Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Girl Named Yama ❯ Chapter 19 - And so the bomb drops ( Chapter 19 )

A Girl Named Yama

 

Author: XoXSilverDragonXoX

 

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from `Naruto'. The only thing I own is my main character, Umari Yama, and maybe some unrecognizable characters that you may see.

 

Brief Summary: A girl finds herself dumped into Hatake's bed one day in a different world to deal with an emotional Sasuke, a hyperactive Naruto, a flirty Genma and lazy Kakashi. And of course, to deal with all the glory of life in Konoha to boot!

 

Notes: Explanation for Fusing Shuriken

 

Yama was cut by this waaaaaay back in chapter one.

The Shuriken was researched by Akatsuki (presented in chapter 18, along with all the other wonderful information).

Later on, we will find out that this shuriken is later investigated by Orochimaru as well.

The Shuriken is tinted red - the only way to tell it from a regular shuriken.

Fusing allows for people to share chakra and abilities (not including jutsu's)

More on this later on!

Last Chapter:

 

Uchiha Itachi in Konoha? Eh… bad. Itachi and Kakashi meet? Double bad. Uchiha Sasuke bursting in on a meeting where Uchiha Itachi is present? Prepare for hell, people!

 

Warnings:

 

Hints of Shounen Ai.Seeing as this story is rated `M' be expecting a bit of language now and then.

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

Chapter 19 - And so the Bomb Drops

 

I had just barely dodged to the left when a resounding crash reverberated throughout the room. It echoed again and again, speaking in depths just what kind of damage it might have done. I winced and held my side.

 

When I actually surveyed the damage, I was shocked to find that an entire shelf of books was demolished. In fact... Sasuke still stood there, hand within the bookshelf and panting wildly. His eyes had a wild and terrifying look to them and it scared me off to no end.

 

"Sa...suke???" Naruto said incredulously. "Where the heck did you learn that kick ass move?!" Sasuke let out a low growl and didn't answer, his red eyes trained on the older Uchiha male. Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly and in a flash, he was behind Sasuke.

 

Everyone in the room froze as Itachi's arm rose. Sasuke growled and whirled around, blocking a blow from his older brother, before launching another hit of his own.

 

"... You've gotten faster... little brother... but not fast enough."

 

Handing hitting air, I saw Sasuke's eyes narrow slightly before training in on something behind my shoulder. My eyes rolled sideways and I found Itachi beside me. He smirked. Sasuke snarled, "Get away from her!"

 

"What is it little brother...? Afraid I'll do..." I grew rigid when I felt Itachi's icy hand slide around the back of my neck before pulling taut - so that his arm was now completely around my neck. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, "... this?" I saw the Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes swirl wildly and I abruptly acted.

 

Jamming my elbow backwards, I was satisfied when Itachi let out a huff of air, "Quit it!" I hissed. Sasuke's eyes filled with surprise and he stared at the two of us. I heard Kakashi mumble something under his breath, before he removed Itachi's hand from around my neck and discreetly shoved him back. "Back off," he said sharply.

 

Itachi let out a low chuckle. "...do you think you can stop me?" his eyes flashed.

 

Silence.

 

Two seconds later, Sasuke tackled him.

 

In a flurry of movement, I dove for the two of them to attempt at breaking them apart. What happened was that I received a kick in the leg and a bruise on my eye. "Shit!" I swore, holding my left eye where Sasuke's elbow had jabbed into it. Sasuke froze and pulled out, grabbing my arm and dragging me with him.

 

I groaned, rubbing my backside and trying to nurse my eye at the same time. I felt a hand gently push my hand away from my injury and a hand encased my chin. Someone tipped my head up and a stern voice spoke. "Open your eye," Blearily, I managed to pry open my injured eye slightly. I saw a blob of silver hair and heard a peeved sigh. "It is only bruised."

 

Only...?!? It doesn't feel like it's bruised! It feels like someone tried to pry my fucking eye out!

 

Giving off a small miff of discontentment, I continued to hold a hand over that eye and opened my right eye, staring at Sasuke who sat beside me. He gave me a small sheepish look before it hardened when his gaze landed on Itachi again.

 

Snatching my brother's hand before he leapt off again, I gave my head a small shake. "No," Sasuke glared at me. "He-!"

 

"No, he didn't do anything." I muttered. Sasuke gave me an incredulous look.

 

"How can you say that!!" he hissed furiously. "He slaughtered my - ourfamily!!!" I pushed him back so that he was now sitting down on the floor. I plopped down in front of him (blocking Itachi from view) and glared at him the best I could with only one eye.

 

"I wanted to explain this to you before... but I guess I never got the time to..." I murmured uncomfortably. "I-"

 

I felt a jolt and I glanced curiously at Itachi, who was now glaring holes into the back of my head. That was worse than a Level 6 Sasuke glare - without the destruction, that is. Now I know where Sasuke learned his glares from. "..." Um… did Itachi realize that I had found out?

