"Then that means we have to ask her," Ark teased. After everything that Naruto had teased them about when it came to the relationship issues that he apparently had with the two females in the team for whatever reason, then he could take this good teasing just as well. "Then again...we could start having her think she has a secret admirer, that is if Naruto-kun here keeps up his teasing..."

Amaya couldn't help the blush that was on her face, though she was trying everything in her power to do so. Hikari had told her how nice Itachi was, but she never thought that he would be the perfect gentleman! And then there was the fact that he was always calling her 'miss Amaya-chan'. Hearing Itachi's question, she signified that she heard the question, but had to think about the answer for a second.

Once she had an answer in her head that sounded good, she turned towards the new teacher/bodyguard. "Well...So far I'm liking Beacon. I'll admit that at first I didn't like it since it was split fifty-fifty with humans and faunice, but after being paired with a faunice...I understand that not all of them are evil. And so far I like the history course, especially without that, we wouldn't have any ways of stopping the Grimm...not without disastrous trials and errors. Why do you ask?" She asked Itachi, curious as to why he wanted to know.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. His brother, here! He was glad for the amulet that his former master gave him, allowing him to hide his presence for an hour or two, or more if he risked powering the thing with his own Aura. Though what surprised him more was the fact that he was chatting with a young girl, not realizing that she was part of his target's team. If he knew that, then he would have definitely made the girl a primary target, but as of right now, she was only a person of interest. Shaking his head lightly, he continued his reconnaissance, making sure to stay away from his brother...for now at least.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Th-that's just evil, dattebayo!! I've never done anything that nasty to you guys!" He protested.

"Well then, if you don't want it to happen, you should stop your teasing." Hikari said reasonably.

"I thought friends were supposed to tease each other..." Naruto replied.

Itachi nodded, seeming satisfied with this answer. "I asked because I wanted to get to know you. Small talk seemed like the best option at that moment." He answered honestly. "Miss Amaya-chan, may I ask why you had difficulties with the Faunice? I understand that many people do, but I am always curious as to the specific reason. You do not have to answer if you do not want to."

"My parents...were murdered by members of White Fang. I would have died too in the fire they started on the house," Amaya said softly, not realizing that tears had started to fall as she retold the tale of her parents death.

Itachi listened quietly, letting the girl say what she needed to say. Once she finished, he reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I apologize, I should not have asked. I can see why you would hate Faunice after that. I am so sorry, miss Amaya-chan." He said, gently patting her back.

Amaya blush grew to cover her whole face as she felt Itachi wipe away the tears. "T-thanks," she said. She didn't stutter. She just had a small cough as she was talking.

"It would be interesting to see who she thought the secret admirer was," Areku admitted with a light chuckle.

Itachi gave her a small, kind smile. "There's really no need to thank me. I just can't bear to see a beautiful girl cry." He said sincerely.

Naruto almost cried. "Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing, dattebayo!" He said.

Amaya blushed lightly at that. "Y-you think I'm beautiful?" Amaya asked softly. She couldn't believe it, but she believed that she was falling in love with Itachi

Areku couldn't resist and started laughing."Don't worry Naruto-kun, we wouldn't do anything that mean to you," he said.

Itachi nodded. "Very. I would not say so if I didn't think it." He said.

Naruto sighed in relief. "Gee, thanks. I really appreciate it."

Amaya nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. Once she got her feelings, and emotions, under control, would they resume the tour. Though once this was over, she was definitely going to tell Hikari about her feelings.

"Don't mention it," he said.

((Erg...too tired to respond...Wolfie will think of something tomorrow.))

(Lol kk. Also the next time Naruto and Blake have their "lunch date" think Naruto should bring up the fact that Areku suspects/knows about Blake being a cat Faunice?)

((Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.))

Because Beacon was a large school, the tour lasted a few hours at least, but Itachi enjoyed the whole thing. It seemed odd to him, being a rather logical person, that he should be so taken with this girl he had just met. But he decided not to question it- it was kind of nice. "This was a lovely tour, miss Amaya-chan. I had a wonderful time talking with you."

"Thank you Itachi-san. I'm glad that you enjoyed the tour and listening to me. You didn't have to," she replied as she stood in front of the main entrance where they had first started the tour. Neither of them had realized that Sasuke had tailed them for a few hours during said tour. "Um...Itachi-san? If you and Sasuke are brothers...why are you two so different?"

For just the briefest second, a look of sadness crossed the man's features. "Ah, Sasuke. It is somewhat of a long story. We were raised differently, you see. Being firstborn, I was groomed as the next head of our clan. Etiquette lessons, politics, more school than anyone should have to deal with. I rarely saw my little brother, and when I did he always wanted to play. Unfortunately, I was always dragged away before we could spend time together."

"While I was being secluded and taught by our father, Sasuke-kun was being raised normally by our mother, and always seeking our father's approval. Needless to say, our father rarely paid much attention to him. By the time I was old enough to leave home, I wanted nothing more than to learn all about weapons and become a teacher. My decision didn't sit well with our father, and we argued...it almost came to blows. Finally, I stormed out, intending to never come back. Two days later I got a message from our mother begging me to come reason with our father, who had taken to beating Sasuke-kun and telling him that my failure was his fault. I came back, for the sake of my brother." He paused, collecting himself. She wouldn't like him after this.

