'Normal Speech'
'Thoughts'
'Bijuu/Summons/Gamer/Techniques'
'Bijuu/Summons/Thoughts/Techniques'
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Gamer, or any series for that matter. If I did the last thing I would do is write fanfiction for your amusement. I am also way too lazy to come up with new creative and funny disclaimers to post on every chapter, so I'll be copying this one and pasting it on every chapter. I've got better things to do with my time, like read fanfiction, write fanfiction, eat, do work, work out, read fanfiction...you get the idea.
(P.S. Did you guys know I like fanfiction?)
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Chapter 17
Minato's POV
2 days after Yoru's Mission
"I wish I had been there sooner…"
I looked down at the destroyed bridge and at Kakashi who was staring off into the distance. Besides me stood Rin as she looked on ahead towards the rising sun.
I had completed the mission.
But at a cost.
I had lost a comrade and a student but more importantly, I had failed to save someone close to me.
With that, I closed my eyes for a moment, standing still as the wind rustled my hair…before I opened them.
"Kakashi, Rin, let's go home. Our mission is complete."
Kakashi stood in silence for a moment before nodding and appearing next to me. His expression was empty and devoid of emotion, but I knew that he was going through mental torment.
But worse than him…
I looked towards Rin whose expression was serene, yet I could tell.
She was in the most pain.
"And they had been getting closer too…"
I placed a hand in both their shoulders before concentrating on my other beacons. I had left plenty of my Hiraishin marks in and around certain places, few of which were located near Konoha.
With that, I quickly located it's signal and vanished from my spot.
We appeared right next to the entrance of the village and walked through Konoha's gates after checking with the guards. I looked towards my two students before commenting "You two should get some rest. I'll go notify the Hokage that our mission has been completed."
Without words, they nodded and walked off leaving me alone to make my way towards the Hokage's office.
"At least for now, the war will be mostly over…"
With the losses Rock Country had suffered in addition to the loss of their major supply line (among others), they would have no choice but to withdraw from the war. It would take a few more years before it would be completely over, so I would have to keep vigilant for now.
"And make sure that I don't lose another one of them…"
I halted my steps and looked ahead at the Hokage building before entering inside. I walked through the halls and up the steps of the building before stopping in front of the door to the Hokage's office.
I stood there for a moment before releasing a breath and knocking on the door.
"Enter."
I nodded and opened the door before closing it behind me as I entered. I watched as the Hokage looked at the papers in his hands with an expression of immense gravity. His face was marred with a disturbed frown as he read and flipped through the papers before he sighed and placed them down.
He looked up from his papers before finally noticing who I was. As soon as he did, his expression became somewhat more lax but retained its severity due to the subject that he knew I was here to discuss. "Ah Minato, to be back this early…I take it that your mission went well?"
"Yes Lord Hokage." I said with a short bow. "However…" I paused for a moment before releasing another breath. "My student, Obito Uchiha died in combat and as a parting gift he granted Kakashi Hatake his Sharingan."
There was silence at that statement as the Hokage leaned back into his chair. He looked up to the ceiling and closed his eyes for a moment before sighing, "I'm sorry for your loss."
I shook my head. "It was my fault I didn't make it in time. I will have to live with this failure."
The Hokage looked at me before commenting, "There's no point in dwelling on what you could have done, but instead you should focus on what you can do better next time."
I nodded my head in agreement.
"I will schedule a memorial service in a couple weeks for those who gave their life for the future of this village. Your student deserves to be honored as the hero he was." The Hokage began, before exhaustion creeped into his tone. "But besides that, thank you for giving me another issue to deal with. A non-Uchiha with the Sharingan won't go over well with the Uchiha clan."
I managed to crack a half-hearted smile. "There's nothing I could have done regardless, it was Obito's parting gift. Besides, I believe that you can convince Fugaku to have his clan let it go, he's quite reasonable."
"Let's hope so." Hiruzen stated before he looked back down at his papers and a grimace reformed on his face.
I raised a brow. "May I ask what's wrong Lord Hokage?"
"No, it's just…" The Hokage flipped through his papers once more before sighing in exhaustion.
He seemed to be doing that more often.
He looked back at his papers before explaining. "Recently there have been a few of our shinobi who have gone missing. While that normally would not have brought about any of my suspicion due to our current state of war, all the missing individuals shared something in common." His eyes narrowed. "They all had Bloodline Limits."
I furrowed my brows. "Do you think this is an enemy attempt at producing more bloodlines within their village?" It wasn't unheard of at all and was something that unfortunately occurred quite frequently.
Hiruzen slowly shook his head. "I initially thought the same except that the situation was much more complex than I had imagined." He brought up one of the papers to eye level before continuing. "The disappearances had prompted me to send out a few groups to investigate and that was when I was made aware of secret laboratories that experimented with the Chimera Technique."
I thought about that for a moment. "Chimera Technique?"
The old Hokage nodded. "I suppose you'll have to deal with it in the future, so I suppose I should tell you now."
I paused at that statement. "Deal with it in the future?"
