standing beside him,
we watch the world move about.
he makes me happy.

— ○ —

07 | s e v e n.

"Izumi, wake up!"

"Hngg..."

The said girl slowly fluttered her eyes open, only to find that she was sprawled out on her futon while her mother called from outside the room to wake her up.

Izumi rubbed her eyes and sat up, trying to get the sleepiness off of herself. An intense urge to fall back down and go to sleep again rose throughout her figure, but she ignored it and got out of bed anyway.

Izumi washed up and got dressed before going downstairs for breakfast. "Sorry I slept in today, mother." She apologized, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh, it's alright. At least you got to sleep properly. The last few days you were acting weird and constantly stressing over this thing about the dates going back.. It's nice to see that you're doing better now."

Izumi realized she hadn't explained everything to Hazuki, so now she decided to do it.

"Mother, the problem is completely sorted out now, thanks to Itachi and Shisui!" The petite girl cheerfully spoke. "The coup d'etat, Shisui's death, it all was a genjutsu cast upon me by the enemy to make me suffer!" She threw her hands up in the air.

"Calm down, girl. You seem to be happy that you suffered." Hazuki chuckled at her daughter. It's been a while since she's seen her this happy, so it made her heart warm up.

"I am happy! I'm happy that all those aren't real!" Izumi laughed. Her heart was fluttering at the thought of everything being fine.

"But those mere rogue ninjas cast a genjutsu that strong...?" Hazuki's smiling face turned into a worried one. "I need to report about this."

"Yeah.." Izumi's smile faded a bit as well. Truth be told, even the fact that such a threat was out there and could attack any moment, failed to make Izumi worried. She was that happy at that moment.

"Anyways, let's eat!"

"Yes!"

The two females sat down and enjoyed their food together.

"Mother, I've been thinking about something." Izumi suddenly spoke up.

"What is it, dear?" The elder one replied with enough curiosity.

"I want to take the Chuunin Exams." She said with sparkling eyes. "I've been training a lot since the genjutsu broke, and I can surely tell that my improving rates have increased. Mother, can you believe it? I can use my Sharingan for hours now, without passing out for once!"

Hazuki put her cup of tea down. She stared Izumi with wide eyes for a few seconds, then said, "Really?"

"Yes, mother! I think that at this rate, if I train some more, I'll be worthy enough to participate!" Izumi said enthusiastically.

"That's great! There are still three months before they start, so I think you have plenty of time?"

The excited girl was about to say something, but Hazuki cut her off and said, "But there's one problem.."

"What is it?"

"You know that recently I got promoted right? We thought it was supposed to be a good thing, but," The older female gave a sad smile. "I've been getting more and more missions nowadays. So I don't think I'll be able to help you.."

"Mother, that's not a bad thing!" Izumi said quickly, moving her hands in a 'no' motion. "I'm glad you got promoted, you're an asset of the village now. That's great. So you don't have to feel guilty at all. Itachi, Tenma and Shisui are going to help me train. So don't worry." She flashed a sweet smile.

"I see.." Hazuki's frown slowly disappeared. "I'm glad!"

— ○ —

After breakfast, Izumi left the house. If it was any other day, she would be heading for the training grounds immediately. But today was different. Izumi was in a very good mood, so she decided to give herself a break rather than work hard. And at this perfect moment, she came across Itachi.

She saw him walking towards her direction but he didn't see her yet. So she called out, "Itachi!"

The male Uchiha heard the familiar voice and looked at the female one. "Izumi!" He said, a smile breaking out on his lips.

Izumi ran towards him and said, "Good morning!"

"Morning," He replied. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, really. I'm just looking for someone to hang out with." A shade of light pink dusted across the girl's cheeks. "Would you like to...?"

Itachi had an amused look on his face. He stared at Izumi for a second, then smiled and said, "Sure, I'd love to."

"Thank you!"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Uh.." The brunette looked around for a place to go, and her eyes landed on the shop she hadn't visited in a long time. "Let's to go Ichiraku Ramen shop! They make the best ramen ever."

"Alright, let's go."

As they walked into the shop, they were met with a warm smile from the shop owner.

