Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ What a Wonderful World ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

~b~ normal story

~B~ flash backs

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

What a Wonderful World

“Ow,” Rin moaned, walking into the kitchen the next morning. Mitsutori glanced up from serving Daiki and smiled at her. “I would recommend never sleeping outside on a hammock with six other people,” Rin stated, collapsing next to Mitsutori.

“Are they still out there sleeping?” Mitsutori asked.

“Yeah, they'll probably wake up soon. Where's Kato?” she responded looking around.

“She went to pick up a few things,” Mitsutori replied.

“I thought you two did that yesterday,” Rin said.

“We needed a few more things,” was the cryptic answer she received.

“What are you two planning?” Kakashi asked, yawning before setting a still slumbering Rishito next to his mother and taking a seat himself.

“Well it's just that they were on their own and on the run for so long. And in all the confusion and excitement of getting them back and having to take care of everything so fast, Kato and I realized that they probably haven't celebrated their birthdays in a while,” Mitsutori said sheepishly.

“Actually, they're right. I doubt any of them have done anything for their birthdays in at least two years,” Kakashi said.

“And since we didn't really do anything for Naruto's a week ago…” Rin trailed off.

“We'll hold a birthday party for all three tonight,” Kato announced proudly, walking in.

“How long are we going to let them sleep?” Mitsutori asked, glancing out the window. Rin and Kakashi's eyes widened and they both glanced nervously out the door. “What's wrong?” Mitsutori asked.

“We left Itachi out there with them,” Rin muttered.

Mitsutori looked in between the two in confusion. “What's wrong with that?”

“Those three aren't exactly morning people,” Kato explained.

“Hmmm…looks like Naruto's waking up,” Kakashi stated, watching the four from the window. “Five…four…three…two…one…” he counted.

“SASUKE-TEME, MOVE OVER YOU'RE TAKING UP ALL THE ROOM!” Naruto's dulcet voice rang out clearly.

A moment later Sakura and Sasuke's response was clearly heard with in the house, “SHUT UP NARUTO!”

“STOP SHOUTING!” Naruto replied.

“YOU STOP SHOUTING. YOU WOKE US UP!” Sasuke retorted.

Kakashi watched in amusement as the two boys began struggling on the hammock. Sakura quickly squirmed away from the two as their fighting grew more erratic. It wasn't until the hammock tilted perilously that Itachi finally sat up. He glared at the two struggling teens. “Stop it,” he ordered… only to be completely ignored.

“YOU IDIOTS STOP MOVING!” Sakura shrieked. Kakashi began snickering as he watched the girl struggle to halt the out of control swing. The others rushed outside just in time to see Itachi grab Sakura and jump off the hammock and onto the tree above. The moment their weight was removed the hammock tipped over spilling the two boys into a heap on the ground.

“YOU COMPLETE IDIOTS! FOR ONCE THINK BEFORE JUMPING AT EACH OTHER! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN ME HURT!” Sakura scolded from the tree branch several meters above the two. While Sakura continued lecturing the two, Itachi turned to glare at the group gathered outside the kitchen door. Rin, Kato, and Mitsutori were hanging onto each other laughing. Kakashi was standing slightly off to the side with a bleary Rishito and confused three year old Daiki.

Itachi turned his glare away from Kakashi and onto the still shouting Sakura. He clamped a hand over her mouth before picking her up and jumping out of the tree. “You're giving me a headache,” he stated once they had landed and he had released her.

“Get your hands off Sakura-chan,” Naruto yelled to Itachi. Itachi turned to glare at Naruto and discovered that the two had given up their feud in favor of glaring at him. “Do you two do nothing but argue and get into fights?” he asked.

“Of course we do,” Naruto replied. “We train…and eat…” he trailed off, turning to look at Kakashi. As Naruto's grin widened, Kakashi watched him suspiciously. “You know Kakashi-sensei, it's been about a year since you last treated us to ramen,” he said.

“What a wonderful idea Naruto,” Rin said smiling. “Kakashi, why don't you and Itachi take all of them into town for a while and get lunch while you're there?” she suggested, “Mitsutori, Kato, and I have things to do anyways; so, take Rishito and Daiki with you.”

“We'll be ready to go in a minute,” Sakura exclaimed happily, as she pulled Naruto and Sasuke back into the house to get changed.

