"Homecoming unites the past and the present."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What the hell is that?" Ryuu asked, eyeing my iPod with an eyebrow raised.
"This wonderful invention," I began, gesturing to my iPod, "is called an iPod. I can listen to music on it. I got it from the place Mom sent me to live for a good portion of my life. My three friends and I are the only people in the entire ninja world who have one."
He sighed, shaking his head. "I've really got to stop asking questions," He muttered.
"Aw! Look who's learning how I work," I said, patting his head. He glared at me, patting my hands away and fixing his hair.
"Don't act like you have someone to look good for," I said flatly, scowling at him.
"Who says I don't?" He asked, a smirk easing its way onto his lips. "Why? Jealous?"
"Not even close," I said, rolling my eyes, "Besides, the only reason you're attractive in any way is because you're related to me." I smirked at him.
He rolled his eyes that time. "I'm older, you know. So, the correct phrase is you're only pretty because you're related to me," He said.
"You think you're so gorgeous? Fine. When you get mauled by fan girls in Konoha, I'm going to laugh and leave you to drown in their pinkness and girlishness," I said, flipping my hair over my shoulder and turning back to my bag. Both of us were packing for our journey back to Konoha, and all I needed were a few more things before I'd be ready.
"You love me too much to do something like that, Minxie," He said, smirking and handing me a box with my weapons in it.
I snatched it from him, sticking my tongue out at him. "I wouldn't be too sure about that..." I muttered, placing the box into my bag. When I heard no witty comeback, I raised an eyebrow and turned around, wondering if he had gotten hurt or something, because why else would he not sass me back?
When I saw him flipping through my drawings, I sighed. "Of course, Ryuu. You can look at my drawings," I said sarcastically, and he smirked.
"Somehow, I knew you'd say that," He said, turning back to my sketch pad. He flipped through a few more, and began walking over to me.
"Hm... These actually aren't that terrible," He noted, handing me my sketch pad back.
"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically, smiling mockingly at him as I took my sketch pad from him.
"Have you shown anyone these?" He asked.
"Besides my three friends and Itachi-sensei... No one," I answered, putting my sketch pad away.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Because, dear Ryuu, some people might find it a tad odd if I randomly shove my sketch pad into their faces," I answered smartly, smiling at him.
"Do you ever not have an answer?" He inquired.
"Me not having an answer is like the sun not rising. It's just not possible," I said, smirking at him. I zipped up my bag, sliding it onto my pack and smoothing my hair down.
There was a knock on the door, and Ryuu and I turned around to see Itachi standing in the doorway, his Sharingan blazing red as always.
"Are you both ready?" Itachi asked in his cool voice.
"Yep," I said, smiling, "All done."
"Then we better get going now. We've got a lot to do," He said, and with that, he left. I sighed, knowing exactly what he meant. See, our plan was to head out on a 'mission,' like we always do. But, somewhere in the midst of all that... Ryuu and I separate from Itachi, and we head the only place we know next: Konoha.
"Looks like this is my last day wearing this thing," Ryuu said, gesturing to his cloak.
"Thank God. That cloak was getting on my nerves," I said, shaking my head.
"It really bothered you that much?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not really. It's just... The person you are when you wear that cloak. The emotionless one, I mean. I don't like him," I said flatly. His expression darkened, and I pushed his shoulder playfully.
"But don't worry about it! That all changes today. The cloak doesn't make you who you are, Ryuu," I said, smiling at him. I headed to the door, pausing in the doorway and looking back at him.
"Oh... And, face it... Clouds aren't really your thing," I said, grinning at him. He shook his head, smirking, and I smiled, walking out of the door.
Looks like this day would be good after all.
~*~
"... And then he spent the rest of the night running from me, trying to escape his birthday punches!" I finished brightly, smiling at Itachi. He had asked me to tell him the story of Sasuke's birthday again, and since he and I wouldn't see each other for a while, I couldn't resist.
Ryuu had gone to scout the following forest area, so it was just Itachi and I, which I was thankful for. Telling my twin brother that Sasuke had licked frosting off the corner of my mouth would be extremely awkward... Besides, Ryuu already wanted to kill Sasuke for hurting me, which was very terrible, since he actually could kill Sasuke.
"Thank you, Minxie," Itachi said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "I know telling me that story was hard on you."
I forced a smile. "Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do, after all you've done for me," I said sincerely.
"That's not what I was thanking you for, though," He said.
