A/N: Haha! Second-to-last chapter! This was a total pain to write. You guys better be happy with it. All's I can say is: Sasuke is far too freaking sweet. Nah. Not really. Still bossy, still rather chilly at times, but he's got a sense of humor now! I know it's a little late in the game to be introducing new characters, but I am. Inuzuka Hana, here, is head of the Inuzuka (totally not canon, I know, but whatever. Neither is Risa. Speaking of Risa, she gets zero screentime this chapter). So, for this chapter, um, warnings? Not really. It's a little dark in the beginning, but it lightens up and stays that way...that is unless you cound a little bit of supernatural jazz in the first bit. Things to have fun with: Sasuke's first meeting with clan heads, mushy Sasuke, and fun with pheromones!
Legal Stuffiness: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters therein. Morimoto Risa and the plot of this story do belong to me.
Last time...
"Naruto?" Shizune reached out a hand and placed it on his arm.
"Yes?"
"It will all work out. You'll see." When he turned to her, he saw that she seemed more concerned for him than she was for anyone else.
"Thanks, Shizune-neechan." He was glad that she still had faith in him. She really was like a big sister. A slight rustle caught his attention, and from the forest emerged a harassed-looking Pakkun. The dog's usual laid-back expression was no present. He jumped over the fence, and came to a skittering halt at Kakashi's feet. The jounin crouched low, conversing with the dog in hushed tones. Once they'd finished, the dog disappeared in his usual puff of smoke, and Kakashi stood.
"Well, I guess I'll take the lead? He's pooped." For some reason, Naruto could tell the man was smiling, even with the mask he wore.
Chapter 10: The Color of Honesty
How had this happened? Sasuke stared up at the trees. His vision was blurring. Sounds were muffled, like he had cotton stuffed into his ears. "Hold on, Sasuke…hold on…" Where warmth had been draining from him, it flowed back, spreading from the gaping wound in his chest. He couldn't breathe. But there was more wrong than just a hole the size of his fist where a fourth of his right lung used to be. With his vision blurring like it was, he figured that the bump he'd taken on the head was worse than he'd anticipated. After a long moment, he was able to turn his head toward the voice that spoke to him.
Shizune was crouched at his right side, pouring her chakra into him, forming jutsu after jutsu, healing one thing then another, her hands blurring so that not even his Sharingan would have been able to catch the seals. Her face was like stone. Concentration was all there was on her features, but her eyes showed a multitude of emotions that made his stomach clench. He suddenly realized that she was using far too much of her chakra at once.
His right hand shook as he put it on her arm. She had healed his lungs for the most part, and he was able now to speak. "Stop, Shizune."
"No." Her eyes flicked to his face, and the word was nearly spat at him. "I'm not going to let you die."
"S-so you're going to kill yourself so I can live?" He coughed, feeling something warm come up into his mouth. It tasted of copper. "You're much more worthy of life than I am. Just let me go. Too many have suffered and died because of me." He looked back up at the treetops and listened to the wind rushing through the leaves, and the clash of steel on steel. Above these, there were the sounds of people grunting in exertion. The others were still fighting Takuda and his goons. He suddenly felt a hand grip the front of his hair, yanking his face up and to the right.
The woman was looking at him with something like anger, but laced with desperation. "Baka. I'm just stabilizing you." She snorted and dropped his head to the ground, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. "I have to think of the whole group, not just you." Then she leaned over him looking into his eyes. Desperation had been replaced by anger there. "But I swear, Sasuke, if you die, I'll learn Orochimaru's resurrection jutsu, just so I can kill you again myself. Understand?"
"Hai, Shizune." The woman moved to stand, but he reached out and caught her arm. When she faced him once again, he said, "If anything does happen, and I don't make it…"
"Not another word about that—"
"What are you gonna do? Kill me?" When she rolled her eyes and made a face, he snorted. "If I don't make it," he pulled her gently toward him. After she was close enough, he managed to draw her in for a tender kiss. When she pulled away from him, his blood on her lips, he continued, "If I don't, please know that I am very glad to have known you." Running a finger along her jawline, he said finally, "I could love you, Shizune." His voice cut off as a short fit of coughing took him. After helping him to sit up and leaning him against a tree, Shizune rejoined the fight.
