An Unexpected Match
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Unfortunately, the site has been glitching. I believe the issues have been fixed, but updates may be slower than usual if they appear again. Oh and to shivani, sorry I haven't heard of that story before and I already have a lot of stories going. Thank you for the request though. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: This chapter will be framed at least partially from Itachi's perspective. I wanted to try something a little different. Oh and just as a reminder, Hinata is still two months pregnant at this time. Happy reading.
Chapter 9
The next day, Itachi Uchiha watches the scene unfold before him with no small degree of amusement. Sasuke was still adorably foolish, even more so now that he was married.
"You never did explain why you changed so suddenly." Hinata blushes slightly as she and Sasuke prepare breakfast for their children. "You were kind to me with those flowers and that letter and there was the towel incident, but it just happened so fast."
Yes, that would be just like Sasuke. Deciding he was in love at the drop of a hat. Not that Itachi could entirely blame him.
Sasuke smirks as he helps her prepare the pancake batter. "You could say it runs in the family." That was true. "We tend to fall fast and hard."
Which was concerning. Sasuke's and Hinata's little family was growing rather quickly. Hopefully, this child would be a boy.
"Mhm." Hinata laughs as she gets out some milk. "Remember that you said that when Mikoto starts showing more interest in boys."
Oh that was the wrong thing to say. Sasuke's vein in twitches in precisely the same way that their father's had. Fugaku would be most delighted by that particular quirk being hereditary, Itachi was certain.
Sasuke snorts and shakes his head. "If any boy wants to get near her, he's going to have to be fast and agile." Fast enough to dodge a Chidori, Itachi muses to himself.
The Uchiha matriarch playfully rolls her eyes. More likely than not, she was used to this sort of behavior from Sasuke.
"You're not going to throw a potentially lethal attack at some poor village boy just for talking to her." Hmm. It seemed that Sasuke wasn't the only foolish person in that relationship. "Besides, I never hear you talk about Haru that way." Hinata really should know her husband better than that.
Sasuke would probably fire off a Chidori or at least a fireball at anyone who even looked at Mikoto the 'wrong' way when she came of age. That poor girl had her work cut out for her, if she ever wanted to find a man brave enough to be her lover.
"That's different." Sasuke snorts as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I love Haru and Mikoto with all my heart, but every father has a sacred obligation to traumatize their daughter's boyfriend."
That was true. It was written in the Father Handbook. Well, if such a thing existed. It might be more of an unspoken rule than a formal one. Either way, Sasuke was completely right in this matter.
Hinata laughs and shakes her head. "Maybe, it will be a girl and she'll help Mikoto deal with your eccentricities."
"I'm not being eccentric!" Sasuke rolls his eyes at her. "Though there were a lot of reasons why I said that in the Forest of Death."
Oh this should prove wonderfully entertaining. It was such a shame that Itachi didn't have any popcorn on him.
Contrary to popular belief, ghosts could eat and drink. They just didn't need to. It was still nice to indulge in the activities occasionally though.
Hinata finishes with the pancakes and smiles at him. "Alright." Oh boy. Sasuke didn't know what he had just done. "What were the reasons?"
"I saw that you kept the lilies." Sasuke shakes his head as he caresses her cheek with tenderness in his eyes. "You didn't have to do that and you didn't tell your team the full story. You didn't have to keep my 'secret,' but you did."
That was sweet on both ends. They were well sorted for each other. Frankly, Itachi was relieved that all the trauma hadn't adversely affected Sasuke's ability to form a healthy romantic attachment with someone (or really any kind of healthy attachment).
Hinata smiles at that. "You were kind to me when I needed it and you didn't want to come back." He could see why Sasuke had fallen for her. "I knew you would eventually."
Opposites did attract, it seemed. Though Itachi supposed they weren't really opposites at their core. Circumstances had made them so.
"What made you think that?" He tilts his head in confusion at her.
Serenity. That's what she had in spades. "For better or for worse, this is your home." She smiles and kisses him. "It's where you were born and where your family lived and died. You'd always be tied to this place in one way or another."
Well, Itachi couldn't argue with that logic and apparently, neither could Sasuke. His foolish little brother was using far more tongue than Itachi really wanted to see.
He shakes his head and faces away from them for the time being. "The children will be coming soon." The elder Uchiha brother chuckles to himself.
