Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I would be filthy rich right now. Enjoy!
Before I forget, the ages for the characters are different. Itachi left the village at age 16. So now he's 22 after his return. So that makes all the Rookie 9 around 18/19 except for Neji, Lee, and Tenten who are 20/21. That's about it so far.
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"Itachi-san, do you agree with the terms thus far?" the Godaime questioned, her hazel eyes staring across slender, intertwined fingers. Her lips gave off a rosy red tint as the corners lifted in a small form of a smirk, hidden from her subordinates. She knew though, that the blonde ANBU in the corner of the office was aware of that look. In the few years that she's been Hokage, Tsunade had never imagined the day that Konoha's greatest missing nin would stand before her so soon in her career.
Standing in the center of the room was none other than the missing nin Uchiha Itachi. His long ebony hair laid tied and lifeless on his back. His sharigan eyes were inactive while he stared at their current Hokage indifferently with dark, coal eyes. The atatsuki cloak and standard garment were nowhere in site. Instead, the elder Uchiha was dressed in a black sleeveless vest and knee length shorts; his pouch of kunai and shuriken in place around his waist and thigh. Around his neck, dangling from a cord was the Uchiha fan standing proudly over the dark material.
Itachi mentally ran over the conditions discussed concerning his return to the village. Comparing the situation now to the life he had six years previously, there didn't seem to be too much complications. His status of jounin and ANBU would still be intact, and he was allowed to pick up missions like any other normal shinobi . He'll also have a place to stay in the Uchiha Compound once renovations are complete. The only downside that he can see was the truth that would be withheld from the villagers. He'll be pardoned from crimes that he supposedly committed, but there was no telling what the village might think. He was sure that they'll fear him, not like he was complaining, and the genins and chuunins will more than likely distrust him. Those were a few small prices that he was willing pay for his loyalty to his home.
"Hai." came the short reply.
"Very well. For the meantime, you will temporarily reside with Sasuke and his family near the Hyuga compound in the East district of Konoha until renovations are complete. Then the both of you may move." Tsunade continued, picking up where she left off before. Her eyes glanced briefly to the blond ANBU knowing fully well that a wide grin was behind that mask.
Itachi was at a lost for words. If his hearing was accurate, he was certain that the Hokage said his otouto has a family. Even if his hearing was in working order, why was Sasuke staying near the Hyuga Compound? When did Sasuke get married anyway? He wasn't informed of this! Before any emotions can appear, Itachi smoothed his face quickly, hiding any trace of the things running through his mind. He had only returned for a couple of hours and already his resolve and teachings were diminishing as the seconds ticked by.
"Just a question, Hokage-sama." Itachi spoke up, postponing further instructions. At her nod to continue, he made sure there were no emotions as he went on. "Is it necessary for all of this at my return?"
Tsunade quirked a thin, blonde eyebrow at his question. Her confusion crossed her features for just a split second before the sound of giggling caught her attention. Hazel colored eyes glanced to the corner towards a bulky man with a white mane for hair. Beside him was the copy-cat nin crouching near the older man as the two of them read an orange book. Understanding dawned on her and her eyes averted back to the young man.
"Their attendances in this meeting are significant." she supplied with suppressed frustration to strangle the two. A knock on the double doors, caught her attention.
A moment later, the door slid open just a crack to allow a woman to poke her head through the opening. Her short dark purple hair spilled across her shoulders as she searched the Hokage out with her dark eyes. "Hokage-sama, Sasuke-kun has arrived." Shizune announced.
Tsunade gave a curt nod before replying and leaning back against her seat. "Send him in."
Shizune disappeared behind the oak doors and moments later it opened again to reveal the young Uchiha. His face carried the ever proud smirk upon his lips when he stepped inside. His attire was fairly simple with a pair of dark black pants with his kunai pouch strapped around his right thigh and shuriken pouch around his waist. A dark blue sleeveless shirt fitted his upper body with the Uchiha fan presented on the upper left breast of the material. His arms were still wrapped in white bandages as they lay still beside him.
The room quickly grew silent when the younger of the Uchihas laid eyes onto the missing nin. His smirk fell from his lips and everyone tensed. Off to the corner, the blonde ANBU prepared himself in case he needed to jump in and stop any unnecessary encounters. At the same instant, a lift appeared on both the Uchiha brothers' lips and a sigh was released from the occupants in the office.
"Welcome back, Aniki." Sasuke said for the first time he arrived.
"Ah."
Tsunade grinned mischievously but quickly wiped it away. "On a further note Itachi, please meet your superior tomorrow. I would inform you of your rendezvous point, but he said you're aware of the location."
"Hai."
