Wildfire (A Naruto Fanfic Book 5)

Chapter 17

I walked through the village to the lake.  After scanning the area, I pulled out my flute and looked at it.  It was the one Makoto had gifted me, the one Naruto and others had gotten me for my birthday was with Chihiro.  It seems like a lifetime ago...

I looked up at the sky.  I never had a chance at a normal life, but Chihiro... if not for me, she could have...  I sighed and put the instrument to my lips.  It wasn't long before Itachi joined me, and I stopped playing and leaned into him when he sat beside me.

He wrapped an arm around me.  "Eventful day?"

I shrugged.  "Apparently, old men are going around talking about me."

He pulled back to look at my face.  "As in?"

I watched his eyes.  "Ibiki said he spoke with you... what about?"

I didn't miss the small smile that played on his lips as he pulled me closer.  "We talk a lot."

I frowned.  "This specifically had to do with me and you."

"I know."

"Well..."

I heard his amusement.  "It's nothing, Kunoichi..."

My frown deepened.  "So, who else have you had these talks with, and when did you have them?"

He sighed.  "Minato, Pein, Ibiki... different times, multiple times."

I shook off his arm.  "What could they possibly have to say that you can't tell me?"

He chuckled.  "It's a man thing."

I narrowed my eyes.  "Fine... now I need to get in touch with Pein."

He shook his head.  "Don't do that.  It was nothing bad."

I huffed.  "Then tell me."  He shook his head again, and I scowled.  "Old, decrepit, gossips... all of you."

He shrugged, openly smiling.  "If that's what you think of us, I'll accept it."  I threw myself into the grass, grumbling under my breath.  "Mature..."

I ignored him and looked back up at the stars.  "Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to be normal?"

He blinked.  "We are normal."

I scoffed.  "Yeah."

He sighed.  "You'll have to elaborate then."

I thought for a moment, gathering my words.  "To just be normal people, leading normal lives... you know, like the shopkeepers."

He paused.  "No, I've never wondered about that."

I looked at him.  "Why?"

He shrugged.  "First, I come from a clan of shinobi..."

I rolled on my stomach.  "Okay then, a normal shinobi, not a prodigy or anything like that.  Just to have everything done the normal way."

He shook his head.  "No."

I was confused.  "But then you wouldn't be so stressed... you could have a normal life and family..."

He contemplated my words before shaking his head again.  "I never wanted any of that."  I didn't know how to respond, and he joined me in the grass, pulling me onto his chest.  "To have wanted any of those things would have meant a life without you."

I frowned.  "But if I was normal?"

He chuckled.  "Then that would be a different story, but you are who you are.  I've told you that you challenged everything I believed and made me see the world differently even before I fell in love with you."

I lowered my gaze.  "And if you had never met me?"

He frowned at the question.  "I'd be dead or off somewhere as a rogue ninja for slaughtering my clan."

I searched his face.  "You sound so sure."

He shrugged.  "You prevented both from happening, so..."  I sighed.  "Do you wish for a normal life, away from the shinobi world?"

I blinked up at him.  "I've thought about it... but in the end, I never truly desired it."

He began to stroke my hair.  "What would you do?"

I smiled.  "I don't know... it simply wouldn't suit me... the same routine every day until I die or get too old to do it anymore."

He looked down at me.  "And a family?"

I shook my head.  "To have that life would be a life without you, Itachi... I don't want that with anyone else..."  He blinked rapidly at my words but didn't comment.  I smiled devilishly.  "Just think in a world where the Uchiha didn't hate the Leaf and without me, you'd probably be married with kids by now."

He grimaced.  "No."

I giggled.  "You can't be sure... she is a nice girl with the right last name."

He shook his head.  "She would be another face among the crowd."

I snuggled into his chest.  "If you say so."  I felt the pull of sleep and sighed.  "Come on, can't sleep here tonight."  Suddenly, we were in his apartment, and I clutched his shirt to stop the room from spinning.

He stroked my hair and led me to the couch.  "Sorry..."

I shook my head.  "It's fine, but I should go to my apartment, don't you think?"

He shrugged and casually put an arm around me, pulling me into his lap.  "I miss sleeping with you."

I felt him start to sway, and my eyelids drooped.  "You don't play fair, Uchiha."  I felt him chuckle before falling asleep.  Stupid Uchiha...