I don't suppose it'll come as a surprise to any of you that Sasuke is HARD to do in his broods and people trying to crack into him; ninja-verse with him vs Naruto in both original and then Shippuden is living proof of that. Even if any of us make him EASILY give in, it would be unwittingly making him OOC, which we can't afford. That's the dilemma here with his kitty brother and his outrageous attitude that has his wife and friends turned against him (for the time being).

This drama has to end sooner or later before Itachi gets turned back into a human.

Chapter Eleven

Luau

When he went in that morning, Uncle Izuna was in charge. This made things a bit... easier for Sasuke when he walked in with a smile on his face, albeit forced. When his uncle noticed as soon as he arrived at regular time, the usually cheerful and carefree older man frowned slightly. The Uchiha were prone to sensitivity.

"Nephew, has something happened?"

"Nothing that should concern you, Uncle," the younger replied coolly as he tied his apron behind his back, then turned on his equipment behind the counter.

Izuna raised an eyebrow. "Well, considering this is my nephew I am speaking to, it should concern me greatly. Your brother won't be in for a week or two at most, perhaps until Madara returns - are you the least bit concerned, Sasuke?"

There could be no way that he would know the truth, so Sasuke had to word this as carefully as possible and not give away any hints that he'd been the one to disguise himself as "sick Itachi". The bit about the lack of concern made him angry with mixed reasons. "Oh, yes, I'm totally concerned." Opening time wasn't for another half hour, and he needed to just find some distraction. His wife still wasn't home, she wasn't working because her boss insisted she worked too hard at the emergency room and with her books, so she was staying with Hanaru, Naruto and Itachi, and that was the last he'd heard from her. He could have called her anytime over the weekend, but for all he knew, she wouldn't want to hear from him unless he "got his act together". "You know how it is with aniki. And besides, he's not alone. His wife-to-be is probably taking care of him now at the moment, before she goes off to work on her time."

"That's beside the point," his look-alike relative stated, equally cool. "This has gone on for eleven years, Sasuke. When are you and your brother going to start -" He had to suppress a groan. This again. "- patching it up? I understand all of this because I have an older brother myself, and believe me when I say Madara was just like you, only I was the one to turn it all around. Because you are a man now, I won't speak to you like a child again. But take it from me: one day, you will lose Itachi and not see it coming. What will you do? Wallow in regret and self-loathing for the rest of your life? Shut off those around you...just like when your parents were taken from us. You shut yourself off from me, Madara, and of course, Itachi. Your big brother who promised he'd always be there." Wrinkles appeared between Izuna's brows as his frown increased.

"While both of them are gone, maybe I should insist you take the rest of the week off."

Sasuke froze. Was his uncle...? "But I just got here!"

"I mean, when the day is over, you can leave and spend the rest of the week with your wife and friends." He raised an eyebrow then. "Unless you and Sakura...?" Well, I guess no hiding it. Sasuke sighed and shrugged.

"She's fed up. She is staying with Hanaru and Itachi, helping him out, because it's gone far enough." A half-truth, but it was enough for his uncle to lift his chin.

"Well, I agree with her. After today, I suggest you start thinking about how you've pushed away everyone trying to help you, including the one you used to love to death when you were boys. Maybe that's why Itachi left you at the altar; he wanted to teach you a lesson the hard way."

~o~

"You poor man," Tsunade cooed as she reached over to scratch the kitty along his back, and he arched into her touch, closing his eyes. His sassy little tail whipped out in random directions. She laughed heartily. "Too bad I wasn't alive to see the last person who went through what you did -" Her gaze and her tone hardened at the same time.

"- but we have to get you back before you become that THING." She nodded at the opened ancient tome which showed none other than his bakeneko form, the two-tailed still opposite beside it. "We got until the full moon to do that, and we don't have enough time. Which is why I already have Shizune helping and gathering the ingredients here as well as in Tokyo for the suiyaku." She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully as if trying to think of how to word the next part carefully.

"It will take a week at most, but no more, to have it all ready in time."

One week...

Hanaru closed her eyes and reached to take Itachi into her arms. He purred and nuzzled into her shoulder, his soft, warm breath making her shiver. She kissed him on the back of the head. "Assuming nothing happens in the week," she said to her grandmother, then added quickly at the flare in honey-hued eyes, "Not that I am doubting you or Shizune."

Shizune had been Tsunade's apprentice when her grandmother had been in the medical field. She was also the niece of Tsunade's first boyfriend before she married Jiraiya. He'd been in the service for their country, before being brutally maimed and brought home in critical condition. Tsunade had nearly left her career and her life when she failed to save him, just like she'd also lost her younger brother Nawaki on the medical table. So much had happened in Grandma's life - and then her own son, my father, had been slain along with his wife by one they tried to put away.

Since Tsunade retired a few years ago, Shizune had opened her own medicinal herb and remedy shop, and kept a private practice of her own. She didn't go into the hospital unless it was a major emergency.

In this case, it was a HELL of an emergency but without the involvement of the hospital.