The Hokage continued. "My shinobi had found some disturbing laboratories around Fire Country many years ago. It was there that they found not only the remains of some of our missing personnel, but also the corpses of grotesque beasts." He tapped his desk as he looked at the papers. "From all the findings and research papers that could be gathered in those labs, it was concluded that someone had been experimenting with a technique that would grant them the kekkei Genkai of other ninja by fusing their bodies."
"This…" I thought in seriousness. "Have you found any leads as to who is responsible? And what of the findings." To be honest, this sounded like something Orochimaru would do, but I knew that even he wouldn't use Konoha shinobi for his experiments. Besides, last I heard he had been too busy playing with Yoru's healing seal for his research.
The Hokage rubbed his brows. "At that time, I had already declared the technique a kinjutsu and had destroyed most of its information. Recently, however, another laboratory was discovered with experiments of the same technique. It appeared to me that the same individual who had been responsible for the disappearances many years ago was still scourging while we had been preoccupied with the war." The Hokage sighed in exhaustion before continuing. "I had all the material collected and allowed Orochimaru to do an autopsy on the deceased shinobi and the abominations that were found in this most recent lab. As for who was responsible…" here he paused. "An individual by the name of Hiruko, currently a missing-nin of Konoha."
"Hiruko?" The name rung a very dull bell in my mind. "Where have I heard that name mentioned before…"
"At any rate." Hiruzen continued. "I've been having trouble locating him and with the war still ongoing, I can't afford to divert any more attention. The best I can do is exercise more caution when my shinobi are out in the field. Make sure you do the same."
I suppose this was one of those situations you simply couldn't do much about, not until all the other situations were dealt with.
"I will." I replied
The Hokage then gathered the papers in a beat pile and placed them to the side before interlacing his fingers as he stared at me. The mood turned oddly serious as he asked, "Before you go, I would like to ask that you humor me with this question of mine."
I blinked before nodding. "Alright…"
The old man then asked. "Tell me, what do you believe is the Hokage's duty."
I halted at that question. My mind traveled back to just yesterday.
The day I had failed to protect my student.
"I believe that the duty of the Hokage is to keep Konoha safe, lead it to prosperity, and always keep its best interests at heart, but most importantly…" I looked down and gripped my fist. "The Hokage's duty is to cherish, guide, and protect its future generation, no matter the cost."
The Hokage hummed at that before a smile made its way onto his face, "Interesting…I like your answer. You may leave if you wish."
I nodded and bowed. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."
And with that, I left the room.
I made my way down and out of the Hokage's building before teleporting to my house. I placed my hand on the security pad before I was allowed access to the house. Numerous thoughts went through my mind as I made my way to the living room…
"Welcome home Papa~!"
I paused and looked at the owner of the voice before smiling. "I'm glad to be home, Mito."
She smiled brightly in reply before a floating mass of water, in the shape of a teddy bear, suddenly appeared in front of her face. Her eyes brightened as she reached out and squeezed the water bear in her embrace.
"I take it your mission went well?" An all too familiar voice blandly asked.
I looked at Yoru who was behind my daughter and was creating more water animals for my daughter to play with.
At his question, however, I paused for a moment. "…We were able to complete the objective, but we suffered a casualty."
Yoru halted his movements before staring at me. "The way you say that…what happened?"
I sat down on the couch. "We lost Obito."
I was met with silence.
Yoru idly sat on the ground and maneuvered his water creations as he played with Mito, his eyes somewhat unfocused.
It was only after a while that he finally spoke. "I see."
I looked at him carefully.
I couldn't read him.
He rarely displayed emotion, making it impossible to understand what was going on in his mind most of the time. I assumed that he was feeling something at this moment though. I just couldn't tell what.
"In a few days, we'll have a memorial for him and those who died in this war." I stated, managing to grab his attention. "I was hoping I might see you there."
The boy nodded. "Of course."
And with that, we lapsed into another round of silence.
"Man he makes things awkward…"
-Yoru: Gamer-
[Yoru's POV]
I walked out of Minato's home.
I paused in my step as I tried to figure out which direction I wanted to go before I decided I didn't really care too much.
So I walked.
And then, I sighed. "Can't believe you got yourself killed…"
It felt kind of weird to me.
I had not suffered the loss of anyone even somewhat close to me during the course of this war, yet just as it was about to end…
Granted we weren't that close…
I would never admit it even if we were.
"He definitely made his girl upset too…even after all I taught him."
If anything, I had thought that I would be the first to hit the bucket in this war from the number of suicidal missions I undertook. Actually, I did die, for a short moment, not too long ago.
"However, I'm still alive now…"
With that, I continued my walk.
My feet guided me to wherever they decided to go as I traversed through the village, the activities a blur behind me.
And then.
I stopped.
I looked in front of me, realizing that I had arrived at the training grounds that team Minato frequented.
And I wasn't alone.
Up ahead was the back of Rin's form as she stared off into the distance, the melancholy emanating from her wholly salient. There was a slight breeze that rustled through us and made her hair wave through the wind.
There was a simple silence between us for a while and I wondered if I should leave…
"You know…" she suddenly began. "While he was often stubborn, argued with Kakashi, and more often than not got himself into trouble, he was also compassionate, dedicated and hardworking…"
She stood there in silence for a moment as a whirlwind of emotions passed through her.
