Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Warning: Angst. Language. USUAL. Character death!

Beta: silverseed

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Interlude - Omniscient - 15

Obito watched her pull out her Chūnin flak and present it to his grave. He listened patiently as she retold the events of the exam and she began to clean his grave. It had gotten a little muddy since she had left, and a few weeds had started to grow. She worked with meticulous hands.

He shifted his posture a bit. He was getting a little tired of sitting on the tree branch, but he didn't dare leave yet.

Part of him wondered why he hadn't taken her away, yet. She was there - alone and vulnerable.

What stopped him?

He wasn't entirely certain.

All he knew was that he routinely returned to his and Rin's graves, and he listened to her stories. He inwardly snickered when she retold some of her more ridiculous ones, and he often found himself nodding his head in understanding when she told her romantic plights, and her failures.

His interest was always piqued when she talked about the voices in her head - how she knew things she should not know. Obito was worried that she would uncover too much, but he knew that if she knew, she would not be at his grave.

For the moment, she wasn't a true danger to his plans, and Obito told himself that that was why he did not bother himself with kidnapping her.

It wasn't at all because she reminded him of another girl that died far too soon.

He told himself that.

But he knew he was lying.

. . .

. .

.

"So Deidara's gone now?" Tsunade enquired.

Sasuke gave a firm nod. "I'm certain of it."

Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair, Shizune glancing over at her. "The others are already back. They returned about a week ago."

We both tensed.

"They're alive," Tsunade reassured us, "but it was a difficult battle. A few still remain in the hospital, and one of them, Chōji, is still in intensive care due to his exertion. He'll be fine, I expect, but he'll be out of commission for a while."

Tsunade looked at the storage scroll we had given her with the ingredients. "I'll get started on Itachi's medicine right away. You two are dismissed for now - go and see your friends."

Without another word, we left.

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I gave Yagura a worried look and he continued to glower at me. "Would you stop fussing? I'm fine. The only reason I'm still in here is because the idiot got a lucky shot, now stop it."

"Oh would you calm down?" Ino asked, rolling her eyes. "She's worried. Honestly, you should be grateful my adorable sister is waiting on you!"

Yagura's glower took a colder turn when he turned his attention to Ino. Naruto snickered and munched on an apple. Naruto commented, "You're a lot nicer today."

"Was he not nice before?" I questioned.

"He was such an ass on the mission," Ino complained. Naruto nodded his head wholeheartedly.

"He was a complete jerk," Naruto confided to me. "Wait, why am I eating an apple?"

Ino gave him a deadpanned look. "Do you honestly not remember grabbing it from Chōji's basket because he couldn't eat anymore?"

Naruto whined. "I'm so used to his baskets having all the good stuff in them, I didn't even notice I grabbed the healthy crap."

"Idiot," Yagura muttered petulantly.

"Sensei," I admonished.

Yagura turned his nose up and stubbornly looked away, his cheeks slightly rosier. I shook my head, sighing ruefully and looking back over at my two other friends in the room. Sasuke had requested (well, implied, I should say) some privacy with his older brother, so I had opted to visit Yagura and Ino instead. The two were placed in the same room due to lack of room at the hospital. Yagura had sustained some heavy (heavy for a jinchuuriki) injuries, but was nearly ready to be discharged. Ino was sporting a broken wrist and a couple burns, but she was going to be discharged that day.

Naruto and Kakashi came back with the least amount of injuries - Naruto had a couple bruises and scratches, while Kakashi was verging on chakra exhaustion (surprise, surprise). The rest still suffered injuries, but were discharged before Sasuke and I returned. Juugo remained at T&I for the moment, but I had a feeling that after this mission's success, he wouldn't be regarded with such suspicion.

Naruto hummed. "I wonder what we're going to do next. We took care of Orochimaru (unsurprisingly, considering how badass we are), but now what?"

"Well, Jiraiya already left to gather more information on the Akatsuki," Yagura said, "so I suppose our next goal is to eliminate the Akatsuki. There's. Kisame, their leader and his partner and Tobi left, along with Zetsu. We don't have a lot of information in regards to their leader, though. He should be back in a couple weeks."

Naruto frowned. "That damn Pervy-Sage! He told me I had to do more training - I didn't know he was leaving. Good thing I already got Kakashi-sensei to help. Sasuke'll probably train with us."

Ino shrugged. "Well, I'm actually scheduled to leave with my team after I'm discharged today. I'll train when I get back, I suppose."

Yagura sighed. "After I'm discharged from the hospital, I'm supposed to oversee Naruto's training because Yamato will be busy with a different mission."