"Oh, believe me, I have been thinking the same thing. A lot can happen in a week - but that doesn't mean we can't do anything about it," Tsunade reminded her, winking, then turned her attention to Naruto. "What's the update on how your friend the Duck is taking this?"

Naruto groaned and began to count off fingers. "Well, first of all, he quacks like he doesn't care his brother's a cat. Second, his wife is fed up now, not that we blame her. And third, he had to go out on Saturday to get drunk - like that would help!" He slammed that palm flat down on the coffee table surface; the sound that echoed would have made one guess the whole table cracked in half.

Tsunade shook her head, closing her hands in front of herself and leaning back. Itachi regarded her with a few lifts of the head up and down, mewing, before leaving Hanaru and going to sit in the older woman's lap. She laughed in her throat and scratched him under the chin, making him purr and close his eyes. Then she exhaled sharply. She'd been one of many to call Itachi Uchiha the "Ice Prince", and she DID threaten his manhood if he hurt her precious granddaughter, but getting to know him as a person, she really thought her granddaughter made an excellent choice after years of trial and error. There had even been a slight tinge of pink in Tsunade's cheeks that made Jiraiya risk a punch to his jaw after he pointed out that the sexy Uchiha was their granddaughter's. Oh, and let's not forget the time he thought to announce that he found inspiration for the male lead in his next book.

Speaking of book, if things turned out better in the end, she might as well start a new one of her own based on these events. Hanaru smiled for a second before turning back to serious.

The front door opened, right on time. "Oh, Tsunade-san, what a surprise," Sakura said with a beam as she closed the door behind her, groceries in hand. "Is anyone in the mood for freshly caught salmon?"

The older blonde woman closed her eyes and broadly smiled ear to ear. "Something better than the take-out Jiraiya and I went crazy with over the weekend. And to make sure no one goes insane obsessing over what could happen in the end, I'm going to step up and see that everyone enjoys the rest of this vacation you all have!" she declared, picking up the cat and holding him up before her eyes. He mewed and flicked out his tail behind him, making everyone laugh.

Now that Grandma is here, nothing seems so hard now.

"Alright, I'll get the side dishes ready!" Naruto announced proudly, jumping up. "Ramen, rice and every sushi plate! And Sakura, your mom's dumplings for dessert!"

At the same time, Hanaru heard her ringtone, and narrowed her eyes when she saw Sasuke's name. Seeing this, Naruto bared his teeth, Tsunade narrowed her eyes, Sakura snorted, and Itachi hissed.

~o~

Oh, the bastard thought he could show up with tri-colored dumplings, did he? Naruto thought disgustedly at the sight of the teme himself in his dark blue t-shirt and jeans, holding a familiar pink box, half an hour later after the call in which Sasuke had PLEADED with all of them to let him come, and to let him see his brother.

"Sasuke, you really expect us all to easily accept you after the shit you pulled off?" Hanaru demanded, right after a blow to his cheek that would have sent him off his feet, but it was enough to make him blink, as well as make Sakura stifle giggles, Tsunade leaning back with a proud gaze. Itachi mewed and stood on all fours, his tail straight in the air, appraising her.

Rubbing his cheek, Sasuke cleared his throat and shook his head.

"No, I don't. I just want to...be there for my brother, but I won't waste time and say a useless apology that doesn't mean anything. I do want to admit that I am...the bastard you all say I am." He swallowed. "It's not every day a man confesses that. But can you all please let me back in so I can spend more time around my brother -" He looked right at Itachi who blinked and let his tail drop, thumping onto the table surface. "- before I lose him for good?"

O...kay...

He'd been rendered speechless before, and so had Sakura. Never in their years did they think they'd hear Sasuke Uchiha of all people admit - "Well, about time you came to your senses," Tsunade said coolly, leaning back forward, hands in her lap now.

Sakura pursed her lips as she regarded her husband thoughtfully, fingering the thin rose-gold band around her finger as if contemplating to remove it - but it never happened. Naruto never dared to ask her about it, but did she consider separating from him after all because of his brother turning into a cat, therefore turning both their lives - his and Itachi's - upside down once again? After all, deciding after causing his brother and their uncles trouble in teenage years to get married after receiving his diploma? This sounded like it was beside the point, but mistakes had been made long enough.

Was Sasuke starting to get his head in the game? Was he looking back now? Naruto would not pretend that the teme wasn't breaking completely yet. His old rival turned friend might be the oldest monument to the head, but he also could easily be cracked emotionally with the right amount of pressure. And lately with more than one person, that might as well be the case, if taking a slow step at a time. Confidence swelled in him then and there. Sasuke Uchiha, you're gonna have to grow up eventually and move past that trouble you caused your brother and yourself since you have no better way to deal with pain.

Finally, Sakura spoke. "Good, because now I don't want to slap you again," she said frostily, the ghost of a smile pulling both sides of her face. Sasuke's eyes shone a little in that he was happy she couldn't stay mad at him forever.

Sasuke's attention fell down to his brother who had made his way onto the floor, and was now sauntering over to him, purring and mewling as he rubbed himself against Sasuke's legs. The show would make both the hardened and soft-hearted melt into one entity. Itachi wasn't the bad guy, and neither was Sasuke - but neither were blameless at a degree, either.