"At that time, when he was dying, I couldn't do anything but stay by his side. After that, Kakashi was the one to save me and again I couldn't do anything. And when we were outnumbered and surrounded by the enemy, it was my teacher who came to save me, and again I was useless…"
She then paused before turning around. "But in the end, there's nothing I can do about what's already happened and I can't remain sad forever because I know Obito would want us all to smile." Saying so, she beamed at me. "That's why I'll simply try harder to never be a burden and to help the best I can!"
I looked at her blandly.
I didn't know what to say or do.
So I simply remained silent.
"I'm sorry if I came off a little intense…" Rin started while scratching her cheek. "That was more for me, but I hope you didn't mind."
I shook my head.
"Is that so? Then I'm glad!" She said with a smile once more before turning back. "It's about time I get back to my place, so I'll head out." She then slightly turned her head towards me. "Thanks for listening Yoru."
With her final words, she quickly vanished from view.
I stared at the direction she vanished to before continuing my walk, however this time, I had a destination in mind. Obito's grandmother would come to know about this, but the thought of having to deliver this news to her…
I shook my head before continuing my walk towards the Uchiha clan district. As I arrived closer to my destination, however, I halted my steps and furrowed my brows. "I can't sense her chakra anywhere inside the compound…"
The woman was old and rarely went out, so it was odd to not feel her specific signature inside. I figured that she might have simply gone out shopping or something so I decided to simply meet her at her home and wait for her to come back.
With that thought, I moved closer to the gates before the guards came into view. One of them looked my way and paused for a moment before a smile made its way on his face.
"Yo! How's it going Yoru?"
"…Haruki." I began. "Like usual I suppose."
A slight frown made its way onto his face. "You sure? You sound more dead than usual…and I didn't think that was possible."
"…I'm just thinking about some things is all."
He didn't seem 100% convinced but he smiled regardless. "Well, don't let it bring you down kiddo." He then motioned to his partner to open the gate before turning back to me. "Well, enjoy your visit."
I nodded in thanks before heading into the clan compound and making my way towards Obito's home. Some people spared me a glance before looking away, others gave me a nod of acknowledgment to which I returned, and the rest didn't bother to look my way.
It all didn't matter as I eventually arrived at the relatively small apartment that Obito lived in with his grandmother. I couldn't sense her chakra inside so I simply leaned against the side of the door for a while-
"Hey, you!"
I lifted my head and turned towards the sound of the voice noting a woman who was making her way towards me. As she saw my face, however, she paused. "Yoru?"
I looked at her. I didn't know who she was but it didn't surprise me that she knew of me since I frequented this area a decent amount and my face was somewhat well known. With this in mind, I nodded.
She looked behind me at the apartment before she sighed. "If you're waiting for the owner of the house then you'll be waiting here forever."
I stilled.
She looked back towards me and continued. "Last night the woman who owned this home died of age-related complications." She then shook her head. "She lived through 3 wars till the ripe old age of 70, I'd say she lived a full life."
My mind however was elsewhere…
"However…" she continued in thought. "I heard she had a grandson that she had been taking care of. Poor kid will be upset when he finds-"
"Thank you for the information." I said simply before walking away.
"Ahh, ok…"
I replied with a nod once more and continued my walk. Yet, I couldn't help but think…
Was life really so…fragile?
Not only had Obito died during his mission, but even his grandmother had passed away as well probably around the same time.
"I suppose it wasn't unexpected for her to die due to her age, but still…"
It made me wonder about myself.
Would I die?
Of old age at least, I already knew I could technically die in battle.
I mean, I knew that I was aging, but would I simply stop doing so at a certain point? Did Gamer's Body prevent my from dying of old age? These were some of the questions that came to mind, however dwelling on them seemed to be meaningless.
This was something only time would tell.
-Yoru: Gamer-
The drizzle of water pouring down from the overcast sky paralleled the depressing emotional atmosphere of the surroundings.
The 3rd Great Shinobi war had drastically decreased in intensity with the succession of Minato's mission at Kannabi bridge, Iwa having slowly begun to back off. Despite this, I could sense fiddling joy around me despite this fact as the tombs of those lost in the war stood erect in front of my view. In accordance with the funeral proceedings, I wore a black robe and stood beside Minato and the rest of his team as we silently paid our respects with our eyes closed.
I retracted the zone of my Empathy as the over abundance of depression and desolation became unpleasant and simply stood still for as long as the proceedings required.
In about a few hours, the funeral proceedings were completed and the cemetery began to empty as the individuals went on with their lives.
"Thank you for being here, Yoru." Minato stated as he opened his eyes and looked towards me.
I nodded my head.
Rin waved at me with a smile, which I acknowledged, while Kakashi stood stock still, his gaze lingering on a tombstone in particular.
I didn't need to follow his line of sight to know where he was looking at.
"I'll be going home. You all are welcome to stop by." Minato stated as he looked between us.
While Rin immediately nodded in agreement, Kakashi waited for a while before muttering, "…sure."
