The first week without Naruto passed rather slowly, since everyone was used to the boundless energy of her brother. All of them, except Sasuke, were adults—even if they didn't know it—and Sasuke wasn't exactly the most exuberant teenager. Naruto's temporary departure also gave Sasuke and her the opportunity to talk alone now and then, admitting they were bored of being "stuck" in Uzushiogakure.
"It's not that I want to go back to the Land of Fire permanently," she said when Kisame raised an eyebrow at hearing their conversation, "but it would be nice to see something new every once in a while."
"There's nothing here. No life," Sasuke agreed. "Not even a grocery store."
"Maybe we could talk to Jiraiya-sama when he returns and ask if we can visit the Land of Fire again for a few days."
Sasuke and Seina smiled at the same time at Itachi's words of consolation. At least he hadn't flat-out refused the idea of leaving Uzushiogakure. Seeing their faces, Itachi let out a small snort of laughter.
"What do you want to do today?" Kisame asked with a yawn. "It's kind of a depressing day, even for me."
Seina looked at the clouds blanketing the sky, silently agreeing with him. They were sitting in front of the tent—Sasuke and her on a log, Kisame on a large rock, and Itachi on a tree branch. They had been practicing kenjutsu for a couple of hours, but once the sun had disappeared, they stopped to rest. That break had already lasted an hour, and no one seemed eager to resume training.
"I think I'll take the chance to write my weekly letter to Kakashi," she said.
"Could you send my letter with yours?" Itachi asked unexpectedly. "I'd like to talk to Kakashi-senpai."
"Of course."
"Well, I think I'll go take a bath at the beach."
They said goodbye to Kisame, who started walking toward the shore, while Sasuke laid down on the couch and pulled out a novel. Clearly, no one felt like doing anything strenuous, so she went to write that letter.
"Dear Kakashi,
It won't be long now until it's been two years since the last time we saw each other. Half the time has already passed, and though I no longer cry over your loss, I still feel the emptiness in my heart.
This week Naruto went to Mount Myoboku with Jiraiya to study senjutsu and train with Kurama's chakra. He's still having trouble. Probably because the first time he tried, he threw himself into it with so much enthusiasm that he ended up turning into a semi-human beast that tried to attack Jiraiya. Luckily, thanks to the talisman the pervert prepared, nothing happened. I hope this time, without us around, he'll manage to do it. I'm sure he will.
You'll notice that besides my letter, there's another one. It's from Itachi. Yeah, I know. Unbelievable, right? He's doing better every day. Less distant, less… traumatized. If you knew all the therapy-style conversations I've had with him… Honestly, I wouldn't wish what happened to him on anyone. It's inhuman. I keep feeling more and more like strangling Danzo. I swear. I don't know what he'll write to you, but I'm sure he'd be happy to hear back from you if you can, and want to. I know your time together in the ANBU was before the Uchiha tragedy began, but maybe he needs someone who doesn't remind him of that time.
Sasuke is improving so much with genjutsu. You should see him. Itachi says he's very impressed with his progress, both with traditional genjutsu and his mangekyo sharingan skills. I don't even know what to say, considering half the time they just stare at each other while the rest of us sit around like idiots waiting for something to happen.
I'm still practicing every day with Kisame. My water ninjutsu repertoire is comparatively much larger than the lightning or wind jutsus I know. It's amazing. I've also been training with the sharks and exploring the area around the island. You should see the coral reefs. They're incredible. Though it's a little unsettling to see the ocean floor completely dark. Luckily, I can light the way with my powers.
I'm also still training with my adamantine chains. So far, I've mastered eight, but the ninth one is proving more difficult than expected. And let me tell you, getting hit in the face with one of those hurts."
Seina lifted her head at the sound of footsteps approaching her open door. Itachi appeared, holding a letter in his hand. She stopped writing and gestured for him to sit on the bed if he wanted to wait. Itachi sat down, his eyes landing on the photo of her team on the nightstand. She finished writing much sooner than expected, slipping the letter into the envelope after assuring Kakashi that she thought of him more with each passing day.
"Are you done?" she asked Itachi. She saw him nod. "Give it to me."
"Don't you use your summons?"
"No. I created a tray linked to another tray. That way, the letters don't show up in the middle of a mission."