"Welcome!" The man greeted. "Please have a seat."

"Thank you." Izumi smiled and they both sat down. While waiting for their ramen, they both noticed a certain blond, foxy young boy enter the shop.

Izumi's eyes widened a little.

This boy was the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki. Everyone in the village absolutely despised him, because the monster that attacked the village 6 years ago dwelled within him now. The Fourth Hokage sealed the demon fox inside of him, and now everyone feared that he would go berserk and the fox would attack again.

A gloomy look spread across the brunette Uchiha's features. This boy is in no way, at fault here. He didn't ask for all of this, did he? He didn't ask to be the demon fox's vessel. He was just an infant when it all happened. He's so young, and yet he's facing so much hardship. Every single person in the village avoids him.

He must be so lonely...

"Hey there." Izumi called out.

The boy's eyes shot towards her. He glared a little at her, but it faded away in a second.

"What's your name?" She asked.

An enthusiastic smile spread across the blonde's lips. He grinned and said, "I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna become Hokage! Believe it!"

Izumi's eyes widened again, this time a lot and with excitement. "That's.. That's so cool!"

"Ha ha! I know, right?" Naruto was grinning, but suddenly his expression turned into a dumbfounded one. "Wait.. You're not going to make fun of me?"

Izumi was about to respond, but she heard a small, uncomfortable grunt come from behind her. She turned around and saw that Itachi had a quite hurt look in his eyes. It caught them both off guard. Itachi would say something, but Izumi quickly turned back to Naruto and said, "Of course not! Why would I make fun of you?"

"Well, everyone just kinda laughs at me after hearing that," He gave a flustered smile and rubbed the back of his head. "And says that I can't do it."

A determined look appeared on the female's eyes.

"Listen, Naruto." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ignore them, alright? You can do it. This big sister believes in you!"

The young boy's eyes sparkled. "Really? Thanks so much, big sis! Wait.. What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Uchiha Izumi."

"I'm glad you believe in me, big sis Izumi!"

They both grinned at each other.

— ○ —

After eating ramen to their heart's content, the two Uchihas headed out to the nearby training camp. The male wasn't giving any ideas on where to go next, which didn't help the female at all. So she ended up asking him for help in training, explaining that she was about to take the Chuunin Exams. In her opinion, she absolutely embarrassed herself in front of him, stuttering and all. But if you asked Itachi, he found her rather cute.

Itachi decided to take the lead and start Taijutsu training first. Izumi had insisted they don't do it, since she was already so good at it, but then Itachi told her that she shouldn't let her guard down. Even if she was good at it, she would still need to train to keep her skills growing. After coming to understand what the raven boy said, she agreed with him.

"You really are good at this though..." Itachi huffed after failing to dodge a hit on his side. Izumi's physical reflexes and strength was excellent. Itachi knew this already, but since they hadn't trained together in a long time, he was realizing it all over again.

"I told you!" Izumi spoke, aiming for a kick on Itachi's shoulder. But the prodigy dodged it, leading the girl to attempt for another attack. Like this, they kept sparring.

When it was almost dusk, the two Uchihas decided to call it a day.

"I think just a week would be okay for Taijutsu." Itachi commented, placing his kunai and shuriken inside his pouches.

"A whole week just for Taijutsu?!" Izumi exclaimed with surprise. "Isn't that a bit too long? I only have three months, you know.."

Itachi smiled. "You worry too much, silly girl. You'll have the rest of the time just to train for Ninjutsu and Doujutsu."

Izumi pouted, "Will it be enough?" She said and turned to Itachi.

It completely caught her off guard, as she saw that Itachi's face was inches away from hers. The girl's face turned completely cherry red.

"I'll make sure it'll be enough." He spoke.

"O- Okay! Thank y- you, Itachi!" Izumi quickly backed up and said. The sudden closeness made her unable to function properly, making her heart beat fast.

"Don't mention it." He replied softly, starting to walk.

Izumi hid a sigh, walking beside Itachi.

This was going to be some long three months.

— ○ —

a/n : ItaIzu moments 7w7

we've reached 3k! thank you guys so much!