I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I'm thanking you... For being there for my brother. For making his birthday special... When I wasn't around to do it," He said, smiling at me.
"Yeah, well... Your brother was worth it," I said sadly. Notice the 'was' part. Tch, after telling me all that, Uchiha can go crawl into a hole and die for all I care. I hope squirrels eat him and throw nuts at him. And that ducks kick his butt for stealing their bottoms and using them as a hairdo.
"That's an... interesting form of punishment," Itachi said, a smirk on his face.
Oh, crap. Why do I have such a big mouth?
"You wouldn't be Minxie without it," He said.
"Ah! Quit doing that, you ninja form of Edward Cullen!" I exclaimed, rubbing my temples.
"You've been saying everything you've been thinking out loud for the past two minutes," He said.
"Well... Cover your ears, then!" I said, pointing at him.
He chuckled, shaking his head. Suddenly, he grew serious. "You know, this will be our last time seeing each other for a while... I can't exactly visit you once you're in Konoha," He said.
"I know... Man... Your life is going to be soooo boring once I'm gone..." I muttered, sighing sadly.
He rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. "I'd object, but that is true. However, if it's not too much... I do have one... Request, you could say, for you."
"You know I'll say yes even if I don't want to do it, 'cause I just love you that much," I grinned.
That brought a full smile onto his face. "Minxie, I know I'm asking a lot here, but... Please, don't give up on Sasuke."
Instantly, my expression darkened. I stopped walking, sighing. Silently, I began walking again, my eyes never leaving the ground. "Why shouldn't I? He left me, Itachi," I said flatly.
"He was confused, Minxie," he said quickly, "Defeating me has become his obsession. He's lost in the darkness, Minxie, but you can change that. I know you can. Even if you have to beat him senseless to do it, I won't care. But you need to help him. You can do it."
I sighed deeply. "Itachi, I really want to say yes, but-"
"Don't answer me yet. This isn't our last meeting; I promise you that. Just tell me some other time. All I want you to do know is think about it, okay?" He asked.
I looked up, noticing just how pleading his gaze was. He really cared for Sasuke, even though all Sasuke's done is hate him.
God, Sasuke... You really don't deserve an angel like Itachi as a brother.
Unable to resist his eyes, I nodded. "Okay, Itachi. I... I'll think about it," I said, half-smiling.
"Thank you," He said sincerely, smiling back.
"Eh, like I said before, it's the least I can do," I said.
"In reality, it's me who should be thanking you," He said quietly.
I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Do you remember the first night you spent with us? After I had tested you?" He asked.
"You mean when we spoke about what keeps us human?" I said.
"Yes," he nodded. "I've found what keeps me human."
My eyes went wide. Really? I'd been waiting for him to answer this question FOREVER! "What keeps you human?" I asked, barely able to contain my excitement.
"What keeps me human... Is-"
"Itachi-sensei," Someone called, and my eye twitched. I turned to Ryuu, the person who had interrupted THE moment I had been waiting two and a half years for. "We're here. Konoha's a mile from here."
"GODDAMNIT, RYUU!" I shouted, throwing my hands up into the air. "DO YOU HATE ME THAT MUCH!? I know I'm sarcastic and mean, sometimes... BUT WHY!? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"He was just about to tell me- OH, FORGET IT!" I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest as my eyebrow quirked in aggravation.
"Um... Okay, then," He said, brushing it off. He turned back to Itachi-sensei, who was standing there in his all too familiar Uchiha coolness.
"Well, then... That's it. This is as far as I'll go," Itachi said, his arms hidden in his Akatsuki cloak's sleeves. "Remember all I taught you, and take care of each other. Be good; I don't want to have to bail either of you out of trouble. Especially you, Minxie."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" I exclaimed.
"You heard him, hot-head," Ryuu said, smirking at me.
I glared at him. "That's it!" I shouted, lunging for him. Instantly, Itachi was holding me by the waist, which I found pointless. Ryuu would've just dodged, like the rat bastard he is.
Yes, I just mentally thought the term 'rat bastard.' Don't judge me.
"And Ryuu," Itachi said, finally releasing me, "Don't patronize her. She might just try and rip your head off."
"Yeah, Ryuu," I said, smirking. My brother rolled his eyes, looking off to the side. It was then that I noticed his Akatsuki cloak was off. He looked like a normal ninja.
