Authors note at the bottom addressing recent questions and concerns expressed in reviews
Disclaimer- Anything you recognize, I do not own
Everything was going to change. They were leaving. They were going to a different world, one outside their own, where nothing knew of them and they knew of no-one. Their gilded cage, they were leaving-
"AH-CHOO" Yori sighed. She was standing before the gates of Konoha with Naruto and Sasuke, they were all packed up and ready to go right on time. They were- unsurprisingly- waiting on their late sensei. She was simply trying to have a moment, trying to take in the beautiful wet morning air of Fire country, trying to appreciate the sunrise as it rose gracefully in the quiet over the eastern gates of their beautiful hom-
"AHHH-CHOOOO" Naruto was just as excited as she was for this trip she had no doubt, but the waking up early seemed to get to him. She had kept him up the night before making sure he actually packed his bag properly, ensuring that he didn't forget anything and followed the standard ninja stipulations- also only a few personal effects like emergency cup ramen, the little junkie. She didn't think it helped that his excitement kept him up, causing him to have even less sleep- so when she woke him up bright and early for breakfast, showers, and a timely departure, he was beat.
As such he was rubbing his eyes nonstop, yawning and sneezing. It was endearing, but Yori thought she was the only one to think so. Impossibly enough, Sasuke looked even more disgusted with the sunny blond than usual. She didn't think anything could beat the priceless look on the Uchiha's face when he had received a facefull of mud on their first d-rank though. A fond memory she would hold close to her heart forever, she started keeping a camera on her after that, in case something so wonderful ever happened again. The Uchiha's facial expressions were things she paid attention to.
There would forever be a soft spot in her heart for Tora 'the cat from Hell' because of that unfeasible feat. Yori sighed and gave Naruto a pat on the head before taking off her pack and sitting down propped against the wall. Having taken Naruto's pack from him as well she set it next to hers. Folding her legs she pulled Naruto down beside her and practically forced his head into her lap- almost instantaneously he was asleep with her running her fingers through his hair. She had found long ago when they were still more newly acquainted that Naruto had wanted to try sleeping with his head on someone's lap; he had seen it before and had been saddened by the fact that he had nobody- it had been a terrible reminder of his loneliness.
So, when she had noticed him watching enviously one evening, she had pulled him into her lap pillow without a second thought. She had blushed, not used to physical contact same as Naruto but it had been soothing for the both of them, the trust and comfort in action causing it to become a regular occurrence.
She continued to pet Naruto as he breathed and snuffled softly. She looked over and caught Sasuke watching with an constipated expression on his face. When he noticed her looking at him he 'hrumphed', crossed his arms and turned away, dropping his pack to his feet and standing slouched against the wall a cold distance away from Naruto and her. If she didn't know better she would say he had looked at them kind of like Naruto had looked at other people doing the lap pillow- before her, of course. She would offer but something was holding her back- the fact that she knew he would say no and that she was- for all her efforts- still afraid of letting others close. Naruto was her only.
And so they stayed like that, as the sun rose fully over the horizon and the birds chirped their morning song into silence. Not a word passed between them, and despite the slightly charged moment where their eyes had met over Naruto's sleeping form in the beginning, the silence was… soothing. Just being in the others' presence was becoming fast familiar and maybe even comforting- and she would be the second after Naruto to say that she had had her doubts that she would feel that way about the abrasive Uchiha.
Basking, Yori enjoyed the silence and savored finally being able to fully take in the beauty of Kono-
"Yo!" Yori sighed, looking at the lovely powder blue sky above her she noted that there were no clouds, really couldn't get much more clear than that. Looking over reluctantly, she saw their lazy Sensei slouching in front of where the three of them had gathered. He was holding up a droopy hand in greeting. Why did he have to have such a laissez faire' attitude? He was a part of the problem not the solution.
No! Yori thought to herself, mentally smacking herself, and physically giving her head a little shake, Nobody is perfect and he is still young, we all have our faults and although he could do better, he could also do worse. You can only do your best and hope that he will do the same in return- for now.
"How nice to see all of my lovely students this morning, are we ready to go? I see that our Client has only just arrived himself. You see funny coincidence I ran into him while I was escorting this old lady to her home, she had broken her back…" Yori blocked him out after that, as in school she would listen just as soon as things became relevant again. She spared a glance to their 'Client' and was just as skeeved as the first time she saw him. She could smell the alcohol and unwashed flesh from yards away. In fire country it does one good to shower regularly.
Seeing as there was no threat and undoubtedly they would need to set off soon, Yori turned her focus down to the precious package in her lap. She was still running her hand absently through his hair, feeling the thick locks against her calloused fingers. She was a bit shocked and her heart jumped when she looked down to see clear and focused blue eyes looking up at her. Her hand stopped and she smiled down at him, and said
"Good morning, time to get up." She almost couldn't help the movements her hand started making again in his hair, really it felt lovely against her skin. She felt herself becoming nervous actually, the longer Naruto remained still and breathing, focused, looking up at her. She felt some blood rush up to her cheeks- why was he looking at her so hard, was there something on her face? She couldn't think of a reason seeing as they see each other every day, and had for the past eight, almost nine years now.
She would almost think he was still sleeping if it weren't for his eyes. The windows into his soul were wide open and broadcasting. Funnily enough her face was getting hotter the longer they looked at each other and she couldn't understand why. They were so close to one another all the time, she didn't understand why she was feeling embarrassed to have him looking at her. She looked away first, glancing down at something else, not his eyes, but it was as though they had burned a hole into her and she could still feel them searing into her face, heating it up even more. Because she had looked away first, she couldn't see the confused satisfaction that flashed in cobalt eyes.
