"I will never belong, never. And that's why I'll be the one to destroy this illusion I live in."
Adopted by the Uchiha Clan and named by the Leaf Village and with no memory of her prior life, 6 years old Umi starts her life as a shinobi of Konoha. W...
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!" I screamed and struggled a little, surprised and (somehow) happy.
"You're awake." Itachi said and looked down at me.
"What... I... ahhh..." I half muttered half shouted as I struggled down to the ground. We were in my room. I edged around Itachi-kun and looked outside, down the several rooms. Sasuke was no longer outside.
"You and Sasuke were sleeping there so I was carrying you inside," Itachi-kun explained.
"Sorry, Itachi-kun... I was just surprised." I said and looked down, trying to hide my blushing face.
"No... It's fine." Itachi said and I felt his walk past beside me without another word.
"Ano... Itachi-kun!" I said and whirled around, looking at his back.
"Do you want to walk around the village for a while. With me... Now... I know its late but..." I said but was interrupted by Itachi with a simple "sure".
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*Time Skip*
I looked at Itachi-kun's silhouette as he walked through the dark ally, towards the trees. It ended up with Itachi leading me around again. I thought, disappointed at myself. We were at the edge of the village, beside the forest, and is making our way to the forest by the side of Konoha.
"Itachi-kun... where are we going?" I asked and hurried to keep up as he sped up, going up a slight slope.
"I have a place to show you." He answered simply and I shut my mouth. Why is Itachi-kun like this recently...? He has been so... silent... I thought as we walked through the dark forest.
Neither of us talked on our way up and I suppose I didn't know what to talk about anyways. I just traced Itachi-kun's back with my eyes and thought about the days before he started getting busier in Anbu work. The days where he would bring Sasuke and me out to train...
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I widened my eyes at the sudden ending of oak trees into a bamboo forest and felt the wind blowing into my face. I stood still at the very edge of the two trees and closed my eyes. The breeze felt cool and pure light of the moon shone through the bamboo leaves.
When I opened my eyes again, Itachi-kun was out of sight. I scolded myself for my foolishness of not following him properly and ran through the bamboos, trying to go in a straight line to where Itachi-kun would have gone to.
I burst out of the bamboos trees and found myself on a cliff, Itachi-kun was kneeling at the edge of the cliff looking down.
"Itachi-kun!" I called and hurried to his side. However, before I could reach him, he held out a hand, motioning for me to stop.
"The moon will be full tomorrow." He said, his voice calm and unwavering as usual.
"It's really pretty..." I whispered and looked up at the sky.
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"Umi." Itachi suddenly said, breaking the silence and I looked at him questioningly.
"Did you see anyone suspicious in front of the house today?" I tilted my head in confusion and shook my head. I was pretty sure it had been a peaceful day.
"I see." He said and we elapsed into silence again. I looked back at the bamboo forest and saw several smooth round rocks. I hopped to them and chose two flatter and smoother ones. I slid out the small knife I usually keep in the fold of my sleeve and carved the word "海"(kanji for Umi) onto it. I walked back towards Itachi, who was gazing emptily at the sky and patted him on the shoulder. He turned around and looked at me.
"Itachi-kun, can you promise not to do anything stupid..." I said, now clenching the stone tightly in my hands.
"Why would I?" He asked and looked into my eyes. I lowered my head and held out the stone with the kunai.
"Can you carve your name onto the stone? It's like a promise. And a memory. So if one day..." I said but Itachi took the stone and the kunai before I could finish my sentence.
"イタチ"
Itachi-kun handed the stone back to me and I smiled as I felt the marks with the tip of my thumb. I placed the two rocks on a patch of grass close to the edge of the cliff and felt the warmth creeping up my heart. This is our special night. Itachi-kun and I.
"It's about time for us to leave. It's very late already." Itachi-kun said, breaking my thoughts, and I nodded. I turned around and headed back into the bamboo forest. I heard Itachi-kun's footsteps behind me and smiled again.
"Next year I'll make you come here with me again! Then I'll get even stronger and I can force you to come the next year, and the next, and the next! And that's a promise!" I shouted at the dark forest and heard Itachi-kun's footsteps halt behind me. I looked down and ran at top speed down the hill, through the forest, and back towards Konoha.
I wiped away the tears which came swarming out of my eyes uncontrollably and smiled again. Everything will be normal after all... Nothing will change.
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