Sasuke watched. He felt so drained…all of his chakra was blocked. Takuda was good at that, apparently, and he wasn't the only one it had happened to. Shikamaru was hovering to one side of the fight, taking on any of the rogue nins who came his way using taijutsu that was surprisingly good. Other than that, he was useless, having had his chakra cut off as well. There were twenty more of the rogues, but he watched only Takuda, who was fighting with Itachi. His brother's movements were graceful, deadly, and swift. Takuda's main ability was to leech chakra from a person, as well as cutting it off at its source. The effect was temporary, as they had seen with the Kazekage, but it was still a very bad thing if he were to get close enough to use that ability. Itachi, however, was not letting the man do anything of the sort. In fact, Takuda was being forced not only to give ground, but he also was looking rather worried.
The man's blue hair fluttered around his head as he spun away from a sharp swipe of Itachi's katana. An attempt at making a rush at the elder Uchiha resulted in a deep gash down the side of the man's ribcage. Takuda reached into a pouch at his waist, and pulled something from it. Sasuke saw that it was a jitte. That could be a problem. If the man could use it as well as he suspected he could, Itachi might be at a disadvantage. The hook on the jitte glinted in the light that filtered through the trees, and Sasuke watched his brother circle the man warily. If Takuda could use the thing to disarm him, there was a good chance that his brother would lose.
Something strange happened, just then. The wind picked up, and a peculiar moan was heard. Takuda's eyes widened, and he took a step back from Itachi, who had begun to advance on him. As Sasuke continued to watch the altercation, he felt a warmth come over him. It was like the presence of an old friend. This feeling lulled him, and he watched as his brother's katana flashed, raining down blows so quickly that it seemed no more than a flashing arc of light. Then, Takuda's jitte flashed outward, catching Itachi's blade.
As the Rock nin twisted the weapon to disarm Itachi, a look of utter surprise came over his face, but only for a moment. The elder Uchiha twisted with the blade, showing flexibility that defied the laws of nature, and then used that momentum to flip himself over Takuda's head, landing behind him. All this, he did in one fluid motion. Without further ado, he used his katana in the most efficient way possible. He took Takuda's head.
Sasuke began to cough again, the blood falling in a foamy mass from his mouth. The warmth he felt spread over him further, seeming to settle into his bones. He felt as if he were being inhabited by some divine being. There was a feeling moving over his arms, as if someone were trailing feathers over his skin. This sensation kept moving, migrating from his arms to his shoulders, then finally, to his face. It was then that he saw. Vision blurring for a mere instant, he found that there was someone before him, crouched with one foot on either side of his legs, which were extended in front of him.
Skin glowing white, eyes the color of emeralds in the sun, and hair the color of cherry blossoms…"Sakura?" The apparition nodded. "Why are you here?" Sakura pointed to his chest. Her eyes seemed sad, but held a certain message. It was not yet his time. "But I'm ready. I want my death to have some meaning, Sakura. If I die today, I die defending something. I—" One pearly-white finger ghosted over his lips, quieting him. Then, ever so softly, the vision before him spoke.
"There is still much you need to do, Sasuke. And these people will help you." She gestured to the others, who were just finishing off the last of the rogue nins. "They are your friends. If nothing else, you owe it to them to live. Especially Shizune. She loves you, you know." Those green eyes closed for a moment. When they opened, the sadness was still there, but now tempered with something else. Hope. The shimmering vision that was Sakura began to dissipate, but not before she said, "I'll always be with you, Sasuke. You, and Naruto." The warmth was gone. He felt so cold…but he knew she was still there.
--
The blood from Takuda's beheading was already beginning to congeal on Itachi's face. He stepped over the body, and moved to the tree where his brother leaned, coughing blood. "Sasuke, daijoubu desu ka?" The young man held up a hand, and when he was done coughing, nodded.
"Daijoubu. Just a little…winded." Both of the Uchiha winced at Sasuke's weak attempt at humor. Itachi crouched beside him, pulling him up from the ground. Sasuke was now equal in height, and he smiled, remembering how he used to be able to lean his elbow on the top of his brother's head with no problem at all. Putting his younger brother's arm over his shoulders, he gingerly took his waist and started over to the rest of them.
