White Lace
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. Looks like the reviews are messed up on the site again. I'm getting them in my email but they aren't showing up on the site. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Your Chance to Weigh In: Sasuke's thing is white lace. What do you think Hinata's should be? It could be a type of clothing or something else entirely. ^^ Feel free to leave any suggestions/reviews in reviews or private messages.
Chapter notation: No real animals were harmed in the making of this fanfic. The boar was mentioned in an episode on the show. So I figured a second one could show up.
Chapter Seven
There was a knock on the door. Fugaku goes to answer it. After a few minutes, he returns to the kitchen. He looked mildly annoyed.
"It seems another boar got into the fields again. Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke would you mind taking care of it? I'm late for work as is." He states, as he throws on his Jonin vest.
"Hey! What am I chopped liver?" Naruto protests.
"This is a family concern." Fugaku informs the blonde.
"Hey! I am family." The blue eyed ninja insists.
Aiya says something to Mikoto. She laughs softly. This causes Naruto to twitch and demand to know what she said. The blonde didn't being talked about behind his back, even if it was by a grandmother!
"Oh it's nothing. The idea of a blonde Uchiha is amusing is all." Mikoto and Aiya laugh.
"Pft! It's about time you got some color in your family. I swear you all look like clones. It's almost like Hinata's family. You people really need to marry outside your clan more. It's starting to get a bit creepy." Naruto muses and Mikot shakes her head, she knew what was coming.
Fugaku shakes his head. He cuffs Naruto behind the ears. He heads out the door and casts a look at the blonde over his shoulder, informing him that if he wanted to help deal with the boar he could. But he highly doubted it would take four men to subdue or kill the beast. Really, how many ninjas did it take to handle one boar?
"Alright, bastard…you wanna make this interesting?" Naruto asks his rival happily.
"What'd you have in mind?" Sasuke replies and honestly, he was a bit curious to see what the loser had come up with this time.
"If I deal with the boar, you owe me ramen. If you win, I'll get you some damn tomatoes." He replies.
"Deal. But what happens if Itach or Shisui does?" He questions as this was a very real possibility.
"Then neither of us gets anything. Let's go!" He says and darts out the door.
"You cheater!" Sasuke growls and chases after his best friend.
Itachi and Shisui chuckle. They race off after the other men. Mikoto and Aiya shrug like, Boys will be boys.
"Should we go after them to make sure they don't get hurt?" Hinata asks, her voice filled with concern.
"Oh I'm sure they can handle it." Mikoto reassures her.
"And Kenji, you are going to bed now." Aiya informs her husband in a tone that told him that she would tolerate no argument.
"I like it when she gets bossy. She's so beautiful when she gets mad." He says to Hinata with a wink as he gets dragged off by his wife.
"Are they always so…playful?" Hinata asks curiously.
"Yes. Age has certainly not robbed them of their vigor." Mikoto states.
"Their lucky." The bluenette observes.
"Yes, most ninjas do not make it to thirty, let along over 70. If they do normally they have far more serious battle scars. I honestly think their love for each other acted as a shield all those years in the field. We should all be so fortunate." She continues.
"Is it like that way for all of your family?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Oh…well Uchihas are just as prone to dying an early death as any ninja really." The dark haired woman replies.
"I mean about…finding their most precious person so early?" She clarifies, clearly flustered.
"Well now that you mention it, we do tend to marry early. Most of us before 25. We don't do arranged marriages anymore, unless we believe the Sharingan is in danger of dying out." She offers.
"Oh. My clan it's usually arranged, unless a love match happens beforehand." She mumbles.
"Different clans have different traditions. Though I noticed arranged marriages are becoming more rare. It is a new era." She muses.
"If you don't mind me asking, were you and Fugaku an arranged match? You are both so…different." Hinata asks shyly.
"Oh God no. Kenji would have never sanctioned an arranged marriage. He believes in love at first sight, very strongly." She says with a laugh.
"Was it love at first sight?" She questions.
"For him? No. For me it was." She says with a smile as she remembers.
"Demon eyed bitch! Should have known you'd think you were too good to mingle with someone outside your cursed clan." Another Chunin had hissed at her.
