Chapter 36

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Chuck17 – Whoops, thanks for the spot, change made.

Hey all, this chapter has a scene that skirts the boundary between orange and lime so while it's a far cry from a full-blown lemon I thought I'd let you know, Foretold is forewarned and all. Enjoy!

A Day in the life of - Itachi

The door to Itachi's temporary room opened, "Alright Itachi, I'm discharging you today but there are a few conditions I'm going to impose on you and you will follow them," Tsunade firmly stated as she strode into the room. Itachi remained sat on the edge of the bed he'd been confined to for the previous week.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," he replied in a monotone voice, he deliberately tried to sound as neutral of tone as possible, he really didn't want to get shouted at by her again. "The first condition; you will henceforth present yourself to either me or Shizune once a month minimum for follow up checks to ensure you are still healthy." He just nodded.

"The second condition," she continued apace. "If you so much as splutter when you shouldn't, you are again immediately required to present yourself again to either me or Shizune," he nodded again.

"And the third and final condition. If I so much as suspect you're withholding health problems from me again I'll have you pulled from active service for far longer than you'd like. The Hokage has already given me permission to do so." Again, he just nodded in silence.

The firm and fierce look on her face faded away, replaced by something akin to compassion. She moved next to the bed and sat down next to him on the mattress. "Like I told you the other day, another month or two and it would have become terminal, I'd have only been able to prolong your life at that point. You're too important to too many people to throw your life away because you refused to get help."

There was a question she hadn't yet asked him, a question she'd put it off until he was healed. "Itachi-san, why didn't you tell anyone?"
"There were more pressing matters for me to concern myself with," he answered following a long moment of silence. "You're talking about your mother?" she asked him. "Yes," he replied.

Tsunade sighed. She'd done a little digging already, she wasn't sure but had a feeling it would relate to his sole remaining parent. Whenever Itachi wasn't on missions he spent a great deal of his free time keeping an eye on Mikoto. His worries weren't without justification either.

"Itachi, just because your mother isn't well doesn't mean you should neglect your own health. You can't care for her if you're in the hospital – or worse."

He didn't argue against her, he knew the veteran medic was right. Every reason he'd come up with to not seek medical treatment, while good enough justification for himself would be woefully insufficient for Tsunade.

"Do you understand what I mean?"
"Hai, Tsunade-sama."
"Ok then Itachi, you're free to go. Just remember you're off duty for the next fortnight, keep your training light, your lungs will feel rather raw until they fully heal."

She stood, gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and departed the room, closing the door behind her so he could get out of the hospital robes and back into his everyday clothing kindly brought by Izumi for him.

As he dressed Itachi thought through everything that had happened since Tri and Naruto had forced him to the hospital.

After arriving and a brief explanation from Tri, Tsunade set to work scanning Itachi with a medical Ninjutsu that inspected the Uchiha's body. It took her about ten seconds to find the problem, her hands holding station over Itachi's chest.

Within an hour he was laid back on a surgeons table, a team of experienced medic nin hastily assembled by Tsunade surrounding him. And while the procedure wasn't invasive in any way – well, not in the sense of scalpels and tongs; Tsunade and the others spent almost six hours on him.

It was only after the Medics had finished than Tsunade actually sat him down and explain what had been afflicting him for over a year.

She spoke with purpose, not a single word she said was unnecessary, her explanations were concise yet informative. Itachi had developed an aggressive Lung cancer, it was that aggressiveness that was responsible for its rapid development.

The next day he was back on that same surgery table, it was the same for the two days after that, making for four days in total – several hours each day extracting the cancerous cells and accelerating the division of the healthy ones. It was only then that Tsunade announced him as healthy once more.

While he was relieved to be rid of it, she was quick to inform him that for the rest of his life there would always remain the possibility of him relapsing, hence the monthly check-ups. After she'd told him this, she allowed him visitors.

The ever-dependable Izumi was the first to visit, turning up within an hour of his being permitted visitors. He had absolutely no idea how she'd found out quite so quickly, although he could actually envision her incessantly pestering Tsunade for when she could go and see him.

She had immediately chastised him for not going to a medical expert, and for not going of his own accord. He knew she was only doing it because he'd worried her, because she cared; she wasn't the only one either. His former Genin teammates, his entire ANBU team, they all cared, while it made feel a little better, it made him feel a fool.

