D/C: We don't own Naruto. 'Nuff Said.
(the authors appear)
Dragon Man 180: Sorry for the delays, between the holidays, school, and trying to find a job for me...
Jedi Mistress 1990: We just couldn't find the time to work on the story. AP COURSES SUCK!
DM: Yeah, real life is our first priority so we have the means to update.
JM: Okay, here's the chapter!
DM: Enjoy!
(oOoOo)
The last four years had been annoying for Itachi. First of all had been a year of D-rank missions and training with Anko to make sure both Hana and she had learned everything they needed.
Sure, some of the missions like watching Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, and the other kids their age were fun, but chasing escaped pets and babysitting civilian brats who insisted on watching TV shows like Barney was not.
The next year was spent taking C rank missions and traveling around. That was fun, but Itachi's first kill was a shock and she had to spend several months recovering from it with the help of her team, mother, and Sasuke.
It was during this time that Sasuke figured out Itachi was a girl and sworn to secrecy.
At age 9 Itachi had to deal with puberty and hiding her secret became a lot harder. It took a combination of breast binding, genjutsu, and baggy clothing to hide her new assets and the monthly visitor didn't help.
After two years in the field Anko entered the team in the Chunin exams in Konoha and they breezed through it, partly due to Anko constantly training them in the Forest of Death.
The final elimination tournament ended up with all three teammates facing one another so they settled for an all out fight to claim the spot of Anko's top student, which ended in a three way KO and Anko winning several month's worth of free Dango from Kakashi.
Now, at the tender age of 11, rookie Chunin Uchiha Itachi was trying to gather the courage to do her toughest mission yet: ask her crush out on a date.
She didn't bother trying to ask anyone for advice, because she figured that she would be told not to go through with it due to her secret. Obito wasn't much help, since he never got around to successfully dating Rin.
Hana scared most of the guys their age. Anko... Itachi figured her sensei and Arashi must have been a love at first sight since Anko hadn't dated since.
So Itachi was on her own regarding the matter of a love confession. She even tried begging Hana to buy her some shoujo manga since the sight of the Uchiha heir buying shoujo and not shounen was shameful. But she found the manga useless. All of the girls were weak and whiny, and Itachi preferred the girls of the shounen manga who were strong and thought for themselves.
That's when she discovered yaoi. The love stories were full of the angst and romance that the shoujo manga had, but Itachi liked the fact that the boys, even if they were uke, thought more of the repercussions and benefits of the situation than just being with the seme they loved. Once again, Hana had to be her proxy in purchasing these manga.
With the teachings of the yaoi manga-ka under her belt, Itachi felt knowledgeable enough to stop Iruka on the way home one day after training. "Iruka-kun!"
"Oh, Itachi," Iruka turned and looked down at the Uchiha girl with a grin. "What's going on?"
Itachi averted her gaze. "Er, well, could we talk, y'know...back at the...training ground?" she failed herself as a coherent and confident person at the moment.
Iruka stared her down. "Okay. We can walk there since it's only a couple of minutes away."
Obito sat down on the marker of the fallen heroes, waiting for the show to begin. He had been waiting years for this, and he was ready to bring Iruka's body temperature below acceptable levels.
"So, Itachi, what is it you wanna talk about?" Iruka asked, sticking his hands in his pockets and slightly slouching in order to stand more comfortably.
Itachi looked away with a blush. "Th-that is, I..." she took a deep breath. "Iruka-kun, I..."
"JUST GET ON WITH IT, IMOTOU-CHAN!" Obito shouted.
"I LOVE YOU, IRUKA-KUN!" Itachi shouted and then covered her mouth.
Iruka's eyes widened and Itachi averted her gaze once more with a squeak. "Itachi...this isn't a joke...is it?"
Itachi shook her head while looking down at the ground. "No...ever since the water balloon incident on the first day at the academy...I've...I've been in love with you."
Iruka laid a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Itachi..."
Itachi looked up. "Iruka-kun?"
