"You don't need them to believe in you,
Get your mission on lock and see it through.
You've got all the power you need in you..." – Superhero, Simon Curtis
Chapter Twenty-SixThe day for Miyako had been boring. She had spent much of the morning training in medical ninjutsu, and the early afternoon doing further training in other areas. She had just laid down to rest before cooking dinner when there was a loud boom hurtling through the underground base.
With a sigh, Miyako stood up, putting her training kimono back on, and made her way through the base. She knew the arrival of the pale Konoha shinobi earlier was a bad omen. She walked to the end of the hall, where she saw a bright light that shouldn't be there. She sighed, again, before stepping into the light.
She looked around the caved-in area. On the top of the cave-in, Sasuke stood, a blank look on his handsome features. In front of him stood a familiar pink-haired kunoichi, who stood, staring at Sasuke in a mixture of shock and awe. Next to her was the pale, black haired shinobi from earlier.
Miyako watched as a familiar blond-haired shinobi ran out of another hallway. He stopped, and stared in shock at Sasuke, who eyed him with his blank, onyx eyes.
"Naruto. You're here too. Where's Kakashi?" Sasuke questioned the newly arrived fifteen-year-old.
"Kakashi isn't here. I'm his replacement," a brown-haired shinobi with a scary face stated, walking into the caved in clearing.
"Who, are you?" Sasuke questioned the newly arrived Jōnin slowly.
"Captain Yamato," the unknown shinobi replied.
Miyako leaned against a nearby wall before speaking. "Stop gossiping, Sasuke. We have better things to do than play with these shinobi."
Everyone spun to look at the purple-haired girl. They stared at her in shock and awe. She stepped further into the sunlight, crossing her arms over her ample chest. "Sasuke. Naruto. Good to see you."
"Miyako? You were here this whole time?" Sakura questioned, and Miyako tilted her head to the side.
"Here? As in watching your interaction with Sasuke? Or here? As in with Orochimaru and Sasuke?" Miyako questioned as another figure ran into the area. Another Konoha shinobi. This one, she recognised instantly. He was carrying something in his arms, making the girl narrow her blue eyes. "Takeo, I suggest you give Ainu over to me."
Takeo stared at Miyako in surprise as everyone stared at the bundle in his arms. "Miyako? Whose child is this?"
"Mine," Miyako replied simply. "She is only eight months old. I would like her back. Please."
"I think she'd be safer with me, don't you, Miyako?" Takeo questioned, and Miyako frowned, before charging at her old teammate. She grabbed the baby out of his arms and jumped up to stand next to Sasuke, who had tensed up when he saw Ainu in the hands of the enemy.
"Who's the father?" Sakura questioned wearily. She had noted the child's dark hair, dark eyes, and pale features. The child looked so much like Sasuke it almost hurt Sakura to look at it.
"Not Sasuke's," Miyako replied, knowing the train of thought Sakura was going through. "His brothers."
Everyone gasped in shock, not believing her words. "And you're okay with this, Sasuke?" Yamato questioned wearily, expecting the volatile teen to lash out at the mention of his elder brother.
"I trust Miyako. I accept the child as my niece," Sasuke stated with a shrug, making everyone – but Miyako – surprised. "Even if Miyako won't tell me where He is."
"I currently don't know his location, Sasuke," Miyako replied simply. "If I did, I'd take Ainu to meet him."
"Hey! Stop acting like we're not here!" Naruto shouted, and she sighed as Sasuke shot down, putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder. It almost looked like they were hugging.
Miyako watched as Naruto was brought into a Genjutsu, and, within second, they were back out. Sasuke moved to attack Naruto with his sword, only for Captain Yamato to stop it.
"Sasuke, stop playing around," Miyako stated as Ainu started to wake up. She looked down at the little girl with a smile, cooing at her. "How's my little girl?"
"So, she really is yours," Takeo stated in surprise, and Miyako shot him a glare.
"Of course she is. Why would I lie about that?" Miyako questioned in annoyance, and he shrugged in response.
"Sasuke," Orochimaru hissed out, appearing next to the two females.
Sasuke turned to face him. "Are we leaving?"
"This base has been compromised. Miyako, will you and Ainu be joining us?" Orochimaru questioned, gazing at Ainu hungrily as Miyako shielded her daughter from him.
Sasuke jumped up next to Kabuto – who had arrived along with Orochimaru as Miyako responded. "I have other places to be. But I'm sure we'll meet again," Miyako replied, and Orochimaru nodded before he, Sasuke, and Kabuto left in flames.