All five of them had stopped by while he was stuck in a bed, the three other members of Team Ro dropping by individually over the course of two days. Tri, Naruto along with Hana and Suzushii returned from Iwagakure yesterday, so they paid him a brief visit.

But there was one person – well two who hadn't come to see him, now that he had been discharged he would be going to see them. He couldn't suppress the sigh that escaped his throat as he left via the standard Shinobi hospital exit - the window.

The first of the two was his younger sibling, someone who hadn't said a single word to him since the purge, but he wasn't expecting him to visit anyway. The second, however, was his mother, he'd silently hoped she would show but alas no.

He passed the time it took him to travel from the hospital to the family home by mentally preparing himself, these visits were never pleasant, he'd come to dread them but he still persevered.

With a final deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited.

-(*)-

"I'll go see who that is at the door, Mikoto-sama," a kindly, elderly female voice said to the un-distracted woman. The old woman wasn't as spritely as she was during her many years as a Shinobi so she could only slowly shuffle her way towards the front door, the bottom of her walking stick clicking against the wooden floors. She had a good idea who it was since they didn't knock a second time.

It took her almost a minute to reach the door. Slowly opening it she was greeted to the sight of Itachi leaning against a wooden support, his arms folded in front of him. "Itachi-sama, welcome," she cheerfully greeted, the two exchanging a brief hug.

"Hello Tetsudai-sama [1] and I've told you, you don't need to use the Sama honorific for me, it feels weird," he greeted her in return. "And I've told you just as often young man that I'll drop the honorific as soon as you do," she reminded him with a smirk.

He always seemed to forget that, so much so in fact that Tetsudai was becoming more and more convinced that he humoured her by doing it deliberately.

She stepped aside to let him in, "How is she?" he tentatively asked as she shut the door. "No change I'm afraid, she's still buried up to the neck in the tasks of running a clan and general paperwork," she answered as she began to lead him through the house.

"Is she eating and sleeping properly?"
"Absolutely, you know those are the two things I refuse to budge on, even if I have to force her to eat and have to drag her to her bed and restrain her in it," she said firmly. "Good," he said, a little relief slipping through in his voice.

"I'm just glad to see you well Itachi-sama, Tsunade-sama's number two Shizune-san stopped by to let me know you weren't well, it sounded very serious."
"Arigatou, Tetsudai-sama. And yes, it was serious but thankfully Tsunade-sama and her medical staff were able to make me healthy again."
"That's a relief to hear, I informed Mikoto-sama of your condition…"

"Did she react at all?" he butted in hopefully. She turned to face him and slowly, sombrely shook her head. His head dropped, "I thought as much," he sounded dejected as he lifted his head again. He put on a brave face, "Is Sasuke-kun home?" he next asked.

"No, he's out with his Genin team. I've heard some amusing things through the grape-vine about one of his teammates, the Nara girl. Apparently, the girl's put a leash on him so to speak so he can't act out," she chuckled.

Down the corridor they went, past Sasuke's room, past Itachi's old room; Itachi no longer lived here, Tetsudai now used his room. At the end of the corridor was a small square room, it used to be his father's personal office although he never used it, now it served it's intended purpose for his mother.

And it was in that office that Uchiha Mikoto could always be found, sat behind her desk tirelessly working through a never-ending mountain of paperwork. She was thinner than she once was, her cheeks looked hollow, her skin was an unhealthy pale white. Her exposed arms lacked the subtle muscle definition present in nearly all Kunoichi, despite having not taken a mission in some twenty years she always kept herself in shape, but no more.

Despite her eldest son's appearance she never lifted her head from the documents in front of her, her eyes never leaving the words written on them. Even Itachi walking around the desk, giving her a kiss on the head and a hug did nothing, she was completely unresponsive.

The towers of paper were piled atop the desk, if you were to look closely she'd see a slight dip in the middle of the table top, so heavy was the combined weight of paperwork. Itachi could only see his mother's face through a gap in the accumulated mass of paper.

Tetsudai leaned against the door-frame and watched as Itachi took a breath and began telling her about his latest mission - leaving out the classified parts, and his week-long stint in the hospital. She didn't say a word, she never spoke anymore.

As he continued to speak Tetsudai was reminded of the few occasions she looked after a very young Itachi. She knew Mikoto hated being away from her children for any length of time, She was utterly devoted to him and to Sasuke when he was born some five years later. To see what she had now become broke her heart. It reminded her far too much of the tragedy plays she loved watching at the theatre.