"My clan is not cursed!" She had screamed at him.
"Oh please. Everyone knows it is. The Sharingan makes you all turn psychotic! Thought maybe if you actually were around a normal person, you wouldn't take leave of your senses. Looks like you are already insane, just like the rest of your inbred clan!" He snarls.
"I'd rather be a demon than the fool who was stupid enough to pick a fight with one." Mikoto hears someone say.
"What'd you say?!" The Chunin whirls around.
"I called you stupid. Perhaps it was caused by inbreeding in your own family, since you seem to consider yourself an expert on the matter." He responds and Mikoto could see the shimmer of sunlight reflecting off a kunai that was now pressed against the Chunin's throat.
"You should apologize to her. I'd do it before Fugaku gets angry." She hears another man say.
This one had blonde hair and blue eyes. She still couldn't see who had the kunai against her tormentor's throat. But it clearly wasn't him. Her savior had to be another Uchiha though, judging by his words.
"I'm not apologizing to the stuck up demon bitch! She's only a Genin. I'm a Chunin. She should be happy that I'd lower myself to go out with her." He says.
SMACK. The Chunin went flying into the wall. Mikoto blinks. She saw the blood pouring out of his mouth and a tooth or two had been knocked loose.
"And I'm a Jonin. You should be happy I would lower myself to touch you. Clearly, the Academy has lowered its standards, if they allowed you to graduate. You didn't notice my presence at all. Pathetic. Minato, what do you think?" She hears the other man say, as he comes out of the shadows.
"I think he deserved that. But Fugaku, I'm sure he's learned his lesson." Minato informs him.
"True. Are you alright? Mikoto was it?" He asks.
It was then that she got a good look at her savior. He was older than her. She recognized him as belonging to the head family. He must have been about 18. She was 13 and scheduled to take the Chunin Exams next month. She would have taken them last year, but she was away on a mission.
He was tall for his age, broad shouldered. Fugaku had a rugged tan. He clearly spent a lot of time outdoors. He was only a few years older than her, but he was already a Jonin.
"Yes. I'm fine. Thanks to the two of you." She says with a smile and bows formerly.
"Come on. Let's get you home. Minato, do you mind delivering the report to the Hokage?" He says and they walk off together.
"No worries. I got it." His friend tells him.
"I've seen you at the clan training grounds." Fugaku mutters on their way home.
"You h-ave?" She asks.
"Yes. I know that you could have burnt that scum to a crisp. You are more than proficient in fire jutsus to have done it. So why didn't you?" He questions her.
"The village thinks of our clan as demons. I didn't want to solidify that opinion for them." She says.
"Their opinion is set. It won't be changed. Your smart enough to know that. You didn't do it because you are too kind. Too tender hearted. I've seen you rescue stray cats, despite their using your arms as a scratchingpost. You are too soft. It will get you killed one day if you aren't careful." He warns her.
"Kindness and mercy aren't weaknesses. Was it when you saved me from him or spared his life?" She counters.
"…" Fugaku didn't now how to respond to the cheeky 13 year old.
"Oi! There you are son. I was wondering when you would be returning. Hello, Mikoto. She's right you know. Thank you for trying to remove the stick permanently lodged up my son's ass. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's in too deep at the moment to be pulled completely out." He chuckles.
"Father…you are as vulgar as ever." Fugaku says with a sigh.
"I prefer to think of it as being accurate." He says and winks at Mikoto.
"A Chunin was harassing our clanswoman here. I took care of it." He says.
"I'm certain you did. Good day to you Mikoto. I'm afraid I have to steal my son from you for now. I need some help with the fields." He says and leads Fugaku off.
Mikoto smiles. She was convinced of one thing. One day, he would be her husband. He was proud, loyal, and strong. He also had a kind heart, even if he hid it. He wouldn't have saved her otherwise, surely?
"He stepped in when someone was insulting me. I loved him ever since. He hides it well, but he has a kind heart. A diamond in the rough. I was so much younger than him, that I wouldn't have expected it to be love at first sight for him. It took me years to get him to really notice me that way though. Finally, I took drastic measures." She chuckles.
"Drastic measures?" She asks.
