In honor of today being Itachi's birthday, I decided to write him a birthday fic. This ties in with my other Naruto fanfiction - and sets up some that I will write in the future. Unfortunately, I didn't quite have time to make it as long as I wanted, so you have a cut off at the end. I might finish it if anyone's interested. Enjoy.
Oh, and any tangents that interest you, mention in a review or something and I'll consider writing another fic connecting to that.
Today was a very special day.
Itachi was currently sitting on a branch of a tree directly in front of the Academy's front doors. He was supposed to be training or at a clan meeting - he really didn't care enough to remember which - but instead he was waiting.
His father was going to be very angry with him when he finally made it back home, but it was a special day, an important day.
Today was Itachi's thirteenth birthday.
He sat up a little straighter as the double doors of the Academy burst open, but it was a different class. The children raced over the field beside the school, their young instructor trailing behind. It seemed it was time for some target practice.
The instructor stopped a few feet from his perch. Damn, why hadn't he taken into account other classes leaving first? Now he'd have-
"Itachi Uchiha?"
He knew that voice. Vaguely. He took a closer look at the man speaking to him from below his branch and realized why he knew it.
"Umino. It's been awhile."
The man, for that was what he was now, had changed in the last 3 years. He looked like he'd be at least a head taller than Itachi now, though not tall in his own right, and his face had matured out of the boyish shape it used to host. He wore the traditional uniform of a Konoha chuunin, now, which was most likely why Itachi hadn't recognized him sooner - if he's been asked to locate Iruka Umino, he would have started looking for a large white blur. But there was no mistaking that distinctive scar nor that blinding smile.
"Yes. Since that mission to Wave country right after our Chuunin Exam. But what are you doing here?"
He kept himself from frowning through sheer force of will. He had been working so hard to keep this a secret until it was too late for anyone to stop it, but Itachi also didn't want to give Umino the brush off. The man was far too nice to treat that coldly for no reason, and he presented an extremely low threat in relation to Itachi's plans for the day.
So he decided to tell him.
"It's my birthday so I'm waiting for my brother, Sasuke. It seems his class is being held late." Here, Itachi gave the man a sheepish smile to fully cement the story. He was only partially bothered that he actually had to force himself to make these reactions that came naturally to any other person. Briefly, he envied the man before him who he knew wore his heart on his sleeve.
Umino laughed at this and the envy in Itachi's gut grew more intense.
"Well happy birthday! And you shouldn't worry. He probably has a troublemaker in his class. Many of the other instructors still practice group punishments."
"You don't?"
Here Umino's smiled widened and he glanced over at his students. They seemed to be rather orderly, but they weren't young first years so that wasn't too out of the ordinary.
"I try not to, but you remember my temper I'm sure. I think that's the biggest reason Lord Hokage gave me this position. This is my first year, you know."
This time Itachi let the frown surface. The mission in Wave Country that Umino had mentioned hadn't been a pretty one. Itachi was surprised Umino would even bring it up. Itachi had thought he had been off active duty ever since.
Umino seemed to be able to see straight through Itachi's frown and his smiled became strained.
"Is was on mission desk duty before this," he offered, voice low so that it wouldn't carry.
A moment of silence stretched between them. Itachi was once again faced with the dilemma of whether to respect or pity this man. Being pulled from active duty before the age of twenty was detrimental to a ninja.
Umino, probably used to such a dilemma in his peers, began watching the children with a bit more attention.
"Riku, if I see you do that again, I'll make sure you never pass you Academy Exam!"
A little girl standing in the middle of the group flinched, dropping the numerous weapons in her hand and letting go of the boy whose ankle she had a hold of.
Just as Umino turned back to say something else, the doors burst open again and much smaller, more excited children rushed out. Itachi thought he recognized some of the children and dropped out of the tree.
He'd been right. Itachi's eyes were level with Umino's collarbones, which meant Iruka was just shy of being a head taller.
"Well, it looks like your brother's class is out," Umino said, the laugh back in his voice. "It's been nice seeing you again, Itachi. You should come by more often."
With that, Umino held out a tan hand. Itachi stared at it for just a moment before clasping it with his own.
"Good day, Umino."
Umino beamed at him despite the hesitation and cold response before marching over to his students to properly yell at them.
Itachi watched him for a moment before turning to the mass of students. Near the back was a black spot in the crowd.
Sasuke was scowling and seemed to be arguing with the boy beside him, a small child with a mop of blond hair.
Kyuubi. Itachi's mind supplied, noticing the distinctive whisker marks. Naruto Uzumaki. What could they be arguing about?