"Clever," Itachi said, watching both envelopes vanish into thin air. "Tell me, Seina… How do you do everything you do? What kind of kekkei genkai is it?"
"I'm afraid it's a new one."
"How do you know?"
Seina sighed, looking at Itachi. Until now, he hadn't asked her directly about her powers, but she knew he was burning with curiosity. Even Kisame, who she expected wouldn't ask because he was from Kiri, had questioned her out of sheer interest. Obviously, she had only told him that it was a new kekkei genkai she was still experimenting with, but…
She closed the door with a wave of her hand. As in all the rooms, the barriers activated instantly once it was shut. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the sight. It wasn't the first time he had seen it, but it was the first time he expected an explanation. He knew that the closeness they had begun to share, since Itachi had shown vulnerability to her, had made him more comfortable interacting with her and asking about her secrets.
"I have another energy, parallel to chakra. Basically, I can do whatever I want, as long as I can imagine it."
"...Seriously?"
"Yes. Watch this," she smiled. She conjured a cat out of nowhere. She knew Itachi loved them because he had told her.
He watched with wide eyes, picking it up and examining it. He even used his sharingan.
"Can you do it again?" he asked while looking at her closely with the evolved form. She summoned a different cat. "How is this possible? What dimension are you pulling them from?"
"From nothing."
"That's not possible. Even Kamui is tied to a different dimension."
"Honestly, sometimes I don't even know how I do what I do." At least, since she started using magic through imagination.
"Incredible. Does Danzo know about your powers?" he asked, watching as both cats vanished.
"I imagine he does, but he doesn't know what I'm capable of. What I've shown publicly looks similar to some jutsus, so I'm pretty sure he has no clue."
"And yet, he's tried to kidnap you several times," Itachi frowned. "If he had known... he would've gone about it much more directly."
Seina stood up from the chair and lay down on the bed to stare at the white ceiling. Itachi, surprisingly, or not, lay down beside her to do the same.
"What do you think he's doing with those eyes?"
"Nothing good, that's for sure. If I had to bet, I'd say he's transplanting them into his most trusted ninja, but..."
"But what?" she asked, curious now. She turned her head to look at him beside her. He looked thoughtful.
"Danzo wanted Shisui's eye so badly that he attacked him without hesitation, so I'd be surprised if he gave that eye to anyone else after coveting it like that."
"You don't think...?"
"That he transplanted it into himself?" Itachi finished with a grim, disgusted tone. "It's possible."
Seina seriously considered it. Danzo always had one eye bandaged, so it could be. She'd have to ask Kakashi when was the last time someone saw Danzo with both eyes. Maybe Itachi's crazy theory made more sense than either of them expected. If so, had Danzo used that eye on someone? The Third came to mind. She remembered thinking—and discussing it with Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi—that he was incompetent... but what if he hadn't been incompetent or stupid, just under a genjutsu so subtle it couldn't be detected? If he had used it, and considering it could only be activated once every ten years, that would explain why he hadn't used it on Lady Tsunade too.
A chill ran up her spine. Itachi glanced at her sideways, noticing.
"Are you okay?"
"I just had a thought."
"Hn?"
She briefly explained what she'd just considered. Itachi blinked, then frowned.
"It's possible. At this point, being so far from Danzo, I don't know what he has done or is doing. It's almost irritating not knowing," he admitted in a deep voice.
Seina sighed. She rested her head on Itachi's shoulder. She stopped thinking about it before she gave herself a brain aneurysm. That was how Sasuke found them when, bored, he had come upstairs. He went to his brother's room, and upon finding it empty, heard footsteps leading to her room. Seina opened the door before he could knock. She raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking what he was doing. Sasuke knew she had something going on with Kakashi, so he could guess the question.
Itachi didn't even flinch. He looked at his brother, still lying beside her on the bed. She gestured for him to come closer. As soon as he was within reach, she pulled him down. Sasuke let himself be dragged, ending up mostly on top of her and Itachi. He didn't want to talk about Danzo or her powers, the only things they had discussed, but she gave him a mental overview of the conversation through their bond. Satisfied, Sasuke lay across both of them, horizontally.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit heavy?" Itachi asked in a teasing tone.
Sasuke raised his head, surprised to hear him joke. Then he dropped it back down, ignoring him.
"You're crushing my lungs with your butt," she said, rather seriously.
