Crimson Eyes – Chapter 6: Competition

Author's note: Here you go! A quicker update! Although I must admit it is in compensation for the future as I will be studying for my upcoming exams which will be in a month from now, as well as the fact I still have many assignments due. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you for keeping up with this fanfic! All your support really means a lot to me, giving me inspiration to continue writing! 3 I'll do one of those review reply pages one day!

And a special THANK YOU to Kchan for beta-ing this chappie, along with my other chappies LOVE YOU BIG MUCH!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kakashi, Anko, Itachi or Sasuke and are creations of Masashi Kishimoto yadayadayada

"Fancy seeing you here," a voice said to the left hand side of Anko. She turned, and to her dismay, it was the Hatake boy. He was the last person that she wanted to see that night – he already had given her a great deal to sort out within her own mind. She didn't need him confusing her thoughts any further, regardless of his sex appeal. He was interesting, partly due to his mask, regardless of the fact that she knew he looked like under neath it now. It still made her think as if he was trying to hide away something about his past. Not to mention, he always had one eye covered. Anko didn't know why she didn't notice earlier. With this, the air of mystery around him seemed to thicken.

Before she could reply, she heard another familiar voice accompanied by a squeaky child-like voice. Unable to resist temptation of turning around to see who else she had bumped into that night, her eyes fell on Itachi and a young child who resembled him quite a bit.

"Nii-chan, can I have chicken ramen please?" the child's voice piped up. Anko couldn't help but smile – she wasn't really a child-lover, but something about this boy was indescribably cute.

"What if I say no?" Itachi replied teasingly to his younger brother. From the moment he walked in, he knew that both Kakashi and Anko were within. He had a little plan to steal the attention, which involved Sasuke, and it seemed to be working thus far.

"But nii-chan, I really really really want chicken ramen!" Sasuke wailed, his eyes starting to look teary. Itachi laughed and picked him up to place Sasuke on the stool to the right of Anko then looked up and greeted her with a warm smile, ignoring Kakashi in the background. He took a seat next to his little brother and ordered for them.

"Two chicken ramen bowl's please." Itachi said to the chef, before turning his head to give Sasuke a small wink.

"YAAAAY! Thank you nii-chan!" young Sasuke chirped and attempted to give his older brother a glomp but he almost fell off his stool. Anko gave a giggle and caught him before Sasuke fell onto the ground. She placed him back on the stool so he could sit properly and moved the stool a bit closer to the stand tabletop so he would be able to reach his food later. "Thank you nee-chan!" Sasuke said is adorable voice accompanied with a large beaming smile.

"That's ok little one. You're much cuter and nicer than when I first met your brother." She ruffled his hair in a playful manner and stuck her tongue out at Itachi.

"EHHH? You know my nii-chan?" he questioned, looking back and forth at the two. It wasn't often that Sasuke got to meet many of Itachi's friends. He only knew the ones inside the Uchiha clan, and sometimes they would come over and play with him when Itachi was out on a mission because apparently his older brother requested that they take care of him while he was gone. It made him happy to know that Itachi did care, despite his attitude towards him majority of the time.

Itachi nodded and introduced his brother and Anko to each other. Sasuke held out his small hand for a handshake, which she gently shook. It was apparent that they were siblings for they shared similar facial features, especially their dark round eyes. Sasuke's eyes seemed happy and playful while she often found Itachi's to be quite deep, almost as if his potential ran as deep as his glare.

Anko informed the younger Uchiha boy about their first meeting. "You know, your brother was actually quite rude to me. He ran into me and everything! There wasn't even an apology!"

"Nii-chan! That's not very nice!" Sasuke attempted to tell him off. "How could you be so rude to such a nice and pretty lady?"

"Your brother has much more manners and obviously better eyesight than you Itachi," Anko stated, pleased with the child's comment.

Itachi's face was going red from trying not to snort from laughing, but it happened anyway. "Nice? Pretty? HAHAHA!" Itachi laughed loudly. Though, he wouldn't have admitted it when he first met Anko, he did find her attractive. She wasn't obsessed with her own appearance like a lot of other girls he knew, but she did take care of herself. She had a radiant natural beauty which he felt drawn to.

"Nii-chan, what's so funny?"

"Oh shut up Itachi, you know its true. You just don't want to admit it!" Anko actually hoped what she said was true. Although she never really cared about what other people thought of her before, for some strange reason, she felt that Itachi's approval was very important. She wanted him to see her as an attractive girl, and not just another face.

"I must agree with the youngun. I think Anko is a very attractive and beautiful woman." Kakashi said, joining into the conversation. He felt like he was being pushed out of the scene for the past five to ten minutes. Even Anko seemed to forget that he was right there, next to her which he didn't like at all. He wanted her to be aware of his presence at all times. Kakashi wanted Anko to only focus her attentions on him. It was his possessive side starting to surface.

Both Anko and Itachi fell silent for a while. Anko did not feel like facing the reality of what happened earlier and neither did Itachi, though neither of the other two actually knew that he has witnessed the whole scenario. Luckily, they were saved by the ramen, as it was promptly put in front of them, ready to eat.