 

His look said. 'Tell them and I'll kill you.' Oh, I guess he did. I sighed. How exactly was I suppose to work this out? I hesitated. "He..."

 

"Kakashi? I would like to take Naruto and Sasuke and leave the room please." the Hokage asked tiredly. I glanced at him carefully.

 

"Umm..."

 

"Hokage-sama!” Kakashi protested. Itachi glanced at him with obvious disinterest, "Are you telling us to leave you alone with the man who slaughtered the Uchiha clan! He'll obviously refused to tell us the reason why—”

 

"I am very well aware of what occurred on the Uchiha estate, Hatake," Itachi said sharply, "And I do not see any plausible reason saying that I should explain my actions that occurred so long ago. It was - and still is - presently none of your business. What occurred on the Uchiha estate so long ago is only the business of those involved."

 

The Hokage narrowed his eyes and I saw Kakashi's hackles rise again. Sasuke snorted, "You mean when you killed our parents? Massacred the entire family?"

 

"... I don't believe so little brother; because the entire family would include you. And unless you're dead and somehow am miraculously standing in front of me because of some resurrection trick, I did not 'massacre the entire family.'"

 

Sasuke attempted to rise again and I promptly pushed him down. "Stay down," I hissed softly. Sasuke gave me a suspicious look. I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that I should be on his side. He was thinking that I was not supposed to stand up for Itachi, especially since he captured me so long ago. And somewhere along those lines, he would soon think that I was betraying him.

 

I rubbed my left temple, feeling another headache coming on. What had started out as a normal afternoon with Iruka-sensei had evolved and became so horribly wrong... and turned into something so uncontrollable.

 

When the room erupted into another 'yell-fest,' I decided that I had had enough. I needed some air. I just needed to get out of there for a little while... Just for an hour or so. I could apologize later. And I need to nurse my eye... I winced as I tentatively touched my left eyelid. I would need to get some ice for that soon.

 

Abruptly standing up, I had only taken a step towards the door when I found a hand clamp down on my arm. I heard Sasuke snarl and I already knew who was holding my arm so tightly. The hand loosened slightly.

 

Itachi.

 

I sighed and promptly attempted to pry his fingers off my arm, "...Oi..." I muttered. "You want to... let go of me??" I clenched my teeth slightly when Itachi's gaze grew colder. "You're staying here." He muttered. I answered by returning his glare full force and raised one hand. My eyes closed briefly.

 

"You're not older than me," I snapped, "You can't tell me what to do. So back off!" I was in a bad mood, so what? I had every right to be! In the past hour I had been drained of chakra, thrown on the ground, wounded, and humiliated and now I was downright pissed. And now these stupid people won't even listen to my explanations so that I could clear up everything! The Uchiha's eyebrows furrowed slightly and I could hear Sasuke grinding his teeth in he background. I heard the Hokage sigh wearily. "Maybe we should try to clear up this situation so I can get back to addressing the other matters of Konoha."

 

I felt a stab of guilt. The Hokage was busy enough already... and this situation was my fault. I gulped. "... eh... Sumimasen..." The Hokage gave me a short smile and asked for Kakashi to take his two students and leave. After a few seconds, he relented, pushing Naruto (who was still gaping blankly at nothing) ahead of him and taking Sasuke's collar and dragging him out the door.

 

The door slammed shut.

 

"..."

 

“All right then.” The Hokage said wearily. “I believe all three of us know why you have come back, Itachi.” Said Uchiha merely turned his head pointedly away. “And I think that your arrival has pretty good timing.”

 

Both Itachi and I blinked blankly at Sarutobi, who gave us a mere smile.

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

I tried to look casual as I walked down the street. The sun was just disappearing over the horizon, casting an eerie purplish glow to the sky. Most of the villagers had either gone home by now, or were just starting to come out of their shells. The night life wasn't quiet here either. And that only made it more awkward, especially since my left eye was now slowly changing to a dark purple color. I was inwardly cursing Sasuke and his damn boney elbow.

 

But as casual as I tried to look, it was rather hard given the circumstances I was given. Behind me trailed a couple of disgruntled people. First there was Itachi, who had promptly placed himself just to the left of me, his eyes glowing red. It certainly stopped any kind of people that tried to walk within 10 feet of me.

 

Then there was Sasuke, who stiffened every time Itachi made the slightest movement - including taking a breath. Then there was a miffed looking Naruto, who was pointedly glaring at Sasuke. For what reason? I wasn't too sure. Maybe it was because Sasuke 'forgot' to tell him when he learned that 'kick ass new jutsu.' I can never understand the relationship those two have. One moment they're all close and quiet and the next they're arguing and yelling.

