiot! Mean bastard! She hadn't done anything wrong! She had apologized while he hadn't! Just because he was older than her didn't mean that he was entitled to treat her that way! She hated these eyes, these looks, these snarls; she hated them so much.
Forgetting all about her day, she went back to her apartment, her heart heavy, as she wondered once again why the villagers treated her this way. Before he had looked at her, he had sounded nice; however, as soon as he realized who she was, his tone had completely changed.
What was wrong with her?
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The wind was blowing gently on the grass under the sun as the singing of birds enveloped the scenery. However, slowly and progressively, the atmosphere became much heavier; the colour of the sky changed to a deep red and the clouds turned black. The chant of the birds started to sound distraught and the flow of the wind resounded violently. The enemy should feel fear taking hold of his being now; they would be paralysed as they'd lose more and more connection to their senses. It would be then time to-
When he sensed that a familiar chakra signature was approaching him, Shisui broke the mudra his hands were forming and the genjutsu he was working on dissipated immediately. He stood up slowly and dusted his clothes when he finally noticed his training partner's silhouette coming out from the woods.
He waved at his younger cousin with a happy grin as he tried to ignore the faint stab in his heart at the sight of the child's ANBU armour. He still thought that Itachi was way too young to be part of this unit, which was why, when the Hokage had suggested that he also joined them; he had decided to accept so that he could at least try to lessen the burden on Itachi's shoulders. Shisui suspected that this proposition had something to do with his meddling with Itachi's first ANBU mission, although he couldn't be too sure.
Itachi smiled back at Shisui and greeted him silently. The younger boy seemed tired and the lines under his eyes had deepened since the last time he had seen him.
"And here I thought that you had forgotten about little old me," Shisui joked as he ruffled his cousin's hair, "how have you been doing?"
The fact that Itachi didn't stop him was just another sign that he wasn't in the greatest shape. After all, other than Sasuke, no one was allowed to touch these beautiful and long silky locks. "I just came back from a mission. It went fine."
That was not what Shisui had asked of him, but he knew that he wouldn't get more information about his mental state. With a slight nod, Shisui sat back on the ground as he indirectly invited his companion to do the same. Without a word, Itachi complied, his eyes fixated on an invisible spot on the grass.
Without looking at him, Itachi started to talk. "Did you notice any change, lately?"
Shisui frowned in response. He knew that Itachi was most likely speaking about the situation of the clan. The Uchihas still preferred to stay within the compound in order to avoid the tension with the villagers, although some of them refused to surrender and acted as if nothing was wrong while still being careful not to cause any more trouble. He hadn't noticed any progression yet, but, at least, the situation hadn't seemed to worsen either.
Itachi's eyes finally settled on him, tired, almost grieving. "When I came back, I had a talk with my father. According to what he told me, the idea of a coup was brought up again during the last meeting and they are considering it seriously now."
Shisui stiffened as he felt a cold chill run down his spine.
He hadn't attended the last meeting. He silently cursed.
Both teenagers stared silently at each other for a moment, processing the significance of this information. The Uchihas wanted to betray their village. This idea had been suggested a few times during their clan meetings, but usually it was quickly dismissed with rational reasons. Inwardly, he wondered if his mother was for it. As he thought back to the conversation he had had with her the previous night, he felt sick. Of course, she was.
Shisui closed his eyes tightly as if to wash away his dark thoughts and he cleared his throat. "We have to keep our goal in mind, Itachi. This… plan is just a temporary solution. If we manage to make things better, they will soon forget about it."
He saw Itachi glancing sideways, a frown marring his face.
"Is there anything else?"
Itachi shook his head. "Not really, no. I'm just…" he paused. "I'm worried."
Shisui smiled and patted him softly on the shoulder. "Hey."
"I'm worried for Sasuke," Itachi added.
Ahhh. Now, it would become more delicate. He stared carefully at the younger boy's face, trying to see what was on his mind exactly.
"Because of the treatment we were already given, I was a bit worried about Sasuke's situation in the village. As of now, everything seems to be going well," Itachi explained. "However, if the clan decides to rebel, they might start acting more aggressively towards the rest of the villagers and only fuel their suspicions and their prejudices."
"And the children will be the first victims of the consequences of their actions," Shisui finished, his face serious.
Itachi nodded, his face grim.
His analysis wasn't wrong, per se; still, Shisui believed that he was seeing a bit too far in the future. Shisui liked to be optimistic, but more importantly, he stayed realistic. He was well aware of their predicament, that's why he believed that as long as they acted conscientiously and endeavoured to build a better relationship with the rest of the villagers, the Uchiha clan would manage to prosper in Konoha. He just needed to buy more time and change his clansmen's mind about this foolish idea.
"Itachi," he drew his cousin's attention to himself once again, "you have a day off then, don't you?"