Miyako turned to face the Konoha-nin that were watching her wearily, as if afraid she would make a move against them. Miyako rolled her eyes. "I'm not fighting whilst looking after Ainu," she stated as the one-year-old let out a cry.
Miyako turned around and started to breastfeed the hungry child. She made sure her breast was covered before facing the Konoha-nin. Naruto stared at her in shocked fascination.
"Is the baby drinking from your boob?" Naruto questioned, and Sakura grew an irk mark, hitting him over the head.
"It's called breastfeeding, you moron! A lot of mothers do it to feed their babies," Sakura snapped in annoyance.
"But still... in front of enemies?" Sai questioned in confusion.
"A baby's got to eat," Miyako replied simply with a shrug. "Now then, back to business. I stayed behind to give you all a warning. Stop trying to hunt Sasuke down. He doesn't want to return, so don't make him."
Naruto clenched his teeth in anger before pointing angrily at Miyako. "Don't tell me what to do! You're a traitor to the village!"
Miyako raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "If I'm a traitor for leaving the village. What does that make Sasuke?"
Naruto glared at Miyako, realising the truth in those words. While he wanted nothing more than to attack the purple-haired seventeen-year-old, he held back because of the baby in her arms.
"You bitch! Sasuke-kun was tricked! You left whilst in your right state of mind!" Sakura yelled, and Miyako sighed in annoyance, wincing slightly as Ainu bit down a bit too hard.
"Sakura, calm down," Yamato ordered, and Sakura bit her lip, glaring at her cousin.
Miyako smirked as Ainu stopped feeding, putting her breast back under her clothes, and started burping the child. More so out of habit than necessity.
"Well, it was nice catching up with you. However, I have places to go, people to see," Miyako stated before securing her little one into her arms and rushing off. She could hear the shouts of Naruto and Sakura and the commands of Takeo and Yamato as she left. She laughed. Her cousin and Naruto were still the same.
After an hour of non-stop running, she stopped and placed Ainu on the ground. Ainu let out a laugh and started crawling around as Miyako pulled out a letter sent to her by Itachi. She re-read the letter before folding it back up and putting it in her kimono pocket. She picked Ainu up and started walking to a village on the border of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth. There, she would find Itachi.
...
A few days of travel later, with regular stops to rest, Miyako finally made it to the village. She went to the only tea house in the village and sat down. She placed Ainu on the hardwood floor, letting her crawl around.
Miyako watched Ainu as she drank her Matcha green tea, her gaze only leaving her daughter when the door open. After half an hour of waiting, the door opened and Itachi walked in. When he saw Miyako, he gave a soft smile and sat down, paying no attention to the eight-month-old, assuming she belonged to the stores' owner.
"Itachi," Miyako breathed out with a smile, pulling him into a hug and a firm kiss. Itachi responded with fever, pushing his tongue into her mouth. She laughed before pulling away, picking Ainu up. "This is Ainu. Our daughter."
Itachi froze before taking a proper look at the child. Noting the features almost identical to his own. "Uchiha Ainu? Or Shinjitsu Ainu?"
"Haruno, actually. To hide her true heritage," Miyako replied, handing Ainu to Itachi.
Itachi took the baby, looking at her with awe in his onyx eyes. He couldn't see all that well anymore but could tell that she had his colouring and her mother's features. She was the cutest baby he had ever seen. Even cuter than Sasuke he surmised. Though, if he was being honest with himself, he was being a bit biased. But he didn't care.
"She's beautiful," Itachi stated as he kissed her forehead, making Miyako smile happily. His gaze went to Miyako, a small frown on his lips. "How did Sasuke take it?"
Miyako smiled, thinking back to the day Sasuke realised she was pregnant, and that it was his elder brothers child.
Miyako was resting in her room. She was three months pregnant and had just begun to show. Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke have yet to notice her pregnancy, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they did. After all, she was starting to show, and the little one was starting to take more chakra from her, making her get tired quicker when training.
"Miyako, are you alright?" Sasuke questioned as he entered the room without knocking. It was something of a bd habit of his, though Miyako always warned him against it.
"Hm? Why do you ask, Sasuke?" Miyako questioned with a raised eyebrow, making Sasuke frown.
"You've been vomiting a lot lately. Plus, you've been getting tired quicker during our training sessions," Sasuke surmised, making Miyako smile gently as she rest ta hand on her stomach. A movement that didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke.