 

And last but not least; followed Kakashi. The man who stood by my side with his eyes glued to a porno book. And of course, I cannot forget to mention my eye. At least it didn't hurt that much anymore. The only thing giving me pain right now was that wound on my left side. It was starting to burn like hell and every time I moved, the bandages chafed the edges of the wound. It stung like hell.

 

Whatever. I'll just try to ignore it... I hope. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

 

My eyes dimmed slightly as I recalled the events that had just occurred in the last hour.

 

The Hokage had plainly said that I was in danger. Yay! Technically I was. One, the council members didn't like me. Two, Akatsuki wanted me. So until things settled down, Itachi was allowed to stay. The Hokage knew Itachi wasn't a bad person from the heart.

I remembered some long speech about duty and business that Itachi had retaliated with when the Hokage had called him a kind person.

 

Okay, so maybe he didn't mention duty or anything. I really have no clue what he had said. I was... er... distracted.

 

...By trying to prevent Sasuke from trying to sneak into the room. He had tried to his window trick again but I had sensed his presence easily (courtesy of Iruka's training). Apparently he had gotten away from Kakashi somehow. I highly doubt that Kakashi didn't have the ability to keep a thirteen year old from getting away. So I think that Kakashi let him go and try to sneak into the room because the damn copy-nin was curious himself.

 

And then the Hokage decided we needed a front as to why Itachi was allowed to remain. We decided to go with the fact that Itachi was protecting me and that was that. It seemed simple enough. A little difficult to believe for others, seeing as this was the man that slaughtered his entire clan, but we couldn't very well say that he slaughtered it for a mission, the stupid council would have our head.

 

So we figured that even if the Hokage had `tried' to not allow Itachi to get off scot-free, there was no way he could try and contain the s-class missing-nin anyway. Number one, the Chuunin exams were coming up. Number two, Akatsuki was already targeting Konoha. Therefore we didn't need anymore conflicts from within.

 

So now the Hokage had 'allowed' Itachi to stay here. But we needed to bind Itachi's chakra. Just for show, of course. So now Itachi had two chakra chains on either of his wrists. It was `supposed' to limit his chakra use. It didn't do that for real, but it had appeased the council members and all Itachi had to do was keep his chakra low for the time being. Not to hard, right? There were also Anbu members that would `randomly' check on Itachi to ensure he wasn't up to anything. Again, not so bad.

 

Poor Itachi also had to be subjected to a brief interrogation by Morino Ibiki and a Hyuuga clan member. I don't know what went on in there, but everything turned out okay, so I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

The only bad thing was that Itachi was hell bent on staying by me.

 

And 'staying' with me meant staying with Sasuke too. That was going to be a ditch I did not want to end up in. It was a brick wall that I was going to run through at 75 miles per hour. And it will not be fun. I'm not looking forward to that. Nuh-uh.

 

Glancing around slowly, I realized that we now stood in front of the house I had lived in for the past 8 months or so. When I strolled up the walkway and up the steps, I heard a small grunt and a growl. Turning around swiftly, I found myself staring at Naruto who was flat on his face and Sasuke, who was glaring at Itachi.

 

Wincing since the wild whirl around had stretched my side wound; I decided that I didn't want to know.

 

Shrugging, I turned back around and slid my key into the keyhole and pushed the door open.

 

Creak!

 

Hmm. It needed some oil.

 

Warily slipping off my shoes, I held a hand out, "Welcome," I muttered. Itachi gave a small grunt in reply and followed my example, walking into the dark house. Flipping on the hall light switch, I saw Kakashi slip off his shoes as well.

 

"Kakashi..." I eased up next to him, "You should go home. Don't you have another mission early tomorrow morning?" Kakashi shrugged and grunted. I scowled. That was the last straw. I was tired of the 'Hn' there and the 'Hrmp' there. If no one was going to talk in the next second, I swear I was going to-

 

"Yama-chaaaaan!!" Startled, I jumped slightly at Naruto's voice, "I'm going to head home now, see you soon, okay?" I gave him a wary wave, despite knowing that he was leaving me with 3 non-talking people.

 

"Bye Sasuke-teme!!"

 

"...idiot..." My eyebrows rose. He talks! Sasuke disappeared into the dark hallways.

 

As Naruto disappeared off into the dark night, I gave Kakashi a slight shove towards the door, "Go home."

 

"But- "

 

"... Kakashi,"

 

"..." Kakashi glared at me, then at Itachi. "I'm staying here," I threw my hands up in exasperation and pointed one finger at him. "You're going home. We don't have room for you here!" Kakashi gave me a sly look. "Only if you come home with me,” He paused. “Besides, your dog's with me.” I brightened slightly. Puppy! I had forgotten all about the poor thing. I hesitated. “Can he stay there for the night?” I dropped my voice to a low whisper. “I haven't… told Sasuke about him yet.” Kakashi rolled his eyes but nodded slightly.

 

"..."

 

"..."

 

“So are you going now?” I asked wryly.

