This one took a while. I've read it over several times, changed sections, rewritten the same scene a few times and I think it makes sense? It's not massively plot heavy, but hey. We'll get there.
"Three break-ins in almost as many months. I'm beginning to think I might as well leave the door open," Itachi stated blandly, shutting his apartment door and pulling some dango out of the fridge.
"Well, you're not exactly trying very hard to keep people out," his uninvited guest noted from where he was examining the flowers Itachi had bought a few hours earlier. "Who else broke in?"
"Hatake Kakashi the other month and my students earlier this week. Do you want some tea, Shisui?" Itachi asked, moving to put the kettle on.
"Sure. And seriously? Your Genin kids broke in?" his cousin chuckled. "These are nice," he added, pulling some of the flowers free.
"The flowers?" Itachi turned to glance at his cousin and sighed. "They were for Mother. It's her birthday soon."
"Oh." They both glanced at the flowers in Shisui's lap. The man was tactile and generally had permission to help himself to Itachi's possessions, though Itachi felt a flicker of annoyance at the twisted collection of flowers in Shisui's hands. "Uhm… do you think she'd appreciate a flower crown?" Shisui tried. "If not, I'm happy to replace them. I should have known."
Itachi waved a hand. "It's fine. I wouldn't have been able to get them to her anyway. I probably shouldn't have bought them."
"She's forty this year though right? Is that why you got them?" Itachi nodded. "I can let her know, you know, that you're thinking of her?"
"Thanks." He turned away a moment to pour their drinks, then returned to Shisui, holding his drink out to Shisui's left. "You might as well finish what you started. It doesn't look that bad."
"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," Shisui replied ruefully, taking the tea and putting it on Itachi's bedside table as his cousin joined him on the bed, the box of dango between them. Ever since Danzo had stolen his eye, Shisui had hidden the wound under an illusion, and though he had spent the last five years coping with the injury, Itachi was always careful to keep movement away from Shisui's blind side. Not because he thought his cousin couldn't cope, but to give him a break. No one was ever around when the two met anyway, the meetings secret to keep up the appearance of Itachi being hated by his clan, rather than in semi-regular contact with it.
Itachi shrugged. "How are they? Mother and Father?"
"Good. Your mother is thinking of going back to active ninja work now that Sasuke's graduated, and your father is generally well. A few members retired from the Police Force, so work's been piling up, but I get the bulk of the deskwork, so that's been helping." He looked down at the sweet treat and glanced at Itachi, who waved his hand at Shisui. "Thanks," he hummed, taking a stick of dango and chewing on the first ball as he went back to the flowers. "Sasuke's been offered shifts at the Police Station. Nothing overly strenuous and he's still a bit iffy with me, so I'm not sure how that'll go."
Itachi pursed his lips. He hadn't asked about Sasuke, but Shisui knew he would want to know anyway, which made Itachi glad he had such a good friend. Even if Sasuke didn't appreciate either of them anymore.
"Izumi's also finished her training as a medic ninja."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"
"Just thought you should know. In case you get your ass kicked, you can go see her at the hospital?" Shisui suggested. "That and I figured since you have that picture of her you ought to keep up with her news."
"But you know that isn't the reason I have it, therefore there's no reason to tell me. I'd find out eventually if I end up in the hospital with a severe injury," Itachi pointed out confused by the strange comment. He took a stick of dango of his own and leaned back against the wall, wondering if his cousin was more just passing along the achievement because Izumi had asked him to. It would make sense. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
Shisui arched an eyebrow. "You mean I have to have a reason to come here?"
"No, but you obviously do." He bit off a ball of dango and looked to Shisui expectantly.
Dango stick between his teeth, Shisui shifted to retrieve a small box from his back pouch and offered it to Itachi. "I wanted to give you this before your birthday. I know it's a couple of weeks away, but Lord Hokage is sending me on a mission in the morning and I didn't want to deliver it late. Happy early eighteenth."
Brows drawing together curiously, Itachi reached out and took the box, "Should I open it?" Shisui nodded and Itachi finished his dango, dropping the empty stick back in the box carelessly before opening his gift and pulling out the necklace that lay inside.
Three metal rings were linked by a slim close-knit metal chain and reminded Itachi vaguely of magatama or the three tomoe in a fully awakened Sharingan. He held it up and turned it gently, letting the metal glint in the light. "Not very subtle."
"You wound me. I thought you'd like it," said Shisui smiling, "And I'm not asking you to parade it around. You can hide it under your flack jacket. I just thought it'd suit you."
