lost girl

by Red_Rain10

Summary:

everyone knows naruto's story of birth, and how he had the nine-tails sealed away. but as lady Chiyo said: the power of the nine-tails is too much for one person to control. so who has the other half? enter Ren Uzumaki, a lost child of the village of the hidden leaf, Naruto's lost twin sister. (i know in Minato sealed half in himself, don't ruin the plot)

Chapter 1

I sigh as I put the last of the dishes away. I’d been out of the psych ward only a day, and the abuse was back. As quietly as possible, I walk through the old hallway, trying to disappear into my room. I freeze as my foster parents get into another shouting match, scaring my three foster brothers. Kass, the foster mother, has her own son, but he lives with his dad.

I don’t blame him.

Kass is a bitch, in every definition of the word. Volatile, abusive, and manipulative. She doesn’t look much better than a dog either. She has dyed brown hair, that was always slightly greasy. She spends too much time on her phone, so she has no muscles. Not any brains, either.

carl is your definition of an Irishman. Fat, slightly short, and drunk. Except without an accent. I absolutely hate Carl, more than kass, because he’s strong enough to hurt me. I can get over mental and emotional abuse quickly enough, but it’s hard to move around with fractured ribs and a concussion.

I let out a sigh of relief as I manage to silently close the door behind me. I flop onto my bed and start scrolling through my phone. I don’t have any friends, so I don’t text anyone. It’s fun to watch other people, though, so TikTok is my favorite app. Watching men get totally trashed by women, though, is hilarious. So of course that’s what I watch.

“REN. GET DOWN HERE, NOW!” damn it. What does this bitch want now?

I huff and roll off my bed, in no hurry at all. I check my appearance. I look hideous, as always. But I don’t look as hideous as usual. My ginger roots are showing through. I’m going to have to re-dye my hair again. I growl as I tug on the faded blue ends in distaste. I look exactly like my mother. I hate it. I mean, how would you feel if every time you look in the mirror, your first abuser looked back at you?

“REN. NOW.” I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. In a minute,” I holler back. I lace up my platforms and make my way downstairs. I round the corner into the kitchen to find four combat-ready dressed people standing in various places around the room.
Blocking exits.

My only escape would be to back the way I came if this turned ugly. Not great, since they look like shinobi. Leaf, judging by the headbands.

“My name is Kakashi. My team will be escorting you to the hidden leaf village.” I’m sorry, what? I stare at the man who spoke. He had spiky silver hair and dark eyes. Not brown, but not quite black. He had his headband pulled over one eye, and a mask covering the rest of his face. That aside, he wasn’t bad-looking from what I can see. He stares back, assessing me as well. I huff and look at the ceiling.

“And why the hell do I need an escort, or to go to the leaf at all?” he tilts his head to the side.

“Your parents-”

“Motherfuckers aren’t my parents.” the three younger shinobi gape in astonishment. Sensing a dangerous topic, Kakashi revises his question.

“Your guardians didn’t tell you?” I scowl slightly.

“Tell me WHAT, damn it,” I growl. Kakashi sighs and rubs the back of his head, ruffling his floofY hair.

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” he mutters.

“Kakashi-sensei, this is such a waste of time. You said this was an important mission,” the blonde kid groans. I look at him from the corner of my eye. Spikey blonde hair, and whisker-like lines on his cheeks.

Bright blue eyes. The same as mine. Odd.

“Naruto, don’t be rude,” I glance at the girl that spoke. Pink hair and light green eyes. Cute. not my type, but I wasn’t exactly looking to be in a relationship at the moment. maybe if my girlfriend hadn’t killed herself recently. If I hadn’t just gotten out of the Ward from trying to kill myself.

“Let’s not fight. We’ll all be stuck together for a few days, so it’s best if we get along.” I look at the third kid. Straight black hair, black eyes, and skin almost as pale as I am. That’s saying something because I’m a ginger. He’s wearing a crop top. A femboy in hiding if I ever saw one.

We’re gonna be besties.

“Sai’s right. Naruto, don’t antagonize Ren. Sakura, try and keep your temper in check.” I glance back at Kakashi. He gives them orders with ease, it’s not hard to tell they’ve been working together for a long time.

“I’ll go pack, then.” I turn around and start heading to my room, and Sakura follows. We say nothing to each other for a few minutes. then,

“I’m not coming back here, am I?” sakura looks surprised, then looks down.

“No, you’re not. You have family in Konoha, you’ll live with them. I’m sorry.” I glance at her. Her eyes shine slightly with unshed tears. I sigh.

“Why are you sad?” she looks back up at me, meeting my cold, sharp, hard, icy eyes. The same shade of blue as Naruto’s, but filled with years of pain and anger. The pinkette flinches.

“Because they don’t want you. You’re being told you’re not wanted, and you’re just accepting it-”

“Because they never wanted me in the first place. I’m not happy here. I’m better off leaving than staying. I hate them, and they hate me. It’s a win-win either way. Worst comes to worst, I can just jump off a bridge.” sakura gapes at me, shocked by how blunt I’m being. Her face falls after a few seconds and she looks at the floor.

“I’ll let you finish packing in peace,” she murmurs quietly. She steps out of the room, closing the door behind her. Immediately I pack my glitter bombs, my knives, poisons, bandages, matches, and lighters. I’ve already packed everything else. I take my favorite steel-toed combat boots and pack them as well.

You can never have too many combat boots.

After a few minutes, I open the door and step out. Sakura glances at my bag.

“That was fast. You’re sure you’re ready?” I nod, and she smiles and leads me back downstairs. Kakashi is obviously irritated, but doing an excellent job hiding it. Sai and Naruto look horrified.

“How the hell can you say that? She’s your kid, isn’t she?” Carl looks at naruto, annoyed.

“No, she isn’t. She’s a bitch, and it’s a shame the paramedics managed to save her. The only good part of this situation is her stupid girlfriend is dead.” the room freezes. Except me. I hand my bag to naruto but don’t stop moving. I head straight for carl and punch him in the jaw hard enough that I hear bones crunch. I flip them off over my shoulder and slam the door behind me. I stare at the sky as I listen to the pathetic sound of a grown-ass man sobbing.

 

 

 

Chapter 2: 2

 

I walk behind Kakashi, hands behind my head, with sakura next to me. Naruto and Sai walk behind us. Sakura and I had been chatting slightly for the past few hours. Naruto had been glaring at me the entire time. It’s getting a little annoying. Sakura notices.

“Don’t mind Naruto, he just doesn’t know you yet-”

“It’s not that. I know her from somewhere. And she gives off the same murder vibes as Gaara did. Plus she acts like someone’s about to kill her at any moment! She’s checked our surroundings at least twice every ten minutes! No normal person does that, especially when surrounded by shinobi!” I stop walking and sigh. I glare at the blonde from the corner of my eye. He freezes. Sai gasps slightly. 

“I’d watch your fucking mouth.” everyone freezes. “I’m not normal, ” I growl, thoroughly annoyed with the blonde. “People have tried to kill me. And frankly, I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.” Which probably isn’t very far, considering I’m anorexic and haven’t eaten in three days, I add silently. everyone gapes at me as I start walking silently. 

Sakura doesn’t walk next to me anymore. It hurts a little, but it’s whatever. It’s better than having my heart ripped out again when she leaves. Everyone does eventually. I pop in my AirPods and play my music, blocking out the world around me. 

I still notice the two men in black cloaks following us.

I look at Kakashi. His head is almost imperceivably tilted to the side of the road the mystery men are on. So he sees them. They follow us to the end of the trees, where we emerge into a small town.

"alright. we'll stop here tonight. there's an inn, I'll get us rooms. Why don't you four get some food?" I glance at Kakashi. it seems a little foolish to leave your mission with three chunin, but that's hardly for me to judge. I shrug. I'm not hungry, but I might eat the food later if we take it out.

"Sure! I vote ramen, who agrees?" I look at Naruto in surprise. I hadn't pinned the blonde as the type to properly appreciate food, but you learn something new every day, right?

"I'm down." the three ninjas gape at me. "What? I can appreciate good food when it’s put in front of me." Naruto beamed.

“I guess you’re not so bad after all! To the nearest ramen shop!” I smile faintly at Naruto’s innocent nature. We make our way to a ramen shop and order our food. I watch the team interact with each other. Childhood friends, it seems. Bonded together further through several near-death experiences. I sigh as I stir my ramen again, the aroma making it even more tantalizing. I raise the chopsticks to my mouth but put them down with a grimace. I can’t eat this. Maybe a little, but it’s just… not appetizing. I’m hungry, but I don’t want to eat anything. It’s fucking annoying. 

“Hey, blueberry! What’s up with you?” I hum in response, looking up at naruto. The blonde looks irritated and a little confused. “I thought you said you liked ramen. But you’ve barely touched yours.” I close my eyes. He’s more observant than I thought. 

“Why blueberry?” he takes the bait and ignores the ramen completely.

“Cause you’re hair’s blue, like a blueberry. And it’s hard to tell if you’re going to be nice or push me down the stairs. Like a blueberry!” I snort. So he does have a brain. He just doesn’t use it for the right things. I 

“If I’m blueberry, then you’re Orange.” sakura giggles at Naruto’s outrage. I roll my eyes.

“You’re wearing a highlighter orange tracksuit. Plus you radiate sunshine and rainbows. It’s annoying and adorable.” sakura giggles even more as naruto turns pink. I point at her. “You, sakura, are pinky pie. And sai is femboy.” sakura and naruto burst out laughing at sai’s confusion. 

“What is a femboy?” I think for a minute.

“A femboy is a boy that will sometimes dress more like a girl but identifies their gender as a male.” he looks confused for a second. 

“So I… dress like a girl?” I stare at him. 

“You’re wearing a crop top.”  he tilts his head to the side. 

“I do not understand” 

“Sai was raised differently than other people, so he doesn’t understand a lot of slang, or emotions.” so he’s like me. 

“I see. Well, maybe we can do a little experiment,” I grin evilly. Sakura catches on and smiles too. Sai looks concerned.

 

Timeskip

 

I lay on the grass and look at the stars. Sneaking out was surprisingly easy. But then again, Sakura and I had managed to paint Sai’s nails and get him into a maid outfit. The real fight was getting him out of it. Poor Kakashi looked traumatized. I smile slightly at the memory. I see movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn slightly. A crow. A lot of crows, actually. All in the trees, and on the roofs. 

“A young woman your age should be asleep, or at least inside at this hour.” I look back at the sky, the vague outline of a man on the roof.

“Well, I’m not exactly the norm. Sorry, not sorry.” the man chuckles quietly, giving me goosebumps. Why is his voice so fucking sexy?! I don’t need to be attracted to men!

“That’s understandable. Have you considered the fact that you were assigned a team of shinobi, with substantial connections with other villages, should their route be compromised? There’s a reason for that.” I react immediately. Unfortunately, the man predicted my reaction. I find myself pinned, my back against a very toned torso. I scowl at the compromising position.

“So you do have good survival instincts. If you were trained as a shinobi you might have escaped.” I growl. So now he’s making fun of my childhood? Fucking bastard. His grip on my wrists tightens. Unfortunately for him, he underestimated me. I yank him forward and duck under his arms, kicking his ankles out from under him. He grunts in surprise as he falls.

But then.

THIS MOTHERFUCKER DISSOLVES INTO BIRDS. 

I stand frozen for a second, before turning around to go inside. And see the man standing in front of me. He’s wearing the same black cloak- wait a damn second. He was one of the men following us. Looking closer, I see his cloak has red clouds on it. He’s a member of the fucking Akatsuki. His headband is ex-leaf. Holy shit. This is Itachi Uchiha. I’m fucking dead. His eyes turn the crimson-red of the Sharingan. I look away before he can catch me in a genjustsu.

“So you know about the Sharingan. It won’t help you much, though.”

“Shut the fuck up, bird boy.” 

“Bird boy?” the confusion in his voice is cute. I’m not fangirling. At all. Maybe a little.

“You dissolved into fucking birds. Bird boy fits.” 

“I suppose it does. It’s unfortunate that you probably won’t survive, you have a sense of humor.” I freeze. 

“Wait, you’re gonna kill me?” I look at his face, confused.

“No. death is just a side effect.”

“Is it painful?” he looks confused.

“Why does it matter?”

“Cause I’m a suicidal, depressed bitch.” the ravenette looks taken aback by my blunt response.

“Then why did you try to fight?”

“Because I’m not trying to get raped again.” again, he’s taken aback by my blunt response. “And because our conversation was loud enough to wake up Kakashi.”

The Uchiha looks shocked for a second, but his expression fades into a small smile as Kakashi lands on the roof.

“You’re a smart one. Going after your brother might be easier after all.” I freeze.

“I don’t have a brother.” Itachi tilts his head.

“So they haven’t told you. Then I will.” 

“Stop!” Kakashi finally makes a move, but Itachi is faster. He puts a hand on my shoulder and leans in, his mouth next to my ear.

“The family you have in Konoha. Is Naruto Uzumaki.” he lets go and takes a step back before vanishing. My vision starts tunneling as my chest tightens. I can’t breathe. I hear Kakashi’s voice before everything goes black.

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

Itachi POV

I watch the girl. Other than the choice of hair color, she looks just like how I remember Kushina looked. A little small for a girl her age, but that could be pinned on malnourishment as a child. My eyes widen in surprise as she snaps at the four shinobi escorting her. Of course it would be team seven. She and Sasuke would get along well. They have the same temperament. A wave of sadness washes over me as I think of my younger brother. I shake it off and focus on the mission at hand. After a few seconds of intense glaring, the girl turns around and continues walking. She puts in her earbuds. A stupid decision, considering she was assigned a cell of shinobi. Unless she already knows we’re following them. She watches Kakashi closely. The copy ninja has his head tilted to the side of the path Kisame and I are on. The corners of her mouth twitch upward slightly. She definitely knows we’re following them.

“Kisame. We’ve been detected. Fall back, do not approach the target unless she’s alone.” 

He nods, knowing better than to go against my assessments. They’ve never been wrong before, and they wouldn’t be now. We fall back a bit but keep the group in sight.

They’re following the main path, to the nearest village. The girl is… oddly intriguing. I may break my own advice. She’s been distancing herself from others. Her stance is strong, confident. But her eyes… her eyes are dull, sad, nearly lifeless. devoid of hope or happiness. 

They look like mine.

I watch Kakashi separate from the four teenagers and follow them to the ramen stand. They interact well. The three chunin can’t read the undertones of their client. I can. Her pain is incredibly obvious. They leave after they finish their food. Except for the girl. She barely touches hers. The quartet makes their way to the inn, laughing and joking. I wait, knowing she won’t stay in her room the whole night. My suspicions prove correct when she slips out of her room at about midnight. I land on the roof of the inn silently, watching her for a few minutes. I make an impulsive decision to try and take her now. I gather my crows as she starts to detect my presence. Almost immediately she notices.

“A young woman your age should be asleep, or at least inside at this hour.” she looks up at me.

“Well, I’m not exactly the norm. Sorry, not sorry.” I laugh softly. She’s certainly snarky. 

“That’s understandable. Have you considered the fact that you were assigned a team of shinobi, with substantial connections with other villages, should their route be compromised? There’s a reason for that.”  She reacts instantly.  I manage to get a hold of her wrists and pull her against my chest. Thankfully she isn’t a shinobi, or she probably would have escaped. She freezes.

“So you do have good survival instincts. If you were trained as a shinobi you might have escaped.” She growls in response. A chill goes down my spine as I tighten my grip on her wrists. She doesn’t know about the Kyuubi, but the noise is terrifying just the same. Suddenly I’m being pulled forward as she ducks under my arms and my feet are kicked out from under me. I grunt in surprise as I dissolve into crows and reappear behind her. She turns around and freezes as she takes in my appearance and realizes who I am. I activate my Sharingan and she instantly looks away from my face.

“So you know about the Sharingan. It won’t help you much, though.”

“Shut the fuck up, bird boy.” 

“Bird boy?” I tilt my head in confusion

“You dissolved into fucking birds. Bird boy fits.” she’s witty. Stalling for time, but I can still appreciate her humor.

“I suppose it does. It’s unfortunate that you probably won’t survive, you have a sense of humor.” she freezes.

“Wait, you’re gonna kill me?” she looks confused.

“No. death is just a side effect.”

“Is it painful?” what? Why would that matter? 

“Why does it matter?” 

“Cause I’m a suicidal, depressed bitch.” I inhale sharply as my eyes widen before I can school my facial expressions. I can’t see why she would fight if not to stay alive.

“Then why did you try to fight?”

“Because I’m not trying to get raped again.” again, I can’t control my reaction in time. This girl… is very bad for my reputation. “And because our conversation was loud enough to wake up Kakashi.”

To say I’m shocked is an understatement. She managed to throw me over her shoulder with no training as a shinobi, find a way to attract the attention of a skilled fighter when it became apparent that she wouldn’t be able to handle the situation herself, and stall for enough time for the help to arrive. 

“You’re a smart one. Going after your brother might be easier after all.” she freezes.

“I don’t have a brother.” I tilt my head. They hadn’t told her yet? Interesting. I might as well exploit that.

“So they haven’t told you. Then I will.” 

“Stop!” Kakashi finally makes a move, I’m faster. I put a hand on her shoulder and lean in so my mouth is next to her ear. Her smell is intoxicating. I push the thought aside.

“The family you have in Konoha. Is Naruto Uzumaki.” I let go and step back before jumping to a nearby tree. She collapses as Kakashi tries talking to her. I make my to where Kisame set up camp. A cloud drifts over the moon, further shadowing the already dark forest. Kisame smirks as I land at the mouth of the cave.

“What took you so long? Pretty girl caught your eye?” I close my eyes, keeping my face neutral.

“Hn.” a typical Uchiha response. Kisame clearly wasn’t expecting a real response. “We need to figure out a way to capture either of the Jinchuriki.” the swordsman gapes at me.

“So the great Uchiha couldn’t handle a little girl that isn’t even a shinobi?! What the hell?” I give him a sharp look. He’s not even trying to contain his shock.

“She’s… unusual.” unusual was the best way to describe her. She’s incredibly intelligent, so much so it’s almost scary. Konoha probably intends to train her as a shinobi, and that could pose a huge threat to the Akatsuki. Not that I particularly care. The only reason I joined was to keep an eye on Sasuke through Orochimaru. Unfortunately, Orochimaru only joined for my body. 

“She possesses a huge amount of chakra, even without the Kyuubi. Enough to completely suppress its chakra.” the shark man freezes at my words. He turns to face me.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” I stare at him. We both know I would never joke about something so unfortunate for us. He groans and rubs his face with a hand. I don’t say anything, but I agree. I sit down and lean against a large rock. I fall asleep, thinking about the girl. 

What was her name? 

Notes:

so Itachi doesn't know her name, because she wasn't raised in Konoha and the leaf doesn't have much intel on her, other than that she exists. it took both the Akatsuki and the leaf (mostly Kakashi) months to track her down. Itachi also hasn't seen her very well yet, because her back has been to him and when it wasn't, it was dark.

Chapter 4

Normal POV

When I finally wake up, I’m being carried on someone’s back. I open my eyes slowly and discover that it’s Kakashi carrying me. I see Naruto and Sai in front of us, talking quietly.

“You’re awake.” I growl in response, making Kakashi laugh. “Sakura estimated at least another six hours before you woke up. Itachi gave you a nasty shock.” I push off of his back, and he sets me down. The three chunin stare in surprise before continuing to walk. I wait for a few minutes.

“So. is Naruto my brother?” Kakashi sighs.

“Straight to the point, aren’t you?” he hesitates. “Yeah. Naruto is your brother. You’re twins. You were separated as toddlers. Even in Konoha, there are human trafficking rings. The man that sold you was caught, of course, but you were already gone.” I nod silently, still processing the information. 

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei! What are you two talking about?” we turn to the blonde. Studying his face, I realize how similar we are. My face is sharper than his, and I have the coloring of a ginger, but other than that, we’re almost identical. Kakashi looks at me, and i give a small nod. 

“Naruto. Walk with us.” with a confused look, the blonde falls back next to us, while sakura moves to walk next to sai, giving us some privacy. 

“What’s up?” Kakashi looks at me before speaking.

“Naruto. Do you remember how lady Chiyo said that the nine-tails was too powerful to be sealed in a single person?” the blonde tenses and looks at me. I grit my teeth, but keep my face neutral. The blonde nods. “So you know that you don’t have the whole nine-tails.” the blonde freezes.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But then who has the other half?!” I close my eyes. I don’t want to see naruto’s reaction.

“You’re sister does.” 

“WHAT!? I HAVE A SISTER?! WHO?!” I wince at the sudden increase in volume. Sakura and sai gasp but tune out the conversation. Kakashi and I just stare at the blonde. He thinks for a few minutes. He looks at me. I smile grimly.

“Surprise surprise, motherfucker.” the blonde gapes at me. Then he smiles his billion-watt smile before squishing me in a bear hug. I can’t help but notice he smells like citrus and tea.

“This is awesome! The whole mission makes sense now. You’re gonna love Konoha! And granny Tsunade, Iruka-sensei-”

“Naruto, I don’t think she can breathe.” the blonde sets me down as I gasp for breath. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. 

“Maybe a little warning next time, alright?” he smiles again and laughs sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time. I guess I’m just excited to finally have some family.” I smile at him softly.

“I know how that feels.” the four shinobi gape at me openly. I can see a faint blush on Sai’s and Kakashi’s faces. “What did I do?” sakura just points at me like she’s seen a ghost.

“Y-you just smiled. And it was absolutely gorgeous. ” I scowl and pull the collar of my coat up over my face. Naruto pulls me into a loose side hug, slinging an arm over my shoulder.

“‘Course it was! She’s my sister, it makes sense that she would be just as attractive as I am!” I roll my eyes and try to sink further into my coat. Sakura and Naruto start arguing, and I close my eyes. I might be able to get used to this. Suddenly I’m being lifted into the air, a hand under my knees and one on my back. My eyes fly open and I’m about to stab whoever is touching me when I see naruto’s face laughing at me. I glare and cross my arms.

“We’re gonna be moving faster now since we know the Akatsuki are after you, and most likely following us. So I’m gonna carry you now, you might wanna close your eyes.” I nod. Suddenly we burst into motion, making me squeak in surprise and wrap my arms around naruto’s neck. 

“We’re gonna be moving like this for a few hours, you might wanna get comfortable,” the blonde laughs. I huff and lean into his chest. He’s… a lot taller than me. He’s about 5’6, and I’m only about 5’1. It’s becoming more obvious the more cuddly he gets. I guess if i have to have a secret brother, Naruto isn’t that bad. 

Brother. A brother is a member of a family. Does this mean I have a family now? I haven’t really had one before. How does he expect me to behave? Is he going to introduce me to his friends? Does he have a girlfriend? Is he even straight?! 

“What’s the matter?” I look up at the blonde. My brother. The confusion I feel must show. “I can tell you’re worried, what’s wrong?” I look away.

“I’ve never had a family before. So. I don’t know how I’m supposed to act, or-”

“What’re you talking about? There’s no way you’re supposed to act.” my head snaps up. Naruto smiles at me. “A family is supposed to accept you no matter what. So I will.” my eyes widen as they fill with tears. I smile as I blink them away.

“Thank you. Big brother.” Naruto flinches slightly, clearly not expecting to be called brother. He smiles and holds me a little tighter. I lean into his chest and relax. I think I might finally be safe enough to let my guard down. I’ll wait a little while longer, but still. I want to let my guard down, for the first time in a long time. I close my eyes, but I can’t help thinking of a certain Uchiha. He was branded a murderer and a traitor. He’s supposed to be emotionless and cold.

But then why does he seem so sad and hopeless?

Chapter 5

 

When I wake up, Naruto is still carrying me. He notices and smiles at me.

“Hey! We’re almost there. We’re gonna check in with Granny Tsunade, then we’ll go to my place.” I nod sleepily. I want to rub my eyes, but that would smear my mascara and eyeliner. I massage my temples as I feel a headache coming on.

“How long?” my brother thinks for a second.

“Maybe ten minutes? You’ve been out for a while. Kakashi tried to carry you, but he’s a perv. So obviously I wouldn’t let him carry you, especially when you were asleep-” I smile as Naruto rambles on.  It’s cute. We stop at the huge village gates. I keep my face emotionless as I observe the village. Colorful and orderly. Kinda… basic. But it feels like a place I could call home.

“Hey, Naruto!” I look over at the guards. Both had black hair and the same uniform as Kakashi. 

“Kotetsu, Izumo! What’s up?” I look back at my brother. He starts walking toward the two men. I follow, unsure of what to do.

“Nothing much, you guys are the most interesting thing that’s happened all day. Who’s the babe?” a vein pops on my forehead.

“Are you shitting me right now?” they flinch. I’m kinda scary when I’m angry, I guess. “This is the reason I’m gay. Men are disgusting.” I cross my arms and glare at them. They sink in their seats. Naruto laughs nervously.

“This is my sister, Ren. she’s gonna be living in Konoha from now on.” they nod, sinking further into their chairs under my glare. I pull the collar of my jacket up, trying to use it as a place to hide. Naruto, Kakashi, Izumo, and Kotetsu fanboy silently. I growl, hating the attention. A flowery aura surrounds the four men. 

“Don’t we have to check in with the Hokage or whatever?” Kakashi snaps out of it.

“Yeah, we do. She’ll just need to verify that you are in fact Naruto's sister, which shouldn’t take long because she’s one of the best medical ninjas in the world.” I nod and follow him quietly. I hear people whispering as I walk by.

“Another one? The Hokage’s really lost it-”

“-demon bitch-”

“-give her a chance-”

“Another murdering whore-”

I sigh and ignore them. It’s not any worse than what I got before. Oh well. At least there are people that don’t know me. They’ll be even worse when they do. I close my eyes and listen as naruto rambles about some ramen shop we passed. I guess a ramen obsession runs in the family. We approach a big, red building near the back of the village. The Hokage tower, if I had to guess. We walk through the building until we get to a very important-looking door. Naruto slams it open without hesitation.

“Hey, granny Tsunade! We’re back!” I blink at the blonde woman in front of me. 

Granny? She looks like she’s in her mid-twenties. 

“Naruto. Kakashi. The mission was successful? No trouble?” I’m not sure how I feel about being called ‘the mission.’ whatever. She sees me behind naruto. Her eyes widen slightly.

“The mission was successful, however, the Akatsuki are aware that Ren is in possession of the other half of the Kyuubi, and that she is now living in Konoha.” Tsunade nods, still staring at me. 

“You two are dismissed. Naruto, I’m going to talk to Ren for a minute, wait outside.” Kakashi poofs into smoke and Naruto steps outside and closes the door. I look back at Tsunade. She studies me with growing sadness. “You look like your mother. But you have your father’s eyes,” I say nothing. She sighs and leans back in her chair. 

“How did the sandaime let this happen,” she mutters. “We’ve looked into your situation. Personally, I think you got it better than it could have been. You were sold to a sex-trafficking ring. A woman who was running the ring had lost her daughter, and you happened to be around that same age and had a very similar appearance.” She slides two photos across the desk. Two red-headed, blue-eyed toddlers stare back at me. They’re essentially identical. I look back up at the blonde. She’s gauging my reaction. I raise an eyebrow. She smirks.

“I like you. You’ve got a level head. You’d make a good shinobi.” I stare at her.

“Is that an offer? Because it sounds like it.” her smirk widens. 

“You’re smart. I’m going to have to ask you to be careful what you say out loud, especially to and about Naruto.” I roll my eyes.

“I’m aware of that. Naruto and I are S-class secrets. I know when I need to keep my mouth shut.” she nods.

“Should you choose to accept, you will start training as a shinobi. I would like to train you, as a medic shinobi. If not, then-”

“Baa-chan, just tell me when training starts.” the blonde blinks rapidly, then starts laughing.

“All right then! Training starts tomorrow. Do you have any other questions?” I hesitate.

“I want to look through the Anbu files.” she blinks in surprise.

“Why? What good would that do?” I lean forward slightly, bracing myself on the desk.

“You can’t tell me that the Uchiha massacre doesn’t look shady?” her face becomes a mask.

“So you noticed too, huh?” I nod.

“Yeah. Itachi Uchiha didn’t exactly seem the part of a man that murdered his entire family because he was bored.” She studies me for a minute.

“You’re a lot smarter than I thought. You’re giving the Nara clan a run for their money. Let’s say you do find info on the massacre. What will you do?”

“He’s got a brother, right? Start with telling him, then work our way through the rest of the relevant parties. And, if possible, bring him back to Konoha if he wants to come back.” She closes her eyes and leans back in her chair.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. People that look through those files and find anything important…” she lets the sentence drop. I understand the meaning. I grimace. There are few things I hate more in this world than stuck-up bastards that blame their bullshit on innocent people. We both look at the door as it swings open. An old man with half his face and an arm wrapped in bandages. Tsunade scowls.

“Danzo. You’re supposed to knock before entering.” I wrinkled my nose as his stench wafts through the room.

“My apologize, lady Tsunade, but I heard the other Jinchuriki had been returned and I had to see for myself.” I make a small ‘tch’ sound and roll my eyes. The old man narrows his visible eye at me. He opens his mouth to reprimand me, but I interrupt his rant.

“Yeah, yeah. Say what you want, ass-kisser, but your scent will always betray you.” his eye widens in surprise. I crack a smile. Not a pleasant one, but one that promises pain. The smile of a fox. My unusually sharp canines add to the effect, and the old man looks like he wants to shit his pants but is too constipated. Tsunade sighs.

“Ren. you can’t threaten council members, even if they are infuriating.” I look back at her, pouting.

“But baa-chan, I haven’t even tried to throw him out the window yet.” the blonde blinks several times.

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.” I tilt my head and smile.

“Why would I joke about throwing disgusting, dishonest assholes who blame their bullshit on innocent people out the window? He’s the guy in charge of the ANBU, right?” the old man starts slowly backing out of the room as tsunade mutters something under her breath about mini Minato's and Kushina’s.

“Please don’t throw Danzo out the window, it will be very difficult to write that off as an accident.” I nod thoughtfully.

“So you’re saying i need to go for a subtle poison that will look natural?” 

“How about not planning my death when I’m in the room?” Tsunade and I look at Danzo, then each other.

“No.” the elder looks baffled by my complete lack of respect. I turn back to Tsunade.

“I’m going with naruto now, baa-chan. Call me if you need a bastard thrown out the window.” the blonde nods and waves me away while pulling out a bottle of sake.

“Fine. i don’t need to take any blood, the similarity in your chakra is enough proof of your bloodline. Just don’t kill anyone.” i laugh and wave as i exit the room. Naruto smiles at me and starts chattering as he leads me to his apartment. I roll my eyes and put link my hands behind my head, a small smile on my face. I guess i have a home now. This is gonna take some getting used to.

Chapter 6

6-month time skip

I stifle a yawn as I shift through Tsunade’s paperwork on my way to her office. Since becoming her apprentice, I’ve easily surpassed sakura. I’m not sure if she hates me for it, but I don’t care either way. One of my jobs is to sort Tsunade’s paperwork. If I do some of it, Tsunade looks the other way when it comes to sake. Shizune on the other hand doesn’t care. She’ll yell at me either way. I push open the door without knocking.

“Baa-chan, I’ve already sorted these, your lazy-ass just has to do them.” the blonde groans and flops onto her desk. I laugh and set them on the desk. 

“I’m sending you on a mission with the Konoha nine, Kakashi, and Yamato. It’s a mission against the Akatsuki.” I pause, looking at her from the corner of my eye. “I think you can handle it. You’re stronger than sakura, and she hasn’t died yet.” my lips curl upward slightly as I nod. 

“... they’re leaving in five minutes.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing most of the things I need are sealed on my skin.” during my training, I’d met the nine tails. The nine tails had helped move my progress along and taught me funinjutsu. Apparently, my father was a funinjutsu master. I’d say the Kyuubi and i are friends.

