Chapter 9

The News That Changed Everything

The now 10 year old Kotomi was training hard at the training grounds. Although she couldn't stand being compared to her brothers, it felt like she was really weak compared to them. When they were her age, they already could do so much. But with her? Still in the basics. She couldn't stay like this anymore.

Closing her eyes, Kotomi activated her sharingan. Kunais in her hand, she threw some that were heading for a target. She then threw another one, hitting the kunai that went towards a target at the other side of the area.

Seeing that she hit all the bull's eyes, Kotomi smiled proudly. "So far, so good!" She knew that doing this once wasn't enough. She had to practice over and over to the point where she can do it with her eyes closed. Taking out even more kunais, Kotomi started throwing them again to the remaining untouched targets.

Finished with training, Kotomi was walking around the village. She had to clear her head. Sasuke was the main thing on her mind, wondering if he was alright. She tried to talk with him again, but he's been brushing her off with training as of recently. It made her feel somewhat lonely.

Letting out a sigh, she heard someone call her name. "Kotomi-chan!"

Looking straight towards her, Kotomi saw Naruto walking with some man with thick white hair. He looked like a master of some sort.

Kotomi gave him a smile. "What's up, Naruto?"

Naruto had his hands behind his head. "I was about to get some Ichiraku Ramen before doing my special training! Wanna join?"

Kotomi nodded. "Sure!" Walking towards Naruto more, she stopped where she stood, bowing at the man next to him. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Kotomi."

The man gave her a smile. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Jiraiya. One of the legendary sannin."

Realization just popped into her head. No wonder he seemed familiar. "I've heard about you!"

Jiraiya looked flattered. "Really? It makes me happy to hear such a cute girl know about me."

Naruto looked irritated more than anything. "Knock it off, pervy sage!"

"What's the matter? Is that your girlfriend or something?"

"N-No! She's Sasuke's sister!"

Kotomi raised an eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

At this point, Naruto looked at a loss, freaking out at the same time. "I didn't mean anything bad by it!"

Kotomi snorted. "I know, I'm just messing with you. Let's get some ramen."

Naruto was doing a little happy dance. "Oh boy! I'm starving!"

***

At Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto and Kotomi were slurping noodles in sync. Jiraiya couldn't help by stare, stunned that the two were eating in the same rhythm. "Do you two do this often or..?"

Naruto swallowed before answering. "Yup! Her and I have a ramen eating contest every now and then!"

Kotomi nodded. "I can confirm that." She paused for a moment. "So... What's this special training of yours?"

"I'm going to learn a new jutsu with pervy sage! I'm so excited!"

Jiraiya looked unamused. "Will you quit calling me that?"

Kotomi giggled. "Good luck with your training."

Naruto smiled at her. "Good luck with yours! I know you've been training a lot."

"Yeah... I have."

Noticing her change in mood, Naruto tilted his head. "What's up?"

Kotomi let out a sigh. "I want to ask... How's Sasuke been doing with you and Sakura as a team?"

Naruto looked at her weird. "Good, I guess. Why do you ask?"

Seeing how Naruto wasn't noticing how Sasuke was acting, she shook her head. "It's nothing. I just wanted to know how's he doing is all."

"I thought you would know that better than me."

"True, but I wanted to know how he's like in a squad."

"Oh..!" Naruto seemed to get what she meant now.

Jiraiya let out a sigh. "You idiot. You should've got it the first time."

Naruto looked irritated. "How was I supposed to know?!"

Kotomi slightly smiled at the sight of the two fighting. They looked like father and son at the moment. It was a sweet thought. Picking up the noodles with her chopsticks, Kotomi continued eating.

***

After lunch, Kotomi was seeing Naruto and Jiraiya off. "Thank you again for treating me to ramen."

Naruto had his hands behind his head. "Anytime!"

Jiraiya turned towards the opposite direction. "We gotta go now, Naruto. Say goodbye to your girlfriend."

Naruto looked really irritated. "For the last time, she's not my girlfriend! She's like a little sister to me!"

Kotomi's eyes sparkled at his words. "You really think of me that way?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Just like how I think of my team as a family."

Putting her hands to her face, she couldn't help but smile. "That's so sweet of you!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit flustered. "Anyway... I really gotta go. I'll see you later."

Kotomi nodded. "Alright! See you later! Good luck!" She started waving at them as they started walking away. Catching a glimpse of Jiraiya's expression, it for some reason gave her an uneasy feeling. Staring at their backs, she shook off that strange feeling, convincing herself that it was nothing. She went on her way to find her brother, wherever he was.

***

A little later, Kotomi found Sasuke sitting underneath a shady tree all by himself. Wondering why he was there, she walked over to him. "Onii-san."

Sasuke looked up with a neutral expression. "What are you doing here, imoto?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Just taking a short break. I was going to go to Kakashi-sensei to continue my training. I was doing it by myself for a while, and he said he would meet me later. But seeing that he's always late... It doesn't surprise me."

"He's late all the time?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. At this point, I'm just going to go where he is." He stood up, looking at her. "Do you want to come with me?"

Since it's been a while since spending time with him like this, Kotomi nodded. "Yeah! Does that mean I can watch you train this time?"

"Only if you watch quietly."

"You're the best, Onii-san!"

Walking together to where Kakashi was, Sasuke opened a door. There were about three jonin in the room with Kakashi, who was some reason laying down in a bed.

Sasuke looked confused. "What's going on here? Why do you look injured, Kakashi-sensei?"

One of the senseis, Might Guy spoke up. "It's nothing to worry about.

Kotomi took a good look at Kakashi, seeing that he had a lot of scraps on him. "But he looks really hurt."

"This is nothing to him! Once he gets better, he'll continue helping with your training, Sasuke."

Just when the two were about to be convinced, another jonin entered the room as he spilled the beans. "Is it true that Itachi Uchiha is back in the village, and is going after Naruto?"

Kotomi's eyes widen at the news. That uneasy feeling she felt was this. Her brother was back. She felt happy in the inside, only now realizing that Sasuke didn't feel the same way.

Looking over to Sasuke, she saw pure hatred in his eyes. The next moment, he shoved past the jonin, bolting out of the room.

Might Guy let out a sigh. "Why did you blurt that out in front of him?"

Kotomi was frozen on the spot. She didn't think Itachi would come back like this. "H-He's here... I can't believe it..."

All of the jonin looked at one another, Might Guy spoke up. "Don't even think about doing the same thing your brother just did. It's much too dangerous for you to face him."

"But he's my brother-"

"I know that. I'm just saying this for your safety. Do not go to him."

Kotomi knew that everyone else thought that she hated Itachi just like Sasuke did. When in reality, she just wanted to see him. Even though he was considered an enemy of the village, she always carried those four year old words with her that she would always be on his side. That promise back then never changed.

A/N: We all know what happens between Itachi and Sasuke at this point. There's even a meme to remind us what happened in that part. You know... The meme where everyone chokes Sasuke.