"What's it made of?"
"Wolfram. It's strong not overly magnetic either, so it shouldn't cause problems on missions," Shisui answered with a soft smile, reaching for his tea. "Changing your mind?"
"I never said I didn't like it," Itachi pointed out staring at the necklace for a moment longer before undoing the clasp and putting it on. "Better?"
"Much. The colour brings out your eyes," Shisui grinned, teasing.
"Shisui," Itachi said in warning making his friend laugh.
Shisui waved his hand apologetically, "Alright, but I was right, it looks good."
Itachi cocked a small smile too and shook his head. "Thank you. I would have been happy enough with a training session though. It's just not the same on my own."
"Nah, it's not," Shisui nodded. "I miss it too though, so I'll try sneak away sometime. But I can't guarantee anything." Which meant it was probably never going to happen.
All the same, Itachi pretended like it could work. "Training Field Two. You've more chance of sneaking into the village than I of sneaking into the Uchiha Training Fields."
"In case Sasuke spots you? I'm sorry he doesn't know the truth," Shisui said sympathetically.
"I'm not. If he knew he'd probably hate the village, even though this whole thing was my idea. This is the better way. I don't care if he hates me, so long as he's safe."
Finishing his drink, Shisui got up. "Well, anyway. I'll hopefully see you around. And I'll try explain my mess up to your mother." He held up the flower crown, which looked more like a wreath.
"Just make sure she understands I had a bouquet and you did that." Itachi smiled, "Bye, Shisui." His cousin gave him a wave and flickered away out the window, leaving Itachi alone once again.
Stretching his arms above his head and feeling a satisfying crack in his back, Itachi waited for his team at the entrance to the Hokage tower. Since this was their first mission, they were to be offered it by Lord Hokage, as was tradition. It did mean though that he had to wait and observe the people of the village as they went by, unable to sit on the Hokage's windowsill to be addressed as most ANBU would.
Itachi actually quite liked watching the people of the village go about their daily lives. From high above, where he didn't have to see the disapproving looks of adults who thought him a danger. Hear them warning their children to be wary of him.
Here on the ground though, he could spot the occasional Uchiha officer in their Police uniform talking and joking with some of the village merchants. It pleased him to see his family redeemed, even at the cost to achieve it. When Itachi had left the clan, Fugaku had urged the rest of their family to take the chance they were given and attempt to reintegrate into the community following the backlash towards Itachi. Some had been more successful than others and anyone who wasn't willing to put in the effort risked being branded possible traitors to the village and handed over to the Hokage and ANBU.
It was harsh but effective. The only resistance met was Yashiro, an elder member of the clan, and Fugaku's most trusted advisor. Itachi didn't know the whole story, but the fallout of a meeting between his father and Yashiro ended up with Yashiro taking retirement and Fukagu showing more humility than Itachi thought his father capable of. He apologised to the Hokage and was actively trying to make this new situation work. All while still finding time to train Sasuke.
Eventually though, he caught sight of his three Genin; Choji and Shikamaru pausing at a merchant, presumably to buy more crisps for Choji, and Ino accompanied by her father, heading straight for him.
"Hello, Ino, Lord Inoichi," Itachi greeted once the pair stopped.
"Sorry I'm late, Sensei. Dad wanted to walk with me since we have the same destination," Ino excused, frowning. "Where are Choji and Shikamaru?"
Itachi pointed down the street. "They'll be along in a minute, I don't mind the wait."
Inoichi nodded at Itachi, eyes sharp. "Itachi-sensei."
"Lord Inoichi?" Itachi asked, hissing in his mind, out. He couldn't feel the Yamanaka in his mind, but it was always better to cover his bases. This is just a basic mission within the confines of the village. Nothing is going to happen.
See that it doesn't, Inoichi's voice rumbled inside his mind.
"Sorry, Ino, I'm getting late too, enjoy your mission," Inoichi said aloud, smiling at his daughter before heading into the Hokage Tower, presumably to his office in the Intelligence Division.
Itachi watched him go before turning to find a pouting Ino. "What'd he say to you?"
"You knew?"
"Of course. He said he wanted to say hi, but Dad doesn't just say hi to people. What'd he want?"
"He just said to look after you. It's fine," Itachi assured. "You won't be getting hurt any more than you are in training and I find the sentiment rather sweet."
Ino blushed and gritted her teeth. "No way, it's embarrassing!"
Holding back laughter, Itachi was spared having to reply when the rest of their team joined them. "Good morning, Choji, Shikamaru. If you're all ready, we can head up and take a mission."