"Most importantly," Itachi said, ignoring the glaring contest Ryuu and I were undergoing, "Be careful. Remember to stick with each other, no matter what. And don't ever, for once second, think you can do everything alone. Being headstrong is good, yes, but it's also a great risk. It's a quality you both have, a quality that'll end you both if you aren't careful."
Okay... So maybe he did have a point. I was always headstrong and confident. Ryuu was the same, although he was more cool with it. I was just plain awesome.
"But, other than that... Know that I'm very proud of the two of you, and how far you've come. I couldn't have asked for better students," He said, smiling at us.
Ryuu and I smiled at that. Well, I smiled. Ryuu just smirked. Smiling is like having the cooties to him.
"Now... Go and get 'em," Itachi said. He ruffled both of our heads, messing up our hair. With one final smile, he disappeared.
"Aw, shucks," I groaned, putting my hair back into place, "He left before I could throw my shoe at him."
"Shoes were made for feet, Minxie," He said, smirking mockingly at me as he fixed his own hair. "Now, let's go. With all you've told me about Konoha, I want to see if it's as amazing as you say."
"It is!" I sang, adjusting my bag on my back. "Especially the people!"
"If you're friends are anything like you, I'm running as far away from them as possible," He stated flatly.
"But you looooooove me!" I trilled, poking his nose.
He rolled his eyes, patting my hands away. "Whatever... Now, let's go."
"Right," I said, and together, we took off into the forest, ready to once again see Konoha.
Third Person's POV
Izumo and Kotetsu sat side by side in their little stand, right by the gates of Konoha. They both leaned on their desks lazily, wanting more than anything for their shifts to be over. Running the gates wasn't a particularly interesting task. Especially when almost no one entered the gates of Konoha anymore. At least, no one new and exotic entered.
The two men sighed boredly, imagining how wonderful life would be if they could stay at home sleeping rather than running the village's gates. But they couldn't object. Not when they had a Hokage who scared them senseless, with a hot temper.
Kotetsu was well on his way into falling asleep, that is, until Izumo spotted two new characters entering the village gates. One was a boy, the other a girl, both about the age of 16. They both had chocolate brown hair, although the girl's was much longer, pale, cream-colored skin, and striking, vibrant emerald green eyes.
Something about the girl was extremely familiar, but the gate guard just couldn't figure it out. The boy, however, was a mystery. But if he was so foreign... Why did he look so much like the girl next to him?
When the girl flipped her hair over her shoulder, Izumo knew instantly who she was. He'd been told of her arrival a few days ago, and had been hoping to see her. He expected her to have grown over the years, yes, but not this drastically. She seemed so different from before.
But why was she here, now? What had she done in the past two and a half years? Where had she been? And, most importantly... Who was the boy next to her, and why did he look so much like her?
Izumo roughly nudged Kotetsu, almost pushing his friend off the desk.
"What!?" Kotetsu said, glaring at his partner.
"Look! She's back!" Izumo said, gesturing to the girl who was walking past their station.
"No way..." Kotetsu muttered. "Is that...?"
"Yep," Izumo grinned, "Time's made her grown up, but there's no mistaking it. It's Minxie."
::Meanwhile::
"Just a little more to the right!" Kylie chimed, cupping her hands around her voice so it would travel farther. Not like she needed to, though. The girl had gifted lungs. She was almost as loud as Naruto.
Mitchell sighed, hating his life more and more as the second went by. All they had to do was put up a sign for the Konoha Festival. A simple mission, right? Not even close. Kylie, being the perfectionist she was, wanted everything to be... Well, perfect. And to Mitchell, it was highly annoying.
Still, the violet-eyed boy complied, moving the sign to the right.
"Your other right, idiot," Kylie said flatly, facepalming.
"This is my right!" He objected.
"Who said we were using your right!? I'm talking about my right!" She exclaimed.
If he wasn't on a ladder, Mitchell would've anime fallen. "WHEN did you say that!?"
"Well, I'm the one LOOKING at this! Of course it's my right! Duh!" She retorted, still managing to sound cheerful. "Now hurry up and fix the god damn sign!"
"WELL, THEN! You're so pushy!" He said, grumbling to himself as he tried to fix the sign.
"I AM NOT!" She objected, and began bickering with him once more.
Josh sighed, shaking his head at his arguing girlfriend and best friend. Two and a half years later, and still, they couldn't stop fighting. Still, as he watched them bicker, he couldn't help but notice how much they had changed. Sure, they were always bickering, but their appearances had changed by a lot.