“Good, you should head dow-” I teleport to the gate before she finishes her sentence, long, black, coat with red flames framing the bottom flapping behind me. My hair is shorter and choppier than it was when I came to Konoha, looking like a longer version of naruto’s haircut. The red has mostly grown out, with faded blue tips. I realize almost no one in Konoha has seen me, seeing as I spend most of my time training, in my bedroom, or with Tsunade. 

Besides team 7, there are nine others. Two Hyuuga, an inazuka, a yamanaka, an akimichi, an aburame, and a nara. Interesting. I’m not sure who the other two are. I’m gonna call them eyebrows and cinnabuns. 

“Where did you come from?!” I glance at sakura.

“Teleportation Jutsu. The yellow flash used a similar one, I just changed it up a little. It’s a mix between flying thunder god and body flicker. Kakashi, if you don’t stop looking at me like that I’m going to plant glitter bombs in your apartment.” Kakashi looks like he’s seen a ghost. He laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head. At this point, everyone is staring at me. Naruto picks me up and hugs me, making me squeak.

“You’re catching up! Only six months ago, you couldn’t even use chakra and now you’re using Kage-level jutsus!” I groan as Naruto shakes me. 

“Naruto… who is this? We’ve never seen her before, and she looks our age.” we look at the Hyuuga who spoke. He was taller than the girl. They’re both obviously introverts, but he looks a little less introverted. Naruto smiles and puts an arm around my shoulders.

“This is ren, my sister. She was taken from Konoha as a baby, but she’s back now!”

“Unlike naruto,” I growl as he moves to cling to me again. “I’m an introvert and not afraid to stab a bitch.” my brother pauses, then lunges for me again. I convert my chakra to Chidori. He yelps and jumps back. I cross my arms as he pouts. 

“Naruto-Kun, give your poor sister some space.” I look at the Hyuuga girl. She has long, blackish-purple hair and light violet eyes. She’s adorable and I just wanna squish her cheeks. She smiles at me and I fucking die. Sakura notices and smirks at me. I glare at her. Sai, being sai, is hopelessly confused.

“Do girls normally turn red after another helps them?” I pull my collar over my face and glare at him intensely. The Nara gets it immediately. 

“Everyone leave the poor girl alone. Especially the boys, unless you want a bruised ego.” he turns to me and offers a hand. “Name’s Shikamaru.” I shake his and return the smile.

“ I am the Handsome Devil of the Hidden Leaf Village! My name is Rock Lee! ” he flashes a huge smile at me. I look him up and down.

“Not with those eyebrows you’re not. And you could lose the spandex if you want real progress, underoos.” he slumps over as Shikamaru shakes his head. Dog boy tries next.

“Name’s Kiba Inazuka. I’ve got the best nose in the hidden leaf. If you ever need something found, call me.” I snort.

“No, you don’t. I do. And stop fucking flirting with me.” they all stare at me. 

“Why not?” I raise an eyebrow at the Hyuuga boy.

“Neji, don’t. Your ego is going to be bruised for weeks.” Neji looks at Shikamaru. I smirk at his exasperation. 

“Well, now we have to know.” Neji looks at me and I smile evilly.

“Well, the truth is your cousin has a better chance at earning a date than you do.” he looks insulted as he moves into a defensive stance. I laugh at the confused expressions.

“Wait… you’re gay!?” the yamanaka girl and cinnabuns recoil. 

“Haha! Now you know my terrible secret!” I dramatically throw a hand over my forehead and take a very fruity stance.

“You’re gay? It’s fine butters, I don’t care if you’re gay.” I look at Shikamaru who flawlessly completed the meme. I smile and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re my best friend now.”

“Shikimaru is my best friend!” I look at the akimichi.

“Okay? He can still be your best friend, I’m not my ex-girlfriend.” he looks confused.

“She threatened to off herself if I didn’t do what she said or stay with her. She would get really jealous and bitchy if I talked to anyone else. Eventually, she did off herself, and then I tried to off myself. But I guess I’m good now?” I stare at the sky, trying to figure out my new mental health crisis. I shake my head. 

“Anyways, everyone that’s important except you have introduced themselves. Name?” the two girls look offended.

“What do you mean everyone important? We haven’t told you ours, an-”

“I’m sorry, I just don’t consider homophobic bimbo bitches to be very important. You’re both probably closeted lesbians anyway.” I give them a smile that doesn’t quite reach my eyes. I turn back to the akimichi. He smiles a little.

“Choji. Choji akimichi. Those two are ino and tenten” I nod. I sense a new chakra approaching. I look at Kakashi and raise an eyebrow. He notices and waves it off. A few seconds later, a man with short brown hair and a jonin uniform lands next to Kakashi. He surveys the group, his eyes widening slightly as they land on me.

“Ren Uzumaki, right? I’m Yamato. Tsunade has told me about your… situation.” I nod, not at all appreciating that he was calling the Kyuubi a “situation.”

“Nice to meet you, tomato. Working with a wood-style user should be fun,” I smirk as he shifts uncomfortably. He’s never met me, and it’s not well known that he can use wood style. So it’s obvious that Tsunade trusts me with reading her documents. Or I’m skilled enough to break into the Anbu archives. He doesn’t need to know that both are true.

“My name isn’t tomato.” I wave it aside. 

“Whatever, tomato. Now, don’t we have reconnaissance on a bunch of s-class rogue shinobi to gather?” Kakashi sighs.

“Yes, we do. We should leave. Everyone has what they need?” everyone nods.

“Alright. Then let’s move out.”

Chapter 7

 

I reform my plan following all the specialties of the shinobi I’m working with. We’ll most likely encounter Itachi and Kisame out of all the Akatsuki. I’m well suited for this pair, but they don’t know that.

Our mission (on paper) is to try and retrieve the Akatsuki's latest prisoner, Yugito, the two tails jinchuriki.

Why does the hot man have to be my enemy?

I sigh and shake my head. At least I know what he can do. And with the Kyuubi added to my already extensive chakra reserves, it shouldn’t be hard to break his genjutsu.

Be careful what you think, brat, or you might jinx us. I’d rather not end up in a creepy statue thing, thank you very much .

I smile at Kurama's antics. 

Yeah, yeah. Let’s not forget that while you’ll be in a creepy statue thing, I’ll be dead. Have fun explaining that to my mother. I feel the fox shudder. I laugh quietly.

“What’s so funny?” I roll my eyes at Kiba.

“The fact that you’re still flirting with me, dog breath.” he laughs off my scathing response.

“Sorry. But you can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same. Cute new girl in the village, relatively high chances of dying at a young age.” I snort. I would, but respectfully.

“Save it for kami, Inazuka.” i push past him, startling ino and tenten. It’s not hard to overtake them as well and end up in the front with Kakashi and Yamato. They start in surprise.

“Well well, looks like Tsunade's done a fine job making up for the early on training.” I nod. Kakashi’s not wrong.

“Yeah. Ku- the Kyuubi helped as well. He’s mostly a grumpy furball, don’t worry. Your Chidori interests me, Kakashi.” the silver-haired jounin seizes the new topic eagerly. 

“The fourth Hokage helped me create it. Something tells me you’ll take to it well. Your lightning styles are incredible.” I nod, then lower my voice.

“The fourth Hokage was my father, wasn’t he?” Kakashi and Yamato are speechless.

“How did you… ?” I smile grimly at Yamato.

“Look at naruto, and look at any pictures of the fourth Hokage. They’re almost identical. I look like a combination of my mother and father. I’d say my personality takes after our father, though.” Kakashi’s face falls into neutrality. 

“You take after him very closely. It’s hard not to see the connection between the two of you, especially when you wear his coat, and hairstyle.” I touch my hair. I was just trying to be more comfortable with myself when I cut it but scaring the shit out of anyone who knew the fourth Hokage was a bonus.

“You would look even more like him…” I freeze. Did he…? “If you stopped wearing the dramatic eyeliner.” the relief is instant. I laugh.

“No thanks, I’ll keep my eyeliner.” Yamato studies me. I ignore it.

“What do you think about Itachi Uchiha?” Kakashi and Yamato trip over themselves.

“Where in the hell did that come from?” I look at Yamato.

“I went through the ANBU files. He was under orders to exterminate the clan to stop the rebellion. And he doesn’t exactly seem the blood-thirsty murderer type.” they stare at me.

“One. how did you get access to the Anbu files? Two. does the Hokage know? And three. When did you meet Itachi?” I smirk.

“One. I’m an incredibly skilled sensor and have a knack for genjutsu. Two. yes, she does. And she would prefer to speak with him, so take him alive if possible. Three. On my way to the village. No-balls Kakashi didn’t tell me naruto was my brother. Itachi did.” they nod, processing what I’ve said. 

“It’ll be hard, but doable. What do you suggest?” I blink in surprise.

“Me? Why me?” 

“Because you know more than anyone else on this subject, except the elders and Danzo, who I’m assuming don’t want this information to get out and would kill to protect it.” 

“Keep Kisame off me. Don’t let the others follow. Scratch that, send Shikamaru with me. He’ll be fine, don’t worry. If I need backup, you’ll know. Just leave Itachi to me.” they nod. We stop and eat lunch a few minutes later. Well. everyone else does. I drink some of the iced coffee I put in my canteen. I notice absentmindedly that Shikamaru is approaching me.

“So. you and I are going after Itachi, huh?” I look at the lazy brunette. I nod.

“I’m going to say a very large number of things that you’ve never heard before, and that you can’t tell anyone else. You’re going to need to keep your concentration, no matter what I say, or what Itachi says. Understood?” he nods.

“I gathered that myself. Must be big if you think you have to say it.” I give him a flat stare. He starts my intensity on a whole new level.

“I’m serious. If you can’t keep your fucking mouth shut, I will kill you.” he meets my gaze.

“I’m not going to say anything.” I nod. 

“Thank you.” he nods.

“I see two chakras coming towards us! One around the size of naruto, and another around half of that!” I look at Hinata. I extend my senses, finding something similar.

“It’s Itachi and his partner. Leave Itachi to Shikamaru and me.” we get stares of disbelief.

“Listen to Ren! The rest of you, stick with Yamato and me.” the group turns to Kakashi, who starts moving toward the larger chakra. Shikamaru and I move towards Itachi's.

“So what’s the plan?” I glance back at the brunette.

“You keep him still with the shadow possession, while I do the talking.”

“And that’s it?” I smile grimly.

“The less complicated the plan, the less that can go wrong. And the more you can improvise.”

“That… that’s not something anyone says without experience.” I chose not to respond. We get closer to the chakra until I catch his scent. I slow down, and Shikamaru followed. We come to a clearing in the thick forest, with a large rock in the middle. I see the back of an Akatsuki cloak, and the silky raven black hair falling down his back. I stop at the edge of the clearing on a large branch of a tree, Shikamaru landing on one a few meters away. 

“I know you’re there.” his voice sends a shiver down my spine. He rises gracefully from his position on the rock and turns to face us. My heart stops.

 

 

Chapter 8

 

Why is he so FUCKING hot?!

I don’t know, you have weird tastes. I thought you were only into girls, though.

Sexuality is fluid, jackass. I’m omnisexual and prefer women. But I’m still interested in men. And you’re gay too.

… but not for an Uchiha.

Fuck you, Kura. the fox chuckles quietly. I take a deep breath before speaking.

“We’re not here to fight. We want to talk.” the Uchiha tilts his head.

“My mission is to capture you and or your brother. I can’t imagine what we would talk about”

“Not even having your status as rogue shinobi removed?” Shikamaru's head whips around to face me, and Itachi stiffens.

“And how would you do anything about it?” I shrug.

“I may or may not have picked up a habit of breaking into the ANBU archives and reading restricted files. It’s amazing what the elders have swept under the rug. I have almost twice the necessary amount of incriminating evidence to have them all assassinated. Also, your brother is probably gay.” the ravenette blinks several times, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

“I’m aware that Sasuke most likely prefers men. Straight men don’t wear their hair like that.” my smile widens.

“Exactly. Anyways. What kind of therapy do you go to?” Shikamaru watches the interaction with growing disbelief. Itachi’s eyebrows knit together.

“I don’t. I’ve never found it necessary. Should I be?” I stare at the Uchiha.

“Um. that has so many levels of trauma and abuse that I can’t even start explaining the dozens of reasons why without wanting to murder someone. If Naruto ever becomes Hokage, I’m going to make sure he starts mandatory therapy. Weekly. Therapy.” 

“What the hell is going on here?” We both look at Shikamaru, then at each other. 

“Political negotiations.” I smile slightly at Itachi. He doesn’t smile back, but he lets go of some of the tension in his face. 

“Politics are fucking weird,” Shikamaru mutters. I laugh, while Itachi hums in agreement.

“So. Are we in agreement, then?”  

“Three things.” I gesture for him to continue. “One. I want to help bring my brother back to the village. Two.” he hesitates, so I cut in.

“If you would like to address that with the Hokage privately, I can probably arrange that. I think I might already have an idea, though.” he looks at me, surprised. I sign the word illness with one hand, where Shikamaru can’t see. He looks at me quizzically, nodding slightly. I tap the side of my nose, indicating that I could smell the sickness on him. Understanding dawns in his eyes.

“Three. While that is an incredibly well-constructed henge, I would prefer to see what the person I’m speaking to looks like, without the Sharingan.” I freeze. I look at him in horror.

“What’s he talking about, Ren?” I ignore Shikamaru, squeezing my eyes shut. I count to ten, trying to regulate my breathing.

“While that may happen in time,” I say quietly, “now is not that time.” the Uchiha nods. I sigh in relief. “You might want to remove the cloak. If the others see the cloak, they’ll probably attack sight.``He removes the cloak without saying anything. I toss him an empty storage scroll, which he catches with ease. He removes his weapons pouch and katana, sealing them in the scroll, before tossing it back to me.

“Then lead the way.” I look at Shikamaru. The brunette nods, and we look back at Itachi. The ravenette moves from his place on the rock to the same branch I’m on. I look between Itachi and Shikamaru.

“You’re both wearing fishnets.” Itachi looks confused. Shikamaru smirks, seeing where this is going.

“Straight men don’t wear fishnets.” Itachi looks baffled by my audacity. Shikamaru starts laughing. 

“Who said I was straight?” I glance at Itachi. He smirks as I look him up and down.

“Fangirls, probably. Other than that, I can’t think of who would have a shitty enough gaydar to think you were straight. And I already know Shikamaru is gay for my brother.” Shikamaru almost falls off the branch.

“Just wait until you start having fangirls. It’s miserable.” I shudder, knowing how fangirls are.

“Let’s get moving. The others are either fighting Kisame still or retreating while waiting for us to catch up.” 

“If they’re fighting Kisame, then we need to interrupt quickly.” I glance at Itachi. He’d know that better than we would. I inhale through my nose, trying to find the scent. 

There.

I launch off the tree, and Itachi and Shikamaru follow me. I tap into my hashirin marks, finding Naruto’s. I grab Shikamaru and Itachi's arms before teleporting us to naruto. They both promptly double over, trying not to vomit.

“Sorry. First-time teleporting is always rough. Figured you’d fight it less if you didn’t know.” I glance at my surroundings. Tenten and Ino are unconscious, Neji and Lee are exhausted, Sakura is healing Hinata, and Kiba, choji, and Naruto are standing a few feet away.

“Well well, this is unexpected. Itachi, since you’re here, you might as well help me kill these kiddies.” I look Kisame up and down.

“Yeah, I think the rest of you can take a break. Sakura, make sure Itachi doesn’t start coughing up blood, he’s already about to puke whatever he’s eaten within the past week.”

“We’re helping a criminal?!” I raise an eyebrow. Sakura looks down, knowing she’s overstepped. 

“You’ve got confidence, kid. What makes you think that Itachi is on your side?” I stare at the fish man.

“Look, sushi roll, I'm not in the mood to deal with you. So, unless you wanna become shark fin soup,” I start sparking until there’s a three-foot radius of lightning around me. I levitate slightly, the shark man steps back. “Back the fuck off” My hair stands on end, turning a blonde color, and my coat flows around me. Kakashi looks like he’s seen a ghost. The shark man smirks nervously.

“You may have the larger chakra reserve, but you aren’t experienced enough to win this fight” I smile foxily.

“Now, who said I wasn’t? Again, back off.” The shark man does the opposite. I close my eyes as Kisame lunges at me with samehada. 

.flying thunder god Raijin Jutsu

Instead of hitting me, he encounters air. I land in a tree behind him. I pull out several more thunder god kunai

“What are ya gonna do with those, squirt?” my smile widens.

“I took the liberty of learning the yellow flash’s favorite Jutsu.” his eyes widen. He knows what I’m talking about. “So. Are you going to retreat, or continue this fight?” he looks at Itachi.

“What about Itachi?” I don’t look away.

“That’s his decision. We have enough evidence that he can be pardoned. You, however, need to fuck off. And hand over Yugito, please.”

“No yugito. But I’ll fuck off.” I nod and the shark man promptly disappears.  I teleport back to Shikamaru. Ino and tenten are awake, and aware of Itachi. Not great, but it’s better than carrying their unconscious asses. 

Shikamaru and Itachi are standing, having recovered from the effects of teleporting, but Itachi doubles over and coughs into his hand. I smell the sharp tang of blood, and I can tell Kiba and Kakashi also smell it. I put my hand on his shoulder, and he flinches away, coughing harder. I tighten my grip on his shoulder and pull his hand from his mouth. I inhale sharply as I take in the blood oozing between his fingers and onto the grass. There’s blood still on the corners of his mouth and his face. I push some chakra into him, trying to find the problem. My eyes fly open. I glare at him.

“Just how long have you been killing yourself?” he glares at me. I glare back. He sighs.

“Since the Anbu.”

“TEN FUCKING YEARS?! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!” 

“It is my job to keep Konoha safe as a shinobi, and to die at the hands of my brother.”

“Just how big can your ego get?”

“I do not have a big ego-”

“Yeah, yeah, save it, bird boy. I think I can still reverse most of the damage in your lungs and muscles, but your eyes are another story. Regular eyes clone just fine, but the Sharingan is just too delicate. Even so, a lot of people are going to want your eyes sealed.” 

“Excuse me, can someone explain why Ren and an s-class rogue shinobi are arguing like a married couple?!” 

“Shut the fuck up, you homophobic blonde bimbo.” Ino gasps, completely forgetting her original question.

“Listen up, you faggot-”

“Say that word again in my presence and you will lose the ability to speak.” I glance at Itachi in surprise. His mangekyo Sharingan is spinning, promising a very painful death. The blonde whimpers, hiding behind Choji. I decide to break the tension.

“You should be a drag queen.” The ravenette looks horrified.

“Over my dead body.”

“But you’re pretty enough. And you already wear fishnets.”

“What the fuck do fishnets have to do with anything?!”

“Stop arguing like a married couple. It’s adorable and disturbing.” without looking I throw a kunai at Shikamaru. 

“Fuck you, pineapple.”

“No thanks, I don’t swing that way.” I raise an eyebrow but don’t say anything. I loop my arm around Itachi’s torso, helping him stand. He starts to protest and push me away.

“Itachi, I can literally hear you wheezing. Don’t argue with me. Plus, I’m a medic. Listen to my orders anyway.” the Uchiha stops complaining, but leans as far away from me as possible.

“So we’re ignoring the fact that he just threatened Ino?” I roll my eyes at tenten.

“Well, if he hadn’t done it, I would have.” I look at Kakashi in surprise. He shrugs. “My boyfriend hates that word, and I do too.” I laugh.

“Everyone is gay until proven straight!” Naruto sighs, knowing that if anyone questions, my rant is legendary. 

“Yeah yeah, now let’s get moving. They’re probably sealing the two tails soon, so we need to get to the Akatsuki hideout.” I open my mouth, unsure of what to tell naruto.

“It’s too late to save Yugito. I’m assuming that your sister knew this but used it as a cover to attempt to retrieve me. Am I wrong?” I half-shrug.

“No, not really. Naruto, if you go on an ethics rant, I will castrate you with your chopsticks. You’re a shinobi for kami's sake, almost nothing we do is ethical.” the blonde hesitates, then closes his mouth. The rest of the men stare at me in horror. I shake my head. It’s not like they haven’t been threatened with castration before… right? 

“Castration, hm? That’s… that’s not in the usual arsenal of threats.” I look at Itachi from the corner of my eye. 

“You’ve never been threatened with castration?”

“Of course not. Do you know anyone else with the nerve to insult or threaten an Uchiha?” I snort.

“Anyone who’s not a pussy can insult an Uchiha. You’re not scary.” The ravenette studies me. 

“Just how mentally unhealthy are you to insult anyone and everyone?” I choke on my spit.

“We don’t talk about Bruno.” Itachi just stares at me. I sigh. “It’s a Disney reference. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Hn.” 

Chapter 9

Summary:

i'm back bitches.

Itachi pov

Our group limps towards Konoha for about an hour before Kakashi and Yamato call for us to make camp. Ren quickly claims a corner and unseals a tent while the others collapse and focus on food. 

Amateurs.

I study her vague form as she skillfully builds the tent. My eyesight has deteriorated greatly, so I can only see the vague, fuzzy shape of her body.  Intelligent, quiet, snarky, calm, and collected. I wonder what would happen if I peeled back all the layers of armor and trauma. Who would she be then? 

“You’re gonna be sharing a tent with me.” I blink. She makes a face. “Don’t get any ideas, I can take you better than anyone else, and no one wants to share a tent with you. Now get in the tent, I’m going to check your wounds.” 

“I’m not wounded.”

“Get in the fucking tent. I’m a ginger and will not hesitate to break a foot up your ass.” I stare at her, then quickly enter the tent. Ren follows.

“Take off your shirt.” I whip my head around to face her. She makes the same face. “I need to see what kind of damage there is, and I can’t do that as well with your shirt on.” I turn away from her. I sigh

“Do I have t-”

“Yes.” I turn around, then sit on the ground as the small ginger does. I hesitate for a moment before taking off my shirt. I shift uncomfortably as I feel her studying me. Her attention snaps back to the problem at hand. She hovers a hand over my chest, looking at me for permission. I nod. 

I gasp as her chakra enters my body. It smells like a thunderstorm. rain, with hints of woodsmoke and ozone. That answers the question of her chakra nature, then. Her brows knit together in concentration. She opens her eyes after a few minutes, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“I can fix it. But it’ll knock you out for most of the day.” I blink in surprise.

“I was told it was incurable.” She smiles sheepishly.

“Well. I don’t know. Ku- they Kyuubi does.” my eyes widen. That explains the henge, then.

“You’re not a girl.” She's visibly uncomfortable. She tilts her head upwards as if listening to someone.

‘The Kyuubi,’ I realize.

She nods slowly after a few seconds. She looks back at me.

“Don’t tell anyone. I’m not… ready to come out.” I shrug.

“It’s not my secret to tell.” she sighs in relief. She smiles ruefully.

“Then I guess I don’t need the henge, then.” She weaves a few signs and the henge dissipates into smoke. She- no, he, looks virtually the same, from what I can tell. He’s slighter. His jaw is sharper. He’s more muscular than before.

“Now, back to the original problem.” I feel a chill go down my spine. His voice is still recognizable as Ren, but it’s… deeper. More masculine. I look away. “Do you want to do it now, or wait?” I hesitate for a moment.

“Let’s do it now. I assume there’s a silencing seal on the tent?” Ren sighs.

“Of course. What kind of idiot do you take me for?” I smile a little as the ginger male unseals water and some towels. I tilt my head as he stands up and removes the cloak, revealing a tight-fitted, sleeveless navy blue turtleneck with the Uzumaki swirl on the back. My gaze lingers on the bandages wrapped around his forearms.

“Stop staring, it’s weird. You’re going to cough up a lot of blood, more than you ever have before. Let it happen. It’s saving your life, I promise you. I’ve sent a summon outside to keep the others out.” I nod. The redhead unrolls a bedroll and sets the water and towels off to the side. He sits in front of me, knees almost touching mine.

“Relax. I’m not going to let you die.” I hadn’t realized that I had curled my hands into fists. I relax my hands. Ren gently places his hands on my chest. I feel his chakra, much more intensely than before. I start coughing up blood. I can’t breathe, there’s so much blood. Eventually, I stop coughing, but I’m losing consciousness.  I see a soft green light as everything fades to black.

Timeskip

I open my eyes slowly. I don’t remember the last time I woke up so smoothly. I shift slightly, then realize that I can breathe properly. I hear something move. I turn my head to see Ren, still male, painting something on paper. I sit up, then realize I was using one of his many tails as a pillow. He has black lines on his eyes, like eyeliner, but it looks natural. On top of the many tails (i count 5), he also has ears. Both tails and ears are snowy white, tipped with dark, blood red. My eyesight is better than before.

He’s stopped hiding the fox’s chakra. I don’t know if that means he’s threatening me, or he knows he can kill me if I say anything.

“You’re up a lot sooner than I thought. I might need to put you back to sleep, but since you’re up, you might as well eat something.” I don’t say anything.  His ears twitch. He puts two fingers along my jugular, making me freeze. He rolls his eyes.

“I’m taking your pulse. I’m not going to kill you after I had to custom-make a seal for your disease.” I start to look away, but he grabs my jaw and holds my face in place. He studies my eyes carefully before letting me go. I lean away from him, unsure of what he was going to do next. He groans in exasperation.

“Oh my god. Calm down, twitchy! I’m trying to save your eyesight. Stop moving around. Now show me your Sharingan.” I stare at the ginger. He crosses his arms and taps a finger on his bicep. I activate my Sharingan. He reaches up and puts both of his hands on either side of my face. They glow a soft, comforting green and my vision starts focusing, little by little. I close my eyes but keep the sharingan active. I don’t know how long we sit like this. We could easily kill the other. But we don’t. I realize that Ren has left his mind open. I push in a little. 

Pain. 

Constant pain, abuse, and sadness. I see Ren crying, alone. Different places and positions, but alone. I draw back as quickly as possible, knowing I’ve overstepped. I open my eyes, waiting for his reaction. I gasp.

My vision is almost perfect. Crystal clear, ocean-blue eyes, perfectly traced and outlined, meet mine. I swallow, waiting for the anger. 

“What did you see?” I blink. I can’t detect any anger.

“Not much. I drew back as soon as I realized what I was seeing. Mostly you crying.” he hums. His hands still glow slightly. “Are you not angry?” I mentally slap myself. To my surprise, he smiles. Just a slight upturn of his lips, but a smile nonetheless.

“I wouldn’t want to be a hypocrite. I peeked a little into your mind as well. Not much, just enough to get a better feel of you as a person, don’t worry.” my eyes widen as he pulls me into a gentle hug. “We’re the same. Well, not quite the same. But close. We’ve both been used by others until we’re broken, bruised, and bleeding, but forced to keep the pain on the inside.” I don’t say anything. There’s nothing to say. Ren pulls back and pulls me into his chest, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“You can cry now, Itachi. And even if no one else will listen, I will.” I hesitate before returning the hug. I cry silently, tears streaming down my face. I bury my face in the crook of his neck, and he places a hand on the back of my head. He hums quietly, rocking back and forth slightly. After a few minutes, I stop crying but don’t move. The ginger takes out a storage scroll from his pack and unseals a hairbrush, makeup bag, and various hygiene items. He grabs the brush and unties my hair. I close my eyes as he brushes and braids it, enjoying the gentle touch of his hands. I think back to the last time I let someone touch my hair.

“My mother used to brush my hair like this,” I mumble. Ren hums gently in response. I sit up reluctantly. The ginger picks up the makeup bag. I blink in confusion. He laughs gently. Not the laugh he used with Shikamaru and the others. A real laugh.

“I’m going to do your eyeliner. I don’t have a mirror for you to do it right now.” I give him a skeptical look but allow it. I close my eyes, and I feel him drawing the subtle style that I use. I find myself accidentally leaning into his gentle touch. I open my eyes and see him pull out some red, yellow, blue, and white eyeliner. I make a face as he starts drawing something, earning another soft laugh. He pulls away after a few minutes and pulls out… a mirror.

“I thought you didn’t have a mirror.” he smiles mischievously and grabs one of my hands, inspecting my nails. Using my free hand, I examine my makeup. Not my style, but not bad. Just… cute. Rainbows don’t help gain an aura of danger.

“I know. I just wanted to do your makeup. I’m re-doing your nails because these are awful.” I start to protest but end up letting him do it anyway because Ren does what Ren wants. The nail polish is a shiny black, so it’s fine. After about ten minutes, ren finishes my nails and puts everything away. He pulls out a change of clothes and hands them to me. 

“Get changed. I’m going to go outside, the others are probably wondering if I’ve been murdered or not.” I frown.

“Why would I murder you?” his face softens.

“I don’t think you would, ita, but they still think you’re a psychopath that murdered his entire family for no reason. Now I have to go back to being a girl.” I half-smile as he weaves a few hand signs and transforms into the female version of himself. Not quite an hourglass figure, but thin. Almost too thin. Her tails and ears are hidden, but the black markings are still there. They pass as eyeliner, so she doesn’t have to cover them.

“Are you trans?” she blinks. I slap myself mentally. So, so many things can go wrong with that question.

“I’m transgender and genderfluid. I don’t have any control over it, I just… change.” I nod. She leaves. I wait a few seconds, then change. I follow Ren outside. Naruto and Sai are fighting, Kiba is flirting with Ren, Choji and Shikamaru are eating and apparently placing bets on how long it takes for Kiba to be thrown into the fire. I make my way over to Shikamaru and choji. 

“How long before she throws him into the fire?” I blink in surprise. I wasn’t expecting any acknowledgment from the brunette. I glance at ren. She notices and gives me puppy eyes. I shake my head and get flipped off in response.

“Depends on whether he shuts his mouth. I’d say about thirty seconds.”  

“Really? She seems more collected than that.” I smile.

“She has the Uzumaki temper. Nothing will save him if she snaps.” Shikamaru laughs.

“I’m guessing she did your makeup? You don’t seem like the kind of person to draw a rainbow on your face.” I sigh. 

“She told me she didn’t have a mirror.” 

“I don’t get it.” I look at choji. I tilt my head slightly, confused. “You’re supposed to be some psycho that murdered his entire family for fun. You seem like a normal person to me.” I hum quietly. 

“For a long time, that was what I wished to be true. So I made sure that it was. Now, I’m not entirely sure.” confusion is visible on his face. 

“I didn’t know that we had pet fags.” I feel my eye twitch. I give the Yamanaka girl a frosty glare.

“And I didn’t know that the Yamanaka clan kept pigs. Though I suppose I should have, especially after my father tried to marry me off to one.” she gasps.

“How dare you! You have no-”

“Shut it, Ino.” I glance at ren. I didn’t hear her approach, and it appears ino didn’t either. The blonde huffs.

“Clanless orphans don’t get to order me around.” Clanless? I snort, trying to suppress my laughter and failing miserably. Ren laughs a little as well. 

“Okay ino, okay. Itachi, Pain is most likely going to send someone after you. Think you can take them?” I think for a moment.

“Probably. The only ones I may have trouble with are the ones called Tobi, and pain. The others should go down easily. But.” I turn to face the redhead. “We may not need to kill them if-”

“Not everybody is a pacifist, Itachi. You can’t save everyone.” I freeze, then turn to look her in the eyes. hard, icy eyes. I sigh, realizing she’s right.

“Maybe. But when you’ve been killing for as long as I have, it gets tiresome.” her ocean-blue eyes melt a little.

“I know.” she sighs, muttering something under her breath. I don’t recognize the language. “Only one chance to surrender.” Naruto’s jaw drops and Kakashi stares. I look around in confusion as Ren brushes past me and starts tending to the fire. 

“How the hell did you do that?!” I blink. 

“Do what?” Naruto waves his hands at ren.

