Thanks for the reviews... Ihope you enjoy the chapter and don forget to leave a small review if you enjoy; we are reaching the end and so far i hope you've liked it... :) see ya weasels!
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Beneath the surface

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Naruto leaned down and kissed Kushina's forehead as she smiled tiredly… he pinched her nose lightly and walked out of the bedroom… His wavy cloak fluttering behind him as he headed for his bedroom he wanted to kiss Hinata good bye; he had lots of work to do.

He stopped in the doorway as he stared at her as she combed her hair in front of the mirror; he hadn't lie before when he had told Sakura he had married a princess, the problem was he wasn't a prince.

Heaving a loud sigh he walked over and sat on the bed facing her profile and she turned to look at him with curious eyes; she quickly tied her hair in a low ponytail and then turned to him their knees barely touching.

"I'm going now…" Naruto said with a hopeful smile; Hinata gave a small smile and nodded.

Naruto dreaded her kind demeanor more so than when she was obviously upset which happened scarcely, but right now he could feel it beneath the surface.

"Have a good night, then." She curtly replied…

The same kind of answer a clan member gave away; someone that had been part of a clan for their whole life, much like Neji would answer, Shino, Sasuke even Shikamaru and Chouji.

"Won't you tell me what's bugging you, Hinata?" he asked and watched her face flushing and the fidgeting begun. "We've been married for a while and I think it's time you start opening up to me…" he muttered.

"I am really sorry, Naruto. I didn't mean to be like this." She said with a heavy blush and he knew she wouldn't voice her worries.

"Is it about Sakura-chan?" he asked and watched as she lowered her eyes to her lap. "I don't know why I ask; it is always been about her." He sighed and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine. I just cannot… go with it sometimes." She blurted and blushed because she knew how much Naruto cared for all his friends, not just Sakura.

"Hinata… Who did I marry?" he asked softly staring at her pale eyes.

"Me…" she whispered softly.

"And who's the mother of my children?" he asked once again and she felt relaxed upon realizing her own mistake.

"I am…" she muttered softly.

"Sakura-chan is my friend, my closest friend aside from Sasuke… I love her way too much and the kind of love I have for her is too different from the kind of love I have for you, the bonds cannot be compared… you are important in my life just like she is… Please don't turn this into a more dramatic scene…" he pleaded and she nodded with a small smile.

"I am sorry, Naruto. I know how big your heart is and I love you for that…" she leaned over and pecked his lips softly. "I love you, Naruto." She said regarding his blue eyes.

"I love you too, Hinata…" he hugged her tightly and heaved another sigh of relief knowing the mess was fixed. He'll have to thank Sasuke.

…

It had been a movie's night in the Uchiha's residence and so there was huge mess in the living room, they had been too tired from planting most of the tulips' seeds and they hadn't cleaned afterwards and then Sasuke had trained with Fugaku and now the three members were sleeping soundly in the living room.

They were so tired the TV was on the whole night; Sasuke was awakened by a soft knock on the door and as he opened his eyes he saw Mikoto's head on his chest and Fugaku's feet over her torso…

The knock came again and he softly pushed his daughter off him; he grunted upon the mess and tiredly walked over to the door yawning widely and scratching his head.

He hadn't realized he was only wearing trunks and no shirt and so he was surprised when he opened the door and the woman in front of him gasped loudly as she buried her face in her hands.

"Put something on!" she yelled and Sasuke actually blushed under the sensation of dejá vú that invaded him as he crossed his arms over his chest shrugging in shame.

"Haruno-san… please come in." he said making way for her to come in.

She was blushing furiously, but her eyes showed it wasn't because she was pleased to see his carved chest.

"Where's Sakura…? I think I should talk to her first." She said rather haughty as she walked inside.

"She's been gone on a mission for 3 days already…" he supplied and watched in fear as she walked over to the living room as if she owned the place.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at the mess…

"Oh dear lord… You plan to kill my grandchildren? Are they even eating properly?" she asked as she crouched and picked an unfinished bag of chips from the wooden floors.

"Hn…" Sasuke grunted in annoyance as he followed her with his eyes.

She stared down at Mikoto who was sleeping soundly on the couch with her brother's legs dangling over her torso. Her eyes went to the boy who was currently drooling upside-down; his long loose hair reaching the floor.