"Are you a ninja or what?"
He turned around, lying properly like the others on the bed, ending up between Itachi and her. She rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder, feeling incredibly sleepy. It really wasn't a day for training. Sasuke hugged her like a teddy bear. She saw over her brother's shoulder how Itachi watched them with a content smile. He reached out to pull him onto Sasuke's back.
"Don't you ever get tired of having so many brothers?" asked Kurama, yawning too. "Just wait till they find out you're dating Kakashi. Kukuku."
Seina didn't respond. She was too busy battling sleep while Sasuke held her close and Itachi embraced them both. She ended up falling asleep.
When she woke up, judging by her stomach it had been hours. Itachi was awake but had his eyes closed while still hugging them both, and Sasuke was deeply asleep. She didn't want to ruin the moment, so she closed her eyes again, relaxing.
Suddenly, she felt Jiraiya's portkey appear outside the tent, just at the edge of her barriers. Since it wasn't Jiraiya, the barriers alerted her immediately. She opened her eyes just as Sasuke jolted awake, stiffening as he processed what had woken him and opened his eyes too. Of course, the second Sasuke went on alert, Itachi froze as well, likely trying to detect what was going on. Interestingly, all this happened within just a few seconds, enough time for her to get up instantly and head toward the tent entrance, followed closely by Sasuke and, obviously, Itachi.
As soon as she saw one of Jiraiya's summons—without Jiraiya or Naruto—both Sasuke and Seina knew something was wrong. She summoned her medical kit just as the small, unfamiliar toad opened its mouth.
"Seina-san, Jiraiya needs immediate medical attention!"
She saw out of the corner of her eye as Itachi created a clone at the same time Seina, Sasuke, and Itachi grabbed the toad and were reverse-summoned. They appeared in a sunny place, full of gigantic plants and vegetation everywhere. The toad, however, had summoned them right next to Jiraiya, so she immediately realized he was seriously injured. Not just him, but also Naruto at his feet. She created a clone to tend to Naruto while she healed Jiraiya's open chest wound, getting rid of his bloodied clothes and seeing the claw mark his brother had left.
"Damn…" murmured Sasuke, looking at the wound. "He must not have managed to place the talisman in time."
"Uzumaki healing is incredible," said Itachi, watching as Naruto's burns disappeared quickly with her help. "But he's unconscious."
Seina took a while to close his wounds. She also gave him one of her potions to replenish lost blood and examined him, but that was all. They waited a while for them to wake up on their own. Kurama suddenly leapt from his seal in his human-sized form. He leaned over Naruto to examine him with interest.
"I knew it. The idiots… They tried using our partial transformation along with senjutsu."
"And why did he lose control?"
"Your blockhead brother doesn't have the same chakra control you do. He lost control as soon as both energies clashed, causing a conflict. Until he masters the partial form and can bring me out like you do… he better not try again."
"U-ugh…" groaned Naruto. "We were just curious what would happen."
Seina just sighed. Luckily, Jiraiya wouldn't have a single scar from the encounter, but it could have been much worse. Naruto sat up, observing the pervert with a critical eye, then relaxed when he saw he was alive.
"I shouldn't have listened to him."
"Jiraiya-sama let you try it?" asked Itachi, somewhat surprised.
"I managed to reach Sage Mode after 7 days, although I don't have full control. After that, I wanted to practice with Kurama, so he told me to try using his chakra while meditating in Sage Mode to see what would happen. Bad idea," Naruto groaned again.
"One of these days…"
"We didn't know I'd lose control and turn into a mini-Kurama again!"
"Exactly, dobe! You didn't know, so why the hell did you try it when you don't have full control of either?" snapped Sasuke, exasperated.
"I know, I know!"
"Jiraiya-chan is too curious," said an old toad who had been watching silently. "He believed the talisman would work, but with Sage Mode Naruto-chan was faster and attacked before he could place it on his forehead. Luckily, it was just a small claw mark and a bump on the head."
"At least now I know I can combine them, though I'll have to train hard not to lose control again."
Sasuke smacked him on the head for worrying them, which Naruto accepted with a pout. Interestingly, he didn't seem too concerned about having attacked Jiraiya. It was clear that training alone with the pervert doing who knows what had restored much of his confidence. The old pervert woke up a few minutes later. The first thing he did was touch his chest, probably confused, then opened his eyes in Seina's direction upon realizing the toad had successfully reached her.