"That's okay, sensei," I assured him. "I wanted to try a bit of individual training - but I am certain I could still train with Naruto and Sasuke if necessary."

Naruto gave me a bright grin. "Hell yeah you can."

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I left the room about an hour after Naruto had left. Shikamaru and Chōji arrived to keep them company. Satisfied everyone would be alright without me, I exited the rooms and went to check on Itachi and Sasuke.

I entered Itachi's hospital room, creaking the door open slowly and peering in. Itachi was in his hospital bed, sitting up and reading an unidentifiable book. I didn't see Sasuke, so I opened the door more fully and stepped inside. "Hello."

Itachi looked up at my greeting, offering a polite, small smile. "Hello."

"Has Sasuke already left?"

Itachi dipped his head. "He has. Naruto came to retrieve him - the two said they would begin training."

Closing the door behind me, I moved to sit beside Itachi's bed, offering him a smile. "That's good. I. I actually was hoping to get a chance to talk to you."

Itachi gently closed his book and placed it on his nightstand. He folded his hands together and his obsidian eyes met my own. "Yes, Nao?"

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly.

I then explained what had transpired over the mission, and more importantly, what had gone on in my head.

Itachi took it in stride, not questioning or stopping me. When I was finished, he sat back and contemplated the information. " Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you know what it's like to be different," I said quietly. "And you know, more than anyone, what it means to carry your own burden. Sasuke won't press the issue, because that's not like him, so I know the issue will die with him. However. I am. concerned for the future. I know that I sealed it away, along with the majority of the memories, but."

I lifted my shoulders in a helpless shrug. "I still. feel. like something is going to happen. Something big. I don't want to worry anyone else over this, and I know with you, I can trust you not to tell anyone. I just. In case I can't. In case the seal doesn't hold, or I can't fend it off anymore. I thought someone should know."

"Do you feel like the seal will not hold?"

"I feel like it will hold," I admitted, "but I don't want to take the chance and not prepare myself for in case it doesn't."

Itachi's eyes moved away from me and his gaze turned to outside the window. "Do you remember when we first met?"

I blushed. "Yes. I broke down sobbing."

Itachi nodded his head, still not looking at me. "You said - you told me - that it was because I could not. I was terrified at the time that you knew exactly what was going on. I had followed you for several days after that, but found nothing to prove my fear. Ever still, I kept a close eye on you. Again, you knew something you should not when Kisame and I entered the village. You saved your sensei from an unsavory fate, and prevented Kisame and I from even encountering Naruto.

"It is a curious thing, I believe, that these are memories. Or at least, proclaimed memories. The girl you saw - the one who held the memories, or was a personification of them, was someone you had never met before, correct?"

At my nod, Itachi continued, "Curious, isn't it? The word memories implies experience - that who you saw had already lived these events. You said she was you, or at least who you used to be, correct? That implies reincarnation. But, you don't recognize her - for someone to be this intimate with this knowledge, they would have to experience i first hand. But you don't recognize them - so it's no one we know, yet they still experienced it."

Itachi's brow furrowed. "Or perhaps that's what your ability wants you to think. You know the future - or at least, you can access it in some manner - but your mind cannot fully comprehend it. Perhaps it translates it as memories and only triggers can unlock it. Your ability is confusing, Nao."

I giggled. "Yeah. I try not to think too much about it, to be honest."

Itachi's lips twitched in amusement. "I suppose it doesn't matter too much how it works, so long as it does. It's a shame you can't control it, though, as that would be very useful in times like these."

I nodded. "Ever since the confrontation, it's been really quiet in my head."

I paused, realizing what I had said.

"But that's probably how it's supposed to be, huh?" I mused.

"Probably," Itachi agreed, his eyes dancing with amusement for a moment before he grew somber again. "Should you lose control of the seal - what would you want me to do?"

"Stop me," I answered simply. "I suppose if it's possible, use your own kekkai genkai to enter my mind and reset the seal. I am. afraid. of allowing any of the others inside of my mind. You already know what to expect."

Itachi gave a slow nod. "Should you lose control of the seal, and it is in my capabilities, I will do what I can to reseal it."

"Thank you," I answered.

Itachi awarded me with another smile, turning back to face me. "It was because of your interference with Yagura, and your intervention at Danzo's trial, that I am here today. It seems to be the least I can do, Nao."

Blushing, I averted my gaze. "How long will you be staying in the hospital?"

"Several weeks. I am confined to the bed for another week or so, though. Tsunade-sama is anxious for me to return to health. I am lucky to have her as my medic."

"She's an amazing medic," I agreed. "She stopped my eye from hurting anymore, did you know?"

"Really?" Itachi asked.

