Village
Hold.
Naruto copied the sign, stiffening when he heard approaching footsteps. At his elbow, Kirum froze, sniffing the air. His lips lifted in the beginning of a snarl. Weakpossibledanger.
The blond patted his head Recognize, eyeing the shadow above them. This wasn’t like their usual games. This held more of a sense of reality to it then those did. As if they were actually Shinobi on an infiltration mission instead of exploring the village they’d grown up in.
That was fine by him. The villagers still didn’t like him, he’d seen it the few times anyone ever managed to see him. Hatefearanger flooding off of them in waves that sent him scurrying down another alleyway. If this training meant Naruto would be able to thoroughly avoid them, he’d do it with the same stubborn determination he took to anything else.
Forward came the order.
Signing it to his brother, who gave a soft huff of understanding, he moved forward, darting down the alley. For once, he had a destination in mind for their wandering. He’d reached the end of his last sealing scroll and while none of the others wanted to make another trip to the library he had to.
Besides his ridiculous chakra reserves, sealing was the only connection he had to their clan. Gumo wasn’t interested in it—said it just looked like scribbles—but to Naruto, sealing was like opening a scroll in a dead language and understanding the mind behind the brush.
He wasn’t just seeing the words written, but the where, the how, the why in each boldly drawn line and delicate brush stroke. The need to find more, to learn more about their clan was like a clamp around his heart, a paradoxical tightening that threatened to steal his breath yet made Naruto feel like he was flying with each new piece of information.
There were some parts of the library he physically couldn’t get into. Something about the array on Konoha hitai-ate that allowed them through the barrier but by that point, he’d gotten into everything else he could thrice over. Six scrolls, that was all the library had on Fuinjutsu. He’d only found mention of his clan in one. His last scroll and there were only a few sparse mentions to the powerful clan that wielded seals like a kekkai genkai. Maybe he could—
Kirum caught him by his shorts, pulling him back and out of his thoughts. Naruto immediately looked to their shadow, cringing when he saw the sign for Hold.
Hold he repeated, even though he knew they’d already gotten a strike. Better to keep the score as low as possible. Itachi glanced at him, concern in the tension lining his body and Naruto threw up the sign for Friendly. He didn’t know what Okay was but he figured if Itachi could connect the pieces, he’d get the picture.
After a moment, their Sensei nodded and returned, Forward.
Through another alley, and a forced Fall Back when he almost ran into another shinobi, the library came into sight. At the end of the alley across the street, Naruto took the initiative, signing Hold to Itachi while setting a hand on Kirum’s head.
His brother, familiar with the routine, sniffed the air. When he sneezed safe, the blond used Forward before creeping across the road and leaping the fence. The library was an octagonal building several blocks away from the center of the village and the building with the sign for ‘Fire’ painted on the front.
A small garden was tended by Shinobi genin during the warmer months surrounded by a seven foot tall fence that made for peaceful reading—at least that’s what Shisui-sensei said. He’d never been here during the day and highly doubted the people manning the desk would let him in anyway.
Hate, anger, and fear were stupid emotions in his book.
Coming around the back, Naruto searched the line of windows that ringed the second story of the building. Usually… “There!” Blue eyes lit up in glee and he stuck a foot to the wall, testing the give before lifting the other. Oh, this would be easy. Learning tree walking while Shisui-sensei threw kunai at them was a helluva lot harder then walking up the side of a brick and mortar building.
Normally, all of his siblings would be there, allowing them to build a bridge of bodies to help one another up, but with it just being him and Kirum, he was glad the technique had other uses besides making Shisui-sensei cackle like a lunatic.
Once he reached the window, he jimmied it open further and climbed in, looking back out to find Kirum right behind him, the wolf’s snout inches from his. “Hi,” he chirped, reaching out and catching the wolf by his armpits.
“Hi yourself,” he grumbled as Naruto set him down. Shaking out his fur, Kirum looked around, “what are we doing here again? I thought we weren’t coming back for another couple weeks.”
“I’m almost to the end of my scroll,” the blond explained as he moved to the section on skills and techniques. “I need to see if there are anymore.”
“Ruto,” his brother sighed, sitting where he’d left him. “We’ve been through this library a hundred times by now. There’s no Fuinjutsu scrolls we haven’t seen already.”
“I know, I just—” Naruto bit his lip, staring unseeing at the spine of a book in front of him. “There has to be more, Kir. All of our clan’s knowledge, it can’t have just gone up in flames. I won’t believe it. I can’t.”
“Just because you refuse to believe doesn’t mean it’s impossible.” Came a soft voice from the window.
Naruto spun on his heel, eyes wide. “Itachi-sensei!” he cringed, avoiding the Uchiha’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Sensei but there’s something in me that says it isn’t true.”
There was a soft sigh and then a hand landed on his shoulder. “Naruto, look at me please.” Reluctantly, he did as asked, ice blue meeting black. He’d expected to find something like disappointment not…he didn’t know what emotion was but it was directed at him, like Itachi understood in a way most others couldn’t. It made eyes the color of coals softer, resembling the black sky before dawn.
Itachi smiled, a quirk of the lips more then a Shisui-sized expression. “I never said I didn’t believe you. If I were in your shoes, I’d be doing the same thing. All your life, you’ve nothing but a name and what little we can remember from a time before we were born. If my clan was to be wiped out the man, I know I’d search just as fiercely, trying to pull together every scrap and remnant so I could hold just a piece of them close.”