"I didn't want my brother to hate our father. I hoped that he would someday forgive him. I tried to reason with our father, but he wouldn't listen. This time, the fight did come to blows. That's when our mother stepped in. Father hit her in the head...hard. She crumpled to the ground. I lost my temper, and drew my weapon. I...I killed my father. Sasuke-kun walked into the room just in time to see it happen, and he assumed that I had killed mother as well. I didn't want him to hate father, so I told him that it was all me. I told him I would spare him because he wasn't worth my time, and that if ever he wanted revenge, he would have to work hard, become strong, and continue hating me."

"Please understand, I never meant it to happen. All I ever wanted was to protect my otouto. The fact that he became consumed with revenge, that he fell in with the wrong crowd, that he went so wrong...it was all my fault. I became a private tutor and traveled, though my favorite client was always Kari-chan. She reminded me a lot of Sasuke-kun when he was little...maybe I wanted a second chance. I began to see her as a little sister...I still do. I suppose it's my way of atonement for my sins, at least until I meet Sasuke-kun again." Itachi finished, and braced himself for the inevitable. She would hate him after that. Everyone did.

Amaya was shocked after she finished listening to Itachi's answer, and was honestly surprised he answered at all. She was somewhat angry at Itachi though, since he started Sasuke on the path of darkness, but it wasn't truly the man's fault; that responsibility laid on Sasuke's shoulders and his shoulders alone. Not only that, but he was trying to atone for his sins by teaching others...a trait she, herself, didn't think she could do.

"You...you blame yourself for setting your brother on the path of darkness...but it isn't your fault that he went down the rabbit's hole. I should hate you for that, I really should, especially since he's putting so many people in danger, but I can't. You don't deserve your brother's hatred for his actions, only Sasuke-teme deserves them Itachi-kun," she said, unknowingly using the -kun suffix at the end of his name. Yes, he had killed...but so had she.

"Itachi-kun...before coming to Beacon, I made a living killing corrupt and evil Faunice, doing whatever I could to find out about the White fang members who killed my family, but sometimes I found out that they were framed. Does that...does that make me a monster?" she asked softly. She didn't say it, but she felt terrible whenever she found out. But she wasn't going to tell him that, wanting him to see that she didn't see him as a murderer, but as a person who was trying his best to save his brother.

Itachi looked up. He was honestly shocked by her reaction, but of course he wouldn't complain. "Maya-chan...no, that does not make you a monster. You were only doing what you thought you had to." He said, unconsciously slipping into using her nickname. "I may never fully stop blaming myself, but I suppose that is a burden I must bear for what I have done. It is probably the same for everyone who has killed before."

"Thank you, and that's the point I'm trying to make. We both feel bad for what we have done, but are trying to atone for it the only ways we know how," Amaya responded, surprised that he used her nickname. She actually didn't want to leave, but knew that she had to go back to her team eventually.

Itachi nodded. "Thank you. Talking to you has helped me more than you can imagine." He said with a tiny smile. "Now, perhaps it is time you reunited with your team. I wish to catch up a little with Hikari-chan as well, so I will accompany you."

Amaya nodded, knowing that she wasn't in any harm, at least not from Itachi, and led him towards their room.

Inside the room, Hikari was sprawled out on her bed. She had spent most of those fer hours training, and now she was resting. "I wonder where Maya-chan and Itachi-sensei could be. It's been a while." She commented.

Naruto was going to make a teasing comment, but decided against it because of the earlier threats. "I don't know. It's a bit school, so it probably took a while."

"Besides, Maya-chan is a big girl, I'm sure she can take care of herself," Ark added from behind the scroll that he was reading. Supposedly there was a way to align an Aura to an element, but he still need to learn how to unlock his aura in the first place. As he was about to say something else, he heard a knock on the door.

Hikari nodded, knowing Ark was right. She didn't have to worry. Glancing over, she smiled. "Ark-san, I still have to teach you how to unlock your Aura." She said. Just then, someone knocked. Kari hopped up. "I'll get it!" She called, and went to open the door.

"You don't have to knock Itachi-san," a voice said right before seeing the door open, her leader's face gracing her view.

Hikari opened the door to see Amaya and Itachi standing there. "Oh, hey! We were just wondering where you guys were. Come on in, Itachi-sensei." She said, leading them back into the room. "Hey guys, they're back."

Naruto sat up on his bed. "Cool, so how was the tour? And...why did you knock?" He asked.

"I was only being polite." Itachi replied.

"That's just how Itachi-sensei is. He's always polite."

Amaya nodded at that statement from Hikari, agreeing with it. She almost wanted to tease Naruto about it, but had a feeling that something had happened between the three while she was giving Itachi the tour of the school, and the light tinge of pink that dusted her cheeks would have been ammunition that Naruto could freely use to tease her back after he asked the question of how the tour went.

Areku rolled the scroll back up before putting it away in a safe place where he could resume it later. One, it would be rude if he continued reading while there was company in the room, and two, there was only so much he could learn without actually using Aura. "Then thank you for being polite Itachi-sensei," he said before bowing his head lightly in respect. He, too was curious as to how the tour went.