"So, I was thinking."

Itachi sighed, it was too early for this. He was awake enough to fight life and death for his village however, being awake enough for Shisui was an entirely different story. The withering look he gave Shisui would make a normal ninja fearful. Instead, the man seemed to revel in the trouble he was causing.

"Oh, well that's dangerous," Itachi responded dryly.

Shisui just smiled and fell in stride with Itachi as they made their way to his office. "Well yea, it was my plan that made you Hokage."

"I expect a formal apology written by nightfall," Itachi commented as Shisui opened the door for him with an exaggerated bow. He felt a refined sense of purpose as he noted the moderate stack of paperwork resting on his desk. It was larger than normal. Hopefully, the yearly reports were there so he could see whether or not the village had improved under his leadership.

"Oh, please. You love it!" Shisui all but skipped to the recently organized bookcase. He grabbed a book, flipped through the pages, and then put it back, upside down and backwards.

Itachi did his best to ignore it and sat down at his desk. He thumbed his finger through documents, excited that the yearly reports were indeed within the pile. Perhaps some of his changes had yielded results already! But first, he had to remove Shisui so that he could work in peace. "So, what was your idea?"

Shisui shrugged. After placing a book sideways on top of the other books, he spun on his heel to face Itachi. "Oh yea, about the third member of my team. Aaaand pause of dramatic effect... I want Ino Yamanaka."

"Denied," Itachi folded his drummed his fingers on the desk twice as he spoke. "As the Yamanaka heir, she will be placed on a team with her Nara and Akimichi classmates." Of those suspected to pass, there was an unusually high percentage of females, so Shisui's request to have a two girl team wasn't out of the question. "Care to explain why you think that Ino would be a good fit for your team?"

"She's a blond and likes Sasuke." Shisui waved his hand at the notion and began to drag one of the shelves into the center of the room. The furniture screeched loudly as it moved, as if he was purposely trying to make as much noise as possible.

"Somebody that didn't know you as well as I do would have demoted you a long time ago."

Shisui gave a bark of laughter and sat down atop the bookshelf. "Then why did you promoted me?"

Itachi gave his friend a simple shrug then glanced down at his paperwork and made a motion with his hand as though presenting it to Shisui. "I'd promote you to genin, at least. Now, do you have other candidates or are you just going to watch me sign papers?"

"I have a list!" Shisui dug deep into the top left pocket of his flak jacket. After a needlessly long search, Shisui pulled out the tiniest scroll Itachi had ever seen. It was nearly the same width and length of his pinky finger. Shisui unrolled the parchment and had to adjust its distance from his face several times in order to read it properly. "First up, uhh, Ami something or other?"

"Who?"

"Never mind. Um, Hinata Hyuuga?"

"Requested by Kurenai Yuhi"

Shisui looked up from his list and narrowed his eyes at the Hokage before continuing. "Kibana Inuzaka?"

"You mean Kiba Inuzuka?"

"...oooooh, that's right! Hana's little brother!" Shisui nodded to himself, clearly proud that he remembered that. "Ummm, Sakura Haruno?"

Itachi sighed into his hand. Knowing Shisui, every single female was listed on that little scroll of his. "Okay, I'll humor you. Why would the three of them make a good team?"

Shisui opened his mouth, but Itachi cut him off with a sharp, "And it better not involve the girl liking Sasuke! Come to me with a good reason why you think Sakura should be on a team with him and Naruto and I will grant your request."

Shisui's pouted and haphazardly tossed the tiny scroll over his shoulder. "Fine," With a dramatic huff, he slouched heavily on his perch and then slid to the ground. "Since you're so eager to do paperwork, I'll leave you to it."

With the click of his pen, Itachi smirked. Though Shisui looked like a dejected lover as he left the room, his friend was right. He did enjoy doing paperwork. "I look forward to your reasoning, Shisui!"

XXXX

His predecessor had used a brush and inkwell. It was old fashioned, but Sarutobi was an old man that had lead Konoha well.

Itachi had pens. Thirteen of them. Ten of them were congratulatory gifts from various officials when he became the Hokage. Two were stolen from his father's office (They were gifts his father had received, but Fugaku was old fashioned as well). And the last one was new, something that he had bought for himself once he realized that he had a growing fondness of pens.

They were wonderful instruments that allowed him to effortlessly sign his name and fill out forms in one fluid motion, with no need to pause to reapply in both marks and to keep around. No concern of ruining a document with a knocked over inkwell or random drops of ink, only thin perfect lines.

Plus, when he finished his paperwork he could pass the time with them. Like click the retractable ones and take them apart to make sure that each one was aligned perfectly. He bit his tongue in concentration as he stood one pen up on its tip so that it was perpendicular to the desk. With a fluid motion, he grabbed another with his left hand and one more with his right.

He balanced one pen on top of last, then another. A tower of three pens wobbled once before steadying. With his lip between his teeth, Itachi retrieved the remainder of his pens and began to throw them up onto the tower, one after another they settled with such precision that any imbalance caused by their landing was corrected by the following pen.

