Forever My Heart

A Girl and A Friend

At the edge of his subconscious, something came near, way too close for comfort, reaching for....

"Ah!" Itachi woke up with a start and found that his small hand had grabbed a larger wrist extending toward Izumi and Sasuke in his lap, his instinct immediately on alert. The owner of the hand gasped, and he found wide, teary black eyes of a dark-haired woman staring back into his own.
"Itachi!"
Itachi looked over the woman's head, releasing her wrist in surprise when seeing Mikoto. "Kaasan!"
Running around the other woman, Mikoto fell to her knees and yanked Itachi and Sasuke into her arms with a teary sob, embracing them fiercely. "Oh, Itachi! Sasuke!" she cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Thank Kami you're alright! I thought...I thought..."
"We're okay, Kaasan," said Itachi, hugging his mother back. While burying his face in her neck, he felt Sasuke squirm and whimper awake in his sling. When his mother released him and went to pick up her youngest son, cooing and kissing him tearfully, Itachi was startled to see the other woman from before take the still-unconscious Izumi in her arms. Her eyes also filled with tears.
"Izumi!" she had cried, cradling the little girl and pressing their cheeks together. "Oh, my child, my darling little girl! I thought she was dead, I thought she was dead..."
This obviously had to be Izumi's mother. She was alive, after all. With shoulder-length black hair and pitch black eyes, she also had her daughter's fair skin and oval face with well-defined features that could rival with Mikoto's beauty. She was definitely an Uchiha.
"Oh, she has a fever!" exclaimed Izumi's mother, pressed a hand to her face in panic. "After all the things she must have seen..."
"You better check her eyes." The mother looked up at Itachi, startled that the six year-old spoke gravely. "Her Sharingan awakened last night and she fainted. It could be still on. Please forgive me. I couldn't do anything else..."
The mother's eyes widened, and Mikoto gasped, "S-Sharingan?! Oh my! But isn't it way too early...? Her body couldn't possibly maintain the amount of chakra to control it!"
"No, she doesn't..." Izumi's mother propped her daughter up and moved to open her eyes, her face suddenly grave and stoic. Her fingers gently propped Izumi's eyes open, and sure enough, the pale red of the Sharingan still glowed beneath her lids. Then the woman's own Sharingan activated. Red eyes met red, spinning and dialating...and soon Izumi's eyes faded back to dark brown.
When her eyes closed, the mother gazed down at her daughter sadly. "My husband and I suspected...with her not being pureblooded....there had been signs of her chakra going haywire whenever she got moody. Sometimes she complained her eyes kept stinging. She would either be born without the Sharingan...or it would come when least expected." She let out a shuddering breath and deactivated her Sharingan. "Well...now I know it's the latter...and my husband will never..." She shut her eyes and her voice wavered. "I have been told Kosuke had been killed....and I still haven't found his body. What will I tell Izumi when she wakes?"
"She already knows," answered Itachi solemnly, causing both Mikoto and the mother to gasp in horror. "On the way here to the shelter...I believe that's what awakened her power." He tilted his face downward in a gesture of solemn respect. "I'm sorry for your loss, Uchiha-san."
"Oh, the poor girl," whispered Mikoto, covering her mouth. Her eyes were filled of sadness. "Hazuki-san, I..."
"It's done," said Izumi's mother, brushing her fingers through the little girl's ponytail. Her expression was composed, though the remaining tears on her face were still evident. "He did his duty," she added, her tone just as empty of emotion as her face, "as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. It was, perhaps, inevitable."
"Hazuki...." whispered Mikoto, seeming at a loss on how to reply.
In that moment, Izumi stirred and her eyes fluttered as she mumbled, "Kaa...san...?"
Hazuki leaned down and kissed her child's forehead. "I'm here, precious one," she whispered lovingly. "Go back to sleep now."
Izumi moaned and fell back to sleep in her mother's arms, who then stood up. She looked down toward Itachi with tired, red-rimmed eyes and bowed her head. "Thank you for saving my daughter, Itachi." Then without another word, she turned and left the shelter along with the lines of people streaming out into the bright daylight.
Itachi watched them go with a small lump in his throat. Izumi...
He then felt his mother's arm wrap around his small shoulders and pull him to her chest, where Sasuke was cradled nearby. Mikoto buried her nose into his hair. "I'm so proud of you, Itachi," she whispered. "Thank you for protecting your brother."
