Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Making friends
One always finds comfort in shared suffering, and one always finds companionship in shared smiles.
I prefer to share smiles.
-Riruka's words to Yahizui-
-Itachi-
The compound had many training grounds, but somehow, none were right. At home he was much too… observed for his liking. At home, he was an heir, a prodigy. Expectations came with that title, and his every move was being watched and analyzed by the clan elders with microscopic precision. Out here he was merely Itachi, a six-year-old who liked to practice his shuriken jutsu to perfection. Absolute perfection. Out here he could just train and not worry about someone watching over his shoulder.
…Normally that is…
Itachi's eyes darted shortly to the cluster of trees to his left. She was there again, like every day for the past three weeks, watching him train. The presence was distinctly female. She was young judging by her height and build. Probably around the same age as him, or slightly younger. From the brief glimpse, he'd gotten of her, she had tanned skin, though not naturally so, indicating a lot of time spent in the sun. And her hair… well, he was no expert at it yet, but it was not very good for spying. Itachi was sure that if it weren't for her hair which stood out like a sore thumb, he would have had more trouble noticing her.
What if she's a spy? The thought came so suddenly that his aim faltered, the shuriken embedding itself in a nearby tree.
His lack of immediate insight was unacceptable. What if he was making the most obvious mistake in the book: underestimating an opponent just because they looked non-threatening? It was not uncommon for other shinobi villages to train children to be spies, so what if she was here to find out the secrets of the Uchiha?
Itachi's thoughts were interrupted when the girl moved closer. This was it; this is when she decided to take action. He was not worried about himself; after all, he was more than confident in his abilities. What Itachi tried to figure out was how to incapacitate the little spy without causing her much injury. He clutched his shuriken tightly, ready to throw it and pin her to a tree.
Itachi tensed as she moved further, and the weapon flew from his hand.
"Kyaaa!" squeaked the girl, followed by a pained, "Owww oww oww!"
Itachi's eyes widened. Did she just dodge it? His appreciation was short-lived as he realized that after she amazingly evaded his kunai, the spy had slipped on a patch of grass and was currently lying on the floor, face crumpled in pain.
"Why did ya do that?" she asked, eyes looking furiously up at him, although they were starting to mist over with unshed tears.
"You could have killed me, why did you do that?"
Itachi kept quiet, sticking with his earlier suspicion that she was a possible spy sent by another village. His instincts screamed at him to help her, but everything his father told him about being a good ninja indicated he had to reign in his feelings and find out why she was there.
Fat tears were now gathered at the corners of the girl's eyes, her voice trembling. "S-say something!"
Schooling his features to be as neutral as possible, Itachi asked in a cold voice. "Who sent you? Why have you been spying on me? What do you want?"
The red-haired girl on the floor only winced harder, her small hands clutching her ankle.
"What? You're the one who…who started throwing stuff at me!" She gritted her teeth, trying to focus on anything else but the throbbing pain in her ankle.
"Hn…" His first captured spy did not act at all as he expected. The girl was in pain, and close to tears, yet he couldn't let his guard down. Kunoichi's were known for their deception techniques and female powers, so he had to be careful. He wasn't sure what those 'female powers' were, but everyone acted like they were some powerful weapon that kunoichi possessed, so it was better to be careful.
Moving quickly, Itachi pulled the girl to her feet, immediately stepping back. She screamed in pain, giving him an angry look.
"Your ankle is hurt," Itachi pointed out, "it will hurt if you walk."
The moment he let go of her the tears that had so far been kept at bay spilled over her freckled cheeks as sobs began wrecking her body.
That was not what Itachi expected. She was crying and not the fake kind of crying: the tears were real, the sobs were real and the snot dripping from her nose was undoubtedly genuine. Surely no one was so good at acting.
Unfortunately, this revelation still left Itachi with one big problem: a crying girl.
He was in over his head.
He needed help.
Yes, he had to find Shisui…fast.
Itachi blurred through the trees and soon found his cousin, lounging at his favorite spot. It was, as he had generously described it before, the optimal location to observe. What exactly he was watching was unknown to Itachi, as the only thing one could see from that tree was the training ground and occasional bathing place of their cousin, Ayaka.
"You have to come with me, fast," he said in a rush.
Shisui looked up from his lounging position on a thick branch. "Heeh?" Itachi was looking at him with wide eyes, but Shisui sensed no mortal fear or danger.
"Not now Itachi," Shisui swatted him away like an annoying fly. If no one was dying, it could surely wait. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
Itachi looked skeptical. "But you are doing nothing…"
A fox-like grin spread on Shisui's handsome young face. "You may not see it little cousin, but I'm doing precious research!"