In the immediate aftermath of the Uchiha purge, Mikoto had shouldered the vast responsibilities of running a clan and threw herself into the huge task of re-organising the clan and re-establishing it's shattered reputation. It meant many long, stressful nights, sometimes continuing to work until the sun rose again.

But she persevered and pushed on, her third child - believed to be a daughter was her primary source of motivation, she wanted her third child to be born into an Uchiha clan free of that dark cloud that had hung over it for generations like a malicious fog.

It was clear to see it was having a negative impact on her health, she was losing weight because she wasn't eating properly, the bags under her eyes grew darker and larger over time due to lack of sleep. This was all doubly alarming because Mikoto was pregnant.

The weeks went by and the stress on her kept building. Her vast workload; Itachi's guilt eventually forcing him to move out and Sasuke's constant hostility towards everything and everyone kept her under constant pressure, it was ceaseless.

Then it happened, one day it all caught up with her. Mikoto collapsed with severe stomach pains and was quickly rushed to the hospital. Bar the stomach pains Mikoto was physically ok, it soon became apparent that Mikoto herself wasn't the concern.

It then fell to Tsunade, a tearful Shizune by her side to complete the unenviable task of informing Mikoto that she had miscarried, that she had lost her daughter.

Those few words, that was all it took to contort Mikoto's mind to its breaking point, her mental state shattered and fragmented. She just seemed to stop functioning, even before being discharged there were serious concerns. They became apparent after she was sent home, while she would chew through paperwork tirelessly and attend to the requirements of the clan but she'd stopped eating altogether and would only sleep when she passed out from sheer exhaustion at her desk.

It quickly became clear that she wasn't able to care for herself.

The reformed Uchiha clan council convened and quickly came to a decision. They assigned Uchiha Tetsudai as Mikoto's personal carer. The elderly woman was a veteran of the first and second Shinobi world wars. She was approaching her 80th birthday and had retired from active duty over fifteen years ago.

But of all the Shinobi who lived to see the twilight years of retirement, most agreed on one thing; retirement was boring. Tetsudai accepted the position in short order. It gave her something to fill her days and allow her to continue contributing to the clan in a beneficial manner.

Her task of seeing to Mikoto's needs meant she now pretty much lived in the house. She received some tutelage from Tsunade and a few mental health experts in the hope she may be able to undo some of the damage.

She regularly tried to engage in conversation with Mikoto but was yet to receive a single word in reply. Despite that Tetsudai was absolutely convinced she had heard every word, that she could still comprehend her surroundings and was aware of anything said to her.

So as she watched Itachi continue to talk to her, she was sure she was listening to every word he said but just wasn't reacting, as if she were trapped in her own body.

Itachi spoke for nearly an hour, the whole time Mikoto just worked through the seemingly endless paperwork, piled high in towers that could rival those of the Hokage.

Tetsudai recognised that his talking to her meant he still communicated with her more than he did with Sasuke. Since becoming Mikoto's carer she'd never seen the two siblings say a word to each other. This household was one of silence. Whenever they crossed paths Itachi would grow melancholic while Sasuke would become visibly hostile.

She almost didn't notice that Itachi had stood again, it was only when he was stood next to her that she realised. It was about time anyway, his visits always seemed to last a little over an hour then he'd leave. She couldn't miss that disconsolate look in his eyes, it was present every time he left.

"Thank you Tetsudai-sama. I-I'm finished," he said to her. While not the tallest he was still nearly half a foot taller than she was and at the peak of his physical prime. But right now she would fancy beating Itachi in a one on one fight, he looked so – drained.

And if asked, Itachi probably would have agreed as he knelt down at the door to slip his sandals back on. Every time he left following a visit, he felt utterly exhausted from having to contain his emotions. He was well known as someone who had a tight grip on his emotions but whenever he visited he had to strangle them to keep them under control. He'd simply burst into tears if he didn't.

"Thank you Tetsudai-sama," he said as he stood, his voice normally passive and neutral in tone was beginning to crack. "No problem Itachi-sama, thank you for your visit. I'm sure your Kaa-san appreciates it even if she doesn't show it," she said trying her best to cheer him up. He only nodded and then left.