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

After an hour of reversing between anger, frustration and finally cursing and begging; Kakashi finally left. That was, after threatening Itachi - several times in fact - and forcing me to promise him that I'd call in the morning to tell him that I wasn't hurt.

 

While I had been conversing with Kakashi in the doorway, Itachi and Sasuke had somehow disappeared out of view. When I finally slammed the door shut and stomped into the living room, I found Sasuke and Itachi there, glaring daggers at each other.

 

Well, more like Sasuke glaring daggers at Itachi and Itachi gazing casually down at his younger brother. I snapped my fingers. "Quit it!" Abruptly, they did and Sasuke stalked over, hissing.

"Why!?"

 

I stared at him, stunned. "...Why...?"

 

"Why did you betray me? Betray our family?!" See? What did I tell you? I'd told you that he would think that I was betraying him. I let out a slow sigh and dragged him over towards the couch, forcing him to sit down. I knelt in front of him, ignoring the other dark presence in the room.

 

"Sasuke, I didn't betray anyone. Especially not you," He opened his mouth to reply and I plowed on, "You're brother didn't deliberately... well okay. You're brother didn't kill the entire family out of cold blood and to 'prove that he could do it.'" I glanced back at Itachi, giving him a sideways look, "He did it… uh…” Itachi's glare increased. I distinctly remember that Itachi had sworn the Hokage to secrecy to not tell Sasuke. I don't think I can break that secrecy either. It was Itachi's decision to not tell Sasuke… even though I wanted the boy to know badly. Besides, my gaze saddened slightly. If I told Sasuke, how would that change his view of Konoha? I decided I would make up a stupid excuse. “He did it because of me.”

 

Yeah, I know, it was a stupid excuse, but it was the best I could come up with at the moment!

 

"Hrmp," Itachi muttered, before disappearing in the direction of the kitchen. Giving a small miff of relief, I continued, "Do you remember when you told me that Itachi told you about me? About how you had a sister?"

 

Sasuke nodded cautiously, giving me an incredulous look that screamed; 'I-don't-believe-you-You-LIAR!'

 

"He thought that father and mother had sent me away forever," My eyes hardened slightly at my very own next words. "...so he killed them all." There was a stunned silence. Boy, I seemed to be getting a lot of those lately. A little hard to believe, but come on Sasuke, I can't exactly tell you the truth.

 

"That's a lie!" he hissed. I jerked back, startled when Sasuke sent me a look. A look filled with distrust, disgust and betrayal. When he stood up and roughly pushed me away, I stumbled back into the coffee table. Shocked, I only gaped at my younger brother. I didn't think that he would take it that bad!

 

I reached out towards him, slightly confused. "Sasuke, I-"

 

Rudely he shrugged my arm off his shoulder and stomped away. A few seconds later I heard the front door slam shut.

 

I let out a dull groan, plopping down onto the couch and covering my face with my hands. This was such a mess.

 

"Didn't take it too well?"

 

I glanced up at the slow drawl, spotting Itachi who stood learning against a wall with his arms crossed. I glared at him and pointed an accusing finger at him, "It's your entire fault anyway! You should've made up an excuse rather than leaving it to me..." I muttered, turning to stare out the window. I heard him snort.

 

I stared at him. “Was it hard?” I asked suddenly. Itachi's dark eyes turned to me emotionlessly. I'm pretty sure he knew what I was talking about.

 

“Yes.”

 

His straightforward answer told me he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I dropped the subject.

 

Sighing, I stood and meandered towards the direction of the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

 

"No."

 

Giving Itachi a sideways look and shaking off the thought that the Uchiha Itachi was here in Konoha, willingly being allowed to wander around, I gestured towards the stairs. "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping tonight." I muttered. I stifled a yawn and sleepily ascended the stairs.

 

Passing Sasuke's room and momentarily pausing by the next room over, I shook my head and headed towards my own room - which was the last room at the end of the hall. Who knows what would happen if Sasuke and Itachi shared a room wall... I don't even want to go there.

 

Opening my room's door, I gestured towards the door that was opposite to mine. "Bathroom's there." It was rather amusing how Sasuke had changed my rooms after the `falling-down-the-stairs' incident occurred. I guess he didn't want me accidently walking into his room thinking it was a bathroom all the time.

 

I turned towards my room. "This is where you're going to-"

 

"Where are you sleeping?"

 

Confused, I blinked at him, "Huh?" Did he just ask me where I was going to sleep? Ermm...

 

He gave me an amused look. "Where are you sleeping?"

 

"... eh... Well this is my room..." I murmured nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "I thought that I would sleep on the sofa downstairs or something..." I heard Itachi enter the room and I saw him eye the room's contents with interest.

 

His eyebrow rose slightly at the pair of pajamas that were laid across my bed. My eyes widened slightly as I spotted exactly which pair they were. I dove for them, hiding them behind me. "Eh..."