The moment the three disappeared, Kakashi and Itachi turned on Rin. “I'm going to go broke,” Kakashi stated.

“Oh, don't be such a whiny baby. While you're gone the three of us will get everything ready for tonight,” Rin said sweetly, disappearing into the house.

Two minutes after Rin, Mitsutori, and Kato had reentered the house the three teens walked out. Naruto and Sasuke were both wearing bandanas to hide their hair; Sakura had chosen a hat. All three were still dressed in their drab clothing; Kakashi decided that he really needed to get them into something else because it was making him depressed. “Alright let's go,” he said, once Naruto had helped Daiki settle on Sakura's back.

“What are we going to do?” Rishito asked, glancing up Kakashi. His eyes widened comically when he realized what his father had in his hand. “You're not supposed to be reading that!” he shouted.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke glanced up in confusion. “Geez, you're still reading that?” Naruto asked when he saw the little orange book.

“Still?” Rishito asked, turning to the three in shock.

“Kakashi-sensei always read that book during training,” Sakura stated, shaking her head at her sensei.

“But…but mom said you're not supposed to read it,” Rishito stuttered, looking back and forth between his dad and his students.

Itachi smirked and rolled his eyes as Kakashi slowly put the book down and looked at Rishito seriously. “There is no reason that Rin needs to know about this,” he stated.

“But…but,” Naruto thought Rishito looked amusingly terrified as he stuttered about the prospect of lying to his mother.

“What would Rin do if she found out?” Sasuke asked, looking up at Rishito.

“She'd flip. Mom said it's dangerous because he could miss something if he gets too into it - whatever that means,” Rishito explained.

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei, I'm guessing you don't want us to tell her,” Naruto said smugly.

“I'm not buying you more ramen just to keep you silent,” Kakashi stated, gaining a curse from Naruto.

While Naruto sulked, Sakura looked up at Kakashi curiously. “How is everyone back in Konoha?” she asked hesitantly.

Kakashi looked at her for a moment before responding, “All of the rookies your age are now Chuunin. Shikamaru and Neji will probably make Jounin within the next month.”

“They all passed in Suna?” Sakura asked.

“Of course,” Rishito proclaimed, “they're really strong. They teach us a lot when we aren't in school.” None of the three teens could respond; Kakashi glanced back at them once before leading them the rest of the way to town. It had been their decision; they'd have to deal with residual effects.

XXXXXXXX

Later that afternoon seven content people - well six, Naruto was too busy moping because Kakashi had refused to let him have more than three bowls of ramen - returned back to their lodging. “So what are they planning?” Sasuke asked, trying to drown out Naruto's whining as they approached the door.

Kakashi looked at them inquisitively, gleaning dubious looks from all three of his former students. “Rin-san was acting suspicious when we came downstairs after getting ready,” Sakura explained.

“You must have been seeing things,” Kakashi countered before sticking his nose back in his book.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke turned their attention from Kakashi and onto Itachi hoping for answers. “I didn't speak with Rin this morning before we left,” Itachi claimed.

“So who was the other lady?” Naruto asked out of the blue.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at him in surprise for a moment before turning to Kakashi. “That's right there was another woman with them today. We weren't introduced to her,” Sakura said, as they entered the kitchen. Instead of waiting for an answer, Sakura walked into the living room intending to let Daiki continue his nap and come back for her answer.

Naruto and Sasuke looked up when they heard Sakura attempt to stifle a gasp. She had halted in the doorway to the living room; Sakura slowly turned around and beckoned her teammates forward. “What's all this for?” Naruto asked, walking in to the brightly decorated room.

In various frames around the room were pictures that definitely hadn't been there the morning before. Sakura set Daiki on the couch and followed her teammates forward to inspect the newest additions. Kakashi, Rishito, and Itachi entered the room behind them; Kakashi gently nudged Rishito and pointed up the stairs, “Tell Rin we're home.”

“All of these are of us; where did the come from?” Sakura asked, turning around to face Kakashi.

“I don't know. I'd assume the more recent ones were taken by Rin and Kato, but I don't know about the others,” Kakashi replied honestly.

“I got some of them from Boke Mato and his wife. I went through Utsuro on my way back here to tell them that you three were okay,” Rin explained, walking down the stairs. “He also mentioned that his daughter Ayame would be starting at the Academy at the start of the next semester,” she added.

