Author's Note: This is a rewrite of a series I've been working on for quite some time originally titled "Their Fate". I've made a lot of changes to the story, and I intend on making things more cannon to the original Naruto story arc. I debated for a long time on whether or not to include Sarada, Boruto, and Himawari since they are the cannon children, but I decided to keep the characters I created for the purposes of this story. Also, I will be leaving the sequel to "Their Fate", "Harmony", up on my account for now. I will be putting forth a lot more effort into it this time around, and I'm very excited to be up and writing again. Please enjoy!

-WW08

These Ties That Bind

Naruto scanned the handwritten documents that had been handed off to him and looked up at the fiery-eyed teen standing on the opposite side of his desk. She was tall and slender with a tomboyish charm about her. Her jet black hair fell just below her shoulders, framing her porcelain skin with perfect contrast. Her choppy, side-swept bangs fell into her deep obsidian eyes, and her lips, always glowing red, held a smirk that matched her father's. She was Leiji Uchiha, the oldest of the four Uchiha children, and since her recent seventeenth birthday, a member of the esteemed ANBU Black Ops.

"So?" Leiji asked, crossing her arms impatiently. "How is it?"

Naruto, the proud seventh hokage, gave her a big goofy grin and laid the mission report out in front of him. "I'd say it's a pretty good report for a two-month mission, especially since you went solo. How was it being gone for so long?"

"Wonderful," she replied without thinking. "It's not like it was a hard mission, and I got to enjoy two months of peace of quiet."

Naruto snickered and set the papers aside to be filed, knocking over a few empty instant ramen containers in the process. "It does get pretty loud in your house, doesn't it? It makes me glad I only have one kid to deal with!"

Rolling her eyes, Leiji picked up her mission bag and slung it over her shoulder. Tamako was the only daughter of Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki, and she and Leiji were close friends despite their wildly different personalities. "Can I go home now?" she asked tiredly.

"Sure," Naruto said with a smile. "I'm giving you the next two weeks off. Take some time to relax, okay?"

"Two weeks?" Leiji raised a brow. "I don't even need two days to recover. All I did was gather information."

"But you spent two months doing it," Naruto countered. "We have labor laws for a reason. Spend some time with your family. See your friends. Tamako missed you, you know."

"I know, I know. I'll call her tomorrow," Leiji promised. "Right now I just want to sleep in my own bed."

"You know your mom is probably making you a huge welcome home dinner," Naruto reminded her. "Don't plan on sleeping just yet."

Leiji paused, her mouth nearly watering at the thought of her mother's home cooking. She couldn't wait to eat, but she knew the peace and quiet she had become accustomed to would be gone once she stepped foot inside the Uchiha home. Silence was a far off dream with her three younger brothers around.

The door behind her slid open, and Shikamaru stepped in carrying a sheaf of papers. "New mission requests," he announced lazily and laid them on Naruto's desk. "They're supposed to be sorted through by the end of the day." As Naruto's face fell, he glanced at Leiji and gave her a nod. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Leiji said simply. She gave Naruto a wave and stepped out of the office at the top of the hokage tower. Dusk was just beginning to settle over the village of Konoha as she stepped out onto the emptying streets. She was excited to return home; even despite the little nuisances she called her brothers. Her thoughts quickly returned to a home cooked meal. Naturally, her mother would be preparing one of her favorites. Okonomiyaki with extra sauce on top or fried tofu sprinkled with fresh-cut green onion. Her stomach growled eagerly at the thought.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice as she nearly collided with the person in front of her, and he took her by the shoulders to avoid a full-on collision.

"You know it's hard to believe they made you an ANBU over me, considering you can't even see what's right in front of you." Hachi Hyuuga gave her a wry smirk. He looked very much like his father, or so he had always been told. Neji Hyuuga had been killed during the Fourth Great Ninja War, before Hachi had been born. His mother, Tenten, was a kind but fierce weapons master who did her best to raise him alone, and even though she herself was not a Hyuuga by blood, the mother and son lived in the Hyuuga compound together so Hachi could be properly trained. However, he was a rebel in every way to the strict Hyuuga family. He was a joker who trained hard but never took it seriously. And he kept his hair short and shaggy, so unlike the traditional style for Hyuuga men. This angered the elders in his clan the most.

"Maybe it's because I deserved it," Leiji shot back at her former genin teammate.

"Or daddy pulled some strings with the hokage," he teased good-naturedly.

"Oh, shut up," she said. "You said you liked being a jounin."

"I do," he agreed, waving a hand nonchalantly. "How'd that mission go? It must feel good to be home."