Shizune was tending to Kankarou, who had a mean gash down his back, and Temari was holding Karasau, his puppet. Shikamaru scowled, watching. Kakashi was helping Kiba up from the ground, where he'd been buried under a pile of six dead men—all his own handiwork—that had been thrown onto him by Takuda. Neji was checking the bodies of the rogues for possible identification of their villages. Just as they were approaching the group, Sasuke leaned over toward Itachi.
"So, you're gonna be a dad, huh?"
"Hai." Itachi still wasn't sure how he felt about that. He didn't care what people thought of him, but his child may be shunned, even hated, for what he had done. "Take care of Ino for me."
"We'll see." Itachi's brow furrowed at this statement from his brother. He wasn't quite sure what it meant. Soon after this, they all started back toward the village.
--
"You're staying right where you are, teme." Naruto pushed Sasuke back down onto the couch. Itachi sat in a corner, refusing to speak to anyone. Ino sat in the opposite corner, her arms crossed under her breasts, fuming and staring at Itachi. Naruto rolled his eyes. Shizune was sitting at the table, writing calmly on an unfurled scroll.
"No. I have to go and talk to the Hokage." Sasuke said, a very determined tone to his voice.
Naruto's back stiffened. "You're talking to him now, baka." When Sasuke persisted, he said, "Come on, let's go to the kitchen. We can talk in there." He didn't seem happy about it, but he followed. When they got into the kitchen, Naruto sat down at the table. "Now, what is this all about? I walk in here, and there's a mini-war going on in the living room." Sasuke sighed.
"Ino was yelling at Itachi for leaving. I tried to explain to her why he had to leave, but I think she's all hormonal. She just kept yelling. By the time you got here, she wasn't even making coherent sentences." Scrubbing his fingers through his hair, he looked wearily at Naruto. "I was going go and see Tsunade-sama to find out if there would be any way to hold some kind of hearing. You know, to see if it would be possible to have a more private form of the trial I had, but for Itachi." Naruto started.
"You know the clan heads would insist on being part of it. That would not bode well for him." Killing the entire clan save yourself and your little brother tends to rankle the clan heads for some odd reason. Naruto would be willing to bet that they'd either lock Itachi up for good, or simply execute him.
"I am a clan head. I can sway them." Sasuke's voice was determined. "Anyway, we have to do it soon. He says he's leaving tomorrow before the big Hyuuga gathering, whatever the hell that is." Sasuke seemed restless. He obviously wanted to find a solution that would have everyone as satisfied as possible. "Damn it, Naruto, he's different now! He would no more betray the clan now than I would. There has to be a way. I want the Uchiha revived, and the best way to do that is to have all parts of the clan here." Naruto understood, but the only thing he could do, legally speaking, would be to push for a fair hearing. He explained this to Sasuke, and the young clan head nodded. "Hai, hai." He waved a dismissive hand. "I know that, Hokage-sama. There's no way you can intervene. You have to try to remain impartial and all that bullshit. I'm well aware."
Naruto nodded in understanding. After all, clan heads have the same responsibility, albeit on a smaller scale. "I'll bring it up at the meeting tonight. You're coming, aren't you?" There was a meeting of the clan heads that night, at the Hyuuga compound. Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath then nodded. "Then let me do the talking, okay, teme?" Again, with a nod. Naruto sighed again. All was right with the world. Or, as right as it could be. There were only four hours until the meeting. "I suggest that you pull yourself together, then, and get your brother there. They'll want to speak to him. Especially the Inuzuka."
Upon becoming Hokage, Naruto was now privy to many secrets that he would never have dreamed were true, or even possible. According to some papers he'd found the night before, the Inuzuka had the best noses in all of Konoha. They were even able to sniff out when a person was lying. Naruto had Tsunade-baba explain it to him, but he still didn't understand it. There were hormones released when your mind was under stress, such as when you were lying, and that caused a smell. He nearly snorted, just thinking about it. The thought that Kiba could smell that well brought back memories of their first chuunin exam, and how Naruto had won their fight. He suddenly pitied Kiba for that.