I nodded my head. "She couldn't fix it, but it doesn't hurt anymore since she looked at it."

"That's wonderful."

I beamed. "It is. Hey. it's getting close to dinner. Can I get you anything?"

Itachi blinked in surprise. "Are you sure you - ?"

"I know Sasuke and Naruto," I said, standing up. "Both are going to get awfully competitive with each other for training and I doubt they'll pay much attention to anything but training and each other. Someone has to keep you company."

Itachi's lips twitched into a smile. "Aren't you going to train?"

"Yes, not like they are. It's time I furthered my fuinjutsu training in preparation for the next sealing."

"Next sealing?"

I stretched out my neck and pointed to my Curse Mark. "I need to keep improving my fuinjutsu ability, or else I won't be able to reseal the Mark next time it decides to spark up."

Itachi's dark eyes took a more thoughtful note to them. " When I am. well. Nao, I wish to exam the Curse Mark myself."

"Sure," I said, frowning, uncertain what he would want to see it for. " Anyway, so I'll grab some dinner for us. Any requests?"

Itachi shook his head. "Anything is better than hospital food."

I giggled. "I can agree to that."

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I kissed Papa on the cheek. "Not staying long, Papa. I wanted to grab my fuinjutsu notebook."

Papa barely looked up from his cooking, giving a hum of acknowledgement. "Alright."

"How's Juugo?"

"Well. He's going through psychiatric help at the moment. His loyalty seems sincere, but given his split personality, it was decided to keep him at T&I a bit longer."

"Is his state treatable?"

"I believe so, yes," Papa said, looking up from his mincing. "He's not the first of his kind we have met, you know. At this stage, I doubt it's curable, but I believe with the right care and treatment. and with time. he will be able to control himself."

"That's wonderful!"

Papa nodded his head, looking back down. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"No, I'm going to eat with Itachi."

"Not Yagura?"

I snorted at Papa's hopeful tone. "Yagura-sensei is being discharged today and will be overseeing Naruto and Sasuke's training. I'm not training with them, so no, Papa. Not with Yagura-sensei."

"You aren't training with them?" Papa asked, surprise coloring his voice.

"They'll be training physically. I need to train mentally for now and improve upon my fuinjutsu - you know why - and I'd like to be able to keep Itachi company. He's been through a lot, Papa, and I'm afraid if someone doesn't, he may become detached."

Papa stopped cooking and looked at me, his eyes dancing with fond amusement. "Look at my little therapist."

I flushed. "It's basic knowledge. Given the traumatic events he's been through. it would be wise if someone kept in touch with him. Sasuke would be ideal, but I know how he gets with training. I don't want Itachi to get into the habit of keeping things to himself - of being alone. He doesn't deserve that."

"It takes more than being there to prevent that - you have to open up to him, trust him before he trusts you," Papa said.

"I know, Papa. I've already made my first gesture, now I need to keep up with it," I said, smiling.

"Good girl," Papa said. "Here - seeing how I made too much for me, why don't you take enough for you and Itachi to eat?"

"Thank you, Papa!"

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

A couple weeks passed. I did my daily routine of physical training in the morning until a couple hours before noon. I then grabbed brunch for myself and Itachi before visiting him and spending the rest of the day with him. I visited Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi and Yagura several times to see what progress they had made.

Naruto was perfecting his Rasenshuriken and Sasuke was perfecting his Kirin. A couple days before. before the news. I had run into Sasuke on my way to see Itachi. Sasuke usually visited Itachi in the mornings, along with Naruto. He told me that he was leaving on a mission.

"A mission?" I had asked.

Sasuke had given me a small shrug. "Yamato was sent out a while ago, along with a couple other Jounin to inspect some of Orochimaru's old hideouts from Juugo's information. I'm heading out with a couple others to be their back-up. I should be back within the week."

"Be safe."

Aside from that, things moved on without incident.

That was. until. the news arrived.

The news about Jiraiya's death, that was.

I was peeling the skin off an apple for Itachi for our brunch. I had brought him several books at his request, and they stacked up on his nightstands. Itachi sat up straight in his bed, his hospital window open and the curtains blowing gently in the breeze.

"There you are," I said, presenting Itachi with the sliced apple pieces. I had placed them in a small plastic container and offered them to him. Itachi smiled briefly at me, taking and eyeing them.

"I'm starting my last rounds of heavy medication," Itachi commented.

"Ah, that's right, Tsunade-sama still has you on the powerful stuff to help repair the damage done to your body," I said. "How's your eyesight?"

