I do not own Naruto

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3rd Person... A couple of years later...

Two children, now around the ages of nine walk side by side down the busy village. The giggling girl wore her medium length hair in a braid, her red eyes dancing with excitement. The boy beside her tried to smile, but once again failed, his black hair was freshly cut, keeping it out of his face. Even now, after living with the people that he's grown to love as a family, his eyes still held pain and sadness.

"Ichiru! Come on, we're going to be late for school!" Zero tugged at Ichiru's wrist.

"Sorry." Ichiru muttered, complying with the white haired girl and quickening his steps.

"And remember, Dad's going to be leaving tonight, but he promised to pick us up after school!" Zero grinned, "I hope he packed sushi for lunch."

Silence soon engulfed the two children as they walked. The passing by villagers would offer a smile to Zero before looking at her opposite, Ichiru, with wary glances. Despite Ren and Kiki adopting Ichiru legally, and swearing not to say anything about his past, it seemed that somehow the news about Ichiru being a 'Curse' had gotten out, making the villagers wary of the black haired child.

This, obviously, didn't help the boy come out of his 'shell' as Kiki called it. But, fortunately, with the help from Kiki, Ren, Zero, and on occasion Deidara, Ichiru had healed enough to be able to speak to them at least a lot more. They had even succeeded in stopping him from huddling in a corner with his knees to his chest, which had been a big habit when Ichiru first arrived.

Zero had abandoned her other friends when they didn't seem to enjoy, or rather like, Ichiru and said hurtful things about him. In all honesty, Zero put all her effort in protecting Ichiru. She even went as far as to get in a fight with some child who had called Ichiru a 'Curse', which was a word banished from their household. Ren and Kiki didn't get angry, not even when the parent of the beat up child came over and yelled at them.

Ren had only smirked, thinking how the child probably deserved it as Zero wasn't a violent person. Then he brought up to the woman's attention that their children were training to become ninjas, and this was something that the children could deal with themselves.

Zero broke the silence suddenly, "Just think, Ichiru! We'll be great ninja's soon!" Zero cheered, pausing when she saw some children ANBU mask. "I want to be an ANBU one day... Just like Mom, of course now she's just a Jounin, but still. Didn't you say you wanted to specialize in swords?"

Ichiru nodded slightly, "Yeah. Dad already started teaching me some moves."

"What? When is he doing that?" Zero demanded, her mouth dropping.

"When you and Mom are out doing 'girl things' or whatever you two do." He muttered.

Zero crossed her arms, "No fair. By your grades and skills, you'll be graduating by next year, and I'll have to wait another two to three years before I can graduate."

"Zero," Ichiru muttered again, ignoring Zero's complaining. "We should probably hurry, or we'll be late."

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The day was bright and sunny, the children were in school, and Kiki would be returning from her mission today. Everything had seemed good for Ren, that was until he received some news from and ANBU. Now, the blonde adult sat at his kitchen table with his head in his hands.

A picture layed on the table, three figures, two adults and one child. A brunette male grinned into the camera,once arm supporting the child and the other around a woman. He had shinning green eyes, and the clan symbol that Ren had become familiar with, the Okami clan. His eyes snapped over to the woman, a gentle smile on her face as one of her arms supported the child as well. Her blue eyes stared into the camera, indeed happy but not the same brightness as they used to be. Finally his eyes traveled to the blonde child being held by the two adults. Her eyes were closed gleefully, fully reminding him of his sister. It was almost uncanny their resemblance, with the acception of her shortness and possibly her eyes.

What had wiped the smile off of his face was the letter that was attached to the picture.

Dear Ren Suishou,

I apologize to inform you for taking so long to find you, but once you left the Kessho village I lost all contact. In this picture is Mai Okami, previously known as Mai Suishou, or as you may know her, your sister. The man beside her is her husband, Teno Okami, the next heir for the Okami clan. The child inbetween them is Yuki Okami, your niece. I, with deep regret, have to inform you of a incident that happened a little over a week ago. At the time of 10:00 pm, the Okami clan was invaded. Mai Okami, and Teno Okami were killed, along with the rest of the Okami clan. There was once exception, Yuki Okami, your niece. It appears that she did not suffer the same fate as the rest of the clan, leaving her the sole survivor of the Okami clan. While I am aware that Mai and Teno did not assign you as the Godfather, I will allow you custody of Yuki, as you are her only family alive. This only being because her current Godparents are missing, as as I just said you are her last piece of family she has left. If you do wish guardianship, you must write me back so I may get the paperwork together, and you must come yourself to collect the child.

You have my regards,

Third Hokage- Saratobi

That letter now left Ren in the depressing state he was in now. With his wife, Kiki, out on a mission, he was left to sit at the house and think about his niece and dead sister. His blue eyes stared at the picture, the small girl in it capturing his full attention.

'What do I even do? She's at least two years younger than Zero  and Ichiru.' Ren thought with his heart breaking. 'I-I didn't think when I finally found my baby sister she would be taken from me. And to think what Yuki is going threw.'

