Summary

He was 15, for cripes' sake! There was no need for him to be babysitting a bunch of kids! One-Shot.

Itachi/Kagome

A/N: Oh, the things my mind comes up with. I know this is probably bad of me, but I thought this idea was just too cute to pass up! So here we go! I hope you guys enjoy the crack-crazy stuff I've come up with this time! Okay! Ages. Itachi and Kagome are 15. Kikyo is 18. Kaede is 12. Souta and Rin, whom are twins, are 8. Souten and Shippo are also 8. Sasuke is 9. I think that's really it.

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He couldn't believe the nerve of his mother! How could she have done this to him?!

'What, exactly, have I done that requires such an unnecessarily ridiculous punishment?' Itachi Uchiha thought, grinding his teeth as he ascended the stairs, 'I haven't had the misfortune of such a torture since Sasuke was still a toddler!' Continuing to curse his relatives, he recalled the conversation that he'd been privy to over the phone from his mother.

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"Itachi darling! How was school?" Mikoto Uchiha chirped, immediately putting her eldest son on guard. The only time she asked such foolish questions was when she wanted him to do something. She knew that he was doing just fine in school. He was at the top of his class... which was three years ahead of what he was currently supposed to be at. In his final year of high school, and nearly ready to graduate early, Itachi had been easily taking on college courses in his last semester of school.

"School was quiet and easy, mother. You know this," he replied, glancing around to make sure none of the upperclassmen had spotted him. Despite the fact that he was technically smarter than even the teachers in the school, the older kids didn't like a young student showing them up so easily. The confrontations usually ended in fights. He won most of them, but he still wanted to avoid them, if necessary.

"Of course," Mikoto answered airily, sighing almost absently on her side of the phone line. She hated the fact that her son's intelligence made him stand out. And not in a good way. Most people didn't take very kindly to being berated by a fifteen year old with a larger vocabulary than your standard adult. "I was wondering if you could do something for me?"

"It depends on what that something is, mother," the teen replied just as evasively, "If you need me to go to the store, I don't mind doing that."

"No dear. You see... A friend of mine is in need of someone to watch over her three youngest children. They're very well-mannered, so you wouldn't have a problem with them. Her eldest daughter is going over to Tokyo U to apply for classes, and she needs to go with," Mikoto answered in a rush, trying to get everything out as quickly as possible. Knowing Itachi, he would definitely say-

"No. Absolutely not. The last time you let me babysit, Sasuke almost drowned in the fish pond outside," Itachi ground out, glaring visibly at the sidewalk when his mother protested, "I cannot seem to stress enough the rambifications of leaving me alone with three small children."

"Itachi... I already said yes," the older woman squeaked, already imagining her eldest son pulling the phone away from his ear to glare angrily at it, "and you wouldn't be completely alone! Her second daughter has archery practice and would get done in time to get them tucked into bed. It would only be for the weekend! Please Itachi! I told Nazuna you'd be there by 4." The teen glanced at the clock tower rising above his school and almost let out a curse. It was already three-thirty, and he didn't even know where he was supposed to go!

"Mother, you will tell me the address, but this is the last time I will ever do something like this!" he hissed, starting to speed-walk out of the grounds and down the sidewalk. After a few seconds, he had the address memorized and clicked the phone off as he said goodbye. Shaking his head in annoyance, he absently slug his book bag over his shoulder and picked up the pace-

"Damn it!"

-before skidding to a halt and turning the other way. The address was located in the opposite direction he was supposed to go!

"The. Last. Time. Mother."

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Finally huffing his way to the top, and inwardly railing at how many damn stairs there were, Itachi straightened his appearance and took a deep breath. Then, making his way around the beautiful shrine grounds, he raised his fist to the door of the house near the back of the property and knocked sharply a few times.

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"Now, Kaede, please be good for Itachi-san. He's on his way here, so make sure you help him out with Rin and Souta until your sister gets back tonight," Nazuna Higurashi stated for the umpteeth time, straightening the twelve year old's hair and brushing it aside in a loving manner. Kaede smiled up at her mother and nodded.

"Don't worry, Mama! I'll help out as much as I can! That way Kagome won't be too stressed either!" she chirped, glancing at her twin younger siblings and giving them a sugary sweet smile. "We'll be good... right?" The younger ones nodded vigorously, knowing that if they didn't, their older sister would make them pay. Tickle fights would ensure. Mass destruction and chaos would be their downfall. Thousands would die from laughter.

"We'll be good!" Rin squeaked out.

"We promise!" Souta finished, grinning as toothily as an eight year old boy could.

"Mother? We need to go if we're going to make it in time!" Kikyo swirled elegantly down the stairs and hurriedly gathered her overnight bag. Leaning down, the older girl enveloped her siblings in a hug and smiled at them. "Be good for Kagome."