Kylie, for one, had gotten prettier with age. Her once-long blue hair was shorter now, up to her shoulders. Two long strands of it remained in the front. A crown piece was around her forehead, a gem stone in the middle of it. She wore golden armlets on each of her arms, and a gray top that exposed her stomach. Her shorts were gray, surrounded by a red belt that formed an 'x' on her hips. Her ninja headband was around her thigh, parallel to her kunai pouch. Blue ninja shoes were on her feet, red buckles strapped around her bandage-covered ankles. She'd even gotten taller, although she was still shorter than Josh and Mitchell.
Mitchell had grown considerably as well, although his overall appearance was still the same. He was very tall, almost Kakashi's height. His violet eyes were bright and completely gorgeous as always, and his brown hair was styled messily on his head. He had black goggles perched on his hair, a gray shirt, black pants, and red jacket with black designs on it. His ninja headband was wrapped around his right upper arm, and a sword was strapped securely to his back. He, unlike Kylie, wore black ninja shoes.
Josh's brown hair was on his head, going out in different directions straightly and neatly and falling into his calm gray eyes. He had grown as well, standing a few centimeters shorter than Mitchell. He wore a black shirt, leaving his traditional Chunin jacket unzipped. He had on black pants and black ninja shoes, leg warmers wrapped around his lower legs where the pants ended.
It was when he heard Mitchell shout, "If you know so much about placement... WHY DON'T YOU DO IT!?" that he tuned back into the argument.
"Because! It's not MY job!" Kylie rebuttled, putting her hands on her hips.
"Then what IS your job!?" He shouted.
"Supervising! Now just place the sign on the goddamn building!" She exclaimed.
His eye twitched. "Okay, that's it. LISTEN, YOU SMURF-"
"GUYSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Someone screeched, interrupting Mitchell and Kylie's argument and making the violet-eyed boy almost fall off of the ladder.
"Oh, God," Mitchell groaned, once he saw who it was.
"Mitchell!" Kylie scolded, scowling at him. "What's up, Ino?" Now, we all know that Kylie can't stand. But, she was a Chunin now, and she had to act like it. Besides, what was the point of starting an argument? Ino was probably just over-excited about something again.
"HE'S SOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!" Ino exclaimed, squealing.
"Err... Who?" Kylie inquired, her eye twitching.
"THE NEW GUY! OHMIGOD! HE'S GORGEOUS! YOU HAVE TO SEE HIM!" Ino gushed loudly, grabbing the blue-haired girl by the arm and yanking her along.
"Woah, woah. We have a new guy? Huh?" Kylie asked, digging her heels into the ground so the blonde couldn't pull her anywhere else.
"YEAH! I JUST SAW HIM! OHMIGOD! Kimi, I am not lying to you! He's the most gorgeous guy since Sasuke! You NEED to see him!" Ino answered, pulling on the blue-haired girl's arm. The blonde looked up, finally noticing Mitchell's prescence. "Oh! Hayato! Um... He's not that hot... I mean, you're cute, too! But he's just... EEP!"
Mitchell facepalmed from atop the ladder. He looked up at the sky. "Why? Just... Just why?" He asked, shaking his head up at the blue sky.
"Okaaaaaay... So there's a new and apparently hot guy... Did you catch his name?" Kylie asked, ignoring Mitchell, like she usually did.
"I have no idea... But he's too gorgeous for me to care! Oh my gosh, he's freakin' perfect! And his eyes... OH MY GOD, HIS EYES! They're so green! Like an emerald gem, or a forest! EEK! You've GOTTA see him! But there was some girl with him... Oh, jeez, I hope she's not his girlfriend! Even though I didn't see her face, I hate her! You know, if she's his girlfriend... Damn brunettes... It's like Minxie all over again!" Ino complained, talking a mile a minute.
The last few parts caught Kylie's attention. "Wait... What color hair did the girl have? Did you see her face?"
"Her hair was brown, and it was impossibly long. Like, really, it almost touched the floor! And it was in these chocolate brown ringlets... I didn't see her face, though. But I'm not sure if I know her or not," Ino answered, flipping her hair behind her. "But still! She's not important! THE GUY IS! Come on! You NEED to see him!"
This time, when Ino pulled her arm, Kylie let herself be dragged away. Something about what Ino said stood out to her. Brown hair and emerald green eyes? It was all too familiar. Ino was convinced Kylie came along because she wanted to see this supposedly 'hot' guy, but the blue-haired girl could care less. The girl, however, she wanted to see.