He didn't have to wonder long as the two were unknowingly making their way towards him - Sasuke hadn't even noticed him.
"That doesn't matter! You still should've waited until Master Musura was finished with the lecture so he didn't hold us all back!"
"If I woulda done that then he'd have known I did it!"
"Good! You did do it!" Sasuke shouted, looking like he wanted nothing more than to bop the other on the head.
Itachi decided to end the fight before it turned physical.
"Sasuke." His voice was soft but the boy heard it.
"Itachi!"
And suddenly his arms were full of eight-year-old.
Itachi crouched down so that he could hug his brother properly, but only let it last for a few seconds before pushing Sasuke away.
"It's not like you to argue, little brother. What were you two fighting about?"
Sasuke's smile turned into a scowl in less than a second.
"Stupid Naruto got class held back!"
Naruto, who had fallen back at the site of Itachi and adopted a very coy look, seemed to forget the third presence and got back into Sasuke's face, cutting off Itachi who had been about to tell of Sasuke for being rude.
"I'm not stupid and the instructor we had last year wouldn't have held us all back if she didn't know who did it!"
"Well it isn't last year Naruto!"
Itachi, still crouched to their level, raised his hands above each of their heads and then dropped them, immediately halting the argument. Both children looked at him, his brother with a pout on his lips and the blond with a nervous yet guarded stare.
"Whatever Naruto may or may not have done, it has already happened and he's already been punished for it."
"But I was punished too! And so was everyone else!"
"That can't be helped any longer. Now, Sasuke, apologize for your rudeness, and I'm sure that Naruto will apologise for getting you and your classmates in trouble."
He gave the boys a small smile and ruffled each of their hair before leaning back.
Sasuke shifted, hitting the toe of his shoe against the ground before mumbling a barely audible, "Sorry 'bout calling you stupid."
Naruto, who had been staring at Itachi as if he'd never seen something quite like him before, snapped out of it at those words. He turned to Sasuke and a brief panicked look crossed his face. Glancing once back at Itachi, he too mumbled a quick "sorry" before dashing away.
"He's so weird," Sasuke muttered before glaring at Itachi through his bangs. "Why'd you make me do that?"
Itachi shrugged and pivoted so that his back faced Sasuke.
"Climb on," he instructed, holding his arms out behind himself.
"Why? Father doesn't like it when you carry me around."
"We aren't going home. Come on, we need to go before anyone sees me."
At that, Sasuke did as he was told. Itachi was always being called off by a clan member or one of the Hokage's messengers. He knew the clan and Konoha were important, but sometimes he wished they didn't, that Itachi could ignore them and just spend time with him. Thinking that, Sasuke hid his face in Itachi's neck and tightened his arms around his shoulders.
"Where are we going?" he asked, voice muffled but he knew Itachi could hear him clearly.
"I wanted to take you out for lunch in one of the civilians cities but the Hokage wouldn't sign off on that, so we'll just have to find a restaurant without anyone from the compound in it."
"You're taking me out to lunch?" Sasuke asked, voice betraying his excitement. "But it's your birthday."
"I know." Itachi couldn't help but smile. Sasuke was the only person, the only thing that could still make him smile a true smile. "It's my birthday so I get what I want, right Sasuke?"
"Yea, I guess," the boy replied, not sounding convinced.
"And I want to take you out to lunch with some of the money I've made from my missions. I've been pulling extra missions recently so that I'd have a lot for today, so we can go anywhere you want to go and you can order anything you want to eat."
"Then we're going home?"
Itachi shook his head and Sasuke laughed as his hair tickled him.
"Then I'm going to take you to buy you some new toys."
"Itachi!" Sasuke practically squawked, thumping his brother on the head. "It's your birthday! I can't get presents on your birthday!"
"That's right, it's my birthday!" Itachi replied, bouncing Sasuke on his back in retaliation. "That means you have to do whatever I want you to do! And I want you to pick out some toys that you'd like to play with, which means you're going to do it!"
Sasuke, not sure of how to reply, buried his face again and fell silent.
"So, what do you want to eat, Sasuke? Dango?"
"Too sweet," came the muffled reply from just inches below his ear.
"Not if we get teppanyaki," Itachi supplied.
"But you never order me teppanyaki! You always order me chadango!"
This got a laugh from Itachi.
"But you're so cute when you make that face," teased Itachi.
"What face?" Sasuke demanded, tugging on Itachi's pony tail.
"The one you make when you bite into something sweet."