He took a page out of Tri's book back in the immediate aftermath of his suspension and just walked aimlessly around Konoha for hours. The sun had was in the early stages of setting by the time he decided he'd had enough. He set a course for what was now his home.

-(*)-

He slid his key into the door, a counter-clockwise twist of the wrist releasing the automatic locking mechanism, opening the door he stepped inside. Closing the door behind him he placed his key on a hook on the wall, the second hook was vacant, he was the only one here. Entering through the front door immediately put you in the front room.

First removing his sandals and depositing them on a shoe rack he dragged his feet across the carpet and slumped down onto the sofa.

He was leant forward, his head resting on his balled-up fists as he stared at the floor. The cracks in his emotional barriers widened as the guilt and sorrow forced its way out from his sub-conscious. Silent tears streaked down his cheeks.

The room darkened as the sun continued to set but Itachi remained unmoved, the tears dripping from his face, the light blue carpet discolouring slightly from the moisture. Not even the opening and shutting of the front door was sufficient to draw his attention.

"Itachi-kun?" a female voice called to him as she flicked the switch on a nearby lamp. "Oh, Itachi-kun," Izumi sighed as the light brought him into sight. "You went to visit your Kaa-san?" she gently asked sitting down next to him, he nodded miserably.

She shuffled a little closer to him and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her placing his head in the crook of her neck and supportively held him as his tears became sobs.

Leaning her head atop his she ran a comforting hand gently through his long black hair whilst staring at the wall. She wished this was a rare occurrence but it wasn't. This was a process they'd repeated numerous times, it was the same every time he visited his mother, he'd return in a desolate mood and wouldn't improve until he'd vented all his suppressed emotions.

"It's ok Itachi-kun, let it all out," she said tenderly.

Despite her previous experience of dealing with an upset Itachi it still felt surreal. For so long he had been the one to support her, to provide a shoulder for her to cry on but now their roles were more often than not reversed.

The moment he had confided in her that he simply couldn't stay at home anymore she'd in effect demanded he move in with her and after some stern persuasion he caved and moved in. She didn't care that her apartment only had one bedroom while Itachi had completely forgotten that fact.

That first night wasn't pleasant, she had never seen Itachi in such a state. He was inconsolable as the guilt weighed heavy on his shoulders. In his own words, he felt responsible for tearing his family apart, for his mother's condition, for his brother's hatred of anything and everything.

Izumi had immediately come down on him for that, assertively arguing that he was no more responsible than she was and that the guilt lay firmly and solely with Fugaku.

The current state Itachi was in, crying on her shoulder made her hate the former Uchiha clan head all the more. 'Self-serving, spiteful, treasonous prick,' she thought venomously.

It took her nearly an hour to calm him down, and that was only because he'd cried himself out. With a pair of fingers under his chin, she gently lifted his head from her shoulder. With a tissue in her other hand, she wiped away the tear streaks on his cheeks and dabbed around his bloodshot, puffy eyes.

"Well Itachi-kun, you look just terrible," she said with a smile, she succeeded in getting a weak smile in return. "Why don't you go jump in the shower and I'll throw some food together," she suggested. "Ok," he quietly replied in a hoarse voice. "Good boy. First, though I'm gonna go change my shirt, it's rather damp now," she lightly laughed.

Itachi's head dropped in embarrassment, "Sorry he muttered.

She lifted his head by the chin again, "Itachi-kun, you don't owe me any apologies, ok?" she replied before leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead. "Besides I know you'll do almost anything to get me out of my clothes," she joked, he weakly smiled again. "Now go on, shower," she punctuated with a raised arm pointing towards the bathroom before walking to her bedroom.

The bathroom was at the end of the apartments single corridor, past the sole bedroom so Itachi ended up following her up the corridor. She pulled her shirt off, utterly unconcerned about being topless being in full view of Itachi, throwing the shirt into a hamper as she turned off the corridor.

When he re-emerged from the bathroom a while later, Itachi liked to take his time showering, he found Izumi busying around the small kitchen come diner. A small cooker against one wall was surrounded by cabinets and work surfaces. The opposite wall had a small rectangular table large enough for only two people that looked out the kitchen window.

"Will be about ten minutes. Can you keep an eye on it while I quickly jump in the shower?"
"Sure," he responded, the neutral, stoic tone of his voice was already beginning to reassert itself. "Thanks," she said rushing from the kitchen.