“ That. you saw what happened when I started to question her morals and you gave her puppy eyes and she caved! Spill it!” I smiled slightly. I look back at the ginger.

“Sometimes… when you understand someone, they can understand you.” 

“Huh? That makes no sense! Stop being so Uchiha!” I raise an eyebrow.

“You do realize that I’m technically the Uchiha clan head, right?” the blonde stops, and starts yelling more nonsense. I rub my temples as I feel a headache coming on. I close my eyes and lean against the tree I’m standing by.

“Itachi!'' I open my eyes and glare at the ginger. “Stay awake. If you pass out, there’s a good chance you’ll go comatose and I don’t feel like dealing with it. Eat something, the amount of blood you’ve lost is ridiculous.'' I blink, realizing that again, she was right.

“Damn sensory types,” I grumble. Shikamaru and Choji laugh, which turns into shrieks as Ren puts a few kunai in the tree behind us.

 

 

 

Chapter 10: 10

Notes:

Tw: self-harm

Normal POV

 

Everything is great. Flowing smoothly and quickly. Better than I had planned. Itachi hadn’t gone comatose, a nice surprise. His eyes were surprisingly easy to heal (for now, at least). He’s not a bloodthirsty murderer. 

He’s kinda cute.

The only problem now would be the citizens, (who are fairly stupid, but easy to convince,) the elders, and Sasuke. The sooner we deal with the elders, the better. I fidget with the ends of my hair absentmindedly as we walk. 

“Hey, Yamato, Kakashi. Think we could move faster?” Yamato looks at me, and Kakashi nods.

“Everyone should be able to run now.” I nod. I look at Itachi, and his face is neutral. I can feel his hesitation, though.

“Hey. feeling okay?” he glances at me and nods. I sigh. “No, you’re not. C’mon, I'll carry you.”

“I don’t need you to carry me. I’m fine-”

“No, you’re not. You’ve lost a lot of blood and your body is still recovering from whatever drugs you’ve been doing. You should be able to sleep by now.” he glares at me and tries to pull ahead of me. I catch his arm. He glares at me, then looks away. I chuckle and pick him up, carrying him princess-style. 

“What the hell?! Put me down!” I roll my eyes and tighten my grip on the squirming Uchiha.

“We’re moving faster, and I know you can’t run right now. So I’m carrying you. Stop fighting or I’ll drop you.” he growls and crosses his arms. It’s almost as if…

“Are you pouting?!” he looks away from me. I start laughing. “That’s adorable.” he pushes my face, making me lose my grip. He stumbles a little but stands on his own. And then his knees buckle. I catch him and start walking. as he glares at the trees, refusing to look at me. I look at Yamato and Kakashi, giving them a nod. Shikamaru catches my eye and smirks. I roll my eyes.

“Alright guys, we’re going to be moving faster now. Let’s try and get back to Konoha before tonight.” Ino and tenten whine and the others take off wordlessly. I follow suit, giving the girls no choice but to run as well. We jump from tree to tree, making so much more progress than before. After a while, I feel a weight drop on my chest. I looked down and saw Itachi had fallen asleep. His chakra feels fine, so there’s no chance that he’s going to go comatose. I smile softly. 

He’s way too soft and kind-hearted for this life.

I know. It almost makes me feel bad for him. But he’s an Uchiha, so. Not really. I smile at the fox’s antics.

Still. It’s a miracle he’s still sane. It takes a strong will and a kind heart to still care about his little brother and village so much, even after they declared him a traitor and a murderer.

That was his mission. That’s why he was chosen. But you already knew this, didn’t you?

…Yeah. I did. Doesn’t make it any less shitty. I hadn’t realized just how kind  he was.

The fox mumbles something else, but I brush it aside.

You know Sasuke, right? Your other half, I mean. How do you think he’ll react when he learns that Itachi has been pardoned by Konoha?

Badly. We’re probably going to have to knock him out and seal his chakra for at least six months. And that’s if he’s reasonable and cooperates after the original smackdown. Knowing you, though, you’ve got a plan. 

No, not this time. I have no idea what to do here. I don’t want to hurt him and betray Itachi’s trust. Something tells me that it’s not easy to earn back. Ask your other half for suggestions.

And what makes you think I want to save the brat?

Oh, sorry. I assumed that since you were talking about saving him, that meant…. Never mind. Can you help? Please? This isn’t something I can do on my own, Kura. the fox hesitates, staring at me for a few seconds before looking away. Itachi shifts in his sleep, his face resting in the crook of my neck. I flush as he inhales deeply and mumbles something in his sleep. the fox sighs.

Alright. Just… be careful. My eyes widened. I mentally hug the fox, smiling. He grumbles something about being too soft. 

Thank you, Kurama. The fox's eyes widened. He stares at me. I give him a soft closed-eye smile before fully leaving my mindscape. I open my eyes and realize I’ve accidentally gone into sage mode. I guess I’m good at collecting nature energy. Yamato notices the change in my chakra. His eyes widen as he takes in the deepened black of my facial markings, including the whisker marks on my cheeks. 

“It’s fine, Yamato.” We both looked at Itachi.

“And how would you know that?” I glance at Yamato. Itachi looks up at him.

“I can sense the nature chakra coming from her. It's what woke me up. It’s not fox chakra. If it was, I still don’t think it would be a problem. She’s managed to tame it.” Yamato looks at me in surprise. Then he smiles.

“You do take after your father.” I raise an eyebrow. “But it does make me wonder what’s under your henge.” I grit my teeth.

“No.” Itachi looks at me with sympathy and Yamato looks curious.

“What, the fag is concerned with its appearance? It already looks stupid enough.” I roll my eyes at ino. Itachi glares at her.

“Just because you’re jealous of her eyeliner doesn’t mean you have to be a bitch.” I snort. The blonde gasps.

“And you can’t even keep up with us. She’s carrying you!” I snort.

“He’s still stronger than you. He’s lost enough blood that most people would be comatose. And he’s cute, so I don’t mind.” The Uchiha slaps me playfully while glaring.

“So when are you two going out? We need to start planning the wedding.” 

“Fuck off, Shikamaru.” The ravenette grimaces slightly. It’s his eyes again. They’re going to keep bothering him until I can heal them fully. I sigh.

“Kakashi, do we have any files on the Sharingan?” The jonin looks at me, curious.

“Probably. Why?” I roll my eyes.

“Because I don’t know everything about healing, and I know almost nothing about the Sharingan?” his eyebrows crinkle in confusion.

“Didn’t you already heal him?” I huff.

“Temporarily. And Itachi is almost definitely iatrophobic, so I know he’s not going to tell me when he’s relapsing.” Kakashi nods. We run in silence for a while. Itachi falls back asleep. We approach the village gates, and I see Izumo and Kotetsu leaning against the counter with Tsunade. Well, too late now. 

Yeah, it is. What are you going to do? I scowl. Kakashi looks at me. I gave him a look. He makes a pacifying gesture. I decided against waking Itachi. It’s better for them not to see him as a threat. We slow down as we reach the gates. They see me and start fanboying, then see Itachi. Tsunade blinks in surprise,  and all of them are staring at Itachi's sleeping form. The others go through the standard mission return protocol.

“Well, he doesn’t look like a bloodthirsty murderer. I’m starting to think you’re right. Either way, we have him in custody. If he is a traitor, we can-”

“No.” she blinks, surprised. “He’s not a traitor. I’d bet my life on that.” she stares at me, then sighs.

“Well it’s your head on the chopping block, so make sure this is a hill you want to die on.” I scoff, irritated. Itachi wraps his arms around my neck, still asleep. I feel my face soften at his soft breathing. Izumo and Kotetsu continuously fanboy over me while I sling Itachi onto my back so I can use my hands. Izumo cuffs Itachi's hands with chakra cuffs. He twitches a little at the sudden halt of chakra circulation but stays asleep.

“Itachi will stay with you until we’ve figured out what to do. I assume you’ve written a contract stating the terms and conditions of his return to the village?” I roll my eyes and nod. She sighs and shakes her head. “There’s just so much we don’t know. The elders and Danzo could say anything-”

“Which is why I’ve collected information on each of them. They will cooperate or be eliminated.” We have bigger issues than them in this world. I take off, using the roofs of the buildings to get to my apartment rather than the streets. Once we get to my apartment, I push the door open and step inside, kicking off my shoes. I set Itachi down on my couch and take off his shoes, setting them on the tile by the door. I glare at the cuffs, irritated. 

“Well, he’s not going to hurt anyone. So these can probably go.” I pick the lock, then set the handcuffs on the counter. I turn around, studying his sleeping form. I feel my face soften into a small smile. I sigh, leaning on the counter. I take out my tea set and start boiling the water. I pad over to the couch and sit on the edge next to him. I slip my fingers through his bangs, marveling at how smooth it is, like ink. He mumbles something in his sleep, leaning into my touch. I freeze, unsure what to do. I flinch as the kettle starts whistling. Gently, I shift away from him and make my way to the kettle, pour the water into the cups, and let the tea steep. I cross my arms and lean on the counter, studying Itachi again. 

He's too kind for his own good. He really would have let Sasuke kill him.

The ideal shinobi. 

What do you mean?

He accepted hatred instead of respect. Did what the village asked without complaint. He stayed in the shadows, protected the village, and accepted shame instead of glory. He's a good person. My only issue with him is that he's an Uchiha. 

Get over it you racist fuck. You're jealous because he's hotter than you.

…maybe a little…

That's what I thought. Now leave him alone. Anyway, therapy is definitely part of the contract. What do you think we should do about Sasuke?

I think we should let Itachi start talking to him, and jump in when we need to. I think that Sasuke will remain a threat to the village- no, the entire shinobi world until we bring him back in.

I see. Then we'll start working on that immediately. Brainstorm with your other half, and plant ideas in his head. He follows those a lot better than anything else.

Yeah, yeah. I'll see what I can do. Just know that there's only so much I can do stuck in your mindscape. 

I'm not letting you out. I don't trust you enough yet.

I've saved your life multiple times already! What-

But you've voiced massive amounts of contempt for the village and the Uchiha.

…

I wait several minutes for the fox's response. I finish making the tea and look back over at Itachi. 

I've already risked so much for Itachi. I'm not going to throw away the little I've gained for him by placing trust where I shouldn't. You should understand that as much as anyone else, Kurama.

… I know. I also know that it would be your head on the chopping block if I went on a rampage. As well as Itachi's. I blink at the use of Itachi's name. Usually, he just calls him 'the Uchiha'. I do know his name, Ren. I'm worried about you. You've been through so much, but you're still so naive. Itachi is famous for being able to deceive and manipulate people. Just be careful.

Careful. I might think you care.

I do care. I blink, but the fox closes his eyes and turns around, effectively ending the conversation. I sigh.

"Why the hell is he so difficult?"

"Who?" I jump, startled by Itachi sitting up on the couch. I growl.

"The Kyuubi. How long have you been up?" he yawns and runs his hand through his hair.

"Long enough to see you finish the tea while glaring at the wall.'' I sigh, weaving a few hand signs to release the henge. Itachi scans my form. I cross my arms and shift to hide behind the wall.

"What are you staring at"

"You're too thin." I flinched slightly. My six months at Konoha still hadn't fixed most of my mental health issues. I look down.

"I'm just a naturally thin person." I grab the tea and hand Itachi a cup. "Well, since you're awake, let's head over to Tsunade's office." he sighs and stands up.

"Where…?" I point to the door. He starts putting on his shoes while I put on mine. "I hope stripping me in my sleep won't become a habit." I turn red and turn away.

"Shut up." he opens his mouth but I grab him and teleport us to Tsunade's office. Tsunade blinks, surprised. 

"I wasn't expecting you two so soon. I take it everything is going well?" I nod. She sighs and leans back. "Itachi. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you. But Ren does. Since you two get along, Ren will be tailing you at all times. I already know the situation, and in case you didn’t know, Ren has a genius IQ and is their own lawyer. I think they can double as yours.” he sweats drops. He’s had plenty of experience with my sharp tongue. Tsunade smiles.

“Then let me deal with the elders. Ren has drafted several different proposals, and most of them have at least six months of probation. You shouldn’t have much trouble, so long as you don’t do anything to provoke them.” he nods. I tilt my head.

“So… that means that I’m the boss of Itachi?” Tsunade nods, already back to her paperwork. Itachi stares at me.

“I regret this already. It’s bad enough that you’re making me go to therapy.” Tsunade looks up.

“Therapy? That’s not a bad idea. I’ve been thinking about making weekly therapy mandatory. I assume you’ve written that into the pardon conditions?” she doesn’t look up, but she already knows my answer. I smirk. Itachi sighs. “You live separately from Naruto, right? Itachi can live with you.” I nod.

“Alright. You’re dismissed. If anyone bothers you about Itachi, show them this.” She hands me a scroll. Orders, it looks like. I turn around and start walking out of the office, waving at Tsunade as I leave. "And Ren. maybe try not hiding behind a henge all the time."

I freeze, then do a double take. I dismissed the henge and forgot to redo it. I open the door and realize that Itachi's still standing in front of Tsunade's desk. I give him a flat look. He chuckles nervously. I start walking again, and he follows me this time.

“C’mon, ‘Tachi.” he catches up to me and matches my stride. We get weird looks and whispers, but no one has the guts to approach Itachi. After a few minutes, we reached my apartment. I unlock the door and step inside. Itachi follows. I take off my coat and collapse on the couch. I put an arm over my eyes. Itachi follows and awkwardly stands in the entryway. I wave my hand at the spare bedroom I have.

“You can use that room. I never have guests.” he nods.

“I don’t have anything to unpack.” I lift my arm and sigh. I stand up and make my way to the door, pulling Itachi with me.

“C’mon loser, we’re going shopping.” he stutters, unsure of what to say. I sigh, stopping any protests. His face softens and he stops fighting me. 

Shopping takes the rest of the day. Itachi had no clothes, and I needed to go grocery shopping anyway. We end up collapsing on the couch together, after a long day of being harassed by villagers, shinobi, and each other. After a few minutes, I get up.

“I’m going to bed. I have seals everywhere, so don’t snoop around, or try to leave. It’ll be very… unpleasant.” he nods and heads toward his room. After I get to mine, I take off the baggy cargo pants, the various bags and straps, and the tight turtleneck on my way to the bathroom. I’m just in my boxers as I unwrap the bandages on my arms, and the even, methodical scars glare back at me, on my wrists and thighs. Some are fresh, still red, and angry. 

Starting the shower, I take the knife and press a thin line into my pale skin. Red bubbles up in little beads and runs, each stream getting a little bigger with each new cut. I stare as the blood splatters in little droplets on the tile of the shower. The drips turn into a thin waterfall, staining the water red as it goes down the drain. I close my eyes against the warm water from the showerhead. I lean against them as the tears start flowing. My shoulders shake as I sob silently. I just wish… maybe someone would care.

 

Chapter 11

Notes:

tw: a bit of mental illness, eating disorders, emotional & verbal abuse (not from Itachi), homophobia

 

I scroll through TikTok as the sun peeks through my window. I sigh, realizing I need to be a human today. I flatten my ears as I pull a new turtleneck over my head. I grab a baby-blue plaid pleated skirt, over fishnets, and tuck the turtleneck into the skirt, letting my five tails wave freely. I wrap my forearms with fresh bandages. I open my bedroom door and step into the hallway. I glance at the time on my phone. I grimace, walking into the kitchen-

And run into Itachi. I blink at him, realizing he’s in gray sweatpants, and shirtless. I wave any thoughts about that aside.

“How did I not smell you?” he blinks a few times.

“Are you saying I smell?”

“No, but your smell isn’t normally in my apartment, so I would have smelled it.” Unless… I push it aside. There’s no way I’m already this comfortable with him. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if you did. He just might be… never mind.

What the fuck are you talking about, Kura?

Forget I said anything, kid.

“ Anyway, I don’t have anything to do today. I work part-time at Ichiraku, and you have to stay with me, so… ” he sighs.

“I’ll change. There are eggs on the counter.” I blink. I hadn’t noticed the smell of cooking. I need to start paying attention. I sigh, annoyed with myself.

“Okay, thanks.” he smiles, then turns around and closes the door to the other bathroom. After a minute, the shower starts. I pull out a stool and start eating the eggs Itachi made. 

WTF?! Mans can cook?! God damn, I’m going to marry him at this point.

You could do worse, honestly. The only problem is that he’s an Uchiha.

Get over it, you racist fuck.

How would you feel if someone forcibly took control of you?

… good point. But get over it, you racist fuck. Not all Uchiha are like that, just like not all Uzumaki are like me.

Whatever, brat. I’m going to sleep.

I look down at my half-eaten eggs. They were amazing, but I’d already eaten more than I normally would in three days. A mistake I already regret. I push the plate away and lean on one hand. I stand up and lean over the kitchen sink, trying not to gag. I walk to my bathroom with my hand over my mouth. I barely make it to the bathroom before I start gagging. I lean over the toilet for a few minutes, vomiting everything I've eaten before flushing the toilet and wiping my face. I take a deep breath and swish some mouthwash around to get rid of the taste. I spit it out in the sink and wipe my face with a towel. I open my bathroom door and make my way back to the kitchen. I freeze for a second when I see Itachi sitting at the counter, sipping a cup of tea with a raven on his head. I smile a little.

“So bird boy has a new bird friend, hm?” he looks at me, confused. I stifle a laugh and point at his head. He blinks again. I walk over and gently remove the bird. He sighs as I laugh quietly. The bird squawks and flaps onto my head. I freeze while Itachi starts laughing at me. I joined him after a few seconds. 

“That’s a messenger bird. It’s probably Pein trying to reach me.” I nod and remove the scroll attached to the bird’s leg. I hand it to him, and he promptly skims over it. He sighs.

“They’re coming for you, aren’t they?” he shakes his head.

“They know that the only people that have a chance against me are Pein and Tobi. they’re threatening my brother.” my eyes widened.

“That’s low, even for them.” he nods again.

“It is. Though I’m not surprised. My main question is how would they know that I care about my brother? I’ve always spoken as if I hate him.” I smile softly.

“You don’t have to speak of him as you care. It’s written in your body language. Whenever you hear his name, you stiffen and look at whoever is talking. Your face softens and you smile slightly. It’s cute.” his eyes widen, and he sets down the tea and scroll, burying his face in a hand.

“Everything I’ve done… is to keep him safe. I’ve failed, as his older brother.” I sigh. I hesitate slightly, then wrap an arm around his torso. He leans on my shoulder.

“It’s this village that’s failed, not you.” he looks at me, shocked. I continue. “This village was built to protect people. It failed the moment they felt the need to rebel to be heard. If not the village, then the elders. They’re supposed to guarantee the safety and protection of the next generation. And if not the elders, your parents. It’s not the job of a child to choose between peace and war. What you did, no one else could do. They would have gone insane. You haven’t failed, Itachi. You fail when you give up. And you haven’t done that yet, so you haven’t failed.” he stares at me, eyes wide. I put my hand on the back of his neck as he leans back into the crook of my neck. He pulls back, alarmed. 

my eyebrows crinkle in confusion as he grabs my arm. I yank it away as he tries to unwrap the bandages, making the raven squawk and fly to Itachi's head. He looks at me, concern filling his eyes. I turn away from him, dropping my arm as I walk towards the door.

“I'm going to be late. Come or don’t, I don’t care. Just don’t snoop or leave. My shift starts soon.” he stares at me for a few seconds before I open the door and step out. The bird caws, and Itachi sighs. I close the door behind me. I start running, dismissing the fox chakra that I normally keep handy so my tails and ears don’t show. I reach the ramen stand quickly.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, kid!” I glance at Tunechi while putting on an apron. 

“Yeah, well the mission went a lot better than we thought it would.” he smiles.

“Well, at least you’re back.”

“Hn.” he laughs.

“Have you been hanging around an Uchiha? Because you’re starting to sound like one!” I scowl.

“Kinda, yeah. My recent mission was to retrieve Itachi Uchiha. I’m the only one who can take him half asleep, so he’s been living with me.” the old man gapes at me. Ayame bursts into the room. I cringe as she notices my masculine appearance and turns red.

“R-ren! You’re back! I didn't think you'd be back so soon, ahaha…” I stare at her for a second before turning away. 

“Itachi was right. Fangirls are annoying.” she visibly deflates. Then she freezes.

“Wait, Itachi? As in Itachi Uchiha!?” I groan.

“Yes, Itachi Uchiha, and if he doesn’t get his stupid ass out of the goddamn tree, I will beat said ass, and shove his stupid birds down his throat.” the two gape at me. Itachi appears after a few seconds. The ravenette stares at me for a few seconds, and I glare at him. He tilts his head as if solving an algebra problem.

“Are you going to-”

“I don’t know what’s wrong, and it’s not my place to ask. But please refrain from making it my problem, or I will ask.” I open my mouth, then close it again. 

“Whatever. Get your ass over here.” he sighs and ruffles my hair. I hiss, making the raven squawk in protest. I take the bird from his head and put it on mine. He takes the bird back.

“It’s my bird, ren.”

“Fuck you.”

“No thank you, your brother would end me.”

“Give me the goddamn bird.”

“Learn how to summon them and I won’t have to.”

“Fucking Uchiha.”

“Yes, Ren, I am an uchiha. Now please stop trying to steal my summon.”

“Whatever. Just sit in the corner and look pretty.” he raises an eyebrow as Ayame and Tunechi stare.

“So, I’m pretty, then?” I throw the bowl of water that I had been filling up to boil in his face. He blinks rapidly while the raven circles a few times before landing back on his head. I smirk slightly then refill the bowl. I hear a thump and see Itachi sitting in the corner, his arms and legs crossed as he glares at me. I roll my eyes and ignore him. I notice the two ramen makers staring at him.

“Ignore him. He’ll stop pouting eventually.” I catch the kunai lazily tossed at my head easily. They stare at him, then at me.

“So how long have you two been dating?” I choke and stare at tuechi with wide eyes. He looks at Itachi, who is equally baffled, in his Uchiha way.

“Well, the sexual tension between the two of you is so thick a blind person could see it.” I scowl. I hear something that sounds like a laugh. I glare at Itachi, making him laugh harder. 

“I will fuck you up, bird boy.” 

“Again, your brother would end me.” I glare and start chopping vegetables. I pointedly ignored him. He looks from the vegetables to me, and back again.

“You’re murdering the poor vegetables.” I roll my eyes.

“Then make yourself useful and cut them yourself, if you can do it better.'' He rolls his eyes and takes the knife and vegetables from me as I move to put some noodles in the now boiling water. Ayame and tunechi move to the front of the shop to take orders. We work in comfortable silence for hours. I talk with Kura, mostly, but also Itachi. 

You two are such a couple.

Shut up, Kurama.

Stop being a couple, and I will. Or become an actual couple. But then I’d still make fun of you for being cute, so…

I fucking hate you. 

No, you don’t. I sigh in response to the fox’s sarcasm. Itachi looks at me.

Even if I was interested in him, he’s not interested in me.

Right. And birds don’t have wings. I growl quietly.

“Are you alright?” I glance at Itachi, still annoyed. 

“The fox has an annoying sense of humor. He keeps bugging me about ‘hanging around an Uchiha,’ and ‘you’re sixteen, get a girlfriend.’ it’s annoying." He studies me.

“It’s more than that. You’ve been a bitch since I tried to unwrap the bandages. You’re cutting, aren’t you?” I freeze. He continues. “On top of that, you eat hardly anything, and you’re way thinner than you should be.”

“That’s not for you to ask, Uchiha. Forget about it.” he puts the knife down and reaches for me. I flinch away and shield my face with my arm, sending a few vegetables to the floor. He slowly touches my arm and gently pushes it to my side. I freeze as he turns me to face him. He puts a hand on top of my head and bends down to my eye level. I flinch as he reaches for my face. He pauses and tries again. I whimper quietly as he gently traces the whisker marks on my face. We stand like this for a minute.

“What do you want, Itachi?” he smiles softly. 

“I want you to follow your advice, ren.” 

“Why-”

“For several reasons. Because someone as kind as you shouldn’t be driven to do such awful things to yourself. Because I’ve already had one friend kill themself. Also because if you die, it will look very bad for me. But mostly,” he presses his forehead to mine, his silky hair forming an inky curtain from the world. “When I think about you throwing yourself from a cliff, or dangling limply from a rope, it hurts. It’s odd.” my eyes are wide in confusion and disbelief. 

“W-what do you-” I stop as he takes his hand from the top of my head and puts it on the other side of my face. He brushes my cheek gently with his thumb. I make a small noise, and he studies my face. 

“Do you feel unsafe or uncomfortable?” my mouth opens slightly in shock. I think for a second. I wasn’t uncomfortable, no. This is the safest I've felt in a long time. I shake my head. He raises an eyebrow, a silent question. I roll my eyes. He laughs quietly. I turn red as he leans in a little closer, his nose brushing mine. 

“Let me help you. If only to return a favor, then fine. I am your friend, Ren, whether you want me to be or not.” I bite my lip and look away. He turns my face back to look at him gently. I step back, tripping on a piece of vegetable dropped on the floor.

I slip backward, and I brace myself for impact. Instead of falling on the floor, Itachi catches me and holds me bridal style. I wrap my arms around his neck instinctively. He smiles at me gently, with something I can't place. He lowers my feet to the ground and moves his hands from my lower back and behind my knees to my waist. I burrow my face into his chest, even more, flustered than before. He chuckles, the deep, soothing sound vibrating through his chest. I slide my hands down and hug him around his waist. 

He hugs me back, his hands on the back of my neck and my lower back. I purr slightly as he runs his hand through my unruly hair. He pulls me against him tightly, making me squeak in surprise. He kisses the top of my head, making me blush again. I pull back and look up at him. I smile slightly and step away from him. He lets me go, a bit reluctantly. 

“Fine. I guess I don’t have a choice then.” he smiles. We both look at the door as Ayame comes in. 

“It’s the end of your shift, ren. You and Itachi can go home.” I nod in acknowledgment. She stares at me, opening and closing her mouth several times, contemplating. I sigh.

“What do you need, Ayame?” she jumps and starts stuttering.

“W-wouldyougoonadatewith me!?” I blink a few times, confused. Itachi narrows his eyes slightly. 

“Sorry, I’m not interested. Not just you, in any relationship.” she deflates and nods. Itachi brushes past her on his way outside. I blink rapidly, confused as hell.

“What the hell is his problem?” Ayame stares at me and starts laughing.

“For a genius prodigy, you sure are dense. If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you.” I sigh and follow Itachi outside. He pushes off the wall he was leaning against and follows me as I start walking back to my apartment. He glares at whatever is in front of him, not paying attention. I roll my eyes. We make our way to my apartment in silence. He pouts the entire way.

“Itachi, stop pouting, for the love of god..” he huffs and takes the raven from my head. 

“I’m not pouting.”  I sigh and open my apartment door.

“Whatever, Itachi. You know where the food is, and you can cook. I’ll be in my room.” he blinks.

“What if you didn’t hide in your room all the time?” I stare at him.

“No.” he blinks. He opens his mouth and I close my door before he can say anything. He knocks on the door and I ignore him. I hear him sigh and walk away. I unlock my phone and look at the messages Kass and Carl had sent.

“They’ll send you back eventually. Nobody wants you, you stupid cunt.”

“You might as well just throw yourself off a cliff. Just come back and spare yourself the embarrassment.”

“Don’t ignore us”

“You stupid bitch, do you think you’re better than us?”

“Go fucking die.”

I snort. I honestly couldn’t give less a fuck about what they think. I stare at my phone as it starts to vibrate. I press the answer button.

“How fucking dare you ignore us, you cunt!”

“Well, if I'm a cunt, then I can't hear you.”

“Don’t get smart with me, you useless bitch!”

“Smart is one of the words they use to describe me in the bingo books.”

“Bingo books? Get your head out of your ass, you don’t belong in those.”

“Whatever. How are the kids?”

“The demons are fine. Why do you care, you stupid faggot?”

“Because-” I freeze as Itachi swings open the door. He grabs the phone out of my hand.

“I have no idea who you are and I don't care to know. But I do know that nobody has the right to talk to Ren like that. Do not call again.” I gape at him and grab the phone before he hangs up.

“Forget everything he just said, he will be yelled at later.”

“You already found someone to sleep with? You’re such a fucking slut. It hasn’t even been a year since your last bitch died-” Itachi grabs the phone and hangs up. He takes a breath before speaking.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t listen to them talking to you like that.” I inhale deeply, trying to calm down.

“Get out. Now.” he hesitates, then reaches for me. “GET OUT.” he flinches and leaves after a few seconds. I slam the door behind him and slide down the wall. I inhale shakily. I hold my head in my hands for a few minutes before getting up and finding Itachi. He’s sitting on the couch, drinking a cup of tea. He perks up a little when he sees me. 

“There’s another cup on the counter.'' I nod, knowing what he’s talking about. I grab the cup and sit next to him. I take a sip of tea and sigh.

“I don’t usually put up with them either. I only do it because I'm worried for the other foster kids they have.” he inhales sharply.

“Those kids are just as abused as I was. I don’t have any other way to contact them. That’s why I'm upset.” he looks down at his cup of tea. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…'' I sigh.

“It’s fine. What’s done is done. And I was tired of kissing their asses anyways. Don’t worry too much about it.” he nods. I lean my head on his shoulder. He tenses at the unexpected contact. He puts an arm around my waist after a second. We finish our tea in comfortable silence. After a few minutes, I feel myself getting tired. I smile slightly.

“You put some sedatives in this, didn’t you?” he nods. 

“It was in the medicine cabinet above the sink. I didn’t poison you.” I laugh quietly.

“The fox would have burned it out of my system if it was poisonous. He trusts you enough to let me sleep.” he hums in response. He takes my empty teacup from my hand and sets both the cups on the coffee table. He tucks my head under his chin and pulls me into his chest, playing with the ends of my hair. I yawn and fall asleep to Itachi’s humming.

 

 

 

Chapter 12

I wake up to the smell of jasmine and tea leaves. I yawn and burrow into the warmth next to me, pulling it closer. I lay there for a few minutes, laying in the warmth, until.

It moves.

My eyes fly open and I see Itachi still sleeping. I turn red as he hugs me tighter and pulls me back into his chest. I manage to wiggle out of his death cuddle after about ten minutes. I smile softly as he grabs the other pillow on the couch and rolls over. I walk over to the kitchen and start making pancakes. After a few minutes, Itachi walks into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. I smile at his bed hair, knowing how much of a pain in the ass it’s going to be. He walks over to the stack of finished pancakes and tries to snatch one. I smack his hand lightly. He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his face in my hair, smiling. I turn bright red but don’t say anything. I unwrap myself from him as I hear a knock on the door. I catch the scent and frown.

“Kakashi. What a surprise.” my voice is flat as I open the door, not entirely happy to see the silver-haired jonin. “What do you want.” he blinks at my blunt response.

“We just got a message from the fire temple. Chiriku of the guardian shinobi twelve has been killed, and they want us to retrieve the body. The men who stole the body are Akatsuki members.'' I sigh.

“So you want Itachi to go scare the shit out of them, and me to come with you because I can beat his ass, and probably theirs if it comes down to it. Fine. I’ll tell him, what team are we on?” he smiles.

“Asuma’s team. You don’t know him. You’ll be with Shikamaru, Kotetsu, and Izumo as well.” I groan.

“Fucking damn it. Fine, tell tuechi what’s going on for me, will you?” he nods, and I close the door after saying goodbye. Itachi is sitting on the counter eating pancakes as I walk into the kitchen. He takes one look at me and sighs.

“You have a mission?” I shake my head.

“ We have a mission. Your Akatsuki buddies broke into the fire temple and killed a bunch of people, and took the body of Chiriku of the guardian shinobi twelve.” his eyes widened.

“I see. Who are we teamed with?" I sigh.