A nearly imperceptible sigh made its way out of Minato's lips before he turned towards me. "And you?"
I raised my head slightly and looked to my right where Itachi stood stationary, the rest of his clan having already departed.
"…I'll spend my day at Itachi place."
Minato smiled, "Then that's fine." He then looked towards Rin and Kakashi, "Come on, let's go."
Minato then immediately vanished followed by Rin soon after. Kakashi looked ahead for a while longer before following after them.
I looked at the area they had previously occupied before turning back towards Itachi, noting that Orochimaru now stood beside him. With a slightly raised brow, I made my way over to them.
"Ah Yoru! A pleasure to see you here." The pale skinned man stated with an elongated grin.
"…I somehow don't feel the same."
His grin somehow grew even wider, "You know, you've never visited my lab. Trust me when I tell you that the technique you gave me is much more fascinating than I could ever dream of. I believe that you will find it interesting, so do consider paying me a visit."
I turned my gaze up towards him, "I gave it to as payment for obtaining data on my genetic information, something you haven't told me much about."
His eyes gleamed as he licked his lips, "To tell the truth, your DNA is…spectacular, to say the least. If you ever decide to come over, I'll provide you with all the data I have unearthed from your…" his eyes eagerly scanned my body, causing my body to slightly shiver, "…marvelous genetic material."
"Aaaand I think we're done here."
I looked to Itachi, who had been giving me questioning looks for some time now, and grabbed his shoulder. "I'll get back to you on that." I stated to Orochimaru before using the Body Flicker.
That man had serious problems.
"How you could stand being next to him for a prolonged period of time is unknown to me." I told Itachi as we arrived in front of the gate to his clan compound.
He raised a brow in return as we walked through the gate, "…You two seemed quite close to me."
An odd twitching overcame my right eye, "Believe me if I didn't need him for something important, I would do my best not to interact with him."
With a tilt of his head, Itachi asked me, "Your DNA? "
"…Yea." I replied with a nod. "I'm trying to figure out what more my body can do."
Itachi blinked in puzzlement, "You have a Bloodline limit?"
"Something like that."
He seemed curious but decided not to ask as we approached his home. We approached the door to his house before he opened it and brought me inside.
"Big brother!" A young voice exclaimed following which enthusiastic footsteps made their way in our direction. Up in front of us appeared the form of a toddler which black hair and onyx eyes which gleamed as they looked towards Itachi.
"…Sasuke."
The boy smiled brightly and ran towards Itachi as quickly as his little feet could carry him…
And then he tripped.
In a burst of wind, Itachi appeared beside Sasuke and grabbed onto the scruff of his clothing before his face made intimate contact with the hardwood floor.
"…This is why mother tells you not to run in the house." Itachi stated with a sigh before pulling Sasuke upright.
Sasuke gave him a sour look at that causing Itachi to smile helplessly, "Come on, don't look at me like that. We tell you these things for your own safety."
"Your big brother is right you know, we wouldn't want you to get hurt." The angelic voice of Mikoto suddenly sounded out from in front of us.
"…Mother." Itachi said as he stood up while patting his little brother's head.
Sasuke smiled once more and wobbled towards her causing the woman to smile and pick him up. She then looked towards both Itachi and me before asking, "Are any of you hungry? I could make something for the both of you if you would like."
"I think we are f-"
"-amished and we would love to help you prepare." I finished for Itachi before he could say anything else.
"Oh?" The beautiful woman stated, placing a hand over her mouth, "Since you're asking so kindly I don't really have a choice do I?" She said with a chuckle. "Well if you don't mind, help me prepare some of the vegetables in the kitchen."
"It would be my pleasure." I stated following which, with that glowing smile on her face, Mikoto made her way back into the kitchen.
There was an awkward silence between me and Itachi following that as I looked ahead. "…Your mom's nice you know?"
The room suddenly felt colder and I slowly rotated my head towards Itachi. His eyes were crimson and had 3 tomoe in each of them as he narrowed them straight at me.
I coughed awkwardly for a moment, "…Well, those vegetables aren't going to prepare themselves you know, let's go help her."
While his Sharingan disappeared, his glare did not lesson but he nodded nonetheless and made his way into the kitchen.
I scratched the back of my head with a smile and followed him inside the kitchen where his mother was watching us warmly. With Sasuke tied around her back she laid out the produce, a cutting board, a large bowl and a knife before Itachi and me before explaining, "Chop them up finely, place the onions, peppers, and tomatoes in the bowl, the garlic to the side, and make sure not to hurt yourself."
Itachi gave his mom an odd look, "…Mother, we are involved in much more dangerous activities during our missions…"
"Ara? Then you won't heed my warning I suppose?" She asked with a hand on her face.
"Well that's not really what I mean-"
"Come on Itachi, you should listen to your mom. She's only saying this to keep you safe-"
Immediately, he whipped his head towards me, his Sharingan blazing and the tomoe in his eyes spinning wildly. I immediately turned my head away from him and looked in front of me at the cooking board, somehow finding it quite interesting at this moment.
Was it mahogany?
Mikoto chuckled in amusement before asking, "Will you two be alright?"
