章節 25: Chapter 25: Growing up

-Yahizui-

The sun was slowly setting over Konoha, painting the trees and rooftops in shades of gold and red. The village walls cast long shadows across buildings as the shops and restaurants bustling with the action of civilians and shinobi alike.

Among the green, grey, and brown clothes, Yahizui's crimson hair and her companion's glaringly orange jumpsuit stood out like a sore thumb. It would normally bug her, but today the teen was much too excited to care; she'd been on an emotional high from the moment Kaito had brought her to the temple yesterday.

After her sensei had left, Yahizui had spent hours looking through every nook and cranny of the old building. The designs fascinated her, and when she found a seal-protected crate underneath an altar, she was ecstatic. She had immediately started working on the seal, filling whole scrolls with lines of code and symbols. And for once, when night fell and sleep overtook her, there were no nightmares - the monster that visited her every night fell quiet.

"So, what did ya wanna tell me?" Naruto was brimming with excitement by her side, his eyes alight with energy.

Yahizui looked down at the smiling boy and gathered her wits. "Well…" She paused, not knowing how to go on. How could she tell him?

Naruto, we're related! Too abrupt.

You're an Uzumaki, I'm an Uzumaki… too stupid…

Heeeyyy… Cousin!

She sighed, shook her head, and tried to push down all the ideas that seemed to make no sense. She was overthinking it! Yes, Naruto was a simple kid, and he was alone; he'd be happy to have another family member and would most likely not care about the political implications, or the powers at play.

Looking down, she realized that Naruto had been staring at her the entire time. "Eh…. So, yeah…." Deep breath. "Wanna go get some ramen?"

What?

Before she had time to rethink her words Naruto was already halfway toward Ichiraku. Maybe it was for the best; ramen made him happy, and delivering life-altering news on a full stomach was better than on an empty one.

Yahizui was halfway through her first bowl and Naruto was just finishing his second when the words finally came back to her.

"Hey Naruto, have you ever thought how it would be if other people had the Uzumaki name?"

He glanced up from his meal, his eyes squinting the way they did when he tried to understand something. "You mean… like parents?"

How was she going to say this? Maybe she could just… brush past it? Nonono, Naruto deserved to know! "Not really…" she muttered. "Like… take Sasuke for example. There are many people that have the Uchiha name. And that means they are a clan. So… like one big family."

"Okay…"

"Well, there's a bunch of other clans like that everywhere. And… what if I told you that the Uzumaki are one of them?"

He was squinting so hard that his blue irises were no longer visible. "I don't get it…"

"Simply said, the Uzumaki were once a big family—a ninja clan."

"So… where are they now?"

"Well… I'm not sure. Something bad happened a long time ago, and they're not here anymore. But some of them were here in Konoha, and I'm sure one of your parents was an Uzumaki… Just… just like one of mine."

In the silence between them, Naruto's chewing echoed. His eyes showed her nothing, and after a few agonizing seconds, Yahizui gave up on the hope that the boy understood anything of what she said. With a sigh, she went back to her soup, leaving Naruto to finish chewing his food.

"So…" Naruto's voice rang in the space between them. "You're saying that you're like… really my nee-san?"

Yahizui turned toward him with wide eyes. "N-no! Maybe… cousins?"

"So like… like Shisui's for the duckhead?"

"Ahem!" She could swear that the last piece of meat got stuck in her throat. "Yeah… like Shisui is to Sasuke." Okay, that didn't go so wrong. The cat was out of the bag and, above all expectations, Naruto was entirely rational about it. More rational than she was. That couldn't be right…

Yahizui turned around just in time to catch a mass of blonde hair and orange jumpsuit as he barreled into her. With one hand holding onto the countertop, she stabilized her stool and held Naruto tight. His small body was trembling, hands gripping at her shirt with all his might.

His voice trembled as he spoke, his tight grip loosening with uncertainty. "C-can I call you… nee-san?"

Tenderness for this lost and lonely boy overwhelmed any awkward feeling she may have had. This boy that had been alone more than she could ever imagine; he didn't have the luck of being taken in by a loving parent figure. Naruto had no hot tea when he was feeling down; he stayed hungry and cold in a dirty, tiny apartment. An orphan shunned by all. This skinny, silly boy was kin. His blood was hers, and even if they weren't born as a family, there was a bond there that nothing could ever erase.

"Of course you can." Her voice croaked, and she held him tighter, heart thumping wildly. There would be no more missed meals, no more cheap shoes, no more cramped rooms, and ratty mattresses. Naruto was family, and she would take care of him. And whoever stood in her way would pay.