She stretched her hand to touch his cheek, but his eyes blearily opened at that moment and she flinched in fear of angering him.

"He's just a kid, Haruno-san." Sasuke supplied walking around picking the garbage while Fugaku sat properly mumbling something about his head aching and the blood accumulating on his head.

She waited until Fugaku was fully awake and then he pushed Mikoto roughly sending her to the carpeted floor along with her drool; Aki gasped a bit and the grimace was obvious on her face and then Fugaku looked up from the couch as Mikoto rolled over and kept sleeping.

Aki stared down at the handsome boy and for a moment there it was as if she could understand one of the many reasons why her daughter would bear this man's children; his hair was a mess and his eyes barely opened trying to recognize her.

"Fugaku won't you greet our visitor?" Sasuke crossed his arms behind the woman as Fugaku raised a quizzical eyebrow at the woman.

"Uh… hello…" He trailed off scratching the back of his head with confusion, but when the woman smiled ever so softly he then recognized her and with wide eyes he stood from the couch and regarded her with apprehension.

"Good morning, Fugaku…" she said softly afraid that the boy would flee.

"Right…" he was clearly uncomfortable. "What is she doing here, Sasuke?" Sasuke rolled his eyes at the way his son had called him knowing the woman would find a way to be worried about that too.

"I told her she could come over whenever she wanted to… She's your grandmother, Fugaku." He said and the boy finally glared up at the woman.

"That's just like you isn't it… being related to my mother doesn't make her my grandmother…" he grunted and Aki widened her eyes at his bluntness as Sasuke sighed next to her.

"It'll take time…" he sighed.

…

Cleaning the mess took her like an hour with Mikoto's help while Sasuke spoke with Fugaku about his manners in front of his grandmother…

While Aki had a great time cleaning with her easygoing daughter Sasuke was going through hell trying to make Fugaku understand he couldn't go through life hating people.

"Don't worry about him, grandma…" Mikoto said as she placed a plate in the cupboard after drying it while the woman washed them.

Aki merely smiled at the girl that was sitting on the counter scrutinizing her face with interest; Aki was deeply worried about the boy, she had heard the rumors of him attacking the villagers out of being angry and most people was terrified of him.

"You're so pretty…" Mikoto bluntly said and the woman widened her eyes at her granddaughter. "Like mom…" Mikoto giggled.

"You're pretty too, Mikoto…" she said with a kind smile regarding the girls features, but she couldn't help but notice the girl was nothing like Sakura… maybe just her eyes, but her smile… her countenance and treats were from someone else. "You're a lot like your grandmother…" Aki muttered a bit jealous.

"Grandma Mikoto? Dad says I have her smile… and therefore I have his smile, though he doesn't smile often, but mom thinks he's smiling more now than ever before…" she said and Aki snorted.

"She's right. He wouldn't smile when he was put into her team…" she joked and Mikoto smiled.

"You seem to know him a lot…" Aki sighed.

"Well… I met his mother when she was married to Fugaku-san; your father was quite popular with girls and so was his father in our time…" she smiled.

"Did you like grandpa Fugaku?" Mikoto was bewildered.

"Well… of course every girl in the village liked him, but there's a moment in life you need to realize you're not the one for that person, mostly I met your grandpa and fell madly in love with him…" she giggled remembering her husband when she met him.

"You scared me, grandma…" Mikoto laughed.

"Mikoto was too kind for him, but then I guess that's what he needed… they were too different, but got along well… When Sakura came home on day saying she was in love with Sasuke Uchiha I was really surprised, but pleased…" she admitted. "Sasuke was part one of the strongest clans in the village and it was good to know she knew where to look at…" she winked and Mikoto giggled.

There was a bit of silence while Mikoto stared at the wrinkled hand washing the dishes and she wished she could know more about this person…

"Grandma…" Mikoto looked up at her face and saw the warm smile as she washed the dishes.

"Hmm?"

"Do you hate mom?" she asked and Aki stifled a gasp.

Her warm brown eyes looked up from her task and regarded those big green eyes with a saddened face.

"No, Mikoto… I don't hate your mother. I was wrong about lots of things, but hopefully I'll fix everything once she gets here…" she smiled and Mikoto returned the wide grin.

Sasuke was smiling down at his feet as he heard Mikoto's giggles and Aki's jokes about old times he couldn't remember… It almost felt as if Sakura was there with them… he could only wait until she returned from the mission to see her face… but he had an unnerving feeling about the mission that wouldn't leave him alone… she would be back… for sure…

What would she do?

