Chapter Twenty-Seven: Reunion

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"Naru."

Naru stood up, head tilting slightly to the side and smile never leaving her face. "I should've known you were an Uchiha, Weasel-nii."

"How'd you figure it out now?" The former ANBU came to a stop in front of her and ruffled her hair, giving the faintest chuckle when she swatted at his hand.

"It wasn't hard," Naru said. "I met your brother. Sasuke is like a more brooding version of you, complete with the sound effects."

"How is he?" Itachi asked, sounding sort of nervous.

Naru laughed a little. "Not too bad... for an Uchiha."

"Hey, now, you're supposed to be my little sister. Doesn't that make you an Uchiha too?" Itachi teased the young blonde, trying his best not to show how much he had missed the Village, how much he had missed her and Sasuke.

"Only sort of," Naru snorted. "I'm a Senshi now though. Anyway, since you aren't an ANBU anymore, what should I call you?"

"ITACHI!"

"Guess that answers that," Naru said to herself, turning to her left some. "Hey, teme."

"Time to go," Itachi said. "I'm still not welcome here." He picked Naru up, her bag hanging from her shoulder, and she felt him shifting in preparation to shunshin. "Next time, little brother."

Then they were gone, leaving the Village Hidden in the Leaves behind.

~*~

"So you're still a missing nin then?" Naru asked once Itachi finally came to a stop and let her down. She wasn't particularly concerned; they were headed towards Suna, and Itachi had always helped her in the past. "How'd that even happen?"

"Deep cover mission," Itachi gave a short reply with as little information as possible.

Naru sighed but accepted that that was all she would get. "Is it over now?"

"Yes. The situation was handled."

"Can you go back?" When Itachi didn't reply, Naru knew that he couldn't. Too many people would be upset by his return. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "It's ok, Itachi-nii. You can stay with me. Mom and Dad won't mind... probably."

Itachi let out a small breath. "Maybe, Naru."

She smiled. That was as close to a confirmation as he would give for now, but she wasn't about to give up. Naru released Itachi's hand and untied the Suna hitai-ate from around her neck. She reached up, feeling the fabric of Itachi's sleeve, and tied the hitai-ate around it. "Definitely. You're my big brother; it's only fair that you stay with the rest of my family."

"Alright," Itachi said, giving in surprisingly easily. He wanted some semblance of a normal life, and Kami knew he wasn't going to get that in Konoha. Just like the girl beside him, he would be hated there. Unlike her, he deserved their hate. He just hoped to one day earn their forgiveness, Sasuke's forgiveness.

Naru's smile widened into a broad grin. "Yay! C'mon, c'mon! Now I really can't wait to get back to Suna!" She started walking, practically bouncing, ahead of Itachi before stopping and turning back towards him. "Does the Hokage know you were coming to get me?"

"Maybe?"

"Itachi-nii, did you essentially kidnap me from Konoha?"

"Possibly." Itachi was sure Naru was giving him a disapproving look. Although the top half of her face was covered, her mouth was down turned, and her hands were settled on her hips. He held his hands up, even though Naru couldn't see it. "I left a note in his office."

"With all the paperwork?" Naru didn't seem impressed.

Itachi sighed. Reprimanded by a thirteen-year-old. "Yes."

"I'm sure he'll find it eventually," Naru said with a shrug. "Now, let's get moving!"

~*~

Naru walked next to Itachi as they neared Suna's gates. After years of seeing her run around with the Kazekage's kids and several retired nin, all the gatekeepers were familiar with her.

"Hey, Naru, glad to see you back!" the current chunin on duty, Aoi Nomura, called.

Naru waved, grinning. "Hi, Aoi-san! This is my big brother! He's gonna stay with me."

Aoi laughed. "Does Kazekage-sama know that?"

"Not yet," Naru said. "We're headed there now." She and Itachi had stopped at the gate to talk, and now they started walking again. "Bye, Aoi-san!"

"Bye, Naru," Aoi replied.

They'd barely made it into the Village when Naru was ambushed by a certain set of Sand Siblings. "Naru, you're here!"

"No," Naru said sarcastically, "I'm in Iwagakure. Of course I'm here!"

"Be nice, Naru," Itachi reprimanded, and she felt the siblings' focus shift to him.

"Fiiiine," Naru grumbled. "But only 'cause you asked so nicely, Itachi-nii."

"Is that Kohaku-san's old hitai-ate?" Temari asked at the same time Kankuro said, "Itachi-nii?!"

"I think you might need to back up a bit and explain, Naru," Gaara said.

She just nodded. "Let's go talk to the Kazekage. I'll fill you guys in then. Oh, but we should stop and get my mom and dad first. I want to ask them if Itachi-nii can stay with us."

"You say that," Itachi said, "but I feel like there won't be much asking."

"You know me so well."

"You haven't changed at all in seven years. Besides, you're my little sister. Of course I know you." Itachi flicked her in the forehead lightly, despite her protests. If only it were so easy. Seven years, and Sasuke was a complete stranger to him. It was Itachi's own fault, though. Maybe, someday, they could change that. "Now, let's go get all this sorted out."

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