Itachi examined his tower of twelve pens with something close to pride. The final pen in his hand felt light. It was a gift from the Fire Lord, the perfect capstone for his tower. Using his chair as a step-stool, Itachi placed his capstone perpendicular to the rest of his tower so that it was parallel to his desk.

His door was kicked opened with the force of a hurricane, causing his tower to fall before he even had a chance to admire its completion. Itachi quickly sat down, collecting the rain of pens from midair. He assumed the perfect Hokage pose, hands folded primly on the desk with an arc of writing utensils spread around him.

"Hello mother," Itachi greeted before her foot returned to the ground. Mikoto Uchiha was one of the few people that could get away with using violence against his office door. She was dressed neatly, though a few strands of hair had fallen out of place. In her arms she carried a stand, multiple scrolls, and a large flip book of paper. Perhaps her oddest accessory though was his secretary's hands around one of her ankles, desperately clamping tight in a failed attempt to stop his mother's entrance.

She paused, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him. It was the knowing look a mother gave when she knew her child was up to no good. "What were you doing?"

"Being the Hokage," Itachi responded cheekily, not being able to resist smiling at his mother's peeved expression. He gestured towards the objects she was holding. "What brings you to my office?"

Mikoto grunted and shook herself free from the secretary, shutting the door shut hard behind her. She slammed down the stand in front of the desk and revealed the first of her slides. Itachi blinked back in surprise.

"I'm here to obtain approval to make Naruto Uzumaki an Uchiha protectorate," she declared, daring him to deny her this.

His mouth opened to reply, but he closed it shortly after. He had to choose his words carefully right now. "Believe me mother, I know from experience that you are skillful at raising children. You are right in thinking that the Uchiha clan would be a safe place for Naruto to thrive and grow."

Mikoto brightened greatly at that and clapped her hands together. "Excellent! I can pick her up from the academy today and-"

"However," Itachi cut his mother off quickly. He was certain she already had everything planned out for Naruto's transfer into the clan's compound. "There are circumstances that prevent me from agreeing to this."

"If this about her being the Kyuubi container, then don't worry," she assured him confidently. "Nobody in the clan would dare do anything to hurt her if she was under our protection." Mikoto stomped forward with her hands on her hips, glaring down at her son. Had she been anybody other than his own mother, it would have been a death sentence to look at him with such defiance.

Itachi held his mother's gaze. In a way, this was exciting. His mother had never been so angry with him before. "I am not worried about the clan hurting her, or her hurting the clan. I am worried about the rest of Konoha,"

He had lost much sleep thinking about how he could mend his clan's image "Much of the stress and the distrust that was laid upon our clan can be derived from the Kyuubi attack. To take Naruto under our care could be seen as an aggressive move."

"You can't do this! I'm her godmother!" Mikoto screamed in frustration. She took a step back to take a long, calming breath. She opened her folder and pulled out what looked like an ancient napkin. "Here, I have proof. Kushina entrusted Naruto to me."

Itachi examined her evidence. It was scrawled in messy letters and signed by both his own mother and Kushina Uzumaki, with a third signature as the witness that was little more than scribbles. He sighed and placed both hands on his desk It pained him to deny his mother something she so desperately wanted, just as it pained him to deny Naruto a home that she desperately needed. "I'm sorry mom, but a napkin is not a legally binding document."

Mikoto glared at him. Years of Anbu training nearly failed him. "Itachi Uchiha, you will listen to me this instant or else!"

Despite the fear, or perhaps because of it, Itachi chuckled. "Mother, are you threatening the Hokage?"

"No," She leaned over and poked him in the chest. "I am threatening my son. I brought you into this world, Itachi. I can take you out of it."

And with that, Mikoto spun on her heel and stormed out of his office. She closed the door with enough force that several of the portraits fell from their hooks.

Itachi stared at her flip book for a long moment, drumming his fingers along his desk's wooden surface. He realigned one of the pens that had fallen out of place earlier.

He could really use some paperwork right about now.

XXXX

Nearly a week passed and Itachi was rather concerned. Yesterday he had received a request to join the clan tonight for a formal dinner, advertising that a special announcement was going to be made. The last dinner that the clan had held was when his promotion to Hokage was announced. But it wasn't the event that bothered him, it was the invitation itself. Beautifully handwritten and signed by his mother.

Was she planning on disowning him for his transgressions against her status as Naruto's godmother? At the very least, this invitation proved his mother was still up to something. However, he had no choice but to show up wearing his new formal attire. Which just so happened to be a finer set of his Hokage robes.

He arrived unescorted to the clan compound and was immediately accosted by a smiling Shisui. It was one of those smiles. The type he didn't trust. It spoke of a plan that had come together perfectly and, when Shisui wore the expression, it meant that fate had just been drastically changed.

"You're looking as Hokage-like as ever, Itachi," Shisui greeted with an outstretched hand.

Itachi ignored his friend's gesture, narrowing his eyes instead. "What are you up to, Shisui?"

Shisui crossed his legs, leaning to one side while standing. "Hmm, well let's see here… My only current plans are marrying Futaba and setting you up with Naruto! Other than that, all my other vile machinations have been complete."