"Um, tomorrow, yes," Itachi confirmed.
Shisui grinned. "Great! How about we spend the day together with your brother? We can make sure that everything's fine with him and train him a little bit. It's been a while since we didn't have the chance to do that, right?" he suggested. Not only would it make Sasuke happy and reassure them, it would also brighten Itachi's mood and help him recharge more efficiently.
Moreover, Shisui loved watching those two together.
Itachi seemed to relax a bit at the prospect of spending time with his younger brother. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I should probably go back home, anyway, it's starting to get dark. We can meet up tomorrow at noon."
"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Shisui approved and he stood up. But as he did so, he felt a slight tickle on his left arm. When he glanced at it, he noticed the now-familiar handwriting traced with ink on his skin.
Hello, can we talk?
Shisui's left eyebrow went up. Eeeh, was he in trouble? Whenever he was asked that, usually, he either received a love confession or an earful for a slight little mistake he could have possibly done accidentally.
'Or they're going to make me help them cheat again,' he thought with a chuckle.
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No, you can use this word to replace the subject, not the object of the action.
Naruto clicked her tongue, annoyed. What did that even mean, dattebayo?
She had just been looking for some comfort after her bad encounter with some bastard in the street. But after talking with her soulmate for some time (her mood had escalated quickly by the way, he was awesome), he started correcting her mistakes with a red pen and writing commentaries and explaining to her the rules of their language.
She pouted. If he understood her, what was the point of correcting her? He had even told her that she should try writing more in kanji instead of hiragana. Did he just know how hard it was to draw such complicated characters?! And he wrote back in hiragana too anyway. (Fortunately, she wouldn't have been able to decipher his words otherwise.) He was such a hyppic- hapo- hyp- uh, what was the word again? Whatever; he didn't make sense at all!
You don't understand what I mean, do you?
Naruto grimaced. She hoped that he didn't think that she was dumb or anything. She wasn't. Sakura-chan and Ino-chan had told her that it was incredible how she always had new ideas. She wasn't stupid.
Don't make fun—
She started answering, before erasing everything with her orange sponge. She squeezed it tightly in her hand afterwards; she really disliked the turn of their conversation.
I'm not making fun of you.
She gasped. How did he know what she was about to write?!
I'm sorry if I came out as rude; I just thought that I could help you improve. I will stop if you ask me to.
Naruto bit her lower lip. That… was nice of him, actually. Now that she thought about it, he might have begun to answer her only recently, but he had never spoken meanly to her. On the contrary, he always sounded kind and patient, and he had even helped her with her exam earlier that day. Reaching a decision, she wrote back firmly.
You can titch me then. But with easy words.
A red line was drawn on the word titch, and below it, the word teach slowly came into view.
She wondered briefly, if she slapped her arm, would it hurt him as well?
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When her alarm clock sounded, Naruto groaned. It couldn't be already morning, she refused. She wouldn't go to school today.
But then, she wouldn't see Sakura-chan and Ino-chan.
She opened her eyes wide and she promptly got out of her bed.
She had worked quite late on her grammar and her spelling the night before, until her vision became blurry and she told her soulmate that she had to sleep or she would look like a walking dead at school. In the beginning, she had found her friend's corrections annoying and rude (despite the fact that she had agreed to let him do), however, throughout the lesson, she had truly felt his kindness and his will to encourage her. It was incredible how friends helped each other without even being asked. They were all so good to her; she hoped so bad that she would be able to keep them.
After she got prepared, she hastily got out of her apartment and ran in the direction of her school. She wanted to be with her friends again as soon as possible, and if she could avoid unpleasant meetings on the road, it would make her day much better.
Upon her arrival at school, she immediately spotted Sakura-chan who was in the company of three girls her age laughing with her. She recognized them as her classmates, but couldn't name any of them. When Naruto reached them, she noticed her friend's sad expression and her eyes were directed to the ground.
"It's good that you realized you would never have Sasuke-kun with your ugliness. Just look at you," one of them mocked.
Naruto felt her blood boil. They weren't laughing with Sakura-chan. They were laughing at her.
Without a second thought, Naruto dashed towards the girl who had just said those horribly rude words to her pink-haired friend and head-butted her as hard as she could.
"Ami!" one of the side-girls cried as the so-called Ami fell backwards.
Behind Naruto, Sakura had looked up and gawked at the sight before her.
The small girl with purple hair groaned before she glared at Naruto. "Are you crazy? That hurt!"
Those words made Naruto feel proud on the inside, but she still glowered at her new least-favourite person. She was well-placed to know that words could hurt much more than hits.
"You have to say sorry, now!" Naruto demanded.
Ami snorted. "You are the one who hit me!"
"You were mean to Sakura-chan! She's really pretty and nice, and she's much better than Sasuke anyway, you're just being an idiot –ttebayo!" Naruto insisted earnestly. How could this girl be so blind not to see something so obvious?