"Kikyo-nee! We're always good for Kagome-nee!" Rin pouted, staring up at her with wide brown eyes. Kikyo shook her head and sighed. It was true they were always good for Kagome, and yet, when she had to watch them, they became little devils.

A knock on the door startled all of them, and Nazuna breathed a loud sigh of relief and strode quickly over to the door. Pulling it open, she smiled happily at the teenager on the other side, his hand still raised to knock a second time.

"Oh! Itachi! I'm so glad you're here! My, you've grown up since the last time I saw you, young man," the older woman murmured, the warm smile never leaving her features as she invited him in. Itachi blinked and the pieces clicked together. He remembered the woman. Nazuna Higurashi was his mother's college roomate, and they'd gotten along rather well. He believed it to be a miracle, as his mother tended to be a difficult person to deal with at times. She was stubborn, like him.

"Higurashi-san, it's good to see you again. I apologize for being late," the young teen bowed politely, removing his shoes and straightening up again, "Mother only just informed me this afternoon about everything, and I was on my way home from classes." It had been quite some time since he'd seen the Higurashi family. The last time had been when their third child had been born. Something with a K, if he could recall.

"I am so thankful for your help, Itachi. Without you, I wouldn't be able to go with Kikyo," Nazuna replied, gesturing for him to step into the hall after her, "It's all right if you were a few minutes late. We're finishing a few last minute details and we'll be on our way." They turned into the living room, where the rest of the family was gathered. The Uchiha counted three girls and one boy, and almost winced in sympathy for the boy. He'd probably had it rough.

"You remember Kikyo, right?" The oldest girl stepped forward, bowed to him, and sent him a somewhat strained smile. It was obvious that she was ready to leave. Itachi nodded and recalled small things about the older girl; that she was fairly quiet and no-nonsense, and kept to herself mostly. He'd always thought it was because she was shy. Interestingly enough, he almost remembered another little girl with bright blue eyes and a laugh that made you want to smile. But all of these children, except for the boy, had brown eyes.

"This is Kaede. She was just a baby when I last saw you," Nazuna announced, watching with a hidden grin as her third daughter gazed up at the teenager and flushed darkly suddenly. It looked like Kaede had a bit of a crush on the boy. 'I can't really blame her either.' Itachi was a handsome boy, even for being so young. Dark eyes, dark hair that was surprisingly long, clear pale skin, and probably a grin that would make any girl sigh dreamily; if anyone could get him to smile.

Itachi nodded and supressed the urge to smirk. He was definitely hoping that the younger girl would be able to help him out with her siblings. Siblings that he was sure were twins. They stood rather close, holding hands and fidgeting together in a way that only twins understood. "And this is Souta and Rin. They're my youngest and twins." Yep, definitely twins, he decided, when they cracked identical mischievous grins up at him. Then, his thoughts turned back to the girl with blue eyes.

"You have another daughter, correct?" he asked, noticing the older woman's lips twitch into a smile.

"Yes. Kagome. She's at practice, but she'll be home before it's time for bed for them. I asked her to help you this weekend, so you won't be completely alone with the younger ones." He nodded and breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least that part of what his mother had said was true.

"Very well. I know you must be in a hurry, so..."

"Let me have the kids show you around the house to get you aquainted with where everything is while I grab my bag." It was as good a hint as any; Kaede nodded rapidly, shyly pointing in the direction of the next room.

"T-This is where we si-sit for dinner," the pre-teen started, tripping over her words occasionally out of nervousness as she led him on a tour. Itachi remained politely interested, suppressing the urge to grin. He had a feeling the girl was a nice kid, albeit somewhat shy like her oldest sister. Asking several questions about how things were done around the house got her to loosen up a little, and by the time he'd been shown the whole residence, Kaede was no longer stuttering, and Kikyo and her mother had left. The blush across her cheeks, though, seemed to be permanantly fixed in its' spot.

Time would only tell if the Higurashi siblings would be little angels or demons from hell.

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Huffing slightly, she glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded. Lowering her arm, the bow drooped at her side as she reached up and wiped the sweat from her brow. It had been a good session, but she really needed to go.

"Ichida-sensei! I have to cut out a little early!" Kagome Higurashi announced, raising her gaze to her teacher to see the disapproving look on the older woman's face. Kagome had no idea why she would be so put out. She'd told her of this weeks ago! Finally, after a heavy moment of staring at her, Ichida-sensei sighed and waved her away.

"I expect you to practice a little over the weekend, Higurashi-chan. The tournament is only a few weeks away," the other woman insisted, grumbling under her breath, "I can't let my best pupil become slack."

