Chapter 13: Don't underestimate Haruto!

Izumi POV:

"Haaa... without Itachi-kun, it's not worth coming to class."

"You said it, it feels kind of empty."

"The boys here are just kids, unlike Itachi-sama, he was so cool and elegant."

Izumi sat with her friends gathered in the classroom. Itachi Uchiha has been out of the class since the 2nd year, his outstanding performance having made him a Genin at the age of 7. This naturally led to jubilation in the class as they were happy to see someone from the same class graduate. However, his presence in the class was missed... especially by the girls.

Their friends exchanged pleasantries and laughed again as they missed Itachi again.

"Tell me Izumi, what do you think of Itachi? Since you're in the same clan, are you still in touch?" one of her friends asked enthusiastically.

Izumi smiled sheepishly, 'Actually, we're not part of the Uchiha Clan anymore. Since Haruto became a part our family, we had to leave the Uchiha district and stay in the village. We still carry the Uchiha name, but we have almost no contact. Though she can't tell them that,' she thought when she saw her group.

"I haven't seen Itachi-kun since he graduated," she informed her friends kindly, much to their frustration.

"And what do you think of him? You never shared your opinion," inquired another girl. Izumi had never shared her opinion about Itachi. This time, she was determined not to let Izumi escape, not only her but the whole group looked at her like a hunter in front of his prey.

"Yes Izumi, this time you will not escape."

"Yes, yes."

Under pressure from her colleagues, Izumi told them honestly. "As a fellow Uchiha, I respect him very much," she paused for a moment to emphasize the next part, "but I see him as nothing more than a clansman."

She put her hand to her heart: 'Yes, I don't love him, because I already have a brother who is an irreplaceable existence for me.'

Ever since the tragic day when she lost her father and the Nine-Tail ravaged the village, Haruto has been a fateful encounter for her. In her darkest moments, he has been a beacon of hope, reaffirming her desire for strength when she was at her weakest.

She can't help but smile at the thought of her adorable brother waiting for her at home. Though the thought of her brother spending time with their mother while she was at school annoyed her to no end, and her cheeks puffed up.

The girls around her saw Izumi's expression change from normal to happy, then annoyed, back to happy again, and couldn't help but notice that there was someone else in her mind.

"You already have someone else, don't you?" one of the girls asked. The other asked Izumi as well.

"Ehh~, no no, he is just my brother," she said in shock, her cheeks turning red and waving her hands in frantic motion.

The girls looked at each other and started to grin.

"So it's her brother~."

"Yes, her brother~."

"Izumi is a bro-con~, no wonder she's not interested in Itachi."

Izumi's face heated up until it was about to explode, "No, you misunderstood," she started to explain.

She loves her brother very much but she loves him as a brother and not as a man. He is adorable, with plump cheeks and a cute, adorable appearance. When she looks at him, she notices that he is quite different from other children, more intelligent and mature than his peers. When she looks at him, she sometimes blushes and averts her gaze, the contrast between his childish appearance and his mature inner aspect creating a strange but wonderful chemical reaction.

When Izumi denied it to her friend and just told them he was her brother, the girls continued to tease her and call her bro-con.

Even though they were teasing Izumi, they were happy for her that she had someone important to her. In class, Izumi is kind to everyone and strict with herself. In the first class, Izumi was at the top of the class next to Itachi. That's why they're glad to get to know this side of Izumi and can't help but tease her.

The whole thing went back and forth until Izumi, who is considered to be kind and nice to others, started to feel annoyed until the class teacher came and started the lecture.

Sighing to herself, she dispersed the group and sat down in her own seat.

'Hmm?'

Suddenly, she looked out of the window and started to worry.

'Haruto!', she felt that something had occurred, but she had no idea what it was. She couldn't go outside because of her class, so she looked out of the window and started thinking about Haruto.

'I want to see you soon Haruto, I hope nothing has happened to you.'

***

Hazuki POV:

"Hmm~ Hmm~" Hazuku hummed to herself as she prepared dinner. Smiling, she imagined her children coming back with a big appetite and enjoying their dinner right away.

"Yosh, let's make an effort today," she rolled up her sleeves and started cooking.