"Ah… Thank you, Seina," he said, groaning as he got up and stretched his bones. "What are you all doing here?"
"I wasn't going to let her go alone just like that."
"Hn."
"If it had been more serious, you could've ended up crippled for weeks."
"But at least now we know Naruto still isn't ready to mix both energies at once."
"Will you be alright?" she finally asked with a sigh, seeing that none of them seemed too affected by what had just happened.
"Yeah, yeah. Just a scratch and a bump. Tsunade breaks more of my bones on a regular basis."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Seina let out a snort of laughter while Itachi looked at him exasperated. They left shortly afterward, finding Kisame sitting on a log near the tent.
"Did the pervert die?"
"No," she laughed. "It wasn't that bad."
"Shame."
Naruto and Jiraiya didn't return by mid-May as they had planned. Seina knew they were going to stay longer after what had happened. It was obvious Naruto felt more comfortable training alone with Kurama and that he needed to keep working on his chakra control, especially now that his tenketsu were receiving much more chakra, expanding, and throwing off his control again. They weren't even close, but she could hear her brother's whining about having to retrain his chakra control.
"Naruto is too impatient," Itachi told her one day, sitting beside her as usual. "He's come a long way in a short time, considering where he started."
"Tell that to the dobe."
She continued her therapy with Itachi, though it was obvious to everyone that he was getting closer to having nothing left to process or heal. One day, Itachi opened up to Kisame while Sasuke and she were present.
"At first, I thought it'd be hard to be your partner," he confessed with a small smile, "but then, strangely, I realized we worked better than expected."
"Who would've thought, huh?" Kisame said, looking at him with a frankly surprised, and pleased, expression.
"I know I've never said it, Kisame, but I appreciate you. You're a good friend."
Kisame seemed to jump slightly, confused. He said nothing as he looked at Itachi with a blank face, then sighed.
"Huh. I guess I should tell you… I appreciate you too, even if you've been a damn block of ice for most of the time."
"Hn."
Itachi smiled at that. Despite everything he had suffered, Itachi was one of the calmest people she knew. Much calmer than Kakashi, to be honest; her fiancé, deep down, was more passionate than Itachi, and it showed in his personality. With therapy, Itachi almost seemed like a new person. Sasuke, by comparison, was more intense. Now that she thought about it, she was the Itachi to Naruto, but both of them were far more excitable than the Uchiha brothers.
"Besides Kisame… Don't you have any other friends?" she asked one afternoon while they were resting. Itachi was with her while she finished repairing the last buildings in Uzushiogakure.
"No. It's hard to make friends when you're a criminal."
"Well, it's not like you're the only criminal in the world."
"I know, but most criminals are criminals because they're not very good people. They're not the kind of people I'd want to associate with. They're not like Kisame," Itachi admitted, grabbing a chunk of wood and tossing it onto the scrap pile.
"And any girls?" she asked slyly, smiling over her shoulder. "Or guys?"
"Hn. I don't think you really want to know about my… relationships."
"On the contrary," she turned around. "I'm very curious."
"Really?"
"Dead serious. I can't gossip with Naruto or Sasuke—you know how they are," Itachi snorted a laugh. "And my friends from Konoha were pretty young when we left."
"And you?" Itachi asked suddenly.
"Me what?"
"It sounded like you weren't one of the 'pretty young' ones."
"Well, I'm older now than I was two years ago, right? But you're not going to distract me," she said. Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, like he wanted to say she wasn't going to distract him either.
"Alright. I'll tell you what you want to know, and then you tell me your secrets."
Kurama chuckled from where he was pretending to nap on top of a wall. Itachi looked over at him, even more intrigued. Seina thought about it. It was clear Itachi suspected something was going on with her.
"Telling me you've sex with someone doesn't entitle you to all my secrets."
Itachi choked but quickly recovered, watching her with a bit of surprise at her bluntness. What? Did he think she didn't talk or think about that stuff? She was ready to talk about it even with her brothers, but none of them seemed receptive or interested in discussing sex with their sister. Not yet, anyway.
"Then, if you already know I've had relationships… why ask?"
