A FUFILLED PURPOSE
Night saturated the Leaf Village like heavy syrup. The streets, so vibrant and lively during the day, were deserted. Each house and apartment slept soundly, each shop's sign said "Closed."
Itachi Uchiha slowly walked down these familiar streets. He wasn't doing it because it was night. Not even because it meant only a few Chunin were on patrol duty. They couldn't see him anyway.
He'd left his body back in the care of Kisame, hidden just outside the village. Yes, he was a disembodied spirit on a scouting mission. So far, the village seemed completely open to any kind of attack. No wonder they'd fared so badly when the Sound had invaded all those years ago…If the Akatsuki were to plan an assault here, they could probably reduce the whole village to rubble in a few hours.
He stopped at the corner of the street he had been walking on. One road led away into the labyrinth of the village...
And the other led into the Uchiha district. His last area to investigate before returning.
Itachi made his way past each building, all with the clan's symbol barely there under peeling paint and chipped stone.
He stopped in front of one particular house. Back when people had still lived there, this house had belonged to his mother's parents. The paint on this building was fresh, the roof had been replaced, and there were new curtains obscuring the windows.
Curiosity overpowered Itachi's better judgment. Being only a spirit, he simply walked right through the front door.
Inside, the house was spotless, but had the atmosphere of occupation. Itachi wandered around the familiar rooms without meeting a soul until he came to the staircase leading to the second floor.
Ascending quickly, he stepped onto the carpeted floor and immediately sensed multiple presences. Before him stretched a long hallway, with a number of doors leading to bedrooms on each side. Stepping through the first, he found it easier to see, if only because of the seashell-shaped nightlight glowing softly in a corner.
Plastic toys littered the floor, even though Itachi could just phase through them, he found himself stepping around them out of habit as he moved towards the room's tiny bed. Barely visible underneath dinosaur-printed sheets was a small child, looking no older than six or seven, a young boy. His short black hair shifted slightly as he breathed deeply in his sleep.
Itachi went back through the colored-paper-covered doorway, and stepped through another entrance.
This room had a nightlight as well, a pink heart-shape throwing off a rosy glow. This room was a bit cleaner, and had a bunk bed in one corner, each mattress covered with red and white sheets. Itachi was confused for a moment when he saw the dark-haired girl on top looked exactly like the one on the bottom, but then realized they had to be twins.
No other rooms he checked were occupied, leaving only the last one at the hallway's dead end. The one his mother's parents had lived in.
He stood for a moment after entering this one, as there was no light, so he had to let his eyes adjust. At the far end of the lightly-furnished room was the grand double-bed he had used to think was gigantic as a child, the ideal playing area.
Now cautiously, almost timidly, he walked slowly toward the very edge of the bed and observed its residents with no flicker of emotion.
His brother lay there, peacefully sleeping. Though, calling him "weak little Sasuke" in his mind seemed an inaccurate label now, as hanging from the wall was a catlike ANBU mask. The younger Uchiha's face seemed completely serene, unlike any time Itachi had seen it after killing their family, when it was twisted in hate.
He had a woman lying in his arms, the same woman wearing a bride's dress next to him in the framed photograph on their bedside table. Her long pink hair was splayed out across her pillow, and one of her arms returned the embrace her husband had her in. The other, upon closer inspection, was cradling a tiny baby with a wisp of cherry-pink hair, unlike the other three children with their father's ebony locks.
Sasuke had given up trying to kill him. Itachi was vaguely surprised. He had thought someday he'd have to bring down his brother in a great titanic battle, but he'd always expected his sibling to trail relentlessly after him, swearing he'd avenge his clan.
And yet…here he was, with ANBU status, a wife, and four children. It seemed so strange to Itachi, he'd always thought of Sasuke as the enraged teenager obsessed with murdering him, not a now thirty-something father and husband.
He left the final bedroom, only stopping to glance once again at his nieces and nephew before descending the staircase and stepping back out onto the street. Taking a last glance at the cozy little building surrounded by dilapidated ruins, he followed the twisting roads back to the village entrance, and off into the forest to return to his body.
"Well?" asked Kisame when Itachi's body sat up and blinked. "What's the word?"
Itachi glanced back at the village walls, behind them were so many families just like his brother's.
No wonder they'd fared so badly when the Sound had invaded all those years ago…If the Akatsuki were to plan an assault here, they could probably reduce the whole village to rubble in a few hours…
Without a flicker of emotion, he turned to Kisame and spoke.
"No. There's too many guards, all jonin-level or higher. As well as having both the Kyuubi vessel and the former Hokage, one of the Legendary Three, there seemed to have been quite a few shinobi moving up in rank. There are more ANBU members than before, nearly three times as many. An attack now would result in certain death."
Kisame shrugged. "Aww…and here I was, hoping to get to cut something. Guess we gotta report back, as always."
And without another word, the two rogue nins disappeared into the darkened forest.
And the village still slept.
Random fluff that magically appears in my brain makes such cute oneshots...and yes, I despise Ita cos he's a jerk, but it required a happy ending or I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Hope you liked!