--
"Don't look at me like that."
Ino narrowed her eyes at Itachi. She had known he would have to leave, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it, right? "I can't help it. I want you here." He stood and walked over to her, then pulled her up to her feet. His arms were around her in an instant, and she laid her head against his chest. It rose and fell smoothly, but she could feel his heart pounding away in agitation. "Will you at least come to meet my father?" She canted her head up toward his face, and he seemed nervous.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
She nodded. "Just don't say anything. Let me do the talking. But, that's for tomorrow. For tonight, just hold me. If you hold me, I can fool myself."
"How's that?" Itachi's eyes softened, looking down on her.
"I can pretend that you'll always be here. I can fool myself that it will all be alright." When—no, she knew when—how had it happened? There really was no explanation for how she had come to love him. Did she really need one? He was soft-spoken, like Sasuke, but where the younger showed an outward icy chill, the elder was simply impassive, with hints of the fire beneath the surface. Perhaps that was what the Sharingan did? It let the fire out in a way that was beneficial? It hurt her head to think about bloodline limits. Itachi began to stroke her hair, and make soothing noises. Ino closed her eyes, inhaling his scent.
--
That night…
"Why are we here?" Itachi gave Sasuke a sidelong glance. Sasuke looked nervously at his brother, not saying anything as they approached the main gate of the Hyuuga compound. The guards waved them through, though they kept a wary eye on Itachi. Sasuke inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He was sure that they would have prevented his brother from entering. Adjusting the dark, narrow obi on his gray kimono, Sasuke stood straight, to his full height. Taking in a deep breath, he made his way to the meeting room, Itachi following in inquisitive silence.
When he came to the door of the room, he removed his sandals and placed them on the right side of the door. For nearly five minutes, he stood in the doorway, waiting for admittance. This was his first meeting with the other clan heads, and since he was planning some rather aggressive measures, he needed to seem as humble as possible at first. Finally, Inuzuka Hana laughed aloud and waved him into the room. He stepped over the threshold, then stopped and bowed to both opposite corners, showing respect for the other clan heads, all more than ten years his senior. Itachi, however, did not wait for anyone. He simply stepped into the room after his brother, and when Sasuke was seated, Itachi sat behind him and slightly to the left.
The mere presence of the elder Uchiha caused an uproar. This went on for some minutes until Hyuuga Hiashi held up a hand for silence as Naruto entered. The clan heads all turned to see Naruto in formal dress. He looked very, very different from the boy that Sasuke had grown up with. His Hokage robes flowed around him as he strode into the room, taking his seat at the head of the meeting table. The Rokudaime gracefully removed his hat, placing it on the cushion to his left, and then folded his hands in his lap. He had not bowed to anyone. Sasuke felt nervous as everyone waited for Naruto to speak.
"I'm sure you're all wondering—and hopefully you were being polite about it—what Uchiha Itachi is doing here." A few of the elder clan heads made noncommittal noises, but Inuzuka Hana nodded vigorously, and Hiashi merely inclined his head a fraction of an inch, smirking. "Well, he is here to give testimony as to his reasons for the crime he is accused of. Uchiha-san?" Sasuke stood.
"My brother committed an unspeakable act. Several, in fact." Sasuke felt Itachi wince, rather than saw it. "He left me alive, not ever really telling me why. I have done terrible things as well. I know that I can never really be forgiven for them." He remembered a day not long ago in one of the darker cells in Konoha prison.
"Itachi?"
"Yes?"
"Did you love our parents?"
"Hai. But I was too much like you back then. I realize my mistakes now. What I did then was unforgivable. I killed, but I also drove you to kill. You are the product of my arrogance. I live now to correct my mistakes. Perhaps one day, long from now, I will be allowed peace. But peace will not come for you." The guard then unlocked the door. Itachi stepped out of it, and left.
But peace had come for him. It had come for both of the Uchiha. Now, the question was, how did he make it stay? Hyuuga Hiashi stood, and said, "With all due respect to the Uchiha Clan, how do we know that he will not repeat his actions?" He seated himself again, and was quiet. No one said a word, but many of them shifted in their seats.