"…Yeah." I said, grabbing the kitchen knife by its hilt and twirling it around for a moment before stopping and raising it to eye level, the blade glistening from the kitchen light. "I've cooked plenty of times on my own or for my teacher. I think I have some skill in the art."
"Then I expect the best from you. Make sure you pay close attention Itachi." She said before lighting up the stove and placing a pot of water on it. "I will step out for a moment but in the meantime, I'll let this heat up." Saying so, she covered the pot and stepped out of the kitchen.
Another round of awkward silence permeated the atmosphere between Itachi and I as I could feel his eyes boring into my skull while I pretended not to notice. Itachi then came closer and stood to the right of me in front of the other cooking board, yet his gaze still lingered on me.
I felt a slight twitch in my right eye before I picked up and inspected a tomato. I carefully placed it down before slowly cutting it vertically. Afterwards, I rotated it 90 degrees and did so once more, providing me with long strips of tomato which I again began to slowly cut into smaller chunks…
"…How long do you plan on staring at me like that." I asked as I still sensed Itachi's piercing gaze on my skin.
Somehow, I could feel his eyes narrow even further, "…who knows? I'm merely following the instructions laid out by my mother."
I rolled my eyes, "come on, it's all in good fun. Your mom is a strong, grown, beautiful woman. She easily brushes me off anyway." Saying so, I grabbed an onion next and tossed it in midair before positioning my knife. My perception of time slowed with Accelerated Analysis and as the onion came to my eye level…
I moved.
I whipped out my right hand and rapidly skinned the onion with the kitchen knife. With my perception of time lowered, the pieces of skin seemed to float in mid-air with the onion still at around my eye level. I didn't let that distract me, however, and I moved once more.
To any ordinary individual, it would have looked like my hand moved in an instant and to most shinobi, my hands would have only registered as a blur and they moved at incredible speeds. With every stroke, my kitchen knife made contact with the onion at precise angles. First I cut the onion completely vertically, then I immediately cut it horizontally. Then, as it was barely below my eye level at this point, I cut it into smaller pieces even still.
My perception returned to normal and in my vision, the perfectly diced onion fell into the large bowl, not a single one out of place. With a light smile, I turned to look towards Itachi only to notice that his Sharingan was still active and his eyes were rapidly twitching as if to process information.
In a moment he closed his eyes before they opened in honed focus. His eyes glowing red, he grabbed an onion and tossed it up before his arm blurred. In but a millisecond, he stopped and the onion landed into the bowl with perfectly sliced shapes…
Just like mine.
My right eye twitched, "You didn't…"
He gave me a look bursting with naive innocence yet I could detect the disguised smug look underneath.
"Tch." I stated and grabbed multiple peppers on the side before working my knife once more. I tossed them all up at once and my right hand blurred before the peppers split apart in midair and landed on my board in neat shapes…
I looked to my side only to notice that Itachi had copied my movements precisely as I had been doing them.
My lips twitched as I smiled, "Do you really want to play this game now Itachi?"
"Whatever do you mean?" He asked with a tilt of his head, "I'm merely following my mother's instructions."
"Oh?" I said as my hand tightly gripped the hilt of the knife before I tossed up an assortment of Onions, tomatoes, peppers, and garlic. They were launched in such a way that the first three would perfectly land in the bowl while the last one would land comfortably on my cutting board.
Accelerated Analysis
Deconstructive Analysis
I used these two abilities in conjunction as my concentration peaked to insurmountable levels. Through my glowing silver eyes, time seemed to slow down and I could see small red areas of the fruits and vegetables in the air. I narrowed my eyes and blurred my right hand as I began to chop up the produce.
Suddenly, my eyes sharpened.
I turned to my right for a brief moment only to see that Itachi's eyes were on me as well.
"Hmph." Without looking, I switched the hand wielding the knife incredibly fast and stared right back at Itachi as I continued to cut the vegetables that were in midair. With my Eidetic Memory and my incredible processing capabilities courtesy of Accelerated Analysis, I knew and remembered the angle, magnitude, and direction with which the vegetables would fall. I likewise calculated how those vector quantities would change in response to my movements, so I did not even need to look in order to cut the vegetables in the precise manner I wanted.
With that, Itachi and I locked eyes as we began to cut all the necessary fruits and vegetables that Mikoto had left out for us. Our hands blurred faster and faster as we perfectly cut up more and more of the produce before our knives began to intermingle and clash briefly against each other.
Sparks began to fly as we turned our bodies and blurred our knives at each other while also making sure to perfectly slice the food. With eyes narrowed, we continued this dance of blades for a long while after, the wind whipping up from the speed of our movements.
Before we stopped.
With a clang, our kitchen knives clashed against each other once more. Time seemed to have halted at that moment before the chopped up provisions suddenly fell. Those that needed to go into bowls landed in the bowls while those that had to go on the side of the cutting board landed perfectly on their position.
Suddenly, a ding sounded out.
"Ah! I came back just in time." Mikoto stayed as she suddenly appeared in the kitchen doorway, Sasuke still attached to her back. She ignored me and Itachi whose knives were still interlocked and walked to the pot before opening the lid. A cloud of steam emerged which quickly dissipated before she spoke, "Now I can finally begin…" she paused.
