“Go on Ichiru,” it’s time for bed,” Taryn kissed her son on his forehead. “I’ll be right there.”
Ichiru looked at her sleepily. “Can uncle Kakashi tug me in?”
“If he wants to,” Taryn said surprised. She looked at Kakashi who nodded confused. “Down the hall on the left,” Taryn pointed across the living room.
Ichiru grinned and took Kakashi’s hand. “Come on. “
Kakashi let the boy drag him through the house and watched him get ready for bed. He looked at the shirt that hug over the back of a chair. It was the embroided symbol that caught his eye and he picked it up to get a better look.
On the back of the white shirt was the logo of the Uchiha clan, but someone had sewn a black bird over it, in flight, shedding a few feathers.
‘Itachi’s crows,’ Kakashi thought. It was cleverly done and he wondered who had come up with it.
“Uncle Kakashi?” came Ichiru’s sleepy voice.
He looked up at the boy. Ichiru was looking at him drowsily, his head on the pillow.
“Yes?” he asked the boy.
“Will you come visit again?”
“Would you like that?” Kakashi asked.
“Uh-huh,” Ichiru muttered, “I think my mom likes you. You like my mom too, right? Uncle Kakashi?”
Kakashi sighed. “You should probably go to sleep now,” he said, avoiding the question.
“Hmmm okay,” came the soft reply.
Kakashi patted the boy’s hair and silently left the room, closing the door behind him.
“Is he asleep?” Taryn asked when Kakashi returned to the living room.
Kakashi smiled and nodded. “He is a good kid.”
“Yeah,” Taryn smiled. She took a deep breath. “Are you staying for a drink?”
He eyed her carefully. “Do you want me to?”
“Of course,” Taryn said softly.
“Then I’ll stay,” Kakashi said and he sat down on the couch.
Taryn poured the both of them a glass of wine.
“Neji said to ask when you’ll come visit. There’s quite a few people in Konoha that miss you.”
"It would be nice to see them again,” Taryn said softly, “but I’m not sure about going to Konoha.”
“You’d hardly recognize it,” Kakashi told her.
“Maybe some day,” Taryn said apologetic.
Kakashi nodded in understanding. “I won’t pressure you. I know it’s hard for you to be there, after everything that’s happened.”
“It’s not your fault,” Taryn answered, “there’s just so much going on and I have Ichiru to think about now.”
Kakashi looked at her hesitantly. “Does he know? About Itachi…”
Taryn sighed and studied her hands. “He knows his father died before he was born and that Sasuke was Itachi’s brother.” She ran a hand through her hair. “It won’t be long before he starts asking questions.”
“What will you tell him?”
“I don’t know,” Taryn admitted, “I don’t want to lie to him, but he is still so young.“
Kakashi gave her a sad smile. It wouldn’t be an easy decision. And many people would judge the boy for being Itachi’s offspring. “I saw your students yesterday,” Kakashi said, “they’ve really grown."
Taryn nodded. “Yes, they have. Daro is about to be assigned his first students.”
“He’ll do a great job. He’s very responsible. And he’s had a good role model.”
“I don’t know about that last part,” Taryn said, “but I know he’s ready.”
Kakashi nodded and put his glass down. “I should go,” he said, “the Finals start tomorrow and I need to be there.“
Taryn nodded. “Yes. Of course. It will be a long day. You need your sleep.“ She stood up to walk Kakashi to the door.
“It was good to see you,” Kakashi said while he stepped onto the porch, “Thank you for dinner.“
“You’re welcome.“
Kakashi sighed. “Will you come see me before we depart?”
Taryn nodded. “Yes, I will.”
Kakashi lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. “Promise?”
“I promise,” Taryn whispered and placed her hand over his.
He took a step closer and hesitated for a moment before leaning in. Softly he pressed his lips against hers. “Good night.”
“Good night,” Taryn muttered as he walked away. She sighed and walked back inside to clean up.
After placing everything on the counter, she sighed and went to check on Ichiru.
The boy was fast asleep.
Taryn smiled and planted a kiss in his hair. Silently she returned to the living room
She froze when she noticed Sasuke in the kitchen. His back was towards her and he was doing the dishes.
Taryn blinked confused and walked up to him. “You don’t have to do that. “
Sasuke didn’t look up, but continued his work. “I don’t mind,” he said stiffly.
Taryn eyed him for a moment and nodded. “Have you eaten? “she asked, “I saved you some.“
Sasuke gave a curt nod. He kept his eyes on the dirty plates. “I fixed your fan,” he said.
Taryn’s eyes went wide and she moved over to the door to inspect her treasured possession.
Not only had he repaired the tear, but he had also polished the weapon.