"Fugaku has always been a very successful ninja. He was quickly promoted to lead the Uchiha Police. This meant long hours in the office. So I decided to visit him one day. I made good use of the handcuffs. Let us just say that he wasn't able to ignore me, when I had him cuffed." She laughs at the memory.
Hinata blushes bright red. This was definitely not a shy family. She supposed it made sense. Fire was far from a shy element. Neither was the clan associated with it.
"Fortunately for you, I don't think such measures are needed in your case." She hums as she starts doing the dishes.
"…?" Hinata was speechless.
"It's clear that Sasuke practically worships the ground you walk on. It's strange, I've never seen him so shy before." She muses.
"Sasuke, shy? Are we talking about the same Sasuke?" She mumbles.
"Well shy by his standards. Itachi as well. He seems fond of your Sensei." She states.
"You think Itachi likes Kurenai?" She asks in surprise.
"A mother knows these things." She says.
Meanwhile with the boys, Naruto was trying to use the Rasagan to scare the boar off. The boar was not having it.
"You loser. Even the boar is smart enough to know you aren't aiming to hit him. Your aim sucks, but not that much." Sasuke taunts.
"Oh really, bastard? Well let's see what you got then?" The blonde demands.
"Itachi. Bow." Sasuke says.
He chuckles and hands the bow to his brother. Naruto flails. The blonde clearly wasn't happy about this.
"Come on bastard, do you have to kill it?" He says.
"That's generally how it goes. It's grown used to feeding off fields. Someone will get hurt or someone else will kill it. This way it has a quick death." He says and fires off the arrow.
"Nice, shot cousin." Shisui says and watches to see if it killed the animal.
"Thanks." He murmurs and watches closely.
"It stopped moving." Naruto says.
"Wait a few minutes. It might or might not be dead." Itachi warns him.
"Well I suppose we know what we are having for dinner tonight." Shisui muses.
"You're kidding right?!" Naruto asks.
"Oh please. Like you've never hunted on missions for food. It's no different." Shisui says.
"…I guess." The blonde concedes.
Meanwhile with Kurenai, who had slipped off before Hinata and Mikoto's heart to heart, she was exploring the District. She'd never been in the Uchiha District before. So few ninjas who weren't members of the clan had. She was curious.
It was truly massive. It probably could have functioned as its own village, albeit a small one. She smiles and heads into one of the shops. It was a bakery. She'd always had a sweet tooth. She ends up buying some cookies.
"It's dead." Sasuke says and they jump down to retrieve it.
"I think I saw Kurenai, head into one of the shops." Naruto muses.
"I should go to her. We are assigned to each other until we know if the kidnappings were an isolated incident or not. I'm sure you can handle clean up duty." Itachi says as he darts off.
"I should probably get back to Hinata. He's got a point." Sasuke says and darts off.
"They seriously left us with cleanup duty." Shisui sighs.
"Those bastards!" Naruto huffs.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" Hinata asks when she sees him head back into the kitchen.
"Yeah. We are fine. The boar's dead. He won't be destroying anymore fields." He says.
"Oh." Hinata says and sounds sad.
"It was a quick death. He didn't feel any pain." Sasuke adds realizing that he might have just fucked up.
Hinata was such a kind person. She'd probably feel bad for the boar, even if the boar was terrorizing their fields. Hinata just nods, she seems to accept his explanation. Really, there wasn't anything she could do about it. The boar was already dead.
"Where's Kurenai Sensei?" She asks curiously.
"She's exploring the district. Itachi went to her. I could show you around some more if you like. I mean you are going to be here for awhile." He offers.
"That'd be great!" She says with a smile and Sasuke places his hand on her back, leading her off.
Mikoto smiles at her son and Hinata as they walk off. Well it was slow. But it was a start. She hoped that Itachi was more bold with Kurenai though. She wanted grandchildren, dammit!
Kurenai smiles as Itachi shows her around the District. Uchihas were not a subtle people. Every time they walked by, they'd be looking at curiously. She knew that it was rare that an outsider was allowed in the District, but still.
"Just hold your head up high. If you lower it, they will view you as weak." He mutters.
"Really? Uchihas have their own body language code?" She asks with a laugh.