Itachi nodded and closed his eyes, listening his mother's soothing heartbeat against his ear. "I'm glad you're safe, too, Kaasan. Can we go home now?" he asked, hoping that their house was still standing.
To his relief, his mother hummed in agreement.
This was the second great funeral of Itachi's life since the one right after the war. Everyone in the village once again gathered around the great fire monolith with a swirling vortex symbol in the center. A few had broken down into tears, most of them children, having lost their loved ones to the Nine-tails attack.
Itachi looked around the sea of black suits, feeling a sense of deja'vu. Except back then, Sasuke did not exist in his arms as he does now. The baby was sleeping peacefully in his sling, safe and alive. After everything that has happened, Itachi was thankful his mother finally let him hold Sasuke again after that huge scare. His family was alive, and according to his father, every one of their clan members had miraculously survived the attack.
Itachi knew no one else; therefore, he wasn't able to mourn for the dead the same way everyone else at present did. Of course he felt sad for those who died, and pity for those who survived only to bury their family and friends, but like in the war, he felt no connection toward them.
It was the shinobi way....or so his father had taught him.
In front of the great fire emblem, bundled in a handwoven basket, lay a tiny newborn. Sleeping peacefully, like Sasuke was. The Hokage's son, Itachi learned. His fuzz of hair was blond and his chubby pink cheeks were marked with strange whiskers...like a fox.
It had soon become known by the whole village that this child was the new jinchurikii after the death of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki. Sadness suddenly hit Itachi when he looked up at his mother, Mikoto, who looked ahead with a composed face, but with red-rimmed eyes.
Kushina was his mother's best friend. Only a few days ago, Mikoto, Sasuke, and he went to the hospital to visit the newborn Uzumaki, who became an orphan on the night he was brought into the world. The tragedy was devastating for all...but the true tragedy was the hard life that awaited this kid, especially in the eyes of all who knew who and what he now was.
The child was the jinchurikii...but all who knew were forbidden to ever speak of it, or the punishment would be severe.
No one knew that the child was the Forth Hokage's son, save for a very few, including Itachi's parents. As far as the rest of the village were concerned, the child of Minato and Kushina had died with his parents, and those who knew the truth were strictly forbidden to reveal the baby's true heritage, or have any contact with him.
Itachi only knew this because before the hospital visit, his father had been the one who told him and his mother of this strict order, having been directly informed like all the leaders of different clans of this secrecy, and warned him and Sasuke to stay away from the child in the near future. His mother, though very reluctantly, didn't argue with Fugaku, not wanting to risk any more danger with the beast that killed her friend and put her family in danger.
But why? Itachi looked toward the baby with pity, and then Sasuke in his arms. No matter how much damage the Nine-tails had done to the village, this child was innocent. Itachi felt no grudge toward the baby. Because the only response his mind could come up with such a cruel order was: what if it had been Sasuke?
Not that Itachi would have any reason to involve himself with the kid in the future anyway, but he just could not hate the boy. In a way, he understood a little of what it was like to be looked upon as an outsider.
Before all the people, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood in his red and white robes and hat. He had retaken the mantle of Hokage after the death of the Fourth. His face was grim with saddened eyes filled with weariness and regret.
"Many lives were lost, including the Fourth Hokage, Minato, and his wife, Kushina," he spoke in the middle of his euology to the village people. "The facts behind the incident are still unknown..."
Life is born. Itachi looked at the blond baby, and then down at Sasuke.
"...but for now, let us mourn our comrades..."
And life...dies. He turned his head again toward the cemetery at the far side, toward those who had lost their lives long before. He wondered where that pale, creepy shinobi with the long black hair was. The one with the golden snake eyes.
"Grieving over the dead is meaningless. If there's any meaning in death, it's to take advantage in it."
"What is the meaning of life?"
"There is none. There's only meaning in life....if it is eternal."
He was wrong, Itachi thought. Life is not meaningless. I know that now. To lose life is... The answer escaped him, leaving him with the same feeling of emptiness.
Little did he know that at the far side, Izumi Uchiha was looking toward him with wide-eyed curiosity, wondering what was going on in that head of his.
The next day, Itachi found himself wandering over to the construction sites with baby Sasuke, strolling around on this sunny day. It would be a while before everyone would have a proper place to live. There had been so much destruction in the village inflicted by the Nine-tails.