“Asuma, shikamaru, izumo, and kotetsu.” he sighs and gets off the counter.

“Well, it’s not as bad as it could have been. Let’s get ready, this won’t be an easy fight.'' I nod and make my way to my room to get dressed. I took out a clean pair of black cargo pants, a sleeveless dark blue turtleneck with the Uzumaki swirl on the back, and the coat I had made to model my father’s. I brush my hair and put on my headband, keeping the hair out of my face. I strap my various pouches on and make sure my seals are fully stocked. I re-wrap my arms and open the door. Itachi is dressed similarly, in black cargo pants, a black short sleeve turtleneck, and a new Konoha headband keeping his hair out of his face. He picks up a jonin jacket out of a bag, slipping it on wordlessly. I study him closely. 

“It means a lot for you to be here, doesn’t it?” he glances at me and nods. I smile. “Then let’s make sure you stay here.” his eyes widen, then he smiles.

“Alright. I’ll have to thank Kakashi later. These are from him.” I shake my head. That seems like Kakashi. 

“Let’s get moving.” he nods, and within a few minutes, we’re at the village gates. The people I know nod and greet us politely (Izumo and Kotetsu fanboy silently, and Shikamaru complains.) The other man stares at Itachi and me before introducing himself.

“Asuma sarutobi. I assume you’re Ren Uzumaki?” I nod, and he smiles. He pulls out a cigarette and lights it. I gasp.

“Ayo lemme get one-”

“No.” I glare at Itachi. He stares back at me. Asuma looks at him.

“So, you came back.” Uchiha nods. “Well, you were a good Anbu captain. Just don’t betray the village again and we should be fine.” I narrowed my eyes. Itachi sees my reaction and shoots me a look. Asuma looks unnerved.

“What’s that look for”

“Not everything is about you, sarutobi.” Shikamaru's eyes snap to me, and Itachi sighs. Asuma’s eyes widen. “He was looking at me because he knows I can beat your stupid ass senseless with my pinky finger. Get off your high horse, because if Itachi wasn’t an exhaustingly good person this whole village would be gone. Now come on, we have our orders.” I brush past the shocked men and set our pace. I hear them following me, struggling. I slow down a little, and Itachi is next to me in a few seconds.

“So I'm exhausting, hm?” I scoff playfully. 

“Very much so. If I had known I would have had Tsunade triple my pay.” he laughs.

“Well, at least I’m exhausting for a good reason.'' I smiled and punched his shoulder lightly. He ruffles my hair gently. I speed up a little, and the others follow my lead. We reach our destination after a few hours. We stop at the edge of the forest and I pull my chakra back, concealing it completely. A man with silver hair in his mid-twenties is sitting on the steps in an Akatsuki robe, holding a three-bladed scythe. He smells of blood. I narrow my eyes.

“I think we should take this one out while his partner is inside.” I glanced at Shikamaru. 

“No. kakazu will be the harder of the two to defeat. Hidan is virtually immortal and can immobilize an opponent when he ingests their blood. Kakuzu has monsters he manipulates and you must kill all of them before you can hope to get close to him. He steals the hearts of others to prolong his own life.” everyone shudders, except me. I’m focused on the target.

“I can take him.” They stare at me, surprised.

“We don’t know your abilities, but you don’t need to show off-”

“No, she can. But I don't like the thought of sending you out there alone, and-” suddenly the man looks up and I pull everyone down and duck. 

“I know you’re over there! It’s like, so fuckin obvious. Come out and I might spare your asses.” so he’s an idiot. I don’t move. I’m still focused on Hidan. He makes a face and starts screaming curse words. I sweatdrop internally. Itachi looks embarrassed. I smirk.

“It’s okay to be attracted to muscles, Itachi. He isn’t that bad looking.” Itachi turns bright red and glares at me. I blink innocently as the others look at me like I’m about to be murdered. I smirk and grab Itachi's arm and walk out of the bushes. Everyone stares at me like I’m crazy as I walk toward Hidan. I wink at them. Itachi is trying to pull away from me with every step we take.

“Heyo! So, I'm kinda bored of the hidden leaf, and the Akatsuki sounds fun. Also, Itachi doesn’t understand how to be a human, so he's lost without me.” 

“No, I’m not, you stupid, stereotypical ginger!” I glare at him and he shrinks back. 

“Anyways, whatcha doin’?” Hidan looks lost.

“You let your bitch push you around, Itachi?” I scowl.

“Itachi doesn’t let me do anything.” Itachi sighs and nods in agreement.

“Ren does what Ren wants. Try and stop him and she castrates you, shoves your dick down your throat, and then does it.” Hidan backs away from me a little, appraising me.

“Okay… we’ll have to talk to leader sama-”

“What is going on?” I look at the new speaker. Ew. they smell old, and like corpses. His chakra is weird. He scans over me. Itachi growls and pulls me behind him. The old man raises an eyebrow.

“So, the frozen Uchiha's heart has finally thawed, hm?” Itachi says nothing. “Too bad the girl is the jinchuriki you were sent after.” Hidan gapes and Itachi tenses. 

“Ren. run.” I open my mouth to protest but I’m swept away by a murder of crows. I’m on the ground next to the others, back in the forest.

“So you’ve betrayed us. Makes sense. Once a traitor, always a traitor.” I grit my teeth and sit up. Shikamaru raises an eyebrow. I nod. Kakuzu lunges at Itachi, and I activate my hashirin. I take out my katana, block the scythe, and swing at Kakuzu, keeping him at a distance. My eyes widen as black threads snake out of his robe and grab me. I flare my chakra, burning the threads. Hidan swings at me again, and I dodge and grab his arm, and throw him against the wall. I hear something crack, and he starts cursing.

“So the little fox can fight. Impressive, since you were raised in such a cesspool.” I narrowed my eyes.

“You know nothing about me.” he laughs.

“Really? We visited your little house. We know everything. Your parents are gone.” I snort and dissolve into uncontrollable laughter.

“Okay, and? You think I care?” the older ninja’s eyes widen. I hear a clang and a grunt and turn to see Itachi crouched, with Hidan's scythe embedded in the stone. I scowl slightly.

“Itachi. I don’t have time to babysit. Get your shit together or leave. Now.'' The two Akatsuki members look shocked. Itachi is irritated.

“I don’t need you to babysit-”

“Yes, you do. You’re still healing, and your eyes are still susceptible to damage. Leave. I can handle it.” he pushes himself off the ground and starts towards me. I throw a thunder god kunai, knowing he’ll catch it. He realizes what it is too late and I teleport him back to the team. I dodge Hidan's scythe as he swings at me, laughing when he almost hits kakuzu. I jump away and circle the two men. 

“You fuckin’ bitch! You’re supposed to be a helpless, untrained girl!” I roll my eyes.

“And you’re supposed to be dangerous. Guess reports aren’t all that accurate.” 

“Shut the fuck up, you fa-” I teleport using the kunai and punch him in the stomach, making him cough up blood. I uppercut him, shattering his jaw. He curses and falls on his ass, and Kakuzu lashes at me with his threads. I teleport behind them, and stab kakuzu in the back, through the heart. He grunts and coughs up blood. Hidan yells in surprise. Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu reaches the two Akatsuki members.

“How about this? You take Itachi and me to your leader, and I don’t kill the both of you." They freeze and look at me slowly. Kakuzu chuckles.

“You’re the spitting image of the yellow flash. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that you were his daughter.” I smile.

“Now, who said I’m not? I take after our father when it comes to personality. I have his eyes, smile, and hairstyle, but Naruto has all of his colorings. I take after my mother’s coloring. Naruto has her personality." The two men look shocked. I giggle maniacally, scaring them even further. 

“Fine. you’re a jinchuriki anyway, so it won’t be a problem.” I nod and pull my katana out of Kakuzu’s chest. 

“Then I'll just go let my team know what’s happening. Don’t move or I'll kill you.”  They stare at me and I teleport over to my team. Itachi is pouting against a tree, and the others are staring at him, and the Akatsuki members. They jump when they see me.

“So imma guess you know what’s going down?” they nod. “So, tell Tsunade to be ready to start negotiating. And that Itachi and I won’t be back for a while. Grab Chiriku’s body from the collection office.” Asuma starts to protest. I glare at him, and he stops immediately. Itachi huffs and stands up. I grab him and teleport over to Hidan and Kakuzu. They jump. “Alright bitches, let’s get moving.” 

“Hey-”

“Don’t irritate him, he’ll castrate you.” They stare at Itachi. I manage to keep a straight face, and so does Itachi. The two start leading us to the Akatsuki hideout. Itachi and I practice our telepathy with the seals I made, bickering gently. After a few hours, the two Akatsuki members stop.

“We won’t be able to make it to the hideout today.” I shrug.

“Okay. I’m gonna try something anyway.” They look uneasy but don’t say anything.

“This is as good a place to camp as any.” I blink.

“Okay, and you expect me to sleep around the two of you? No thank you. And there’s an inn close by.” Itachi sighs.

“Don’t worry about it, ren. They won’t be a problem.” I glance at him and relax a little. The two Akatsuki members glare at Itachi, and it's obvious that there are words that need to be said.

“I’m gonna be in the tree.” I climb the tree in a few seconds and find a wide branch to sit on. The two Akatsuki members start arguing with Itachi.

 

 

 

Chapter 13

 

“How can you trust him? He’s a leaf shinobi and a jinchuriki.” Itachi sighs at Kakuzu’s argument. They’ve been arguing for at least ten minutes, repeating the same questions, while Itachi gives the same vague answers. He looks up at me and I nod.

“Because he saved my life.” 

“The fuck are you talkin’ about?” 

“I was terminally ill. I planned to join the Akatsuki to keep them away from Konoha and watch Orochimaru. I killed my clan to prevent a civil war. I never had ill intentions, and he recognized that very quickly. He gave me another chance. So if he did kill me, it’s his decision. He gave me my life, and he gets to take it away should he so choose.” I smile.

“You need therapy, Itachi.” 

“no.”

“By your logic, I can make you go to therapy. You’re going.” he sighs and the other two men look at me skeptically. Itachi flops against a tree and starts pouting. I decide to go for a bribe. “I’ll take care of Sasuke's stupid bitchy emo-ass if you go to thera-”

“Done.” I laugh. 

“Is he that much of a problem?”

“No. I just don’t want to fight my little brother.”

“That’s adorable. Does that mean I can do his hair in the morning too?” he shrugs.

“It’s your funeral. You two have the same temperament.” 

“Just fuck already!” I laugh as Itachi turns bright red. I jump out of the tree and pick him up, making him turn an even brighter shade of red. He buries his face into my neck, making me smile.

“I mean, Itachi cuddles? Hell yeah.” The ravenette elbows me gently. The two Akatsuki members gape at me. I carry him until the four of us reach the inn and climb up a tree, letting Hidan and Kakuzu get the rooms. I sit on a branch, still holding Itachi. He shifts out of my hold and sits next to me on the branch. I study his face as he leans against the tree. I brush a strand of hair out of his face, making him blink in surprise. I lean my head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around my torso, pulling me tightly against him. I look up at him, the last few rays of sunshine catching his hair, the silky black strands turning slightly red. My heartbeat speeds up a little.

“What’s wrong?” I blink.

“Hn?” he smiles slightly, making my heart twist.

“You’re staring. What’s wrong?” I shake my head, trying to dismiss the odd feeling. He studies me, his eyes soft and sweet. Like dark chocolate.

I stop pushing the fox chakra down, letting my tails and ears free, sighing as I look over at the setting sun. We sit in comfortable silence.

“Hey, what the hell is going on up there?” I roll my eyes and look up at Itachi. He blinks. I slowly grin mischievously. Fear dawns in his eyes. I dismiss my tails and ears.

“Don’t do it.” I smile wider and hug him tightly before sliding off the branch, spinning in the air to land on my feet and catch him princess-style. He stares at me for a second before shoving my face and stumbling away. 

“Why are you like this?” I shrug.

“You love me anyway.” he sighs. We walked into the inn.

“What the hell was that?! And how the fuck do you talk to Itachi like that without getting your ass beat?” I roll my eyes.

“Hidan has a point. If anyone else talked to him like this, it wouldn’t end well.” I loop an arm around Itachi's torso and pull him into a side hug, kissing his cheek.

“Because he knows I can beat his ass into next year if I wanted to.” he sighs and hugs me back. I laugh at the confused faces of the two Akatsuki members. “So anyway, what time are we getting to the hideout?” 

“Tomorrow. Why?” I sigh.

“I’m going to ruin my hair.” Itachi gasps.

“You’re not thinking…” I sigh and nod.

“I hate my life sometimes.” Itachi sighs again.

“Well, we might as well start now. Your father had particularly light blonde hair.” The two Akatsuki members stare at us in confusion. “Ren is going to alter their appearance to look like the fourth Hokage. We suspect that one of the members was his student at one point.” 

“And if they are? They will almost definitely attack-”

“I’m stronger.” Kakuzu hesitates and meets my eyes. He flinches at the hard, icy glare. He swallows and looks away.  The two Akatsuki members open a door next to Itachi and I’s. I unseal my bag and take out the bleaching kit. I sit down on the bed and hand the kit to Itachi, who starts mixing the bleach and rubbing it into my hair. I close my eyes and lean back into his touch. It takes about half an hour before it’s done.

“We’ll have to wait around three hours. We’ll wash it out then.” I nod and put on the shower cap to keep the bleach in my hair. I lace my fingers with Itachi’s, and he rubs the back of my hand with his thumb. I smile slightly. He opens his mouth, hesitating slightly.

“What are we?” I hum, thinking before answering.

“Friends. What do you want us to be?” he smiles. 

"Friends sounds nice. But friends let each other in." I sigh, smiling ruefully.

“The council will think my perception has been corrupted and assign you to someone else if they think we're too close.” he scowls, and I laugh. "I don’t want that to happen either. I’m not going to do anything to get you reassigned." he smiles. I cross my legs and lean against the wall. He lays down, his head on my lap, making my heart flip flop again. I smile as he looks up at me innocently, fighting a blush. I play with the ends of his hair, the silky black strands slipping gently over my fingers. I place my hands on his face, and he laces his fingers through mine, nuzzling into my touch. I hum quietly, tracing the stress lines on his face. He closes his eyes, preening over my touch. We look up as the door is thrown open.

“Hey! How long is this bullshit gonna take?!” I glare at Hidan.

“Shut up, you cultist fuckboi. And knock before you come in.” he blinks, shocked. He smiles slowly.

“You have spice, kid! Just my type.” I shudder.

“Yeah, but you’re not mine. So please fuck off.” Itachi smiles at Hidan’s shock. I effortlessly catch the kunai he throws at me, further irritating him. I laugh as Itachi raises a hand and flips him off. I blink rapidly as he pokes my forehead with his pointer and middle fingers. He laughs quietly at my confusion. We talk with each other, using the telepathy seals. Telepathy is like another language. If you don't practice, you forget how to do it. Itachi dozes off after a while. Three hours pass quickly. 

I remove Itachi’s head from my lap, gently placing him on the bed next to me. I take off the shower cap as I walk over to the bathroom, taking the bag with me. I strip and get in the shower, washing out the bleach. After the bleach is out, I put in the toner and conditioner, setting a timer. I wash out the toner and conditioner after the timer goes off, and step out of the shower, wrapping myself in a towel. I towel off and get dressed, and step out of the bathroom. I let my fur out.

“It looks good.” I blink. Itachi smiles. “The blonde. It looks good on you.” I smile.

“Thanks. Let’s hope my acting skills are good enough to fool him.” Itachi studies me.

“Who is it?” I sigh.

“His name is Obito Uchiha.” Itachi inhales sharply. “He’s going by Tobi.” he nods slowly. I walk over to the bed and sit next to him, and he pulls me into his lap. I look up at him. He kisses my temple. He places his forehead against mine. 

“I won’t let him hurt you. For any reason.” I hum, smiling lazily. I shift to straddle his waist, tails waving lazily.

“Then I just won’t get hurt. Sound good?” he sighs, kissing my forehead and tucking me under his chin. My ears twitch.

"I'm serious, Ren. Promise you'll be careful."

"I promise, Itachi." He exhales, pulling me tighter against him. I squeak in surprise, then relax into his hug. I freeze and turn a violent red at the position I've put myself in. After a second I nuzzle into his neck, inhaling his jasmine and tea scent. I bite back the wave of depression.

"Ren? What’s wrong?” I chew my lip, contemplating. “Ren. talk to me.” 

“People aren’t nice to me. Not like this. It feels weird.” he gently grabs my shoulders and pushes me back, then tilts my face towards him. I look at him, eyes wide. 

“Ren. you deserve better. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Your foster parents aren’t good people. And from what I’ve heard about your ex, she wasn't in any position to be in a relationship. Don’t let them dictate what you settle for.” it pushes me over the edge. I break down, crying quietly. Itachi comforts me silently, wiping away my tears, rocking me back and forth in his arms. I stop crying after about fifteen minutes but don’t leave his arms. I curl into him. He immediately pulls me closer and kisses my forehead while running his hand through my now blonde hair. The weird warm feeling comes back.

“Thank you.” he pauses.

“There’s nothing to thank me for.” I smile as he continues to play with my hair. I inhale his jasmine and tea scent, letting myself relax. We fall asleep, still cuddling.

 

 

 

Chapter 14

 

 

I wake slowly, surrounded by warmth. I realize dully that I'm being held tightly. I yawn, flicking my tails and twitching my ears. I grab the warm thing and pull it closer, snuggling closer to it. I inhale deeply. 

Jasmine and tea. 

The warm thing chuckles, a deep, warm sound that vibrates through its body. 

Itachi.

I shiver and wrap my arms around him. 

"Ren, we need to get up eventually," I whine and nuzzle into his chest. He sighs. I squeak as he rolls over and dumps me onto the bed, hands on either side of my head. I look up at him, my hands braced on his chest. He smirks down at me. I slowly turn bright red as my stomach does the flip-flop thing. He kisses my forehead and sits up. 

"We need to start getting ready. You might need a little more time than you thought." I blink at him, confused. The ravenette blushes slightly and points at my chest. I look down.

I have tits.

"Mother fucking son of a bitch." I switch to Russian and glare angrily at the wall, muttering curses. The ravenette smiles slightly. He strokes the soft fur of my tails absently. I flick the ends, smiling at Itachi's sneeze. He glares, then smiles ruefully. 

"You might be able to wrap your chest." I nod, still irritated. I have pretty big tits. I'm not going to be able to fucking breathe. He chuckles, ruffling my hair. I blush slightly. I stand up and grab my clothes, walk towards the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I bend over the sink, splashing cool water on my face.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

 You're single and of a breedable age. I know that sounds awful, but your body is reacting to the fact that you've found a male that you feel safe and comfortable with. You like him, right? I blush furiously.

Of course not! He's a friend and that's all. Nothing more than that.

…What are you going to do in the spring? I freeze, my blush escalating to a whole new spectrum of red. 

We're going to have to ask Naruto if Itachi can stay with him for two weeks, just to be safe. It would be horrible if Itachi was in the house when I was in heat.

That'll work. But your body is still going to react differently.

Why's that?

Because it knows it can get fucked. I choke.

I am so happy that Itachi can't hear you. The fox laughs gently.

If you need help, ask me. You're not the first person I've walked through this stage. I nod, contemplating. Kura had to be wrong. There's no way I like Itachi. He's a friend.

But then what was the flip-flop? I hesitate, then reach out to Kura. 

Why does my stomach keep flip-flopping when he smiles or does something cute? And my heart speeds up.

My sweet, summer child. I panic.

What!? What is it?! What did I do?!

You like him. A lot. I slump over, my back against the wall. I slide down slowly.

How…?

He's been treating you like a human- Actually he's been treating you like a queen the entire time he's known you. He's the first person to do that who you're not related to. Not that you deserve anything different.

But still…

Kid. Don't worry about it. I don't think he would care either way. 

What are you talking about?

If you don't know, It's not my place to tell you. I sigh, irritated. I slip off my sleeping clothes and pull on the dark blue cargo pants and long-sleeve turtleneck after wrapping my chest. I smile slightly at the Uzumaki swirl on the back of the shirt. I slip on the green Jounin vest, zipping it up. I tie the shirt in the various places my father had and slip on the iconic white cloak with red flames on the bottom. The main difference from mine is that mine is mostly black and says 'kitsune' instead of 'Hokage'. I look in the mirror.

You really do look like bitchy toes. I blink.

Who?

Your dad. His name is Minato. So I call him bitchytoes.

I don't know how to respond to that. I might as well try and mimic his voice while we're here.

Fine. I'll tell you when you're close.

I run through the scales, stopping when Kura tells me. I land on a soft, mid-range voice. It's masculine, definitely, but it has a certain kindness to it.

"So this is what he sounded like?"

More or less. It's always freaky when you do that.

"Well, if you think that something I do is creepy, then I'm doing it right." The fox sighs.

He had a generally kind voice. You could tell he was a good person as soon as he spoke. I smile and step out of the bathroom. Itachi blinks, surprised. We continue preparing to leave.

"Why are you upset?" I blink. I smile softly at him. He does have a certain way of reading me. I answer using my voice.

"I wanted to wait before pulling something like this. But the Akatsuki have forced my hand. I have no idea what Obito has become and have no idea what to expect from Pein. Plus I have tits at, like, the worst possible time." He nods slowly after blinking rapidly, processing my voice. He waves me over to the bed. I sit down next to him, squeaking as he pulls me into a hug. I blush, my heart beating rapidly while my stomach flip-flops.

"I'll be with you. I'll help if you need it." I nod, unsure of what to say. His grip tightens slightly, pulling me into his lap. I look up at him, confused. He opens his mouth to say something but sighs instead. He strokes the side of my face. I push away from him, but he pulls me back in, tighter. My arms are stuck between his torso and mine. He buries a hand in my hair, my face in his neck. I can't move.

"Ita, I can't-" the wind is knocked out of me as he pins me to the bed. My eyes widen.

He's activated the Sharingan.

The beautiful crimson red, only interrupted by the three tomao, spin slowly. They're mesmerizing. He catches my chin, tilting my face back to his as I turn away. I whimper quietly. 

"Such a pretty sound. Though I suppose it makes sense. Pretty sounds, from a pretty girl. Or boy. You're beautiful either way."

What?

I reach into my mind for Kurama, but he doesn't respond. He's awake and aware of my call but brushes it aside. He doesn't care.

No, he just doesn't think I'm in danger.

"Itachi. What are you doing?" He blinks. 

"Are you scared?" no. I'm… incredibly attracted to you right now.

"Fucking get off, Itachi, now." His eyes widen.

"Don't you trust me?" I stare at him.

"It doesn't matter, get off. Please." I can't think. Itachi and I stare at each other for a few seconds before he sits up and gets off. I sit up and lock myself in the bathroom. I lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath.

Kit. Count to ten, then count back down. You're okay. Calm down.

Too tired to fight, I do. My breathing and heartbeat slow to a manageable rate. I can hear the things going on around me.

"Ren? I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." I squeeze my eyes shut. I don't want to look at him right now. He sits down a few feet away from the door. I sigh.

"Anybody else, and that would have been a panic attack." I smile ruefully. I guess I do trust him. I walk over to the sink and wash my face, contemplating what I'm going to say to him. I dry off my face and stare at myself in the mirror. I trace the whiskers on my cheeks before taking out my foundation and blending it over my entire face before deciding to redo all of my makeup. After a few minutes, I deem myself ready and open the door. Itachi looks up and stands immediately. He looks like a kicked puppy.

"Ren, i-"

"What the fuck were you thinking?" He flinches and looks down. "You know I've been raped and that I have trauma. What made you think that…" I trail off. Itachi looks up at me, tears in his eyes. I sigh, my heart melting and the rest of my anger liquifies and flows away.

"C'mere, ita." He perks up slightly. I scan him up and down as he walks over. He's at least six inches taller than I am. I push the thought aside. He stops about three feet away.

"What do you have to say?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't think. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I thought…" he looks down as he trails off. I feel my face soften into a small smile. "I really am sorry."

I reach up and brush his face with my hand. He leans into the touch, eyes closed. He laces his fingers through mine and presses the palm of my hand to his lips, and my stomach does the flip-flop thing again. 

I pull him closer, my head under his chin. He sighs, tracing the bones and tendons in my hands with his fingertips. I pull back and look up at him.  He opens his eyes. Deep, dark obsidian with the sweetness of chocolate. My stomach is still flip-flopping. I step back.

"Kakuzu and Hidan will be up by now." He nods.

"Should I be expecting a fight?" I shake my head.

"No. But you should wear the Akatsuki robe." He blinks, then smiles slightly. 

"Alright. I'll change into what I wore when I was an Akatsuki member. You should go talk to Hidan and kakuzu." I wave as I walk away, closing the door behind me. I exhale, then school my face into neutrality. I take a few steps to Kakuzu and Hidan's room and throw the door open.

"What the fuck is your problem-" Hidan stops, his eyes trailing over my form. "How the hell did you transition in less than twelve hours?!" I roll my eyes.

"Experience. Get up, we're leaving." He scrambles around for a few minutes while I glare at the door. He comes out with kakuzu behind him. Kakuzu pauses.

"You really do look just like the yellow flash." 

"Hn." I walk over to my room and open the door. "Itachi, we're waiting for you. Hurry up." I close the door and start going over the plan with the two Akatsuki when Itachi opens the door and steps out, wearing his old cloak. 

"Alright. Everyone knows what's happening. Don't fuck this over for me, or I'll fuck you over. Understood?" The three men nod. I push off the wall and start walking.

Chapter 15

"Kakuzu and Hidan are back, as well as Itachi. They have brought a prisoner back with them." The voice is deep and masculine. Chilled. I school my face into neutrality. Now is not the time to be weak.

"Come forward." I take a deep breath before stepping into the view of the Akatsuki. Itachi is Itachi, while Kakuzu couldn't care less. Hidan looks like a kid trying to lie to his parents. I scan the faces of the other Akatsuki members. 

There's Kisame, who doesn't seem to recognize me.

One with long blonde hair and a unibang, who looks around my age. 

One that fucking looks like aloe vera. He's the perpetrator behind everything, according to Kurama.

Another with spiky red hair and many piercings. A fellow Uzumaki, by his chakra. Though the body is long dead.

A woman with purplish hair and orange eyes and a few piercings.

And a man with a swirling orange mask. Probably Obito. He freezes as soon as I walk into the room.

"What is your name?" I look back to the Uzumaki. I give him a small close-eyed smile, tilting my head slightly.

"Minato Namikaze. And I assume you're an Uzumaki?" He blinks, surprised. I continue. "I'm aware that you're here, Obito. See how pleasant it feels to find that someone you care about isn't dead?" I gasp slightly as he teleports in front of me. I duck under his hand and slam my palm into his stomach. He flies back, coughing.

Interesting. His will is not his own. He's had someone else's sealed into him. Not a hard fix, surprising. I stand up.

"I assume this isn't a fight you want to have." He growls and stands up. I sigh. 

"You're not Minato." I blink.

Damn. He's onto me. What do I do? We're not going to be able to reason with him until we break the seal.

Then break the seal. If you have to beat his ass, then fine.

Thanks, Kura. Real helpful.

"So what? You had no reason to kill him." I drop back to my voice partway through the sentence. Obito cocks his head.

"A woman? How-" 

"I'm gender fluid, dipshit. Kushina was too, she just chose to stay closeted."

"And how-"

"All nine tails jinchuuriki are." He lunges at me. I slam the hilt of my kunai down onto his head, shattering the mask and knocking him down. I slam my hand onto his back and push chakra into the seal, trying to break it. I barely dodge the aloe vera thing, hissing at hte cut it leaves on my upper arm. Obito uses the opportunity to teleport away, leaving Zetsu behind. I curse, pissed at the situation.

"What the hell is going on, hn!?" I look over at the blonde. 

"Let's have that conversation when I can fucking breathe and a murder plant isn't in the room. Fuck, I forgot to take my antidepressants." Itachi sighs.

"Of course you did." I glare at him.

"And who the fuck triggered my PTSD and made me forget, huh?" He looks away. "That's what I thought- where's the bathroom?" The Uzumaki blinks.

"Itachi knows." We both stare at him for a few seconds before sighing. Itachi leads me over to the bathroom, where I remove the tight bandages and loosely bind my chest. I change into plain black cargo pants, with a short sleeve navy blue turtleneck, and let my tails free. I don't wear the headband, because my ears are more comfortable without it. I seal away the other clothes and step out. Itachi silently leads me back. Kisame gapes in shock while the blonde stutters and blushes. I blink. Itachi points to his hair. I pick at a piece of mine. It's turned back to red.

"No fucking clue how that happened. Blondie, I don't know your name, and I don't care. I'm gay." He stops and droops over. Itachi snorts, trying to cover it with a cough. I raise an eyebrow. We make eye contact and he starts laughing. I roll my eyes, shaking my head.

"So, I'm an Uzumaki-"

"I thought you were a bitch." I gape at Itachi.

"Fuck you."

"I thought you were gay." I stomp on his foot and elbow him in the stomach, punching the back of his head as he doubles over.

"You're gay too, dipshit. Back to my point. I'm Uzumaki. Piercing ginger is also an Uzumaki. Plus your eyes are weird. So, I'd rather not kill you. Everyone else, I don't care. Except for aloe vera. You're dead, bitch. Also, purple hair-" Itachi covers my mouth.

"You're done." I glare. His face turns to one of disgust. "Did you just lick my hand!?"

"Don't put it over my mouth."

"That's FUCKING disgusting. Ren, why-" he wipes his hand on my shirt and pulls his arms into his cloak, shaking his head. I stick out my tongue. 

"So anyways, um- we're here because one, I'm a jinchuuriki and don't feel like dying- no, I do, but I don't feel like my brother dying because he's the one you could catch. Two, Obito, Tobi, or Madara, I don't care, but his real name is Obito Uchiha. He was trained by the yellow flash or the fourth Hokage. He killed my father, using the Kyuubi.'' I have everyone's attention now. "So, I came to figure out why. Three. You are all very poorly informed about what this will really do. Zetsu is the will of the mother of the sage of six paths, Kaguya Otsutsuki. She wishes to enslave and destroy the human race with her Infinite Tsukuyomi. The Infinite Tsukuyomi will trap everyone in an ultimate genjutsu, but it will also revive Kaguya and, over time, turn everyone trapped inside into white Zetsu.'' They're all staring at me in shock now.

"So you're telling me… that everything we've been working… for has been a lie?'' I turn to the woman with purple hair. She's shell-shocked, trying to find a lie in the words that just tore her entire world apart.

"She's lying, Konan." I glance at the Uzumaki. I sigh.

"How do you know? And what would I gain by lying to you?" he hesitates. 

"Of course she's lying." Everyone looks at Zetsu. "She wants to live, and capture the Akatsuki for the money."

"No." We all look at Itachi. "She isn't. She's suicidal, so I don't think she cares about living. But she does care about Naruto, and the rest of humanity." Zetsu glowers and growls. 

"And you trust her with your life?" 

"I do." I blink. Itachi looks at Pein. "I trust her. More than I trust Zetsu." pein hesitates, then looks at me. 

"If you betray us, you will die." I nod. 

"I doubt you could kill me, but okay."

"No!" I stare at Zetsu.

"Pain. to seal it away you need to use planetary devastation. I would use it, but I don't have the Rinnegan." he stares at me and sighs.

"I can't believe we're taking orders from a teenager." I snort. 

"And I can't believe that some fucking aloe vera tried to kill me, but here we are." he stares at me.

"Do you have a plan?" I sigh, before turning to face him again.

"Do you need me to have a plan? I thought that you couldn't believe you were taking orders from a teenager." he grimaces, then assesses the situation. Zetsu smiles and sinks into the ground. I hiss, frustrated. I relax from my tense battle stance.