 

It was the 'Kakashi' pair.

 

"... Interesting..." he muttered. There were a few moments of silence as he continued to survey the room. Not that there was that much to see... A bed in the middle, a desk littered with papers to the left in front of the window, a closet, a shelf filled with little knickknacks, and a phone. The room was still dark too, since I had forgotten to turn on the light.

 

I let out a sigh as moonlight shone through the window and had just turned around to walk back out the room when a hand landed on my shoulder. Confused, my eyes trailed the hand back to its owner - Itachi.

 

"You can sleep in here."

 

"But-"

 

"You will sleep in here." my mouth snapped shut and I meekly moved back towards the bed. I've learned one thing from experience for sure. What Uchiha Itachi says, you'd better do. I plopped down onto the bed after draping the -ahem- Kakashi pajamas on my desk chair, giving Itachi a tired look. "Where are you going to sleep then?"

 

He didn't answer.

 

Sighing and throwing back the covers, I lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Where was Sasuke? Where did Sasuke go? I only knew that in his state of mind (being angry and all), he would either go to the training grounds or to Naruto's place. To be honest, I hoped that he was at Naruto's place. I would be a lot less worried about him if he was with Naruto... At least Naruto can somewhat keep Sasuke's head on straight.

 

Curling up onto my side and trying to ignore the other presence in the room, I had only almost fallen asleep when the phone rang. Head bobbing in surprise, I stared at it for a few seconds. Then it rang again. Picking up, I murmured into the phone, "... hello?"

 

"..."

 

I yawned, "Kakashi? Is that you?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Itachi's eyes narrow slightly, "Hello? Is anyone there?" No answer. Confused, I pulled the phone away from me slightly, staring at it in confusion. Then I brought it back towards my ear. I could hear breathing, so I knew that someone was on the other line still, "... Hello?" I tried again.

 

Just when I was about to hang up, a really, really, creepy voice came over the line. "... Game over..."

 

I froze.

 

Beeeeeeeeeeee... Only the low dial tone was left. Whoever it was had hung up.

 

Itachi's eyes flashed. Apparently, he had heard it too. I had only just opened my mouth when Itachi snatched the phone from me and slammed it onto its receiver. I flinched, wincing as I saw the receiver crack down the middle. I needed a new phone now. Letting out a slow breath, I tried to calm him down. "It's only a phone call, I'm sure it doesn't mean anything." I think I had said that to try and reassure myself. Not that many people knew this phone number. And it wasn't listed either. Wrong number, maybe? I hoped so. I had enough things to worry about.

 

Itachi only gave me a look. "Go to sleep," he muttered. I sighed as he proceeded to stride over towards the window, standing there motionlessly. But even as I settled down again, I found that I just couldn't sleep. I didn't know what it was - I just didn't feel like it. Or maybe I was just too edgy after that phone call to sleep...

 

Abruptly sitting up again, I threw back the blankets and had only laid one foot onto the floor when Itachi's voice sounded. "Where are you going?" Stiffening, I turned towards him, giving him a sheepish grin. "Bathroom," I said innocently.

 

I saw his eyes narrow slightly, but he acknowledged my answer with a brief nod and turned to gaze out the window once more.

 

Letting out an inner sigh of relief, I slipped out of my room. Sheesh. It was like living with parents all over again. After giving the now closed door a glance, I tiptoed down the hall and paused at the top of the stairs. I grinned slightly and quickly slid down the railing, landing at the bottom with a small thump. Freezing in my tracks, I cocked my head and waited.

 

But there was no notion whatsoever that Itachi had heard me.

 

Feeling quite pleased with myself, I made my way to the front door and slid on my shoes. Sliding the door open, I stepped out into the cool night air and took a deep breath.

 

Ambling down the path and then zipping across the lawn, I darted into the shadows to avoid being seen by passer-bys. I wanted a bit of privacy. I scuffed the toe of my shoe against the grass, noting dully that there were still a few traces of snow. I liked snow, really. It had snowed and been gloomy for a couple of weeks already, but then the sun came out and it got all warm... well, you get the point.

 

Iruka had said that the weather was being all 'weird' lately, so I presumed that the snow was supposed to be here for a couple of more months or so. I sighed. By the time the snow should've been gone it would mean that I had been here for one year.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not used to snow (since there wasn't too much snow in Japan anyway...) but I still find it quite annoying sometimes. You can't sit down without getting your pants completely soaked. You can't go outside in just a t-shirt or turtle neck anymore. You can't do this, you can't do that...

 

It can get quite annoying sometimes.

 

"Ne, Yama-chan!"

 

Startled, I glanced towards the left, where a bunch of the village's market stands were. I didn't expect anyone to be out right now. But to my surprise, there were a bunch of Jounin standing there, in front of what seemed to be a 24 hour bar.