If he knew one thing about his foolish little niece and nephew, it was the fact they had either horrible or wondrous timing. This simple fact of life was made rather evident by the sound of tiny feet heading towards the kitchen. Magic, Itachi thinks to himself. Who did they always know?
Meanwhile Suigetsu groans. He knew what was coming, but that didn't make it any less annoying.
"He's three." Karin gives him a dirty look. "There is absolutely no way that Hinata would allow Haru to touch a real sword."
Pft. That might be true about Hinata, but then there was Sasuke. Sasuke was another matter. Clearly, he understood that swords were awesome.
The man used some of his own. "He's going to be a ninja." Suigetsu shrugs. "Besides, he and Mikoto are like super babies or whatever. He can handle it."
Maybe, he shouldn't have called Haru a baby anymore. The kid was getting closer and closer to being Academy age. Still, if the sandal fit, wear it as the saying went.
Jugo sighs and shakes his head. "Come on." He smiles at them. "They should be getting ready to eat breakfast now and you two can settle this matter with them."
He was always trying to keep the peace. Not that it would work, but one had to give him props for trying.
"Yeah!" He grins, suddenly feeling giddy. "It'll be nice to eat a decent meal that I didn't have to pay for."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Suigetsu knew he'd regret them. It was too late to take them back though.
Like clockwork, Karin was ready to kill him. "What do you mean by that?!" It was kinda cute really. "I cook for us most of the time."
He couldn't resist annoying the hell out of her. "Exactly, my point." The swordsman smirks at her. "I said a decent meal. You can't cook worth a damn."
Jugo sighs and drags Suigetsu off by the collar. Apparently, the gentle giant understood they were entering the danger zone and that just wasn't good for anyone.
"Hey!" Karin seethes. "Jugo, bring him back! He's my husband." Yeah. About that, she was alright as long as he wore earplugs. "You can't just interrupt a lovers' spat like that!"
As much as it pained him to admit it, Suigetsu knew she had a point. Oh well. They had important business to get to. Like eating Hinata's cooking.
"Karin, stop being a banshee." He laughs and shakes his head. "People are starting to stare." Well actually, they were well passed the point of staring.
People were now openly gawking, whispering, talking, and laughing. There was a lot of laughing going on actually.
Karin twitches as she races after them. "How is that different than any other day?!" Hmm. Well, she had him there. Suigetsu couldn't really argue with that.
"It's only a short walk." Jugo sighs as though it was just a terribly taxing thing to wrangle them. "Can we please get there without anyone having to go to the hospital?" Which to be fair, it was.
Jugo should be used to it by now though. They weren't doing anything that they would have done on any other day. They'd been teammates for years. He should know the routine.
"I can't make any promises." The red head fumes. "Though let's get going or else all the food will be gone." See? She loved Hinata's cooking too.
A short while later, Itachi chuckles as the children walk into the room and Taka. Damn. He really needed that popcorn.
"Why do you look so serious?" Suigetsu looks at Sasuke and Hinata. "Something wrong?"
He might be annoying sometimes, but the ninja could be perceptive. When he wanted to be, Itachi notes.
Hinata shakes her head and laughs as she places Mikoto in her highchair. "No, nothing is wrong." A double negative really should have been their first clue that something major was going on.
Karin raises an eyebrow. Clearly, she wasn't buying Hinata's casual attitude. Which spoke well for the woman's intelligence.
"You're pregnant again." She nods at her simply. "That's why you're both so jumpy. You don't know how to tell Haru and Mikoto."
Well, Itachi said she was intelligent. He never said that the woman had much tact. After all, there had to be a reason why she was married to Sugietsu.
Hinata and Sasuke gasp and one could have easily heard a pin drop in the room. Neither of them had expected Karin to give away their little secret without any warning, apparently.
"Pregnant?" Mikoto looks confused.
Haru blinks though. He was a little older than his sister. So it was possible that he might understand what was going on.
That and the boy had already seen his mother pregnant once before. "Baby in tummy?" Yep. He understood alright.
Jugo laughs and shakes his head. "Well, I suppose that's one way to put it." Yes, sometimes it was best to go with the simplest explanation. This was particularly true when one was dealing with children.
Mikoto's eyes went wide. She was so young. Itachi normally wouldn't dream of saying an infant would understand what being pregnant meant, but that wasn't the case with his niece.