"You can't tell Orochimaru or Kabuto. They need to figure it out on their own," Miyako stated and Sasuke nodded, closing the door and activating the silencing seals to make the room soundproof. One of the many things Miyako had recently taught him.
"Well?" Sasuke questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm pregnant," Miyako announced proudly, making Sasuke look at her blankly, having gone into shock at the announcement.
He frowned. "Who's the father? I hope he's not some random person."
Now it was Miyako's turn to turn blank-faced. "What do you take me for? Some kind of whore?"
Sasuke shrugged, a smirk on his lips, making Miyako turn red with anger.
"Why, you little brat!" Miyako shouted as she lunged for the fourteen-year-old. Sasuke easily dodged, making Miyako even more annoyed. "If you must know, Sa-su-ke-chan," she teased, making him frown in annoyance. "The baby is your brothers."
Sasuke growled as he glared at Miyako, Sharingan activated in anger. "Kill it."
Miyako sighed, having expected this response. "Sasuke, the child is innocent. It has nothing to do with Itachi other being his offspring. Would you punish it for something it had nothing to do with?"
Sasuke frowned before sighing. He deactivated his Sharingan as he saw the logic in her words. He now felt guilty. "You're right. I'm sorry I said that. I accept the child as your child and my niece or nephew. I will protect it the best I can."
Itachi looked surprised as Miyako finished recounting the story. He sigh, a sad smile on his lips. "I honestly expected him to act worse."
Miyako laughed as a waitress came up and shot the two of them a smile. "Can I get you two anything?"
"Green tea and a serving of Dango, please," Itachi responded and the lady turned to Miyako.
"I'll also have a serving od Dango. And a cup of milk for the little one if you don't mind," Miyako replied and the lady smiled and nodded to go place their order.
"If the Akatsuki get word of Ainu, who knows what they'll do," Itachi stated with a frown, thinking more specifically of the one who calls himself 'Tobi'.
Miyako sighed. "Ainu will have a lot of people after her. Orochimaru was ecstatic when he learnt of my pregnancy. As if I'd let him touch her."
"Did he try?"
Miyako nodded. "Sasuke went into a frenzy when he learnt of Orochimaru's plan for Ainu. He almost killed the snake sannin then and there. Orochimaru didn't try to touch Ainu again."
"The Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and Danzo are all her enemies now. They'll all want to use her for one reason or another," Itachi stated, pausing as the food and drinks were delivered. Once the waitress was gone, he turned back to Miyako. "You can't keep her with you. She's at too much of a risk."
"I know. Sasuke plans on killing Orochimaru soon. I can't keep travelling with her." Miyako looked out the window, a frown on her lips. "But I can't leave Sasuke on his own. I don't know what to do."
"Is there anyone you trust to protect her?" Itachi questioned as he took a bite of his dango.
"Three people,. My old teammate, my sensei, and his wife. But they all live in Konohagakure, meaning she'll be too close to Danzo – and the elders for that matter," Miyako explained as Itachi put Ainu on the wooden floor, letting the eight-month-old crawl around the tea house.
"Then you have no choice but to take her with you," Itachi stated with a sigh, resting his face on his pale hand. "Or you can go into hiding until she is old enough to defend herself. I can't take her. No matter how much I want to.
"I never expected you to, Itachi-kun," Miyako replied, taking his long-fingered hand in hers. Both hands a fair-skinned as each other. "I came here because I wanted you to meet her at least once before you give your life for Sasuke's sake."
Itachi smiled sadly, thinking back to his plan. He was starting to second guess it. He frowned as the thoughts crossed his mind, shaking his head. No, he thought, this is for the best. The plan is for the best.
Miyako finished the last of her Dango, watching as the waitress knelt down and started to play with Ainu. She smiled, wishing – and not for the first time – that she was a civilian and that Ainu could live a simple life.
"Which kekkei genkai do you think she will get?" Miyako questioned Itachi, whose gaze also fell to the little girl.
"One or the other. Maybe both. Maybe neither. Who knows," Itachi replied logically.
Miyako laughed at the thought of a mind-reading, Sharingan wielding kunoichi. "She'd be formidable if she had both abilities."
"A magnet for trouble," Itachi agreed with a smile before finishing the last of his drink. "I need to go, Miyako. Kisame-san will be wondering where I am."
Miyako frowned but nodded in understanding. She stood up with Itachi and gave him a hug and a deep kiss. She pulled back, a sad smile on her lips. For some reason, she felt that this would be the last time she sees Itachi alive.