“Really? They mentioned they were considering it when we were there, but I didn't know if they actually would,” Sakura said, momentarily ignoring the pictures to gaze back at Rin.

Sasuke and Naruto still seemed to be entranced by the many snapshots surrounding the room. So much so in fact that they seemed to have completely missed the other room decorations. Including the three relatively small piles of presents sitting in the middle of the room.

“What's all this for?” Sasuke finally asked, turning around to face Rin and the others. Naruto and Sakura continued to peruse the pictures.

“We figured that since we didn't do much for any of your birthdays, we'd throw one big celebration now,” Rin explained.

“Eh?” Naruto muttered, tearing his attention away from the pictures.

“We're throwing the three of you a birthday party,” Mitsutori stated. She received nothing but blank stares from Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

“This is Nami Mitsutori,” Kato began, “she's my cousin and a friend of Kakashi and Rin's. While Rishito is attending the Academy, he's staying with her.” The three teens nodded in greeting but still looked confused.

Itachi rolled his eyes at the bemused expressions on their faces. “Maybe we should let them open their presents; that might snap them out of it,” Kakashi said as his eye curved up in amusement. It wasn't everyday he saw his students so baffled; they were all surprisingly difficult to catch so off guard.

“Good idea, time for presents,” Kato proclaimed, snatching a still slumbering Daiki off of the couch to make room for the three. The three teens glanced at each other once more before migrating over to the couch. Rin reached down and picked up one of the gifts and handed it to Sakura.

The group spent the next half hour watching the three open their gifts. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke got the vague impression that the others were trying to tell them something. The jutsu scrolls from Itachi and Kakashi. The specially made kunai that were the same style as the ones Mato had given them. Scrolls on seals and healing from Rin. Instead of thinking about it, they shrugged off the nagging feeling and ate cake.

XXXXXXXX

“Have a seat Naruto,” Rin said when Naruto walked into the kitchen the next morning - well afternoon; he had woken up around noon. Sakura, Sasuke, and most of the others were still asleep; but Rin, Kakashi, Kato, and Rin's friend Mitsutori were all sitting in front of him.

Naruto fidgeted slightly near the door and reflexively muttered, “I didn't do anything.”

“No, you didn't,” Rin assured. “We did,” she added a moment later as Naruto sat down next to Kakashi.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked looking over at her.

“We…lied,” Kakashi said, after the adults exchanged a rather nervous glance. As much as they wanted him to know, Naruto's reactions were completely unpredictable.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked nervously, sliding imperceptibly closer to the door.

“Lying isn't exactly the best way to describe it. More like withholding information,” Rin said, trying to calm him down a bit.

“Does this have to do with the answers you said you could give me?” Naruto asked, gaining a nod from Rin.

“I could have brought this up the day I convinced you to stay with me, but I felt it was fair to wait until Kakashi could be here as well. Because he was around you the most in the past, he's had to keep it from you the longest,” Rin explained.

“W-what is this a-about?” Naruto stuttered, looking up at them nervously.

“We need you to understand that today we can only tell you so much. We'll answer as many questions as we can, but some things we just can't tell you,” Rin said.

“O-okay,” Naruto mumbled after a moment.

The adults glanced at each other once more before Mitsutori finally spoke up. “As Kato explained yesterday, my name is Nami Mitsutori. The Nami family, currently led by my great-aunt, has had a long history with Konoha. The morning of the Kyuubi's attack, my cousin and several other friends and family members were heading to Konoha to visit with some of their acquaintances. Not far from Konoha they were attacked by bandits and my cousin, Satumina, was injured. At the time she was seven months pregnant,” Mitsutori said. Naruto swallowed slightly wondering if she was implying what he thought she was.

“By the time they got her to Konoha, she had already lost quite a bit of blood. She held on a few more hours, but only until her son was safely born,” Rin continued. “I was the medic on duty at that time; it was amazing that she lasted as long as she did. You were born around eleven that morning, she remained alive for about another half hour.”

Naruto blinked once at Rin's announcement. He took a moment to study each of the adults at the table, praying that this wasn't some type of joke. The serious expressions that adorned each of their faces promised him that for once they weren't lying. After staring at them for several more minutes Naruto finally managed to regain his voice momentarily, “But…” he trailed off leaving the implied question hanging in the air.