Some time passed while she cooked. She finished the soup and tasted it. "Hmm... it still needs some time," she mumbled to herself. "Soon, Izumi will be home, then she can finish the soup and I will prepare the other dishes." The academy will soon end and Izumi should come home soon. She's never been late before, except when she has plans with her friends, because she likes to spend her time with Haruto. 'Hah that girl is head over heels in love with her brother,' Hazuki shakes her head at her silly daughter, although she herself is no better. She hugs Haruto every chance she gets.

"Now that I think about it, where's Haru, he should have been back by now," she puts her hand on her cheek and looks worried, he promised to be back by now, she couldn't help but worry.

"Hazuki, don't worry, Haru is intelligent enough to take care of himself," she motivated herself.

She knows that her son is intelligent enough and above his age, but as a mother she can't help but worry.

"I am home," someone said cheerfully.

Hazuki turned to see her daughter coming home. "Welcome back," she said quietly.

Hazuki looked behind her daughter but couldn't find anyone so she let out a sigh.

Izumi looked at her mother and saw her strange expression and quickly asked her, " Mom, what's wrong?"

She looked at her daughter and confessed.

Izumi was shocked to see that her beloved brother was not there.

'Perhaps something has happened to him,' she panicked, thinking that she should have left earlier.

*Click Clack*

At that moment, they heard something activate and followed the sound until they discovered a scroll.

Shocked, they both ran to the scroll because it was something Haruto had invented.

It is a warning scroll, if something happens, Haru can activate it at any time and the second scroll, which is in the house, will give an alarm. The two scrolls can also locate each other, even if the range is not that big, it is enough if Haruto is nearby. For this reason, she let him explore the city without worrying, knowing that she could find him quickly.

Simple to use, but quite effective.

"T-That's the warning scroll from Haru, isn't it?" asked Izumi in panic.

"Yes, something must have happened," her mother said. "Izumi, I will go look for him. You stay here in the house, maybe he will come back on his own".

"Okay mother," Izumi nodded quickly and Hazuki rushed out.

Soon she found Haruto, but she saw that she was talking to someone.

"Danzo" She was shocked that she had just found Danzo here, but that didn't stop her and she approached Haruto.

„Haru."

***

Danzo POV:

Danzo turned around as his conversation with Haruto ended.

He tapped lightly with his cane and his shadow began to flicker.

"Yes, Danzo-sama," a ninja replied.

"Withdraw the ninja responsible for the boy and send them directly to Kumo," Danzo ordered.

While talking to Haruto, he realised that he wasn't suited for his plan and couldn't help but be disappointed.

The boy's behaviour was a failure and the amount of chakra he had at his disposal was of no use as it was so low.

Danzo put his hand to his bandaged eyes, 'I originally wanted to give him a genjutsu but his mother was able to prevent it by unfortunately showing up at the wrong time, the boy was lucky.'

Yes, Danzo originally wanted to give Haruto a genjutsu to control him. However, he had to refrain from doing so as the boy was constantly accompanied by his mother.

That was the first time in 3 months that the little one was out. Danzo thought that Hazuki was responsible for the fact that the little one never left the house and when he found out that Haruto was out for once, he went straight to intercept him.

'Well, it doesn't matter if I can use the little one or not, he was just a little extra, the really important chess pieces will soon be in my hand to start my plan,' he started to grin.

Danzo was not disheartened by Haruto's disappointment because he already has one or two Uchiha's in the Uchiha clan in his sights that he can use and who have much more influence than a non-uchiha from a banished Uchiha family.

Consciously or unconsciously, Haruto had just survived a major manoeuvre. Danzo could not imagine that Haruto's whole situation was just an act to get the better of him.

Danzo may have lost the battle at this moment, but the war is far from over for him, and it seems to be swinging more and more in his favour.

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A/N:

Izumi hasn't had much of a role in the naruto series, so I'm having trouble deciding on her personality.

According to the Naruto fandom, she is kind and caring and likes to help others, but she can also be a bit mischievous, like in the scene at the lake with her and Itachi with the dangos. Do you have any other female characters who are similar to her? For reference...

Izumi doesn't have a lot of screen time at the moment, which I didn't think of at the beginning lol. I try to include her here and there, but since Haruto is still small, we tend to see Hazuki a lot. Be patient viewers, I will let Izumi get her well-deserved spot!!!!