To make things worse, a knock sounded at the door. Slowly, Ren rose to his feet and walked to the front door, dread making his moves sluggish. Encasing the cool doorknob in his hand, he let sunlight flood his home while swinging the door open.

His body froze when he was greeted by an ANBU in a cat mask. The ANBU's hair was tied in a high ponytail, her black hair going down to her back in waves. "Are you Ren Suishou?" She asked as if she already knew the answer.

He nodded slowly, "Yes, that's me."

With a monotone voice, the woman spoke. "Kiki Suihou returned from her mission today. She was severely injured and is in the hospital.-"

Before the woman could say anymore, Ren was out the door. The blonde man's heart raced as he squeezed past people, dread and pain filling his body.

Not the slightest out of breath, Ren slammed his hands on the front counter. "What room is Kiki Suishou in?"

The nurse didn't stop to blink at the frantic man as she looked threw files. Then she met his eyes, "I'm sorry, sir, but she's not allowed any visitors at the moment.-"

"I'm her husband! You have to let me threw!" Ren demanded.

The woman's eyes filled with sympathy. "Sir, I'm sorry but she's in surgery. As of right now, she is not able to see anyone."

"Surgery?! What for?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"You will have to ask the doctor that when he is done with her. Please, if you want there are some seats to site down and wait." The woman guestered to behind Ren. He looked behind him to look at the empty dull white seats.

The school bell rang, releasing the students. Ichiru cowered as he waited for Zero, who was finishing packing. The few remaining students gave Ichiru familiar glares, which only made Ichiru feel worse. Zero, hearing the whispering of some other students, shot her classmate a glare. Walking up to her polar opposite she tugged on his hand and pulled him out of the classroom. She continued to drag him until they were out of the academy, then she stopped and searched the crowd for her father.

 The white haired child's eyes glared through the crowd of parents, slowly the anger leaving her as she came up without her father, nor her mother. Her hand slipped from Ichiru's when she realized her parents weren't there. The black haired boy was quick to notice the change in Zero's personality.

Looking at her, to the crowd of parents, he came up with the conclusion. Quickly he took the role that Zero had done many times for him for the past years, not the slightest idea that he would have to do this more than just this time. Forcing a big grin on his face, he grabbed Zero's hand.

"Come on, Zero-chan!" Ichiru grinned, noticing Zero's look of surprise as he pulled her away from the swarms of parents and children.

"Are you okay, Ichiru? Do you have a fever or something?" Zero muttered.

"Why would you say that?" Ichiru kept the grin on his face. The feeling of his lips being pulled apart for this long was foreign to him, and it sent a pleasant feeling through him.

Before Zero could say anything, a familure blonde came running towards the two. The blonde boy smirked, "Hey Zero, Ichiru, yeah." He paused before grinning at Ichiru. "Hey! This is the first time I've seen you smile, un!"

Zero smiled, "I'd say it's about the fifth time I've seen him smile. It's nice, huh?"

The three children began walking, slowly Ichiru allowed the smile to drop from his face. The pleasant feeling he had soon vanished as the smile slipped. Zero stopped, her white medium length hair swaying from her sudden halt.

Deidara stopped as well, looking at Zero strangely. "What is it, hmm?"

The female child pointed over to a white building with large red letters labeling it, the Hospital. "I think I just saw Dad walk in the hospital."

Beside them, Ichiru froze, his whole body stiffening. Deidara was the first to notice, and slapped his hand on Ichiru's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, Ichiru! I'm sure everything's okay, yeah!"

Ichiru looked at Deidara, his blue eyes dull but full of past pain and present worry. "But what if..."

Deidara snorted, rolling his eyes. Unlike all the other children, Deidara was the only one who didn't treat Ichiru like a curse. "Un, shut up. I'd think that by now you would stop believing all that!"

"Let's go check it out." Zero said, Ichiru nodded slightly and followed after her.

"I thought you were going to go with me today! I was gonna teach you two some art!" Deidara complained.

"If you mean exploding spiders, I'm sure we don't want to learn it." Zero said. "You can come with us though, Deidara."

Deidara groaned, "Fine, un!"

The three children came to a stop in the lobby. Seeing Ren sitting in one of the white seats was enough to tip off Ichiru and Zero what had happened. Both children ran over to Ren, soon followed by Deidara.

"Dad!" Zero shouted, running over to her father.

Ren's head snapped up to look at Zero and Ichiru as they ran towards him. "Z-Zero? Ichiru? What are you two doing here?"

"We saw you walk in here, is Mom okay?" Ichiru muttered.

Ren's eyes looked back at the white and gray tiles of the hospital floor. "I promised to never lie to either of you two, and I'm going to keep that promise. I don't know, right now they aren't telling me anything about your mother."

Behind them Deidara clenched his fist, Kiki had been a mother figure to him as well. "She- She will be okay!"