"Damn it. The fucking bitch." I turn around and start pacing, running everything through my head, trying to figure out where he would go. Then I freeze. I feel the blood drain from my face as I turn to face Itachi. 

"Naruto." 

Chapter 16

 

He inhales sharply.

"I think naruto can handle Zetsu in a fight-"

"No. he gets in your head. Manipulates you. Uses you. Why do you think Indra and Ashura grew so far apart?" he hesitates. 

"What about Sasuke?" I turn and start walking toward the exit.

"Sasuke is already against Naruto and the village, he just doesn't know it yet. He will once he knows the truth about the Uchiha, though. Zetsu just has to manipulate Naruto against me." I don't wait for Itachi to respond before I start running. 

I teleport as soon as I get within range of a mark or kunai, and end up in the village training grounds. I guess I can teleport further than I thought. I concentrate, trying to find Naruto. I growl as I sense Zetsu approaching quickly, around the time I find Naruto. He jumps, surprised. He opens his mouth to speak, but I grab him and teleport us back to the Akatsuki hideout. He stumbles a little but keeps his footing.

"What the hell is going on, Ren?" he starts a second sentence but freezes as soon as he realizes where we are. He looks around and then at me in horror. "Why?" I stare at him then look away.

"It's not what you think. You're here for your protection. I need to hunt down that aloe vera thing, then we can get you back to the village." he takes a step back away from me. I hide the pain I feel behind a mask before turning to Itachi. "We need to find Zetsu. It doesn't matter how, but it needs to be soon." I turn to Pain and Konan. "I'm going to need a list of everyone's abilities. And if they have a problem, then they can fight me. Though I will win." The Uzumaki studies me for a few seconds.

"I don't doubt that. You are strong, perhaps more so than I am. Though I think you already know, this isn't my real body. Konan and I will lead you to where my real body is, but it will take time. And… it's not exactly mobile." I hn in response. Naruto is studying my every move, trying to figure out what is going on. 

"Naruto. stop looking at me like I've betrayed you. Nobody here is going to hurt you."

"But you've teleported me into the middle of the Akatsuki hideout! You know that they're hunting jinchuuriki-"

"I'm a jinchuuriki too, you dumb fuck! Calm down, I know what I'm doing." he opens his mouth, then closes it again. Then starts running towards the exit. My eyes widened. 

He doesn't trust me. My twin doesn't trust me. 

I let him go, staring at his back. I shut down my emotions. They're unnecessary. Emotion hinders thinking and logic. I inhale, then let everything go. I open my eyes.

"My point still stands. Even without Naruto, we need to stop Zetsu. We just need to work around Naruto." I avoid Itachi's stare. "It looks like I might be declared a rogue ninja soon. Sorry, Itachi." I jump as I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look over to see Itachi giving me a soft look.

"Ren. you did what you could. Don't worry about me." I look away, my ears twitching. I glance at the Uzumaki. "Zetsu took advantage of Madara. And by extension, you. I take it Pain isn't your real name?" he shakes his head.

"It's Nagato." 

"Well, Nagato. It looks like we have some people to seek out. Have you heard of Jiraiya the toad sage?" he smiles slightly.

"He was our teacher." my eyes widen.

"No shit. He taught my dad and Naruto. I was gonna ask him to train me for a while the next time he popped into the village, but life." he tilts his head.

"He may yet still train you. I believe he will, but he might not have much to teach you." I hn in response. I walk up the wall and find a decent place to sit on the ceiling. I close my eyes and think.

Kurama. Brainstorm with me. 

No. 

We can't stay in caves. We're going to need a decent base of operation.

Hidden sound. Talk to Orochimaru, and see what happens. He'd probably respect you.

But Sasuke. And we'd be branded as traitors to the leaf.

Uzushio. But it's all run down. We could round up all the remaining Uzumaki…

KURAMA. You're a genius. I love you!  The fox's eyes widen and he mutters something and lies down. I open my eyes, allowing myself to drop from the ceiling.

"Nagato. How about making Uzushio your new base?" he blinks. "We could rebuild the village and round up the remaining Uzumaki."

"We would need a leader." I waved it aside.

"We'll get to that later."

"Hold on a damn second!" I turned to Hidan. "I joined because I can practice my religion. You're not going to restrict that-" 

"I will. And I can kill you if you do not abide by those rules." he stares at me, blustering and making an idiot of himself until he sees my eyes. He freezes as he recognizes how uncaring and capable of killing him without a second thought I am. He closes his mouth and steps back. "Now that that is resolved, who is going to have a problem with this turn of events?" Nobody speaks up. I nod. "Good. We'll move out tomorrow at noon. The Leaf won't be able to strike yet, so we don't have to worry about them." 

The Akatsuki members talk amongst themselves while I stand alone. After surveying them for a few minutes, I revised their personalities and cataloged them.

Kisame is cocky and independent. I suspect that he may have a tiny crush on Itachi. Not that I can blame him, but he's not a good fit for Itachi. He kills too frequently.

Konan is loyal and kind. She truly cares about the Akatsuki and Nagato. But mostly Nagato.

Kakuzu is arrogant and callous. He only cares about money, and very little else.

Hidan is equally arrogant but very childish and immature. He's like a fuckboy, and his only other personality trait is murder cultist.

Deidara is very proud and very enthusiastic. He doesn't seem like a bad person, and he seems like someone who I won't need to kill. 

Nagato is also confused. He truly wants peace, though, and to make the world a better place.  He seems very kind, and loyal to Konan before anyone else. There's something I don't know.

And then there's Itachi. Kind, intelligent, perfect Itachi. I feel my face soften as I watch him interact with Kisame. They seem to be having a conversation about me. Itachi notices my gaze and smiles at me. I smile back, but there's nothing behind it. He tilts his head but doesn't say anything. 

"Nagato asked me to show you the room you'll be staying in." I blink, not having noticed Konan's approach. I nod, accepting. "Follow me then." I follow her through the caves, noting which room belongs to who. 

"Are you going to share a room with Itachi?" I blink. She smiles. "You two are a cute couple." my face erupts in red.

"No. we're not a couple, just good friends." she laughs.

"Give it time, you'll see." She walks a little further and opens a door. "This is where you'll be staying. I recommend locking the door. Kakuzu is aware of the bounty on your head, and Hidan…" she trails off, looking at the ground. I feel my hands curl into fists.

"Did he hurt you?" She looks up.

"Not me. But he tends to not take no for an answer, especially if he finds them interesting. Or, 'his type.'" I nod. That's something to keep in mind.

"I can make a seal. So that nobody can enter the room without being invited." her eyes widen.

"Really?" I smile, nodding. "How?" 

"My mother was an Uzumaki, and my father was the fourth Hokage. It would be upsetting if at least one of their children wasn't a fuinjutsu master." she smiles back.

"Well, I'll take one when they're ready. Until then, I'll just keep staying with Nag- pain." I nod and say goodnight as I close the door.

"So I have to deal with a fucking rapist and someone who'll take my head for a few thousand. Great."

Well, you were the one who came up with this idea. But if you let me out, I can guard you while you sleep. 

I pause, contemplating. It's a good idea, but still. I sigh, pulling up my shirt so I can see the seal. I press my palm to the center and release a quarter of Kurama's chakra. It pools around the room before consolidating into a large fox, about the size of a great dane. The fox circles around, examining the room and himself before sitting and looking at me. I sit down on the bed, adjusting to the feeling of such a large amount of chakra no longer in my body.

"Are you alright, Kit?" I look at Kurama. 

"Fine. just…" he tilts his head to the side. "I didn't expect you to be so small." he scoffs.

"That was for your benefit. Didn't know how I would fit. I can probably get a little bigger. Or maybe human." I blink.

"I don't care, whatever works for you." We both look at the door, listening to the sound of someone approaching.

 

 

 

Chapter 17

Notes:

TW: self-harm

 

It takes a second,  but we recognize Itachi's scent. Kurama looks back at me.

"Just go to sleep, kit. You know I'm not going to let anything happen to you." I stare at him for a few seconds before exhaling sharply and leaning against the wall. He grumbles and looks at the door. "The door isn't locked, Itachi." not even a second passes before the ravenette opens the door. He blinks at the sight of the fox and visibly relaxes.

"I didn't know you could release the Kyuubi." I shrug.

"Just a little seal work. My father made the seal so Naruto and I could access the power of the Kyuubi and use it. I chose to let it pool into the room so it could do whatever it wanted." Kurama stands up and stretches, like a cat.

"I'll be outside then." the fox starts to leave but turns around after a second. "If either Hidan or Kakuzu attempt to open the door without permission or they have the intent to hurt you, I'm going to eat them." I shrug.

"Just don't make a mess, and it's fine." he sniffs and leaves, all nine tails waving with mild excitement. Itachi stares for a second.

"So that's where you got your personality from." I smirk.

"Of course. More fun than being a basic bitch, ya know?" He laughs and sits next to me. We sit silently for a few minutes. I flinch as he lightly touches my shoulder. He waits a few seconds, before sliding his arm gently around my shoulder. I tense, the events of this morning running through my mind. I blush, very slightly, my stomach flip-flopping again. Itachi sighs.

"You really don't trust anyone, do you?" I flinch, then pull away. "Ren, wait a second." I ignored him and close the bathroom door, locking it. I unwrap my bandages, unsealing the various clothes and hygiene products I need. And a knife. I start the bath, filling the tub with water. I sit on the edge of the tub, watching the level slowly rise. I look down at my wrists.

They still aren't healed yet.

I look down at my thighs. I study the already plentiful scars. They're all healed. I take the knife and carve four vertical lines on each thigh, watching the blood run down and pool on the floor by my feet. I turn to look at the water, the way the blood swirls and blends into the water. Like ink. I set the knife on the counter and use a little medical ninjutsu to stop the bleeding, forcing them to scab over. I get in the tub, sighing as the warmth seeps into my skin. I lean against the tub, closing my eyes and relaxing. I let my mind wander, thoughts turning into fluffy clouds.  I almost forget about everything in my state of meditation. Almost forget about the foster kids, my mission, Zetsu, Sasuke, and Naruto.

Naruto.

He doesn't trust me. Why? 

What did I do?

How was I ever untrustworthy?

My own twin doesn't trust me.

Does that mean that nobody trusts me?

Maybe I should just die.

I bite back a sob as tears stream down my face. I bite my lip, focusing on the feeling of the warm blood hitting my tongue, and running down my chin, dripping into the water in little clouds of blood. I look up at the knife on the counter. I'm about to reach for it again when I hear a knock on the door.

"Ren? You've been in there for a while." I sigh.

"I'm fine, Ita. I'll be done in a little while." he hesitates for a few minutes before I hear him walk away from the door. I reach down and pull the plug, letting the water drain. I get out and towel off, gently patting away the water on my thighs, so the cabs don't reopen. After a few seconds of contemplating, I decide to wrap my thighs with bandages. Satisfied with how tight they are, I pull on some sleeping clothes, just some sweatpants, a bra, and a sweatshirt. I open the door. Itachi immediately looks up, face softening slightly. 

I groan and flop down onto the bed. He ruffles my hair, playing with the soft strands. I feel my eyes start to close after a few minutes. Itachi sighs and gently picks me up. I squeak in protest, pushing away from him. The ravenette sits down, leaning against the headboard, setting me down on his lap. I freeze, unsure of what to do. He laughs a little, then tucks my head under his chin, kissing my forehead. I relax slightly as my heart twists. Itachi runs a hand through my hair, gently massaging my scalp. I purr gently, thoroughly enjoying the feeling. He chuckles, making me blush. 

"How are you feeling?" I blink.

"Fine. why?" he sighs. 

"No, you're not. I saw your face when Naruto ran. You're in pain. You think that if your own twin doesn't trust you, then nobody will." I tense. How…? I close my eyes.

"I trust you, Ren." I look up at him. 

He's looking down at me, his chocolate eyes kind, caring, and sincere, his inky black hair forming a curtain from the world. My heart can't take it. He's so beautiful it hurts. I look away, blushing. Gently, he tilts my face back to his. I stare at him, eyes wide as he studies my face, then places his forehead on mine. My blush deepens as his scent washes over me, stronger than before. He places his palm on my face, brushing his thumb over the whisker marks on my cheek. 

"You have no idea how beautiful you are." I start to open my mouth to protest, say that I'm not, but I'm cut off by his soft lips on mine. His kiss is gentle, kind, and reassuring. I could pull away at any moment. I close my eyes and kiss him back, sighing with contentment. I run my hands along his chest, lacing my fingers together behind his neck. He pulls back after a moment. I blink, confused. 

"I don't want to pressure you into anything…" I roll my eyes and kiss him again, mildly irritated by how sweet he is. Itachi runs a hand through my hair, pulling slightly, making me shiver. We exchange several more kisses before we end up cuddling. I play with his hair, snuggled into the crook of his neck. He tenses and grabs my arm, pulling down the sleeve. I sit up and try to pull my arm back, but he doesn't let go. He sits up too and looks me in the eyes.

"You don't need to do this anymore." I flinch, my eyes watering. I sniff, letting the dam break. 

I start sobbing, over everything that's happened so far. He pulls me into a hug, letting me cry into his chest. It's not a pretty cry. humming quietly, the Uchiha rocks me back and forth. It pushes me even further over the edge, making me sob harder. After a while, my sobs die down. I let Itachi wipe away the remaining tears and kiss my forehead. He pulls me into his chest and lays back down, letting me curl myself into him. He kisses just under my ear, and down to my collarbone, making me purr. I smile as he rests his head on my shoulder and twirls the ends of my hair around his fingers. I twitch my ears, giggling at his sneeze. He glares at me for a second before tickling my sides. I squeal, rolling away from him. He rolls with me, and we end up tangled in the blankets. I slip off the bed and slide under while Itachi's still stuck in the blankets. I can almost feel his confusion when he gets out.

"Ren? Where are you?" I bite my lip to hold back a laugh. He sits there for a minute before he gets up. As soon as he stands up, I grab his ankle, and the ravenette jumps, cursing loudly. I giggle as he pulls me out and throws me onto the bed. I lay there, watching him with great amusement showing on my face. He glares at me for several seconds before sighing. He cracks a smile, then lays down next to me. I kiss him gently, humming with contentment. I roll onto my back after a few seconds, closing my eyes. I feel Itachi shuffling next to me for a few seconds before I feel a weight on my entire lower body from the chest down. I open my eyes to see the ravenette partially laying on me, waiting for my reaction as he silently laughs. I roll my eyes and scoff.

Suddenly I flip us over, so I'm straddling his hips and he's under me. His hands fly to my thighs, sending jolts of pain through my body when he accidentally brushes over the cuts from today. I stare him down as he silently asks so many questions with his eyes. I lean forward, trailing my fingertips from his lower abdomen up his stomach, over his chest, and to his throat. He bites his lip, the movement creating some sort of arousal. I smirk. He starts to slide his hands up, sending more pain through my body. I kinda like it. I squeeze his throat, not quite choking him. His eyes widen and I feel his dick get hard. I push him down as he tries to sit up, both hands on his throat now. I lean down, our faces almost touching.

"I'm in charge here, Itachi." his eyes widen. I sit back up and roll off of him with a smirk. He groans and sits up, before walking to the bathroom and closing the door. I hear the shower start. I giggle, knowing that whatever is going on in there is because of me.

 

 

Chapter 18

Notes:

TW: almost self-harm, body dysphoria, self-hate

a little bit of a *Lemon*

can be skipped, not necessary to plot per se.

I wake up to the feeling of something pressing against my thigh. I open my eyes, blushing as I realize that Itachi is grinding slightly against me. It becomes apparent quickly that he doesn't want to let me go, even in his sleep. Gently, I extract myself from him, leaving him grumbling quietly. I smile softly, admiring how perfect he is. I brush a piece of his silky hair behind his ear, kissing his forehead before silently heading to the bathroom to change.

Quickly stripping most of my clothes, I examine my body in the large-ish full-body mirror on the wall. Seals swirl down my arms and legs, a few on my chest, above the start of my breasts, and my abdomen, the largest on my stomach sealing Kurama inside me. I trace over the smooth swirls and loops of the calligraphy, admiring my work. Then my gaze goes to my wrists, forearms, and thighs. 

Jagged scars, methodical and even, some still not fully healed, some only barely scabbed over. 

I look like a fucking tik-tac-toe paper. 

I run my fingers over the newest ones, thinking about picking the scabs off. I decide against it. I look over my body, hatred boiling in my gut. I hate the way I look. I'm not thin enough. I hate the way I can see my ribs. I hate how my waist turns into my hips, then bleeds into my thighs. I ignore the rising lump in my throat and the stinging in my eyes. I take a kunai out of one of my seals, along my wrist, pressing the tip to my skin, causing a red bead of blood to bubble up. I start to drag the knife down when the door flies open. I freeze, terrified. Itachi quickly takes the knife and drapes a blanket over me, pulling me into a hug. 

I don't fight, just let him carry me into the main room and gently set me down. The blanket is tied around my chest, covering everything down to my knees. He takes my arm, studying the cuts more closely than last night. He performs a basic healing jutsu, the kind I learned almost immediately after I started training. He hesitates before sliding the blanket up to expose the wounds, then starts healing those. I watch him, trying to get any hint about what's going on in his head. After a few minutes, the glow dies down his hands fall. He studies at me for a while before speaking.

"Why, Ren?" I don't say anything. He sighs, before gently grabbing my hands and gently holding them to his chest. "Ren. I care about you. It hurts to see you hurt yourself. Please. Talk to me." I look down, avoiding eye contact. He waits for a few minutes before very gently tilting my chin to look up at him. I almost flinch, looking into his eyes. His eyes are sad and soft. Kind, caring, gentle. Loving. He kisses my forehead, my nose, then my lips. I inhale sharply as he kisses the scars on my arm, from my wrist to my elbow, making sure to maintain eye contact the entire time. I glare at him as he does the same to the other arm. I grit my teeth, trying to ignore the stinging in my eyes. He smiles and kisses me again. 

"Don't glare at me like that just because I'm treating you like you should have been treated your entire life." I start to turn away again, but he slides one hand along my jaw, gently forcing me to look at him. He kisses me gently, gently sliding his hand down to my thigh. After a few minutes, he pulls back. He touches the edge of the blanket, hesitating. He looks up at me. 

"Can I?" I hesitate for a moment before nodding. He pushes the blanket up, exposing the rest of my scar-covered thighs. He inhales sharply. 

"Ren… this is…" I close my eyes, not wanting to see the disgust or pity that I usually get. I feel him trace the scars with the tips of his fingers. I risk glancing down at him. His eyes are the same as before. I don't see or feel any pity, or disgust. He looks up as if he feels my gaze. He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his face in my stomach. My eyes widen and I feel my entire body tense up. We stay like this for several minutes before I finally place my hand on his head. He pulls back, looking up at me. I smile slightly at him. 

It's a small smile, just a gentle curve in the corners of my mouth, but still a smile. He smiles back before kissing me. I kiss him back this time, my hands on either side of his face. We trade sweet, chaste kisses. He kisses down my neck, down to the edge of the blanket, and just above the start of my breasts. He licks the seal there, making me gasp. He moves down to my thighs, kissing each scar before biting down on my inner thigh, mumbling affirmations and compliments between kisses. I hold back a whine as he bites and sucks the length of my thigh, leaving hickeys. He pauses when he gets to the edge of the blanket. He grabs the edge of the blanket, looking up at me for permission.

 I nod, gasping as he rips the blanket off, eyes slowly traveling over my body. I blush, suddenly self-concious, and start to cross my arms over my chest. He grabs them and pushes them over my head as he pins me onto the bed, knees on either side of my hips. He scans my face, asking a silent question. I nod. He attacks my neck, kissing and sucking, before biting down hard. I throw my head back, holding in a moan as he licks away the blood from the bite. He chuckles before moving down my chest and shoulders, leaving more bites and hickeys. He pays special attention to the seals and any scars, smiling at my heavy breathing and whining. His hands slide down my torso, squeezing and massaging my thighs and ass, fingering the edge of my underwear. He hesitates.

"We should stop." I stare at him, gaping in irritation.

"You're shitting me right now." he blinks. I wrap my legs around his waist and roll. Itachi lets out a small oof of surprise. I giggle at his hard-on and shocked face. I lean forward, letting my ample cleavage spill slightly out of my bra. Slipping my fingers under the hem of his shirt, I trace his v-line fingering where it disappears under his pants. I glance up at his face.

Onyx eyes filled with lust, his silky hair spilled ink across the sheets and tangled blankets. His normally milky white skin is tinted pink, almost like candy. 

A candy I would very gladly eat.

I lick my lips, savoring how beautiful he is. I remove my hand from under his shirt. Lunging forward, I rip it off, smirking at his gasp of surprise. I grind against his hips hard, giggling as his hand flies to his mouth and his eyes widen. I grab his hands and move them to my hips. 

"Ren. we need to stop. I don't think- haaahh-" I lean down, my chest almost touching his.

"Why? I don't want to, and you obviously don't either." he closes his eyes, fighting something mentally. I brush a strand of hair out of his face, waiting for his response. He opens his eyes again, the Sharingan on display. I pause, taking in the beautiful crimson. 

"Because if we don't, I don't think I could control myself, and I don't want to hurt you." I laugh quietly.

"Itachi. You won't hurt me." he sighs, letting his head fall back on the bed and closing his eyes. I smirk and wait a second before continuing. "And besides. What if I want you to hurt me?" his eyes fly open, staring at me in shock. 

I slam him back down on the bed as he tries to flip us over again. I giggle at his groan of frustration. I rock back and forth on his hips, pressing them down as he jerks them upwards, trying to find friction. I grab his throat, squeezing. He manages to shift slightly so we both roll over. We collide in a flurry of heated kisses, dirty and needy. Clumsily, we strip each other of our remaining clothes, desperate for more touch, more skin, more heat, more. I whine at the sudden loss of his contact as he pulls away. I look up at him through hooded eyes, waiting for his next move. 

He slides a hand over my body, starting on my cheek, down my neck, over my breasts, and along my abs, resting above my cunt, before looking up at me for permission. I nod. He slips a finger in, moving slowly for a few seconds before adding a second, pumping in and out while rubbing my clit with his thumb. I grip the sheets tightly, biting my lip to hold in the sounds I so desperately want to make. He notices and promptly slides in two more fingers and presses down on my clit harder. I don't recognize the sound that comes out of my mouth. He chuckles, moving his hand faster. I close my eyes, throwing my head back in an open-mouth moan. He removes his hand immediately. I glare at him.

"What do you want?" my glare intensifies, making him smile. He brings his hand to his mouth, licking my juices off of each finger separately. I squeeze my thighs together, attempting to hide just how much of an effect he has on me. He clicks his tongue before forcing them apart again. he smirks at what I was trying to hide.

"Such a dirty girl. What kind of dirty things does such a dirty girl want me to do, hm?" I look away. he turns my face towards him, "look at me. And don't look away." we stare at each other for several seconds before he leans down and kisses me. I moan into his mouth, obsessed with the taste already. He licks the seam of my mouth, before dipping down to my chest. He licks down the valley in between my breasts, then attacks my nipples. While he sucks one, a hand slides up to pinch and roll the other, while his other hand goes back into my pulsing cunt. I run my hands through his hair, pulling it hard. He moans around the soft flesh in his mouth, squeezing my boobs harder. He pulls back, leaning over me. I flip us over so I'm on top, hovering above his hips.

"Maybe the dirty girl wants to be the one doing dirty things?" he smirks back at me.

"Then the dirty girl can do whatever she wants." I run my hand down his toned torso, kissing the scars splattered across his milky skin. He runs a hand through my hair, pulling slightly. I ignore his fully hard dick pressing against me until my kisses lead me just above his v-line. I lick the length of his cock, smiling at his hiss of pleasure. I wrap my mouth around him before bobbing up and down. He moans loudly, pulling my hair hard. Strings of breathy curses and compliments, interrupted only by his whines and moans. He bucks his hips, which I push back down, leaving small bruises where my fingers are. He's gripping the sheets so tightly his knuckles are white. I smile, pulling off of him with a lewd pop. he whines slightly. I give him a look.

"You need to stay still. I haven't done this before, ya know?" he smiles slightly at the verbal tick before nodding. I glare at him, squeezing the tip of his cock. He gasps, holding back a moan. I smirk. "I'm in charge right now, Ita." he glares at me, trying to keep some form of composure. I roll my eyes before leaning down to bite down on his neck, drawing a small amount of blood. I watch him squirm for a few minutes before continuing to suck him off. He barely manages to stutter out a warning before his come spills into my mouth. I swallow, cause spitters are quitters and momma ain't raise no bitches. I lay down on top of him, our faces a few inches apart.

"Hi." he snorts softly, smiling.

"Hi. having fun?" I kiss him, humming while he traces my body. I huff playfully at his once again hard dick. He makes his innocent face while I let him take control. He flips us over, running his hands over my body, finding all the sensitive spots easily. He pulls back, leaning over me, panting and flushed. He smiles at me while gently brushing stray hairs out of my face.

"You're so fucking perfect, ren. Absolutely perfect." I blush (more than I already am) and look away. He laughs quietly. "Someday, you'll be able to take a compliment. I'll make it happen." I resist the urge to deny that it will ever happen. Knowing Itachi, he'll make it happen no matter what. I look back up at him. His eyes are the same. Still kind and loving. I cup his face with the palm of my hand. He leans into it immediately. I smile softly. I know what I want.

"I want you to put it in now." he immediately starts to protest, but I place a single finger on his lips, making him pause. I smile. "It's okay, 'Tachi." he hesitates before nodding. Gently, he starts to slide into me. I gasp at the feeling of him inside of me.  He grips my thighs tightly, trying not to lose control and hurt me. It becomes obvious very quickly that he's bigger than anything I've experienced, and I almost want to sigh in relief when he finally bottoms out. He gives me a minute to adjust before he starts moving. I grip the sheets tightly, my breathing coming out in breathy gasps and moans. Not enough.

"H-Harder, 'Tachi. Fuck me harder!" he smirks.

"Such a dirty little mouth. So fucking perfect, taking my cock so well, making such perfect sounds with that pretty little mouth." he speeds up, his strokes getting gradually harder and faster. I arch into him, wrapping my legs around his hips. I reach up, only to have my hands slammed down and pinned above my head. He grits his teeth, his strokes becoming sloppy.

"So fucking perfect for me, dirty girl. You're mine. You're fucking everything. Fuck, I'm coming!" I moan loudly as he comes, coming shortly after. We lay panting next to each other, coming down from our high. I close my eyes, waiting for Itachi's response. I hear him get up. I lay there, feeling stupid for letting him use me. Of course he doesn't actually care about me. He just wanted sex. The same as everyone else. 

"What are you thinking about?" my eyes fly open, surprised to see him still here. My thoughts must show on my face, because he sighs and sits down next to me, setting the towel and glass of water on the nightstand next to me. He scoops me up, kissing me, threading gentle fingers through my hair. I sigh, enjoying his warmth. He picks up the towel, wiping his come off the inside of my thighs.

He has a small crease between his eyebrows. He only gets that when he's upset or thinking. Even my sex-addled brain pieced that together.

"I'm not upset with you, ren." I blink, surprised. He half smiles. "You always think you're the problem, so it's not hard to figure out what you're thinking sometimes." I tilt my head.

"Then what are you upset about?" he sighs.

"Myself. It feels like I took advantage of you. You weren't in a stable mindset, and I…" he lets the sentence trail off. I blink.

He's a lot more affected by this than I thought. He rarely stops mid-sentence. 

"There's also the fact that we didn't use protection. You're young enough that if you have a child, you'll still have time left to be a shinobi, but I also want to be there. And we're not sure if my illness is going to come back, or if it can be passed down to children." I sigh. 

"Itachi, sometimes you think too much. I'm on birth control." he freezes, then sighs in relief.

"That's a relief. Still, I should have asked." I smile. 

"Maybe. But, to be fair, I can be very distracting." to prove the point, I kiss him while trailing my fingers up his stomach, pressing my chest against his. We fall over, giving Itachi a face full of tits. He laughs quietly and brushes a piece of hair out of my face. 

"True. but we're not having sex again." I pout, slightly hurt. At least now I have confirmation that he wants my personality, but was I that bad? "Yet."

 

 

 

 

Chapter 19

 

Itachi POV

 

I watch Ren carefully. She's an incredible actor, and that's the only thing I can say for sure at the moment. I think she's hyper-aware of her surroundings, and it's tiring her out. She's been like this the past few days since we set out for Uzushio. I blush slightly thinking about that morning. Not an unreasonable reaction to an enemy who can appear anywhere. She's suspicious of everyone, especially Konan and Nagato. I smile as she shoots down Deidara's flirting again, the blonde resorting to pouting. He shoots a glare at me as I adjust my pace to his.

"Your dignity is the only thing affected by flirting with ren. She knows no boundaries and will rip into your soul." he blanches, looking at her back.

"How are you still alive then, Hn?!" I smile.

"Because I never really flirted with her. We're very similar people. Even if she won't admit it, she cares very deeply for her family, chosen and blood. And apparently, that includes me now." I duck under the kunai thrown from up ahead.

"Of course, you are, ya know! And I can hear everything you've said." Deidara freezes, expecting a kunai thrown at him as well. Ren glances at him.

"From one artist to another, constantly re-using old pickup lines I've heard hundreds of times before isn't very artistic." his eyes widen.

"So-"

"No, they won't change anything. I avoid dating men. And you're not the type of man I'd date, even if I did date men. But, you are the kind of person I would like to have as a friend." Deidara pauses before nodding.

"So, only joking pickup lines. Got it, hn." ren smiles slightly before shooting forward and taking the lead. I frown slightly. Deidara notices. "What's that face for, Hn? Ren looks happy enough to me." I look at him.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about." he looks confused. I decide to elaborate. "Ren is an actor. It comes so naturally, not even she notices when she's acting. Would you believe me if I told you she might have tried to kill herself this week if I hadn't been there?" he gasps, looking at ren in a new light. I nod. "Exactly. Just… keep an eye on her. Tell me if it gets too bad." the blonde nods, looking at me differently. "what?"

"I always thought you were just an asshole. This is confusing. You're nice, and ren is depressed? This is fucked up, hn." I laugh, startling him. He blushes and looks away. I blink, confused. The blonde speeds up to run next to Ren. he says something, and ren nods in understanding. They start having a whole conversation, and not once was Deidara shut down. 

So that's all it took, hm? Well, at least we don't have to deal with him anymore.

Hidan and Kakuzu glare at me as I take up position behind them. I read between the lines. Hidan wants her body, and Kakuzu wants her head. I let my chakra flare in a silent threat, the Sharingan active. They flinch and look away, still angry. Ren looks back, noting my eyes and chakra, their faces, and something else. Probably scent, if I had to guess. She gives me a look.

Keep an eye on those two. I can take them, but they know that. They'll attack me when I'm distracted. Watch my back, Ita.

Of course, ren. Is that even something you need to ask?

Yes. 

I sigh at the curt, closed-off response. She still doesn't trust me fully. Or maybe it's her experiences with less competent, less loyal people. It's a toss-up between the two. I grimace. Why the hell did she have to be so damn hard to read? I glance at nagato and konan. They notice and fall back to where I am. 

"So what's going on with Ren?" I hesitate before answering. Ren's ears and tails are out, but they don't signal that she's listening.

"I'm worried about Ren. she's-"

"Mentally unstable and an amazing actor? We pieced it together. We're watching too." I nod. Konan smiles before continuing. "You two are a cute couple." I trip, turning red. Nagato and Konan laugh quietly. I ignore them. 