"I wouldn't know, I haven't been home yet. Naruto took forever to go over my report as usual."

"I'll take that as a hint to leave you alone, then," Hachi said, giving his old friend a smirk.

"I'll tell you all about the mission tomorrow, if you want," Leiji said with a shrug. "But it wasn't very interesting."

"I'd like to hear what kind of prestigious and death-defying missions they send the ANBU on these days," Hachi said. "How about we meet at the dango shop about two tomorrow?"

"I hate dango," Leiji reminded him, wrinkling her nose.

"Fine, the coffee place by the tower then," he suggested.

"All right," Leiji agreed. She adjusted the strap of her bag on her aching shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

He gave her a wave as he continued his walk towards the tower, probably heading there to turn in his own mission report.

Hoping for no more interruptions, Leiji picked up her pace as she walked home, and when the two story beige-paneled home came into view she felt a pang of relief in her chest. She had recently begun considering the possibility of moving out on her own to escape the chaos, but every time she saw the house after a long while, she felt a sense of comfort.

When she opened the door, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug and a mass of pink hair blocked her vision. After squeezing her daughter tightly, Sakura pulled back and looked Leiji over, taking in her appearance. "Oh, I'm so glad you're home," she said, placing her hands on her daughter's cheeks as she examined her face. "Are you hungry? Dinner's almost ready."

"Yes, I'm starving," Leiji said as she dropped her backpack by the door and slid her shoes off.

"Good," Sakura said and shooed Leiji towards the living room. "I'll call you when it's ready. Go say hi to your father. He's in his office."

"All right," Leiji agreed. Sakura disappeared into the kitchen, and Leiji stepped into the living room, where two of her brothers sat watching television. "I'm home," she announced.

Kyo, the youngest at age seven, jumped off the couch and ran up to hug his big sister. He was shy and a bit of a cry baby at times, but he loved his sister dearly and often tagged along with her wherever she went, even when it annoyed her. "I missed you!" he declared, burying his face against her stomach. "Don't go away for so long again, okay?"

Leiji patted his back lightly and tried to pry loose his vice-like grip around her waist. "I'm ANBU now, Kyo. Sometimes I'm going to have to go away for a long time."

He raised his head to look up at her, his lower lip jutting out in a pout. He was the spitting image of Sasuke from his childhood photos and whether Kyo realized it or not, he used his cuteness to his advantage. "But I don't like it when you're gone."

"Sorry, kid. It can't be helped." She finally managed to loosen his hold on her and turned to Tai.

At eleven, he was the only one of the Uchiha children to have Sakura's gentle features, but his short, neat black hair and dark eyes all belonged to Sasuke. Tai suffered from a relatively severe case of asthma, and due to a weakened immune system, he was often sick. But, despite battling nearly constant illness, he had managed to graduate from the academy a year in advance and served as a genin. He waved at his sister, clutching his inhaler in his hand.

"Don't tell me you're sick again," Leiji said, taking in her brother's pallid face and fever brushed cheeks.

"I'm getting better," he replied simply.

"Hn," she hummed lightly and glanced up the stairs. "Where's Hideki?" The brooding thirteen-year-old usually did all he could to avoid spending time with his family, and he either had his headphones crammed so deeply in ears he couldn't hear what was happening around him, or he was strumming his acoustic guitar in his room. With his seemingly endless supply of band T-shirts, no one knew exactly where Hideki's interest in music had come from, but his shaggy black hair and deep eyes showed that he was truly a child of Sasuke's.

"Probably upstairs," Tai said and took a puff from his inhaler.

"Well, I'll see him later," Leiji said more to herself than to her brothers. She turned down the hall towards Sasuke's office. The door was open but she knocked on the doorframe anyway.

Sasuke glanced up from the piles of papers that Naruto had once again put off until the last minute and gave her a nod. "I thought you might be home by now. How did it go?"

"It was fine," Leiji said simply. "But it was really boring. Can't I be sent on something involving a little more danger next time?"

"No," Sasuke replied calmly. "You're still new to the ANBU. You're not going on anything too intense just yet. Especially not solo."

"Why not? I can handle it," she informed him defiantly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. His daughter's strong will often clashed with his own and arguments tended to escalate quickly without a mediator around. "I never said you couldn't. And besides, I'm not the one who decides those things."

"You could pull some strings. I know you have that power." Her tone was ebbing with a hint of sass. It was a tone that Sasuke had constantly had to warn her to watch when she was a child, and even as a teenager, that tone often found its way into her voice. He had given up on scolding her for being so frustratingly sassy long ago.

