"You want a what now?" Nekobaa asked in disbelief.
"I want a gift for my wife." Uchiha Itachi repeated patiently, not particularly surprised by the woman's reaction. Although Nekobaa and her granddaughter Tamaki were among the few who knew the secret of why he was a rogue ninja, they were thus far the only people he had told of his marriage, although he suspected that he would have to tell his friend and physician, Mayonaka Shinjiro, at some point.
"I never thought you of all people would get married!" The elderly woman exclaimed in surprise.
"It wasn't really in my plans for the future, no."
At that, Nekobaa scoffed, "Your plans for the future are rather short-term, Itachi. But why come here? This is a weapon shop, not a gift shop."
"I'm well aware of that." Itachi replied with a dry smile, "My wife's fighting abilities are... limited. I want to give her something she can defend herself with. Something that she can use easily. And... I'd like to give her something that shows she is a member of the Uchiha Clan."
"So in other words, you want a small, lightweight weapon that's easy to use and that only someone from the Uchiha could get ahold of, even though only your brother would realize that." Nekobaa surmised.
"And that she can hide somewhere within her kimono, yes."
Nekobaa sighed. "Itachi... You left Konoha seven years ago. Exactly how long have you been married to this girl?"
"Two years." Itachi replied.
"Is this the first time you've given her a gift in that time?"
"I haven't exactly had time to pick anything up on other occasions." He admitted.
"So why now?" She asked.
Itachi sighed, "My wife has begun insisting upon trying to have a child. She says that by having one, she'll have a part of me with her when I'm gone. I already feel like I've robbed her of something by marrying her when my days are numbered, so I couldn't really deny her this, even though I'm not sure it's possible for us to have one. We've agreed that if she does get pregnant, she'll go Shinjiro in Yugakure for medical care... and for safety, but even the journey there could be dangerous, especially if she's not properly equipped to defend herself."
"Well, you've found a stalwart one, I'll give you that." Nekobaa replied before reaching over and pulling something out of her stock. "What about this? It's a kodachi. She ought to be able to carry it inside the knot of her obi. It's lightweight, strong, and has a sharp edge, but it's more useful than a kunai for self-defense. It was, in fact, designed for a young kunoichi to carry discreetly while gathering information."
Itachi looked at the item carefully. As Nekobaa had said, it was a kodachi, but the blade was only about 35cm long, making it just longer than a tanto. The scabbard was made of ebony and was almost the same color as Amai's hair. The hilt was white with a silver dragon curled around it, and Itachi could see that the dragon was not just for decoration, the scales made it easier to keep the blade firmly in one's grip. The rim and tip of the scabbard were trimmed with silver to match it.
"Yes, this should do nicely." He confirmed with a nod.
"Good." Nekobaa said as she closed the case and stood up, "Tamaki, I'm going to make a few alterations to the scabbard first, so keep Itachi company."
"All right." The young Tamaki answered while standing up to talk to Itachi. It didn't make a great deal of difference. Tamaki was the same age as Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, which meant she was still a good deal shorter than him, and he had to look down to meet her gaze whether she was standing or not. "So what is your wife like?" Tamaki asked innocently, catching Itachi slightly off guard. Nekobaa wouldn't have bothered to ask something like that. He had to think for a minute of how to answer.
"She is... a very kind woman. A little naive, but... not unaware of how the world works. I think she's actually more aware of it than most civilians. She's very thoughtful and always looking out for others." He gave a rare smile of amusement and shook his head, "But when you least expect it, she can become very stubborn, and when she makes up her mind about something, there's no changing it. I've never once managed to win an argument with her."
Tamaki laughed innocently, "You don't seem like the type who would be pushed around by, well, anyone."
"She's only headstrong when she feels very strongly about something." Itachi said, closing his eyes with a look of fondness Tamaki hadn't seen on his face in a long time, "For that reason, I don't usually push back too hard when she's acting that way. Above all, she is... the strongest person I know."
The teenager giggled again, "I'm glad you've found somebody who makes you so happy, Itachi-san."
"Indeed." Nekobaa said as she re-entered the room, "Your parents would be happy for it too, I'm sure. They'd be glad to know that you have some source of joy in your life after all your troubles."
"I hope you're right." Itachi said with an awkward smile as he accepted the box from Nekobaa and opened it to see what modifications she had made. His eyes widened incrementally as they took in the sight of the Uchiha Crest carved and set with mother-of-pearl and sunstone upon the scabbard.
"You wanted to give her something to serve as proof that she is a member of the Uchiha." Nekobaa remarked, "It should be fine as long as the scabbard remains in her obi."
"Right..."
愛
"I have something for you." Itachi said as he sat at the table in Amai's-and technically his for all intents and purposes-home the next time he came to see her.
"What is it?" Amai asked curiously as she sat down across from him. Itachi placed a small case upon the table and slid it over to her. Amai opened it and gasped as her eyes widened. "Itachi-kun..."
"You can hide this in the knot of your obi and use it to defend yourself if the need should arise." Itachi explained, "I picked it up for you from the woman who has been a supplier to my clan for as long as I can remember."
"It's beautiful." Amai replied as she carefully slid the blade from the scabbard.
"It's lightweight, but sharp, so you should be able to wield it easily." Itachi said with a nod. Amai's gaze went back to the scabbard and she carefully ran her thumb over the crest upon it.
"This..."
"Is proof of our marriage. Proof that you are an Uchiha." Itachi replied, reaching forward and placing his hand on top of Amai's, "No matter what may come in the future, my love with always protect you."
So just a little one-shot about Itachi and Amai in honor of White Day in Japan, which is today (or yesterday, depending on your timezone). For those who don't know, March 14th is known as White Day in Japan serves as a counterpart to Valentine's Day. In Japan, on Valentine's Day, girls tell boys how they feel by giving them chocolate. On White Day, if the feeling is mutual, the boy responds by giving the girl white chocolate as a gift. So thus, this is about Itachi giving Amai a gift as a token as his love, and also to protect her, because I get the feeling that Itachi is not the type to believe in giving gifts that do not serve a purpose.
I did a little research on Japanese swords and on precious stones to improve the description of Amai's sword... and give it a proper moniker rather than just "her blade".