Itachi's smiled again, as brief. I felt a bit proud of myself that he did smile again. Itachi was a man of few expressions and of few words, so I always felt a bit better when I saw that he used them around me. "Much better. I would have assumed the damage irreversible, but I was lucky. The damage was caused by my chakra pathways, and not my actual nervous system - like yours. The chakra system is more forgiving in that regard, I suppose."

"I'm glad for you," I said honestly.

Itachi nodded. "The medication I'm on now, however, is risky. It overexerts my body when I use chakra at all."

I nodded my head. "I remember Tsunade-sama mentioning something like that. Thankfully, though, you don't need to worry about that now."

"Yes. After I finish another week of this, I'll be able to switch over to the lighter drugs and I can be sent out on missions again."

My brow furrowed. "I hope you aren't sending yourself out too soon, Itachi."

Itachi did not respond, and we lapsed into comfortable silence. I finished preparing his bento before I presented it to him and I opened up my own.

Before I could dig in, however, the door to the hospital room opened and Yagura stepped inside. His gaze was dark and the atmosphere he carried was somber. "Nao. Tsunade-hime has summoned you. Now."

Itachi and I exchanged glances before I placed my food down in my seat and followed after Yagura.

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Curiosity begged my tongue to speak, but remembering my manners, I kept my silence. There were toad summons outside of the Hokage office, and another, much older, toad in Tsunade's office. Tsunade sat at her desk, her hands folded in front of her. There wasn't a trace of lightness about her - and the atmosphere was nearly suffocating.

I stood close to Yagura, shifting nervously. Naruto and Kakashi were the last ones to enter the room. Naruto closed the door behind him and looked around at everyone in surprise.

"He is Jiraiya-chan's student?" the older toad asked, his voice rumbling.

"Yes, this is Naruto," Tsunade said.

Naruto eyed the frog with open skepticism. "An old frog? What the hell?"

"Watch your mouth, Naruto," Tsunade scolded. "This is Fukasaku-sama, one of the two Great Sages of Mount Myoboku. He came all the way here to speak with you."

"Well, to be more accurate, I am a Great Sage Toad, but nevermind with that. You are, without a doubt, Jiraiya-chan's student."

"Jiraiya-chan? Chan?! You talk as if the Pervy-Sage is a kid! Who do you think you are?"

"I said to watch your mouth!"

"Fukasaku-sama is the one who taught the arts of a Sage to Jiraiya-sama. He is Jiraiya-sama's master," Shizune said.

Naruto's eyes widened while Fukasaku laughed. "Pervy-Sage, eh? What a fitting nickname for Jiraiya-chan."

"So what do you want with me?" Naruto asked.

At that, the toad stopped laughing and he looked down, his eyes closed. "I'm not sure where to begin. but I suppose the most important thing is. Jiraiya-chan died in battle."

I stumbled back and Yagura's hands grasped my shoulders. My eyes widened and they flew to Naruto's shellshocked face. "Huh?"

"I know this is sudden and I don't blame you if you don't believe me," Fukasaku said gently. "For quite some time there were rumors that the leader of the Akatsuki was in Amegakure. Jiraiya-chan went in person to verify the truth of these rumors. Jiraiya-chan came upon the leader of the Akatsuki. Pein. However, Pein was Jiraiya-chan's former student. Jiraiya-chan called him Nagato."

"That name goes far back," Tsunade murmured, "during the chaos of the Great Shinobi War. Jiraiya looked after some orphans in Amegakure, which had become a battlefield. Who would have imagined that those kids."

"But to corner a shinobi like Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi trailed off.

"We knew the Akatsuki were formidable from the start," Yagura said. "Each in a class of their own. It would make sense that their leader is the strongest. But. if he's this strong. then how strong is Tobi - the one who is truly pulling the strings? Or Madara?"

"He possessed the Rinnegan," Fukasaku said.

Gasps were heard around the room.

"The. Sage of Six Paths' eyes?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes. and. there were six of them."

"How is that possible?" Kakashi demanded.

"There has to be a trick to it," Fukasaku said. "I believe Jiraiya-chan discovered this trick, but his throat was crushed before he could tell me."

Fukasaku turned his back to us, before he pulled off his cloak. There were numbers engraved onto his back. "He wrote this - his dying message."

"It's a code. I'm sure he did this so Pein would not know what he said."

Tsunade eyed the code another moment before she said, "If we decode this, we'll understand Jiraiya's last words."

"Did you let him go. Granny? Did you let him go to investigate the Akatsuki leader alone?"

Tsunade averted her gaze from Naruto's glare. " That's right."

"Why'd you allow such a reckless thing?" Naruto demanded, his voice growing louder and louder with each word. "You knew Pervy-Sage better than anyone. How could you send him to such a dangerous place, alone?!"