Itachi could just imagine the scowl on Sasuke's face. It would turn into a sullen frown, soon, which was always easy to coax back into a smile - especially since it would probably devolve into a pout as soon as he put him back on his own feet.
"How about steak?" Sasuke finally said, sounding as if he'd just thought of something very clever.
"How about we get some rice balls and pretend that's a proper lunch?" Itachi suggested, fighting back a shudder at the thought of eating steak.
"Only if you pick out something to buy for yourself."
"How about you pick out something for me?"
Sasuke thought about this for a minute, much to Itachi's amusement. Finally, with all the determination he could muster, he said, "Okay, I'll do it."
It was perfect timing, really, because just then Itachi stopped and turned towards the restaurant. He crouched down so Sasuke could get down and took his brothers hand as he led him toward the large ornate doors.
"Itachi! We can't eat here!"
"Why not?" Itachi asked, casting Sasuke an amused look.
"It's too expensive!" the boy hissed, tugging Itachi's arm so that he'd come to his senses.
"But it's what I want on my birthday," Itachi replied, a playful lilt in his voice. "I have enough money and they make the best rice balls in town. No more arguments." Sasuke's mouth snapped closed as Itachi leaned down to his eye level and poked him in the forehead. "Now, you go in and walk to the bathrooms. If anyone tries to stop you, just use that as an excuse, kay?" He waited for Sasuke to nod before continuing. "On your way to the bathrooms, I want you to look and see if there's anyone who might try and call me away. If there is, you get your wish and we go someplace else, but don't lie, little brother. Now go."
Sasuke nodded and marched into the building, looking as if he'd just taken on a dangerous mission.
Itachi didn't bother watching his brother. If he was within eye line of the door when it opened, someone might spot him. True, climbing in through the bathroom window had it's risks, but it was a risk worth taking to see his brother so intense.
He was within the bathroom in mere seconds and leaned against the wall to wait for Sasuke. Chances were high that the little boy would be distracted or run into someone he knew.
Speaking of running into someone he knew…
He had been staring at the opposite wall, hoping not to attract attention to himself, when he noticed he was being stared at by someone at the urinals. Odd. What was even odder was that the man was sitting sideways atop the urinal, his feet on the top of the one before him.
"That can't be comfortable," Itachi said, deciding he would break the silence before someone else walked in and thought the notorious pervert was living up to his reputation.
"Well, you know, some things can't be helped," Kakashi replied, propping his chin on the back of a hand and his arm on his knee.
"Is there a reason you're here, Hatake?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
Itachi cocked his head to the side and considered the man. Kakashi Hatake had been his team captain a few times in the past and, as Itachi was slanted for a position in ANBU as soon as he made jounin in the next month, they would probably be working close together in the future. But Itachi didn't think he had to worry about Hatake outing him to any of the Hokage's messengers and he definitely didn't have to worry about him telling another Uchiha. They tended to hate the man as he had - what was it Fugaku insisted? He had "stolen the legacy of the Uchiha and perverted it every time he used it." Of course, when Itachi suggested that of course he perverted it, Kakashi was a pervert, Fugaku had not been amused.
"I'm waiting for my brother," Itachi finally supplied.
Hatake nodded and glanced over his shoulder - out the window.
"I'm hiding," Hatake finally replied.
So that was why the window was already open wide enough for him to get through.
Itachi didn't bother replying, he just stared at the man with his head still cocked. Finally Hatake sighed, dropping down to the floor and walking back over to the window.
"Move over will you?" He looked out the open window and turned back to the thirteen-year-old. "I'm hiding from an ex so don't go getting any ideas."
At that the door burst open and Sasuke rushed in. He paused and fell back when he noticed that a man was standing next to Itachi and, keeping his eyes low but fixed in their general direction, slowly walked over to the sinks and began washing his hands.
Hatake openly laughed at this and let a hand rest heavily on Itachi's shoulder for a moment.
"Don't worry too much, I haven't seen any Uchiha but you two in town all day. There's probably some meeting that you're ignoring," Hatake said, voice low but light. "Keep up the good work, Itachi, and we'll be seeing each other more often. Probably not in upscale bathrooms, but you never know."
With that, the jounin climbed out the window and was gone. Itachi turned back to his little brother who was staring at the window intently through the mirror.
"Well, Sasuke?"
"I only recognized one person," Sasuke said, his voice a harsh whisper as if he were trying to make this secret but wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. "And she was an Akimichi, so I don't think you have to worry about being called away."
