A/N: Sorry for being out of commission for a while now everyone. He he he. Well, it was just that after our out-of-town vacation my parents told me that I should stay at their place, and they banned me from using the computer cause it was taking most of my time. when I did get back to my grandma's place I decided to put more effort in writing, meaning more details, etc. that's one of the reasons why it's been so long.

BlackButterfly-RedRose, thank you for your review, it was a…nice wake-up call.

For all my reviewers and those who support this story, you have my utmost gratitude.

Enjoy this chapter, I know you guys have been waiting for it for months now


Chapter 8

Yukio watched the people around him and let out a low growl. He smoothened the grey polo shirt he was wearing and tried to loosen the collar, his mother insisted that it looked informal if it was unbuttoned. Though it looked quite classy for a child it was definitely not something he would be wearing again anytime soon.

So many strangers were surrounding him, mindlessly chattering. He didn't care what it was about. All he knew was that he wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be back home, enjoying a quiet day without school and locking himself in his room. Alone.

The finely dresses people seemed to press together making him suffocate; he never did well on crowds like this. Trying to look as nonchalant as possible he surveyed around looking for a head of messy hair. His uncle's hair to be precise.

He never did understand how someone like his uncle could be this irresponsible, he had expected more given that the guy was an Uchiha.

It wasn't his fault that he got separated with them after his uncle started arguing with a blond that looked too much like Kiyoshi for his own liking. If it was up to him he wouldn't even think of leaving the house just to go to a party. But apparently one of his classmates invited his sister to this charity function where many recognized people from Konoha would attend.

He knew that having friends in high places usually paid off, after all who wouldn't consider being friends with the Uzumaki's beneficial? He may have had some disagreements with Kiyoshi but he didn't fail to notice how his family was highly respected here. But really, getting invited to something like this during the weekend made him rethink his thoughts about them, of course it was only his sister that was invited, really invited that is, he was only invited due to courtesy. It didn't help that the one who invited them was Kiyoshi's little sister Hana.

The girl had taken to throwing glares at him whenever they made eye contact; he guessed that even though she helped him out before she still sympathized with her brother. He couldn't blame her; he did hurt her brother after all.

His mother didn't give any reasons as to why she wouldn't attend but he guessed that since influential people from Konoha were coming then there was a good chance that his father would come as well. He didn't know how his mother convinced his uncle to take them but it was definitely not worth it.

It was painstakingly hard for Kioko to convince their mother for them to attend. Not that he minded his mother's reluctance, in fact he was hoping for her to say no. Unfortunately his little monster of a sister used the guilt card on their mother, he didn't know whether to be proud or annoyed with the tactic his sister used.

Flashback

"No, absolutely no."

"But mommy, Hana-chan went through all the trouble of inviting us." Kioko pleaded.

"Dear, I know that you want to go but I can't."

"That's okay, Hana said that I could take some other people, I'm sure uncle Sasuke wouldn't mind to take us."

It was only Yukio that managed to see the tightening of his mother's lips and it made him wonder if the call she received earlier was from their uncle. His mother seemed awfully upset after that call.

"Your uncle will be busy the next few days, he won't be able to visit us and we certainly can't ask him this kind of favor, the man has his own life." their mother said curtly.

Kioko looked like she was about to cry, Yukio noticed with some amusement, this was the closest to a tongue-lashing their mother ever gave her. He didn't really care, she was getting spoiled anyway, better bring her down a peg or two.

"B-But mom-"

"No buts young lady"

Now Yukio was really impressed, his mother never said anything like this to them ever. The call she received earlier must have really been bad news.

"But Hana's my first friend here." Kioko murmured to herself quietly.

Sakura's eyes softened a bit at this and Yukio was starting to get nervous for some reason.

"Hana-dear, I'm sure she'd understand-"

"No she won't! She said that it was hard to get other people invited to these kinds of things, she told me that she had to beg her parents to let me come."

Yukio definitely didn't like the influence his younger was getting from their classmates, that girl Hana definitely had something to do with this. It struck him as odd since whenever he saw the girl, though she was glaring most of the time, she was always very quiet.

