Team 7 (Naruto Fanfiction) Volume 1

Itachi and Izumi

The room sat silent as the wind whispered outside the window. Itachi lay still in bed, hearing the calm breathing of his wife beside him. It felt like a dream, just feeling the tiny thumps in her heartbeat. But the horrid memory of that night continues to haunt him, and it was not like he would easily forget it.

Years ago...

Closing the door behind him, the sight of his mother and father, lying on the ground covered in their blood. Knowing that his own hands did this sent chills to his spine. Walking the streets where unconscious bodies lay, Itachi trembled as he was on his way to leave the village until a voice stopped him.

"I-Itachi-kun! ITACHI!" yelled the familiar voice of Izumi, his girlfriend. With bewildered eyes, Itachi could already imagine what he was to do to her. "Itachi."

"Izumi. You have to get out of here. Now."

"Itachi, no. Please."

"Izumi. I'm sorry, but you have to leave."

"Itachi, let me go with you!"

"Izumi, you-"

"I forgive you, Itachi. Let me-"

Her voice was suddenly cut off when chains surrounded her, Obito's silhouette inching closer towards her.

"OBITO!" Itachi's eyes grew cold at the Akatsuki member, demanding he let her go.

"Itachi, are you even thinking about this?"

"She's coming with us. Let her go, or would you like me to pull that Rinnegan off of you." Sensing his anger, Obito knew better than to keep on threatening Itachi Uchiha. The girl sat on the ground between the two as Itachi spoke.

"Izumi. Let's go," his gaze at her. Getting up, the three-headed on to their journey.

It was almost midnight, and the trio decided to take a break as Obito left to gather firewood.

"Izumi," Itachi mouthed, his eyes turning to her while she brushed her hair with her hand.

"What's wrong?"

"Izumi... I'm sorry."

Looking at him, there was good reason that he was sorry. He was her boyfriend, and he... killed her family, her clan. Everything was lost. But why did she still love him? After all that?

"You can slap me if you want. I deserve it," Itachi told her, his head hung low.

"I forgive you. Do I have to tell it twice?"

"Why?"

"Itachi... of course, you hurt me. You killed my family..." There was a pause in between her sentences, as her eyes watered. "Do you remember when you first asked me to go out with you?" Nodding, Itachi's eyes were pinned on the ground. "We promised we would love each other... unconditionally. So no matter how you hurt me, I will love you. Unconditionally."

It would have been fine if Izumi screamed curses at him, and yet he couldn't help but feel like a fool, taking her and her love for granted. Leaning on his shoulder, a tear slid down Izumi's cheek, her eyes exhausted after such a night. The darkness blanketed over them, and Itachi felt his tears overflowing. For once, there was someone who believed he was a good person. Someone will love him. Unconditionally.

Presently...

Flipping the pages of what seemed like endless documents, Naruto sat silently in the comfort of his office. Then startled by the movement of the door, Kakashi, his teacher back in the day, stepped in with Sai, the Abu chief.

"Naruto." The deep voice of his teacher greeted him.

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei. What brings you, and Sai," Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he paused in the middle of his sentence, "here?"

"There's been a case of a rogue ninja roaming Konoha currently," explained Sai.

"And there's a good chance that this ninja is from the legendary 'Kumogakure'-"

"The Hidden Cloud Village? How are you so sure?"

"Some witnesses are seeing the ninja use lightning style and fire style in a complex manner, and his jutsus aren't from here," Kakashi voiced.

"Hmm, I'll send someone to check it out."

"Naruto, I think it'll be better if you let the Anbu fix this," Sai proposed.

"No, it's alright. I have the perfect team for you." Sighing, Kakashi gave Sai a nod, signing for him it was time to go. The chief closed the door behind him while Kakashi turned his eyes to Naruto.

"You do realize sending children out this easily against some rogue ninja isn't the wisest idea?"

"No, these aren't kids. They're future shinobi's, Sensei. They aren't as easy to play with."

"They're genin, Naruto. This is dangerous, not knowing where this new ninja came from.

"Sensei, you have to believe me. This team showed the most progress ever since training had started last month."

"How can you trust children to drive away some Jounin from Kumogakure, using lightning and fire style against his enemies?"

"Who else is going to believe in these children, Sensei? Don't worry, I'll be there with them. Sasuke is their teacher, and Sakura-chan will be with us. We got this."

"Naruto..." his hand holding the door-knob, he chuckled, "You're as reckless as you were back then." The door fell shut. Naruto, his eyes distant and all, still wondered if he said it right. However, he wasn't wrong at all.

Seeing the progress of the three, there was no doubt about it. Hatsuki mastered lightning style in a snap of a finger. Itsuha had increased prowess in fire and wind style. Sengen had undoubtedly progressed in using his earth style in ways both Naruto and Sasuke never thought were possible. Together, the three as a team proved unprovoked against most of the missions Naruto had recently given to them.

But now, this was a real mission. This ninja was not ordinary; clearly, we'd need more than just knowledge written on paper. Yet, he knew. They know what they're doing. He could still vividly remember their first day in the Academy.

Sengen, the arrogant, overconfident kid who couldn't even go halfway down the slide because he thought he'd get caught in a genjutsu. Itsuha, the rude girl who was clever only at tricking Anko-san and she sat at the back of the classroom. Hatsuki was quiet, he sat in the third row from the front. He would only show his true self in front of Sengen and Itsuha. They were inseparable. If I could, I would tell him about his parents. But not now.