"Just tell me when you think something's wrong." they nod, still chuckling. I roll my eyes, noting the glares that Kakuzu and Hidan are giving me. I join Ren and Deidara at the front. I lace my fingers with ren's, ignoring her questioning look. She tightens her grip on my hand, pulling it up to her lips, and pressing a kiss into my palm. I smile softly as she slows down slightly to match my pace. I ignore Hidan's jealous glare and Kakuzu's sharp gaze. She flips them off over her shoulder, I pull her closer, knocking her slightly off balance before picking her up and carrying her bridal style. She grumbles slightly but snuggles into me. I resist the urge to poke her cheeks and baby her. Knowing her, the ginger would have the expected Uzumaki reaction. I frown slightly at her bandages. Half of me wants to know if she's cutting still, and the other half wants her to be comfortable. I look up, sensing a vaguely familiar chakra signature. 

Where have I felt this chakra before? 

"Everyone stop!" I look back at Nagato and Konan. They're already stopped. I stop as well, cautious of what or who we're about to see. "Itachi, back up. Ren is going to be their priority." I start to move back toward the center of the group, but I'm knocked off balance as the branch- no, the whole damn tree is destroyed. My stomach drops at the sight of our attacker. 

When Ren said she wanted to meet Jiraiya, she didn't mean like this.

"Well, this is interesting. First, you go after my student, now you've kidnapped and corrupted his sister. I expected more from you-" 

"Hold on a few fucking seconds." I glance down at the pissed Uzumaki I'm holding. I set her- him down on the ground next to me. The toad sage blinks rapidly, processing the switch of genders. "Number one, my gender is about as solid as water and I have the attention span of a gnat, so if I stab you don't be surprised. Number two, Itachi didn't corrupt me, I'm pretty sure it was the other way around. And I kidnapped him. Number three- Itachi what was number three?" I deadpan the small ginger.

"Ren, I don't keep track of your thoughts." he tilts his head. 

"But you keep track of whether or not I eat? That's weird." I sigh.

"No, it's not. It's making sure you're not starving yourself. Again." he opens his mouth to argue more, but shrieks and jumps into the air. I catch him as he clings desperately to me.

"There's a FUCKING SPIDER." 

"We're outside, ren, of course, there are-"

"I DON'T CARE, JUST KILL THE DAMN THING!"

"WHY ME?!"

"YOU'RE THE MAN IN THE RELATIONSHIP!"

"SINCE WHEN?" we stare at each other as said spider vanishes. The toad sage just stares, open-mouthed, blinking rapidly. We stare back, waiting for a response. I shift ren's weight slightly, resulting in a squeak and cuddles. 

"Ren, I'm going to send you back if you don't stop clinging to me." I get smacked in the back of the head and glared at. 

"Fuck you, Uchiha."

"You already did, Ren." he pauses while slowly turning almost as red as his hair and burying his face into my neck. I smile slightly before turning back to Jiraiya. He looks so damn conflicted I want to laugh.

"I was told that Ren teleported Naruto into the middle of an Akatsuki hideout, surrounded by Akatsuki-"

"Then he ran off like a little bitch and didn't let me explain? Yeah, that's pretty much what happened. There's an enemy out there that he's not strong enough to fight. I forced his hand, so he disappeared. I thought he might have been going after Naruto, so I wanted to keep him close to me." Jiraiya pauses, relaxing slowly. 

"Okay… so, why is Ren still here and not in Konoha?"

"Because nothing screams guilty like running over and saying you didn't do it." the sage is still visibly confused but seems to have had all questions answered for the moment. He glances at the Akatsuki members behind us. I gasp as I'm yanked forward. I hear a blade get drawn and the smell of fresh blood fills the air. By the time I turn around, Hidan is missing his upper half and head, while Kakuzu has swords sticking out of four of his remaining hearts. Ren looks unharmed. Covered in blood, yes, but not his. I sigh with relief.

Then he turns around.

He's got blood splattered on his face that he doesn't bother to wipe off, slowly running down his cheeks. Almost like tears. His clothes are also covered in blood. His eyeliner has deepened and elongated, a sign he's in sage mode. He's let his tails -now six of them- and ears free. But it's his eyes that scare me.

Cold. emotionless. Hard. Completely void of emotion. His pupils were vertical slits, like a fox's. 

He's so fucking pissed. 

"Don't fucking touch my things." everyone is frozen, the KI leaking from the small ginger oppressively thick. I pause, mildly concerned for my health. As soon as it appeared, the KI disappears. He leaves the two shinobi there, ignoring Hidan's cursing, continuing in the direction of Uzushio. I shiver.

"I don't know if that's attractive as fuck or if I should be concerned for my health." Jiraiya glares at me but looks back at Ren.

"I would be concerned, but if that's your thing…" I roll my eyes and ignore Deidara. He's staring at the back of the Uzumaki, horror, and shock in every part of his body. He notices my gaze. "It's just… that could have been any one of us. The way he killed them… so cold and effortless. I've only seen that kind of killing during wartime." I clench my teeth. He's right.

"Like I said before. Ren is an actor before anything else. You only see what he wants you to." Jiraiya looks over at me.

"You know him well, then?" I nod.

"When Ren attempted to bring me back to Konoha, I lived with him for the couple of months we were there." he sweatdrops.

"Not sure how Tsunade approved that. How did Ren react?" I smile slightly.

"He hid in his room all the time. Avoided human interaction at all costs. He got pissed when I forced him out. Ren is very antisocial and hates people, so you're lucky if he decides to be friends with you." he hums, nodding slowly.

"Well, then it looks like this situation is resolved. I think I might tag along with you guys for a while." I narrow my eyes, slightly. Something's not quite right. But I don't have a reason to say no. I take off after Ren. he notices me, but says nothing.

"Ren, Jiraiya is going to be going with us." he nods once but says nothing. I reach out to touch his shoulder. He grabs my hand, pulling us off the path we were on several feet before spinning me around and slamming my back against the nearest tree. He kisses me hard, grabbing my thighs and pushing me up slightly. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer and kissing him back. After a few minutes, he pulls back, leaving me flushed and panting. He buries his face in my neck, inhaling my scent. 

"Mine." I nod.

"Yours." he growls, biting my neck, easily breaking the skin. I gasp, shocked. He hadn't bitten me like this before. 

He's so fucking pissed.

"Don't ever fucking scare me like that again." I nod, reaching up to feel how bad the bite is. He catches my hand. I freeze. He studies me for a few seconds before smiling tightly. "You're scared of me now." I pause, thinking very carefully about what I wanted to say.

"No. I'm scared of what your anger tells you to do. I think that you wouldn't have been quite so brutal with Hidan and Kakuzu if you weren't so angry." he laughs quietly.

"No. I don't feel emotions the way you do. I can turn them off when I want to. I was completely calm when I killed them." my eyes widen. He smiles bitterly. "A little better than the normal reaction. Inoichi and Ibiki requested me for T & I because of it." I stare at Ren. 

How many people has he killed and tortured? 

He sets me down and starts to walk away. I grab his hand. I tense as he freezes and looks back at me. I take a deep breath before meeting his eyes. Still the same color, but so much colder. Calculating. Studying. The eyes of a predator. Of a killer. So different from the gentle blue I love so much. I almost flinch.

"Ren. it's alright. It doesn't change anything." he cocks his head to the side. Nothing changes. He stares at me, waiting. I pull him into a hug, hoping he would snap out of whatever shitty mindset he's in right now. He tenses, hesitating for several seconds before hugging me back. I run my fingers through his hair, kissing the top of his head. 

"Why?" I pause, confused. "Why are you so nice to me? Why am I the person you chose? There are so many people that are stronger, faster, prettier, more mentally stable, yet…" he lets the sentence drop. I hum quietly, thinking for a few seconds before answering.

"Because.” I pull back slightly so I can see him. I kiss his face, answering in between kisses. "You're beautiful. Smart. Kind. Strong. Fast. And don't let anyone. Stand in your way. You don't take anyone's bullshit." he breaks down, tears streaming down his face. I smile, placing my forehead on his, wiping the tears from his face. I kiss him gently, cooing gentle affirmations. He looks down, hiding his face with his hair. I sigh, cupping his face in my hands and kissing him again. He looks up at me, cerulean blue eyes watery and scared. I brush the hair out of his face, smiling gently. He whimpers quietly while burying himself in my chest. I laugh quietly. 

"We need to get moving again. I can carry you if you want." he shakes his head, stepping back.

"No. let's get moving for a little while before you carry me again." I nod, a little disappointed. He's adorable. I follow ren, finding the group pretty quickly. They give us questioning looks, but the bite explains things pretty well. I ignore the smirks from Konan and Deidara. Jiraiya watches ren and I, almost like he's trying to put together a puzzle. After a few quick words were exchanged, we once again start heading for Uzushio. I stay close to ren, starting small, joking arguments. I stay cautious of Jiraiya, though, and he does the same for me. He knows I don't trust him. Mostly though he catches up with Nagato and Konan. He seems nice enough, but still. 

We stop at an inn for the night. Ren and I share a room, Konan and Nagato another. Jiraiya has his own.  He attempts to discuss sealing theories with Ren but fails miserably. Kisame camps a few miles ahead, because he's the most recognizable beside me.

"How did you figure out how to make the Flying Raijin Jutsu faster than Minato's?" 

"Because I'm an Uzumaki."

"How do you mask your chakra signature so well?"

"Seals."

"What kind of seals?"

"Leave me alone."

"How did you collect nature energy while moving?"

"Fuck off, old man."

"Why are you so mean?"

"Trauma. Fuck off." I laugh quietly. Ren looks over, perking up as I walk into the room. I smile at his pleading face. He reaches out, making grabby hands.

"Ita. I require uppies, please." I smile, lifting him up and setting him in my lap. He purrs quietly, tucking his head under my chin and wrapping his arms around my neck. I kiss the top of his head, pulling the smaller male tighter against me. Jiraiya watches us, expression unreadable. 

"You two are lucky. Not a lot of people get the kind of relationship you have." I blink.

"Are you talking about Tsu-"

"NO- OF COURSE NOT- SHE- I- WE- NO." I smile slightly. I look down at Ren as he checks his phone. The name of the contact is Tsune Ba-chan. 

Ren, please come back. We're not going to declare you a rogue shinobi yet, but if you don't come back, then we don't have any other choice. We can talk about Itachi too, but we can't until you come back.

So you sent Jiraiya after us?

I'm sorry, but it was the only thing I could think of.

It's not okay. Sorry ba-chan, I'm not coming back. There are some things I need to do before I can. I'm not a little kid anymore. Besides, I've got Itachi with me. 

Ren, please. Naruto needs you here. I need you here.

I'm not coming back yet. I will eventually. But not yet.

fine. Tell me when you're on your way back. I know better than to ask what you're doing.

The Akatsuki is no longer a threat. Two men are going to start causing trouble and claiming to be Akatsuki, they're not. They've been removed. 

Noted. Thanks for the heads up. I'll see you when you get back. I love you.

See you when I get back.

Ren sighs before putting his phone down. He runs his fingers through his already ruffled hair, pushing it out of his face a little. I kiss his forehead, nose, then lips. He smiles, giggling slightly. I brush a strand of hair behind his ear. He yawns, exposing his sharp canines. I blush slightly, remembering just how sharp they are. 

"Let's go up to bed." he nods, rubbing his eyes. I pick him up gently, carrying him bridal-style. Once we get to the room, I set him gently on the bed. He changes quickly, putting on a tank top and sweatpants. I change as well, into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. I lay down next to him, taking my hair out of the low ponytail i usually have it in. he immediately curls into my side, like a cat snuggling into something warm.

Though a fox would be more accurate. He lets out his tail and ears. I rub one gently, smiling at the resulting purr. Though there is one question I've been thinking about for a while.

"How do you earn your tails?" he hums, thinking for a few seconds.

"Tails are earned when you gain wisdom and experience. I guess the Hidan and Kakuzu incident was a trigger." I nod slowly. I blink in confusion when he pulls away. He straddles my hips, pinning my arms above my head. I inhale sharply, surprised. He kisses me hard. I sigh with satisfaction, kissing him back. His hands move from mine, trailing over my body. I bite his lip, careful not to break the skin. He moans quietly, squeezing my thighs where his hands had stopped. He pulls back, smirking. 

"Then again, it could have been you." I blush, looking away. He chuckles, cupping my face in his hand. He kisses me again, rolling off me and letting out a small oof as he hits the bed. I hesitate before curling against him, nuzzling into his neck. He tenses, pausing before wrapping his arms around me and tucking my head under his chin. I smile, inhaling his scent.

Rain, ozone, mist, ink, and paper. 

 

 

 

Chapter 20

Normal POV

 

I wake slowly. I smile slightly, realizing that I was the one holding Itachi this time. I thread my fingers through his hair, marveling at how soft it is while checking in with all my summons and Kurama that I had sent ahead to scout. I kiss the top of his head, enjoying the warmth radiating from him. He's beautiful, and he's mine. I inhale his tea leaves, jasmine, and woodsmoke scent, further committing it to memory. I'm glad Kakashi taught me how to use my sense of smell better. I study his face. He looks so innocent and peaceful asleep. He mumbles quietly, squishing himself against me more. He presses his face into my chest, making me smirk. 

I trail my hand down his body, slipping a hand under the hem of his shirt. I trace circles on his back, giggling at his sleepy mumbles. I lay with him for a few minutes, before getting up. Quietly, I make my way to the bathroom, closing the door silently behind me. I strip, turning on the shower. Stepping into the stream, I bask in the warmth. I  run my fingers through my hair, tipping my face up, letting the water run down my face. A pair of arms wrap around my waist. I jump, surprised. I blush at the responding laugh. I lean back against Itachi's toned abdomen, looking up at him. He kisses me gently, rubbing his nose against mine. I lace my fingers with his, nipping his jaw lightly, rubbing my ass against him. He pauses.

"I don't think shower sex was on the schedule for today, ren." I hum, smirking.

"Well, it can be now." I suck on his neck, leaving a trail of dark hickeys on his creamy white skin. He hisses, squeezing my hips. 

"Fucking hell, you're going to kill me, you know that right?" I smirk, responding with a careful bite just behind his ear. I turn around, pressing my chest against his, licking the seam of his mouth before slipping my tongue in. He lets me in, licking the inside of my mouth, twining his tongue with mine. I trace my fingers along his torso, memorizing the bumps and grooves of his muscles and scars. He cups my face in his palm, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss. He runs his other hand down my back, landing on my ass. He squeezes, laughing at the resulting groan. He starts to try and pick me up, but I push him against the wall, gripping his thighs just above the knee, pinning him to the wall. He moans, hands traveling to my hair and shoulders. I pull away, admiring how cute he looks, panting and blushing. 

"How do you want this to go, Tachi?" he glares at me, still panting. I squeeze his thighs, raising an eyebrow. He looks away, embarrassed.

"You know what I want, Ren." I lean forward, kissing along his jugular, still waiting. He whines, frustrated. I squeeze his thighs again, massaging the creamy flesh. He groans. "Fucking hell, ren. I want you to fuck me, alright?" I smirk, licking my way back up from his collarbone to his jaw. I bite down, leaving another hickey there. 

"Hmm, maybe I just want to leave you like this." He whines, bucking his hips against my stomach, looking for friction. I slam them back against the wall, continuing to leave bite marks and hickeys along his chest, shoulders, and neck. I let my face rest in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. He smells like pheromones. Like sex. I let my teeth scrape against the soft flesh, enjoying the resulting whines. He wraps his legs around my waist, pulling me closer. 

"Ren, please." I hum in response.

"Please what, darling? You're going to have to be more specific."

"F-fuck me, please. Just fuck me already!" I feel my grip tighten. I want to tease him more, but seeing him cry would be nice. Plus, I'm not sure how much longer I can tease him. I pull back to look him in the eyes.

"Alright. But you have to be good, I don't want to hurt you." He nods, trying not to squirm. I kiss him again, sighing into his mouth as I slip a finger into his entrance. He moans, and I slip in another, scissoring them in and out. I smile against his lips as he slowly dissolves into a moaning mess. I slip in a third, moving a little faster. Once I can move all three, I remove them, smiling at Itachi's whine. I kiss his forehead, pushing his wet hair out of his face. 

"How are you feeling, love?" 

"Horny." I laugh. I push in slowly, fighting the instinct to start moving immediately. He gasps, gripping my shoulders tightly. His gasps turn to moans, throwing his head back as I bottom out. I let him adjust for a minute before moving. He covers his face with his hand, biting back his moans. I pull his hand away, nipping the soft skin of his palm and kissing him. He bites my lip, running his hands up my arms, wrapping around my neck and tugging my hair. I hum, squeezing his thighs and massaging them as I speed up. He gasps, arching his back against the wall. I lean forward, pressing my face into his neck, gritting my teeth. 

"I- I'm close- don't stop- p-please-" I smirk, speeding up a little more. He moans, dragging his nails down my back, leaving scratches. He comes, the hot liquid dripping down my stomach. I grit my teeth, pumping into him a few more times before pulling out, coming on his stomach. I kiss him gently, setting his legs down. He stumbles a little, leaning into me. I smile slightly.

"How are you feeling?" he opens one eye, glaring at me. 

"Fucking tired. Like a surprise top fucked me against the shower wall, after a week of traveling hard." I laugh, kissing his forehead. 

"Well, then we should probably get ready. A proper shower is a requirement now." he nods, closing his eyes again. Grabbing the bottle of shampoo, I squirt some in my hand and start rubbing it into his hair. He leans into my touch, basking in the attention. I repeat the process with the conditioner, before handing him the soap and working on my own hair. I finish first, so I step out and let him have the shower to himself. I towel off, getting dressed quickly before stepping out of the room, letting have some space. I write a note, telling him where I'll be before making my way to the roof, watching the sunrise. I bask in the warmth, enjoying the breeze. 

"An early riser, huh? Where's your boyfriend?" I jump, startled. The sage sits down next to me, studying my reaction. I turn away. Something doesn't feel right. His scent isn't right.

"He was in the shower last time I checked, But I'm not sure if he can walk or not." he pauses, processing. He smirks.

"You're a little pervert, aren't you?" I hn, wanting him to leave. He laughs. "You're the complete opposite of your brother, you know that?" I tch in response. He sighs. "You know, some people like to have a decent conversation." I freeze. This isn't Jiraiya. I start to run. He grabs my arm, pulling me back down and against his chest, covering my mouth with his hand. I smell chloroform. I claw at his hand, trying desperately to get air as I feel myself losing consciousness. I call Kurama, desperately looking for any escape. He's too far. I feel his terror, for me, for losing his first friend. 

Kurama. Tell Itachi- Nagato… tell…

I will.

I fade out of consciousness, glad for the fox's loyalty.

Chapter 21

Notes:

so... i have some ideas for another book. either everybody dies, or Ren gets rescued by Minato as a young-ish child. vote in the comments pls

Obito POV

I watch Ren fall limp in my arms. I feel a little guilty, seeing how terrified he was. Then I remember the shower comment. I clench my fists at the thought of someone else touching my things Ren. I sigh before gently picking up his limp body. I place a chakra seal on his back where he couldn't reach. He jerks, muscles twitching slightly at the sudden halt of chakra circulation. He wraps his arms around himself, pulling his legs in, curling into himself. I smile slightly. He's so cute when he's asleep. And now he's mine in my possession. His face relaxes, making him finally look sixteen instead of twenty-six. He mumbles in his sleep, in a language I don't recognize. I realize I've been standing here for a while and a signature as powerful as Ren's disappears, people tend to notice. I take off running.  

I've been watching him. He's noticed, of course. I would be shocked if he hadn't. He's perfect a threat, so he must be with me at all times monitored. Zetsu glares at me as I enter our new hideout. It's better than our old one, so I'm almost glad Ren found it. I definitely am, I met Ren, and now he's mine.

"I don't understand why you don't just kill it." I stare, my vision going red. 

"Ren is not an it. Perfect things are rare in this world, so we should preserve the few there are." Ah, I said it out loud. No matter. Zetsu will see it soon too. He sighs.

"You Uchiha and your obsessions. Relax, I'm not going to touch it now. That's the surest and fastest way to die I can think of." I grunt, irritated. I enter the room I've made for Ren. it's exactly like his, so he will be familiar with his surroundings. I lay him on the bed, placing the small bear I know he sleeps with in his arms. His eyebrows knit together, making me smile. He curls into the fetal position around the bear, placing his chin on its head. I watch him for a few hours, but he doesn't wake up. I almost want to peel off the sleeping seal and make him mine see his perfect eyes.

I continue coming in to watch Ren sleep over the week. 

I'm starting to get concerned. He'll need to eat soon. He's made himself a nest of pillows and blankets in his sleep. I chuckle softly and reach out, brushing his hair out of his eyes and tracing my fingers down his face, resting on his chin. His nose twitches and he freezes. His eyes finally open. I don't move as his perfect cerulean and ocean-blue eyes widen in an unreadable expression. I chuckle.

"Good morning, darling. Nice of you to join us today." in a second he's wedged himself in the corner above the bed, staring down at me. He stares at me, face staying the same.

"What do you want, Obito." I feel a shiver run down my spine at the sound of his growl. I hum, pretending to think. I sink through the ground, teleporting myself behind him. I grab his arms, placing my head on his shoulder. He tries to swing at me but I draw us into my pocket dimension. He's pinned against me. I contemplate removing my mask. No. it's too early. He will love me. And he will be mine. He tries to Judo flip me, but physically I'm stronger. I wrap my arms around his waist, pinning his arms down. He hisses. I chuckle again. I inhale his scent, trying to memorize it.

"Well, Ren. to put it simply, I want you. " he freezes. 

"No. I'll kill myself first." I hum, weighing my options. I trail a hand up his arm, pausing on his shoulder, then running it down his back.

"No, I don't think you will. I won't let you." he tries to head butt me, but I grab his hands and push him down, pinning his hands above his head. He fights hard, but I'm stronger. I straddle his hips, staring down at him, watching him squirm. I trace his face, admiring how smooth and soft his skin is. My eyes fall to his lips. So plush, so perfect. I grip his chin gently, rubbing his bottom lip with my thumb. He watches me, hatred growing in his eyes. 

In a blur, I find my hand in his mouth, sharp canines sinking into my skin quickly. I gasp, surprised. I try to pull my hand away and he bites down harder. When I finally get my hand free, I can see the tendons and bones in my hand. He spits my blood off to the side snarling. I feel a shiver go down my spine at the sight of my blood dripping from his mouth. On impulse I lean down, shifting my mask to the side, and lick the blood off his face. He goes apeshit. I fly backward, slamming into one of the blocks and coughing up blood. He sits up and wipes my spit off his cheek, eyes unfocused and distant. I pause. I teleport myself behind him, transporting us both into the room I designed for Ren. he stares at me blankly, studying my every move. I pat him on the head. 

"You'll come around eventually. I'll be back in a little while, pet." he stares, cocking his head to the side. I turn to leave, opening the door and closing it behind me. He just stares at me, never blinking. I lock the door with a sigh. I turn around, jumping in surprise. Ren is standing right behind me. I locked him in the room. He stares for a moment before turning and walking away. I grab his shoulder and he just turns slightly, completely emotionless. It’s terrifying and attractive at the same time. He just stares at me. He smirks slightly.

"You might want to treat the poison in that wound before it gets too bad," my eyes widen. Now that he mentions it, I am feeling the poison. Very subtle, and almost indetectable. Almost perfect. He brushes off my hand and continues walking. I start to take a breath but I can't. I clutch my chest, trying to breathe. I place my hand on the wall for support, only to collapse. He stabs a blade infused with lightning chakra through the seal in my heart and doesn't look back. I'm gasping for air, my vision starting to blur and fade. I reach out for him, collapsing again. I chuckle quietly. He really is perfect.

 

 

 

Chapter 22

 

Itachi POV

I glare at myself in the mirror. Ren left hickeys and bitemarks all over my body. I sigh, blushing while tracing the bruises. I put on my clothes, making sure the hickeys are all covered. He's possessive. I walk out of the bathroom, reading the note he left. I feel a small alarm bell go off in my mind, frowning slightly. I brush it aside. I pack the few things I ren and I unpacked. Ren packed most of it already. I smile. He's considerate as well. I open the door and make my way to the roof. Ren isn't there. I head back inside. Jiraiya, Nagato, and Konan are up now, waiting in the lobby of the inn. Jiraiya sees that I'm alone and frowns.

"Where's Ren?" I pause.

"You haven't seen him? He left a note saying he was on the roof, but he wasn't there." he shakes his head. I curse quietly. I should have listened to the alarm bells. A large orange fox jumps from the window, panting. I recognize Kurama almost immediately. 

"Ren got kidnapped by the creepy masked guy!" I freeze, trying to calm down before I went apeshit and started killing people. I turn to the fox, kneeling to his level. 

"Can you show us where he is?" the fox shakes his head. 

"I was scouting when it happened. I don't think the masked guy is going to hurt him though. It seems like he has the Uchiha obsession." I feel my blood run cold and my face pale. 

The Uchiha obsession…? After only meeting Ren once? If it really is the Uchiha obsession, then he won't hurt ren, but nobody will be able to get to him without having to kill Obito. Now that I'm thinking about it, I might have the obsession as well. But for someone as unhinged as Obito… I'm not sure what he'd do to ren, or how his mental health will take to being kidnapped. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to calm down. The fox puts his paws on my knee. I open my eyes. The fox jumps onto my shoulders, wrapping himself around my neck. I pause before stroking his fur. He leans into my hand, accepting the touch. I smile, happy about the progress with someone close to ren. I push the thought aside. Kurama is probably trying to find comfort while his best friend is in serious danger. He butts his head against my cheek, making me laugh a little. I stand up and turn to the others.

"What should we do? Ren is the main leader now, and the most capable, and Obito is pretty strong." Kurama pauses.

"I remember Obito vaguely from when I was sealed in Kushina. Though he seems really different now. If one thing stayed the same, it's the fact that he's extremely protective over the people he's become obsessed with." I nod, trying desperately to find a solution.

"Personally, I want to go in and save him, but he might not need saving." I look at Jiraiya. He shrugs. "He's my godchild. Sure, he's keeping me at arm's length, but I get it. He's been through hell. I'm not going to press, but if he needs help I'll still help." I stare for a second before smiling. I inhale slowly, closing my eyes and exhaling. I open my eyes. I race through what I know about ren. He would want trust. He would want a chance to take care of it himself.

"I think that we should go get him." we agree and send word to Kisame. He agrees as well, expressing concern for the small ginger. We make plans to stay for the week.

 

It's been a week.

 

And Ren still isn't back.

It's been raining since he's been gone, making searching for him even harder. The Fox hasn't left my side, and I've mostly been in the room, looking out the window. The last five days have been hard. An overwhelming sadness has settled in my stomach, clouding my emotions. It's not raining right now, I realize. I sigh, scratching behind Kurama's ears. He trills quietly, leaning into my hand. I smile, picking up the fox and placing him in my lap. He curls into my stomach, staring out the window with me. He's been worried, but not as affected as I've been. Word has gone around that Hidan and Kakuzu are dead, I'm no longer a rogue shinobi, and Konoha has a new sage. 

Word has also got around that Sasuke killed Orochimaru. I feel proud of my little brother, but I know I'm next. Ren has suggested killing him off, although hesitantly. He's been very respectful of my boundaries, and I appreciate that. But he also sees things in a way I don't. I know he's not going to hurt me. I trust him. I close my eyes, leaning my head against the wall. I freeze, feeling a familiar chakra signature. 

A single figure in a black cloak is making its way to the inn. Kurama perks up, watching them. He disappears in a puff of smoke. The figure looks up at me. I pause, then the pieces click. I open the window, leaning out slightly. The figure pulls off its hood, revealing the fluffy red hair, declaring what I already knew. I jump out the window, hitting the ground running. I tackle him in a hug, burying my face in his hair. He laughs a little, hugging me back. He- she wraps her arms around me, nuzzling into my neck. 

"I missed, you, Tachi." I pause. It's a lot worse than I thought. 

"I missed you too. We looked for you everywhere." she doesn't respond, just tightens her grip. I pick her up and jump back through the window. I set her down, shutting the window. I turn around and she launches herself at me, hungry and desperate kisses short-circuiting all of my thoughts. She runs her hands through my hair, pulling me over to the bed, wrapping her legs around my waist, and laughing as we fall onto the bed together. She pulls back, panting. I kiss her again gently. She smiles, humming happily. 

"I needed that. He was disgusting." I freeze. I feel my grip on Ren tighten. She hisses slightly. I pause.

"Sorry. I'm a little bit… possessive. It's an Uchiha thing. All of us are like this with the people they…” Love. "care about." she snorts. 

"Obito was certainly obsessive. He literally had an exact replica of my room and all of my stuffed animals." I tighten my grip, beyond angry. 

"What did he do?" she places her hands on my face, kissing me slowly. I sigh, still angry, but feel myself calming down. I pull back, placing my forehead on hers. She hums again, rubbing our noses together. I exhale sharply, feeling a smile tugging at my lips. 

"Your Sharingan are pretty." I pause, taking a second to deactivate my eyes. I smile sheepishly. She giggles a little, kissing me quickly. "He tried some stuff. Nothing too bad though. He drugged me and had a sleep and chakra seal on me. When I woke up earlier today he took me into his pocket dimension. He got touchy- with my face, calm down- and I totaled his hand. You could see the tendons and bones in his hand. I poisoned him, don't know if he's dead or not. He then decided to lick his blood off my face, and he got his ass handed to him. I hate him so much. He said that I would be his." I feel my Sharingan spin to life again, my vision going red. I grit my teeth trying to keep my breathing even. She traces my jawline, kissing me again. I relax a little. 

"I'm fine, Ita. calm down. I'm alright. I'll kill myself before I let him take me." I freeze.

"No. you can't kill yourself. You can't die." if you die, then I'll die. She smiles.

"I'll be fine, Ita. I'm fine." I shake my head.

"Not good enough. You can't kill yourself. You can't die." she hums, pulling me down into a hug, running her hand through my hair. I melt into her, inhaling her scent, physically feeling myself calm down. 

Rain, ozone, mist, ink, and paper. Except there's a new scent on top of it.

Poison. Blood. 

My heart squeezes at the change. This cursed shinobi world is taking her too. I bask in her warmth and scent, reminding myself that Ren is more than capable of taking care of herself. She'll be okay.

"Promise me you're not going to die. That you're not going to kill yourself." Her hand pauses in my hair. Not long, but long enough. I brush the thought aside, thinking I'm imagining it.

"I promise. I'm not going to die." I smile, pressing chaste kisses on her neck. She rests her head on top of mine. I smile, warmth filling my chest.

"I love you." I freeze, regretting the words as soon as they leave my mouth. She rolls us over, looking down at me. I flush, looking away. 

"Love you too." I turn to look at her, accepting her kiss easily. We separate after a second.

"Let's go tell the others your back and have Jiraiya take this seal off."

"hn."

 

 

Chapter 23

Normal POV

 

I squeak breathlessly as Jiraiya hugs me tightly, refusing to put me down. 

"Jiraiya, I don't think she can breathe." he pauses, then sets me down. I'm then attacked by Deidara, the energetic blonde excited that I'm back. As soon as he lets go, I bolt behind Itachi, not wanting to be squished again. He pauses, drooping slightly. Itachi laughs, ruffling my hair. "Maybe if you hadn't squished her so much, she wouldn't be hiding from you." I nod, slotting my head under his arm. He smiles, draping his arm loosely around my shoulders. I watch Jiraiya. He notices but doesn't say anything. I turn my attention back to Konan and Nagato. The two are happy and have obviously gotten closer. 

"It's good to see you're alright." I smile at the fellow Uzumaki. He's in his real body now. He's pale, skinnier than he should be (though I'm not one to talk) and his red hair is long, covering one side of his face. "Cousin." I freeze, unsure how to react. He smiles a closed-eye smile, tilting his head to the side slightly. I smile slightly, feeling something thaw inside. 