Naruto spoke. "I cannot speak for the Uchiha, Hyuuga-san, but I can say that he is not the same man he once was." It didn't seem that he had said much at first, but Sasuke saw Inuzuka Hana eyeing Itachi. Then, Naruto addressed the elder of the two brothers. "Uchiha Itachi, would you submit yourself to questioning by the Inuzuka Clan?" Murmurs came from all corners of the room, and Hana's eyes widened. Sasuke nearly smiled. That was clever. Itachi stayed silent for a moment. Then spoke in his low, forbidding voice.
"Hai, Hokage-sama. I will." He bowed low, nearly abasing himself to Naruto, but not quite. He was Uchiha, after all. No matter how humble they may appear, they bent their necks to no one. When he had come back up to a sitting position, he turned to the Inuzuka. "When do you wish to start, Inuzuka-san?" She pursed her lips, seeming to size up both of the Uchiha.
"We will do this now." Hana stood, and looked around the room. "None may stay, save the Hokage and the prisoner." Sasuke started to protest, but Itachi laid a hand on his arm. When he looked at his brother, Sasuke saw that he was not afraid.
On his way out the door with the rest of the clan heads, he leaned close to Naruto. "I hope you know what you're doing, dobe." His voice came out as a hiss, and he turned to the door, hearing a low chuckle behind him. Only Naruto could find humor in such a situation. The future of his clan stood the chance of being destroyed at any moment, and Naruto could laugh.
The door slid closed with a light tapping sound. Inuzuka Hana leaned in close to Itachi, inhaling his scent. He didn't smell of much. She had expected blood, gore, something. But all he really smelled of was the slight tang of sweat, and nervousness. She smiled. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it, Itachi-chan?" At her words, Itachi's eyes widened, and he stared at her. "You don't think I forgot the gift you gave me, do you?" She pulled out a small leather wallet, and opened it. From inside, she took a small envelope and handed it to the Uchiha. Inside was a flower. Specifically, it was a pressed dandelion flower.
Itachi had been four years old. Hana had been five. He had seen her crying, and had given her the flower to cheer her up. "A flower for a flower," he had said, making a little joke at her name. It was the last time she ever remembered him acting like a human being. That was a long time for anyone to act like a block of ice, and she wondered if his entire soul had been numbed by the icy exterior he had built for himself.
Unlike her mother, Hana was not one for torture. She gauged people's reactions to some things, used her nose, and her knowledge of the human mind—surprisingly like that of a dog, really—to come to her conclusions. The man stared at the pressed yellow petals he held delicately in his palm. He bit his lip. "You saved it, all these years?" When he looked up at her, she saw his eyes, still red with the Sharingan, and wet with unshed tears. His scent was different now. If she were to put a color to it, she would have said that it was blue. A soft, translucent blue. He was remembering sad things. Hana watched as he very carefully placed the flower back into its envelope, and took it back when it was offered.
"How do you feel about your brother, Itachi?" She said, leaning against the table in a very informal way. Her keen eyes picked out the movement of his eyes, his posture, and her nose found his scent.
"I remember how I felt long ago. He was so like me. It frightens me to think of what he may have become if not for…certain influences." What did he mean by that? She wondered for a moment, but then he continued, all the while, his scent becoming a darker and more opaque blue. "Sasuke is my brother, Hana. I have always loved him. For some time, I had the delusional idea that he would help me to gauge my potential. Then, one day, I woke up. I came to the realization that there was no way for me to remain as I was. So, I hunted." Hana wanted to stop him. He was getting off the subject. But then again, he was telling her things freely, and he still smelled as if he were telling the truth.
"I tracked the rest of Akatsuki. One by one, I found them, and one by one, I put them to rest. They are all dead now, each brought back to their village for proper burial, or as their village should see fit." Hana blinked. He had killed all of the Akatsuki?
"Why did you do this, Itachi?"