The Uchiha prodigy took a moment to survey the focus of Shisui's interest, and then the dreamy look on the older boy's face. "With what does watching cousin Ayaka train help you? Are you looking to learn from her?"
Shisui looked back at the innocent look his cousin was sporting.
"Yeah, sure… learn!" he said in an overly innocent tone. He turned to admire his subject of interest once more, but it seemed like the commotion, and their chatting had alerted Ayaka of their presence, and she was currently preparing to throw a couple of kunai their way.
"Oh! This is my cue!" Shisui grabbed a surprised Itachi by the collar of his shirt and shunshined them to safety.
After they reached a reasonable distance, Shisui finally listened to why Itachi needed him so urgently.
"So let me get this straight. You left a girl, alone, in the forest, with a broken ankle and crying?"
"Yes."
Shisui sighed. "And you did not think to bring her to the hospital… or I don't know… to her house?!"
Itachi twirled the question in his head before answering in a matter-of-fact tone. "If my suspicions of her being a spy sent by another village were true, then showing her important buildings in Konoha would have been unwise."
"Pfff! Hahahaha! And they call YOU a genius? Itachi, your intentions are good, but you have to work a bit on your people skills."
Shisui's reaction was unexpected. Itachi was willing to admit that he was a bit paranoid when it came to the girl following him, but better be safe than sorry, right? It was safe to assume that the girl could have been a spy, although she seemed untrained, much too open, and had solely been trailing him… but still… he had to be careful with such things, and ruling someone out just because they looked innocent was out of the question… no?
"So why did you come to me?" Shisui's voice pulled him out of his internal analysis.
"She was crying…." he stated, small features set in a serious expression.
Shisui grinned. "You panicked, didn't ya'?"
No, panicked was not a good description. Uchihas did not panic. Itachi refused to describe the nervous feeling in his chest upon seeing her large tears and hearing her hiccups as panic. He was… surprised?
"Hn…" he refused to give Shisui more satisfaction than what he already had.
"Sorry to disappoint you Itachi, but even I can't help with such a situation. A crying female is the biggest challenge, the greatest horror in a man's life. NOTHING will ever prepare you for it."
"…"
"Anyway, let's see where your damsel in distress is," said Shisui, as they finally entered the clearing where Itachi left the so-called spy.
Itachi looked left and right, trying to locate the girl. Finally, he turned toward Shisui. "She's not here…"
"What do you mean she's not here, isn't this where you left her?"
Itachi looked blankly at his cousin. "I mean she left."
"I know what you mean, I'm not stupid!" The look the younger Uchiha gave him meant that his statement was doubted. "Well, genius, then where did she go? She has a broken ankle, she can't be far."
He looked for any sign of her passage, eyes zeroing on a few broken branches and crunched grass. "This way."
It did not take them long to find the girl, but it did surprise them how far she got on her own. She was hopping on her good leg, gripping onto anything and everything she found nearby to keep her balance.
Itachi watched her struggle with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "We should help..."
Shisui waved him off, pointing once more at the girl. "I'm not sure she needs it. Look that must be her grandma or something." Indeed, rushing toward the red-faced, crying girl was a middle-aged woman. She fussed, finally scooping her up and walking back to where she came from.
"That is Riruka-san, she owns a herbal medicine shop just around the corner."
"Do you know everyone in Konoha, or what?"
Itachi graced his cousin with that look again; the look that said 'how is it that you are a Uchiha?' "No Shisui, that would be impossible since I do not go out of the compound much, our clan is not known to socialize, I am only six, and -"
"Get to the point Itachi."
"Mother buys medicine from her and often sends me to pick it up. So, I know that Riruka-san has no children; so no grandchildren..."
Shisui looked at his too-smart-for-his-own-good cousin for a few seconds, dumbfounded. "You wasted my time on this?" The curt nod from his cousin left him speechless.
"And what of the girl?" asked Itachi, following his cousin.
"Forget it Itachi, she's fine. Go home and stop worrying. She won't be the only girl you'll make cry. Plus, you'll probably never see her again."
Still, something did not sit well with the young Uchiha. He was responsible for hurting what was surely a civilian, which he then basically left to the hands of faith. It was not only irresponsible but also stood against everything he felt a good ninja should be. It was their job as the strong to protect the weak; today he had done the complete opposite… and all that without even having the decency to apologize.
Itachi walked toward the small house and stopped watching the door. He was unsure how to proceed.
How did he apologize?
What if she did not accept his apology?
What if the wound was more severe than he initially thought and they had to cut off her leg?