"It's okay," she whispered, her eyes shining with a new determination. "From now on everything will be okay." The words resonated inside her, an echo of what Itachi whispered to her as she trembled in pain and terror. It seemed so long ago… so much had happened in two weeks.

A small sob was the only answer she received, and Yahizui tightened her hold on the little boy. Fate had been cruel to him, but no more.

Later that evening, Yahizui closed Naruto's front door with a soft click. She had spent the entire day with the boy, answering the many questions he had with the limited amount of information she possessed.

The time she spent in the Uzumaki temple had not been enough to truly discover something. The sealed crate had not given its secrets to her, no matter how many times she tried to unravel its formula. It was a complicated thing, something she had never seen before, and even after she had broken it down into sections, there was something she was missing. The design was different than the ones Konoha used, yet with similar elements. Yet figuring out the elements wouldn't cut it, not with this one. The seal had something she'd never seen in Konoha seals before… it felt almost alive, breathing and shifting beneath her senses.

As she walked through the dark streets lightened by the occasional street lamp, Yahizui wondered whether she should return to the temple and try again or go back to her empty bedroom. Her eyes strayed toward the Uchiha estate.

I wonder if he's home…

Tendrils of chakra responded to her thoughts, forming the now familiar net and stretching in that direction. Yahizui closed her eyes, focusing on finding familiar chakra signatures. She was halfway toward the Uchiha compound, her slow steps guiding her to reach forward when she sensed another known signature.

What is he doing in this part of town? I thought he lived in the other direction…

Her curiosity piqued, and although Yahizui knew it was absolutely none of her business where he was and why he wasn't at home, she couldn't help but follow.

Try to make yourself invisible, echoed a voice in her head. A voice she knew all too well, speaking in a patient yet steely tone.

She could picture the flow of her chakra through her, filling her limbs with energy. Mask it — he'd said.

Green eyes opened with dejection. This was useless. There was no way she could make her chakra invisible without suppressing it. And how the hell was she supposed to… mask her chakra anyway? Yahizui's eyes flickered to the stalls around her and inevitably returned toward the familiar chakra.

Who cares about masking anyway? If I hide it, he won't see me. So job done!

With a solid grip on the energy pulsing through her, she jumped closer to her target, relying more and more on her innate nimbleness the closer she got. It was as she carefully hoisted herself up onto a thick branch that her curious eyes could finally peer into the dimly lit apartment.

Her eyes widened. O-oh…

A furious blush filled her face, and as much as she wanted to turn away, something rooted her to the spot, her pulse racing. The seconds it took her to unfreeze dragged on like hours, and when she finally dropped to the ground below, Yahizui shook her head and rubbed furiously at her eyes.

That was… something.

Her steps brought her to the gates of the Uchiha estate before she pulled the images from her brain. With another shake of her head, she stretched her senses once more, probing the main house. She could feel Sasuke's small signature alone in a room, and right next to it was another, probably sitting on his bed.

Yahizui smiled, imagining him cleaning his uniform after the mission, sharpening the kunai and methodically laying them at his feet. With renewed energy in her bones, she approached him. Something inside her told her to go home, or even back to the temple, but sleeping without his presence by her side was agony, and sneaking into his room made her heart race.

Suppressing her chakra came easily, and making herself unseen in the darkness was a piece of cake. There were a mere handful of police guards patrolling the streets, all tired and thinking of when their shift would finally end. They didn't care to look for shadows shifting through bushes, making her trip to the main mansion almost too easy.

Scaling the low rooftop and landing on Itachi's windowsill proved to be a challenge without the use of chakra, and by the time she caught her breath a sharp kunai caressed the side of her neck.

"Sneaking around?" asked Itachi with a hint of humor in his voice.

Yahizui smirked, pushing the kunai away with a finger. "The security around this place is seriously lacking."

"I wasn't aware we need it," he said with a quirk of his lips as he stepped away to let her come in.

As her feet touched the tatami floor, Yahizui cataloged his room. It was simple, with a spacious bed in the middle, a weapon rack, and what looked like an in-wall closet. Otherwise, there was nothing. She thought back on her cluttered room and winced. This was a temple of order and cleanliness compared to her place!

Ignoring the pang of shame that brought color to her cheeks, she kicked her shoes off and headed toward the only piece of furniture she could sit on: his bed. She casually sat on the hard mattress — typical — and watched as he took a seat on the floor and continued to polish his kunai. She smiled and tucked her legs under her. "How was the mission?"