She was much quicker showering than he was so it was only a few minutes before she returned, her hair wrapped in a fluffy white towel. Itachi was in the process of moving pork cutlets from the grill to a pair of plates, the meat was accompanied by some boiled veg and rice.

She slid into her chair at the table just as Itachi placed the filled plate in front of her. "Thank you," she said as Itachi slotted in next to her.

The table, while small was just big enough for the both of them, neither of them went for the platter spread across multiple plates approach many in Konoha preferred. But then it was more than just the kitchen table that was on the small side, the apartment as a whole was small. What appealed to Izumi was the location more than anything, it was near the mission hall and both the Chūnin and Jōnin stations.

The apartment comprised a front room, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen/ diner, a short corridor and a small storage cupboard. Even with so little room, neither was hurting for space, Shinobi, in general, tended to own little in the way of material possessions.

"How was your mission?" Itachi asked pushing his now empty plate away. "Bog standard, tedious escort mission I'm afraid. Was much shorter than I thought too, only took two hours."
"What? Who on earth hired a Shinobi squad for a two-hour escort mission?" Itachi asked, completely bemused. "Rich civilian merchant with a high opinion of himself and…"
"…More money than sense?" Itachi guessed, "Bingo," she said with a nod. Every Shinobi was subjected to such a client at least once in their career and all disliked them deeply.

"Didn't help that the fool wouldn't shut his trap either. Constantly badgering on about how we must be desperate to willingly put our lives on the line as often as we do for so little money."
"I presume he was only taking into account that he was paying for a C-Rank mission.
"And that he was unaware he didn't justify a B-Rank rating. Not that he needed a squad at all, our destination was well within the patrolled zone," she irritably muttered shaking her head.

"It's easy money though, it'll pay your half of the rent."
"I suppose, falls short of your latest pay-check thought," she complained.

"Now in my defence, it wasn't supposed to be an S-Rank, but for reasons I can't divulge, it was bumped up to S-Rank."
"I know, I know, I'm only joking with you but still, a million Ryo wouldn't go amiss. I could have a proper holiday with that," she lamented as she slipped out of her chair picking up both plates as she went.

"If a proper holiday is what you want then take one, I'm more than happy to pay for it," he offered, picking up a tea-towel ready to dry the plates and other dirty utensils as Izumi cleaned them. She didn't reply until she'd finished cleaning the last item and dried her hands. "Thank you Itachi-kun, that's very generous of you but I couldn't do that," she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek.

"How long are you being kept off the duty roster?" she asked. "Tsunade-sama said two weeks, she check me again after that then she'll decide if I'm healthy enough to return to active duty," he answered as he finished putting the now dry kitchenware away, folding the tea-towel and placing it back on the rack.

"Why do you ask?" he questioned as he turned around, he was greeted by Izumi's petite but beautiful face as she snaked her arms around his neck. "Because I've got the next two days off and after today I think we could both use a good pick me up," she whispered in his ear before kissing him on the lips.

Itachi soon found himself back in his chair, Izumi in his lap with her legs locked around his waist. Their lips finally parted as their need for oxygen temporarily overwhelmed their growing desire. "Carry me?" she seductively asked. Itachi rolled his eyes while smirking, she loved being carried around. With little effort he stood again, easily taking the weight of both of them.

After stopping once or twice along the way to make out again they finally reached the bed. Itachi bent forward slightly with the intent of laying her down on her back but Izumi was having none of it. Using her honed Shinobi flexibility and reflexes she in an instant managed to spin them around 180° and pull one of his legs out from under him.

It ended with Itachi on his back and Izumi straddling his lap. With a lascivious grin and Itachi's hands on her hips she grabbed the hem of her light, loose-fitting shirt and with both hands pulled it over her head, she wore nothing underneath. Casting the shirt aside she placed a hand down on either side of his head and leaned down to kiss him again.

-(*)-

Itachi's eyes drank in the view of the darkened bedroom ceiling, not quite as mesmerising as the sight of the nude woman lying next to him was, her slow, methodical breathing telling him she was fast asleep. But Itachi, much to his disconsternation broke the mould in the sense that most people after having sex fell asleep with ease, not so for him.

No, instead he got to enjoy staring at the ceiling for ages because it was normally a minimum of two hours before he would finally be able to fall asleep. But that wasn't to say it would be two hours wasted, getting laid was surprisingly effective at clearing the mind, it allowed him time to think clearly, without emotional bias influencing his thoughts.