"Can I get a hug?" I look at Jiraiya. He's smiling again. He's always smiling, it seems. I sigh, detaching from Itachi, allowing the sage to (strangle) hug me again. He's more conscious about it this time, but still. Maybe I just don't get hugs often enough. He sets me down, ruffling my already unruly spikes. I huff, running my hand through my hair, trying to get it back out of my face. He laughs, placing an arm around my shoulder.

"You remind me of your father. You have most of his features too, but your mom's red hair." I blink.

"Oh yeah, you trained him. From what I got, he was really kind, level-headed, and ruthless. He was pretty laid back, shy." Jiraiya nods, smiling sadly.

"Minato was a once-in-a-lifetime genius. He was kind, compassionate, and talented. He made the Rasengan. He also learned sage mode, but he wasn't as good at using it as Naruto. He was a good person. He would have been a great father if he'd had the chance." I nod, smiling my fake smile. I'm not usually bothered by my lack of real parents or parent figures, but talking about someone who could have been there brings all the emotions I suppress back.

"Do you think you could train me?" he blinks, then smiles again.

"Course I can, kid. You seem like you'll be a better student than Naruto." I pause, unsure of what that means. He sees my confusion. "Naruto isn't as naturally smart as you are, and you have better Chakra control." I nod, still unsure. He ruffles my hair again. "It's a good thing, kid. Don't worry." I bite my cheek, self-conscious. Itachi notices, a sad expression on his face. 

"We should get moving." everyone agrees, and we head out to Uzushio. I stay very close to Itachi and Jiraiya, paranoid about Obito. Itachi links his hand with mine, kissing my jaw. Jiraiya smiles, teasing us about being cute. Itachi smiles and excepts the teasing as a compliment. I ignore it. We make it most of the way to Uzushio without any further problems. 

Until.

Sasuke and a boy with white hair and a purple turtleneck, and an Uzumaki woman are crossing our path. I hold out an arm, and everyone stops, though it's too late. The woman has sensed us. Sasuke turns towards us as the woman starts shrieking. 

"You've been detected. Show yourself." I feel Itachi tense, unsure. I squeeze his hand.

"It's alright, Ita. I'm not going to let him hurt you. And I won't kill him." he smiles grimly before turning to Sasuke.

"It's been a while, Sasuke." the younger Uchiha freezes, rage radiating from him. He takes a step, starting to weave the signs for a fire Jutsu. Fuck no bitch. I teleport behind him.

"That's not very nice, Sasuke. Guess I should call you brother-in-law, though." I see Itachi blush from his place at the edge of the forest. I sigh. "Though it's not like your brother's gonna have the balls to propose." he spins, unsheathing his Katana in an attempt to slash at me. I snort, stepping on his foot and grabbing his arm, twisting him across my body, and throwing him to the ground without injuring him. "You're really bad at this. I haven't even used chakra yet." he snarls, attempting to get up. I sit on his back, though I don't weigh very much. The man with white hair laughs.

"Damn, Sasuke. I'm a little jealous, she's fine as hell." I deadpan him.

"Yeah, no. you're not my type, and even if you were, I'm dating Itachi." the name makes the man pause. He looks at me with new respect.

"Name's Suigetsu. You?"

"Ren Uzumaki-Namikaze. Naruto's twin." everyone freezes.

"Uzumaki? So I'm not the last?" I smile at the woman. 

"You're not. Actually, we're heading to Uzushio right now. You're welcome to join us. And after Itachi and I have a conversation with Sasuke, there won't be a reason to kill Itachi." Sasuke snorts.

"Like hell, there won't! Itachi is evil! He killed our clan! He-"

"Made a deal with the clan elders to kill the entire clan except you so there wouldn't be a civil war, resulting in the entire clan including you being exterminated by the ANBU? Yes, he did. And he was willing to die for it."

"Lies!"

"Damn your an idiot. No wonder you're in love with my brother, you two are perfect for each other." he freezes, turning red.

"I DO NOT-"

"S'okay to be gay, Sasuke." I feel my gender switch, have been feeling it for a while now. He turns even redder. I smirk. "And that's the answer to our question, Tachi. He's just as gay as you are." Itachi glares. He hates it when I undermine his scary illusion.

"Shut the fuck up ginger stereotype!"

"Emo vampire!"

"Leprechaun!"

"Bird boy!" 

"short!"

"you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"..."

"That's what I thought." the three shinobi stare at me, dumbfounded. I smile. "The only time you can talk to Itachi like that without dying is when you know where he sleeps and can find him at any time. And he will regret the Leprechaun comment." I see him slump over in the corner of my eye. "So. are you four coming with us? If not, then I can convince you otherwise." I smile pleasantly while letting out my KI. they all flinch. Suigetsu dissolves into water. Sasuke growls.

"Fine. but if I see one finger out of line-"

"You won't be able to do anything." he starts to protest. I let my pleasant mask drop. I plant my knee into his back directly over his spine, grabbing the back of his neck and shoving his face into the dirt. "You are an insignificant, annoying, egotistical bug, Sasuke. The only reason I haven't killed you off already is that Itachi loves you too much. But he'll forgive me if I end up killing you because you cause too much of a problem." he freezes, eyes wide. I smell his terror. This is the first time his life has truly been in danger, I realize. I smile the same smile I use for Danzo. The one that promises a long, slow, painful death. 

"Do I make myself clear, Sasuke? I'd hate to kill you over a misunderstanding." he nods quickly. I resume my happy act. "Good! Now, Uzumaki. I didn't get your name." she hesitates, still scared shitless.

"It's Karin." 

"Well Karin, there's actually one more Uzumaki traveling with us. I think you two will get along." she nods, unsure what will upset me. I get off Sasuke. As soon as I turn my back he lunges. I don't move fast enough, turning over a rock and tripping. I cough up blood, looking at the Katana that pierced my chest. It's not fatal, I note. But Itachi doesn't know that. And Neither does Obito, who had been trailing us. They both go apeshit, lunging at Sasuke. Konan, Nagato, and Jiraiya move to intercede, but fending off two of the most powerful shinobi alive is not easy. I sigh.

"Sasuke. Pull out the sword or I can't calm them down. And if I can't calm them down, you'll die." he pauses and then pulls it out. I teleport to Itachi, knocking him out, then turning to Obito. He's regained enough of his senses to see I'm alive and now uninjured, thanks to Kurama and my Uzumaki bloodline.

"You're alive." I nod.

"So are you. Didn't expect that. Are you still itching to kill us all?" he shakes his head.

"Just Sasuke. He hurt you." I sigh.

"You Uchiha and your obsessions. Go be obsessed with Kakashi- shit, he has a boyfriend, never mind. Leave me alone, please." he tilts his head to the side.

"Bakashi has a boyfriend? Didn't think he could take the stick out of his ass."

"He's pretty chill. Perverted as hell, cough-JIRAIYA-cough, but chill." he stares, not comprehending what I'm saying. I sigh, irritated, picking up Itachi and carrying him bridal style. I try to ignore Sasuke's hateful stare. We manage to get within three hours of Uzushio before it gets dark. We find an inn, Itachi and I rooming together, Konan and Nagato in another, the three team Hebi members in another one, Jiraiya placing a seal on the door, then seal of my room and his own. Obito disappeared after I left with Itachi and team Hebi. I set Itachi down on the bed, removing his cloak. He stirs slightly, nuzzling into my hand. I look at the door, hearing footsteps. 

"The door's open." the person- Sasuke- opens the door after hesitating. I stare at him for a second, committing his scent to memory. He smirks.

"Like what you see?" I curl my lip in disgust. 

"No. Itachi is the only man I've had feelings for. I don't like men. I was memorizing your scent. I'm probably going to be called on missions to retrieve your bitchy emo ass. What do you want?" his smirk fades.

"I want to know the truth about my clan. What happened? You weren't lying, or at least you thought you weren't." I nod, wordlessly unsealing the documents containing the information he needed. I hand them to him, taking in his hesitant expression. They're official documents of Konoha, and he can tell. His eyes flick back to me. "Where did you get these?" I shrug.

"ANBU quality has gone down drastically since your brother left. That and I'm naturally talented with genjutsu and stealth." he blinks, surprised. Itachi mumbles, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my stomach. I feel my face soften, running my fingers through his hair. Sasuke watches, unsure of himself. He unrolls the scroll, reading quickly, Sharingan active to see any signs of tampering. The more he reads, the angrier he gets. He looks up at me, barely able to speak.

"What the hell is this?" I hold out my hand, pulling him next to Itachi and me. 

"I know it's hard. Tsunade knows, and she knows what my goal is. I'm currently out here to try and destroy the thing responsible for the destruction of your clan. I helped save Itachi from himself. Let us help you, Sasuke." he hesitates for a second. Itachi holds out his hand, now awake. He smiles at his younger brother sleepily. 

"It's alright. Ren's one of the most trustworthy people I know. He's a bitch to deal with, but if he likes you then he's alright." I roll my eyes, irritated but smiling. Sasuke sighs, tension leaving his body. Itachi pokes his forehead with his pointer and middle finger, laughing at Sasuke's reaction. I smile at the two brothers, wishing my own trusted me. Itachi pokes my cheek, arching an eyebrow. He knows me too well. I deadpan him, waiting for his finger to move. When it doesn't, I snap my teeth, smirking at the squeak from Itachi. He slowly smirks back.

"Kinky~" I huff, shoving him on the floor.

"Yeah, I know you are. Why do you think there are still bitemarks on your neck after a week?" he freezes, a blush creeping over his face. Sasuke turns bright red as soon as he realizes the meaning of my words.

"That's fucking disgusting. I don't need to know the details about my elder brother and my best friend's twin's love life. I'm leaving." I giggle quietly. 

"Bye! If you need condoms for when you finally fuck naruto, just ask!" he glares at me, but the blush on his face ruins the effect. He huffs, turning around and closing the door behind him. I don't move until the door to his room closes as well. I turn to Itachi, getting tackled onto the bed. I look up at the Uchiha, smiling as I realize his Sharingan is already activated. I chuckle nervously.

I'm in danger.

 

 

Chapter 24

I groan quietly, stretching painfully. Everything is sore, and thinking back on last night, it should be. I pause, noticing Itachi isn't in bed with me. I roll over, curling myself into a ball and wrapping myself in blankets. I hear Itachi open the door, chuckling at the sight of me sleepily curled in the blankets. I smell food. I wrinkle my nose, mildly nauseated. I don't want to eat, but Itachi is aware of my eating patterns and is watching closely now. Damn him for being perfect! He sets the food down, walking quietly to my side. He sits down next to me, pulling the blankets away from my head and face. I grumble, nuzzling into his thigh. He laughs, picking me up and setting me in his lap. I whine, curling into him. He sighs, kissing my forehead and running his hands through my hair. I pur quietly, leaning into his touch. He kisses my nose, then rests his forehead on mine.

"We're going to have to function as humans today, Ren. c'mon, let's eat." I whine, flopping back onto the bed. 

"I don't wanna~" he sighs, leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss on my lips.

"You have to, ren. Please?" I groan, rolling around a little. I pause after a moment, smirking.

"Make me~" he pauses, then lunges forward, tackling me playfully. I squeal, giggling as he tickles me while leaving sweet kisses on my face. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down and kissing him slowly. He sighs, leaning into me. I hum, twirling his hair around a finger, kissing him again. He pulls away, trying to be serious but failing. He sighs, still smiling.

"Ren, please? I don't want to fight about this, but you need to get up. It's the last day on our way to Uzushio." I sigh dramatically, pouting.

"What do I get in exchange?" he hums, kissing down my jawline and neck. He nips gently at the sweet spot, 

"How about I make Dango when we get to Uzushio?" I pause, contemplating. I sigh, giving in to the future urge to binge-eat Dango. 

"Fine-"

"But you also have to eat the food I brought." I freeze.

"Deal's off. No, nope, not happening, no." he cocks his head to the side, confused. He's adorable- no, I can't fall for the trap.

"Why not?" I hesitate, his kind eyes piercing my soul.

"Don't wanna. Not hungry." technically not a lie. But not the whole truth.

No, it's just a lie. You're starving, ren. You haven't eaten in a week.

Shut up Kurama.

"Don't lie to me, please. I know you are. You haven't eaten in at least a couple of days. Please be honest with me. I want to help." I hesitate, looking away. He kisses my temple, then my lips, placing his palm on my cheek. I bite my lip, unsure of what to do. Tentatively, I mentally reach out to the fox.

Kura-

Just fucking tell him. He's head over heels for you. He's already aware you don't eat like a normal person, telling him about your eating disorder isn't going to be a surprise. 

I sigh, letting go of my tension and looking back at Itachi. 

"I have… a little bit of an eating disorder." he pauses, eyes going softer than they were before.

"Ren. why didn't you tell me?" I shrug.

"Never been supported before. Just told to stop being gross, and that it's good I'll never get fat." he pulls me into a hug, carrying me over to the nightstand. He sets me down on the edge of the bed, picking up a bagel (already covered in cream cheese) and breaking it in half. 

"Start with this, alright? Just eat something small at first. Then we can look at the other half. Does that sound alright?" I stare at the small piece of bagel, then look back at him. He smiles, melting my heart just a little more. I take the bagel, hesitantly taking a small bite. It tastes amazing. Not as good as ramen, but still. I feel nausea churning in my stomach. I stop chewing for a second, my gaze flicking to Itachi. He smiles reassuringly. I swallow, grimacing a little, then take another bite. Before too long, the piece of bagel is gone. He kisses my forehead, pulling me into a hug. My eyes widen, confused. All I did was eat a bagel. He pulls back, smiling brightly.

"Do you think you could eat the other piece? It's alright if you can't." I gape at him, confused. He notices, kissing my forehead. "You took a small step. That's an accomplishment. And you trusted me enough to tell me about it. It's a step, and every step is going to be hard. I love you, and I want to help you." I tear up, leaning forward so my bangs fall in my face, hiding my tears as I take a bite of the other piece. He sighs, wrapping me in another tight hug. I finish that half of the bagel, then just lean further into Itachi. I lean up and kiss him quickly, tucking my head under his chin. He smiles, then picks me up and carries me to the bathroom. He sets me on the counter, kisses me again then sets my clothes next to me. 

"You need to get dressed. It’s about time we took off for Uzushio." I sigh, rolling my eyes. 

"Fine. but only if you can put them on me~~" he blushes a little, then shakes his head.

"Not now. We don't have the time for that. Just get dressed." I sigh dramatically, picking up the clothes with mock disgust. Itachi laughs, kissing me quickly. I giggle a little, pulling the shirt over my head. Pushing him away, I get off the counter and finish changing. As soon as I finish changing, I'm scooped up into the air. My gasp of surprise quickly turns to a giggle. I nuzzle into him, accepting the kiss on the temple. He carries me out of the room, glaring at the old man who eyes me creepily. I burrow my face into his neck, trying to hide my smile. He notices anyway, laughing quietly. I growl, but there's no real depth to it. He kisses my palm, smiling.  I huff, pretending to be angry. 

"You two are way too cute." I throw a kunai at Jiraiya, glaring at him. He laughs, not noticing the hair the kunai had cut. I giggle. He reaches up, confused, then gasps horrified.

"You cut my hair?! You brat, how dare you!" I burst out laughing, unable to control myself anymore. The others join in, Jiraiya pouting silently. I smile, a strange warmth feeling filling my chest. Itachi sets me down, and I'm immediately attacked by Jiraiya, swung around in the air, and shaken up and down. I squeal, laughing childishly. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a child, I realize. He sets me down, then pulls me into a hug. I smile, leaning into the hug. He's surprised for a second, then ruffles my hair. I huff, smiling. He lets go, resting his arm on my head. I roll my eyes, ignoring the dig at my height. 

"I think we're ready to go." everyone nods, smiling at the way I was reacting to everyone. Deidara is at my side, linking an arm through mine, pulling me along, and chatting happily. I follow, realizing that these people are like family to me now. 

Konan and Nagato are the Aunt and Uncle, Jiraiya is the dad/ grandpa, and Deidara is the big brother. Sasuke is the annoying brother who thinks he knows everything. Karin is the little sister who tries to act like she's tough, but is scared of being left behind on the inside. Suigetsu is the little cousin asking if you have games on your phone. Kisame is the older cousin who scolds Suigetsu and apologizes for him. Itachi is… my world, my center, my everything my love. If I lost him, I think I would go insane. Suddenly I understand Madara so much better. He lost the one person he thought he could depend on, the one person that had been there and loved him no matter what. I feel a pang of sympathy, then brush it aside. 

We make it to Uzushio by noon. Taking one look around, the place is completely deserted and destroyed. We get to work, making it habitable again. The buildings are repaired with various earth-style Jutsu, as well as the waterways and roads. The plants were a little harder, but my summons had done a good job of finding the remaining Uzumaki. So far, eight or nine had arrived, and another dozen were expected. They easily identified Nagato and Karin as Uzumaki, though they were a little more hesitant about me. My chakra doesn't exactly feel like Uzumaki. The mix of Kyuubi and Namikaze made it a little hard to identify the Uzumaki. They all have the same blood-red hair that I've been bullied for my entire life. It's soothing to know I'm not alone as I chat with the other younger Uzumaki. Sasuke and Itachi look out of place. I smile internally, agreeing with the women (and men) that comment on how attractive they both are. 

The only real problem pops up when an Uzumaki about Itachi's age starts flirting with me. Itachi notices, getting mildly irritated. I turn him down gently, and he politely accepts and backs off. Asashi, the man who was flirting, was pretty helpful with the repairs. He notices the silent looks and conversation between Itachi and me and backs off even more than he had before, giving Itachi a meaningful look and holding up his hands in a pacifying way. Itachi notices, smiling slightly. They have a small conversation, and they end up laughing and smiling. I smile slightly, then turn my attention back to the Jutsu I was using to fix one of the aqueducts running through the island. After fixing it, I move on to the next village, nodding at the people bowing as I pass by. 

"Escuse me, mister?" I pause, turning to look at the little girl. She holds out a flower to me. "Dis is for you!" I smile, taking from her and tucking it into her braided bun. She touches it, smiles and laughs, and then runs over to her mother. I wave, continuing to the center of the city. Several more Uzumaki have arrived, bringing their families and friends with them. I smile at the people staring at me in awe. Talking to a few, I realize how much respect and fear I've earned as a shinobi. Then it hits me. We're a village now, and we need a leader. Nagato mentioned that we need a Kage-level leader. That we need a new Uzukage. And I'm the most respected and strongest shinobi here. I'll be the most effective leader, and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I sigh, mildly irritated. Stopping in front of the former Kage tower. Inhaling deeply, I mentally prepare for the Jutsu. Weaving a few signs, wood rises out of the ground, fortifying the building and rebuilding it. I fall to one knee, panting heavily, smiling ecstatically. 

I CAN USE WOOD STYLE!

Good job, kit. I'm proud of you. I smile up at him, letting out my tails and ears. He smiles back, patting me on the head with one of his tails. I leave my mindscape, waving my tails freely. I stand up, then start running through the village to find Itachi. He's still with Asashi. He smiles at me, opening his arms as I launch myself at him. He oofs quietly, kissing me on the head. I smile up at him, my eyes filled with joy.

"I CAN USE WOOD STYLE!" he pauses, eyes wide. 

"You can? Ren that's amazing!" I nod, smiling wildly. 

"I know! Kura-chan said so too!" he smiles down at me, ruffling my hair and kissing me gently. I giggle, kissing him back. Asashi smiles and laughs.

"Damn, you two are such a cute couple! I almost regret flirting with you. Sorry bout that, by the way." I smile at him, waving it aside.

"It's fine, it happens all the time. As long as it stops I don't mind at first." he pauses then smiles again. Itachi shrugs at him.

"It's his decision. I'm fully aware that he's attractive, so I know someone's going to flirt with him." I tuck my head under his chin, smiling. Asashi nods, smiling slightly still. 

"You two are adorable. I'm a little jealous." I blush, smiling sheepishly.

"Aniki!" I pause, noticing a girl who looks a year younger than me running toward Asashi. He smiles.

"Sayo! How are things going?" she stops in front of him, smiling. 

"I wanna train as a shinobi!" he pauses.

"What made this change? You used to think shinobi were stupid. You said so yourself when I started training." she blushes, trying not to look at me.

"W-well, I thought that shinobi just killed people. Now I know that isn't true!" I roll my eyes. I've seen this kind before.

"Are you willing to take a kunai to the chest for a comrade?" she pauses, horrified. Asashi sees what I'm doing, clenching his jaw. He understands, but he doesn't like it.

"W-what?!" 

"Would you take a kunai to the chest for a comrade? Would you sacrifice yourself to interrogation and allow the one who knows what they want to escape? Would you die for the sake of your mission, for your comrades?" she stares, horrified.

"No way! Why would you-"

"Then you fail." I turn around and walk away, ignoring her whining tantrum. Asashi sighs, tired. 

"Come back here, you jerk! How dare you talk to me like that! Do you even know who I am? Who are you, anyway!?" I sigh. 

"Name's Ren Uzumaki-Namikaze. Godchild of Jiraiya to toad sage and Tsunade the slug princess, twin of Naruto Uzumaki, child of Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage. And you are?" she's paled drastically, no longer quite so cocky. She turns around abruptly, stomping off. Asashi gapes openly, then laughs.

"Impressive. I've never seen someone shut her up so fast!" I smirk, then turn around to continue healing the broken city.

 

 

 

Chapter 25

 

We've been in Uzushio for two weeks. We've set up an academy program, set up a political system, and spread the word that Uzushio is being rebuilt. A steady stream of two or three Uzumaki, as well as others, settle in Uzushio. I'm looking more and more like the most likely candidate for Uzukage. I'm irritated. I don't want to be a Kage, but oh well. I sigh, smiling at the few children at our academy training grounds. I nod to the people who bow, then continue on my way. Opening the door to the Kage tower, I make my way to the meeting room where we're selecting the Uzukage. I take a deep breath before opening the door. There are a few people I know who are candidates. Asashi, I know has a wide variety of Jutsu. Nagato, for obvious reasons. Sayo, oddly enough, is here. I dismiss her completely. I don't know the others.

"Ren. it's good to see you." I pause, eyes widening.

"Tsune ba-chan. It's good to see you too. Are you here for the choosing of the Uzukage?" she nods, then smiles. 

"Seeing you is a bonus, though. I've missed you. Team seven is here too." I pause. Naruto. 

"Well, thank you for the warning. Shit, Sasuke's here too." she freezes, eyes widening. Sasuke had just gotten back this morning from retrieving a man named Jugo from Orochimaru's southern hideout. He called his team the Taka and was starting to build the mission system for Uzushio.

"Damn. well, let's hope for the best." I sigh, then smile ruefully. 

"Well, at least they'll make up. Anyway, let's continue." she nods. The others look at each other. Asashi looks at me.

"We think you should be the Uzukage. You're the strongest here, and the best at political negotiations." I sigh, nodding. I already knew it was going to turn out this way.

"Um, no!" i look at Sayo. she's puffed up her cheeks and thrown her hip to the side. "I wanna be the Uzukage! Some stupid lowlife shouldn't get to take that away from me!" I roll my eyes, sighing. She turns red, increasingly angry. "Say something!" I stare at her, annoyed. I turn back to Asashi.

"Control your brat or don't bring it in here. We don't have time for children." she gapes, furious.

"Shut up you faggot!" I freeze, my eyes sliding to her. She flinches under my glare, unused to being treated like this. I smile slowly, my canines poking out of my mouth, my eyes flashing red. She whimpers slightly. 

"Go ahead. Say it again." she flinches, backing up. She trips over her chair. She screams, and I take the momentary distraction as an opportunity to jump on the desk in front of her. She turns back, shrieking again to find that I'm less than a foot away from her. I smirk, leaning on my arm. "What's wrong? I thought you were a better candidate for Uzukage, and I'm just a faggot. Don't tell me you're scared of a twink." she whimpers, looking at her brother for help. I glance over, satisfied to see his violet eyes are just as steely as mine. I turn back to her.

"Oh, he's not gonna help you. Get the fuck over yourself, brat. You're not as important as you think you are. Now, are you done with your tantrum?" she nods, sniffling. I get up and she runs out of the room, sobbing. I snort, then start cackling. The others join, and Asashi even cracks a smile. We compose ourselves after a few minutes.

"Back to the topic at hand. Ren, you are now the Uzukage. And the reason lady Tsunade is here is to inform you of the five Kage summit occurring in a week." I curse.

"Seriously, ba-chan? You know I hate old geezers." she laughs. 

"Don't worry, there's only one geezer attending. And you can bring whoever you want to guard you." I nod, already thinking. I shake my head, that's not the focus right now.

"I'm going to need advisors and to establish trade routes. I assume that's another reason you're here, ba-chan?" she nods. 

"I can't wait for the others to see you. This is going to be hilarious!" I smile, agreeing silently. We then dissolve into political negotiations and discussions of advisors.

 

Timeskip

I groan, irritated with my chosen family. 

Deidara and Sasuke are arguing about who the better brother is. Jiraiya wants to be one of my guards instead of Konan. Itachi is trying to diffuse the situation, and Naruto is glaring at me for becoming a Kage before he did. Nagato looks fucking confused. Kisame couldn't care less. I feel a vein pop in my forehead.

"Everyone shut the fuck up! Not you Ita, you're fine." everyone freezes, terrified. "Konan is going to be my escort, along with Itachi. And we're leaving. Let's go." I turn to leave, and the two follow, Akatsuki robes re-done to have the Uzumaki swirl inside the clouds. I place the Kage hat on my head, marveling at the flurries of snow falling slowly. Itachi and Konan The land of iron is very different from the land of fire. We get to the building, scanning over the samurai. 

"Halt! Please remove your hats and cloaks." I pause, then remove the Kage hat. Konan and Itachi follow, ignoring the flares of chakra from the guards. I smile sweetly at them.

"May we pass?" they hesitate.

"Lady Uzukage, I apologize, but these two are wanted criminals-"

"Ah, no, they're not. Sorry, but they were removed from the rogue shinobi list, and I've enlisted the Akatsuki as my personal guard. Unfortunately, they are no longer in possession of the tailed beasts they took, or we would have the discussion of giving them back during the summit." they pause, not having a reason. Itachi sighs, scaring the two samurai.

"Look. I'm sure you've heard, or read in the bingo books, about the intelligence of both Konan and me." the two nod, uneasy. Itachi continues, bored. "So why in the hell would we put ourselves in a position where five of the six major Kage are against us? That's just blatant stupidity, and disrespectful to Ren." I smirk.

"You'd be more upset about disrespecting me than the other Kage, wouldn't you?" the ravenette rolls his eyes.

"Fuck you, ren." I snort.

"take me to dinner first." he glares, but I can see his amusement behind it. The samurai stare, then let us pass without further complaints. I ignore the stares and whispers we receive, as does my chosen family. Taking a deep breath outside the Kage meeting room, I push the doors open. 

A man with his head wrapped in bandages and long grey hair, and a long gray mustache sits at the head of the table, between the two prongs. A big man with slicked-back white hair and weights on his arms sits on one side of the horseshoe-shaped table. An old man with a big nose with lots of warts and a receding hairline sits next to him. He smirks when he sees how young I am. Tsunade sits next to him, smiling as i open the door. The seat next to her is open. A redhead about my age sits next to the empty seat, with big dark circles around his eyes. Shukaku's former host. I note Konan and Itachi's scent of regret. Next to him, a pretty redheaded woman studies me as I study her. She has two kekai genkai, I realize. She smirks at me. I turn to the redhead, who's glaring at my family.

"Lord Kazekage. I am aware of the actions the Akatsuki has taken against you-" Itachi holds up a hand.

"While I appreciate the gesture, love, you have nothing to apologize for." he bows, Konan following his lead. "We deeply apologize for the damage we have done, to all five nations. We were misled, and lady Uzukage has brought the truth of our actions to light and has won our loyalty." the room is silent for a moment. Tsunade laughs.

"Damn it ren, you really did catch a good one! When do I get grandkids?" Itachi turns red, hiding his face in his collar. Konan teases him more, poking at how he would be more of a mother than I would. I laugh at the reaction, turning sad.

"While we would both like to say that, that is… not possible." she pauses.

"Who did it?" I smile grimly. 

"The one thing I can thank Kakuzu and Hidan for is getting rid of them. They are no longer alive." she nods, satisfied. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand."

"Wait! What about our tailed beasts!? Those damn criminals stole them-" I pause, letting my KI leak as Konan and Itachi take their places on the ledge. 

"Raikage. Two things. Number one. Those "damn criminals” are my chosen family and I will not let you insult them. Especially not Itachi. Number two. The tailed beasts are just as sentient as we are. It's slavery, and I will not allow another person to become the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Kurama agrees with that and agrees to stay away from the villages. The other beasts will make similar agreements if you let them."

"Maybe not Shukaku, he's batshit crazy because of your stupid seal, sand brat." they're taken aback hearing Kurama's voice from my mouth. I take my place next to Kazekage and Tsune ba-chan, placing my hat on the table. She ruffles my hair, smiling at my glare. The Kazekage stares, shocked. I smirk, resting my head on my hand, and closing one eye.

"Hey, brat. You look like the fourth Hokage. I would say you're his daughter." I hum.

"What gave it away? The fact he's the only other person who's humanized you?" he growls, standing up. I place my feet on the table, leaning back. 

"Damn, is it always this easy to get under your skin? How are you not dead yet?"

"Ren. stop antagonizing the Raikage. How are you not dead with the number of times you've tried to kill yourself?" I roll my eyes, flipping off my lover. He sighs, rubbing his temples.

"Stop looking like you're about to have a headache, Chi-chi." he freezes, glaring at me.

"Remind me why I fell in love with you?" I smile cheerfully.

"Because we're both fucking crazy and mentally ill, but that's alright because I love you too~" at this point, several of the older shinobi are smiling at us.

"As cute as it is to watch you two argue, there are more important matters at hand." we look to Mifune, dropping back to the conversation. He looks at the Raikage. "Lord Raikage. The third war is long over, and nobody should take their revenge on the child of an enemy that's been dead for sixteen years." he growls, then sits back down. An idea pops into my head.

"What if we introduce ourselves. Likes, dislikes, and a dream."

"Name's A, and i'm the Raikage. I like spending time with my younger brother, dislike arrogant brats and paperwork, and i dream to make the land of lightning the best."

"Ohnoki. I like naps, dislike annoying brats, and dream for the hidden stone to be better than everyone else."

"Tsunade Senju. I like training my godchildren, dislike paperwork, and dream to be able to drink sake without my goddaughter stealing any." a laugh goes around the table. I look to the Kazekage and he sighs, taking it as his cue.

"My name is Gaara. I like spending time with Naruto, dislike Sasuke Uchiha, and dream to be a good friend and ally to the leaf." Itachi glares at him, making me smile. I give him a small look. He settles down a little, irritated.

"Mei Terumi. I like strong women, dislike perverted men, and dream to find a good-looking man to marry me." I applaud quietly.

"Amen, sister, amen." the women in the room laugh. 

"Your turn, brat." I glare at A, then sigh.

"Fine. well, there aren't many things I like, there are a lot of things I dislike, and as for dreams…" I pretend to think, then give a Kakashi smile. "I don't feel like telling you that." Kakashi applauds.

"I trained you well, my cute little Genin!"

"She's a jonin, and shut the fuck up! I trained her, not you, Kakashi!" I blink innocently, ignoring the amused looks the other Kage give me.

"Anyways, I guess the one thing i really like is eating ramen with my twin, Naruto." Gaara's eyes widen, and his guards throw aside the curtain to look at me better.

"Damn, you're the sister he was talking about!? You're sexy as fu-"

"Shut your mouth before my partner does." the catboy pauses, slowly looking at Itachi, who's staring at him with his Mangekyo activated. He sweatdrops, then crawls under the seat to die. I smirk, blowing a kiss at my lover. He rolls his eyes, smiling faintly. Gaara sighs.