Itachi's eyes lifted for a moment, giving her a look that told her she knew better than to ask such questions.

"Anyway," she continued awkwardly. The white covers beneath her fingers reminded her of what she had seen earlier, and she hoped the light was dim enough to cover her flushing face.

"What's wrong?"

Her head snapped toward him, eyes wide with surprise. Images flashed before her, and she had to blink them away. "Nothing!" she squeaked before righting her tone with a discrete cough. "… I'm fine, perfectly fine."

She slid to the floor beside him, eye traveling to his rhythmical movements as she calmed her racing heartbeat. "I told Naruto today…"

Itachi's onyx eyes focused back on her as he aligned the last kunai to the ones on the floor. "And?"

She smiled at the memory, her chest filling once more with tender feelings. "He was thrilled. I want to talk to Riruka-san… ask if he could move in."

"Are you sure?" Something in his eyes shifted and took a careful glint. "Bring this to the Hokage first."

Yahizui blinked in his direction a few times, unsure how to take his advice. "Why?" she questioned, trying to find the reason behind his words. "He's an orphan, and no one seems to take care of him. The Hokage doesn't seem to give a damn about him now. Why would he in the future?"

"You'll do it anyway, no matter what I say, won't you?"

The grin spreading on her face was the only answer she would give, and his answering sigh told Yahizui of how well he knew her.

She was glad she'd had the courage to sneak into the Uchiha compound late at night. Itachi's presence calmed her, and from the way the muscles in his shoulders gradually relaxed, Yahizui wanted to think it had the same effect on him. It was funny how everyone assumed the boy before her was so serious and emotionless all the time; to her eyes, he was anything but. Itachi's subtle sense of humor and sarcasm were an acquired taste for sure, and sometimes he was too… planned for her, but never lacking emotion. Sometimes she wondered just how many people had the privilege to see under the mask he had carefully constructed for himself. Did his ANBU colleagues get glimpses of dry humor, or was he as stiff and professional as she imagined him to be? What of his family? She couldn't picture his rigid father or distant-looking mother snickering at one of the rare quips Itachi said. Maybe Sasuke… definitely Shisui…

"Lost?"

Yahizui abandoned her train of thought, eyes returning to the here and now. "No… just thinking," she muttered, knowing too well that her cheeks were warming dangerously at his intense look. Her eyes shifted through the room, suddenly feeling out of place.

The courage that brought her to his room in the middle of the night left her, leaving behind the thought of I just came here in the middle of the night uninvited! What if he had been sleeping, or… not dressed? "I… should get going… Sorry for bother—"

"It's no bother," he quickly said.

His words warmed her, melting away the anxious feeling in her chest. "Okay… what do you wanna do?"

This time it was Itachi who looked at a loss for words, his eyes moving through the empty room. "How… how was your day?"

The question brought back images of what she had seen earlier that evening, and this time Yahizui knew that if she didn't talk about it, she would likely explode. "I saw something today…"

"Oh?"

Opening her mouth and letting it all out seemed a good idea at first; but now, faced with Itachi's attention upon her, Yahizui wasn't so sure. She usually wasn't gossiping, and this topic wasn't something she had ever spoken of… knew of it sure, saw it? — Well, now she had seen it. But from that to talking openly about it… it didn't come out as smooth as she hoped.

"I saw… I saw Kaito-sensei doing some things with a lady," Yahizui finally sputtered, her face going up in flames.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Itachi lean forward, his gaze lighting with interest. Ha! It seemed not even the Uchiha heir was beneath gossip!

"What things?" he asked.

Well, she started it, so now she had to finish it. She and her big mouth, who just had to talk about it, and now she had to tell him what she saw. "They were… doing things…" Flashes of entwined limbs and eyes closed in something that looked like pain flashed before her. "… without clothes." She had never seen so much skin on anyone but herself, Kaito's broad back arched as his head buried in the generous bosom of the woman beneath him. "I mean they were on the—"

Itachi's hand covered her mouth, a dusting of pink coloring his cheeks. "No need to say details." They stood like that for a few seconds before he seemed to remember his hand and pulled back with a skeptical look in his eyes. "What were you doing spying on your sensei?"

"I wasn't spying on him!" Nonoo, spying was the last thing she had been doing! She had just been curious, and now knew to never give in to her curiosity again! "He told me to practice my sensor abilities and how to completely mask my chakra. I tried to sneak up on him as practice. But… this time he didn't see me."