Naruto blinked, a burning sensation building behind his eyes, “Does that mean?”
“If Fuinjutsu is how you hold them close, then I’m going to help you find every source in here,” Itachi agreed. Unable to help himself, the blond lurched forward, wrapping him in a crushing hug. For all of a moment, his teacher didn’t react then…arms were winding their way around him, returning the embrace with equal force.
When a cold nose tried to pry it’s way into the embrace, Naruto choked out a wet laugh, reaching out to ruffle the fur between his brother’s ears. “You hear that, Kir?”
“Yay for more explosions,” Kirum drawled even as he caught Naruto’s palm between his teeth in a gentle reminder he was still there. His brother would always be there, all of his siblings would be. That he knew without a doubt.
Collecting himself, Naruto looked up to Itachi once more, “We’ve gathered everything in the public area we could find. We need a hitai-ate to get into the other areas. There’s an array in the leaf that allows Shinobi through the wards.”
“Good thing we have one of those,” Itachi reached up, flicking the silver band across his forehead. When it produced a faint ‘tink’ sound, his sensei winked, “let’s get to work, it won’t be long before we have to meet up with the others.”
Three hours later, Naruto sat a handful of scrolls down on one of the extended tables, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. Itachi came up beside him, setting down another two. The Uchiha frowned, brows furrowing concern. “All of Chunin and Jounin sections, only to come up with ten scrolls. I guess Fuinjutsu really is a dying art.”
Naruto shook his head, beaming at his teacher, “Itachi-sensei, it’s ten more scrolls then we had before. That’s worth it to me.”
A bark caught their attention and Naruto jogged across the room to another hall where Kirum had disappeared. When he tried to step through, he found his way blocked by a faint purple light and groaned. “Kir, you’re going have to come out, we can’t get to you.”
A few moments later, the wolf appeared, Itachi’s hitai-ate hanging from his neck. “I found a book but I can’t reach it.” He stepped back on the other side of the ward, allowing Naruto to remove the protector. “Unless you want me to bring the entire shelf down, either you or Itachi is going have to get it.”
Naruto held up the piece of armor, not even looking as Itachi took it and tied it across his forehead once more. “Where is it?”
Kirum hummed, accepting the ear scratch from the blond before he raised a paw to point. “Halfway down, left side, fourteenth shelf up, it smells like salt and sand.”
Their teacher disappeared into the abyss, coming back in a fraction of the time it had taken Kirum with a thick leather bound book in his hands. “Is this it?” His brown-eyed brother reached out, sniffing the cover before sneezing affirmative.
“What is it?” Naruto had to stand on his toes to see the cover, but he could at least make out what appeared to be a spiral on the front.
Itachi frowned, wiping off the cover before he read aloud, “Uzushio, Shining Gem of the Sea by Uzumaki Mito. Why does that name sound familiar?”
Naruto stared, jaw agape. He…He knew that name! He remembered it from… The blond took off, disappearing down another aisle. Searching the shelves frantically, blue eyes landed on the spine of a book he remembered pawning off on his sister once and he cheered. Grabbing it, he ran back to the others, wildly flipping through the pages before he found the section marked, Senju.
“The Senju were one of the founding families of Konohagakure, made famous by Senju Hashirama, the Shodaime and his brother, Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime.” he read quickly, the words pouring from his tongue as fast as he could read. “Lesser known but as famous, was Hashirama’s wife, Uzumaki Mito, the former princess of the village once known as Uzushio.”
Wide eyed, he met Itachi’s. “She-He-They were…” he needed to sit down. So saying, his knees gave out, and Naruto found himself on the floor, a wall of white cutting off the outside world. Distantly, a part of him realized he was halfway to a panic attack. Or probably already in one if the heartbeat in his ears was anything to go by.
“—to.”
“Ruto,” a voice filtered throught the white noise.
“Naruto, remember you breathing exercises.”
Breathing? Was he still doing that? Pressing a hand against his chest, he found it rising, felt a thumping beneath his ribcage. He inhaled, counting as had become habit. At ten, he let it go, counting again. This time to seven.
When he inhaled again, the wall of white moved in time, keeping beat even when he missed a number.
Inhale, ten.
A cold nose touched his neck.
Exhale, seven.
A soft rumble tickled his ears.
Inhale, ten.
The white wall was fur, coarse overcoat threaded with a golden undercoat.
Exhale, seven.
He reached up, arms instinctually wrapping around the wolf’s neck. “Kirum?”
“I’m here, Ruto,” came the rumbling reply.
Naruto closed his eyes, burying his face in brother’s fur. “I don’t want to be here anymore.” Too much, he’d taken in too much this night and he wanted to go home. To bury himself in the pile of warm bodies and sleep.
“We will soon, Itachi-sensei is sealing everything away as we speak.” The scrolls, he needed to help. When he tried to move his arms, they wouldn’t budge.
When he felt the emotion worry come near, Naruto lifted his head, blearily looking at the black blob over Kirum’s back. “Come on, Naruto-kun, I’ll take you home.”
Itachi-sensei. Itachi was safe. “Okay,” he nodded, reluctantly letting Kirum go. Their teacher picked him up, cradling him close as they moved, and Naruto curled into his warmth. If he had the energy for it, he would’ve said even Itachi’s chakra felt warm, a mix of summer afternoon and a campfire on a cold night. As it was, he didn’t remember after.