"Do you even know why I played that prank on you all those years ago?" he grabbed Itachi around the waist and lifted her up to hold her. Itachi blushed deeper. "I love you too, Itachi." he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"AUGH, NO, DON'T DO THAT!" Obito screamed as Iruka pressed his lips against Itachi.
Itachi's eyes widened as she felt herself kiss him back. Manga hadn't prepared her for what her first kiss felt like. It felt like she was flying and getting sick at the same time.
"Meh, I can't stop 'em. I'm not alive. I used up my life day already..." Obito muttered. Just recently he had discovered that once a month after six years of being a ghost he could be alive for one day and pick which day he wanted to be alive.
He had enjoyed appearing in places where Kakashi could see him but never reach and making the silver haired ANBU think he was seeing ghosts.
But now, at the moment he wanted to be alive so he could punish Iruka. "Iruka, you will pay for deflowering my cousin!"
Nii-san, a kiss doesn't constitute that Itachi thought while she continued to embrace Iruka.
(oOoOo)
The next day, the entire Uchiha clan noticed something was up when a smiling Itachi walked through the streets. The Uchiha heir greeted everyone she met and even shrugged off being knocked down by some kids running into her.
At a babysitting mission, Itachi didn't even blink after the baby in question threw up on her. Hana and Anko thought this was odd, since this was when Itachi's girliness usually came out. Their eyes became the size of dinner plates when Iruka started helping Itachi clean the mess up.
Having to chase Tora the cat and getting clawed up when her grip on the cat slipped only earned the cat a light bop on the head and Itachi handing the cat back to its owner. It seemed nothing could dampen Itachi's mood.
Hana was tired of trying to figure out reasons for Itachi's good mood, and went over to her best friend. "You're really happy, Itachi."
"Ne, Hana-chan, why don't you go ahead and ask what happened to me yesterday?"
Hana sighed with a smile. "Say, Itachi, what happened to you yesterday?"
Itachi's eyes became hearts. "Some...thing...good!" she squeaked. "Now say, 'C'mon, don't just say that, what happened?'"
Hana grinned. "C'mon, don't just say that, what happened?"
"I'm not telling!" Itachi sang out.
Hana giggled and poked Itachi. "So things went well with Iruka-kun, didn't they?"
"..." Itachi's eyebrow twitched. "How'd you know?"
"How could I NOT?! You two must have hugged enough yesterday that there are traces of his scent on your Chunin vest."
Itachi could only blush as Hana giggled some more. "Really, I'm happy for you two! I had a feeling—canine instincts, don't you know—that Iruka-kun liked you too!" she hugged the Uchiha girl tightly. "Your second hugest secret is safe with me, Itachi!"
"And me," said Anko as she suddenly appeared behind them hanging upside down from an overhead tree branch.
Both girls jumped and grabbed kunai by instinct to lash out at their 'attacker'. Anko simply swung herself back into the tree with a laugh and leapt away to tease Iruka about his girlfriend.
"Help me knock out sensei and erase her memory?" asked Itachi as she saw Anko put Iruka in a headlock.
"Yeah right, I don't want to chase her down," muttered Hana.
Fugaku scowled as he watched Itachi enter the compound after her team training was done. She spotted Sasuke running towards her squealing her name and swung him up into her arms and then onto her shoulders.
"Itachi has been acting strange lately," muttered Fugaku.
Fugaku turned to look at a Iwa bingo book recently recovered from a missing nin. "Maybe I should find the boy a girl to marry soon," he said as he started looking through the various kunoichi that could prove useful in an alliance.
(oOoOo)
"You want me to what?" demanded Itachi a few weeks later at breakfast, wondering if her father was finally ready to be locked in a padded room wearing a straightjacket.
"I've arranged for you to meet several promising young kunoichi over the next two years that could possibly lead to a political alliance between Konoha and their village," said Fugaku.
"Fugaku... Itachi is still only 11, isn't this a bit soon?" asked Mikoto.
"Never too early to start making decisions in this clan, you know that, Mikoto." Fugaku replied, almost completely ignoring her and focusing on Itachi. "You will obey me, Itachi. You have no other choice."