They noticed that their mother was starting to think about it. Yukio didn't like this. Not when their mother was starting to shoot down his sister. Looks like no matter what happens their mother would always have a soft spot for his sister.

"Well, I could allow you to go, but only if your brother agrees as well." Sakura said reluctantly.

Yukio's face conveyed jut what he thought about this but before he could say something his sister butted in.

"I'm sure he'd agree, he wouldn't want to disappoint me."

Yukio had to hand it to her; she definitely knew what to do to make normal people give in to her. Unfortunately, he wasn't a normal person, thus he didn't care if he disappointed her.

"No, actually-"

"Okay then, maybe I could convince your uncle Sasuke to come with you, but this is the last time."

"Yey!!" Kioko started jumping around which made Yukio scowl in disgust.

"By the way, what was your friend's last name? Her family must be very influential if they could get access to these kinds of parties." Sakura asked interestedly.

"Uzumaki" Kioko answerd cheerfully..

The way their mother's face paled made Yukio realize that their mother already regretted agreeing for them to go. But she wasn't one to go back on her word.

"W-Well, I'm sure that you'll have a wonderful time." Sakura said weakly.

Interesting, Yukio thought, their mother obviously knew an Uzumaki. Probably one of her previous friends here. He'd definitely need to investigate more about this.

End of flashback

He never did get a chance to dig around about any Uzumakis his mother knew.

He looked around at the milling people again and sighed, his uncle was probably close to having an apoplectic fit looking for him.

Yukio just opted to stay in one place so that they wouldn't have a hard time looking for him. He just hoped that it was soon, he shifted uncomfortably; people were starting to look at him weird.

He didn't even pay any heed to the man who stood beside him.


Itachi cursed his secretary internally while looking outside his car's tinted window. He was frustrated with how the stupid woman gave up so easily with Naruto's prodding of adding a stupid party to his schedule; he could be doing work now for God's sake. But of course his stupid secretary just had to give them a reply saying that he would come, now it would be impolite for him not to go. He vowed to fire his secretary first thing when he got back.

It was going to be a big waste of time, he just knew it. And he'd be bored.

When the car came to a halt the driver immediately went out and opened the door for him. Schooling his features, he made his way to the entrance where there were two guards. Without even showing them any identification or invitation he made his way inside.

He regretted his decision of coming as soon as he saw most women's heads turn to his direction like vultures. Trying his best to be polite he greeted the people he knew without showing the scowl threatening to break free of his face.

When he reached near the buffet table he saw his younger brother frantically turning his head around as if looking for someone. He inconspicuously walked towards Sasuke with a smirk gracing his lips. "Looking for your date, little brother?" he frowned when Sasuke stiffened. "Is something wrong?" he asked with a raised brow.

The quick shake of Sasuke' head made him think otherwise, he didn't miss the panicked look that crossed Sasuke's face but he wasn't in the mood to play guessing games with his little brother. He just nodded and took a glass of champagne from a waiter passing by; he idly wondered when the hosts would greet him.

He saw a secluded corner where a boy was standing alone, the boy's hair was the same color as…hers.

He shook his head and breathed deeply. He couldn't think about her with this much people around. He tried to convince himself that the boy's particular hair color was common but he was failing miserably. Shaking his head again he finished the glass of champagne he had in one swig. He stood beside the boy to study him closely.

He had to admit that there was something familiar about him.


Sasuke was close to having a heart attack as he doubled his energy in looking around. He didn't care that people were looking at him strangely, he didn't, what he cared about was finding his charge as soon as possible.

His brother was fucking here!

And if Sakura ever found out, he would die a very slow and agonizing death.

He wasn't the type to attend things like this even if someone paid him. Agreeing with taking the kids was a huge mistake, he realized that now.

He just didn't guess that his brother would attend. His brother was not a social butterfly of any form. People were lucky if they even saw him outside any event not being hosted by the Uchiha family.

Sasuke asked around if they saw the young boy that was with him earlier but all he got were negative shakes of heads.