Most of the Uchiha compound had been destroyed, leaving many families homeless and heartbroken. And it was not just the Uchiha: a countless number of people had lost their homes and most valuable possessions, leaving them at a complete loss with what to do with themselves afterwards. Unlike the Uchiha, their loss had been greater with the number of people who had died, breaking their spirit and their dignity altogether as they struggled to pick themselves back up and accept what little charity the village could provide for the homeless.
Itachi's family had been fortunate. Miraculously, most of their mansion had been found still standing, not including the huge missing chunk of the entire front where the veranda had once been. The interior of their home had been a mess, covered with fallen building pieces, destroyed furniture, shattered glass, and fallen debris from the mutilated hole in their rooftop, but the walls still stood strong, along with the rest of their roof, providing the family enough shelter for the time being.
All the clans may have to relocate. He heard that his father was in the middle of a meeting with the Hokage and the High Council at this moment.
"Itachi-kun!"
That voice...Izumi? Sure enough, Itachi turned around and found Izumi running happily over to him. Stopping before him, she clasped her hands to her chest, blushing slightly. "Um...T-Thank you for before..." she said, shyly, her eyes twinkling. "Because of you, I was safe!"
"I'm glad you didn't die," responded Itachi, and then stiffened at what he just said. 'I'm glad that you didn't die?' That sounded wrong, even coming from his own mouth. But it was true. All he could think about right now was the relief that she was alive and okay.
Izumi looked taken back with his strange words, not knowing what to say in return, but she didn't look offended. The silence becoming awkward, her eyes then moved toward the baby in his arms and smiled gleefully at how tiny and adorable it was. She never really asked about Itachi's baby sibling that night, too caught up in her fear and grief before fainting from her newly activated Sharingan. She had then woken up later in her mother's arms and didn't see Itachi until during the funeral.
"Your little sister?" Izumi asked, giggling. She was oblivious to the tiny, dark glare baby Sasuke was giving her, one tiny hand clutching at his brother's shirt.
Itachi smiled a little. "Little brother," he corrected her. She wasn't the first person to make that mistake.
"Can I hold him?" she asked, with some longing in her eyes.
"No." His answer was blunt.
Her smile was replaced with an offended frown. "Why not?" she demanded.
Itachi hesitated. "I don't want him to start crying."
Izumi laughed a little. "Aw, you're not going to cry, are you?" she cooed at Sasuke, as she reached over and picked the baby up, while Itachi watched wordlessly to see what would happen.
"AAAAGGGGGHUUUHHHNNNN!"
Sasuke's reaction took them both by surprise. The baby Uchiha was barely in Izumi's arms when he started throwing a violent tantrum, literally screaming and waving his arms like a maniac. Poor Izumi looked frozen with terror and shock, even as the crying Sasuke started shoving at her face with his tiny hands as if to escape her hold right before Itachi's very eyes.
It was the funniest thing the young prodigy had ever seen in his life. Izumi didn't seem to think so, though.
Trying hard not to laugh, Itachi quickly took back Sasuke from Izumi's frozen arms. "There, there," he said softly, rocking Sasuke gently. The infant instantly went from crying to giggling happily, clapping his little hands once he was back in the safety of his beloved big brother's arms. Itachi let a small laugh of adoration escape him. "There, there."
As he started to walked away, his eyes fixed only on Sasuke's infectious laughter, Izumi finally blinked from her shock. Her shoulders tensed with anger. Groaning loudly, fists clenched in frustration, she whipped around and yelled after them, "Aww, come on!"
Itachi trembled....and then burst out laughing. Izumi was left stunned for a moment. This was the first time she has ever seen Itachi laugh, or smile this big. "Huh? What-What's so funny?" she stammered, watching the boy's shoulders shake from his laughter. It was such a beautiful sound, like something mirthful that had been kept buried very deep for far too long, but she was too confused and annoyed to show her delight in it.
When Itachi didn't respond, she huffed at his ignorance and started to tailgate him while he coddled his baby brother. "Hey! What did I do?"
"I did warn you," Itachi answered, unable to keep the smile off his face. It was nothing personal; Sasuke really did cry if it wasn't him or his mother holding him. Even his own father was one of the unlucky ones.
"That's not fair!" Izumi huffed and stomped her foot. "One day, I'm going to make your baby brother...uh, what's his name?"
"Sasuke."
"Yeah, one day I'm going to make Sasuke like me," said Izumi, nodding determinedly. "Just you wait!"