"He was busy by the sound of it."

She turned to gaze at him and saw the curl of his lips and the twinkle in his dark eyes. He looks cute when he smiles; she thought. His eyes were warm, and his lips looked soft. A different embarrassment filled her, sparking once more that damned curiosity that had gotten her into trouble so many times before.

"Itachi…"

"Hm?"

Yahizui leaned in before Itachi had any time to react, catching the question with her lips and drinking the surprise in his eyes. The contact lasted for a second before she pulled back with a thundering heart and a frown on her lips. "It looked different when they did it…"

"W-what??"

The redness of his cheeks and bright eyes made Yahizui blush, her pulse thundering.

"Kissing... It looked different…" she muttered, thinking of the blissful expressions she briefly saw. "Did I not do it right?"

His eyes suddenly widened, and Yahizui could see the redness spreading to the tip of his nose. "Nono, it was nice."

Yes, it was nice! She looked at him, at his sculpted lips and dark eyes. Having him so close felt good, seeing the emotions play so openly on his face was exciting and as she drank him in Yahizui knew that she wanted to lean in again and feel his soft lips on hers. The breath froze in her lungs, and her hands felt clammy with sweat. Should she lean in? Should she… forget about it?

Insecurity floated between them, Itachi's eyes were switching between her lips and her eyes, and her heart was beating wildly in her ears. Just one move and everything was different. With that one gesture, their reality suddenly changed, trapping them in limbo.

What… what do I do? There was no going back now, and she knew that. Even if the earth were to swallow her whole or if she were to disappear into thin air, she would always remember how Itachi's lips felt on her. And… she wanted to know more.

The deed was already done, so what was another peek?

Yahizui leaned forward once more, quickly touching Itachi's lips with hers. She immediately pulled back, but this time he moved too, his warm mouth putting pressure on hers.

Yahizui's heart threatened to explode, giddiness bubbling up in her belly. She felt brave, elated by the buzz inside her. Her hand lifted to touch his cheek, and she pushed back, increasing the pressure of their lips as her eyes fluttered closed.

It was a simple kiss, a touch of the lips, but it left her grinning like an idiot anyway as they pulled away from each other. She bit her lower lip, thoughts firing inside her head. Should they do it again? Will they ever do it again? Something urged her to find out, pull him toward her once more, and just find out the answer in that beautiful warm mingling of lips. Her eyes opened, and she wondered if her cheeks were as red as his; they felt that way.

"So, I—"

"Nii-san, can I…" Sasuke's voice trailed off as he fully opened the door and caught sight of them sitting on the floor by Itachi's bed. "What are you doing here?"

They both moved away from each other and as Yahizui tried to find an appropriate answer, Itachi stood and headed over to his little brother.

"Hello, Sasuke." His voice was enviably calm as if nothing out of the ordinary had transpired just moments ago.

Yahizui turned to look at him, but she could only see his stiff back. Sasuke stood in the open doorway, the light of the hallway flooding the room around his slight frame. His usually gravity-defying hair was wild, and his eyes were sleepy. It was definitely bedtime for him.

"I…" Sasuke stammered, hesitant about how to go on when faced with his brother's full height. "I wanted to ask if I can sleep here tonight…" He thumbed the edge of his shirt, his childish features unsure.

Yahizui jumped up and placed her hands on Itachi's shoulders. "Sure you can, Sasuke-kun!" she gushed, fingers digging into his muscles. "I'm sure Itachi would love to have his cute little brother stay with him!"

Itachi turned to look at her with questions in his eyes, but Yahizui's attention was on Sasuke. She'd had enough bravery for tonight. It was time for a sensible retreat, and this was the best option.

Sasuke's eyes were wide with hope, and she was sure that not even Itachi could resist such an adorable little face. So, she dug her fingers into his shoulders once more and urged on. "He can stay with you, ne Itachi?"

She could feel the sigh leave his body, posture sagging in defeat. "Yes Sasuke, you can stay." The words barely left his lips and Sasuke was already jumping in his brother's bed and burying himself in the blankets.

Yahizui smiled and moved away from Itachi's warm body and toward the window. She grabbed her boots and managed a quarter of a step before Itachi grabbed her wrist. "I'll walk you outside," he said and pulled her in the door's direction.

She followed him through the empty hallways of his house, wondering where everyone else was. "Home alone?"

"My parents are on a diplomatic… mission. They will come back in a few days."