Sasuke handed the pink box of dumplings to Hanaru, who remained tight in the face and carefully watching, before he knelt down and scratched his feline brother behind the ears and down the back, making the kitty arch into his touch, and then both hands picked the animal up to hold against him. Itachi put both his paws on his younger brother's chest and meowed, as if to say, "I'm sorry, Sasuke...but you need to do more than this." Naruto wasn't stupid to miss that. This was sibling love-hate, two sides of the same coin.

Itachi really loves his brother. He loves him so much he wanted to do anything, but he grew tired that he let Sasuke make his own decisions - even if he feels like he failed in more ways than one. It takes the right person to see the "Ice Prince" that is Itachi Uchiha.

Hanaru, my big sister, knew what she was doing with him, and she couldn't have picked a better man...even if the man is in the physical form of his animal half.

Wasn't it funny how something impossible to the rational mind could be used to bring people together in crisis?

~o~

Now, weren't the last couple days interesting or what? She counted them off in her head instead of with her fingers like her brother. Sasuke and Itachi's uncle Izuna had given the younger the rest of Spring Break off of work to get his act together; the pretense was that Itachi was out sick because of an unexpected flu, likely to return around the time Madara came back from his trip abroad. Oh, yeah, Sasuke, less than two weeks now. All it took was for Itachi the kitty and your uncle relieving you of your job for vacation.

Hanaru did not regret giving him the slug of the century, which was what all the women in her family were notorious for, and so was Sakura and several others of their girl friends. In fact, she enjoyed it as much as she enjoyed hearing him admit his asshole nature, his childishness.

So, he brought his aniki's favorite dango, but that wouldn't be enough. At least it's a start. She thought this with a sigh which would be the last one for that Monday evening which had gotten better since Grandma Tsunade came, and Sakura brought with her a fresh-caught salmon ready to be seasoned and grilled for all of them, coupled with the sake Tsunade brought with her from Shukuba Town as well as the sides Naruto promised, ending with the dumplings brought home by Sasuke. Itachi had devoured the fish like a pig than he did before, and if he wasn't careful, he might become a fat little cat - oh, the fantasies that made her stomach flip-flop! - and would appear with more weight on his sexy body when they got him back as a human.

Wednesday came, and none other than Gaara - one of her brother's closest friends - as well as his brother and sister were hosting a luau on the local beach as the sun was setting. Tsunade insisted on all of them going, and she was bringing Jiraiya with her for the ride, much to her husband's chagrin. But it wasn't like he was going to cheat on her; she might have him check out the ladies from afar for "inspiration" for his next book...and that was the last thing Hanaru wanted to know about while they were here at the beach, surrounded by torches and a bonfire lit, lush flowers splattered across the sand in an array of color to match the sky.

Hanaru wore an ivory bikini with gold accents, a rosy hued sarong around her waist; Sakura's one-shouldered two-piece was twisted into a bandeau style and blushing to match her hair, beneath an airy white dress printed with vibrant red blossoms at the hem. And Hinata wore a high-low ivory dress over her strapless, flattering printed one-piece. Even Tsunade got herself for the beach in a ruffled, off-shoulder dress of turquoise to match the incoming waves on the shoreline.

Oh, Naruto had to make everyone laugh with his bright orange trunks, but they all accepted it was him. Sasuke's t-shirt was black as his trunks were blue, and Jiraiya looked like he was going on a safari in his crisp white shirt and khakis. My grandparents are good-looking today as they were when they were younger - I wonder if that will happen to me and Naruto one day. But she never cared to obsess over one thing too long...except when it involved a serious crisis.

"Gaara! Hey, Gaara!" Naruto screamed as he ran over to his red-haired friend, throwing his arms around the other for a big bear hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Naruto," Gaara answered, patting him on the back before being the first to break up the embrace, and his brother Kankuro - who, by the way, looked good without his usual face makeup that he wore every day for some reason - and sister Temari, who was with Shikamaru since last year, came to repeat the ritual before moving onto the rest. However, with Sasuke, it should be obvious that some found him unlikely to be true friend material.

To see how everyone reacted at the joining of Tsunade and Jiraiya was priceless, but welcoming. Tonight was the greatest time they had, friends and loved ones together - herself and her fiancé while he was in kitty form, as well as her brother and his girlfriend, Shikamaru and Temari, Tenten, Lee, Choji, Ino and Sai, and the rest - but with one missing among them. Neji was currently stable, and his family was still being there. However, to get this off her chest to herself, every single one of them would go and visit him tomorrow.

Itachi was allowed to wander about, receiving coos and praises from everyone - and Akamaru recognized him and growled, making the cat hiss right back, but Kiba was there to hold his beast back. In return, Hanaru lifted her chin and proudly reminded him to keep the dog away from her precious kitty.

At the end of the night, after a sumptuous cuisine from sushi to curry and rice, and other barbeque assortments - courtesy of Akimichi family hands - fireworks exploded overhead to signal the jovial night's end...and beginning the next morning with the storm breaking out.