The tension that had gathered in Sakura's shoulder completely vanished as she watched Naruto, her cheeks rosy of gratefulness. "Naruto…"
One of the side-girls – Naruto really couldn't figure out their names – tsked at her. "As if you had the right to say anything! My mom and my dad always say that I should stay far from you anyway!"
"Yeah!" the other side-girl agreed, her arms crossed in an all-knowing-manner. "Papa told me to avoid you because you bring bad-luck and misery."
Naruto's mouth twisted downwards but she stayed silent. Of course, she was used to these comments, but what could she say other that scream that it was untrue? If everyone said it in the village, there must have been some part of truth.
"You liar!"
Naruto's eyes widened and she turned round to see Sakura-chan fulminating.
"Naruto's nice and funny and she's a really good friend! You have nothing on her!" Sakura countered fervently. "Since I became her friend, I only have good luck! If anyone brings misery, it's you!" she concluded before taking Naruto's hand in hers. "Let's go, Naruto."
And without another look at her bullies, Sakura left them on the spot, prompting Naruto to do the same.
Naruto stared at her friend with awe as she followed behind her, a warm feeling spreading from her belly to the rest of her body. Never before had anyone defended her this way, she was so used to being insulted and verbally abused. It was the first time that she came out of one of those encounters feeling… happy? How was that even possible?
With her heart beating wildly in her chest, she questioned Sakura, uncertain. "Hm, Sakura-chan?"
The latter turned her gaze towards Naruto, a frown on her face. She was visibly still upset.
Naruto faltered a bit, but she still forced herself to ask her question. "Eh, did you… Did you really think what you just said? About me, I mean?"
Sakura-chan's eyebrows went up, an expression of shock taking place on her face. "Of course I meant it, Naruto! Don't tell me you believed them? Ami and her friends are always mean, what they said was a lie and stupid, you're an amazing girl, okay?" she persisted.
Naruto's cheeks reddened as she processed those words, before she tackled her happily. "Sakura-chaaaan!"
"Ow, Naruto! Careful!" Sakura cried in surprise.
"That goes for you too, you know!" Naruto added with excitement in her voice. "That girl said mean stuff to you but that wasn't the truth! You're pretty and you have beautiful eyes and you hair smells so nice and it's pink and I really really love your smile –ttebayo!"
It was Sakura's turn to blush. A timid smile formed on her lips, and she nodded shyly. "Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Naruto."
Naruto grinned in response. "So we agree that they're liars and we're both awesome?"
Her remark drew out a giggle from her pink-haired friend. "Yes, we are!"
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The whole class of first years had gathered in the courtyard. It was time for the Taijutsu lessons.
It wasn't Ino's favourite, but she was good at it since her father trained her from time to time.
She was paired with Sakura who was still reluctant to fight as she preferred to think. However, Ino knew that her ability to think could be her greatest strength in a fight; after all, that was Shikaku-ojisan's specialty and he was one of the best ninjas her father knew! Nothing like that lazy Shikamaru, she mused, but anyway.
As she tried some moves on Sakura and gave her advice so that she would do the same, she heard a familiar cry not too far from her. When she looked in that direction, she saw Naruto sitting on the ground as Sasuke-kun was staring down at her with a proud smile on his face. He was sooo cute, but she was sure that her Sai was even cuter.
"You really are a dobe. Come on, Naruto, stand up," he taunted.
Naruto grimaced angrily. "I'm going to beat you up, bastard! Wait and you'll see when I become Hokage!"
Sasuke scoffed at that. "No way. If anyone has to be Hokage, it will be my brother. He's one of the strongest ninjas I know with my dad! You have no chance, idiot!"
Ino frowned. That… wasn't nice. Sasuke-kun was a strong boy and he always did well at school, but he shouldn't be talking that way to her friend.
"We'll see that!" Naruto cried and she stood up with energy.
"Ino?" a sweet voice called her.
Right, her spar.
She turned back to Sakura who was watching her curiously.
Ino blinked.
"Wa-," she guffawed. "Oï, Sakura, what's that on your face?" she laughed heartily.
Sakura raised an eyebrow. Apparently, she hadn't noticed that something had appeared on her face.
"You," she tried to talk between a fit of giggles, "you have a moustache drawn above your lips."
Sakura's eyes widened and she blushed profusely. "What?!"
Ino stared as a beard was materialising below her friend's lower lip. "Hahaha, it's getting bigger!"
That drew a sound of panic out of Sakura's mouth. "Whaaa- Ino, take it off! What should I do?"
As she stifled another giggle, Ino put her hand in her pocket to take the sponge her grandma had given her, but she only found a marker. Oops! She had most likely forgotten her sponge in the classroom since she had written to Sai earlier.