She let out a sigh. It looked as good as new. She bit her lip. “The Chuunin Finals are tomorrow,” she said, “are you going to watch?“
“Why would I do that?“ Sasuke asked emotionless.
Taryn sighed. “Gaara asked me to take up guard duty. I thought you could take Ichiru. He’s been wanting to watch the matches.”
“I’m not going,” Sasuke said firmly.
Taryn nodded. She hadn’t really expected him to. She placed her fan against the wall and walked across the room towards her bedroom. “I’ll ask Kuro to take him then,” she said, “turn off the lights when you’re finished, oaky?” She turned away from him and closed the door.
***
“There’s your girlfriend,” Naruto smirked. He pointed at the sensei of the Mist team that was making her way through the crowd. He slapped Sai’s shoulder enthusiastically.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Sai said, “I don’t have a girlfriend.“
Naruto sighed. “Stop being so boring, Sai. How are you ever going to find a girl that will like you?”
“You did,” Sai commented, “how hard could it be?”
Naruto’s smirk fell. “Hey!” he protested.
Sai chuckled.
But Naruto wasn’t one to hold grudges and before long he was grinning again. “Maybe we should go over and say hi again, you know, wish her student luck with his match.”
“Yes, because that worked so well last time,” Sai muttered.
Naruto crossed his arms. “At least I got her to talk to you.” He glanced at Sai. “You just need a little push.” A devious smile appeared on his face.
“Look, there’s Taryn-sama,” Sai mentioned before Naruto could come up with another one of his embarrassing plans.
“Hn? Taryn? Where?” Naruto leaned over the railing and spotted the girl in one of the sections of the audience. She wore formal attire, so she was probably on duty. “You think Sasuke is here too?” Naruto asked and searched the crowd.
“I doubt it, “ Sai answered, “he wouldn’t want to draw attention.“
“Momma!” Ichiru let go of Kuro’s hand and ran up to Taryn.
Taryn smiled and swept him up in her arms. “Hey sweetheart. Did you find a seat yet? The matches will start soon.”
“Hiro said he’d save us seats,” Kuro sais as soon as he reached Taryn.
“Thank you for watching him today,” Taryn told her former student.
“I don’t mind,” Kuro smiled.
“Why didn’t uncle Sasuke want to come, momma? “Ichiru asked.
Taryn cast her son a sad smile. ”He doesn’t like people that much, honey. Isn’t it nice of Kuro to take you?”
Ichiru looked at the black haired shinobi with a guilty expression. “I like you too uncle Kuro.”
“I know,” Kuro smiled and he ruffled Ichiru’s hair. “Come,” he said, “we should let your mother do her job and find Hiro.”
Ichiru nodded and Taryn let him down. “I’ll see you tonight,” she told the two.
She watched them vanish into the crowd and focused her attention on the participants. She wasn’t expecting any trouble, but still kept an eye on the contestants to make sure it stayed that way.
She glanced at the stands where Gaara was taking his seat. The fist match was about to begin.
***
Taryn hoisted the basket with laundry on her hip. She pushed the hair out of her eyes and bumped the front door.
On the porch she came face to face with a familiar presence.
“Naruto,” she breathed surprised.
Naruto gave her a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. “Heh heh. Hi.”
Taryn smiled warmly. “It’s good to see you.” She gave him a one armed hug. And kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk yesterday.”
“That’s fine,” Naruto smiled back, “the Chuunin exams kept everyone really busy.”
Taryn nodded. “Yes, that’s true.“ She caught him stealing glances at the hose and smiled sadly. “He’s in the backyard,” she said and handed him the laundry basket. She motioned towards the back of the house.
Naruto looked at her hesitantly. “You think he’ll talk to me?“
“I don’t know,” she confessed. She smiled encouraging. “Good luck.”
Naruto took a deep breath and headed in the direction Taryn had pointed.
Taryn sighed and walked back into the house. The Chuunin exams were officially over. Before long, everyone would head for their own village again. It would ease her mind. With so many strangers in Suna, she would always wonder if another assassin was hiding in the crowd.
There hadn’t been another assault since the one where Sasuke found out he could still use his chakra, and she had full confidence in her comrades to keep Ichiru safe, but she would still feel better to have things back to normal.
Sasuke had his back towards him when he turned the corner.
Naruto stood still for a moment to watch his former comrade.
Sasuke was vividly spinning around wet laundry before flinging it on a line.
A chuckle escaped Naruto’s mouth and Sasuke whipped around. When his eyes landed on Naruto he froze. His fists curled at his sides. He glared at Naruto. “What are you doing here?” he growled.
Naruto blinked. For a moment he was taken aback. He hadn’t expected a warm welcome, but he hadn’t expected hostility either. Did Sasuke still hate him?