Both Itachi and I turned to look at her, immediately noting that Mikoto was looking in our direction. Before we could even speak however-
"Oh! You two did wonderful." She explained as she grabbed the bowl of the chopped plants and our cutting board of garlic before placing it beside her.
I looked back at Itachi who blinked in reply and retracted his knife before placing it on the counter. I soon followed suit before I felt a vision on my back and I slowly turned around only to witness Mikoto narrowing her eyes at me. "Hey Yoru…"
I was instantly on guard, "Itachi started it-"
"Do your eyes usually glow?" She asked before relaxing her vision, "They look so adorable!"
I paused and smiled despite myself before deactivating Deconstructive Analysis, "Well, they tend to shine in front of beautiful angels."
"Oh my!" She chuckled in response. "Well thank you two for your help. Just rest, for now. I'll prepare something in a moment."
"Thank you for your hospitality." I said with a short bow before I felt a chilling vision penetrating my back. I turned around, noting an odd miasma appearing around Itachi as his eyes shined red, his Sharingan activated in full.
I twitched a smile regardless, "Why do you seem so upset Itachi?" I asked, placing an arm on his shoulder, and walking out of the kitchen. "If you're upset that this competition was a tie, don't be. Someday you might beat me."
He looked me straight in the eye with his bloodline activated "…If you keep hitting on my mom, one of these days you'll find your entire clan dead."
I blinked, "Wow, that's pretty fucked…but I don't have a clan."
Though if I did, I had this odd feeling that he'd do it…
Weird.
"Hmph." He said, deactivating his Sharingan and taking a seat on the tatami floor in front of the dining room table.
As a result, I sat across from him in a seiza position, "Come on don't look at me like that, it's not my fault your mom is so gor-"
He stared at me.
Hard.
I sighed and raised my hands in placation, "Fine fine, I'll stop talking about your mom." I said. "Instead, I wouldn't mind knowing what you and Orochimaru were talking about."
The mood suddenly became depressive.
"I knew he was a pain to talk to but I didn't think it was this bad…" I stated.
Itachi shook his head in disconfirmation, "…No it wasn't something like that." He then lightly sighed, "I just asked him a question that had been on my mind for a while, but…"
I leaned my cheek on my left arm, "I'm not surprised. He probable responded with something dreary and depressing."
He nodded, "The Third Great Shinobi War is at its low point, however at what cost? Did we really even win? So many individuals lost their lives yet still conflict is perpetuating throughout the shinobi world. The funeral today just got me thinking about life in general and its purpose…"
"'There is none'-" I said, before immediately following up, "Or that's what Orochimaru probably said."
Itachi blinked and nodded his head.
I sighed, "Yeah he seems like the guy to give you that answer. I couldn't tell you since I'm only a year and a half older than you, but who knows? You'll come up with your own answer one day." I paused before shaking my head, "There's no point in talking about something so bleak. It just ruins the mood."
"I suppose so." Itachi said with a smile.
However, internally I sighed. I could sense that he definitely wasn't in the mood for smiling. I raised my head from my hand before I paused as a familiar chakra signature appeared behind the front door. I looked to Itachi who seemed to be lost in thought and stated with a smile, "It looks like your girlfriend is here."
His expression changed, "…What?"
Before he could ask further, a knock sounded from the front door.
"Itachi! May you please get that?" Mikoto yelled from the kitchen.
"…Yes, Mother." He stated before looking at me, standing up, walking to the door, and opening it.
"Ah, Itachi!" A cheerful voice stated. "Sorry for intruding, but I saw you looked down earlier so I thought I would drop by."
"…Izumi." Be said quietly, though I could tell he was happier than he let on. "Please come in."
"Thank you!" She said before I heard their footsteps approach the living room area where I was staying.
In but a moment they appeared in view which caused Izumi to pause as she saw me before she smiled, "I didn't think I'd see you here before me. It's good to see you Yoru."
"Likewise." I replied
"Little Izumi!" Mikoto's voice sounded as she made her entrance, delight clearly expressed in her voice. "I'm glad you came over." She continued after embracing Izumi and motioning her towards the tatami May. "Please take a seat. Lunch will be out in just a moment."
"Thank you!" Izumi said before she plopped down next to Itachi with a smile on her face before her face lit up in remembrance. "I remember that I got you something that I knew you'd like, hold on a sec…" Saying so, she opened the bag she was carrying on her side before taking out a small case.
With my enhanced sense of smell, I could tell that it was something sweet and was proven correct when Izumi opened it, revealing many sticks of dumplings. "I know you have a sweet tooth so I figured I would get…you…something…" she trailed off as she noticed the intense look of desire in Itachi's eyes as he stared at the dumplings. His eyes actually began to morph into the Sharingan as if to imprint the food into the deepest recesses of his mind.
Izumi smiled awkwardly, "W-Well, I think we should wait till after we eat the lunch your mother oh so graciously prepared. Don't you think?"
Itachi frowned and seemed to struggle internally for a moment before he nodded, "…I suppose they can wait."