The three nodded and much to Itachi's surprise, Choji didn't open a bag of crisps along the way or even as they were invited into the Hokage's Office.
"Ah, Team Ten. I was beginning to wonder when you would finally come here," the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, greeted, smiling at them in a grandfatherly manner.
Itachi bowed, flushing slightly, "My apologies, Lord Hokage. I wanted to get a feel for my students before accepting missions with them. We're here now."
"So you are." The Hokage looked down at a scroll half open on his desk. "I'd like you to clear out a panda infestation in Chozama Ikiru's farm on the Western border. He's reported that they are destroying his bamboo crop but requests the animals not be harmed." Rolling up the scroll, the Hokage held it out for one of Team Ten to take. "All the information you need is in here, please return when you have finished and report to me to receive payment."
Taking the scroll, Itachi bowed, "Yes, Lord Hokage." His team quickly followed suit, copying his bow and reply.
The Hokage sent them off with a smile and Itachi lead the way back into the village proper. Within an hour they were at the mission site, checking equipment and receiving wireless communication equipment from Itachi, who checked the fit on each of the preteens before nodding.
"So, are you all content with the plan?" Itachi asked them.
"Split off throughout the farm land and find out how many pandas we're dealing with," Shikamaru nodded.
"Once the recon's done, we want to herd them out towards the forest," Choji continued.
"Then we do regular perimeter checks while the fence keeping the pandas out is replaced," finished Ino.
"All the while keeping regular contact," Itachi nodded. He took a moment to show them how the wireless worked before allowing them to go off on their own, finding a vantage point where he could keep an eye on the situation, although really it was a very simple mission he was overcomplicating for the sake of getting them used to mission mechanics.
On real missions, Itachi couldn't be everywhere at once, so wirelesses were important to keep track of his team, as well as have them aware of each other's positions. Planning was also important, and Itachi found it confusing that Ino regularly took charge of them when he had the group working as a three instead of Shikamaru, who only seemed interested in leading when the situation turned dire. Like himself, Shikamaru was more than able to think several steps ahead but had taken up the path of least resistance by letting the more headstrong Ino take point. It wasn't a problem, Ino was a relatively good leader, and seemed to be improving little by little; whether it be by asking Shikamaru for an opinion or simply being less forward in her tactics. Because while Itachi had made every effort to increase their hand-to-hand combat and reflexes, they were, by all accounts, a defensive, information gathering team. Not front line fighters.
Itachi glanced over to the western flank as Choji barrelled out towards the first panda that had been spotted, causing it to run towards the forest and its three companions, which were being guided by carefully thrown shuriken and kunai on wires by Shikamaru and Ino so they could be removed before Choji rolled through.
"Good job," he praised, speaking for the first time on the channel. "You're herding them nicely. Forest edge in twenty metres, Choji." Affirmations rang back to him and Itachi watched as Choji bounced while deactivating his jutsu. Flipping mid-air, he landed rather stylishly and watched with the rest of his team as the pandas fled back to the forest where they belonged.
"Nice moves, Choji!" Ino praised. "I totally thought you were cool for a second there."
"Sh-shut up, Ino!"
Itachi lept down to his team, ignoring Choji's blush, gesturing them over to him with a wave of his hand. "That's the first part down. And the most exciting part," he admitted. "I've sent a Shadow Clone to alert the farmer. Next is a lengthy wait while the fence is replaced. I think the pandas are probably spooked enough so as not to return, but it's part of the mission so…" he drifted off with a shrug.
"I can see why you don't like D-Ranks, Sensei" Shikamaru noted on the comms a few hours later. "This is the biggest drag."
"It's not that I don't like them, I did many when I was a Genin like you, but they aren't very representative of ninja life," said Itachi.
"And they're boring," Ino put in.
"How many have you done, Sensei?" Choji asked.
"Fifty-three."
"WHAT?!" Ino and Choji screeched down the line, making Itachi blink harshly while taking a sharp intake of breath.
"You sat around for days at a time doing missions like this?" Shikamaru asked at a much more reasonable volume.
Since they couldn't see him shrug, Itachi responded. "It wasn't so bad. I got to have dango for lunch every time we did."
"Still. Fifty-three?" Ino balked. "You're not going to make us do fifty-three right?" she half-begged.
"Oh no. I had to do so many because my Jonin sensei refused to put me in for the Chūnin exams," Itachi comforted. "If you three keep performing as you have we can progress at a more normal pace."