"Kankuro, please be respectful. We don't want the Uzukage as our enemy." i laugh, waving away his concern.

"Gaara. I'm a petty bitch, but not that petty. I'm used to having men I don't know flirt with me. Comes with being a woman with big tits." Tsunade sighs, nodding. A mumble of agreeance passes through the other women in the room. I place my mask back on, the picture of a perfect Uzumaki. Nobody notices how fake it is. It's easy to give people what they want, especially when they don't know you. 

The meeting is going well. We've established that the Akatsuki and Sasuke are also no longer a threat. Trade routes are being negotiated, and the various nations have confirmed that they would like to have trade routes. We're having a hard time with Ohnoki though. He's stubborn and stuck in his ways. I'm mildly irritated but keep my chakra level. He thinks I'm an air-headed little girl. I smile internally. How wrong he is. He's arguing with Tsunade, suddenly slamming his hands on the table, chair flying out behind him. I flinch, memories of my various foster homes flying through my mind. I shut them down.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE STUPID UZUMAKI WHORE! SHE CAN MAKE HER OWN NATION!"  I put on my neutral mask. Perfectly smooth, with not a single crack in it. Not even Itachi has found a flaw in it. This mask is my pride and joy.

"Stop taking out your frustration on me. It's not my fault you couldn't destroy us, even with the help of two other nations." he pauses, then looks over at me, furious. He's about to scream more bullshit, but then he sees my face. He pauses, taken aback by my complete 180. Kurama is awake now, just as furious as I am. He can't tell, but he knows something is off. He's aware now that I'm infinitely more dangerous than I look. And I'd disguised it perfectly. Perks of being raised by a Russian drug and sex trafficking lord, I muse ruefully.

Yes, but at what cost?

Too much, Kurama. Too much.

"What the hell happened to you? No more carefree brat?" I narrow my eyes, my pupils returning to their natural slit shape. He shivers. I smile a cold smile. The same i used for Danzo. Tsunade tenses, eyes widening in alarm. Itachi and Konan lean forward, prepared to intervene if necessary.

"Anyone who knows me knows I'm an actor, before anything else. That's the difference between you and me. You learned to read people and act to get a heads-up when they're going to attack. I learned so I could survive." I lean back, studying his every move. He shivers, then realizes everyone who knows me is scared stiff, and terrified. I smirk. "And also, I'm Russian. Well, raised as a Russian anyway. Which reminds me; Tsunade, in order to form an alliance with Konoha, I need Danzo executed. I've uncovered files and receipts from when he sold me to the sex trafficking ring, on top of the information regarding Itachi's orders to exterminate the Uchiha clan and the information he gave to the three nations regarding Uzushio. Oh, and the information on the slow extermination of the Senju clan." she pauses, nodding slowly.

"I will need to see said documents-" i wordlessly unwrap my arms, ignoring the gasps and staring at the obviously self-inflicted scars on my forearms, unsealing three scrolls, each holding the documents. I set them on the table, handing her the ones regarding the gradual extermination of the Senju clan. She unrolls it, freezing the second she sees which specific Senju it is. Her younger brother, Nawaki. Her eyes widen as she reads, silent tears falling down her face. I watch her carefully, keeping my mask in place. The others stare in shock as she breaks down. She throws the table against the wall.

"THAT BASTARD! HE KILLED MY FUCKING BROTHER TOO!? HOW LONG DID YOU KNOW?! HOW- WHAT- WHY-" I place a hand on her arm, letting my chakra seep into her system. She calms down slowly, collapsing into me with heaving sobs. I hug her back, humming a Senju lullaby Kurama taught me. I look up at Ohnoki.

"You see what people like you cause? What people who cannot let go of what once was; cannot let go of war? Do we really need more of this senseless grief, senseless hatred, more death?" the old man pauses, slowly sitting back down, subdued. He shakes his head.

"I didn't think…" i sniff, annoyed. 

"I know you didn't. You’re a CisHet man. That's expected." he blinks confused.

"CisHet is basically your private parts match your gender and you're not gay." i look up at the girl with short black hair, nodding. She smiles, giving me a two-finger salute. I look back at Ohnoki. He's visibly angry.

"You're CisHet, and you're dating a-"

"No I'm not. And Itachi isn't either. He's very, very gay. I'm usually a guy, so it's not a problem." he stares, open-mouthed. Itachi looks at anything but the old man, finding his fingernails very interesting. 

"So Uzushio let a f-"

"Finish that sentence and it will be the last you speak." everyone freezes at the new voice. Obito. I start to jump away, but a hand catches my arm and yanks me against Obito. He jumps to the wall opposite Itachi, staying as far away as possible from the pissed Uchiha.

"Well, this is an interesting party. My name is Madara Uchiha-"

"No the FUCK it isn't Obito, and i thought you were less obsessed with me since i stabbed you." he laughs, tightening his grip on my arm.

"Oh no, it just confirmed my suspicions that you are perfection incarnate." i feel my skin crawl. I want to throw up just being near him. "But i'm here to talk about my plans. To put it simply, i want your tailed beasts. And if you don't hand them over, then there will be war." the other Kage just stare.

"Obito." everyone turns to Itachi, who is leaking KI. his Mangekyo Sharingan is spinning slowly. "I thought we established the fact that Ren is mine, cousin." his voice is chilling. I've never been more attracted to anyone in my life. Obito, stupidly, laughs.

"Hm, I don't believe I remember that cousin, but in past times, when two Uchiha were in love with the same person, they fought to the death. Care to try?" Itachi stares, cocking his head to the side. Obito wraps his arms around my waist, pinning my hands to my side, placing his head on my shoulder, in the crook of my neck. I clench my fists, furious. Itachi notices, a new wave of KI flowing through the room. Obito is so dead. 

"I can assure you, Obito, that regardless of the winner of that fight, Ren will not love you." Obito tightens his grip on me but doesn't give any other indications he's upset. He sighs, irritated.

"Regardless. I want the tailed beasts. If you refuse, then there will be war. I'm taking Ren regardless of your answers, by the way." I exhale, relaxing everything in my body. Then I teleport. 

I kick him in the back, sending him flying to the floor, then teleport back down, kicking him in the side, sending him flying through several walls, startling many unfortunate samurai. I teleport up to Itachi, clinging to him as if my life depends on it. Then it hits me.

My life could depend on Itachi. I look up at his face, his eyes still blood red, glaring at Obito. He pulls me into his side, activating his Susanoo. A red skeletal ribcage forms around us, fueling the comfort i already had by just being in his arms. I lean my head against his chest, watching Obito. His mask is cracked, showing his Sharingan. The same pattern as Kakashi's. I feel a rush of sympathy for the silver-haired jonin. Obito growls, the sound not made for a human. I feel my lips curl into a lazy smirk as I release my tails and ears. 

"I will never be yours, Obito. I will never love you. And if I did, Itachi would always have a piece of my heart." the older Uchiha stares for a moment before grunting.

"Then you have chosen war. I, Uchiha Madara, declare the start of the fourth shinobi war." Using Kamui to disappear. I sigh, tired. Itachi dismisses his Susanoo, pulling me into a hug, and tucking my head under his chin. I smile lazily, humming an old song that's name has been forgotten. I look at the other Kage. their expressions range from confused to shocked to scared. 

"So. that was unexpected. Now can we continue with the meeting?" the others look grim as they realize the situation. 

"It seems." we all look at Mei. "that we no longer have a choice. We must join forces or die." everyone nods slowly, agreeing. Mifune sighs.

"Then we must elect a leader for this alliance. I suggest the name Allied Shinobi Forces." we all nod, agreeing. Mifune continues. "I suggest lord Raikage." nobody objects, for obvious reasons. "And i think lady Uzukage-"

"Please, just call me Ren." the samurai pauses, smiling slightly, nodding his approval.

"I suggest Ren as second in command. It seems, that your ability to strategize and predict the movement of an enemy, or anyone, for that matter, is on par with the Nara clan." i snort.

"No. i'm just my father's daughter." A laughs, making me jump.

"You're spunky. I like it! I think you'd get along well with my younger brother, B. he's the-"

"Hachibi jinchuriki, i know. I don't need training for Kurama, but Naruto does. He's going to ask for pointers, ya know." a man with bull horns tattooed on one cheek and eight tattooed on the opposite shoulder throws aside the cloth, jumping down next to A.

"I'm killer b, rapping amazingly, holder of the hachibi, wheeeeee!" i raise an eyebrow but say nothing. His rapping is a trauma response. I have weirder ones, so i can't talk. I decide to play along, see what happens.

"I'm ren Uzumaki, ya see. Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi hunted relentlessly." B pauses then holds out his fist. Recognizing the gesture, I jump down and bump my fist to his. We're transported to my mindscape, a grove of forest, modeled after the first home of Kurama. Said fox is curled in a giant fox hole, made from the roots of a giant tree. He pokes his head out, laying it on the ground. B hesitates, unsure of how to react to the Kyuuubi. The Hachibi has made himself at home in the giant lake. The octopus looks down at me.

"You've trained this one well, Kurama."

"Tch. Nah, i just got tired of bringing her back from the brink of death over and over again. We saw each other almost every week." i laugh, waving aside his sarcasm.

"Ma, you love me anyways, Kura. you suck at pretending you don't." the fox growls, playfully flicking me with his tail. The fox turns to B.

"Now, you are interesting. Are you going to train the blonde brat or not?" B blinks, unused to someone being so direct. 

"He's Uzumaki, he'll pick up quickly. Depends on his personality." i yawn, suddenly tired. Kurama notices, concerned. I wave him away, not wanting another fussing session. 

"You baby me too much. Naruto has a good heart. He's just a little dense." B nods slowly, thinking.

"I've never had a trainee, ya see. But i want to help a fellow jinchuriki, so we'll see, weeeee!" I smile a little, then turn to the Hachibi. 

"Hachibi. Would you mind giving me your name?" the octopus pauses, surprised. He smiles.

"Gyuuki. And if' you're going to ask for a small amount of chakra to keep us in contact, I've already done that." I nod. 

"And i assume you've taken a small amount of mine and Kurama's so B can stay in contact with us?" he nods. I smile. "Well, then we don't need to be here anymore. The others are going to be worried." i break the connection, opening my eyes to see several worried faces. I smile grimly.

"Now. time for us to start planning a war."

 

Chapter 26

 

I groan, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my palms. People don't trust me, or the Akatsuki. It's infuriating. They're testing every decision I make. It's been decided that the Akatsuki members would be divided into the five divisions. The intelligence division has requested Itachi be assigned to them but I'm hesitant. While he is an incredible strategist, he's also an incredibly powerful shinobi with the mangekyo Sharingan. Sasuke awakened his when he and Itachi were sparring, then he tried to squeeze out more power. Orochimaru had been hiding in the curse mark, and he used the opportunity to attempt to take over Sasuke's body. Itachi killed him in response. I'd completed the eye transplant a few hours afterward. Their patterns are both beautiful. But Itachi's will always be better. 

Point is, their Susanoo's will be sorely needed, especially if it goes the way I think it will. I've already rejected getting placed there myself. I need to be there to fight.

to protect Sasuke

to protect Naruto

to protect Itachi

They want me to be part of the Sensory division, intelligence division, medical division, and stealth division. I've refused, opting to be part of Gaara's team. He'll need help earning the respect of the older shinobi. Konan and Deidara are also assigned to this division. I can come and go as I please, mostly because I do well with any division. Nagato has been assigned to the third division, and Kisame to the first. Jiraiya is also undecided. I join Gaara on the cliff, overlooking the army before us. The other commanders nod respectfully. I nod back, then turn to the shinobi below us. Several fights have already broken out between shinobi of rival nations. I sigh, irritated. 

"Shinobi of the allied forces! What is the reason for your quarreling?" they pause, looking up at me. 

"Those stone bastards killed my father-"

"And the bastards that are going to try to cast the infinite Tsukuyomi will kill the rest of your family. Get it together, or get your precious people killed." the crowd shifts uneasily, realizing the truth of my words. But they are still suspicious of one another. I sigh, irritated. I look over at Gaara. He laughs a little, then turns to the shinobi.

"In the name of gain and profit for one's nation and village, Shinobi have hated and hurt each other for many years, from the first to the third Great Ninja War and the conflicts in between. All of that hatred cried out for power... Thus I was born. In the past I was hatred and I was power and a Jinchuuriki. I hated this world and all its people and thought about destroying both. That's exactly what our enemy is trying to do now... But then! A single Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village STOPPED ME! He cried for me, I was his enemy yet still he cried for me and he called me his friend even though we had battled. He saved me, we were on different sides, but we were both Jinchuuriki. Between those who have experienced the same pain, there can be no hate! There are no enemies here now because each one of us bares the pain of having been hurt by the Akatsuki! The Sand... The Stone... The Leaf... The Mist... And the Cloud are no more. Now there is only Shinobi!! And if you're still unable to forgive the Sand, then you can come back and face me after this war is over! The friend I spoke of, the one who saved me, is the target of our enemy. If he falls into their hands our world's finished. I want to protect my friend and I want to protect this entire world. I am too young and inexperienced to do that, so I ask you, all of you...PLEASE lend me your strength for this fight!! All those who feel as I do follow me!!" the shinobi cheer, roaring in approval. I scoff, smiling. 

"You sure have a way with words, Gaara." he smiles at me. 

"You just have to know what they need to hear." I nod, looking down at them. I inhale deeply.

"Shinobi! I also feel the pain Gaara has described. Many of you know the name Uzumaki." a low murmur runs through the crowd. "My clan, my people, my FAMILY, was murdered by three of the villages before me!" the shinobi of said nations shift uneasily, my temper famous, even for an Uzumaki. "But I still stand before you, as a friend, and an ally. If you are unwilling to do the same, then you shouldn't be a shinobi. We do WHATEVER IT TAKES to complete a mission. And your mission now is to stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"HAI!" a collective salute ripples across the forces, the meaning of my first sentence finally reaching them. I smile slightly. I turn back to Gaara and the other commanders.

"I think it's time we head out." they nod. Kakashi gives me a proud smile. I look away, preparing for the carnage to come. 

We get to our positions without any trouble. 

Until the white Zetsu and reanimated shinobi appear. 

It's cruel. Brothers against brothers. Mothers against fathers. Teacher against student. But I can't focus on that. My current mission is the seven ninja swordsmen. Kisame has accompanied me, as has Suigetsu. The white-haired teen is fighting his brother. I slip by, placing seals on each of the swordsmen, but they're good. Kisame is fighting against his old master. He's trying to remain emotionless, but I can see it. He's sad and angry. I sigh, annoyed with the old man with a mallet. He's cackling about how he can break through any defense. Finally, I find a hole in his guard. I slip under his arm, placing a seal on his chest. He drops his weapon, franticly trying to get it off. It's too late. He disappears in a puff of dust. A man I recognize as Zabuza attacks me, but he's slow. He's built for muscle. I smile, slapping a seal on his arm. The brat that's prettier than I am attacks next, but I'm faster. A seal is placed on his forehead. They both burst into dust. Pretty quickly, they're all dust. I smile, satisfied. Then I frown. The summon I left with Darui is reaching out frantically. I turn to Kisame and Suigetsu. 

"I need to go help Darui's group. I'm going ahead." Kisame nods.

"Alright. Be careful, your husband will kill me if anything happens to you." I roll my eyes, smiling slightly at the joke. 

"Hai, hai. Suigetsu, go ahead and head back to Sasuke." he nods, activating the seal I gave him. I teleport to Darui, gasping at the sight of two men with Kyuubi chakra. I growl, pissed. They stole that. The two notice me, then smile.

"Aw, how cute. Little girl trying to be scary. I don't think that growl was very scary, do you, Kinkaku?" the one with gold hair shakes his head.

"No i don't, Ginkaku. Why don't you run along, little lady-"

"I can assure you, this is no 'little lady', and I have a bone to pick with you two. Though I think Ren will want to deal with this herself." the two freeze, not expecting Kurama to pop in. I grin foxily. They take me more seriously now.

"Good. now I have your attention. Kindly shut the fuck up, and don't speak again. Oh, and if you use Kyuubi chakra, both of us will be personally offended. If you can't fight on your own, you don't get to use stolen power." I activate sage mode, then connect with the Nidame's Raijin marks. Ginkaku gasps, not expecting me to appear behind him. Slapping a seal on his back, I turn to his brother. Kinkaku howls in rage, pissed. Kurama's chakra seeps out, and he grows six tails. I scoff, irritated. Reaching out my hand, I clench my fist. The Kyuubi chakra flows from his body and into my hand. He gasps, sinking to one knee, staring at me in horror. I smile, then pull out a sealing scroll, sealing him into it. Darui stares, as do his two companions. I blink, confused.

"What, it's not that big a deal, I just sealed him away.?" the blonde guy points at me, 

"That was so cool, it was hot!" I wrinkle my nose, annoyed.

"One. I'm seventeen. Two. I have a boyfriend. Three. You aren't cute." he visibly deflates while the pretty blonde woman laughs. I pause, an eerie chakra filling the air. My eyes widen, recognizing Obito's signature. I launch myself at the woman, clinging to her side, staring at the spot I know Obito will appear. The Uchiha steps out of his pocket dimension, sighing at the sight of me clinging to the woman. 

"Now, now. That's not how you treat your future husband, Ren." I hiss, hiding behind Samui. He sighs, shaking his head like he's dealing with a child. "You are going to come with me. Or the shinobi you're leading will pay the price." I pause, then shake my head again. She looks at me, surprised. Then the pieces click. She places a hand on my head, giving me a reassuring smile. She turns to Obito, glaring.

"She said no, asshole. No means no. period." he stares, then laughs.

"No wonder Itachi is so protective of you. The ones that are hardest to get are the ones you have the most fun with." I hiss, his behavior and words bringing back all the trauma Itachi and I had worked through. 

"No." he pauses, then tilts his head.

"No? What do you mean, 'no’? You don't get a choice."

"No! I'm not going to go with you! I love Itachi. Not you. And I never will." he stares, then laughs.

"You're going to be so much fun." I shrink back, trying to hold my ground mentally. I feel my lip quiver, but I don't cry. I hate him so much. I feel one of my niniken reaching out to me. I push it aside, forced to focus on the issue at hand. He sighs, then steps back into his pocket dimension. Suddenly there's a loud boom, and a large, humanoid statue is standing in the middle of the battlefield. The Gedo statue.

I stare in horror at the monster as it starts to move, fighting (and killing) the shinobi army. I start running, saving as many people as I can. Obito just watches. Still, even with my efforts, the ground is littered with corpses. I ignore the little twinge of guilt, focusing on the people that need me. After a few minutes, Obito dismisses the statue, then lunges at me. I panic, teleporting to the first person I can. Turns out it's Gaara, I realize while falling through the air. I see four people with Kage-level chakra turn to look at me. I twist in the air, summoning a giant crow. Taking the opportunity to scan the area, I realize that Gaara's force has been decimated. The third Raikage, the Third Kazekage, the second Mizukage, and Tsuchikage. I narrow my eyes. Everyone is staring at me.

"Well, that was impressive! That jutsu, it looked like-"

"Flying thunder god jutsu? Because it is. And my technique is better than the Nidame's, and my father's." the Kazekage pauses.

"Your father? Are you talking about Minato?" I nod. He stares for a second, surprised. "I was unaware Minato had a daughter." I scowl.

"My gender is about as solid as Gaara's sand. And he had twins. Gaara needs to grow a pair of balls and ask my brother out already though." Gaara stares at me, horrified, turning a shade of red that almost competes with my hair. His father stares, unsure how to respond. I smile.

"Anyways, Obito was being a creep, so I'm here. I'm not gonna step in unless your lives are in danger, though. Ja ne!" I shunshin to a nearby pillar, watching the fight. I watch the fight carefully, proud of Gaara for facing his inner demons in the form of his father. I watch with great disappointment as Ohnoki fails to realize he's sealed away a clone of the Tsuchikage. I shake my head, irritated. Another mess I have to clean up. I don't reveal myself when Naruto shows up and beats the Raikage and Mizukage. I frown as Muu climbs to the top of another pillar nearby and summons a coffin. 

I wonder, who could be next…? I watch with increasing interest as the former Tsuchikage bows. I inhale sharply as Madara Uchiha- the real Madara- steps out. I curse under my breath in Russian. I hate it here. I release my tails, trying to pick up their conversation with my enhanced hearing. It's too far away, though, and there are too many shinobi making too much noise. They watch the crowd carefully. Madara is annoyed with whoever is speaking through Muu's mouth. It's annoying, not knowing what they're saying. Suddenly the Uchiha looks up, almost seeing me. Then I realize he has the Rinnegan. 

KURAMA. MADARA.

I know, brat! Be prepared for the hardest fight of your life. 

Yeah yeah, fuzzball. 

"I know you're over there. Come out and you might have a less painful death." I shiver. His voice is deep and smooth, and very, very attractive. But it also promises pain.

Damn those blessed Uchiha genes. 

"NO." he pauses, confused.

“I can just come over there-"

"Do it, bitch!" Kurama dies from laughing. The look on Madara's face is priceless. He's not used to being talked back to. 

"I'll stick you in a permanent genjutsu-"

"Kinky!" he growls, letting his KI leak out, startling the army below. I smile. My plan is working. "Catch me if you can~" I hide my tails again and start teleporting at random, dodging his Jutsu with grace and elegance. I've been told I look like I'm dancing. I look back at Madara, smiling cheekily. He's surprised. By what specifically, I'm not sure. By my skills, my age, my appearance, my blatant disrespect, anything. We go back and forth, my dodging and him launching attacks, for hours. I'm not even a little tired, and neither is he. At about dusk, he stops his nearly constant assault. I pause as well. We're miles away from the army, and they have orders not to follow us. Madara studies me for a second. he scoffs, lowering his gunbai slightly.

"You're just a child!" I nod, running a hand through my slightly curly red hair. "An Uzumaki as well. Interesting." he pauses, something clicking. "You're the Kyuubi Jinchuriki." I curl my lips slightly.

"I hate that word. I'm no more or less human than you are. Being a living human sacrifice doesn't change anything. I still cry and bleed, the same as you." he stares at me like he's trying to solve a puzzle. "My boyfriend's genjutsu is stronger than yours." he blinks, surprised.

"Is he an Uchiha?" I nod.

"Current clan head, actually. Not much of a title, seeing as there are only three Uchiha left alive. You were right about the clan being isolated and ostracised, by the way. They got tired of it and almost started a coup. Unfortunately, Itachi chose the village." the words process, and he snorts.

"Of course I was. I know my clan better than anyone. Though your parents must be upset that you're dating someone who murdered their clan." I stiffen, pulling my mask over my face. 

"I'm an orphan. Never had any parents. I have Obito to thank for that. Also, what's the policy for when two Uchiha are obsessed with the same person? Because Obito keeps trying to kidnap me. And he's like thirty." Madara blinks.

"The desired person chooses, and the one not chosen is supposed to leave them alone." I sigh.

"Damn. looks like I'll have to kill him then. Oh well, Kakashi-ni will get over it."

"I am not so easily killed, Ren. you know that." I jump, snarling as his hand brushes my face.

"And you know how I feel about your hands in my face. Move it before I bite it off." Obito laughs loudly, ignoring my warning. Tired of his bullshit I make good on my threat. He's screaming in pain from the poison combined with the loss of his hand less than a minute later. I scoff, spitting blood in an attempt to get the taste out of my mouth. Madara watches, amused.

"In all fairness, Obito, she did warn you. Now leave her alone, she's chosen another. Get over it." he turns to me. "Impressive.” I almost let go of my tails I'm so surprised. 

Careful. This is how Obito was acting before he was completely obsessed with you. You don't need Madara obsessed with you.

Hai, hai. You know him better than I do. What should I do?

… I'm not sure. Probably tell him the truth about the infinite Tsukuyomi. Then we'll see.

Hai.

I study the older Uchiha. He studies me as well. It's refreshing to fight someone as skilled as I am. I pause, looking in the direction of a sudden surge of chakra. I frown. It's the same that came from Sasuke's curse mark. Orochimaru. How annoying. I hiss, thoroughly pissed.

"Fucking Sasuke." I inhale deeply, trying to find the scent. I'm too far away. I turn to Madara. "Sorry, but it looks like I have to go clean up my brother's mess. Have fun dealing with the pile of shit called Obito," he grunts, nodding.

"Understandable. Though technically I should kill you." I snort.

"Like you could. I'm as strong as you, if not stronger." he laughs, sending shivers up my spine. He's attractive. He reminds me of Itachi if he'd gone down the dark path. I shake my head, sighing. "See you on the battlefield." 

"Likewise. I'd like to see how well you dance." I connect to the stream of flying Raijin marks, stopping outside the Uchiha Nakano shrine.

 I frown, annoyed. There's Orochimaru, Sasuke, Jugo, and Suigetsu down in the secret room, Itachi showed me. But there are four I don't recognize. I slide the tile silently, creeping down the stairs, listening to the conversation. 

"What going on here?"

"I suspect what's going on is he undid the reaper death seal. The very same thing that sealed us away, then performed the reanimation jutsu."

"How, mister Orochimaru?” I feel my eyes widen. I recognize my father's voice from Kurama's memories.

"You underestimate me, Minato. It's originally a sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki clan. From what I understand, your daughter is quite good at using the seals of her clan. In fact, she's become Uzukage and revived the village."

"Well Lord first, it appears we've been recalled to the land of the living."

"Who the hell are you?" I almost laugh. My father turns around, showing his cloak. 

"The fourth Hokage, sir."

"Fourth Hokage, huh? Nice! What was this daughter Orochimaru speaking of?"

"Well, I'm not sure, to be honest. I died sealing away the Kyuubi the same day they were born." Sasuke shudders.

"Be glad you don't. She's terrifying. And probably marrying my brother." 

"Itachi? He's still alive?" 

"Yes, Sandaime. No thanks to you, though. Ren studied under Tsunade, and apparently the Kyuubi. Though she gets pissed when we don't use his name."

"The Kyuubi has a name?"

"It's Kurama." 

"So who's the fifth, then?"

"Your granddaughter. Princess Tsunade." I can feel his mood drop.

"Tsuna, huh? Is… the village alright?"

"Is there a reason to worry?" I'm shaking with laughter. The whole interaction is priceless.

"She was my first grandchild so I spoiled her rotten. She picked up on my gambling habit, I'm afraid." he laughs, the sound warm and infectious. I can see why he was Hokage. 

"This is ridiculous. The Jutsu I devised used so casually."

"You shouldn't have created it, lord second. Many of the policies you created and jutsus you developed caused problems down the line."

"For sure it can't be called a great jutsu. Tobirama, that's why I told you that time to-"

"Be quiet, elder brother. I'm trying to speak to the stripling."

"Yes, but i-"

"Shut up!" the Shodaime gasps and flops over. It would be cute if he wasn't a grown-ass man.

"Certain circumstances are in play here. This time, I am merely creating a stage of discourse, per his design." 

"I am Sasuke Uchiha. And I want to ask you kage a few questions."

"You belong to the Uchiha, do you? Of course, you'd stick with the scoundrel."

"Tobirama, I thought I told you to stop saying things like that!"

"You're too soft elder brother!"

"It doesn't matter. Itachi almost died. And Yondaime's younger child is permanently traumatized. But I learned the truth from Ren and was then confirmed by Danzo. Tsunade had him publicly executed and had little resistance from the others because of the amount of evidence Ren was able to collect. I owe him my life, and the least I can do is find this information. Because we have the same questions." silence falls over the small room.

"So it's come to that, has it?" there are a few moments of silence. “I not only had him kill his brethren and bear the fallout but keep tabs on the Akatsuki. He was a sensitive child, even at seven, who understood our village's past and shinobi. Perhaps due to that, the trappings of a clan never bound Itachi. Even at the age of seven, Itachi thought quite like a Hokage. We left everything to Itachi, in his hands alone. He even infiltrated the Akatsuki as a spy to protect the village. All on the condition that I protect you, Sasuke." Sasuke inhales sharply, attempting to mask his emotions.

"They even plotted a coup de tat, did they?"

"But you're the one who drove them to it, lord second. It could be said that the seeds were first sown with the Uchiha police force you created."

"What's that?!"

"By building the police station next to the prison with the pretext of monitoring criminals. You conspicuously shoved the Uchiha to the edge of the village."

"Tobirama! Didn't I tell you many times not to slight the Uchiha?!"

"I gave them a post they were very qualified for, and if another Madara emerged, I thought it could be dealt with right away."

"What is it about the Uchiha clan, what do you know?" I decide to cut in soon. After Tobirama finishes with this question.

"The Senju and Uchiha clans have a long history, that is a long history of battling with each other. The Uchiha clan's strength is said to be in their Jutsu and the Senju in their love. However, that is not the case. No clan feels greater love than the Uchiha. And that's why they suppressed and sealed it away. Once a member of the Uchiha comes to know love, it's as if all their previously checked emotions are released. Strong love and power exceeding the Senju are awakened. When an Uchiha has known love, then loses that deep love, it is replaced by even stronger hate, which changes them. When an Uchiha writhes in agony from the loss of great love or disappointment in themselves, a unique chakra is released in their brain and reacts with the optic nerves, and the appearance changes in their eyes. This phenomenon is called the Sharingan. The deeper the darkness gets, the greater the visual prowess till that person can't be stopped. Just like Madara." fucking finally.

"Madara cared intensely for his younger brother. When Tobirama killed him, it slowly drove him insane. The same would happen to Tachi if anything happened to you or me, Suke. Guess we can't die." everyone jumps as I appear behind Sasuke, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He jumps slightly, then wraps an arm around my waist, pressing a brotherly kiss on my cheek. I smile brightly.

"Yo! Name's ren. I'm the person Sasuke was talking about earlier. And yes, I've been here for the entire conversation. Watch yourself, Senju, or you might find yourself short a pair of testicles." the men flinch, except my father. I eye him up and down.

"Damn, I knew I looked more like you than mom but this is ridiculous." he laughs a little, running a hand through his hair. The same way I do. I frown. "Don't do that. It's weird." Sasuke sighs.

"Ren- you do the same thing…" I glare.

"That’s why I don't want him to do it. Because it's fucking creepy how similar we are. Why are so slow?" he gapes at me.

"Why are you so short?" I slap him without looking, irritated. 

"I'm telling." Sasuke flinches and pales.

"Don't." I cross my arms, ignoring him. "Ren. please. I'll buy ramen for a week." I stick my nose in the air, dramatically crossing my arms and legs. "Ren. REN? Please? Don't tell Aniki. A month of ramen!" I sniff, giving him the side eye. He's begging, literally. I pretend to think.

"No." he pales, then passes out. I blink, nudging him with my toe. "Damn. oh well, bye-bye Rocko. So anyways, um-" I turn back to the kages. "Alrighty then. He's a pansy, don't worry about it. Let's continue this conversation on how much the Uchiha suck when one, I'm not basically married to one. And two, there isn't a FUCKING WAR GOING ON." they flinch, then look at each other. I smile, glaring at Orochimaru. My father hesitantly steps forward. 

Seeing the movement out of the corner of my eye, I flinch badly, raising my arms over my head. He freezes, shocked. I slowly lower my arms, my face a mask of neutrality. I shove my hands in my pockets, trying to calm myself down. My father looks guilty and shocked. 

"it's not you. This war is… bad for my mental stability. It reminds me of… before. " he nods once, glaring at Hiruzen. Smiling slightly, I lean into his side, giving him a side hug. He freezes, placing an arm around my shoulders. I would laugh if it wasn't so fucking depressing that I wasn't hugging my dad for the first time at almost seventeen. I pull away after a minute. "Alright, let's go. Orochimaru, you have a plan I assume?" he nods, so I turn back to the others. "Then let's go. Us Kage are going to the battlefield. And wake Sasuke up, will you, Orochimaru?" the snake sannin nods, so I teleport us all to the battlefield.