 

There were Genma, Kotetsu, Kaido, Asuma, Kurenai and Ibiki. I even spotted Iruka behind them standing beside... Kakashi?! Blinking at them, I finally broke out of my stupor and started towards them. After I gave the entire group a 'good evening,' Kakashi spoke up.

 

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

 

"Aren't you supposed to be at home?" I retorted. He gave me a quick wink. "I couldn't sleep - but I'm sure you can cure that quite quickly." Blushing and giving him a glare at the lewd comment, I sighed.

 

"I couldn't sleep either..." I muttered reluctantly. Kakashi gave me an eye-smile, "I can cure that!" The entire group burst out into laughter and I smacked the silver-haired Jounin lightly on the arm as a form of chastising.

 

That's when there was a small burst of chakra and someone flashed beside me.

 

"Bathroom? I think not."

 

I paled, freezing when a hand landed heavily on my left shoulder. My eyes slid slowly left. Oohhh crap. And there, in all his glory, stands Itachi.

 

I also saw that all of the group members had tensed at his arrival, as if ready to take some serious action. "Eh... I was... ah... getting fresh, err, air?" I said lamely, rubbing the back of my neck. Stating an excuse as a question will never work—when will I ever learn? Itachi only narrowed his eyes at me. "We're going home."

 

Kakashi immediately stopped him. "She can do whatever she wants."

 

There were a few moments of tense silence.

 

"Uh... I think I shall take my leave now," Genma said sheepishly before disappearing into the bar's front doors. The entire group except for Kakashi followed him, a few of them throwing wary glances in Itachi's direction.

 

I could feel the sparks flying through the air between the two Sharingan users and I sighed. Not this again. Throwing my hands up into the air, I proceeded to walk back towards the house. Maybe if I go to sleep they'll stop arguing...

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

A couple of days later...

 

Letting out another sleepy yawn, I thrummed my fingers against a tree and watched Sasuke training with Sakura. At the moment - and as well as the past few days, I had been trying to talk to Sasuke. But of course, the guy was just so damn stubborn and wouldn't even as much as glance at me. Puppy yapped beside me, as if agreeing with me. I kneeled and gave him a small scratch. At least the dog seemed to be doing okay.

 

Sasuke had actually reacted to the dog a lot better than I would've expected. He seemed to like Puppy. But he still wasn't really talking to me.

 

Hell, he would talk to Sakura than talk to me. And on regular terms, he usually ignored her. Not that I don't want him socializing with other people or nothing... but this was starting to get on my nerves.

 

My eyebrow twitched when I felt another familiar presence behind me. I turned around, glaring at Itachi. "Do you have to shadow my every move?" He was standing beside another tree a few feet away. He gave me a cool look. "If you wish, I will not allow my presence to be known by you."

 

"That is not the point!" I cried in exasperation. "You're still there!" Itachi rose one of his perfectly sculpted eyebrows. "And this matters because...?"

 

"It-" I broke off, glaring at him. Uchiha Itachi was supposed to be a genius. But the Uchiha Itachi that was here, at this very moment, was not a genius. Then Puppy decided he wanted to jump on Itachi. When Puppy started to nudge Itachi's leg, said genius merely knelt down and lifted the dog up. It was a little strange, up until now Itachi had not interacted with the small animal. “This is your new guardian?” Itachi asked quietly.

 

I nodded. “I'm supposed to raise it and train with it. Tsume-sensei even gave me a beginner's book on synchronizing.”

 

“Kuro.”

 

I blinked at him. What?

 

“Kuro.” Itachi repeated. He stood up straight, holding Puppy in his arms. “You should name him Kuro.” Why? “It means black.” He elaborated. Ah. I stared at him. Itachi seemed to actually enjoy holding the dog in his arms.

 

I managed a small smile. “All right. I'll name him Kuro.” I stepped closer and gave Kuro a long scratch behind the ears. “Isn't that right, Kuro?” The little pup gave me a playful growl and nibbled on the edge of my finger.

 

I turned away from the two to watch Sasuke train again.

 

To my surprise, my younger brother had disappeared. Sakura was still there, but she was resting in the shade of a large maple tree, opening what seemed to be a packed lunch.

 

Frowning, I glanced up at the sky. It was this late already? At my guess... it was probably around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I decided then that it was best that I speak to Sasuke - after I find him, of course.

 

I turned around to start down the dirt path and jumped a mile into the air.

 

"Gah!"

 

There stood Sasuke himself, watching me carefully behind hooded eyes.

 

He was eyeing my face with a stony face. What was he-? Oh. I raised my hand to my previously injured eye. “It's fine.” I commented. “It should be healed in a few more days. Kakashi had a medic-nin at it too.” I added. Then I remembered that he scared the crap out of me.

 

Momentarily forgetting what I was suppose to talk to him about, I gave him a firm whack on his arm, "What has gotten into you! Are you trying to give me a heart attack so I'll die earlier?” I teased lightly. I saw Sasuke lower his head slightly and glance towards his left.

