Chapter One

It was afternoon and the sun's rays filtered in through the thin blue curtains, enveloping the room in a dull blue glow. The sole occupant of the room could be found on the couch, her quiet even breathing indicating that she was fast asleep.

The tranquility of the moment was broken with the sound of the front door clicking open. The sound of footsteps could be heard as they approached the living room shortly followed by a sigh.

Uchiha Itachi stood at the door way, a small smile making its way on to his face as he gazed at his sister-in-law who was sprawled out on the couch. Walking up to her, Itachi crouched down when he reached the couch, preparing himself to wrestle the sleeping beauty awake if needed. After all, she was proven to put up a fight at times when she didn't want to wake up.

"Hinata." Itachi called out, waiting for a few seconds to see if that was enough to stir her awake. "Hinata." He called out again, this time more firmly and accompanied with a poke to her stomach. Frowning in her sleep, Hinata turned away from Itachi.

Sighing, Itachi placed both his hands on her shoulders and started to shake the poor girl awake. "AAH! Itachi! I'm awake! I'm awake!" Hinata cried out before escaping from itachi's clutches. "Good." Itachi stated, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Rubbing her eyes to get rid of the excess sleep, Hinata sat up and faced Itachi. "you're home early," She mumbled, still not fully awake. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "Oi sleepy head, just because I came home early doesn't mean something is wrong." Itachi grumbled as he ruffled Hinata's hair like a loving brother would.

"Ah! Sorry!" Hinata cried out, afraid that she had offended Itachi. "Its ok. I have something to discuss with you." Itachi explained as he made himself more comfortable on the couch. "What is it?" Hinata asked, curious as to what made Itachi come home early.

"What do you think about moving to Oto?" Itachi asked, getting straight to the point. "Oto?" Hinata asked, surprised at his question. "Answer the question, Hinata." Itachi said. "Um, it's a nice place I guess," Hinata replied, feeling not too sure as to why Itachi was talking about moving.

Seeing a mix of surprise, confusion and worry on her face, Itachi inwardly smiled. Three years of living with the girl and it was not difficult for him to pick up what her facial expressions meant and this one told him that she was thinking about a hundred different scenarios as to why Itachi had brought this up.

"The Uchiha company has a branch in Oto and I am to watch over that particular branch." Itachi explained. Hinata's eyes widened with realization. "You are moving away?" she asked with her eyes looking teary.

Hinata had gotten attached to Itachi over the years, thinking of him as her own brother. Ever since Sasuke disappeared, Itachi had walked into her broken like and started to patch things up the best he can. He apparently had the support of both Hanabi and a slightly hesitant Neji with this. She looked up to him and his determination to find his run away brother made her realize just how important his family was to him and it made her happy that she was a part of it.

Itachi smiled when Hinata asked her question. "Yes." He replied, making her eyes widen even more and before the waterworks happened, Itachi quickly added, "You and the kids are coming with me."

"Eh?" Hinata froze at that. "Y-you're kidding." She stuttered out, feeling a bit shocked at that. A simple 'no' was all it took for the floodgates of questions to open. "what about my family? My friends? What about the twin's education? The house? My otou-" Itachi placed a hand on Hinata's mouth, effectively stopping her questions.

"Don't worry, Hinata. You will be able to see your friends and family. We will come visit them whenever you want. Education won't be a problem for there are plenty of good schools in Oto. As for the house, I am planning on renting it and you know your father can't stop you from doing anything anymore." Itachi calmly explained but it still wasn't enough to pacify Hinata completely.

"This can be a good thing for you too." Itachi finally said. Hinata looked up at him confused, wanting him to elaborate a bit more. "Face it Hinata. This house doesn't have that many good memories and neither does Konoha. It would be a nice change for you, a new start at some place different." Itachi explained, smiling softly at the girl.

"That's true…" Hinata trailed off as she remembered the months that followed Sasuke's disappearance. Word had gotten out and rumours started to spread about the newlyweds and none of them were pleasant. The fan girls of Sasuke's made sure Hinata had a hard time when she was out of her house, leaving her to hole up inside the house for months.

"where are we going to stay?" Hinata finally asked, giving into the idea. "the Uchiha's have a vacation house there. We can stay there and there would be enough space for all of us." Itachi explained, glad that Hinata finally agreed. "I see." Hinata replied and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.

"the kids are asleep?" Itachi asked, breaking the moment of silence which had become a rare treat after the twins were born. Hinata smiled and said, "They were tired after Naruto took them out to play," Glancing at the clock, she added, "they should be awake by now."

Sure enough, two toddlers appeared at the door way. With ruffled up raven hair and wide gray eyes, they stood there grinning at their mother and uncle. "Tachi-ji!" one of them cried out while the other cried out "Kaa-chan!". They ran towards the two adults before jumping on them and giving them hugs.

"Aki. Akio. You two play with Itachi-jisan while kaa-chan makes you yummy food," Hinata explained as she kissed the boys on their forehead before disappearing into the kitchen. As soon as Hinata left, the boys turned to Itachi with serious expressions on their faces, making them even more adorable than anything.

"Tachi-ji, what is Obo?" Aki, the eldest of the two asked with a cute frown on her face. "Yeah, what is Obo?" Akio echoed. "Obo?" Itachi mused loudly, wondering what the heck that was. "Obo. You said we are moving to Obo." Akio stated cutely, causing Itachi to chuckle at that.

"You two were listening while I was talking to your kaa-chan, weren't you?" Itachi smiled. "Naruto-jisan said we are ninja." Aki explained with a proudly. "Ninjas are quiet" Akio cried out. "Ninjas eh? That must mean you are strong." Itachi grinned as he played along. "Very" Aki said seriously. "I see. I wonder how strong you are when you are tickled…" Itachi trailed off, grinning mischievously at the two.

Back in the kitchen, Hinata was chopping up some vegetables when her mind began to wander. Aki and Akio were the light in her darkened world and she was more than grateful for having them with her. With the addition of Itachi, Hinata was very much content with her life. Even if Sasuke decided to suddenly come back-

Hinata frowned slightly at the thought before smiling as she heard the giggling and the laughter coming from the next room, successfully pushing away the unwanted thought to the back of her mind.

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How was that? I hope I improved. It's a bit short but its enough for this chapter. For those who are wondering where the heck Sasuke is, don't worry. He will come in later in the story.

Btw, OMG 10 reviews! i never expected that much! thanks to all who reviewed! 3

AKI – Bright/Autumn

AKIO – Bright man

Matching names FTW lol.

Will write soon! I hope!

Qial.