"Ah-hem." Their teacher cleared his throat loudly, and she looked up to see him looking at her and Naruto. She could just tell that under the mask he was raising his eyebrows at them. For a man covering over half his face, he sure gave sassy facial expressions. Feeling unreasonably flustered she jumped up and heard Naruto give an 'oomph' as he was deposited headfirst into the dirt. She lifted her bag and Naruto's, handing his to him as he stood up behind her, stretching and yawning.
"Nice of you to join us Sensei, Tazuna-san. She gave little bows. Shall we be off then?" She turned on her heel, heading to the checkout station manned by chuunin. Docking her exit and efficiently signing off on her mission, goal, and estimated time of re-arrival, as every ninja had to do when leaving the village she made her way out.
She didn't even notice the dark ebony eyes following her every move. She set off with a spring in her step- the earlier confrontation fading to the back of her mind to re-examine later. Glancing over at Naruto, she saw him at the station, ready to blow- at something Sasuke had said no doubt. Yes, all was well in her world, there was nothing to be worried about.
'Oh but there is,' her thoughts turned dark. If her dreams of another life- another lifetime- were true, then this C-rank would be much more than it appeared. She took in her team as a whole, watching them interact with one another. It was far from perfect, but she could see the beginnings of something great. Just as she thought that however, Naruto lunged at Sasuke, screaming at the top of his lungs a very familiar insult- Sasuke was no better, preparing himself for battle and moving to meet Naruto in the middle. Unfortunately for the both of them, Kakashi was wanting to move forward, having finally finished his own paperwork at the station. As he went by, he didn't even acknowledge the boys, simply putting one hand on each of their heads pushing one to the left and one to the right of him and leaving them sprawling back in opposite directions. All the while he was talking goodnaturedly with the flabbergasted bridge-builder.
Naruto and Sasuke were up in a flash, but the fight was forgotten as they both turned their ire toward their ridiculous sensei. Seeing as they couldn't actually get him back they crossed their arms and pouted as they moved forward toward where she herself was standing. She couldn't keep all her amusement inside however, and a slight giggle escaped- earning her a nasty glare from the sulking- 'Uchiha's don't pout'- Uchiha.
Thinking about what was possibly to come, the enemy nin, and Gato, she couldn't help but feel her resolve strengthened. This was her purpose, this is what she was becoming a ninja to protect, this was her Will of Fire. Looking at the road ahead she felt anxious, but with some renewed confidence at her determination.
Little did she notice the pairs of eyes on her back, one bluest blue and one blackest black, both with a sizable amount of determination and stubbornness of their own.
Notes- I've noticed some confusion regarding two things in the reviews, and those two things are: 'harem love with Naruto or family?', and 'Massacre prevented just like that?'
Just a forewarning, like my writing in general, this will be long-winded
Naruto: Yori and Naruto have indeed developed a deep bond and I'm going to play with that, relationship-wise; Because they are so close it's going to be really confusing when one of them does eventually develop feelings (AHEM, Naruto) what can I say, Puberty is terrible enough without living with an attractive person you are not related to who you probably shouldn't be feeling things for but actually you are and OH my Goodness, DRAMA is born and some angst and intrigue, what can I say it's all apart of my master plan, I could have said 'you'll find out if you keep reading' and that would be true and you would/will, but hey, you asked nicely so imma tellin ya (Also just a cute hint but subtly I've already put some Naruto shock and coming into realisation in there, just hinting of course but definitely read into it please)
Massacre- Ok so as far as i've been able to glean from all my low effort research, at the point in time when they were kids, the village and the Uchiha clan were resting on a delicate precipice, and the massacre only occurred because no action was really taken to prevent them from rebelling or to prevent them from feeling like they needed to rebel in the first place. I'm very sorry I felt as though I had covered this but apparently not well enough. What I'm trying to get at is Danzo had a lot to do with the whole thing, obviously, meaning that Sarutobi wasn't necessarily all that informed (not that surprising look at Orochimaru and Root goodness gracious) And even if he was aware or suspecting, like I covered, he is from a past generation, and I feel as though he is hopeful that things would just work themselves out. But the people were segregating and there has been hate/fear for the Uchiha clan since the birth of the village, and with the Demon Fox attack and the subliminal blame that was placed upon them, not to mention the fact that the clan is quite well off when the rest of the villages' livelyhoods would have suffered a blow- It WAS A MESS, basically- I feel as though it was a lack of communication of the people making up the population that really allowed the massacre to happen. Parliament and all that, those in power can make a decision, but say, if Yori hadn't intervened and cut some of the tension, called the situation and all of its urgentness up to the Hokage who can take other more political actions as well as form connections between the people and bond them more officially, I feel as though the problem wasn't to such a degree that a massacre would have been appropriate anymore. The massacre wasn't all that surprising in the anime (other than the fact that it was a MASSACRE of course) because the people had already placed a distinction, ME and THEM and that almost always becomes (in real life as well) ME AGAINST THEM gradually and that I feel has been changed for the most part, at least I tried to establish that, I'll try more in the actual story to get this across, but there you go, because the clan is no longer so easily distinguished as a separate entity they couldn't be massacred (politically as well) Obviously things aren't perfect but a massacre, things have to be REALLY BAD for that to happen, I think with things even only being a LITTLE less bad the massacre wouldn't have happened.
Just remember you guys asked for these explanations! I don't like writing long author's notes because I find them frustrating and upsetting, like i'm very sorry I had to tell you guys these things, and that I didn't explain them well enough in my writing, Practice makes perfect though, and Hopefully there will be less questions like this as I continue on! Don't be afraid of asking however, It helps me to bring attention to things I could be doing better at! Lov ya, muah~