"Enough, Naruto," Kakashi said. "You, of all people, ought to know how Tsunade-sama's feeling."

Naruto's hands clenched into fists and he stubbornly looked away. He turned his back to Tsunade and began towards the door. "Damn it."

"Naruto," I said, pulling away from Yagura and reaching out a hand to my dear friend.

With a hand on the door, Naruto paused. "If Pervy-Sage had been Hokage, he wouldn't have let you take such risks. Never!"

"Naruto," I said, as he slammed the door shut. I started to follow him, when Yagura grabbed my hand.

I looked back at him. Yagura shook his head. "Leave him be, Nao."

My hands curled into fists.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I gave Naruto about a couple of hours before I hunted him down.

He was walking around Konoha with his hands shoved in his pockets. I caught up to him, and he didn't seem to notice me for a while.I walked beside him, uncertain of what I could do or say to ease his pain. Instead, I opted to stay close to him, brushing up against him a couple times to remind him that I was here, and that I would not be leaving him any time soon.

When he realized I was there, he gave me a dead-eyed look that reminded me of Sasuke on That Night.

It was the kind of look that tore straight through me and caused my arms to wrap around him and pull him close. I wished I had a blanket to wrap around him, and I wished I could whisk him away from this reality.

But I couldn't.

And I wouldn't.

He wouldn't want that.

We held onto each other for a while before I coaxed him into staying with me and my family for the night. Papa was better at this sort of thing - he always knew what to say and do.

Even still, Naruto remained unusually quiet throughout the meal and opted to go straight to bed afterwards.

I remembered how Sasuke had so many nightmares, and I remembered how Naruto and I used to hold onto him throughout the night. When Naruto was tucked away in the guest bed, I sat down next to him and draped a blanket over us.

"I'm here," I told him. "I promise I won't leave you."

Naruto did not respond.

I laid down and curled up, my back pressed against his.

"I never understood why Sasuke wanted revenge so bad," Naruto whispered. "But now, I think I do. I want to hurt him, Nao. I really do."

"And we will, Naruto. But for now, you need sleep."

"He took Jiraiya from me."

"I know."

"It hurts."

"I know."

"Will it ever get better?"

"I hope so. Sasuke's not so angsty, is he?"

Naruto gave a strained chuckle. "He's more emo than angsty now, though. I don't want to be emo."

"You're right. You couldn't pull it off."

"What? I totally could."

I rolled over on my other side as Naruto did the same, both of us smiling weakly. "You're right. How silly of me to doubt you."

"Silly of you indeed," Naruto whispered, his smile slipping. " G'night, Nao."

"Good night, Naruto."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

When I woke up the next morning, Naruto was already gone and when I asked him where he was, Papa only said that I needed to give him some space now.

I didn't like it - really, really didn't like it, but Papa knew best.

With little else to do, I went back to visit Itachi and inform him of what had happened.

Within the next two days, I would find out that he and Yagura left for Sage training. Yagura went with him to help keep the Kyuubi under control and offer some advice should the Kyuubi interfere with the training.

And not long after they left. did Pein come.

.

. .

. . .

Interlude - Nao's POV - 15

I winced as Tenten gave me another demonic grin. "M-Maybe it's time for a break."

Tenten shook her head firmly, her grin widening. "You know that 'cause you can only use one eye, you have to work twice as hard to stay in shape. Now shut up, blindfold yourself and be prepared to dodge my kunai!"

"One eye is not the same as being blind!" I objected.

"You're right," Tenten agreed. "But you have to rely on your sixth sense and your instincts a lot more with one eye. There are parts of your vision you can't normally use - you are blind in a sense. Besides, Gai-sensei did this to me and I turned out fine!"

"You were in the hospital for a week!"

"Because I wasn't used to being even partially blind," Tenten dismissed. "Now shut up and put the blindfold on."

Grimacing, I tied the blindfold over my eyes. " Do I really have to do this?"

"Yes."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I glared at Tenten, as I laid in the hospital bed. She gave me a sheepish look. "At least you didn't break any bones like I did?"

"Never again," I grouched.

"NAO-SAN! MY ETERNAL RIVAL!"

"You told Lee I was here?!" I demanded, my only visible eye widening.

Tenten shrugged. "With Neji gone for so long, he needed a little pick-me-up. Besides, you're the one who started it when you impersonated Kakashi during the Chūnin Exams and told him you were his rival."

"Only because I didn't want to hurt his feelings," I objected.

"Either way," Tenten hummed, exiting the room as Lee burst in.

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Question: Favorite restaurant?

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