“Sandaime made the decision to raise you in Konoha for your own safety,” Kakashi rationalized.

“When you were young, my great aunt Senma and Sandaime-sama got into a number of arguments over your upbringing. The most distressing of these was whether or not you would become a shinobi. Senma-sama was firmly against the idea; Sandaime-sama believed it was in your best interest to become a shinobi in order to protect yourself as you grew. Their arguments eventually led to Sandaime-sama essentially banning the Nami family from coming near you. He feared that someone would do something rash,” Mitsutori explained.

“After Sandaime-sama's death there were problems all over Fire Country, including Anraku where most of the Nami family lives,” Rin stated.

“Over the past several years, Senma-sama has suffered from a number of illnesses. With her declining health, and the knowledge that for the time being you were safe, we didn't interfere. She considered sending someone once the Godaime was instituted, but she wasn't sure how you would take it,” Mitsutori added.

“So…I've had family all along,” Naruto stated, causing the others to wince.

“I'm sorry. This never should have happened; we at least should have contacted you after Sandaime's death, but Senma-sama was so worried about how it would affect you,” Mitsutori stuttered.

Naruto looked at her in confusion. He couldn't figure out why she seemed to be panicking all of a sudden. “So you were my mom's cousin?” he asked trying to clarify.

Mitsutori was slightly taken back by Naruto's calm question. After a moment she decided it was safe to answer. “Yes, she was about ten years older than me. She lost her parents when she was young; my parents took her in. We were very close,” she said.

“So is this Senma-baba okay now?” Naruto asked.

Mitsutori nearly choked at his reference to her great aunt. Rin snorted beside her, “What did you expect? He called Tsunade the same thing.”

“What did I say?” Naruto asked in confusion, allowing the tension that had been building to drain out of the room.

“Senma-sama, has been doing fine for the past year or so,” Kato answered, hoping Naruto would catch some of the respectful emphasis.

“So…I've really had family all along,” Naruto repeated.

“Hmm…you're forgetting that even without the Nami family you've had family all along…” Kato said, causing Naruto to snicker a bit.

“Yeah, but that family is really weird…” Naruto stated.

“Which is why it fits you,” Kakashi muttered, causing Naruto to glare at him.

“You know you were talking about yourself, right?” he asked. Kakashi ignored him and pulled out his book immediately catching Rin's attention.

“That better not be what I think it is,” she warned.

“It's not,” Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

“It's Jiraiya's book; I can see his penname on the cover,” Rin growled.

“It's Come, Come Violence,” Kakashi said.

“What did I tell you about reading his book?”

“You told me never to read Come, Come Paradise, which is hypocritical since you gave it to me in the first place.”

“I was trying to get you in trouble with sensei, but that isn't the point. I told you I never wanted to see you read Jiraiya's book.”

“You told me you never wanted to see me read Come, Come Paradise; you never said anything about its sequel,” Kakashi finally countered.

Rin's eye twitched and she glared at her ex-teammate. Mitsutori and Kato slowly backed away from the table and towards the kitchen door, but Naruto was frozen in place trying not to laugh. “He was reading it yesterday too, on the way into town,” Naruto supplied, gaining a glare from Kakashi. Mitsutori's eyes widened and she quickly pulled Naruto to his feet and away from the other two.

She was just in time it seemed.

XXXXXXXX

Sakura woke up not long after one on the day after the `birthday party'. She slowly shuffled out of her room and down the hall, hoping to get something to sate her growing hunger. “Ow,” she muttered, stepping back and attempting to find the barrier that had prevented her from descending to the kitchen and given her a bruise on her forehead. She turned blearily when she heard laughter behind her.

“Rin and Kakashi needed to talk to Naruto so they sealed us up here,” Itachi explained from his doorway.

“What's going on?” came Sasuke's query as he stumbled into the hallway.

“He said something about Naruto getting in trouble again…I think,” Sakura attempted to explain.

“I said that they wanted to talk to him, not that he was in trouble,” Itachi reiterated. “Mitsutori and Kato are down there with then.”

“Then why is it important enough to stop us from eating breakfast,” Sakura whined.

“You would be eating lunch not breakfast, and the fact that they are there is exactly why it are important,” Itachi claimed.