She nodded, her eyes wandering. "I guess that's what made Sasuke want to come to you."

"Yeah…"

They reached the front door in no time, and Yahizui put her boots back on. "So, I'm off!" The nervous feeling was back. What was she to do with her hands? Or her feet? Should she look at him, or just leave?

"Yahizui…"

"Yes?"

Itachi's lips touched hers for the briefest of moments before he pulled back and gazed at her with warmth in his eyes. "Good night."

Her entire body flushed, a broad smile stretching her lips. "' Night!" There was nothing else she could trust herself to say, so she quickly turned around and jumped to the nearest tree, so full of emotions she forgot all about the sleepy guards she had to watch out for.

Yahizui spent the entire way home in a daze, and she still didn't recover the next day. She automatically walked to the training ground, spread her scrolls on the mossy floor, and just stood there, thinking of onyx eyes and soft lips.

"Hey, did you just hear anything that I just said?"

Yahizui jumped, startled by the proximity of two droopy dark eyes. "What the hell, Tojiro?"

Tojiro flicked her nose in response and pulled back with a smug expression. "You were out of it."

"So? Personal space, ever heard of it?" Yahizui rubbed her nose furiously, her eyes narrowing in Tojiro's general direction while she tried to fight the heat invading her cheeks.

It took a few breaths before she dared to look back at Tojiro from the corner of her eye, catching his skeptical look.

"Since when are you so bothered with personal space?"

"I believe this is a process which usually seems to happen with teenage girls." Said a voice to Tojiro's right.

Yahizui leaned back and saw Hakudoshi's shorter form stand casually next to her friend. "When the hell did you get here? And who made you an expert in girls?"

Hakudoshi fixed her with a blank stare. "I've been here the whole time," he proclaimed, then flashed a cocky smirk. "And I'm not the type to give up my secrets."

A scowl was her first answer before she swatted his presence away like an annoying fly. "No one cares about your 'secrets'; and just so you know, you're wrong."

"I bet she's on that time of the month," whispered Hakudoshi loudly to Tojiro. "They get all… prissy."

That's it! "I AM NOT—" Yahizui stopped just in time to see the smirk growing on his face and quickly took hold of her temper with a few coughs and turned her attention toward Tojiro. "So, what were you saying?"

"Kaito-sensei is late."

An image flashed before her eyes and Yahizui had to look away from the boys so they won't see the color in her cheeks. "Nothing unusual about that… maybe he overslept?"

Tojiro shook his head, a pensive look falling over his features. "I'm not sure… Kaito-sensei is never late, and we've been here for thirty minutes. Maybe—"

"Maybe you three should mind your own business," said a deep voice above them, making Yahizui freeze.

They looked up and saw Kaito leaning over them, a half-amused look on his face. The boys grinned, unaware of her elevated anxiety levels. Kaito would never find out what she saw. Never.

"I come with news," proclaimed the jounin, unaware of Yahizui's sweaty palms and racing heartbeat. "Konoha just received an invitation to the upcoming chuunin exams, and I was thinking to—"

"YES!"

"For sure!"

"We will go."

The chorus of their voices overlapped in a cacophony of affirmations until Kaito raised his hands to stop them. "You don't even know what it's about."

Yahizui took a step forward, her nervousness left long behind. "It doesn't matter! We're ready, our teamwork is better than ever, and we're strong enough!"

"Your teamwork is better, but you are far from strong," countered Kaito, making Yahizui frown.

What was he talking about, they were strong! They had grown so much since they graduated, and learned so much! But even as the words formed inside her head, images of pale skin and yellow eyes invaded her mind, reminding her of how far she still had to go.

Kaito looked them over, measuring them with his icy gaze. "There is still so much you need to learn, and the chuunin exams will test your limits and push them further. You will encounter shinobi from other countries, people who have taken the exam many times, and others who come for the first time but are prodigies. The exam is a chance for hidden villages to flaunt their new generations and show how strong they are; it will not be easy. If you're sure you want to do this… you will have to train."

"Then we train!" Hakudoshi stepped forward, a spark igniting in his golden gaze. And this time Yahizui agreed with him wholeheartedly.

She took a step forward, standing by Hakudoshi's side, and saw Tojiro follow her. "We're willing to do whatever it takes."

A nod was the only thing Kaito gave them in response to their decisiveness, though Yahizui was sure she could see a spark in his eyes; maybe it was a trick of the light.

"Good, then pack. We leave in the morning and will be gone for an entire month."