Ren's eyes snapped over to Deidara, softening as he took in the blonde child. "Yeah, maybe you're right, Deidara."

"I am right!" Deidara practically shouted. "She won't give up fighting, I know it! She will be okay!"

"Don't lie, Deidara." Zero muttered, making everyone look over to her. Before she could say anything else, a woman in a white coat walked towards them.

"Ren Suishou?" The woman asked, looking at the blonde man.

Ren quickly stood up and walked over to the woman. "Yes, is Kiki okay?"

The doctor sighed, taking off the mask that was still on her face. "She will live, but she won't be able to see. Right now she is in critical condition, so I still can't allow anyone to see her. It seems that whoever she was facing during the mission used some forbidden jutsu. It was directed at her eyes and blinded her. It says on her charts that her eyes were originally red, am I correct?"

Ren narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Yeah, but is her eyes are red, wouldn't you have seen that?"

"Mr. Suishou, her irises are now black. Which makes almost no sense, as normally when a person goes blind their eyes normally go to a light blue to white. That is why I'm guessing she was hit by some forbidden jutsu. Another thing, her chakra network, its all messed up." The doctor paused, "Even if she were to overcome her blindness, she will never be a ninja again. I would say by tomorrow you should be able to see her."

Ren nodded, "Thank you... For saving her. I don't know what I would have done if I lost her, of our kids."

The woman nodded, "How about you take them home, tell them that their mother is going to be okay."

"But she's not." Both adults jumped and looked down. Zero stood there, her hands balled into fist while she glared at the doctor. "Mom can't be a ninja anymore! That was her whole life, and now she can't do it! A-And she's blind..."

Ren bent down to Zero, moving her hair out of her face. "Come on, Zero, Okaasan's okay."

"B-But, she won't be able to see..." Zero's voice went down to a whisper.

"Which just means we will be there for her more." Ren said, "We still have her, and that's all that matters, right?"

With her bottom lip trembling, Zero nodded. "Y-Yeah."

"That's right, now come on, let's get Deidara home and I'll fix dinner for Ichiru and you." Ren said.

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Ichiru stood off to the side as he watched Ren, in a dead like manner, make dinner. Zero was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at her academy allowed kunais, a look of doubt on her face. He bit the inside of his cheek, clenching his fist. While the two of them seemed dead, Ichiru was burning with anger and sadness. It wasn't something he was familiar with, but after he had heard about his adopted mother, Kiki, these feelings had made themselves clear to him.

Now he stood, feeling out of place as his father and sister acted like zombies. Earlier he had woken up with very little feelings in him, and now he was overwhelmed with them. Then, he snapped. "What's wrong with both of you?!"

His abnormally loud voice made both Ren and Zero jump from their dazed state and look over at him. "Why are you two acting like- like.." He stopped, his breathing coming out harsher as he searched for a word to describe them. "Like zombies! Aren't you two angry, or something?!"

"Angry..." Ren muttered before setting down the knife he was using to cut some vegetables and walking over to Ichiru. He kneeled down to the boy. "I'm sorry, I should have talked to you as well as Zero. It's just, you're always so strong, I sometimes forget your the same age as Zero. Ichiru, first tell me, how are you feeling?"

Ichiru blinked before clenching his fist hard enough to draw blood. "I-I'm so angry... and sad, and I don't know. There's too much, I don't know what I'm feeling anymore."

Ren gave a soft smile, gently taking Ichiru's now bloody hand and opened his fist. "It's okay, Ichiru. There's nothing to be all upset about. Okaasan is okay, she may be injured, but she is still with us. As a matter of fact, we can go see her tomorrow."

"But, isn't she bind now..." Ichiru muttered.

"She is, but that dosen't change anything about her, right?" Ren said, Ichiru nodded slowly. "Now, why are you angry?"

"The person who did it to her... I hate him." Ichiru whispered, his eyes darkening. Ren remained silent, watching the look on Ichiru's face. "I'm going to find him one day, and get him back for what he did to Mom."

"I see." Ren muttered, taking out some bandages to wrap up Ichiru's hand. "And as for how Zero's handling it, don't mind her. That's just how she is handling it."

"I..." Both Ren and Ichiru's attention snapped over to Zero, her voice was low and raspy. "I don't want to be a ninja anymore."

"Why is that?" Ren asked gently, wrapping up Ichiru's hand.

"If Mom can't be a ninja anymore, then I don't want to be one either. And when you are out on missions and Ichiru is at school, I can be here with Mom." She whispered.

"Is that what you want, Zero?" Ren asked.

Zero stopped before pushing away her practice kunais. "Yes."

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 End of Chapter 58! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Since Summer is now officially here, I will be updating weekly again. And to start off this summer I will post another chapter either tomorrow or Friday if I get 10 comments and 10 votes. I'm thinking that there will be two or one more chapter of Zero and Ichiru's past. 

 This chapter is not edited