Izumi smiled playfully and softly leaned her head on his shoulder to which an imperceptible smile made it sway on Itachi's lips.
I watched them intently as they vanished into their own world, wondering about my own non-existent love life…
"Women are sometimes a pain though…"
I would know seeing as I'd lived with one for over 5 years now. I really couldn't imagine having to live with one for the rest of my life…
Ohh well, I was only 9 so this was quite irrelevant to me at this point anyway, but still…
"How did Itachi get one before me…?"
I mean, I suppose it had to do with the fact that I didn't know many individuals my age, to begin with.
But I was more handsome than he was (in my humble opinion).
And definitely more powerful (that was a fact).
Maybe I should go out more?
…Nah, unnecessary human interaction was a pain to deal with.
Besides, Itachi was only slightly less of a recluse than I was and had a cute girl.
How the hell did that happen?
Well, they did meet in the academy...
Maybe I should go there one day...
"Food is ready!" Mikoto exclaimed from the kitchen before she came out with food in hand.
"…let me help you." I said as I got up and helped her set down the food along with the rest that she had left in the kitchen.
"Ahh thank you! You're such a life saver!"
I nodded my head. "Of course."
I noticed, however, that Itachi gave me an odd and suspicious look at my interaction with Mikoto causing me to smirk.
"Now then." Mikoto began, clapping her hands together, "I'm sure you're all famished so don't hold back!"
Izumi smiled before clapping her hands together and closing her eyes, "Thank you for the meal!"
"Thank you for the meal!" The rest of us followed suit.
Mikoto then reached behind herself and pulled out Sasuke from her back before placing him on her lap. "Here you go! Now you can eat with mommy."
Sasuke pouted slightly, "But I wanted to eat with big brother…"
"Ah, he's too cute!" Izumi squealed before looking at Sasuke with glistening eyes. "Why don't you sit next to your big sister here?"
Sasuke gave her a dull look before turning his head away and dismissing her as if she was air.
Izumi blanked.
"Oh dear." Mikoto began, placing a hand on her cheek, "He doesn't seem to like you that much does he?"
Lightning seemed to tear through her heart as she leaned back in shock.
The older woman grinned playfully in response to which Itachi interjected, "We should probably eat before the food gets cold…"
"You're right dear." Mikoto stated before securing Sasuke in place and grabbing onto her chopsticks. She then looked at the rest of us, "Well don't wait for me, dig in!"
I turned my gaze from her and looked at the spread before me before grabbing my disposable chopsticks and breaking them apart. My gaze hovered over the food before concentrating on a dish ahead of me that had caught my attention.
Takoyaki.
I wasted no time in moving my chopsticks towards the multiple delicious octopus balls. They inched closer and closer as my anticipation built up, however, just as I was a centimeter away, a different pair of chopsticks suddenly appeared and took the takoyaki ball that I had been aiming for.
"…"
I slowly rolled my eyeballs upwards to look at the culprit who was slowly chewing the food he had stolen from me with a lazy look.
My eyes narrowed.
My hand zoomed forward with insane velocity its aim positioned towards the Takoyaki. Just as my chopsticks clamped onto the divine goodness of octopus balls, another pair of chopsticks clamped onto mine, preventing me from moving it.
The air coagulated.
"…Itachi, What is the meaning of this?"
He tilted his head innocently. "The meaning…you say? I'm merely digging in as my mother instructed."
Izumi looked between Itachi and me before turning her gaze towards Mikoto. "Um, Mrs. Mikoto…What's going on?"
She sighed. "They tend to turn a lot of things into competitions."
"Should we stop them?" She asked in wonder.
"Let then be." Mikoto said as she began to feed Sasuke. "They're just children after all."
"Go bigfh brofgher!"
"Hey now! Don't talk with your mouth full!" The lady of the house stated reproachfully.
My mind was brought back to its current predicament as Itachi began to exert pressure on his chopsticks, the force of which threatened to crack mine own.
I sharpened my gaze and activated Deconstructive Analysis, causing my eyes to glow. With my incredible dexterity, I maneuvered one of my chopsticks back before shooting it forward, aiming it at the weak spot of Itachi's own utensils.
It cracked, causing Itachi's eyes to widen which provided me with a large enough window of opportunity to secure the octopus ball with my wooden sticks. I wasted no time in retrieving the objecting before ingesting it with glee, my gaze filling over as I looked at Itachi imperiously.
Itachi looked down at his broken chopsticks for a moment before he lifted his head, his Sharingan activated, "…You're going to pay for that."
I raised a brow and swallowed my food before replying, "Doubtful."
With that, Itachi procured another pair of chopsticks before immediately motioning his utensil holding hand forward. My eyes widened as I saw that they were aimed toward any beloved Takoyaki, so I dashed forward as well.
Itachi and I both picked up a takoyaki ball before bringing it towards our mouth and eating it. I furrowed my brows before dashing forward once more and procuring another one, but no sooner did Itachi do the same.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
And we moved.
With immense speeds, we both continued to battle over the takoyaki, taking and eating as many as we could as fast as we could. Our hands blurred as the large stack of delicious balls of goodness started to slowly decrease in size before in a few moments the plate became empty.