With an embarrassed smile on her face, Ino scratched the side of her cheek. "I'm sorry, I don't have anything to erase it. But you can write back to your soulmate? I think it must be his doing."
Sakura took the pen Ino was handing her vividly and wrote on her arm, her cheeks tomato red.
What are you doing? Are you drawing on my face?
It didn't take too long for her to receive an answer.
Does it suit you?
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"Niisan!"
At the end of the day, when she got out of school, Naruto's attention was drawn by Sasuke's excited shout. When she looked in his direction, she saw him running towards a tall boy with unruly curls and a brunette with long hair tied in a low ponytail standing in the crowd of parents. They were both smiling at him and she felt a light pang a jealousy awakening in her belly.
As she watched Sasuke who started to tell them about his day excitedly, she came to the realization that this was most likely Sasuke's brother. The strongest ninja of all who would become Hokage before her.
A frown settled on her face, and she wondered whether she could approach them or not. Sasuke's taunting smirk formed in her mind, and she quickly decided that yes, she would approach them.
She walked in their direction with determination, keeping her eyes focused on Sasuke's brother. He was taller than her and the headband on his forehead gave away his ninja status so he was probably stronger than her (for now), but she wouldn't lose against him. She would show everyone her true value and they would respect her, no matter what.
When she arrived right in front of them, they all looked at her curiously.
Sasuke scowled at the sight of her, but stopped himself from commenting as he waited to her to give the reason of her coming.
She stared directly in Sasuke's brother's eyes. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be Hokage someday!"
At first, the older brother seemed put off by her declaration, however, to her surprise, a kind smile formed on his lips. "Oh really? That's a nice dream," he said as he glanced sideways at his companion. "It seems that someone has a rival, here."
She followed his gaze and watched the second person in astonishment. "You too?" she asked in shock. This person also wanted to become Hokage? Oh, no no no, she wouldn't lose, she wouldn't! "I don't care, I will become stronger and I will become Hokage first! I won't lose against your girlfriend –ttebayo!"
Silence greeted her proclamation as the three of them stared at her. Sasuke's mouth dropped and he looked alternatively at her and the girl with long hair beside him, seemingly lost. Said girl blinked very slowly, inexpressive. Hah, she was angered by her challenge.
As for Sasuke's brother, his smile seemed to freeze and he made a strangled noise and cleared his throat, before he turned his face sideways as he put a hand on his face, his shoulders shaking slightly.
"I beg your pardon?" the one with long hair asked.
Naruto put a hand on her hip and pointed at her with her other hand. "You heard me. I'm not gonna lose against you. We'll see who will be the first female Hokage out of the two of us!" she exclaimed before dashing away from them. "I'm not letting you win!"
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As they watched her run away, Sasuke frowned perplexed. "What was that? Whose girlfriend is she talking about?"
Itachi glanced at Shisui with a deadpan, trying to ignore the boy's shakings. "Shisui."
At the sound of his name, Shisui burst out laughing. "I'm so sorry, Itachi, but that was," he cut himself with another fit a laughter, "that was so cute."
Sasuke turned his face to his older cousin, bewildered. "Cute? The dobe? Are you feeling alright, Shisui-san?"
"Sasuke," Itachi warned with a strict voice. "Don't be so rude to your classmate."
Shisui leaned towards the ANBU member and touched his ponytail playfully. "Yes, Sasuke, listen to my girlfriend's sound advice."
He ignored Itachi's annoyed glare and focused instead on Sasuke's lost look. "You have a girlfriend, Shisui-san?"
Shisui snickered without answering him.
He definitely loved spending time with his younger cousins.
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To be continued.
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Wouuuh, done! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. (I also got angry at times, because, well, mean people are annoying è.é) By the way, for the following two months, I will be really busy with school so I might not be able to update as regularly as I am right now, and I'd like to update my other two stories too. But I'll do my best to post a few chapters!
To answer the Guest, I do have plans for Danzo and his disgusting hands *rubs hands evilly*.
Thank you everyone for your encouragements and your kind words, you really are lovely readers and it's a pleasure to share this story and adventure with you all! :D Until next tiiiime~
PS: I almost forgot! The song that Naruto is singing at the beginning is the opening "Go" by Flow (of Flow by Go?) and it's really sung by Naruto's voice actor and the crew, on the youtube address "/watch?v=wEqvMnBmh5A" ; or type "Go Flow Seiyuu" on youtube and you should find it.
ALSO, LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL FANCOMIC OF NARU'S FIRST MEETING WITH SASUKE'S BROTHER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND PLEASE:
tumblr . c' o' m/watersushi/633065871389097984/declaration-of-rivalry-a-snippet-of-chapter-4-of (erase the spaces and ' )
('m sorry I can't give you the address directly because FF is annoying with external links ಥ_ಥ)