It was a good thing that he left Kioko with Hinata before he went looking for Yukio or he'd be screwed. He just wished that Itachi doesn't see Yukio; his hair would be a major give-away.

"Hey teme, what the hell's got you all flustered?"

Sasuke didn't even look back at the owner of the voice, he continued searching for Yukio.

"Hey, I asked why you aren't enjoying the party like everyone else."

Naruto's voice sounded irritated so he opted to answer." I'm looking for someone."

The leery smirk Naruto shot him made him want to punch the idiot in the face. "Really? Have you finally found someone?"

"No" Sasuke growled. "Please Naruto, this is not the time, have you seen the boy that was with me earlier?"

Naruto looked confused for a moment then his face brightened. "You mean the one that had the exotic-looking hair?" he didn't wait for Sasuke to answer. "Yeah, I saw him; he's with Itachi over there."

Any blood left in Sasuke's face ebbed away when his eyes followed the direction Naruto was pointing at.


"Why are you alone here? Where are your parents?"

The voice startled Yukio from his musings and he looked up at the one talking to him. The shock must have shown in his face because Itachi raised a brow. Willing himself to stay calm despite the man standing before him, Yukio took a calming breath. "I'm with my mom's friend." he tried to hide the shake from his voice, he really did, but unfortunately his cool chose to abandon him at the worst possible moment.

"Oh?" Itachi asked amused.

Yukio gritted his teeth and took another calming breath. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He remembered his mom's warning and refrained from showing a goofy smile. Well he wasn't that much of a stranger, him being his father and all, but he didn't know that.

Yes, he could still escape here unscathed; all he needed to do was act like any other child and hope that the man will get bored with him.

"The name's Uchiha Itachi." Itachi said offering his hand. The boy looked at it cautiously before taking it. "Yukio" he had to smile at the boy, he was interesting. He knew the boy recognized him, if the shock on his face earlier was anything to go by. It was fun to know that even children took interest of him enough to remember him. The way the boy tried to visibly collect himself was amusing to say the least. He remembered doing the same thing as a child when he was in unpleasant situations.

"No last name?"

Yukio shrugged looking the other way.

Itachi frowned, why was everyone trying to avoid looking at him? First Sasuke now this kid? He shrugged and took another glass of champagne from another waiter.

"Do you need help in looking for your mom's friend?"

Yukio quickly shook his head, catching a brief glimpse of his uncle Sasuke. His uncle was panicking, really panicking, the expression he saw on his face was enough to convince Yukio.

When Yukio took another discreet glance at his uncle he saw that he still wasn't moving from his place and the expression of helplessness on his face was getting worse. He had to do something! He wasn't going to let his father know about him. Never!

He made a small hand-gesture on his side for his uncle to see. When he was sure that he had his uncle's attention he pointed to the other side of the room. Meet me there. He hoped the message got across.

Taking a last calming breath Yukio turned to his father, hoping that he didn't notice anything. Thankfully he was turned the other way. "I'd better look for him. It was nice talking with you." his voice was tight and he was hoping to whatever God there was that his father didn't notice it.

Itachi turned back to him and nodded. "It was my pleasure."

Yukio was about to walk away but a squeal stopped him on his tracks and quite possibly for the umpteenth time that night, he felt his heart beat faster.

When he turned to the voice he saw his younger sister clinging to Sasuke's leg like glue, her friend Hana on her side.

"Uncle Sasuke where's big brother?"

Hana looked around and their eyes locked. Yukio tried to signal her not to tell anyone where he was but Hana just tugged at Kioko's dress and pointed at his direction.

If possible, Sasuke's face went paler that Yukio thought he might just faint.

"Oh, big brother! Come on! They have games for children over there!" Kioko waved at him.

When Yukio checked to see if his father noticed anything he saw him leaning against the wall, looking at Sasuke and his younger sister with a slight frown. then, his father looked directly at him and raised an eyebrow.

Itachi got off the wall and headed for Sasuke and Kioko'sdirection.

For the first time in his short life Yukio was completely helpless as he watched the distance between his father and uncle shorten with every step his father took.


A/N: Cliffie…couldn't resist…