During the whole walk to his temporary home, they were stared at the whole time. Whispers laid in their wake as the Uchiha brothers made it down the road, but both brothers held their heads up high and ignored their surrounding. Itachi wasn't surprise. He was expecting it really, but what he didn't expect was when they stopped in front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. He blinked at Sasuke's turned back who entered the shop.
The little bell above the door jingled as both brothers were welcomed to a small brush of cool air and fresh scents. The vicinity was filled with all sort of arrangements of flowers when Sasuke continued to lead the way towards the counter.
"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop." A female voice greeted before turning her attention elsewhere. "There, there."
Itachi observed silently when the blonde haired woman smiled and whispered to a bundle of blue blankets in her arms. Her long hair was held back in a braid with her bangs clipped to the side. Her baby blue eyes lit up when Sasuke reached his journey's end before the counter with a small hint of a. . .smile? Maybe this was his new sister-in-law. After all, the shop was located in the East district of Konoha.
"Sasuke-kun, punctual as always I see. I don't know why I always I expect you to be late." Ino greeted, walking around the counter with the bundle still cradled in her arms. "Either way, you're right on time. Ashi just woke up." she informed, and placed the said bundle into Sasuke's waiting arms.
"Arigato." Sasuke mumbled, his dark eyes fixed on what he was carrying. Then it cooed.
Sasuke inwardly grinned to himself. Even though they haven't seen each other in over six years, he can still sense his brother's troubled or curious emotions at times. The fact that Itachi wasn't aware of his marriage and family only fueled him more to keep his elder in suspense just for a moment longer. It wasn't every day that the Great Itachi was left in the dark.
Turning side ways, Sasuke gave Itachi a glimpsed of flailing small hands and a hint of dark hair contrasting to the soft blue material of the blanket. "Ashi, meet your uncle."
Before Itachi could say anything, the bundle was thrust into his arms. His dark, coal eyes narrowed and glared at Sasuke's back who turned to the Yamanaka young woman before glancing down to what was bestowed upon him. Itachi's eyes widened a fraction as pure white eyes met his dark coal ones. Hyuuga! Sasuke married a member from the Hyuuga Clan? Itachi was in so much shock that he almost dropped the bundle until his newly discovered nephew decided to tug on one of his long bangs causing him to grimace.
"Hinata-chan wanted me to let you know that she'll be home early today." Ino continued while watching the scene unfold before her.
"Ah." Sasuke's one word reply as he too watched from the corner of his eyes, not fully paying attention.
"And," Ino rustled through her the pockets of her apron which caught Sasuke's attention, and then produced a slip of paper. Sasuke visibly twitched at the sight of it. "She wants some of these items picked up for dinner tonight."
"Ah." came his forced reply when he accepted the slip.
Folding her hands behind her back, Ino leaned over to the side to have a better look at the silent figure behind her ex crush. "You must be Itachi, ne?" Her only reply was a nod as he readjusted the child in his arms "Silent too, huh? Is that a Uchiha thing?"
"Iie." Itachi replied, a tiny smirk on his lips as he shot Sasuke a brief glance, slightly amused at the fact that he was twitching at the grocery list.
Unlocking the apartment door, Sasuke moved aside for Itachi to enter with a giggling Ashi. A sigh escaped his lips as he watched his Aniki's back. Despite being an ex S-class missing nin, the female population wasn't defer from their quest for the elder Uchiha. To add to the mix, that same Uchiha was carrying his adorable nephew and that only managed to increase the crowd on their way home from the flower shop. So, with as much pride and dignity that both Uchiha brothers can muster, they ran.
Itachi scanned his new surroundings. To his left was the living room along with a set of furniture and an oak coffee table placed in the center of the room. A television was seated in a corner beside the sliding doors that led to the balcony and on the opposite corner were a few stacked boxes and newspapers that were set for the move he assumed. On his right was a wide archway leading into the kitchen that housed a dining table and refrigerator. In front of him was a long hallway with four doors, two on each side. One he assumed was leading to the bathroom, the other a closet, and the last two to the bedrooms.
"Do you think you can handle Ashi while I head to the market for Hinata's groceries?' Sasuke questioned from the opened front door.
Itachi glanced at his otouto side ways, a calm look on his face. "Why can't you take him with you?"
"As you can see, Ashi attracts more attention than needed. If I bring him along to the market, there's no telling when I'll be back." Sasuke replied back, still slightly annoyed at the list given to him and wincing at the thought of taking his son to the market again. He didn't want to go through the same ordeal as last time. Sasuke learned his lesson when it came to bringing Ashi to the market. Their first time there, a horde of women came rampaging down the aisles at him, and he had no choice but to abandon the cart of food. After that, he either avoided grocery shopping when babysitting Ashi as much as possible or brought Naruto along as decoy.
