"Sasuke, let go of your brother!" Mikoto scolded the younger Uchiha son, tugging at him to get him to let go of Itachi. The raven-haired child has his arms wrapped firmly around Itachi's waist, locking his hands at his rump and simply refusing to let Itachi go; Itachi was off to his first long-term mission and wouldn't be back for at least a week. Needless to say, Sasuke wasn't taking the departure very well. Mikoto gave one last, good tug, effectively picking the young boy off of his brother. "Sasuke-chan, please clam down." Mikoto spoke softly, her face betraying her attempt to stay cool as she looked absolutely broken.
Itachi remained next to emotionless. He simply stared back at his brother with a simple, curious look. "I'll be back before you know it. I won't miss your birthday." He promised softly, reaching out to place a finger at his brother's forehead. "I'll train with you when I get back." He added, turning to the door, picking his bag up from the floor and following Tsumori out as she left a little too quickly; it was obvious she had been uncomfortable.
Sasuke kept kicking and screaming, tears streaming down his face. He and his brother had been spending a lot of time together lately. Itachi's wound had opened again, and the doctors had deemed him unfit for missions until he was properly healed. He hadn't even been allowed to train. So he had been playing with Sasuke and their bond had gotten just as strong as it had been before. His teammates hadn't been around to ruin it, either, since they had kept getting missions without him. Sasuke had liked it. They had been alone in their world again, just like they used to. They had even spent Itachi's birthday together; Fugaku had gotten off from work and everything.
Yes, Itachi had been lolling around the house with his mother and Sasuke for over a month. He was fed with it, to say the least. He was bored, annoyed and felt horribly weak. He knew his teammates were out there training; getting better and stronger, while he was stuck with doing the dishes and throwing rubber weapons whenever his mother wasn't looking. For the first couple of weeks, he had even been forced to sleep in the same bed as his mother, just so she could keep an eye on him. She worried way too much, in his opinion, and he knew it wasn't for him. He knew she worried for Sasuke, knowing that the younger boy would be devastated if anything were to happen to Itachi.
It was a common fact in the Uchiha Compound, that Uchiha Mikoto had given up on her oldest son, Itachi. He was only eight years of age, and yet he managed to act somewhere in between being a horribly defiant teenager and being an old hippie. He was quite the handful for a mother, only because he didn't need one anymore. He was completely independent on anything but the shelter and food they provided him, which they all knew he could find elsewhere if he felt the need for it. His ninja salary was plenty to support himself, and for some reason he got larger tips than any of the elder Uchiha ever had. And aside from that, he was dangerous. Earning the rank of Genin at the age of seven was formidable, but earning the rank of Genin at the age of seven and joining an already experienced team and managing to reach their level within the span of only a few months, that was what made people look up to him.
Itachi let out a small sigh as he walked next to his green-haired teammate. Tsumori knew when to speak and when not to. Itachi wasn't all that hard to figure out. She knew it bothered him to leave his brother behind like that, but she also knew that he knew he had to if he wanted to get stronger. "We've got to swing by the Police Department and tell my father goodbye." The Uchiha said, his voice slightly more sour than it should have been. He had nothing against his father. He just disliked the fact that the man was basically using him in order to regain respect to their clan.
Tsumori nodded her head and resisted the urge to crack a grin. She had learned that Itachi didn't exactly appreciate her happy nature when he was down like this. He wasn't the type to just soak up happiness like Garuken. He always got even more down when people around him were happy. He was a weird one. "I'll just wait by the gate. Don't take too long." She said quietly, giving a small smile and patting Itachi on the shoulder before setting into a run and getting the hell out of the compound. The Uchiha had gotten used to her being around so much and they had gotten used to never seeing Itachi without her, but it didn't stop them from sending her disapproving glares; a Kitchi had nothing to do with the Uchiha heir.
"Tou-sama!" Itachi called, offering a smile to one of the officers that walked past him before turning to face his father with an emotionless mine again. "I'm leaving for my mission now. I wanted to tell you so you know what to expect at home." He stated flatly, placing a hand on his hip and letting out a sigh.
Fugaku placed the papers in his hands down and gave a smile. "Do your best as always, Itachi-kun." He said approvingly, placing one of his large hands at the young boy's shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze. Itachi tried his best not to wince. Showing that he was still in pain from the fall he took at their last mission wouldn't be a good idea. He had to remind himself not to get hurt anymore. "I'm counting on you." Fugaku said, lifting his hand in order to bring it back down with a light pat before turning back to his paperwork.
Itachi merely nodded his head and turned to leave. He caught a few people whispering about him, so he kept his back straight and his face emotionless. He could moan, groan and sigh all he wanted when he was alone with his team. They were never bothered when he decided to be bitchy. They actually seemed to find it amusing. He always failed to see how a eight year old boy complaining about everything that came to mind that had annoyed him since the last time they talked would be amusing in any way.
Tsumori gave a light wave and offered a small, obviously strained, smile when Itachi met her outside the compound. She was the only person he knew that actually had to force herself not to smile. Itachi gave her a smile in return, followed by a small sigh. "Mori-chan, you don't have to force yourself. It's fine for you to be, well, you." He said, running a hand over his head to flatten his hair. He never got how people could just let their hair grow freely and wildly. He hated when his hair wasn't flat. People like Shisui didn't make sense to him.
Tsumori pouted a little, even though she didn't mean to. "But, I know that you don't like it, Chi-kun. I don't want you to not like me." She stated as a matter of fact, and she didn't seem whiny about it. She merely said it for the purpose of getting it out. Itachi left it at that, not really knowing what to say to it. What was there to say? He and Tsumori had simply gotten used to each other. Garuken and Runeji as well.
The other two males were looking rather amused as Itachi arrived alongside Tsumori. Garuken looked like he was fighting back a grin and Runeji was simply smirking like he knew something that no one else did. Itachi merely raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking what was going on.
"They're twins!" Garuken exclaimed in a both happy and hushed tone. 'They' were obviously rather close. Itachi looked about to see any signs of said twins. He couldn't see any twins. Garuken made to grab Itachi, but the younger male stepped back to avoid the grip. "Chi-kun, twins!" He repeated, his hand pointing in the direction of somewhere behind Itachi.
Itachi turned around to see why said twins were so damn interesting and immediately he ha to resist the urge to allow his eyes to widen. There were a couple of twins standing side by side in front of the Hokage, talking happily to the man. Both of them had fiercely red hair, one kept it in a bun and one kept it in a low ponytail, and they wore matching, but opposite dresses in pink and purple. "Female identical twins..." He muttered under his breath, one fine eyebrow raising without him even realizing it.
"It's every man's dream to find a couple of dandy twins. Look, they're even holding hands." Garuken said, taking a hold of Itachi's shoulder without the younger boy bothering to swipe it away. Itachi didn't understand his interest in the twins, but he was very certain that it was not the same as Garuken's. "We're going to be escorting them all the way to Suna." The older boy said happily, patting Itachi's shoulder before letting go.
Itachi moved as soon as his shoulder was released. He strode over to the two girls, the one with the bun leaning gently against the one with the ponytail while the one with the ponytail spoke to the Hokage in a low serious tone while her face portrayed happiness. "... a couple of kinds and a pervert will be enough?" The end of her sentence caught Itachi's ear.
"I assure you that these kids are not normal children." The old man spoke with a smile on his lips, turning is attention to Itachi. "Itachi-kun, ohayou gozaimasu." He said, giving a small jut of his head in greeting.
Itachi bowed deeply, lowering his head in honor to the Hokage. "Ohayou gozaimsu, Hokage-sama." He said in a deep tone of respect and admiration. "Hajimemashite, I am Uchiha Itachi." He added, bowing to the twins as well. "I hear it will be our mission to escort you safely to Sunagakure." He stated with just as much respect as he had used with the Hokage. He could almost feel the chakra radiating from the twins.
"What a cute kid! So the Uchiha are really as pretty as they say? Wow. I thought it was just some stupid rumor because they're, you know, powerful." The twin with the bun said in a tone much like the one Tsumori would use normally. Too excited about nothing. Itachi made a mental note to keep his female teammate away from this girl, or he would have a migraine before the day was over. Itachi glanced back at his team at the sound of a thud and managed to get a glimpse of Garuken's grinning face before Tsumori kicked him in the ribs. Itachi almost winced at the thought of a kick to the ribs, but his sympathy pain was quickly washed away when he caught the movement of Garuken's lips. He was talking about twins.
"Don't talk nonsense, Hikaru." The twin with the ponytail said, drawing Itachi's attention back to the girls, who were both still facing him. He noticed that they even had the same color of lip gloss on. "This is most certainly not to time to be commenting on the appearance of our guides." She added in a stern, lecturing tone, though she still sounded quite immature by the mere sound of her voice. For some reason, Itachi wanted to reach up and touch the flowers in their hair. He had never seen such realistic hair accessories before, and certainly none as complicated as a Lotus flower.
The one with the bun, Hikaru, giggled sweetly in a way that made Itachi want to vomit up his breakfast, however little it had been. "Hikari, you meanie. He's not our guide, he's our escort. Those fancy terms are very important to ninja." She said in a tone that sounded very much playful. Itachi's urge to vomit grew to the point where he was pretty sure Tsumori or Runeji would notice his discomfort.
"We actually don't care." Runeji said, placing one on his hands on Itachi's shoulder in a reassuring way and giving a slight squeeze to assure him that he had picked up on the 'uncomfortable' signals, before letting go again and placing his hands in his pockets, mimicking Garuken's pose next to him. "As long as you do as we say and don't run off or otherwise complicate our mission, you can call it whatever you want." He said with a smile. "I'm Runeji, the jounin of the team. Just call me Rune-sensei." He said casually, nudging Garuken in the side with his elbow.
"Garuken, but you can call me Garu-kun." Garuken said, grinning widely at the twins for a moment before clearing his throat and seemingly forcing himself to come down. Itachi wondered if it was because of Tsumori that he was trying to keep himself in check, or if it was because of the fact that the twins were their clients.
The twin with the bun, Hikaru, seemed to get excited at his introduction. "Oh, are you an Uchiha, too? You look kinda like one!" She asked, almost in Garuken's face, her nose merely an inch apart from his. She was even bending a little at her knees to get to eye level with him.
Garuken made a disgruntled sound and drew his face back a little, looking almost offended. "Are you kidding me? Uchiha are beautiful! I don't have nearly the grace or feminine touch to be one of them. I'm proudly from the Bakuoni clan." He said, looking almost like he wanted to jut his chin out and look defiant, but he didn't.
"Garu-kun, don't be mean to our clients." Tsumori said sweetly, coming to stand next to him and discreetly placing her foot over his toes, not pressing down yet but obviously going to if Garuken didn't behave. Itachi had to resist the urge to smirk. "I'm Kitchi Tsumori, but you can call me Mori-chan. If you don't mind me asking you, is your names really Hikari and Hikaru?" She asked, still sweetly and more polite that her usual bubbly self. Itachi found that he liked her better like that.
"Hai!" Hikaru, with the bun, exclaimed, nodding her head excitedly. "Akakaze Hikaru, would be me, and this is my younger twin sister, Akakaze Hikari. I'm nicknamed Kage, though, since it's funny if we're Light and Shadow." She said, even more excitedly than she looked.
"Can we just get going?" Tsumori asked, looking like her usually cheery self, only a little more polite, but sounding vaguely grumpy. Tsumori was never grumpy. Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, the shadows in his eyes lighting just a little to allow the pink-clad girl to see the confusion hidden in their depths. "We only have three days and the trip takes three days at least. If we don't hurry, we wont get paid." She elaborated.
Garuken made an impatient noise. "Come on! Lets just go!" He exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Tsumori's arm and dragging her towards the gate in a run. Tsumori let out an amused giggle and went with him, letting him hold her hand as they ran ahead. Runeji sighed and shook his head a little, taking off after them.
"Please, follow me." Itachi said politely, bowing his head a little before he turned to the gate and began running. He heard the perfectly matched steps of the twins following behind him and decided to test how well they could run, upping his speed and allowing his arms to fall back behind him to create less backward momentum of the wind. The steps behind him kept up nicely, even as they passed by the sprinting Runeji and soon the running Tsumori and Garuken. Itachi almost growled as he channeled chakra to his feet, upping his speed even more. He could hear the steps of Tsumori and the matched steps of the twins behind him, but Garuken had been left behind. Itachi smirked and halted to a simple run, waiting for his male teammate and sensei to catch up. "Who'd have thought that Rune-sensei was the slowest, huh?" He asked, smiling at Tsumori as she came up beside him.
"I would." Tsumori told him with a grin, taking a step closer to him so their shoulders were nearly touching while they ran. "Are you okay though? You looked a little off by having to go to your father and you looked like Sasuke really hurt you inside." She added in a more serious tone. One that really didn't fit Tsumori at all.
Itachi nodded his head a little, allowing that soft, brotherly smile of his to grace his features. "He did. It hurts me to see him upset. But it's a necessary evil, if I'm going to make the world a better place for him to grow up." He said, glancing over at Tsumori's worried look. The knitted brows quickly went up and her frown quickly turned into a smile as soon as he looked at her. She was obviously trying not to let on that she was worried. "Mori-chan..." He warned and whined at once, his brows knitting together tightly.
Tsumori grew silent and fell back a step, allowing Itachi his superiority that she knew he needed. He had been out of commission as a ninja for quite a while. He needed to feel strong. She kept her senses alert and stayed one step behind the Uchiha, the twins behind her, whispering and giggling every now and then, then Garuken and Runeji froming the rear with loud conversation.
After only a few hours of travel, it became obvious that they had slowed down quite a bit. It seemed Itachi was already running out of energy and Tsumori felt a pang of guilt in her chest. She fell back another few steps so she was beside the twin with the bun. "Could you do me a favor and ask for a break? Itachi-kun was hurt really badly some time ago and he needs to rest, even if he wont admit to it himself." She said sweetly, smiling at the teen and seeming to talk about something else entirely, as if she was worried that Itachi would be able to see her through the back of his head.
The twin with the bun smiled in return and stopped in her tracks, heaving a loud sigh and placing her hands on her knees as if she was panting. "I really need a break! We've been running like this for hours!" She exclaimed, running the back of her hand over her brow to wipe away sweat that wasn't there. Tsumori had to hold back the grin that threatened to split her face in half.
The others stopped as well and Itachi looked mildly annoyed, but the paleness of his skin and yet redness of his cheeks told Tsumori that he had need the break more than she thought. "I'll go find something to eat. I'm starving!" Tsumori said, putting a hand to her stomach to intensify the statement. "Garu-kun could you find some water? Chi-kun, you guard the twins." she ordered, grinning widely before she simply leaped off before anyone could argue with her. Garuken took the bait and leaped off as well, leaving Itachi, Runeji and the twins on their own.
The twin with the bun sat down on the ground, letting out a relived sigh. "It's so moist here in Konoha! I can barely breathe!" She stated, coughing wetly to intensify. Her sister sat down beside her, looking rather blank and uncaring. "Ne, Hikari-chan, you look a little pale." The one with the bun said, placing a hand on the other's forehead.
Hikari shook her head, effectively removing the hand on her face. "It's the moist heat. It goes straight to my head." She stated blandly, wiping actual sweat away from her brow and shivering a little at once. She directed her yellow gaze towards Itachi. "I get migraines." She clarified.
Itachi gave a curt nod of his head, vaguely wondering if he looked just as bad. He felt bad. His chest felt like it was filled with stones and he had a hard time breathing properly. Her felt like his head was swimming and he had a hard time focusing his sight. He felt like he could just drop dead any minute now. "Where is Garu with that water?" He growled lowly under his breath.
"Itachi-kun, are you all right? You look really pale." Runeji stated, placing a cold hand on the Uchiha's forehead. "Kami, you're burning up!" He exclaimed, quickly drawing his hand away to grasp both sides of Itachi's face and examine his eyes.
"I'm fine." Itachi snapped, slapping his sensei's hands away and scowling at him like he had just committed a mortal sin. "I'm just a little tired because Sasuke slept in my bed last night." He elaborated. It wasn't a lie. He was tired and Sasuke had been sleeping in his bed that night, it just had nothing to do with why he was currently pale as a corpse.
Garuken arrived a minute later, curiously watching Runeji and Itachi stare each other down. There was no doubt who was going to win, since Runeji was freaked out by Uchiha eyes, but he was holding on strongly and looked more than determined to get whatever point he had across. "I found water." Garuken stated, holding up the field flask with water that he had collected from a steam near by.
Itachi, without breaking his eye contact with Runeji, made a gesture towards Hikari. "She has a migraine. She needs it." He said in a flat tone, his dark eyes boring into the very soul behind the purple eyes he was glaring into.
"That's stupid." Tsumori stated happily, nudging Runeji's butt with her elbow as she walked by with a basket full of berries, mushrooms and leaves at her hip and several fish slung over her shoulder. "Don't do stupid things, Rune-sensei. You're supposed to be the mature one." She added while piling everything down on a flat stone.
"I'm supposed to be the responsible one." Runeji corrected her, taking his eyes off of Itachi's in order to see what she had collected. "He's obviously not well and I just asked him what was wrong. He's acting like a kid." He said in a rather grumpy tone.
"He is a kid." Garuken reminded him. "He's only eight." He added, grinning widely when his sensei shot him a nasty glare. "It's funny. I'm the oldest one on this squad, and yet he's the one you expect to act the most responsible. Is it just because he's an Uchiha?" He asked, his tone slightly challenging. The twins observed them with great interest.
"No." Runeji replied coolly, suddenly very stoic and cold. "It's not because of who he is. It's because who you are. You are of the Bakuoni clan. You're supposed to be useless as a ninja and even worse as a person. Mori-chan is a Kitchi. The 'lucky' clan. According to myth, they are only good at anything by chance and luck."