Ino hummed, "How long do you think that'll take?"
"As long as it takes," Itachi chastised. "With any luck, we'll only be here for another hour, then we'll go collect our pay and you'll be free for the rest of the day."
"Well, that's something at least," Choji noted, voice muffled in the way it usually was when he was eating. He must have opened another bag of crisps.
It actually took two further hours to confirm the fence was up and stable, but after that, they were able to get to the Hokage Tower and give their report in good time. Ino left for her family's shop, while Choji and Shikamaru went to find somewhere to spend their meagre mission reward.
Itachi meanwhile decided to go train. He had tactics to consider and drills to complete to keep his reflexes up.
As he twirled around in the air, throwing kunai and listening to the series of dull thunks as they sank into targets spread out around the training field, Itachi tried to assess his team against an average Genin team. He himself had graduated at eight, and somehow had been far more adept than the rest of his squad. His father had put it down to Itachi being a prodigy but Itachi wasn't sure that was the case. There was simply an expectation of him and Itachi had worked until that expectation was met. Anything else was for his own benefit.
"Itachi-sensei," called out a voice. He'd felt the charkra approach, but as it had made itself obvious and unthreatening, Itachi had simply assumed the owner was passing by. Clearly he was wrong.
Landing in a crouch, Itachi stood and looked around until he found the owner up on a tree branch.
"Ah. Kakashi."
"Kakashi-sensei," Kakashi emphasised. "I thought I told you that."
"You did. I can't say I care for honorifics though," Itachi shrugged. "I didn't think you did either, or are you starting to feel special, having the Fourth's legacy and the heir to the Uchiha clan under your care?"
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Truth be told, no, I don't. Though if I had to pick a child to be prouder of, it would be Naruto. He has a lot of his parents in him."
"He does," Itachi conceded. "Though he's misinterpreting what it means to become Hokage."
"Ah, he feed you that line too. About being recognised by everyone?"
"Yes, very loudly. Followed by ramen spittle."
Kakashi snorted at that and jumped down to join Itachi in the clearing. "Well. That must mean you still have some social skills buried under that… Uchiha-ness. Care to join Kurenai-sensei and I for a drink?"
"I'm not legal," Itachi noted dryly.
Kakashi scratched the side of his face. "Well… have juice then. Or water." Itachi narrowed his eyes and Kakashi continued, "We're the only three to have passing teams, so Kurenai suggested getting to properly know one another. I don't think it's a terrible idea."
"No," Itachi said after a beat. "I suppose it isn't." Sighing, he looked around at his kunai. "Let me pick these up and we can go."
"Alright," Kakashi said happily, his eye crinkling in a way that suggested he was smiling beneath the mask.
Despite deliberately taking his time, Itachi could only stall for so long before reluctantly following Kakashi back into the village and into Shushu-ya, where they found Yuhi Kurenai already seated in a booth.
"Ah, Itachi-sensei," the woman greeted pleasantly. "Thank you for joining us."
"Thank you for inviting me," he replied with the same courtesy long clan meetings had taught him. He had rather wished that being disowned meant less pretending to be polite to people, but somehow the reality didn't match. It wasn't that he didn't like the red eyed ninja, he didn't know her well enough to have an opinion of her, but he also didn't want to be there with her and Kakashi.
Still. It wasn't like he had anything to lose by coming. And if he ended up on a mission with either Jonin and their Genin teams, it was probably best they were at least on cordial terms.
He slid into the booth and raised an eyebrow as Kakashi slid in next to him. He really wasn't used to people sitting next to him in public places.
If Kakashi noticed Itachi's surprise, he ignored it, more intent on waving down a server. "Sake please."
"And yakitori," Itachi added, remembering the skewers here were particularly good.
"Enough of each for the table please," said Kurenai.
The server nodded, her gaze lingering unfavourably on Itachi a moment before going to fetch their order. Putting one elbow on the table, Itachi rested his head against his fist. "So, we're the only Jonin leaders this year?" he started weakly, trying to figure out if there was anything more to this meeting.
"That's right. I'm sensei to Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino," Kurenai confirmed. "I heard you have the Yamanaka, Nara and Akamichi heirs?" Itachi nodded.
"Not much of a talker, huh?" Kakashi noted.
Itachi rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.
"How are you finding being a sensei, Itachi-sensei?" Kurenai asked.
"Just Itachi, please. And I suppose it's alright," he shrugged. "They seem to work well together."
"I heard you only went on your first mission today," Kakashi said, "Want to explain why?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "I didn't realise it was a crime to want to train with my team before performing missions."
