Golden Lavender

Mitsuki Hyuga struggled through giving birth to twins, boys. It was in her family's line to have twins every generation, usually identical. But after it was over, the bleeding couldn't seem to be stopped.

Sasuke Uchiha, her husband for near seven years, took her hand in both of his. "Mitsuki, you can't die! You're the head of the clan and bearer of the Kekkei Genkai!"

"Sasuke…" she whispered, a trickle of blood escaping her lips. "Please, do something for me…"

He nodded, leaning closer to her.

"Call our twin sons Hiro and Seiji…and…"

"Mitsuki, please, stay with me!" Sasuke pleaded, involuntary tears coming to his eyes.

She smiled faintly up at him. "…bring Hinata-chan back to Konohagure and have her trained as a ninja…don't tell her about her origins…" The Hyuga head winced, but kept speaking. "…and tell Naruto…I…" Her mouth moved silently, but Sasuke read the movement the same as if he was using the Sharingan. "…please."

He nodded and felt her hand getting colder as the blood gushed out of her. "Your dying wishes will be obeyed, Mitsuki. You have my word, my love."

Her eyes were starting to dull, but she tightened her fingers around her husband's hand. "Sasuke…call Neji…I have something to tell him."

He nodded and gestured for a servant to do so. Only seconds after, the imposing older man came in, his eyes full of concern. He saw the blood and sat next to his cousin. "Mitsuki, you called for me?"

She gave the same faint smile and only the slightest movement of her head signaled that she nodded. "Yes… dear cousin…I did…"

"I saw you had twins. Congratulations on becoming a mother of three. Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes…" She attempted to reach for him, and he helped her, as she slid her fingers underneath his forehead protector. She closed her eyes as chakra flowed through her arm to the palm of her hand. Neji gasped, yanking his forehead protector off, Sasuke's eyes widening at seeing the green marking that told of him being the branch family of the Hyuga clan, a "caged bird", vanish. "I…set you free… You no longer have to be trapped…like your father… You have a choice now… After this…there will be no more members of the 'branch family' of our clan…"

"Mitsuki, your kindness is bestowed on the most unworthy of people," Neji murmured, happiness in his eyes. "Thank you, cousin. From the bottom of my heart."

"No…thank you…for befriending me…when you had no reason…to…" Both her hands fell limp, her eyes drifting shut as she took her last labored breath.

Sasuke growled, letting his wife's hand go, swearing under his breath. Neji stood, turning to the mourning man.

"Sasuke-kun."

Dark eyes met lavender. "What is it?"

"Fulfill Mitsuki's last wishes. I'll take care of affairs until you get back."

Sasuke stood, but nodded, turning to go. He then whispered, "Neji…"

"Yes?"

"Make sure she gets a proper funeral, one that she deserves."

"Of course."

He stepped out, to see his son, who Mitsuki had insisted on calling Itachi, despite everyone's protests, sitting obediently on a bench, just outside the door. His dark eyes, pure Uchiha, still held some of his mother's softness. The Uchiha clan would live on with him, unless Sasuke decided to leave the Hyuga clan and remarry, something he would never do. The boy looked up through messy bangs that pointed to his mother, his hair longer than most boys his age because it grew so fast.

"Otou-san!" he cried, running to his father.

Sasuke accepted the hug, it making him feel a little better, despite that he'd just lost his wife. He could see her in this six-year-old, although he carried the Kekkei Genkai of his father. Although he was only six, he'd learned Sharingan at the tender age of five and quite a few techniques he could already use that his father had had trouble learning at eight. He learned so quickly that his father was afraid that he would turn ambitious like his namesake.

But, alas, he had Mitsuki's cheerful outlook on life, not wanting to do anything but be the best ninja for Konohagure he could. He was still in the academy, but he was the top of his class, partly because of his genius, partly because of the training his father gave him almost every day. Although Sasuke knew it would be wrong, he had said once, when he'd been particularly proud of what Itachi had done, "You are my son indeed." The same thing his father had said to his elder brother, then himself, when the older of the two had been twisted by his ambition. It made him feel sick that he'd praised his son the same way that made him feel jealous of his elder brother. He hoped that one of the twins would receive his Kekkei Genkai, but he doubted it, it would be more likely that they would carry the Hyuga Kekkei Genkai and be trained by Neji.

But Sasuke could hope, since they were his sons. He wanted to train each of them to be powerful users of fire, like the Uchiha clan symbol claimed, a red fan. Itachi had already filled that role, but he didn't want to show favoritism, like his father had. It was something he never wanted to do, but he was proud of Itachi's abilities. He would never say his father's favorite saying again, it didn't matter if he had to bite his lip through to stop himself.

"Itachi, would you like to go with me on a little trip?" he asked, placing a hand on the young boy's shoulder.

"Are we going to train?!" the child asked excitedly, since he loved training with his father.

"Yes, we will," the father allowed, so Itachi would be safe with him and not suffer from not going to school.

"Yay!" Itachi cheered, before running to his room to pack.

Sasuke packed some things as well, before meeting his firstborn son outside his room, which had more ninja things in it than toys, because he had matured quickly which was the cause of his training. The man sighed a little before lifting Itachi up on his hip, which the boy never had experienced with him, only his mother.

"Otou-san, you've never carried me like this before," he observed, smiling.

"You need to be coddled a little more, even though you act so mature."

The little boy's bright smile was enough for him to go on to the Uzamaki household. He knocked and was answered by Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun! This is a surprise!" she greeted, smiling. "Itachi-kun, too! You're so cute!"

Itachi had an annoyed look on when she pinched his cheek. "Hello, Sakura-san."

Sasuke noticed she was heavily pregnant, but on her hip was a pink-haired girl with blue eyes, four years old. She waved at Itachi, giggling. " 'tachi-kun!" she chirped.

"Hi, Fuu-chan," Itachi acknowledged, almost rolling his eyes. The little girl loved him to pieces, but he just thought she was annoying.

"Sakura, is your blockhead of a husband here?"

"I heard that, Sasuke!" Naruto's voice yelled, followed by the man himself, who aimed a punch at his rival's face.

Sasuke dodged easily and smirked. "Still as slow as ever. Mitsuki wanted to have a few words, but since she… died just a little while ago, I must tell you."

Naruto grabbed the front of his shirt, eyes on fire. "What did you do to her, Sasuke?!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "She died from giving birth to twins. Two boys. Hiro and Seiji. Whether or not they take my name or hers will matter all on which Kekkei Genkai they inherited. She said that after all this time, she's sorry that she couldn't accept you. Also, she asked me to go retrieve Hinata-chan. Where is she?"

Naruto's eyes widened at hearing the name and he crossed his arms in an "X". "No way am I telling you!"

Sasuke sighed, then murmured, "It's one of Mitsuki's last wishes…"

Naruto noticed the deep sadness in his tone. He softened a little, then muttered, "All right, she's in the Country of Field, the last I heard."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "The Country of Field…where the Hidden Village of Sound is supposedly located. Are you sure?"

"Yes, that's what I heard. Good enough for you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded and turned to go. "Thank you, Naruto. I'll be going now, she could be in danger, since she could be…"

He then ran like the hounds of Hades were nipping at his heels.