“You're not making any sense,” Sasuke stated.

“You have no idea who the Nami family is, do you?” Itachi asked.

“Umm… should we? I get the fact that they're close with Rin-san, but…” Sakura quieted when Itachi shook his head in amusement.

“None of you found it remotely odd that out of nowhere this non shinobi family offers assistance. Not only that but at least one of them has enough knowledge to help one of Konoha's foremost seal experts create a seal to block one created by one of the Sannin. They offer you housing, complete acceptance, an-”

“Are you saying we shouldn't trust them?” Sakura asked in confusion.

“The Nami family is nothing if not trustworthy, but you shouldn't take anything for granted,” Itachi explained. “While they would do this for almost any orphan that they ran across, I believe that there is more to it than that.”

“Like what?” Sasuke asked.

“They are very protective of all orphans, especially those within the family,” Itachi stated.

“I'm pretty sure you're implying something but I just woke up. What does this have to with Narut-oh!” Sakura finally exclaimed. “You think Naruto is a Nami?” she clarified, gaining a nod from Itachi.

“Why?” Sasuke asked suspiciously.

“While they do help orphans they come across, I have never heard of them actually seeking anyone out. The matriarch of the family, Nami Senma, was the one who originally claimed that the three of you were alive. In the past she has always proven intuitive,” Itachi explained.

“Hmm…so which side does it come from?” Sakura asked.

“Mother's,” Itachi replied without hesitation.

“You seem awfully sure about that,” Sasuke said. Itachi shrugged and walked back into his room; it wasn't like he was actually supposed to know any of this anyways.

“So when will they let us down there?” Sakura asked before Itachi closed the door.

“When Rin calms down enough to remember she put the barrier up in the first place,” he answered.

Sakura sighed and slid down to sit at the top of the stairs and whined, “But I'm hungry.”

Sasuke shook his head at her and sat down as well. They were in for a long wait.

XXXXXXXX

While they were waiting for Rin to stop terrorizing Kakashi; Mitsutori and Naruto walked outside, leaving Kato to remain and try to mediate the situation. “Where is everyone else?” Naruto asked.

“Rishito and Daiki are playing in the front yard. Itachi, Sakura, and Sasuke must still be sleeping; you all did stay up rather late last night,” Mitsutori said. She watched him nervously for a few moments before finally speaking again. “I just want to make sure you know that we don't expect you to drop everything else for us. But at some time, when you're ready, I know the rest of the family would love to meet you.

“Kato meant what she said, when she told you that even without the Nami family you've had family all along. Rin and Kakashi really do care a lot about you; they watched over you when you were little. Your teammates too.”

XXXXXXXX

Four hours later, Sakura was beginning to ponder the nutritious value of her leg. On second thought, her leg didn't look very satisfying. She looked around the hall hoping to miraculously find a source of nourishment when her eyes landed on her teammate. “Sasuke it is your duty to let me eat your leg,” Sakura stated.

“What?” Sasuke asked in confusion.

“Well it's not like I can eat my own leg, therefore it is your duty to make a sacrifice for your teammate,” Sakura explained.

“What are the two of you doing?” Itachi asked, walking back out of your room.

“Waiting for Rin to undo the seal. It's been four hours and I'm starving,” Sakura whined.

“You've been sitting out here for four hours,” Itachi repeated in exasperation. “Why didn't you just use one of your windows. The barrier only applies to the stairs to stop us from directly entering the kitchen.”

“And you waited until now to tell us,” Sasuke stated.

“I'll admit that we were curious as to why you two were still up here. Not that Kakashi ran out of explanations,” Itachi retorted.

“So you've spoken with them? Were you right?” Sakura asked, ignoring his quip.

“Why don't you find your way downstairs and ask Naruto yourself?” Itachi suggested.

“Fine,” Sakura said, standing up. She walked forward to head down the stairs until she bumped into the invisible barrier for the second time that day.

“Did I forget to mention that Rin forgot to remove it before she left?” Itachi said nonchalantly. Sakura turned around and glared at him, but the mood was lost when Sasuke cracked up. He was still laughing when Naruto walked up the stairs.

“No, Naruto don't there's a-” Sakura's warning was cut off when Naruto walked past her and stepped in front of Sasuke. “Barrier?” she mumbled, turning to Itachi in confusion.