 

I froze.

 

Crap. I had a feeling he was staring at Itachi. Inside, I hoped Itachi had hid himself again but knowing my luck, Itachi probably didn't. He was probably still holding Kuro and—

 

There was a little whine at Sasuke's feet. Oh. Never mind. It looks like Itachi put Kuro down. Sasuke merely glanced down at the dog briefly.

 

In those very few seconds where no one spoke, an awkward silence developed.

 

"Uhhhh..." I started, nervously rubbing my left shoulder. Sasuke's eyes' narrowed furthered and I had just about opted for running away when a flash to my left caught my attention. I had recognized the presence as being one of the Anbu that had used to guard me.

 

But when I turned to greet him - I met thin air.

 

I closed my gaping mouth and frowned. That's when I saw Itachi holding said Anbu against a tree by his neck. I gasped. "Itachi! Let him go!" Itachi frowned at me and released the poor guy. I sighed in relief when the Anbu appeared beside me again.

 

"The Hokage wishes to speak with you," he nodded once at me, before disappearing again. I bit my lip. I didn't even have time to apologize...

 

Turning and giving Itachi a small glare, I decided to talk to him later and I knelt down and motioned towards Kuro. The dog darted over and jumped up, nearly knocking me over. “Oof!” I let out a grunt. “Kuro, you're getting heavy, maybe I should feed you less.” He gave an answering growl, and I adjusted his form on my shoulder. Kuro may be getting heavy but he wasn't getting any bigger. He was still the same size as he was when Tsume had given him to me. The size of basketball. It worried me a bit, because German Shepherds should be large dogs, but when I had approached the Inuzuka family (since Tsume was gone on a mission), Tsume's daughter Hana had told me that Kuro wasn't a German shepherd but an unknown breed. He merely looked like one. So, the little pup was small enough to kind of just settle on the sit of my head. Well his hind legs rested on my shoulder and his front paws were on the top of my head… but he was kind of sitting.

 

Forming the last seal for the teleporting jutsu, I glanced momentarily at Sasuke - I still had to talk to him later - and disappeared.

 

Arriving quickly just outside of the Hokage's office, I greeted the two Anbu guards that were at the front doors. The tiger mask one waved me in and gave Kuro a light pat before opening the door for me. Thanking him, I walked through the door, wondering about what the Hokage wished to see me for.

 

Said Hokage was standing behind his desk, staring out the window. When I stepped closer, he turned around, giving me a tired smile, “Yama-san. How was your day?” This immediately sent alarm bells ringing in my head. The Hokage wasn't one to use the Anbu to call someone in for `small talk.' Something was up.

 

“Fine so far, Hokage-sama,” I answered carefully, bowing slightly. I had a feeling I was treading on thin ice.

 

The Hokage sighed, “I suppose I should tell you then. I have a mission for you,” My eyebrows rose slightly and I turned to my left slightly. Itachi was around somewhere...

 

“It is all right if Itachi-san hears this. I believe he should go on this mission as well.”

 

I heard a snort in the direction of the windows. My eyebrows rose immediately. Itachi did not snort. Apparently the Hokage realized that too, “Kakashi, come in.” A moment of silence and Kakashi appeared beside me.

 

“Hokage-sama.”

 

The Hokage sighed. “Kakashi - shouldn't you be out on a mission?” Kakashi shifted uncomfortably and held up a folder.

 

“It's already completed.”

 

The Hokage gave him a stern look. “Then I believe you should return your report to Iruka-san, should you not?” There was a small sigh from the man and a slight bow in response.

 

“Hai, Hokage-sama.” After giving me a small look, he ambled out the door. As the door swung shut behind him, the Hokage went serious.

 

“First things first. After discussing it extensively with the elders… and despite their concerns and protests; I've managed to convince them to not take action against Uchiha Itachi.” I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. “However, this doesn't mean he's off scot free. Despite his reasons for manslaughter, it is viewed as a betrayal in any sense by the rest of the village.” Yes, the Hokage had managed to pry Itachi's reason for the slaughter out of his a few days ago during that meeting.

 

“Therefore as punishment Itachi has two choices if he wishes to stay within the village. Option one; we will strip him of his ninja abilities so that we are sure that he is no threat to us.” I visibly winced. I don't think that choice was really an option for Itachi. Not with the Akatsuki hunting for him, etc.

 

“Option two; aid Konoha to dismantle Akatsuki and work his way back to being a ninja of Konoha again.” The Hokage gave me a look.

 

I grunted. I don't think Itachi would like that option either. “What if he doesn't want to choose?” I asked hesitantly.

 

“Then we will have no choice but to eliminate him. We cannot allow such a threat to remain alive.” I grimaced. I jumped when Itachi appeared in the room. His eyes were dark and thoughtful.