Sheepishly he lifted the basket. “Laundry,” he said hesitantly.
“Heh,” Sasuke scoffed and continued his chore, “did she put you up to this?"
Naruto sighed and watched Sasuke’s aggressive assault on the laundry. “Does Taryn know you’re murdering her clothes?”
“What do you want, Naruto?”
Naruto put down the basket he was holding and started copying Sasuke’s actions. “I want nothing,” he said, “I’m just helping with the laundry.” He threw a towel on the line, but it got tangled and fell to the ground. Naruto stared at it confused.
Sasuke snorted. “You’re still hopeless.” He took a shirt and threw it on the line. It stayed on perfectly straight. He picked up the next item.
Naruto crossed his arms. “Show off,” he muttered.
“Idiot,“ Sasuke scoffed. He wasn’t sure how to act in front of Naruto. He had tried to kill him. There was still a lot of anger in him. It wasn’t directed at Naruto, but it was still making him uncomfortable around the Uzumaki boy. Naruto always managed to see the positive side of things.
He wished he had that ability.
Naruto tried not to be affected by the cold shoulder he received from Sasuke. There was probably a lot that he wanted to forget. And it had been four years since they’d last seen each other. That meeting hadn’t exactly been a good one.
He shook out a pair of socks and hung them out to dry. When he picked up the net object, he let out a scream.
“What?!” Sasuke yelled in shock, “you almost gave me a heart attack!”
Naruto held up the item. It was a pair of panties. “G-girl’s underwear,” Naruto shivered. He glanced at Sasuke. “Yours?”
“Of course not!” Sasuke growled while snatching it away from Naruto. “It’s Taryn’s.”
Naruto crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. “Geez, no need to get so worked up.”
Sasuke sighed and shook his head. “You’re such an idiot.” But he felt better now.
A smile tugged at Taryn’s lips as she watched the two boys through the window.
After an awkward start, it seemed they were at least speaking to each other now. She hadn’t been sure it was a good idea to let Naruto and Sasuke talk, but Sasuke couldn’t hide from his past forever. He would have to confront he Uzumaki at some point. Why not here, where she could at least keep an eye on things and stop any possible fight.
It seemed she had worried over nothing.
With a relieved sigh, she retreated and went to clean up the living room.
Naruto sauntered across the garden, leaving Sasuke to hang out the last bit of laundry.
He stopped at Itachi’s grave and let a sad sight escape his lips. The story still seemed unreal to him, even if he knew it was the truth.
The Konoha hitai-ate still dangled against the wall behind the grave. Was Taryn still angry too?
He hadn’t really known Itachi, but after finding out why he had really killed his entire clan, he had started to respect him. And he pitied him. To have to make such a horrible choice and sacrifice at such a young age must have torn him apart. To voluntarily live out his days branded a traitor and a murderer only to protect what you believed in, must be an incredible burden.
And even now, few people knew the truth.
He hunched down in front of the grave and placed a hand against the stone.
A shadow fell over him and Naruto looked up.
When he recognized Sasuke, he hurried to his feet and looked at him uncertain.
There was a shadow in Sasuke’s eyes and he didn’t look at Naruto. His eyes were focused on his brother’s gravestone.
Naruto swallowed, hesitant to say something, but Sasuke had already turned away and made for the house.
“You coming or what?” he said emotionless.
Naruto sighed and glanced at the grave one more time before going after Sasuke.
They found Taryn balancing on her tiptoes in a chair, trying to dust off the top shelf of a bookcase.
Sasuke let out a sigh and made his way over to Taryn. “Get down from there before you break something.”
“I’m fine,” Taryn objected, “I’m almost done.”
“Just let me do that.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and effortlessly lifted her off the chair and to the ground, taking her place.
“Stop treating me like I’m still pregnant,” Taryn growled undignified.
“Shut up! I’m just taller than you that’s all!”
“You’re not dong it right!”
“I know how to clean!”
Naruto eyed them a bit confused. A faint smile tugged at his lips. ‘You were wrong, Ninetails. Itachi doesn’t stand between them. He is what binds them together.’
Taryn turned around and huffed. “Did you at least hang out the laundry?”
“Better than you did last time.”
“Tch,” Taryn said and looked at Naruto. “You say something.“
“Don’t drag him into this,” Sasuke said while stepping down from the chair.
Naruto crossed his arms. “You know this argument you two are having is completely pointless, right?“
“We’re not arguing,” Taryn said innocently.
“Right,“ Naruto said. But he was glad. Sasuke seemed at ease her. At least at ease enough to let his wall down around Taryn. Though it had probably a lot to do with Ichiru. Kakashi had said the boy adored his uncle.
He just hoped it would stay that way.