No. She was too much like him not to understand on some level, what was happening.
"Spit baby out!" She looks at her mother in horror. "No sick!"
Well, Mikoto wasn't terribly far off in her assessment of the situation. It was really about the best that anyone could ever expect from someone of her age in a situation like this.
Hinata laughs and kisses her forehead. "The baby has to stay inside me for awhile." She smiles at her daughter. "All babies start out this way. You and your brother did."
Mikoto's confusion was only growing. Itachi knew what was about to happen and apparently, so did Sasuke because he rushes over to his daughter and scoops her into his arms.
"It's alright." Sasuke had learned well. "You're going to have a little brother or sister." He smiles at her reassuringly. "It'll take a long time, but this is a good thing and the baby is okay."
He was now commencing the jiggle. Ah yes, the jiggle. The tried and true method of comforting any baby.
Itachi was well familiar with it himself. It was the only thing that had ever calmed Sasuke down when he was fussing like Mikoto was now.
"No share!" She makes a face.
Oh boy. That wasn't the response that Itachi had been expecting at all. It seemed that Mikoto did fully grasp the situation and jealousy was rearing its ugly head.
"You're gonna have your hands full." Suigetsu laughs at them.
Immediately, Sasuke and Hinata glare at the swordsman. "Shut up." It was a rare day when Hinata glared at someone, but it usually achieved the desired results immediately.
Hinata promptly proceeds to ignore Suigetsu in favor of her daughter. "You share with Haru all the time." She smiles at her. "It doesn't make us love you any less and now, you won't be the littlest."
Mikoto tilts her head at that. There was some serious processing going on in that tiny, little head of hers.
Haru laughs and smiles. "It'll be fun." Thank goodness at least the eldest was a bit more reasonable.
Perhaps, it was only to be expected that he youngest would have the hardest time coping with a new addition to the family.
"Fun?" The child giggles and claps her hands. "Okay. Me big!"
Well, Haru was clearly magical. How else could he have avoided what surely was going to be a major temper tantrum of the highest order?
Sasuke chuckles and nods. "Yes, you're a big girl now." He smiles and rocks her more. "Try to be very nice to your little brother or sister. Alright?"
Taka's reactions were mixed to say the least. Sugietsu apparently found the entire situation to be hysterical. Jugo was smiling as if all was right with the world and Karin was well, positively charmed by Sasuke's parental side Itachi supposed.
"Okay!" Mikoto smiles and cuddles into her father.
"She really is Daddy's Little Girl." Hinata laughs as she looks around. "Oh and feel free to dig in." She smiles at the other members of Taka. "I made plenty. So we don't have to worry about running out anytime soon."
Jugo nods at that. "So do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" Who knew that the gentle giant could be so impractical.
It didn't matter what gender the next child was. They had a Clan to restore and besides, they already had one of each anyway.
"A girl." Hinata smiles at them. "Mikoto is going to need backup for when she starts dating. Sasuke and I already discussed as much earlier."
Karin snorts at that as if she thought the bluenette was completely crazy and to be fair, the young woman had a perfectly legitimate reason for feeling that way. "No one is going to stop Sasuke Uchiha from terrorizing whatever local boy is foolish enough to smile at her." Because well, Sasuke was Sasuke. Some things didn't change.
Not that Itachi wanted him too. If nothing else, his foolish little brother did provide quite a bit of amusement for him in the afterlife.
"Mother and Father are going to be thrilled when they hear the news." He smiles to himself.
Oh their parents were still fawning over Haru and Mikoto in the afterlife. As well they should be, of course. Sasuke did have two very adorable children that practically demanded to be fawned over.
Sasuke looks around in an utterly baffled manner. "Jugo, did you say something?" Damn it. He must have overheard him.
Jugo shakes his head quickly. "I didn't say anything." He should probably get out of here before he got caught.
It was one thing for the children to see him. It was another for Sasuke to see him. He didn't want to drive Sasuke to the brink of madness again.
"Maybe, it's just all the excitement." Hinata giggles. "I can't wait to tell Aoda. He's going to be over the Moon about this news."
Yes, that was a safe bet. That snake really did love 'Hatchlings' as he called them. Oh well, Itachi needed to get going. Besides, they weren't the only ones who had to deliver the good news to people. He still had to tell the rest of their Clan in the afterlife.