Turning his gaze on the attractive, lithe young woman he had an arm around, her head resting on his chest. Both acknowledged they were not in a romantic relationship but everything else suggested otherwise. It was a bizarre state of affairs, they both lived together, ate together and slept together and while bizarre, Itachi had come to enjoy it greatly.

Back when Izumi had demanded he move in with her he was apprehensive, he didn't want to impose but acknowledged he was fighting a losing battle arguing against her and quickly conceded to her demands.

When he'd arrived he had expected nothing more than sleeping on the sofa or a temporary sleep mat until he found a place of his own.

But that first night Izumi had gotten him to open up emotionally, it had been bottling up for months and at the slightest crack in his mental barriers - flooded out. She'd later told him he'd wept on and off for hours, he couldn't remember that night at all.

The first thing he did remember was waking up the following morning in bed with Izumi, both still fully clothed after a night of using Izumi's breasts as a pillow – something she'd teased him about ever since. She'd had to quickly inform him that sleeping in the same bed was her idea as she didn't want to leave him on his own.

The second night he fell asleep in her arms again, again on the third, the fourth and so on. Ever since then if they were both home, they shared a bed, they'd both grown used to and attached to having a warm body next to them.

That wasn't to say they immediately started having sex, no, that's wouldn't first start until several months later. A particularly strenuous few weeks of non-stop missions finally came to an end, both were stressed out and were able to find much-sought relief in one another. Despite the peculiarity of their personal arrangement, both were comfortable with it.

It was nearing half a year since Itachi first moved in now and in that time he had developed a deeper, more profound appreciation for the woman next to him. She was already one of his closest confidants, he felt confident confiding in her matters he wouldn't have felt comfortable telling Naruto or Tri. Also she, as an Uchiha better understood the pressures that came with being an Uchiha.

His thought process led him back to a question he'd first asked himself a few weeks ago. 'What were his feelings towards Izumi?' or perhaps more appropriately, 'How deep did his feelings for Izumi run?'

He didn't think he knew nor understood what 'love' was, or at least love that wasn't platonic in nature. He enjoyed waking with someone next to him but that didn't strike him as sufficient to fall in love with someone.

He enjoyed her company, he got pleasure out of spending time with her but that was the case for a small number of people and he certainly wouldn't say he was in love with any of them.

He had found another way of looking at it, it was a little more morbid but worked well. 'Who could he live without?' He could foresee losing members of Team Ro, they were ANBU after all, fatalities went hand in hand with them.

Naruto and Tri would both be major loses but given time he felt he could come to terms with their deaths.

But when he applied that question to Izumi, Could he live without her? He grew anxious just thinking about it. Almost without realising, Izumi had become an integral part of his life. He sub-consciously tightened the arm he had around her, he didn't even notice he'd done so until she snuggled in closer, her head moving up to just under his collarbone.

'Perhaps that feeling of anxiety is a sign of love?' he asked himself, he was still unsure.

Shinobi were hardly well-versed in the art of love, there simply wasn't time to develop such an understanding. They became recognised adults when they graduated to Genin, their childhoods ended there and then, not that they had much of one to begin with.

And few found the time to engage in long-term romances as teenagers because they were conducting missions while undertaking their Chūnin Exams or Jōnin trials. As a result Shinobi relationships were fast, frantic affairs built less on emotions and more around needs.

There wasn't the time for multi-year courtships as was prevalent in civilian society. Shinobi died much younger, their life expectancy was only mid-thirties and that already low number plummeted during a conflict.

This combined with fact Shinobi weren't recruited like civilian soldiers were, they had to be produced. The low life expectancy and need to replace killed Ninja meant they reproduced young, There were few Kunoichi above the age of twenty-five who didn't have at least one child. It took fifteen to twenty years to replace a killed Shinobi with a fully trained replacement.

It's partly because of this that Minato was so hated in Iwagakure and why his killing of a thousand Iwa Shinobi was considered a national tragedy, it would take a generation to replace that thousand. The less Shinobi you had left over, the longer it took.

All in all Shinobi relationships were a complicated affair. But there was one thing Itachi was sure of, this was a matter that would require much more thought before he had his answer. He pulled the thin duvet a little tighter around them both and shortly after sleep finally found him.

End Chapter

[1] – Tetsudai is the Japanese word for Helper/ Assistant.