"To change myself. To atone for things that can never be forgiven." His scent turned white. Hana nearly started. Scents were only white when the person was completely honest. "But I have been forgiven, by the only person that really matters. My brother has forgiven me. Even after I tortured him under the Godaime's order, he has still forgiven me. I don't understand it, myself." Itachi's eyes closed, his posture becoming more relaxed. She had never seen anyone react this way to her inquiries. He had always been a remarkable individual, but did that mean that he was emotionally different from everyone else? Somehow, she doubted that he was. Now, for the big question.
"Did you love your family, Itachi?" He flinched as if she had slapped him, but his scent never changed.
"Hai."
"Why did you kill them?"
"I was arrogant, stupid, and greedy." His white scent filled her head, and it seemed that all things in the room took on a sharper edge because of it. If he didn't become dishonest soon, she thought she might not be able to stand it.
"And you aren't that way anymore?"
Naruto snorted. Both of them looked over at him. "What?" The young Hokage smiled. "He's Uchiha, Hana. He'll always be arrogant. They all seem to be that way."
A small muscle at the corner of Hana's mouth twitched. "Hokage-sama, I say this with the greatest respect: shut your yap." Naruto only chuckled, and did as he was told. He did, at times, know when to hold his tongue. Hana turned back to Itachi. "You were saying?"
Itachi sighed, and his shoulders sagged. "I only want peace. If that's greedy, then so be it. Perhaps arrogance does run in my family, but I have learned some measure of humility. As to being stupid, I can't answer that. But if you like, you can ask my brother, or Ino." Hana started at the mention of the Yamanaka girl. It had, for some reason, completely slipped her mind that Yamanaka Ino was with child, and that Itachi was the father. Hana had decided on her final question.
"How do you feel about becoming a father, Itachi?" At this question, his back went straight as a board, and his scent took on an odd pinkish tinge. Uncertainty. To be expected.
"I know that it's good that the clan will continue now, even if Sasuke doesn't have children. That's not what bothers me. What bothers me is the fact that any child Ino may have by me would most likely be subjected to this village's opinion of me. I don't want anyone to hate my child because of what I have done. It isn't right. It's not Ino's fault, and it isn't the baby's fault either. The blame rests solely on me. It is my burden, and I will bear it, and I will atone for it." His scent had become so thick with emotion that it was difficult for Hana to take in. He obviously loved Ino, and felt very strongly about fatherhood. That was not what she made her decision on. It was the fact that he said that it was all his fault. He took responsibility for his actions. Itachi's scent was white again, having lost the uncertain pinkness. Hana swallowed. This is not the Uchiha Itachi who killed his clan. He has been reborn…
The Rokudaime said quietly, "How long will it take for you to reach a determination, Hana-san?"
"None. He is innocent. Not saying he didn't do what we all know he did; that's not the point. I set out to find out if he has changed." She liked her lips nervously, her hand unconsciously straying to her pocket where Itachi's flower rested. "He has. Bring them back in." Naruto stood, and slid the door open
"Get back in here. Hana's finished." Naruto seemed to be bubbling with excitement, though it was held strictly in check. The other clan heads filed back into the room, sitting on their cushions around the low table. When they all were seated, and the door closed, Naruto's voice came calmly over to her. "Inuzuka-san, please inform the rest of us as to your determination."
Hana stood, and inclined her head to Naruto and the rest of them. "I have come to the conclusion that Uchiha Itachi has reformed." Another outburst of murmurs made the circuit of the room. She held up a hand. "My nose is the best in this village. I know he has told the truth. The question is, what will you do with it?" She smirked at them, almost surprised at her gall. Not one of the other clan heads, save Sasuke, was less than twenty years her senior. She raised an eyebrow at them, daring them to question her abilities.
Finally, Hyuuga Haishi cleared his throat. "What will our course of action be, Hokage-sama?" They all turned to the young man at the head of the table. He smiled in an almost nervous way.
"Well," He scratched the back of his neck, "It's not like he just ran away and did a couple of stupid things before he even made chuunin." Sasuke scowled as Naruto took a pot-shot at him. "He was ANBU. So, I think that two years of doing nothing but B-rank and below missions under Kakashi's close supervision would be sufficient to get him back into the swing of things. That would include weekly evaluations by Hana and Tsunade-sama, as well as a yearly hearing. At the end of those two years, if and only if progress is considered good enough, he'll be free to do what I feel really needs to be done." They all looked questioningly at him. "He'll start to rebuild the Konoha Police Department. It was started by his family, so he should be the one to resurrect it."