"Yes. Yes, we do. It's not as elaborate or strict as the Hyugas. But it is there." He says with a chuckle.
"Oh there is Sasuke and Hinata. They are cute together." She muses.
"Yes, they are. Foolish little brother…is taking forever to tell her." He says.
"Mmm and how is that any different than yourself?" She asks in amusement.
"…" Itachi goes silent.
She chuckles and pulls out one of the cookies. She pops it in his mouth. It was cute. Very cute to see the normally stoic ninja look so helpless, like a lost puppy or something.
Itachi glowers and noms on the cookie. He decides to get back at her by sucking on one of her fingers. She blushed a rather satisfying shade of red. Itachi felt that his dignity had been regained.
"Did your Sensei just feed Itachi a cookie?" Sasuke says and tilts his head to the side.
"I think so." Hinata says.
"Weird." The younger Uchiha states.
"Yeah. But they look happy. We probably shouldn't spy on them." She states.
"We probably shouldn't. Be there is no way in Hell, I'm passing up on this opportunity." He states, grabs Hinata, jumps onto one of the roofs with her, and looks down at his big brother and the Genjutsu mistress.
"Sasuke." Hinata says and shakes her head at him.
"Oh come on. You know you are curious too." He protests.
"Well maybe a little." She admits.
"Besides, you can think of it as training." He offers.
"Training? How is this training?" She asks.
"Stealth training. It's important to be able to gather information without being caught. Itachi is extremely observant. So if we can pull this off without getting caught, it's kinda a big deal." He reasons.
"You are rationalizing spying on your brother." She counters.
"Yeah. Is it working?" He inquires hopefully.
"Yes." She replies.
"Good." He says with a smirk.
"We have an audience." Kurenai says.
"Yeah. I know. My foolish little brother actually believes he's being sneaky." Itachi states.
"Well should we give them something to talk about?" She inquires.
"What'd you have in mind?" He replies.
"This." She says and presses her lips against his.
Hinata's eyes widen. Sasuke blinks. He didn't see that one coming. He always figured Itachi would make the first move.
Itachi smiles and kisses back. He pulls her closer. Sasuke saw more of his brother's tongue than he ever wanted to see. He was traumatized for life! Ahhhh his poor innocence!
"M-aybe we should go. It's wrong to s-tare when they are having a private moment." She mumbles.
"Private moment? They are kissing in the middle of a crowded street in broad daylight. But yeah, let's go. I'm traumatized now." Sasuke shudders.
Hinata laughs. It was sometimes easy to forget just how young the Golden Trio was. She smiles and flits off with him.
Meanwhile with Aiya and Kenji, the older Uchiha had managed to get her stubborn husband to lay down in bed. She had her hands on her hips. He was going to be difficult. She knew it.
As long as she had known him, her husband had always acted tough when injured. She didn't know why men were so damn stubborn. She knew it wasn't solely an Uchiha thing. But Uchiha men had to be the most stubborn on the planet.
"You are staying in bed. You are going to rest. And you are not going to argue." She says.
"My love, I am fine. Right as rain. I don't even feel any pain." He assures her.
"Then your going to be right as rain in bed." She insists.
"Alright. Alright. But you know how I hate being cooped up. I get bored. But fortunately, I have a very beautiful wife to keep me company." He says and pulls her onto the bed, with the arm that wasn't connected to the injured shoulder.
"You are still as impossible today as you were all those years ago." She says with a smile.
"Yes, I know. You love me for it." He says and cuddles up to his wife.
Meanwhile, the Hokage paces. The Akatsuki was involved. It was highly unlikely that was going to be the last of this. But had the village just enlisted the criminal ninjas for help or was the Akatsuki just using the desperate village to achieve their ends. The Kage didn't know and that was very troubling indeed.
"We are interrogating the ones we captured. So far none of them have talked." An ANBU informs their leader.
The Hokage nods and sighs. This was so damn frustrating. Surely, one of the prisoners would crack though. This had been on too massive of a scale for it to be a one off. It looked like the bloodline clans were in danger. Very big danger. Yet, without further information, the Leaf's leader had no idea how to protect them.