"Because I'm bored? Because I want to know you better? Because of gossip?" she shrugged. "Why don't we play a game? I ask you a question and you have to answer honestly—no cheating. If you don't want to answer, you can ask for a different question, but you can only skip three times."
"…Fine," he said, sitting down on a freshly rebuilt stone bench. "Who goes first?"
"I will, if you want, with easier questions. What's your favourite colour?" Itachi raised an unimpressed brow.
"Black. Favourite season?"
"Spring."
They played, answering trivial questions for about twenty minutes. Seina learned that his favourite hobby was visiting different cafés, his favourite sweet was dango, and he hated the thick, bland meat steaks from some yakiniku places. Apparently, he knew a ninja fan combat style but never used it because he was too lazy. His blood type was AB positive. He had a particular disgust for cockroaches, especially flying ones, because they were usually associated with filth. He had never fallen in love but knew he was bisexual. He'd also never been promoted to jonin, to her amusement and surprise, because he left the village before taking the exams.
"So…," she stifled a laugh, suppressing a smile, "I outrank you?"
"…Yes…" Itachi answered slowly, as if he couldn't believe it, "and no. Unless you're also an ANBU."
"Is that your next question?"
"Are you?"
"I am."
Itachi blinked, realizing she wasn't joking. She showed him the tattoo. He shook his head. She didn't know exactly what he was thinking, but she could guess. She waited for him to ask when or why she was promoted, or something related, but Itachi caught her off guard.
"Earlier, when you talked about your friends, it sounded like you weren't talking about just being two years older now. Why?"
"…Are we starting with the tough questions?" she sighed. "Because I wasn't talking about that."
"Seina, you said we had to be honest. Are you really going to make me waste another question when you know exactly what I'm asking?"
Damn Itachi. It was clear he wasn't going to let it go. Still, hadn't he already earned her trust? He had placed a lot of trust in her when he didn't have to. He had risked more than she had in a long time.
"Alright. You trusted me, so I'll do the same. I'll share my biggest secret."
Itachi studied her for a few minutes, once again realizing she meant it. In the end, he nodded seriously.
"Does Sasuke know?"
"Yes. And Naruto, and Kakashi."
"Okay. What is it?"
"Look me in the eyes, and I'll show you."
Itachi and she locked eyes. He blinked as he felt her enter his mind. She wasn't being particularly subtle, and Itachi knew mental combat well enough to notice her instantly. He didn't resist, so she simply showed him everything. Her first, only, and tragic memory of her old parents, her miserable life with the Dursleys, year after year at Hogwarts, the summers, her months-long flight through forests in search of Voldemort's horcruxes, the final battle at Hogwarts, her first death. The recovery, her training as an Auror, her new relationship with George, her interest in magical arts she never cared for at Hogwarts, her new blood family, the passing of years, and eventually, her death.
She also showed him the blurry memory of Minato and Kushina, the first time she could see clearly at the orphanage, her brother, the attacks at the orphanage, her first apartment. Her admission to the academy, how she cared for Naruto for years, how they graduated and ended up on the same team as Sasuke, how she realized Sasuke wasn't okay and needed them, how she realized Kakashi wasn't much better, how she decided to help Sasuke by accepting him into her family, then Kakashi, how they trained and learned from each other, how she was promoted to chunin, trained with Tsunade-sama, did team and solo missions, climbed ranks again, again, and again. She showed him how Sasuke slowly changed his view of him as they discovered the truth about Itachi. How they planned to help him return to Sasuke. Finally, she showed him how everything went to hell quickly because of the enemies they all had.
She withdrew from his mind knowing that Itachi, with his brilliant mind, had understood everything. She had laid it all bare, tired of repeating her story over and over. Now Itachi knew practically everything about her—maybe even more than Kakashi did, since she had never shown him such a full memory summary.
Silence fell as he looked at her like he didn't know her, and at the same time, like he had finally found the last piece of the puzzle. Strangely, Itachi slowly stood from where he was sitting and walked toward her. Before she could understand what he was doing, he took her in his arms and hugged her tightly to his chest, burying his face in her hair. Seina embraced him back, not quite sure why he was hugging her, and closed her eyes against his firm torso.
"Thank you."
"For what?" she asked, still confused.
"For trusting me when no one else did. For showing me your secrets and letting me be part of your life. For letting me be more than just your teammate's brother."
"You're welcome, Itachi. That's what family is for."