What if she was already dead?
No… he was going too far. Still, there were too many unknown factors and Itachi did not like it one bit. With a knot in his stomach, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Who is it? The shop is closed for the day!" The door opened, and the plump figure of the shopkeeper came in the doorway "Oh, hello there Itachi-kun! I'm closed for the day, but if Mikoto-san needs something urgent I can make an exception."
"Hello, Riruka-san," began Itachi in a polite tone. "I am here to talk to the girl that lives here…."
"Oh, Yahizui-chan?" Her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline, clearly surprised. "Well then come in, come in. I'm afraid the poor thing has to stay in bed for a while. I don't know how she managed to twist her ankle. Girls should be more careful… still," added Riruka with a smile, "I'm glad she has friends that come to visit her."
"Aa…"
She pointed him toward a door at the end of the hall, babbling something about leaving them alone. Itachi took small steps, but even so, he was by the door faster than he would have liked, and in no time, he was faced with the reason behind his knotted stomach.
As Yahizui's eyes fell upon the intruder, anger seeped into her face. "You! You left me there! Alone! You are th' worst!" the last part was shouted at him with such contempt that it made Itachi step back.
Right… this was the moment where he bowed politely, said he was sorry, was promptly forgiven, and then got to leave with a clear conscience. Easy, just like he practiced.
"I apologize."
"What?"
"I apologize," repeated Itachi calmly. Any moment now, a soft smile will appear on her face, and she will say he's forgiven. Or… maybe she'll have teary eyes? He was unsure when it came to girls, and the few he had managed to observe ranged from 'soft and teary' to 'wring your neck tough.'
The slight surprise in her eyes changed to stubbornness as she turned away, crossing her arms. "Not forgiven!"
"What...?"
Did she refuse his apology? But… why? He did everything by the book. He apologized within a 24-hour time frame, came to her house, said the proper words, and even looked like he was sorry. Why wasn't she accepting it?
"Why?" Itachi asked.
Yahizui narrowed her dark green eyes at him, voice lowered to a hiss. "You don't deserve it! You've been a nasty boy, threw those things at me, and then left me there by myself!"
Itachi sighed. So, 'wring your neck tough' it was… But this only served to make his 'be forgiven' mission more difficult. He liked a challenge, but something told him that this was not quite the type he would enjoy. Still, a mission was a mission, self-imposed or not; he had to finish it, no matter what.
"What should I do to be forgiven?" There. The bait was set, now all he had to do was wait. He was sure that she wanted something… maybe money or candy, or a doll… who knew what girls wanted? She would state her demands, he would fulfill them, and once the mission was done, he could return to his training like nothing had happened.
"Teach me to do what you did in the field."
Teach her? What, to be a ninja? "No." This had not been part of his calculations.
"What? Why?"
Itachi gave her a cursory look. She was small, about his age but untrained. By how clumsy she was before, she would be dead before she made it as a genin. No, he did not want to be responsible for bringing another person into the bloody world of the shinobi.
He carefully schooled his voice into a neutral tone. "You have no previous training. I am not a teacher, and you are clumsy. You would not last a second as a shinobi."
Yahizui puffed her cheeks in annoyance, tiny fists balling with determination. From the moment she stumbled upon this boy training she became interested in shinobi. She asked around about them, observed, and remained in awe. They were strong, stronger than anything she had seen before. The way they moved reminded her of her papa: soundless, certain.
They were strong.
She wanted to be that strong, to carry herself with such confidence… to have the power to protect what she held dear. And if this boy's guilty feelings were the way to get that, then so be it!
"Too bad. You're still not forgiven," she huffed.
"Fine," gritted Itachi, vexed at how one person managed to push his buttons like that. He looked at her swollen foot. "I will come to you in three weeks."
"Make it one and a half," she said grinning at his surprised look. "I heal faster than others."
Itachi still looked suspicious, but nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait!" shouted Yahizui. "What's your name?"
"Uchiha Itachi."
"Nice to talk to you, Itachi." She smiled at him, all traces of cheekiness gone. "I'm Yahizui..." she continued, "Shourai Yahizui."
Itachi said nothing, he just gave a small nod, and just like that he was out of the room, leaving her alone for the next one and a half weeks.
-Yahizui-
In a secluded clearing, close to many of Konoha's training grounds, Itachi sighed for the hundredth time that day. He was quickly learning that his calling in life wasn't teaching.
"You have to flick your wrist and release in time! You are releasing too late… and you have no aim."
If Yahizui were to know of her "teacher's" thoughts, she would fully agree with him. He was not made to be a teacher. Instead, she gave him a nasty look and crossed her arms.