Sakura's voice floated down the hall declaring that dinner was ready, and Sasuke sighed in relief. There would be no arguing with his daughter tonight. He hoped. Setting the papers aside, Sasuke stood and motioned for Leiji to follow him. "I'm sure you're hungry. Let's go."

After catching up with the events in the Uchiha household and enjoying her first homemade dinner in months, Leiji sat in the hot bath that Sakura had drawn for her. She normally preferred to do things like that herself, but she was allowing herself to be pampered for the time being. She crossed her arms on the edge of the tub and rested in her chin on top, listening to the sounds of her family downstairs.

She could hear Kyo whining about not wanting to practice whatever he had learned at the academy that day. He hated the academy and often tried to fake being sick to get out of going. Tai was coughing in his room down the hall, and was complaining to Sakura about the taste of the medicine she was giving him.

She sighed in content and closed her eyes. She could almost say she was happy to be back amongst the chaos. Almost, but not quite.

A pounding on the door tore her from her tranquility and she scowled as Hideki called to her; "Would you hurry up? Other people need to bathe, you know!"

"Chill out, Hideki," she called back, but stepped out of the tub and dried herself quickly before throwing on a robe and opening the door. "It's all yours."

"It's about time, princess," he mocked and stepped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

With the gust of air from the door came a brief, earthy scent. Leiji paused and sniffed again, but there was no trace of the smell. Figuring she had imagined it, she retreated to her room and lay down, enjoying the comfort of her own bed and eager to get a good night's rest in it.

-0-

When morning came, Tamako bound into the Uchiha house without knocking just as Leiji was finishing a rare quiet breakfast with Sasuke. The boys had all left for either training or classes for the day, and Sakura, who worked diligently at the hospital, had been called in early to examine a critical patient.

The young Uzumaki, with her choppy blonde hair and sparkling lavender eyes, rushed up to her friend and threw her arms around her in a tight, welcoming hug, nearly knocking her over in the process. "Leiji! I missed you so much!" she cried happily. "Come on, get your shoes on, we're going out today!" She grabbed Leiji by the wrist and began pulling her away from the table excitedly.

"Could you wait for two seconds?" Leiji said as she struggled to guide her chopsticks towards her mouth. "I'm trying to eat here."

Sasuke shook his head slowly at the scene and ran a hand through his hair. "Sit down, Tamako."

The bouncing blonde gave him a huge Naruto-esque grin and plopped down at the table next to Leiji. "I bet you're happy Leiji's home too, Uncle Sasuke."

"Of course," Sasuke said as he stood with his dishes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do the work your father should be doing."

Tamako giggled as he left, knowing full well that Sasuke took on the brunt of the work her father was supposed to do. "So what should we do?" she asked, turning her attention to Leiji.

She shrugged as she finished her breakfast. "I don't care. I just have to be at the coffee shop by two."

"The coffee shop?" Tamako raised a brow. "Why?"

"I'm meeting Hachi there," Leiji explained as she gathered her dishes together. As she walked into the kitchen, she failed to see Tamako's jaw nearly drop to the floor.

"You're going on a date?"

Leiji stumbled in surprise and nearly dropped her dishes. "Wait, what?"

"You're going on a date with Hachi!" Tamako stood quickly and ran excitedly to Leiji's side. "How did that happen? You have to tell me everything!"

"There's nothing to tell," Leiji informed her as she set her dishes in the sink. "We're friends. We talk sometimes. It's not like this is anything new."

"But it could be," Tamako said in a sing-song voice. "I mean, come on. He totally likes you. It could be date. In fact, it should be a date!"

Leiji eyed her friend from the side. "You need to shut up."

"No, I need to prepare you!" Tamako declared and threw an arm around Leiji's shoulders. Against her will, she began dragging her friend towards the front door.

"Prepare me for what?" Leiji asked, twisting out of her grasp effortlessly.

"Your date," she replied as if it were obvious. "We're going to buy you a new outfit, and figure out a good makeup look for you."

"I don't wear makeup," Leiji protested. "And what's wrong with what I'm wearing now?"

Tamako looked Leiji up and down. Her fashion sense was seriously lacking. In fact, Leiji pretty much wore the same thing every day; black yoga pants and a t-shirt. "What isn't wrong with what you're wearing, Leiji?"

"Look, it's just coffee," she reiterated, and then added for emphasis, "with a friend. That's it."

"You are so naive." With that, Tamako slung her arm through Leiji's and began pulling her towards the door again. "No more arguing. We're going to get you ready for your date!"

"It's not a date," Leiji tried again, but she knew there was no point when Tamako was like this. Instead of protesting further, she just gave in and finally allowed herself to be dragged out the door.