“What you mean this thing?” Naruto asked, pulling out two tags. “Rin told me to get rid of these when she left,” he explained shrugging. “What's so funny?” he asked Sasuke. Sasuke merely shook his head and stood up. “Whatever, Rin left dinner for us. She's going out with Kakashi-sensei, Kato, and Mitsutori,” Naruto said before turning around and walking back down to the kitchen where Daiki and Rishito had begun to fidget.

“Can we eat now?” Rishito pleaded.

Itachi nodded before walking out of the kitchen. “Where are you going?” Sasuke shouted after him.

“He ate earlier,” Naruto told him.

“So why were we locked upstairs for hours so that you could talk to Rin-san and Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked.

“Umm…we'll talk about it later,” Naruto stuttered.

“Oh did they finally tell you that you were related t-mph” Rishito was cut off when Itachi popped back into the kitchen and slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Oh…so Itachi-teme was right? You are related to the Nami family!” Sakura proclaimed happily, she missed the puzzled look on Rishito's face completely.

“Not you too,” Itachi muttered under his breath, glaring at Sakura.

“Eh? How did Itachi-teme know?” Naruto asked, turning to the older shinobi in bafflement.

“I guessed,” was Itachi's simple answer.

“Oh, okay,” Naruto replied, shrugging and turning back to his food.

“Where did Rin-san and the others go out to?” Sakura asked, deciding it was best to change the subject.

“Out to a sake house,” Itachi replied, smirking lightly.

“What's so funny?” Sasuke asked.

“Nothing at the moment,” Itachi replied.

“Then why do you look so amused? Seriously that's the least serious look you've used the whole time you've been here, Itachi-teme,” Naruto said, wiping the smirk off Itachi's face.

“Will you stop calling me that?” Itachi growled.

“He'll consider it if you tell us why you look so amused,” Sakura replied innocently.

Itachi rolled his eyes at her eagerness. “As I said, nothing at the moment. I'll be amused if Rin and Kakashi get drunk,” he explained.

“Why?” Rishito asked, causing all four conversationalists to turn towards him. After a moment, he began to fidget under their gazes and turned back to his food.

Itachi took his distraction and turned back to the three teens. “You'll find out in nine months,” he responded, “Possibly sooner, but definitely by then.”

“Eh?” Naruto muttered in confusion. Itachi just rolled his eyes at him. Sasuke and Sakura were too busy trying to figure out what he was implying.

“Don't put too much thought into it. You'll get it eventually,” Itachi assured, before walking back out of the house.

“Oi! You could at least entertain us during dinner,” Naruto shouted out after him. “You know tell us kick ass stories and stuff.”

“I'm not a story teller,” Itachi replied. “Once your finished eating, Daiki needs to be put to sleep,” he added before walking away.

“He needs to work on his communication skills. Itachi is completely incapable of small talk,” Sakura stated.

“Why do you call him Itachi-teme to his face but not the rest of time?” Rishito asked.

“It annoys him when we say it, but it's not like he's actually a bastard…most of the time,” Sakura explained. “Naruto does it all the time, because that's the way he is,” she added before Rishito could ask.

XXXXXXXX

The next day was spent staying out of the way. Rin, Kakashi, Kato, and Mitsutori had all had too much to drink and ended up with hangovers. As they learned early that morning, it wasn't intelligent to mess with them. “Why did Itachi find it so funny that you went out last night? He mentioned something about nine months,” Rishito had asked a rather bleary Rin the next morning.

Rin had lost the black coffee she had just inhaled and turned to stare at Itachi in shock. “He didn't me anything,” she finally managed to bite out while glaring at a very amused Itachi.

“Did anything happen last night?” Rishito had pushed on in confusion.

Rin simply shook her head no, but it seemed Itachi was having far too much fun for his own good. “You'd get a more accurate answer if you were to ask Sakura,” he claimed, “Then again, I hear she's a rather heavy sleeper.”

Rin spat out a second mouthful of coffee, before launching the cup at Itachi. “Out,” she growled at the smirking shinobi. Itachi shrugged and dropped from his perch on the ceiling, before snatching Rishito and exiting the kitchen. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke blearily joined them in the backyard an hour later muttering about Rin's temper.