The clan heads all blinked. Sasuke included. Hana was pleasantly surprised. How in the world this had happened, she was unsure. She turned to look at Itachi, who merely sat there, stunned. Naruto took a breath, then stood. "Will the Uchiha Clan please rise?" Sasuke and Itachi stood. "Uchiha Itachi, you are to report at dawn two days from today to the Konoha Ninja Academy. There, you will receive your gear. You are all dismissed." With that, he simply turned on his heel and left.
Itachi's eyes wouldn't blink. It was as if they had lost the ability to do so. Sasuke laughed at him. "So, I won't have to look after Ino after all." The elder brother came to a realization. Sasuke had been planning this all along. His suspicious glance was met with another laugh. "You didn't actually think I'd let you leave again, did you?" Itachi rolled his eyes. "Look at it this way, Aniki. You'll be able to watch your kid grow up. That can be your way of atonement. Care for the next generation of the Uchiha."
"When did you become our father, Sasuke?" Itachi's frown actually made him look very much like their father, but he couldn't see that. Sasuke looked more like their mother, but acted like their father so much at times that it was scary.
"The second they let me in the door, Aniki. Oh, I just remembered…you need to ask Ino something, don't you?" His voice had taken on a half-commanding, half-mischievous tone.
Itachi goggled at his brother. "Is that a threat, Sasuke?" He couldn't believe that his brother was all but ordering him to marry Ino. It wasn't as if he wouldn't have asked her, now that he would be staying. The fact that Sasuke could sit there and smile at him like that while telling him he needed to do something was just a little too much. Sasuke's raised eyebrow gave him pause, however. "Hai, Sasuke-sama." He put just a dash of mocking into the title, but Sasuke didn't seem to mind. Just then, both brothers became aware of the large man who stood over them. He was wearing a green kimono with a red obi, and had long blonde hair held into a ponytail at the back of his head.
"What are you going to ask my daughter, Uchiha?" Yamanaka Inoshi's eyes bore into Itachi. After a long moment, he rose to his feet.
"I was going to ask her to be my wife, Yamanaka-san." His voice came out more calm than he felt. He was certainly glad for that, because he knew that if he didn't show himself to be calm enough, this florist would eat him alive. The man's hand started moving toward him, and he readied himself to be strangled. It never happened. Inoshi's hand came to rest on his left shoulder, and he blinked. When he looked at Inoshi's face, he saw anger battling with relief and sadness.
"You hurt my baby girl, and I'll use your guts to fertilize my roses." He said this with a smile, which was all the more frightening. Inoshi then turned to Sasuke. "He has your permission?" Sasuke hid his smile with a cough, and then nodded. The blond haired man faced Itachi once again. "Then, you have mine as well. But remember about the roses." He turned away and strode to the door. Itachi felt as if he were going to vomit.
"Sasuke, can we leave now?" He asked his brother, and then turned to the rest of the clan heads. "That is, unless anyone else wants to give me any advice?" He put all the sarcasm he could muster into his voice. Inuzuka Hana simply laughed and embraced him.
"Welcome back, Itachi. Now, get the hell out of here and go see Ino." She shoved both him and Sasuke toward the door. They complied with alacrity, and were back at the Uchiha compound in less than half an hour, though they were walking slowly.
A/N: Ok, ok. I know I used some Japanese in this chapter. I usually don't but it was tempting. Itachi asks "Sasuke, Daijoubu desu ka?" which means "Sasuke, you okay?" Daijouju also means "okay" or "I'm okay," so Sasuke said "Daijoubu." meaning, "I'm okay." Inuzuka Hana's name has a double-meaning. 'hana' can mean "flower," but it can also mean "nose." Oddly enough (and I so did not know while I was writing it, but it's actually really accurate to the character). Sasuke calls Itachi "Aniki," which has a familiar connotation, something like "big brother." Don't ask me about the actual literal meaning. I'm too lazy to do that much research. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. I'm looking for a beta-reader for my newer stuff. Victims? Er, that is, volunteers?