Crossroads (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Miles Between

It wasn't often that I left the Uchiha compound for anything more than the play dates between Sasuke and Naruto. The public playgrounds were familiar enough to be a second home, but as for the rest of the village? It may as well be entirely foreign. However, Ayame extended another one of her annual invitations for a free full course meal at Ichiraku Ramen. I loved to visit the small business so beloved among its patrons, their tastes of ramen unmatched anywhere else. Mother would usually make sure we took the more uncommon route to avoid the main market street, the one through the shinobi apartments and dorms. The neighborhood was quiet, mostly kept undisturbed and empty. Shinobi were like moles; most only appeared where they were interested and then hid away from everything else.

The first time I noticed the separation between the shinobi and civilians, I was intrigued enough to ask Mother about it. "The general civilian population only come into contact with Genin and Chuunin for D-rank and C-rank missions. They don't grow up with shinobi nor are they familiar enough to be able to live near them. Shinobi go through experiences that leave them prone to natural killer instincts. A certain action through something as minuscule as body language and certain words can be triggers to them. Of course, a lot of shinobi are capable of controlling themselves, but it also causes the shinobi anxiety. Keeping distance protects both sides." She answered.

[But what about situations like me and Itachi? We're family, but he's a shinobi and I'm a civilian.] I didn't need to explain how we still sleep together and how I never put any mind to what I say or do around him.

"It's not a law for civilians and shinobi to keep distance from each other. It's recommended for those who have no reason to be near them. Itachi is your brother and he's more than disciplined enough to control himself. Even I'm unsure if I ever do anything that upsets him. And, given by how much he loves you, there's most likely nothing that would stop him from spending time with you." Mother reached out her hand to caress the top of my head fondly when she said that.

I felt warm despite the arguments I was ready to make. Itachi would rather spend time training than spend time with me. I had no way of knowing if Itachi was officially Anbu after he'd first told me he was scouted, but the way his work and mission frequency increased I was confident that he was. When he was home, he'd give most attention to Sasuke's demands to train, then he'd spend the precious few hours before bed to train. I would watch him like some gargoyle since my way of communication was too distracting. He never said so, but I was loathe to take up his free time when he so obviously preferred to train. Even if I did end up asking for his attention like Sasuke had no qualms of doing, I was sure he'd give it to me but then make it up by going to bed later.

Train, train, train, train. It never ends. Even if he didn't opt to it, father would assess his progress every now and then by taking him away for hours to heaven-knows-where. By the time they'd return, Itachi would be so unnaturally exhausted that I left him to rest. He didn't love me any less and he trained to protect his family, but I could feel the miles between us growing ever so steadily. I was afraid that he would go so far to where I could no longer see him.

Most days our home was rather quiet. Father and Itachi were more absent and Mother was busy to upkeep the clans interpersonal relationships. When she did interact with me, it was to make sure my reading and writing were up to par. With Sasuke, she would ask him how he was doing with his tutoring. And Sasuke, he was my baby brother, but I knew he was infinitely closer to Itachi. I wasn't jealous or upset, just... I was disappointed in myself for not being someone who he could rely on more.

Sasuke skipped down the stairs to where Mother and I were waiting for him in the living room. He was a bit out of breath in his rush to get ready for Ichiraku Ramen, always so excited for the chance to spend the day with Naruto who - at this point - was an obligatory presence to invite for this trip. The blond boy never failed to delight any of them. I held out my hand to Sasuke as I always did when we went somewhere together. "I'm not a kid anymore," he mumbled but took my offer nonetheless. Physical contact never failed to make me happy. All the wayward insecurities left me in those short moments: the cuddles, the shared covers, the holding hands and hugs.