The next day - coincidentally the final day of Kakashi, Itachi, Rishito, and Mitsutori's visit - Rin had finally calmed down enough to not yell at Itachi every time she saw him. Despite the fact she would still glare at him every time he was within a three meter radius, Kakashi shooed Rishito outside with Daiki and everyone else gathered in the living room.

“We need to talk about what is going to happen,” Kakashi stated once everyone was settled in.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, looking up from the private conversation he had been having with Sakura and Sasuke.

“We'd like to know what you three are planning. That way we know what do to help you,” Rin explained.

The three exchanged a nervous glance before turning back to the adults in confusion. “Umm…” Sakura muttered nervously.

“Why don't we tell you what's going to be happening, and then we'll figure out how you three want to fit into it?” Rin suggested, gaining nods from the teens.

“It's been nearly a year since the three of you were officially announced deceased. The Akatsuki crumbled. Several of its members left the organization; those that stayed reorganized their plans and priorities,” Itachi informed them.

“During the past year, Tsunade has essentially left both Sound and the Akatsuki to themselves, unless they have directly threatened Konoha. She has decided that she has been passive for long enough. While the sanctions are in place against Sound, she has decided to focus on the Akatsuki. Although they are no longer a direct threat to Konoha, they do pose a threat to a number of our allies and one or two active shinobi,” Kakashi explained, glancing sidelong at Itachi and Rin.

“Why is anyone still in Konoha at risk from the Akatsuki?” Naruto asked.

“You didn't tell them?” Kakashi asked, looking at Rin in exasperation.

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Rin mumbled in apology.

“So basically, the three of you accepted Itachi back despite not knowing why he had been in the Akatsuki in the first place,” Mitsutori said in astonishment.

“Well we figured he had a good reason,” Sakura justified.

Itachi shook his head at their accepting demeanors, by now they should have learned to be suspicious of certain characters. “Okay then, it looks like we have a bit more explaining to do than we realized,” Kakashi stated. “Let's start from the beginning. As far as most are concerned, Konoha first became aware of the Akatsuki through Jiraiya. This is true; however, he informed the Sandaime-sama of it when Naruto was about seven, not twelve. By that time Orochimaru was already planning on leaving the organization, or at least on branching out from their plans. Sandaime-sama was looking for an opportunity to insert a spy at least near the group.

“After the Uchiha massacre, he was presented with the opportunity. Itachi managed to gain admission into the group because he had held previous ties to a number of Konoha shinobi that Orochimaru was either unwilling or unable to work with. That included Rin, Konoha's only seal master that was around when the Kyuubi was sealed, and the only person they could possibly get information about the seal from. For the next five years, the three of us worked together to get information from the Akatsuki back to Konoha, and false information from Konoha to the Akatsuki,” he finished, hoping that the three had understood everything he had just told him.

After a moment, all three nodded. “But does that mean that you, Rin, and Itachi are the ones within Konoha that they might go after?” Sakura asked, surprisingly enough she didn't attempt to tease Itachi.

“Technically yes; however, it is unlikely that they'll come after us. The Akatsuki hates betrayal, but as long as they have other things to focus on they'll ignore us. For now they have other things to focus on, and Tsunade wants to take advantage of their disorganization before they become fully operational again. It's most like that the Akatsuki will begin moving towards their new goals within the next year. She wants to begin taking out their active members, and has set up a taskforce of sorts to do so,” Itachi explained.

“Who's on the taskforce?” Sasuke asked.

“Right now the only people the Hokage has actually chosen are Itachi and I. It's likely that Anko, and possibly Gai or Ibiki will join us from time to time. If we can convince her not to send the last two, then Rin will come with us. We'd rather have a medic on our team anyways,” Kakashi told them.

“Now we don't actually want you involved in that, but the simple fact that right now you're with us gets you involved. It's not an immediate threat, but if you choose to stay here, then with in the next year or so we need to step up your training. So let's start with that decision: do you want to stay with us, or go out on your own again?” Rin asked.

The three didn't even need to talk it over. Sakura immediately turned to Rin and answered, “We want to stay.”

“Alright then. The first step will be getting rid of the Chuuin siblings; we've already pretty much done that. The next will be working out new identities. We'll work on that over the next month or so; while we're doing that we'll start your training again,” Rin decided happily. The three teens thought she looked far too happy about that prospect.