"YAY CHICKEN RAMEN!" Sasuke exclaimed loudly. He split his chopstick and cried, "ITADAKIMASU!" Everyone at the Ichiraku stand laughed heartily at the boys enthusiasm for ramen – it made the chef and his assistant quite happy. They were so happy that they announced that Sasuke's ramen was on the house, which resulted in an even happier Sasuke.

Anko couldn't help but smile as she watched Sasuke chow down his food, and also came to wonder if Itachi was just like his brother when he was younger. It certainly would have been quite a cute scene to see. It was also very apparent to her that Itachi did care for his brother quite a bit. He often spoke of the boy while they trained and told her stories about him. It made Anko happy that Itachi was to comfortable to tell her about his family life, but also wondered at the same time if he pitied her for not having one of her own. She doubted it though – Itachi wasn't the type to pity others.

"Anko, your ramen is going to get cold if you don't start eating soon," Kakashi spoke up next to her. Her ramen had been in front of her for five minutes now, but she was too busy watching the Uchiha siblings.

"Oh right," she replied simply and started eating her own meal. Kakashi seemed to have finished his already, which surprised her a great deal. That guy sure does eat fast, she said to herself. While she ate, she could feel his gaze on her, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Although he had finished his food, it did not seem that he had any intentions on going home.

Itachi also had noticed this. There wasn't anything else more that he wanted than for the silver-haired shinobi to take his leave and leave the three of them alone. He already had done his best for Anko for ignore him and possibly forget about him being there, which he though seemed to work quite well according to his plan. However, it seemed that Hatake Kakashi did not get the message that he wasn't wanted, or, perhaps he was being stubborn. He had to find a way to get rid of him so he could have some time with Anko. Having his brother around was better than the prodigy 'jounin'. That guy had no idea what a real prodigy was in Itachi's opinion. One day, Itachi thought to himself, I will have a battle with him and show who is superior.

"Kakashi-san, I heard you're leaving on a mission tomorrow," Itachi said just after swallowing a bite of chicken meat. He would have his way tonight. Uchiha Itachi would not let himself be beaten by Hatake Kakashi. Not now, not ever.

"Yes, that's right. How did you know?" Kakashi questioned. He knew where this would lead to, but he couldn't leave without a bit of protest.

"Oh, Shisui told me. You'll be working with him right?" Right after the little event which took place in the forest today, after he managed to calm down with his training, he ran to Shisui's house to talk to him about his troubles. He trusted him fully and always knew when there was something wrong with Itachi. When he arrived at Shisui's household, Itachi found him in his room packing. It turned out Shisui had been put in a group with Hatake Kakashi for a mission the following day. Itachi managed to get a few details about it off him but nothing in-depth except that it was a B-Rank mission. He knew enough to know when they were departing though, and that was what mattered to him the most.

"Eeeh, sorry, but I forgot to ask who you were old man," Sasuke spoke up with a mouth full of ramen. Itachi laughed at his little brother's comment and flicked him on the forehead for talking with his mouth full. Sasuke scrunched up his face and rubbed the now red spot on his head.

"Old man?" Kakashi asked in surprise. "What makes you think that I'm so old?"

Sasuke pointed above his face to his silvery-white hair. "You have the same hair colour as ojii-chan next door!"

Anko couldn't help but giggle. It was for certain that Kakashi did have a strange hair colour for such a young man, and it was even cuter that it was a mere child who pointed it out. Of course, no grown person would even think of bringing up that topic.

Kakashi gave a frown behind his mask but it did warm his heart to see Anko laughing, even if it was at him. It was a site that he rarely got to see for when they were together, she was usually cool and composed.

After Anko calmed down, she turned to face Kakashi. "If you're on a mission tomorrow, you really should head off soon. It's getting late." She pointed at a clock conveniently displayed in their view, which pointed that it was nearly eight o'clock.

The young jounin had no basis for argument and felt compelled to agree. He gave a small bow to Anko and the chef before he left, ruffled Sasuke's hair and gave a quick glance over to Itachi. You win this round, brat, he thought for himself before left Ichiraku and headed off home.

As the Hatake left, the older Uchiha sibling smirked to himself, knowing that he had won the round tonight. Now there was only one part of his plan left, and knowing his cute little brother, he would put the last piece in place unknowingly.

Just as they all finished their meal, Sasuke tugged on the sleeve of Anko's trench coat and looked at her with his large eyes. "Do you want to come over and play some games for a while? Pleeeeease?" the young boy asked pleadingly.

Anko looked over to Itachi who gave her a nod of assurance and a brief explanation. "Our parents are out on a mission, which is rare for us and they usually let us invite people over or to even stay the night if it gets too late." He could tell she was still giving the invitation some thought, and Itachi was hoping that Sasuke's face would be enough to convince her.

Luckily, it was.

She nodded and gave a smile as she accepted the invitation. Sasuke gave a shout of happiness while Itachi was more overjoyed than he appeared to be.

"Shall we go then?" Itachi asked, looking at the two.

Sasuke took Anko by the hand and and gave a big enthusiastic nod. She looked back at the child and couldn't help but smile. She usually didn't like kids and found them annoying, but she couldn't say no to this one.

"I guess we should then." She allowed herself to be dragged down the street by Sasuke, as they all headed towards the Uchiha District.