"Hn," Itachi's mouth quirked in amusement at Izumi's declaration and Sasuke's distaste toward her. Three months old, and his brother already disapproved. Of what, he was was not sure. Who knew what went on in an infant's head?
They walked in silence for a while, both of them seeming a little shy. Itachi found himself not minding that Izumi was with him while he strolled with Sasuke. It felt...nice. Different, but nice. They listened to the hammering of the construction around them and Sasuke's incoherent babbling. Izumi stared at Sasuke, suddenly lost in thought. "Itachi-kun?"
"Hn."
"Back at the funeral...what did you think of that little baby?"
Itachi now turned to the girl with a blank expression, encouraging her to continue. Izumi looked away, suddenly sad and burdened, which was uncharacteristic of her. "Kaasan...is really sad since Tousan died. She seems different now, and not in a good way. When she looked at the baby yesterday, she almost seemed...mad. Really mad. After the ceremony, she told me to stay away from that child because he's the demon that killed Tousan. She said it's all that his fault and that we should despise him for what he did to the village. But how can that be?" She shuddered, her eyes became wide with confusion and sadness. "I only saw a sweet, little baby, all alone before a crowd of people, with no mommy or daddy to hold him ever again. How can I ever...ever hate someone like that? I've never hated before! When he was alive, Tousan said that he hopes that I never grow up to hate, and I didn't know what he mean by that...not back then. And now Kaasan...she practically forcing me to..." Izumi shook her head and gripped her bangs, looking like she wanted to cry. Itachi really hoped she didn't because he didn't like seeing her in tears. Even when they made her eyes shine in a pretty way.
"Izumi," he said, and the girl looked at him in response. "Do you hate the baby holding the demon?"
"...No, I don't. Should I?"
"No," Itachi shook his head, "because I don't either. He's the same as my brother. He doesn't know anything and won't even remember ever having a mother or father. There's going to be a lot of people hating him, already. He didn't kill those people, Izumi. The Kyubi did. The human infant and the kyubbi are two different beings."
"Oh," whispered Izumi. "Okaasan never told me...that's so sad."
"She shouldn't have to make you hate him...I don't think you can hate, even if you tried," whispered Itachi. "That's what I like about you."
Izumi blinked in surprise, cheeks blushing. "You...like me, Itachi-kun?"
He was surprised at his own words yet again. "...I found no reason to dislike you," Itachi said carefully.
Izumi's shoulders slumped, as if disappointed. "Oh, I see." Then she brightened. "Then it's decided: I won't hate the baby just because Okaasan says so. He's just a cute, little baby, so I won't blame him. Instead, I'll try to get stronger so that I can help people, like my daddy did. Oh! That reminds me. Are you going in the Academy next year?"
Itachi felt a sweat drop at her hopeful expression. "I...I don't know. I thought the school got destroyed..."
Izumi giggled. "Not all of it, silly! They're fixing it up right now, like everywhere else!" Itachi suddenly felt stupid and looked away, blushing in shame. Izumi shuffled her foot, smiling at his embarrassment. To see the normally emotionless and exceptionally talented child look so sweet and shy...who would have known? "Well, I hope you'll think about it. It would be nice to have another Uchiha in my class for a change. It's always been just me in my grade."
Itachi looked confused. "Then...how did you hear about me from before?"
"The Primary Uchiha Deity Class. You remember, right?"
Itachi knew what she was talking about. Every young child in the Uchiha clan was required to go. It was their school instead of the Ninja Academy, taught only by the Uchiha themselves. Run by the clan elders, it was to get them to mingle with their own clansmen, learn about their history, and prepare for the awakening and knowledge of the Sharingan. Itachi had only attended those classes for exactly four weeks, right before he had been drafted into the war when they found out about his talents. He had just turned four years old back then. Very young and skilled shinobi, including himself, were all forced to fight for the village. He never heard from them since, so he figured that they were all killed in action.
The war was over. Times are different now. Or were trying to be.
"You were in that class?" said Itachi slowly. Izumi nodded. "I don't remember seeing you..."
Izumi's smile became uneasy as she stared down at her feet. "I guess not...I always sat at the very far back. I wasn't as..." Her brow furrowed, "... welcomed as you were by the others, because I lived outside of the clan and my daddy wasn't an Uchiha. They said I was weak and tainted because of it. It was hard." Then her eyes twinkled at him. "But I remember you. You were the best in the class and everyone liked you, but you always looked lonely. I was sad when you were gone, because I didn't get a chance to talk to you. Kaasan said you were a prodigy and that you were the clan leader's son. I was pulled out and put in the Academy not long after that, but I was happy when you came back."