Damn it, I really need to keep my moods in check from now on...this random engagement process sounds like it's coming from suspicion...I gotta tell Iruka-kun! Itachi thought with a scowl.
(oOoOo)
"He wants to what?" demanded Anko, Hana, and Iruka after Itachi had given them the news.
"He wants to marry me off! Like I'm some trinket to be exchanged for something!" growled Itachi and she drove her fist into a training dummy.
She choked back her tears of anger as she had taught herself since the age of six. "Sensei. Hana. Iruka-kun and I need to talk. Alone."
Iruka looked nervous as the other two nodded and disappeared. "Itachi-chan...what..."
Itachi half-smiled, eyes shining. "I'm not breaking up with you, Iruka-kun. As much as I would like to be more open...we can't. We have to be even more secretive about this relationship than before."
"Itachi-chan..." Iruka pulled the girl into a loving embrace. "It'll be hard...but I'll try."
"Y'know...Itachi-chan...I've been waiting for some time for this..." Iruka released his hold on Itachi. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a necklace with five silver circles. "It...it's not much, but...I want you to have this."
Itachi gasped as Iruka placed the necklace in her hands. "It was...my mother's. I think that this—waugh!" Itachi hugged him so tightly he thought his ribs would break from the pressure. He managed to grab Itachi and picked her up. He planted a kiss on Itachi's cheek as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and their foreheads met.
"Whatever your baka of a father says, you're strong enough to almost break me in half," said Iruka.
"Well, if my father comes after you, I'll protect you," said Itachi with a smile as she snuggled closer to Iruka.
In the bushes surrounding the clearing, Anko and Hana smiled as they secretly watched the couple.
"You think they're meant to be, sensei?" Hana asked Anko, touched by the scene.
"Only time will tell, Hana-chan, I've seen enough relationships to know things don't always work out," said Anko. "I hope they can, but we'll see."
(oOoOo)
"Itachi-nii!" Sasuke sang out in front of Itachi's bedroom door that evening. "Read me a story!"
"Okay, what story?" asked Itachi, knowing that if she didn't give in Sasuke would pester her for the rest of the evening.
Sasuke imitated his big sister's thinking pose—"Kawaii!" Itachi squealed in her mind—and then said with a grin, "The story of Hanzo vs the Sannin!!!"
Itachi nodded and ushered her little brother inside her room. She shut the door and turned to Sasuke. "Alright, Sasuke, what do you really want? You never request that story outside in the hallway unless you want to talk to me."
Sasuke grinned and giggled. "You got me, nee-chan! You came home really happy today, what happened?" he demanded.
Itachi blushed and sat on her bed. Sasuke climbed onto her lap. "C'mon, nee-san, tell me!" he begged.
"Mmmmm,maybe, if you do something for me..." she said.
Sasuke tugged on Itachi's shirt. "What, what?"'
"You'll have to agree to do the dishes for me for a week," said Itachi, "Plus, you can't keep bugging me to train you; you don't have the chakra and stamina to do any of the techniques for the Academy yet."
"Okay, okay, whatever!" Sasuke said impatiently. "Now tell me what happened, nee-san!"
Itachi reached into her shirt collar and pulled the necklace out from underneath. "Iruka-kun gave this to me."
Sasuke was taken by the shiny. "Ooooh... but won't you get in trouble, nee-san?"
"I don't think so, if I just wear it under my shirt, then otou-san won't learn of the relationship."
"...You love him, don't you, nee-san?"
"Otou-san? Hell no, I—"
"Iruka, nee-san!"
Itachi's eyes widened at her little brother's intuition. She blushed and slightly smiled. "Yes...yes, I do."
"Hmm..." Sasuke looked thoughtful as he stared at the floor. He smiled widely. "Well, then, that's okay!"
The young kunoichi quirked an eyebrow at this statement. "Hm?"
Sasuke crawled into Itachi's lap and hugged her. "When you love someone, it's okay!"