"Oh yeah? Well… you're a bad teacher! You don't explain anything, and expect me t' just know it! Let me tell ya mista', not everyone's a genius! Some people actually have t' work hard t' learn things!"
"Tch. If you have no idea about being a shinobi, why do you even want to be one? Are you so foolish to just jump into danger without knowing what you are up against? With this kind of thinking you won't last even a second in the real world. Plus, it is not my fault that you're a slow learner and are so out of shape that you can't even throw ten kunai without having sore muscles the next day. And stop swallowing letters!"
Yahizui went beet red with anger. How dare he?
Before she could answer to her 'teacher's' insult, a voice cut in from above. "Give her a break genius boy, she's trying her best!"
Who said that? Yahizui looked at the trees but saw nothing out of place. A heartbeat later a boy materialized in front of her.
"Wha…!?" shocked, Yahizui backed away from the surprise arrival, trying to get a better look. He was quite tall, and older than either Itachi or herself, with messy black hair and shrewd dark eyes.
"So, you're Itachi's little student? You must be something special, I don't think I've ever heard him talk so much in one go," said the older boy in an excited voice, leaning over to pinch her cheeks.
Yahizui jumped back, small hands placed over her still chubby cheeks in an attempt to protect herself. "Oi, oi! Who do you think you are?"
"You have good instincts kid!" said Shisui with a genuine smile. "Maybe you're not as helpless as your teacher thinks! Ne, Itachi?"
Itachi gave him a narrow-eyed look, but Shisui promptly ignored it.
"So kiddo, where did you learn to move like that?" asked Shisui.
Yahizui frowned, her face scrunching up in displeasure. "I have a name you know! And who are you anyway?"
Shisui gave a theatrical bow and his most charming look. "I, my fair lady, am Uchiha Shisui, at your service!"
Yahizui blushed at the attention, yet did her best to keep the frown in place.
"I'm Yahizui...." she mumbled, looking away from his inquisitive eyes.
Itachi watched in fascination as Yahizui's face became almost as red as her hair. It was an interesting color on her, but something about it did not fit well with her usual behavior. How was it that Shisui managed to make her turn that curious shade?
"So, Yahizui-chan, I haven't seen you in the village before... where did you come from?"
The seemingly innocent question made Yahizui's eyes widen in fright. It was quite miraculous that Itachi did not ask anything about her origins until now.
"I... I...." she stopped, her racing heartbeat drowning all other sounds. What can she say? No one took well to outsiders, and she was as foreign to Konoha as one could be. "I'm...."
"Judging by your clothes, the shoes you choose to wear, and the fact that Riruka-san, a childless woman, came back from her monthly trip to Suna with you, I say that you come either from Suna or somewhere in Wind Country. You don't seem to have any prior shinobi knowledge or training, but your instinct and reflexes are sharp...Since all civilians that live in shinobi villages know what ninjas are, I can only conclude that you come from one of the more remote villages in Wind country," stated Itachi calmly.
Yahizui's eyes widened. How did he get all that by looking at my clothes and shoes? What's up with this boy?
Sensing the girl's confusion, Shisui placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her an indulgent smile. "That's Itachi, he's just.... exceptional."
"What I fail to understand," continued the Itachi, ignoring his companion's comment, "is what happened that made you come here? Have you no family, is that why Riruka-san took you in?"
Itchi's words pierced right through her, and for a moment Yahizui was sure she forgot how to breathe. Memories swam before her eyes like shadows that dissolved if she pried too much. The smiling face of her father, the kind eyes of her mother... even though she wasn't sure why, Yahizui knew she would never see them again.
She had to leave before she fell apart. The first tear fell, and Yahizui bolted, not caring where her feet carried her.
Yahizui knew they were gone, yet something seemed to stop her from remembering how. She knew something happened, something that took her Mama and Papa away and brought her to this strange new land, but she didn't dare to look further. It was like sitting in a dim hallway, and the darkest room stood before her, but she was too afraid to enter, fearful of the monsters that would prey on her if she did.
Her feet carried her blindly until she tripped, knees scraping against the hard ground. There was no reason to hold back the tears now; there was no one to see the sobs wracking her body, no one to give her pitying glances.
-Itachi-
"You know," said Shisui, watching his younger cousin clean up the kunai with a frown on his lips. "I've never seen you get so emotional before over someone other than Sasuke. What is it about this girl?"