 

“That is the conclusion the great council have come to?” He stated in amusement. “Even if I choose option two, you have no guarantee that I will not betray you again.”

 

The Hokage gave him a kind smile. “We know you will not betray Konoha, Itachi.” Itachi, for his part, remained silent. What the Hokage had said was true. We knew that Itachi loved Konoha and its peace.

 

“But nevertheless, the council does not believe that.” Sarutobi started. “To the council, they believe that we have something that you want in Konoha.” The old man's eyes landed on me. “If you do not wish to cooperate… I'm sure there are methods that we can take to make you do so.”

 

My eye twitched. Oi, old man; are you trying say that the council was using me to threaten Itachi? I felt anger bubble up inside my gut. How could they use such an underhanded method! But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. They hated my guts anyway.

 

Itachi's stare turned into a full out glare. Apparently he had understood the implications as well. “Do not anger me.” He growled.

 

The Hokage only managed a grim smile. “I do what I must.” That's when I understood. The Hokage only had so much influence. He was already doing all he could. I think my heart went out for the old man. All he was trying to do was what he believed was best for the village.

 

Silence.

 

“Fine. I'll play along with your ploy for now.” Itachi snapped. He disappeared.

 

I glared at the Hokage. “That was cruel.”

 

“Ma, ma.” The old man gave me a small smile. “Can you blame an old man for needing to take measures to protect this village?”

 

I paused, my anger subsiding slowly. I suppose I couldn't, could I? As a Hokage, he had to do what he had to do in order to protect the well being of the villagers. Even if they were such underhanded methods. Even if I didn't agree with those methods, the Hokage's first mission was to protect his village.

 

“Now then, onto the next topic; this mission is going to take place for the next week or so - maybe longer. Are you willing to accept this?” I bit my lip. Getting away from Konoha would be nice - especially after what had just occurred. I don't think I would feel safe in Konoha for a while.

 

Besides, what kind of mission was this? I shouldn't even be sent out on missions yet... I was still a Genin.

 

“I know what you are thinking. You are still a Genin. However, you will not be alone on this mission. There will be three other people accompanying you. One of which is your Jounin trainer. Think of this as a training mission. Itachi will be included. You may count this as his first mission. Besides, we are sending you because you had direct contact with the people this mission is dealing with. Of course,” the Hokage's eyes landed on Kuro. “Your companion will go with you as well. I'm sure there will be lots of opportunities to train with him.” He gave me a look. “And I believe this should be a find opportunity for your research to begin.”

 

That's when I understood. The Hokage had told me would try and send me on missions that would take me out of Konoha for me to gain more research purposed, like I had asked him a month ago. And I could gain experience from this mission as well. I gave him a nod. “I accept.” Kuro answered with a bark as well.

 

The Hokage gave me a pleased look, “Very well. You will be sent to the Wave Country to investigate the appearance of two reported ninja.” My eyes narrowed slightly. The Wave Country? Again?

 

“These two ninja are Momochi Zabuza, and Haku.”

 

To be continued…

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

To my reviewers: Thank you for all or your support throughout this past year (ff dot net):

 

Perfect Times, PimpTroyce, Fire Chakra, EyeoftheTigerKissoftheDragon, Princess Shadowcat, Japan is in China, ak1k0-chan, Sugacoated-cherries, darkstar88, Naella, Finalsoul, Anna-chan, coolRiku, scythe195, Edana, SodiumFree, ranma hibiki, unknown, Tayle Kendrin, Suki-Chan, Mistic Monk, Jana, fire god101, `-aphros-', Akanishi-san, Robin Maxwell, Godinabox, KaiKaiCutie, Lucifer001, TK Shuffle, Little Fox Kit, itachi349, M, Delusionized Hatake, AiKarasu013, Kakashiluver, Spellcasterz, Hyper-Bitch, NekoGuyFan, cutie-chan-XD3, minsada, morissa, krn-kimbap, phiawen, The8thSin, deadgalwalking, Princess Krystal01, jo, sasuke-chan, SilverNightsFreedom, caileadair, Tenshi-Hikari, Andrea, Chibiaddicted, Fade-sempai, starStruck272, Anonymous, Sutefani-chan, Sakura Trees, MikoHatome, Hatake-Kakashi x3, DarkGoddessAluthri, rurouniturtle, JapanAnimeGirl, AznNarutoGrl-91, KiTurner, aznpuffyhair, Altariel Eldalote, MisSs005, kakashigurl20, FireDragonBL, silver starlight kitsune, Mizuseishin24, Lady Nicky, Slacker Ninj4, xkuroxshinobix, saki-kun, Lyfe-exe,

 

To anyone who I had missed, gomen and thank you all! And a big welcome to a bunch of new readers/reviewers I have gotten - thank you for you're encouragement!

 

[.a.g.i.r.l.n.a.m.e.d.y.a.m.a.]

 

XoXSilverDragonXoX

 

Revised August 22, 2008