…

Sakura saw as the boy excited the house on the next day and she couldn't help her throbbing heart; what was she supposed to do now that she knew who the boy was?

"Where's he going, Hanako-san?" she asked once the boy was out.

"I don't really want to know, Sakura-san… As I said; Shi-chan is a good boy, but he's on bad steps…" the old woman shook her head.

"Would you mind telling me more about him and his parents?" she drawled with nervousness glad the woman was only a villager and that she was blind.

"There's nothing much to tell, Sakura-san… My daughter was lost in the woods one night and then she came back with the man that saved her… The village we used to live had an awful weather; she came wearing his coat one night soaked to the bone both of them." She sighed. "At the time I wasn't blind of course… He was really handsome with long black hair and deep black eyes; though really quiet." She giggled and Sakura pressed a hand over her chest.

"What was his name?" she asked feeling dizzy.

"We just learned his name… Itachi, he said it would be best if we ignored his last name… he obviously was in some kind of trouble and he didn't want us to in danger, but he stayed nonetheless; he kept leaving and coming always to find Suisen home." She smiled. "I am sure he fell in love and I was even surer when he'd smile and even snort in amusement when he was with her, Sakura-san, that man was totally stoic when I met him!" she laughed, but Sakura was having trouble breathing; that was why his necklace was so familiar she had seen it in pictures.

Itachi had a son and that boy; Shisui, was Sasuke's nephew… and he had attacked her teammates and she was supposed to immobilize him.

"Time went by and one night Suisen got sick, the next day we learned she was pregnant… two weeks later when he returned he came out to be the most astounded man in the world and he immediately asked us to leave the village. He found this house and brought us here… and he left once again." She said seriously. "We thought he wanted to get rid of us, but he kept returning and kept going, until Shi-chan was born and Suisen asked him how he wanted to name him…" the woman smiled. "Like my best friend… I want to name him Shisui… and I quote…" she laughed again.

"Shisui…" Sakura muttered and then it all fell into place, she had been just as blind as this woman.

"Yes. Shi-chan was a good boy and he had him as a father until he turned 4 and Itachi-san never returned… Suisen wasn't surprised and she told me about it… the last time he had come they talked about the possibility of him never coming back…" the woman said bitterly. "He knew he'd die… we knew he was sick, but he said something about finally resting in peace; he couldn't avoid that meeting with his fate as he blatantly put it… we deducted he was killed…" she concluded.

"Shisui-san looks really sure about that…" she said.

"Suisen kept saying that herself until she died when he was ten… he grew up thinking his father was killed and thanks to that his mother's condition got even worst… He's full of despair and melancholy, Sakura-san…" the woman added.

Sakura kept quiet as she thought about it… and then it downed on her that those abilities could be passed down on generations… it could possibly mean that Mikoto and Fugaku could someday inherit Sasuke's Mangekyo.

"So… you never learned Itachi's last name, you don't know where he came from or what he did in the past?" Sakura asked in a soft whisper fearing something would explode if she raised her voice.

"He was a ninja… that much we knew… but he must've had some reason to flee from his land; he never wore a headband when he came home…" she said.

This woman and her daughter must've been living in a very secluded land for them not to know anything about the Uchiha's massacre and the man who had done the deed.

This situation was very delicate, but in the midst of it all she couldn't help a small smile upon thinking about Itachi… maybe he had found some solace when he ran into Suisen-san… maybe he had been happy enough for the time being until Sasuke would found him. Knowing this would make Sasuke happier… she frowned; or even more miserable.

To know he had finished Itachi's life when he had just created a family with a woman he loved could make the younger Uchiha to feel even worst… she didn't know what she should do.

The boy clearly knew more than the grandma; he had attacked the shinobi from Konoha with the pure desire of vengeance, it was very plausible he knew who had killed his father and he was obviously looking for said man.

She couldn't let Sasuke die and in all honesty who was she to stop the boy's desire…?

What was she supposed to do…?

For the time being she resorted to summon two slugs; Katsuyu would find her teammates and tell them about her location; later on she'd have to explain better to them it'd take time for them to get there, but it was everything she could do for the time being.

Itachi had a son…

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How was that? We are truly reaching the end now... so, leave a review if you enjoyed!