Itachi placed the gathered kunai on the floor. He sat down, feeling lost. He did not care... did he? It was all so confusing. Yahizui annoyed him, and she made him train her, even though he did not want to... but somehow, he felt at ease around her. Itachi admired her spirit; although he made the practice especially hard so that she could not keep up and give up her idea of becoming a ninja, she came back every day. Yahizui came back even though she was tired, bruised, shaking from the effort and was apparently in over her head. Somehow the girl did not know how to give up, and even though Itachi did not understand that, he admired it.
"I mean," continued Shisui, "you decide to train her, you spend every day with her, and now that you know she is somewhere out there crying, you are itching to go to her! If I didn't know any better, I would say you liiiiike her!"
Itachi gave his cousin a quizzical look. "Like her? What do you mean? I don't dislike her... even though she can be tiring, so yes you can say I like her."
"Pfff!!! Hahahaaha!" Shisui could not help it, the boy was so clueless! "Oh Itachi, you are no fun to tease!"
Itachi's eyes narrowed in annoyance. It never failed to amaze Shisui how much power one child could carry in a single glare. Itachi was a serious child; a diligent, smart, mature child. So much that it made people forget that underneath it all, Itachi was still a kid. A lonely kid who was avoided by all others because he was… different, better, less childish.
All avoided him, besides little Yahizui. And she just ran away from him, crying her eyes out.
"So, are you going to go find her, or what?"
"....."
The lost look on Itachi's face tugged at Shisui's heartstrings. The poor boy did not even know how to act with a friend even if it was staring him in the face.
"She's your friend, right?" Shisui asked. "Friends don't leave each other alone when in need."
A stubborn pout made its way on Itachi's face. A pout that told Shisui Itachi was about to defend a losing battle with nothing but his diamond will.
"I just met her. She tricked me into training her. I can't call her my friend..."
"Oh..." replied Shisui prepared to strike back at the stubborn Uchiha heir. "So you are telling me that you couldn't think your way out of this? Or that you did not enjoy at all the time you spent together with her?"
Shisui could see Itachi's defense crack, so he decided to drive his point through. "Could you go home now and act like she's not somewhere out there crying because of you?"
-Yahizui-
Yahizui was sitting at the lake's edge, her toes dipped in the cold water. Her tears were no longer flowing, but a layer of sorrow still surrounded her like a thick fog. She was watching the water, eyes unfocused. From time to time a fish caught her attention, and she'd follow its movements, secretly amazed at everything. It was magnificent. In the deep desert, water was precious, something people worked for, something they cherished. Water was life, nurtured, and loved.
Here in Konoha water was abundant, and its never-ending supply made the people worry-free. Here children could sleep in late, play all day, and leave the responsibilities to their parents. Here she had to beg Riruka to give her something to do, some way to help so that she would feel she earned her meals and her bed. Back in the desert, nothing was free, and one had to secure even their right to live…with so many poisonous scorpions running about, death was just a matter of a wrong step.
She was not sure how long she had been sitting there, feet dipped up to her ankles in water, drowning in memories of her home. By the time she heard someone approach, her skin was freezing, and the grip she had on her shoes was so tight that her knuckles were white.
Itachi stopped a few feet behind her, and she could hear his feet shuffling in the grass, but he kept quiet. Was he just going to stand there? She turned to look at him, her eyes still puffy from tears, lips tilted in indignation. "What?"
"Want to play hide and seek?" he asked, his voice sounding squeakier than she was accustomed to.
"H-hide and seek?" asked Yahizui in an uncharacteristically meek voice.
"Yes, it's a game. One person counts to ten, while the other…"
"I know how the game goes!" she said, jumping up to point an accusing finger between his eyes. She hated when he did that, and until now she was not sure if he did it to annoy her, or if he really did not know any better.
As she put her shoes back on, Yahizui turned to look at the dark-haired boy.
"Why did you look for me?" she asked, unsure whether she should be happy about it or not.
"I… I would be a bad friend if I had left you alone," he said slowly as if he were testing the words.
She smiled, joy bubbling inside her like frothy soap, and to her delight, Itachi's usually placid face lit up with a joy of his own.
"I hide first!" she shouted, already sprinting away to find a suitable place.
They played until sunset, the kunai, and shuriken set discarded on the river bank. On that day they were just two children, two friends playing, laughing, and enjoying a warm summer day. Yahizui's smile was shining like the sun, the clearing filling with her laughter every time she managed to evade or find Itachi.
That night, when Yahizui got home, she was tired, a smile still stretching her lips. It had been a great day, and between running, hiding, and laughing, all sad thoughts had left her. She smiled as she thanked Riruka for dinner, smiled while brushing her teeth, and got ready for bed, smiled as she closed her eyes and drifted off. Yes, it had been a great day.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone