Sasuke sat with flower-girl(whose name was Fuji) and Rengi in the children's ward. Airi curled around his neck like a scarf, keeping him warm and his neck protected as she updated him on the news the other cats of Konoha had brought in.
~A number of children have gone missing from various orphanages. A boy with pale skin and unique artistic talent was rrrecently taken. Many of my cats reports others missing. Bastard clan children, the parent of the bastard often killed.~
Airi cut off abruptly, and Sasuke pretended not to notice as he helped Fuji and Rengi with a 1,000 piece puzzle. He may or may not have cheating a little bit by subtly using his sharingan to spot the pieces. He absently mindlessly drew some of the cats that worked for him.
~Young leader...one of us spotted something we think directly concerns you while they were surveying the children of fringe and non-central populations.~
That tone of voice immediately had Sasuke on edge. He had only heard it once before when Airi had mentioned something involving Itachi's escape. He excused himself from the puzzle, pointing to the restroom and leaving.
He fogged the mirror with his breath and wrote a question mark in it.
Airi stretched and yawned, and Sasuke started to sweat. She was nervous about something.
She purred reassuringly, licking hi cheek with her coarse tongue, and he calmed down.
~Young leader, do you recall Shinko Inari?~
Sasuke nodded. How could he not. She was his brothers teammate, that would come over and gush at him. She loved cute things. Sasuke knew she had a thing for his cousin Shisui before he...died. Whenever Itachi would bring his team home she would make eyes at him. Inari was also friends with his cousin Izumi. He knew they were closer than sisters.
She worked as a waitress at her families restaurant, retiring after the mess that was her ninja team with-with that man. She was a medical Kunochi, if his memory served. So much potential.
A part of that closeness was because of the feelings of isolation they shared. Izumi being a Uchiha, and Inari being an immigrant, they were both well acquainted with being excluded, left out, and discriminated against.
~She lives in a remote part of Konoha with her family, normally populated by immigrants. Most people in her family have gray hair, but rrrecently...Inari had a private home birth where she gave birth to two dark haired twins. Both with higher chakra pools than a retired genin like Inari could supply.~
Sasuke breathed heavily. Could it be...?
He needed to figure out a way where he could visit Inari and see the true parentage of the twins without being suspicious.
She had been a medic in training. Maybe he could use that excuse to go visit her. But she was also retired, and if these twin girls really were of Uchiha descent, than he couldn't put them at anymore risk by going to see them. He needed another way in.
Sasuke gasped, and wrote on his board.
Ami.
Airi purred.
~That's an excellent idea young master. She lives in the same part of town as Inari and frequents her restaurant. If you hurry, you can still make it to school from your lunch break and ask Ami if she wants to go to that rrrrestaurant with you later.~
Sasuke nodded, wrote on his board that he was heading back to school, said goodbye to Rengi and Fuji, and ran to the academy.
He had just caught up with Ami and wrote on his board asking her out. Seeing the joyful look on her face and the distraught looks on the others made him feel sick with guilt, but he promised himself he would make it up to them. He didn't like using Ami like this but it was of the upmost importance.
The walked towards Ami's place, Ami talking and laughing, relaxing at Sasuke's positive responses of nods and smiles, writing on his board to ask questions or to add in.
When they arrived at the restaurant and Inari walked up to seat them, she paused, looked at Sasuke, and walked away towards the back of the room-but not before pulling off a single shadow clone to keep Ami occupied.
Sasuke and Ami found a seat, and once they knew what they wanted, Sasuke wrote to Ami that he would place their orders at the counter and go use the restroom.
He did just that.
Inari was standing in the back of the shop in the rarely used storage room, below where the living rooms were in back. Her face was in her hands, shaking.
"H-how?" She croaked.
Sasuke smiled and hugged her. Tears slipped down his face not of his own accord, and Airi comforted them both.
He pullled out his white board.
Who is the father?
She read it and looked at him.
"It's c-complicated. Let me show you them."
They walked up some back stairs and slipped into what was clearly a nursery. What Sasuke saw took his breath away.
Two perfect little girls were sleeping in a soft yellow crib. Their faces were chubby and pink, tiny lashes fluttering as they dreamed. Smokey dark hair splayed on their pillow with bunny patterns stitched onto it. They held hands as they slept.
"Only one is mine. But both are of Uchiha descent."
The look Sasuke had given her must have been comical, because she giggled softly.
"The one with the curly hair is mine and-" her voice broke "-And Shisui's."
Sasuke looked at the babe, innocently dreaming. A tiny snot bubble was by her nose. The two of them had always been close. No wonder Sasuke never saw Inari again until now.
"When I realized I was pregnant, it was already too late to tell Shisui. I went to Izumi. And..." Inari hesitated. "She..."
Sasuke looked at her imploringly.
"Izumi told me she was with child as well."
Sasuke had to sit down.
His breathes came out in short rapid gasps, and Airi meowed worriedly, twining her body in his arms. Was this second child Itachi's?!
Izumi hopped from one foot to another, psyching herself up, before blurting out;
"She was further along than me, and knew having a child at her age, while being only half Uchiha, and during such a tense time...she said she needed my help. So I induced her early, and she gave birth to the baby premature at around seven months. Izumi was only below your mother and Itachi when it came to genjutsu, so she was able to hide the bump. I gave birth two months later and was able to pass it off as twins."
Sasuke stared. If it wasn't for the evidence of Shisui's curly hair on baby one, and the second's small microscopic beginnings of tear troughs he only spotted because of his practice with the sharingan, plus what he knew about her history, he wouldn't have believed her.
"I'm not much of a medic. Even though I couldn't save my teammate, or my secret boyfriend, keeping an already third trimester baby alive was something I could do. They look alike enough and different enough from a Uchiha that they should be safe. Plus my status as an immigrant and the fact that darker hair is common among fire country means I will be able to avoid suspicion. "
Sasuke nodded slowly. Smart.
He stared at his little niece and little distant cousin.
"...Would you like to hold them?"
Sasuke took a moment to check that his shadow clone was still speaking with Ami before nodding.
His heart raced, his palms shook as he sat down on the rocking chair.
Soft baby chuffing reached his sensitive ears as she gently picked up the tiny soft beings and placed them in his arms. Two pairs of sleepy gray eyes blinked up at him, curiosity rife.
They were so soft. They smelled like baby powder and lavender lotion. Their gently warmth and soothing pressure was a balm to his soul, their tiny movement absolutely precious. These two were his family.
"Aren't they amazing."
Sasuke could only nod.
A few moments passed.
"Sasuke...you know you can't come here to see them again."
He sniffled, drops landing on their tiny perfect faces. He couldn't lose them. Not them too. They were so perfect, Sasuke loved them already. His heart was so full, he forgot he could love this much.
Inari sounded like she was going to cry again too.
"They're safe because of all the social camouflage. You coming here will draw too much attention-although that thing you pulled with your friend Ami was very clever. But It will only work so many times. People will start to remember that I used to be Itachi's teammate briefly, and they might find out more, and-".
She pressed her forehead to his knee, hands on the arms of the rocking chair.
Sasuke nudged her.
She looked up at him through teary eyes, and his face was full of painful understanding.
"I don't know what happened with your older brother. I have an inkling...but I know many things were going on that were dangerous and I didn't understand. Its why I distanced myself and hid my pregnancy as well."
She was right to do and think so. Had Itachi known she was with child he would have ran her through with all the other babies and women. If the secret got out now Danzo would threaten her. Itachi could come back and finish the job.
"i know something is not right. I know you know that too." Sasuke trembled with joy. Someone else suspected too! He wasn't alone!
She pulled his forehead against hers.
"One day, I hope this secrecy won't be necessary, but for now we need to be careful."
She pulled him into a hug, mindful of the babies, and he buried his wet face into her shoulder. She smelled like spices and a full meal. He felt her wet face in the crook of his own neck.
"Sasuke you will always be family to me. I love you like a little brother-Oh! Is this Izumi's shirt!?" She began to sob softly.
Since Itachi, Sasuke thought he would never hear someone call him little brother again. He thought that was what he wanted. But as Inari held him softly, he found that he nearly floated with happiness and a giddiness not felt since before the massacre.
They cried for awhile. and just stayed like that.
When Inari gently took the now sleeping babies back and rested them in their crib, Sasuke almost couldn't let go. Airi filled the cool empty space where the babies were, but even though it helped, it wasn't the same.
Airi licked the babies foreheads goodbye, and Sasuke walked into the bathroom. He cast a genjutsu to cover the redness on his nose and around his face, and called his shadow clone back to the rest room so he could replace it.
He went home, an even as he slept in the empty house, he didn't feel so lonely anymore.
A few days later, Sasuke was finishing up coloring the cat drawing he has started when helping Fuji and Rengi with the puzzle. It was a masterpiece of artwork, beautiful coloration, amazing contrast. The cat looked so soft you could almost feel the cloud through the color pencils.
Rengi sighed happily next to him. At Sasuke's curious look, she smiled at him.
"Oh, we have a new applicant for the Children's ward. Part time. It's a former genin with previous medical experience. She'll be perfect! She just turned the application in."
Sasuke blinked. Took his drawing, and walked down the hall towards the exit to the main part of the hospital. There he found Inari in the back drinking from a water fountain.
She smiled when she saw him, and make the shushing gesture.
He scribbled on his board.
Put this on the wall?
He handed her the drawing of Airi.
Inari nodded and smiled, and then left. Sasuke didn't worry though, because he knew he would see her again-sooner than one would think.
He smiled as Airi reported back to him on the statuses of various cat-spies around the village, espically the ones watching over the babies.
He would make Konoha safe.
For him.
For them.
It's ya girl, coming at ya after a year of no updates with this chapter lmao. What did you think of all that?