Itachi nodded and headed towards the door. He had expected that. Hiroko Akimichi was the not-so-secret weapon of this place, after all.
They were seated in the corner, per Itachi's request. It wasn't a problem as most customers wished to be seated in corners and so this particular restaurant had been designed with several different dinning rooms with many large ferns between tables.
A ninja's life was a unique one.
They placed a large order of rice balls with a thin and busty waitress who Sasuke insisted upon seeing her walking towards them had been in a different dinning room when he walked in. It wasn't that unusual, women seemed to love trying to attract the Uchiha prodigy. Before she could leave, Itachi requested a pot of green tea. Sasuke made a face at this. He hadn't quite outgrown his childish tastes, and he'd still not taken to the concept of tea. Itachi, knowing it wouldn't get any easier for the boy, forced him to drink tea as often as possible.
"Do you want to tell me what you've been doing at the Academy recently?" Itachi asked.
Sasuke's face lit up. He was never asked about Academy.
"Master Musura's been giving a lot of busy work lately," the boy practically chirped. Itachi didn't need to look under the table to know that he was swinging his feet back and forth excitedly. "Theoretical stuff, you know? A lot of it's been 'given this scenario, where would you attack from?' and things like that. I think he's losing his touch, 'cause some of the older students keep telling us how he used to really focus on practical lessons."
Itachi nearly grinned. Sasuke was always trying to use phrases he heard their parents saying, and "losing their touch" was the favorite this week.
"You know, Sasuke, when I was in Academy, I didn't have that many practical lessons."
"But you don't need them!" Sasuke insisted, a bit of a whine reaching his voice. "You're the best even without them."
"Uh-uh, little brother. Even the sannin had to be taught how to throw a kunai once. We all start somewhere, and nearly everyone starts small."
Sasuke frowned, but didn't argue. He knew, logically, that that was true. The sannin had been trained by the third. But he just couldn't imagine them not knowing how to throw a kunai.
"Next you're going to tell me that if someone trains hard enough, anyone can be Hokage." Sasuke knew he was being a bit petulant, but he didn't care.
"The fourth Hokage was just a jounin with a team of students before he was the Hokage," Itachi pointed out.
Sasuke shook his head.
"He was a jounin that was training an Uchiha, though. The first Uchiha on a team. You never had a genin or chuunin team."
Itachi smiled a tight smile.
"That's true, but there was nothing special about cousin Obito. He was an average ninja."
"But it was still special!" Sasuke insisted. "And Shisui told me that there had been a genius on the team! And a full medic nin! And they weren't put onto a team until all of them were chuunin! It was special."
Itachi relented, if only because a eight-year-old couldn't be swayed.
Their food arrived then, but it wasn't the small and busty waitress that brought it. It was Hiroko Akimichi herself.
She had a wide smile on her heart shaped face, and was rather short. This made her seem even rounder than she technically was, though Itachi didn't think this woman's soft curves were necessarily unattractive. For a moment, he let himself entertain the thought that she would be incredibly pleasant to hug, what with no sharp corners lurking about.
Hiroko was young, too, unmarried - though she probably wouldn't stay that way for long. Men fell in love with her cooking all the time, from what he'd heard in the missions office. Itachi had once overheard Mikoto saying that she'd probably marry a third or fourth cousin. This, of course, wasn't said with the usual sneer as Mikoto could be traced back to Fugaku twice through their family tree. Itachi suspected that he would be expected to marry his third cousin
"Oh, they were right!" she exclaimed, setting down a large platter on their table. "I heard Naomi talking about that Uchiha prodigy and thought I'd investigate. You boys are hardly ever off the compound!"
Sasuke blushed, shuffling his feet against his chair legs. Itachi gave the woman a polite smile.
"It's nice seeing you Miss Hiroko," he said, inclining his head. "When I decided to take my brother out for lunch, your restaurant was the first I thought of."
"Oh, you flatterer you!" She giggled, though a deep flush was creeping over her cheeks. She set down the pot of tea and walked back towards the kitchen, a large grin on her face.
The rest of the meal had little talking. Sasuke immersed himself in eating, too excited to savor the taste. Itachi ate more slowly, enjoying the taste almost as much as he enjoyed the sheer bliss on Sasuke's face.
The only way he could be happier would be if they served this with tomato. Itachi thought wryly.
"Sasuke."
The boy paused, looking up at Itachi with wide, curious eyes.
"Today's going to be a good day," Itachi finished, smiling across the table at his little brother.
Sasuke's only reply was a huge grin.