"You're aware that she's twelve right?" Itachi muttered as he walked through the gates. Shisui matched his stride in a heartbeat.

"And you're seventeen. That's only five years! It's the same age difference between Futaba and I," Shisui hummed happily as he walked in an exaggerated fashion, as if he didn't have knees.

"What if I were to make arrangements for a political marriage, in order to maintain peace and put the leaf in a safer position?" Itachi asked as they rounded a corner through his mother's garden. It was a practical garden filled with vegetables and medical flowers. The tomatoes looked lovely this year.

They passed by several Uchiha who all bowed their heads in respect.

Shisui snorted as they exited the greenery. "They say behind every great man is a great woman. Your great woman needs to love Konoha more than you do."

"That's a tall order." Itachi gave a small bow as he entered the main dining hall. He had to pause when he saw his mother smiling genuinely at him. All the love and compassion she could muster filled her gaze. But, that wasn't why he froze.

Shisui leaned close to whisper in Itachi's ear. "I know, that's why she's five years younger than you."

Itachi gulped. Naruto standing in front of his mother with her normally wild, blond hair straight and combed behind her back. She wore a soft, yellow Kimono with light flowers patterning it. It looked expensive. None of that is what shocked him though.

Stretched across her face was the most unbelievably happy, little smile.

"I, umm, thank you for giving me a family, Itachi!" Naruto bowed deeply, her tone shifted between shouting and mumbling every other word, clearly nervous.

Mikoto clasped her hands on Naruto's shoulders, brimming with joy. "I'm so glad you saw reason, Itachi."

He couldn't stop his own lips as they twitched upwards. "I- yes, well, I hope that you'll be happy here, Naruto. Do try to keep Sasuke out of trouble and take good care of my mother."

Naruto nodded furiously, grin still in place.

Itachi leaned towards Shisui's, whispering,"You placed a genjutsu on the legal guardian forum, didn't you?"

"Are you more annoyed that we went behind your back or that I messed with your paperwork?"

Itachi rolled his eyes and left Shisui for better company.

Uchiha formal dinners were a stuffy, rigid affair. Honor and station dictated where you sat just as much as family and merit. And so it was that Itachi found himself sitting at the head of the table, as an Uchiha that was also an honored guest of the clan. Which, due to the role Shisui played in Itachi's promotion and his own personal accomplishments, he was placed to Itachi's right.

Then to Itachi's immediate left was the guest of honor. Naruto Uzumaki. The girl's excitement at the food in front of her slowly began to die as it was replaced by a deep sense of embarrassment. She was overwhelmed on so many levels. Itachi feared she may shut down completely.

"So, Naruto," Itachi spoke lowly, so as to not startle her, and yet she still jumped at the quiet sound of her name. "Tell me how are your classes going."

"I, umm..." Naruto turned him, biting her lip, then looked around the room like a frightened kitten, continuously mumbling incoherent nonsense that Itachi failed to understand.

With a sigh, Itachi patted her on the back. "You know, Naruto, if you're going to take my place as Hokage someday, you're going to be attending a lot more dinners like this."

Naruto perked up and straightened her back. She took several large breaths, shaking slightly with each exhale.

Before Itachi could comfort Naruto again, his father spoke up.

"I thank you all for coming to this dinner on such short notice. We are gathered here for many reasons, chief among them to welcome Naruto Uzumaki into our family. While she may not be Uchiha by blood, she has been placed under our care by my son, Itachi, our fifth Hokage. As such, I ask that you treat her as though she was an Uchiha at birth. Now then," he paused, nodding towards the food."Let us eat."

The clan as a whole began to eat their meals in relative silence. Both Itachi and Shisui had always thought that the whole ordeal was rather annoying. It was nearly taboo to make any noise during the meal, the majority of the conversation being directed towards the beginning and ending of the dinner.

Could Naruto truly be at home with such rigid and quiet people? The Inuzuka or perhaps the Akimichi, or any of the louder clans, would surely be a better fit for a girl like Naruto.

A loud slurp pierced the silence of the room and all eyes fell to Naruto, even Itachi's. Naruto looked from around her small bowl of soup, frozen in embarrassment. Second by second her face slowly began to heat up until she was nearly as red as one of his mother's tomatoes.

Itachi picked up his own bowl of soup with both hands, locking eyes with Shisui as he did the same. This was something they should have done long ago. They smiled and slurped loudly from their bowls.

Naruto looked at them in shock before breaking out into a giant grin, joining in on the slurping fun.

Next, Sasuke took a much louder slurp than Itachi had. Then Mikoto copied him, followed by Fugaku as his wife prodded him. One by one the Uchiha all began to drink loudly from their bowls.

Itachi smiled, perhaps Naruto would be alright with the Uchiha.

AN: Beta'd by Maethoriel!

I sleepy! I sleep now! Let me know what you think! 80% done with the next chapter of Protective Instincts, Uhhh... yea! next chapter will be fluffier! I think. For this fic not PI...