"Yes!" With a smile and a bow, the blue-eyed schoolgirl was rushing out of the practice field and heading back to the locker rooms to hurry through a quick shower and change back into her uniform. It was late, the sun had already started to set, and she hoped that her siblings were okay with Uchiha-kun. Even though it had been a long time since she'd seen them, she still vaguely remembered her mother's friend's family. Mostly, she remembered the quiet intelligent boy with the solemn dark eyes that was her age.

Kagome took the quickest route home, hoping to be back before the twins especially drove the poor boy insane. They were a handful enough for her, and she knew that they adored her. But with a stranger? Crossing her fingers, she pounded up the shrine steps twenty minutes later. At the top, she bent to catch her breath for a moment, then strode to the front door and opened it. Peeking in, she didn't hear any screaming or see any disasters in the front room, so quietly slipped off her shoes and tiptoed in.

"Taidama?" the teen called out uncertainly. It was highly unusual that her siblings weren't already tackling her to the ground, and swallowed as she continued into the house, ready for the twins to pop out at any moment. Finally, her hearing picked up the sounds of the TV, and she padded into the den. Poking her head in, she blinked several times, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Souta and Rin were curled up on either side of the teenage boy that was asleep on the couch, Kaede resting on the ground with a mound of pillows and her head near his stomach. Kagome stifled the urge to giggle and crept over to her younger sister, shaking her awake and putting a finger to her lips when Kaede jolted. The girl's chocolate eyes widened and she smiled happily, embracing the older girl in a hug.

"I'm glad you made it home safely, Onee-chan," Kaede whispered, glancing back at Itachi and flushing darkly, "Uchiha-kun was really nice. He played with Rin and Souta most of the afternoon and helped me with some of my homework."

"I'm glad everything went well. The twins seem to like him too," the blue-eyed girl murmured quietly, reaching out and taking the remote from Itachi's limp fingers. Flicking the TV off, she ushered her sister to bed, then headed back down stairs to deal with the slumbering twins and Itachi. Once she got down there, though, Kagome jerked in surprise when she turned the corner into the living room and the Uchiha was slowly scooping Rin up to take her upstairs. She must have made some kind of noise because the teenager turned to look at her.

Oh, how she wished she'd been paying a little more attention before. Itachi Uchiha was a pretty good looking guy. It made the schoolgirl blush for a few seconds before she mentally shook herself out of her stupor and slapped a sheepish grin on her face. "I hope they weren't too rambunctious for you. I know Rin and Souta alone are enough of a handful."

"Not at all. Your sister Kaede knew how to keep them under her thumb enough to not cause too much damage," the Uchiha replied, straightening up and moving out of the way as Kagome came forward and picked up her little brother. He heard the girl grunt under the effort, but she managed to finally get the boy up. He hadn't expected her, honestly, and the only reason he was currently awake was because he'd felt her pull the remote from his hand. It had been just enough to stir him.

In truth, he couldn't be blamed for nearly dropping Rin when Kagome had returned from her other sister's room. The pretty girl had caused him to falter inwardly, which was really saying something. He rarely paid attention to girls as most of the one's anywhere near his intellectual level were several years older than him. But Kagome... she was his age. And those blue eyes of hers were going to make him do something idiotic if he wasn't careful. Adjusting his grip on Rin, he nodded for the other teen to head up the stairs first.

"Are you hungry, Uchiha-san?"

"Not particularly," at her nod, he added, "but should you require assistance, I may be of some use."

'Assistance? For what?' the boy thought, resisting the urge to bang his head on the wall. He was usually more eloquent!

Kagome stifled the urge to snort and pushed the twins' door open. Though Souta and Rin were fraternal, they still found ways to curl up together at night; especially if one of them had a bad dream. Carefully, she put her little brother down in his bed and tucked him in, turning to do the same for Rin. She found Itachi already ahead of her, smoothing the orange comforter and tucking some of the tiny girl's hair behind her ear.

"You're pretty good with kids," the blue-eyed girl whispered in observation.

"Only because I used to babysit my little brother," Itachi countered just as softly, tilting his head towards the door. The two teens slipped out and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Here, let me show you to where you can stay for the night. As long as you don't mess anything up, Kikyo won't go on an OCD rampage," Kagome murmured gesturing to the door she came upon. Opening it, he peeked inside, inwardly thankful that Kikyo's taste in decor was muted to neutral colors and quiet greens. "If you need anything, I'm at the end of the hall."

"Thank you." She left after that, taking the clenching feeling in his heart with her. It didn't diminish the butterfly effect that was happening in his stomach though, and he resolved to never tell his mother of what occured. The sneaky woman probably knew exactly what she was up to.

He would never breathe a word to anyone that he was instantly attracted to Kagome Higurashi.

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A/N: Sooo, you guys like? If so, I could totally keep going. I mean, there would be a whole weekend to write up and anything else I could somehow try to fit it in with all the other crazy crap going on with me.

Let me know!