Itachi grinned and ruffled the little boy's hair. It was amazing how easily he could cheer her up with just the simplest phrases. "Thanks, Sasuke. Now, do you really want me to read you a story?"
"Nah."
(oOoOo)
Itachi awoke around midnight to a strange tapping noise on her window. "What the hell?" she muttered as she climbed out of bed and went to the window. She blinked, and her eyes were flashing crimson.
It appeared to be a barrage of rocks hitting the window every 30 seconds. Itachi waited until there was a pause, and then pushed the window open. She gazed around, and looked down to see Iruka looking up expectantly.
"Iruka-kun!" Itachi hissed with a furious blush. "What the hellare you doing here?! More importantly...howdid you get here?!"
Iruka jabbed a thumb behind him to indicate the wall. "You have some lax security here, Itachi-chan," he said with a grin. "Now come out."
This is just like in the movies and shoujo manga...Itachi blushed deeper. She nodded. "Let me get ready, though."
She changed into her usual black outfit and tied her hair back. She placed one foot on the windowsill. A look of uncertainty crossed her face.
Iruka reached out for her. "Don't worry, I'll catch you. I promise."
Itachi closed her eyes and jumped out the window. A split second later she found herself in Iruka's warm and strong arms. Iruka nuzzled her before he set her down on the ground. "It's about time you had more adventure than just missions, Itachi-chan."
"Y-you don't mean—" Itachi quickly assumed he was talking about the things in Icha Icha. Her face turned scarlet.
"No, no, no, not those things!" Iruka quickly said, waving his hands to accent his correction. "I wouldn't do that to you right now, you're too young."
Itachi nodded. "Okay. So where does this 'adventure' take us, Iruka-kun?" she asked, curious.
Iruka just grinned.
(oOoOo)
It was a clearing full of fireflies and the view of the moon was picture perfect. Itachi's breath was taken away at the sight. "Ir-Iruka-kun...it's beautiful!" she gasped.
"Yeah, I discovered this place a few years ago, just some time after Kyuubi's attack. I found that it helped me get through the worst pain of my life. I come here a lot whenever I'm restless." Iruka explained.
Itachi squeaked as she felt herself being pulled close and down as Iruka sat down on the grass holding her close to him. Itachi smiled and sighed contentedly. She was together with her boyfriend in a place where no one could catch them. "...I love you, Iruka-kun..." she murmured.
Iruka nuzzled the crown of Itachi's head. "I love you too, Itachi-chan." He whispered back.
Itachi shifted herself so she could make eye contact with him. "Take me here again sometime, please."
Iruka smiled. "As you wish." and then he kissed her softly.
(oOoOo)
By the time they returned to the Uchiha compound, the position of the moon indicated it was nearing three o'clock.
Iruka pulled out a grappling hook from his pouch, and tossed it through Itachi's window. He tugged it to ensure that it stayed. "Okay, you can go back up to your room. It's safe." He said, pulling Itachi into a tight hug and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Itachi nodded and climbed the wall into her room. She jumped inside and turned back around to toss the grappling hook back down to Iruka. "Goodnight, Iruka-kun." She blew a kiss to him.
Iruka returned the kiss. "Sweet dreams, Itachi-chan."
And then Itachi closed the window, melted onto her bed, and dreamt wonderful shoujo-type dreams of her Prince Charming.
(oOoOo)
DM: Imotou-chan, your work on the ending for the chapter was excellent! I'm so proud of you!
JM: Awww, you really think so? XD
DM: Yep, you did a great job!
JM: To serve as a reminder to you readers, I wrote most of this chapter since it was my turn to shine (although there's, like, plankton of difference in mine and nii-chan's styles...)!
DM: I'm better at action and humor, Imotou-chan knows more about romance, which this chapter was filled with.
JM: Oooh! I love this song! (deviates) Okay, anyway, please leave those reviews that feed us happiness!
DM: And don't ask for rapid updates, this story takes a lot of time to write per chapter and real life sometimes doesn't let us feel like writing.
JM: Yeah, real life's a bitch.