Itachi eyed his little nephew, his mind going over the pros and cons. If Sasuke took the kid with him than he'll have the apartment to himself for a short time. At the same time, his hair wouldn't suffer so much damage from the constant tugging Ashi was giving it. On the other hand, Sasuke had a point. Ashi did attract unnecessary attention and he was getting hungry. Their dinner would be delayed if that happened at the market. Itachi frowned at the thoughts running through his head.
"Buy some dango on your way home." Itachi said, treading down the hall with Ashi waving over his shoulders at his otousan.
"He slept already." Sasuke called down the hall, his left eye twitching at the request for dango.
"Diapers." was the only reply Sasuke received before Itachi disappeared into the second door to the right.
After changing Ashi's diapers, Itachi was actually glad for once. All those ridiculous D-rank missions he received as a genin finally came to good use. Settling down on the couch, Itachi relaxed against the cushion while bouncing Ashi lightly on his right knee. Coal black eyes met with milky white once again.
"Does your tousan get bullied by your kaasan a lot?" Itachi murmured to the child. Ashi giggled while clapping his tiny hands as if he was trying to tell his uncle 'yes'.
His mind once again drifted. The man that massacred the Uchiha Clan was finally killed, and the only thing that was left was to rebuild. The Uchiha Compound was under renovation that much he was sure. Sasuke had already married and now had a son which meant the reviving is starting its slow progress. This only left him. Although Itachi couldn't see himself married or have. . .
Ashi made a gurgling noise before tugging on Itachi's bangs again. The older of two glared at the younger one. "That's not a toy." Itachi chided and sighed.
It wasn't like him. After so many years of being cold and indifferent, so many years of keeping people out, he was slowly losing it. Ashi made the sound again and brought his small hands down against his uncle's stomach. Itachi could feel the twitch that was starting develop and before it could get any worse, he scooped the infant into his arms and stood up.
"Lets see what they're feeding you." He mumbled, searching through the cabinets for the baby formula.
After some amount of scavenging through the cabinets, the baby formula was soon discovered. Itachi set out to brew some for the child instead of searching for the bottle since he came upon it when rummaging in the cupboard. Pouring the hot liquid into the bottle, he secured the cap on and shook the content, allowing the hot liquid to blend with the formula. Checking the content's temperature just to be sure that his nephew didn't burn himself, Itachi pulled out a chair from the dinning table and took his seat while setting Ashi on the table top in front of him. He offered the bottle to Ashi and automatically withdrew the bottle away from the boy every few seconds, allowing him time to breathe before giving Ashi more gulps.
Dark eyes stared intently at the feeding baby. According to the Uchiha Clan's rules on deciding head and heir, Ashi is the new heir to the Uchiha Clan. If there were cases where the head of the family had multiple sons, the next head to the family was always decided upon the first son who starts a family and bare a male infant. Only then will they be the next head of the family and their child heir. Seeing that Sasuke was the first son of their late father to have both, it was only natural that Sasuke is the new family's head. Itachi shrugged slightly, not really caring who got the head position anyways as he continued to feed the eager Ashi.
A deep sighed escaped her lips when the door opened. Hinata smiled at the site of her home. The long day at the hospital finally wore her out when the numbers of injured continued to pour through their doors, and she was glad for once that her shift was cut short. Placing her sandals off to the side, Hinata made her way to the only source of light in the apartment. The kitchen. She froze at the site that greeted her. There in her kitchen was the ex S-class missing nin feeding her son.
Her shock subsided, and a warm smile graced her lips. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't worried about her brother-in-law living with them in the beginning. It was a mother's instinct to protect her child if the news of a former missing nin was to reside with them. All that however, never led to the possibility that Itachi might be a loving uncle. Hinata could almost see Ashi digging his way into Itachi's heart. She continued to watch as the little boy coughed a bit from swallowing too much and Itachi set the bottle down and started rubbing Ashi's back to help reduce the coughs. Hinata smiled to herself, she just found herself a new babysitter, and if any were to question her reason she made sure not to tell them that Itachi was a caring uncle.
Pushing his cart down aisle 5, Sasuke scanned the produce section. Picking up some potatoes, he inspected it while ignoring all the women around him. Another cart came down the same aisle opposite of him as the lean, tall man came to a stop behind Sasuke and scanned the tomatoes.
"He'll find out tomorrow." the man mumbled, taking the produce into his hand and taking a closer look at it. "Shouldn't you feel threatened?"
Sasuke kept silent but continued his picking before grabbing a plastic bag from the role set for the shoppers. Bagging his purchase, Sasuke made his way to the meat aisle on the other side.
"The outcomes are still unknown." Sasuke mumbled below his breath.
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Please leave some reviews and tell me what you think. I'm planning to make this a short fic. . . .I think, but yeah. Hope you enjoyed. Come back again.