"Oh...yes..." Itachi thought back on the day she bravely went up to him near the memorial site and offered to play with him, but he had politely declined while his thoughts swirled with questions about life and death. Then he remembered something and asked, "Are your eyes okay?"
Izumi looked surprised for a moment, but then she nodded slowly. "Mm-hm. I guess I got the Sharingan after all. I suppose I should be happy..." Her eyes misted up with tears. She sniffed and wiped her nose. "But I won't get to show Otousan. I miss him, you know?"
Itachi hesitated, and nodded. "I know."
Life dies. Life...moves on....
Soon, both kids heard Izumi's mother, Hazuki Uchiha, call out to her daughter from a distance, waving her arm from beyond the construction sites.
"Coming, Kaasan!" called Izumi, before turning to Itachi apologetically. "I have to go now." She started to run, but then paused and turned around with wide, hopeful eyes. "You'll...You'll think about it, won't you, Itachi-kun? About the Academy?"
Itachi watched her with silent wonder at her cheerful and hopeful behavior, feeling a brief sense of warmth fill his chest and touch his cheeks, before he mentally brushed it aside and gave her a quick nod. "Okay."
His response seemed to delight Izumi, who smiled and waved. "Bye, Sasuke-chan!" she cooed toward the baby, who in response let out noisy spittle at her, causing her sweat to drop.
When she was gone, Itachi turned around and continued walking. "Sasuke, you didn't have to throw a fit," he teased the baby, bouncing him slightly. "She's actually very nice."
Sasuke sneezed, and pouted, before reaching up for his hair strands. Itachi smiled.
"Congratulations on your acceptance into the Academy, children!" announced the Third Hokage at the ceremony for the newly rebuilt Ninja Academy. "From this day forth, do your best to reach your goals in becoming a shinobi."
Never did Itachi expect to find himself here.
Five months had passed since the Nine-tails incident. The Ninja Academy was now reinstated, good as new and better than before. The snow had melted toward the end of February and spring blossomed quickly when entering March. Students who attended the school had returned, but all freshmen had to catch up or start over since their first year of ninja education had been put off for a good reason.
Itachi stood among a crowd of many freshmen and transfer students his age, calm on the outside but totally stiff on the inside. He knew his parents were somewhere at the back of the crowd with the others to witness his first attendance, but he wasn't worried about that. He already learned many things. Experience in real battles can do that. Even before the loss of his innocence, he had already known quite a few important things about becoming a ninja. He memorized the whole handbook, was instinctively skilled with various blades and endless forms of taijutsu, and had even learned the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu from his father at the end of October in their new training grounds upon his insistence. During that time, the Uchiha clan had been recently transferred to the far side of the village, surrounding the Nakano Shrine, where the clan had originated as a compound.
After one try, his jutsu was flawless, the size of his fireball larger than a small hut, and his father praised him, making Itachi feel proud...but also a little disappointed when discovering how easy the jutsu was to him. As always.
But on the same day, something seemed to be bothering his father. Well, more than usual. Fugaku had been acting strange ever since that village meeting with the council about relocating all the noble clan districts. It was also the same day that his father told him that he will be entering the Ninja Academy instead of the Uchiha Deity School, which surprised Itachi because he had been trying to plan the right time to bring the subject up to his father. He had even been expecting an outright rejection.
Since the Ninja Academy had been reopening in the early spring, his parents had even decided to place him with the freshmen right away, the ones who had begun their first year later since last September (like Izumi Uchiha), since he was already six years old, going on seven in another three months.
It was a shame Shisui wouldn't be with him, having already graduated and been made a genin at age six during the Third Great Ninja War long before he met Itachi. He wondered what mission his older friend was currently on.
Having been lost in his thoughts while the Third Hokage delivered his speech, Itachi sensed movement at the corner of his eye and glanced over toward the right of the line of kids in front of his own. He was surprised to see Izumi smiling confidently back at him, waving. Her long brown hair was down past her shoulders as she wore a light purple short-sleeved, high-collar shirt, a pink ruffled skirt that flared slightly at her knees, and violet strapped sandals.
She looked at him like it was Christmas instead of her first day back at school. When she smiled at him, it was though she was glowing.
Itachi felt his cheeks heat up before he quickly looked away. His heart was thumping wildly.
What was that ?