Itachi and I paused as we looked at each other before our gaze slowly traveled towards the rice balls.
With one more look at each other, we hurried to procure the fluffy carb filled balls as we competed with each other. The large bowl of rice started to rapidly deflate in size before it too became empty.
"Next…fish!"
We moved in unison as we attacked the grilled fish with ferocity causing it to disappear in but a few moments as well.
"Spring rolls!"
It didn't take long before those disappeared into my digestive system either.
"Egg rolls!"
Those disappeared in a moment.
"Mixed vegetables!"
Gone.
"Kale wrapped beef!"
Was there even a need to say?
As Itachi and I competed, I idly noted that Mikoto looked at us in amusement as she ate deservedly, while Izumi looked at Itachi and me as if we were foreign animals while absentmindedly eating her food.
Sasuke was jumping around in excitement. "Let's go Itachi-nii!"
The food around the table slowly disappeared before all that was left was the pot of hot green tea. At this junction, Itachi and I came to a compromise as we sat down calmly, our stomachs inflated.
"So? How was it?" Mikoto asked as she looked between the two of us.
"…It was delicious, thanks mother."
"Anything touched by your hands is divine."
Itachi's eyes twitched as he glared at me causing me to slightly smirk.
"Hai, hai." She said with a smile before grabbing the tea pot and serving tea to all the table occupants.
Izumi still had a blank look on her face while Sasuke looked at Itachi in awe. "Big brother you're so awesome!"
Itachi smiled before grabbing his cup.
"Ah Wait!" Izumi stated before bringing out her case of sweets and placing it on the table. "I suppose that since we are now done eating, a little dessert wouldn't hurt."
Saying so, she opened the case, bringing to view the multiple sticks of dango that she had procured. Seeing Itachi's intense look, she shook her head, "No! We'll each get the same amount."
He reluctantly nodded.
"Ah thank you so much little Izumi!" Mikoto stayed as she brought the girl into her bosom. She then whispered, "I can't wait till you're my daughter."
Of course with my enhanced hearing, I could easily pick it up.
The poor young girl slightly flushed red from the statement causing Mikoto to smile.
"Well? Are you going to pass them around?" I asked the browned haired girl who startled herself awake.
"R-right." She said before passing out the snacks around and smiling.
"Thank you." I said before closing my eyes quietly eating the snack.
Suddenly, I whipped out my hand and caught onto a wrist before opening one eye as I chewed the food. With a gulp, I simply stated, "Not today."
Itachi narrowed his eyes at me before retracting his hand, after which I quickly finished off the dango and gulped down the tea.
"Thank you for the meal, Lady Mikoto." I stated before turning to Izumi. "And thank you for the snack."
"Of course." The older woman said with a smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Same!" Izumi followed up gleefully.
I nodded my head and stood up, "I can help with clearing up the place if you want."
Mikoto looked over the large table of empty dishes and chuckled, "I would appreciate that."
I looked towards Itachi and motioned at him with my head to which he responded with a nod. With that, we began to clear up the table and brought everything to the kitchen before washing them.
The sink wasn't too large and only had one faucet, but with my water manipulation, I was able to clean up the dishes with Itachi. We worked in silence as we cleared everything up and I could sense that his emotions were much calmer than before.
In a little bit, we were able to clear out all the dishes that had been used, so we made our way back towards the dining room.
There, Mikoto cradled a drowsy Sasuke so she stood up. "I'll refuse myself for some time, the rest of you can keep each other company."
Itachi looked at the before asking, "Mother, I haven't seen father since earlier, could he be…?"
"At a meeting." She replied with a smile. "A lot of things have been going on so he'll be out for a much longer time."
Itachi nodded. "I see."
With that, the Uchiha Mistress made her way out of the dining room leaving the three of us here to interact.
It wasn't too bad as we simply talked about whatever came to mind: from Izumi and me making fun of Itachi's love for sweets; to me making fun of their relationship and to them trying to make fun of me for something.
Too bad the only trait of mine that was worth making fun of was a well-kept secret.
"No one will ever find out about my infatuation with cute things…"
Izumi was a dear so there really wasn't anything I could say about her personally.
With that, time began to pass quickly as we talked amongst ourselves before it eventually became dark. I looked outside, noting the beautiful full moon, before standing up. "Thank you for having me over, however, it is getting kind of late."
Itachi nodded, "Thank you for coming over."
Izumi interjected with a grin, "He forgot to say that he enjoys your company and wishes you would come over more often."
Itachi gave her a sour look while I smiled lightly. "We can make arrangements for that another time. For now, I'll head back home."
Itachi stood up and nodded before walking me towards the door.
"…I'll see you another time." he stated.
And I simply replied "Likewise."
So, I walked away from his house and down the road.
After a few moments, I paused and looked up to the starlit skies.
There were a lot of things I wanted to do and my mind was constantly thinking of a variety of things, however…
"Living in the moment…it's not to bad."
Author's Note:
Eragon: Noodlehammer is an amazing author and I do not think I would be able to match him if we were to collab. As for your other question, Yoru would become strong I guess lol.