"It's not," Kurenai assured, "Just odd. It's been a month after all. You don't want them falling behind."
"Behind?" Itachi regarded her with a frown. "They're fine," he insisted, resisting a childish urge to suggest his team was probably more organised than either of theirs.
Their drink arrived and while Itachi saw a third cup, he pointedly ignored it. Being related to every police officer in the village, it wasn't worth tempting fate and ending up in Konoha's cells because his clansmen felt obliged to enforce the law. Because they would. They all knew exactly how old he was and ninja or not, seventeen was too young to drink alcohol. Even if Shisui had half-forced Itachi to share a bottle of sake with him on Shisui's twentieth birthday.
"Maybe, but they certainly lack practical experience," Kakashi stated, pouring himself and Kurenai a drink and turning the third cup, Itachi's, upside down so servers would know it wasn't being used.
"They'll be fine," Itachi assured. "I intend to do at least one mission a week from now on and their training is going well enough I'd be happy to put them forward for Chūnin during the next exam registration."
"You would? Registration is awfully close," Kurenai pointed out.
"Of course. Are you intending to hold your teams back?" Itachi queried.
Kurenai shook her head. "No."
"Maybe," Kakashi hummed. At Itachi and Kurenai's curious looks, he explained. "My team… are a little lacking in the fundamentals. Individually they have skills, but Sakura is noticeably behind her peers in ninjutsu knowledge and skill and Sasuke and Naruto don't appear to have a co-operative bone in their bodies unless I threaten to send them back to the academy."
While that wasn't much of a surprise to Itachi, he and his brother had been raised to be very independent, both in home life and in in battle, he was upset to hear Sasuke wasn't succeeding as well as he'd hoped.
"What about having those two teach Sakura a jutsu or two?" Kurenai suggested. "It could be team building, and either way, Sakura has the opportunity to expand her repertoire."
Kakashi hummed and looked up in thought as their yakitori arrived. "Well. Perhaps. Naruto would be all too willing to show her his Shadow Clone jutsu. But I can't see Sasuke showing her any Fire Style."
"What about your team, Kurenai-sensei?" Itachi asked as he took a skewer, wondering if this was the point of their meeting. "Are they doing well?"
Kurenai nodded, "They're all very capable. Hinata is shy, so I'm working on that, but she already has access to her Byakugan. Kiba… is closer to his dog than either of his teammates, but that's not exactly a problem, and Shino is a bit of a loner. They get along well, it's just you can tell they weren't friends before-hand."
Playing with the tip of the skewer in his mouth, Itachi noted these were minor, surface complaints at most. It sounded more like he was at a parental meeting with them all having somehow escaped their children.
"And you, Itachi?" Kurenai asked with a tilt of her head, drawing Itachi out of his thoughts.
It occurred to him that while his team had issues, they were half caused by Itachi's overly high expectations and half by his inexperience in teaching. Which arguably meant the only person there was a problem with was himself, and Itachi had a vague idea about how to fix that.
"Choji and Shikamaru have good camaraderie, they work well with Ino," he started. "Ino's leadership skills are improving with Shikamaru's aid. He's the better leader, but only takes point when the situation forces him to. Choji is obsessed with crisps beyond any hope of stealth, but fulfils his part well in the Ino-Shika-Cho layout. His speed and mobility are great and his comrades are increasing their dexterity and charka reserves to better secure targets." Itachi nodded. "All in all, I'm proud of their growth. Missions with them should be very successful."
He hadn't been looking anywhere in particular when he had spoken, but noticing that his words were followed by silence, he turned to see Kurenai and Kakashi looking at him in shock.
Kakashi blinked. "I've never heard you talk so much."
Itachi shrugged. "I've been thinking on it a while. I've built up their individual skills, and together they work extremely well. But I'm aware I don't really know them well as people. Do you think it would be odd to spend more time with them?" he asked, genuinely unsure. He wasn't the most social of people in general, and the few times he had spent time with teammates outside of missions had felt decidedly awkward, either because Itachi wasn't interested in the lines of conversation or because his companions enjoyed seeing how much they could drink before they decided they could see chakra. Or fairies.
"I mean… I suppose not?" Kakashi said, looking to Kurenai for assurance.
"It's probably a good thing," she agreed. "There's certainly nothing wrong with having a good knowledge of your team beyond their skills."
Itachi nodded, decision made.
Side-note. I don't mean for Kakashi and Itachi to be such dicks to each other. It's just... happening.