"Hey! Where're you going!? We still need to put up the sign!" Mitchell objected, shooting his blue-haired friend a glare.
"UGH!" Kylie exclaimed exasperatedly. She pulled herself out of Ino's grasp and went back to the spot where Mitchell and Josh were. She took out two shuriken, aiming directly at the sign. In seconds, she hit her target dead-on, and the sign was perched in perfect place between the two buildings.
"There. It wasn't rocket science, ya' know?" She said, smirking at the eye-twitching Mitchell.
"You mean... I COULD'VE JUST DONE THAT!?" He shouted.
"Pretty much," She sang, smiling. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to find out who these mystery people are."
And with that, she left the two boys and followed after Ino.
~*~
"So where is this guy?" Kylie asked boredly, scanning the area.
"He was walking through the village gates when I saw him! He shouldn't be too far... Oh! There! He's right there!" Ino said, squealing as she pointed him out.
Kylie's jaw instantly dropped, but it wasn't because of the boy Ino had pointed out. Yes, the guy was extremely hot. Messy brown hair, emerald green eyes, a nice build, and a completely hot, flawless, pale face... The guy was just gorgeous, but that's not what Kylie was looking at. She was more interested in the girl next to him.
The girl, too, had chocolate brown hair, although hers almost touched the floor. But that's not what Kylie cared about. She gasped when she saw the girl's vibrant emerald green eyes, pale, creamy skin, and small facial features. When Kylie saw the golden leopard amulet hung around the girl's next, she instantly knew who it was.
But then she saw something else, something much more fast-moving with an all too familiar loud voice.
Before thinking, she shouted, "OH MY FUDGE MONKEYS! MINXIE! LOOK OUT!"
But it was too late, for the orange blob had already collided with Kylie's brown-haired friend.
::A few minutes earlier::
"NARUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sakura Haruno shouted, an anime vein bulging in her forehead as she violently shook her fist in the air.
"IT WASN'T ME, SAKURA, I SWEAR!" Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed, desperately trying to escape his pink-haired teammate's wrath.
"YES, IT WAS YOU, YOU IDIOT! FIRST, YOU STEAL KAKASHI-SENSEI'S BOOKS, THEN YOU MESS WITH THE HOKAGE'S PAPERS, AND NOW, YOU START NEW PERVY JUTSUS AGAIN!? YOU'RE JUST ON A ROLL THIS WEEK, AREN'T YOU!?" the pinkette hollered, coursing after the blonde.
"Okay, the first two were me... BUT THE LAST WASN'T! HAVE YOU MET PERVY SAGE!? I BET IT WAS HIM!" Naruto objected boldly, dodging her fist. Being punched by Sakura was impossible. She could, literally, break you into pieces. And, frankly, Naruto did NOT want that.
"LIAR! NOW, GET BACK HERE SO I CAN PUMMEL YOU!" She shouted viciously, and once again, the blonde had to zip around skillfully so he wouldn't be knocked out.
"NEVERRRRRRR!" He trilled, running even faster as he bounded forward. What the blonde didn't realize, however, was that there was someone already at the end of his pathway. And that someone was a beautiful brunette with emerald eyes.
Naruto looked behind him, unable to hide his grin at how angry Sakura looked. Suddenly, the pinkette's eyes widened, and she stopped yelling profanities at him.
Instead, she was yelling, "Naruto! Be careful! Look!"
"HA! Like you'll fool me with that- AAAHHH!" the blonde shouted, colliding with the girl who had been too preoccupied talking to her brother to notice him.
He and the brunette smacked against each other, and, as expected, they began rolling on the floor. What made matters worse was that there was a hill not too far from them, and, sadly, they did fall down it. Well, they rolled...
When the world finally stopped spinning, and his body was still once again, Naruto opened his eyes. He was leaning on top of something warm, and his eyes widened when he noticed that the thing he was laying on was a person. Chocolate brown bangs fell into her face, and her cream-colored skin was glowing with health.
And, suddenly, the entire world stopped, and Naruto was looking into the most beautiful, breath-taking emerald green eyes he had ever seen.
~*~*~*
WOOT! And that's the third chapter! I know, it's a little late... SCHOOL JUST SUCKS Dx But I got it out, anyway!
Thanks for everything! I'll be updating as soon as I can :D Till then, goodbye, my wonderful, completely amazing readers!
-smilescutie3311