Chapter Four: Celebrations and Games

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't."
- Richard Bach

Itachi and his cousin Shisui jumped over rooftops during mid morning. They had just come from some light sparring down in the fields. Merely light because Shisui was just getting over a cold and he said he had a mission tomorrow. Itachi had a suspicion that it was a lie, but he wasn't going to call him out on it. If his cousin had better things to do than hang out with him, who was he to argue with the man? He came to a familiar apartment block and Itachi was a surprised to see Iruka sitting on his rooftop, apparently playing a game of shogi with a clone of himself. That shinobi was certifiable, Itachi thought to himself. However, he felt himself stop and stare for a moment. Shisui stopped too, and glanced over at what he was looking at. Before Itachi realized it he was jumping onto Iruka's rooftop.

Iruka looked up and held a hand up to shade his eyes against the sun. "Oi! Taichou!"

The other Iruka on the other side of the shogi board held up a cup of sake in Itachi's general direction. "Kampai!"

Itachi couldn't help himself, he smiled a little. It was so bizarre it had to make you smile.

Shisui was now standing next to him. "Hello there. Who's your friend, Itachi-kun?"

Both of the Iruka's smiled sincerely at Shisui with matching Siamese grins. They were wearing the same thing, a white t-shirt and low slung jeans, except one of them was wearing a black and white scarf. Itachi reached up and pat his hair a little, making sure his long black hair was still in its pony tail. Had he ate something bad? What was that funny feeling in his stomach?

"This is Umino Iruka." Itachi said, frowning. "And this is my cousin, Uchiha Shisui."

"Aww…don't frown, Itachi." Iruka said. "You're always so serious! Would you guys like some sake? I'm celebrating!"

Shisui looked from Itachi to Iruka. "You're playing shogi with yourself?"

Iruka sighed dramatically and ran a hand through his brown hair, which was starting to come out of his pony tail slightly. "Well, I know it's a little like mental masturbation, but I like playing games and my stupid summon refused to play with me after I kept beating him. Then I grounded him after he set my curtains on fire…stupid, stupid creature!"

Shisui snorted. "Mental masturbation, eh?" His cousin laughed and looked at Itachi who was slightly blushing and that made Shisui laugh harder. He couldn't help it but people didn't usually just talk about masturbation around him. "I can't believe you have an amusing friend, Itachi. I would never have believed it."

"Shisui-san! Be still my heart. An Uchiha who laughs and smiles?" Iruka pretended to fan himself.

Shisui laughed again and preened, the idiot. Itachi frowned harder.

"Well, technically he's my Taichou, Shisui-san." Iruka said interrupting his frowning, pointing to the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder by pulling up the shoulder sleeve of his t-shirt.

"Damnit, Iruka, you can't just go around talking about that stuff." Itachi said crossly.

"Oh, don't be so stuffy, Itachi. You know your cousin is also ANBU so what's the big deal!" Iruka rolled his eyes. "Man, is he always so serious like this, Shisui-san?"

The other Iruka, the one with the scarf, who had been staring at the shogi board intently, made a move on the shogi board "Check!"

"Gah! You're so freakin' predictable." Iruka said to himself and moved another piece. "Check!"

Iruka turned to Itachi and Shisui, "So would you guys like some sake?"

"Isn't it a little early for sake?" Itachi asked.

"I'm celebrating!" Iruka said with a pout.

"Hn." Itachi sighed. "What are you celebrating?"

"I'll take some sake." Shisui said and put a shoulder around him. "But Itachi-kun is too young."

Itachi couldn't help himself, felt a slight flush come up to his cheeks. He turned to glare at his cousin, who looked like he was having a great time teasing him. He was thirteen, soon to be fourteen. And for kami-sake he was a captain of the ANBU. He was not too young; his parents allowed him to drink, but he just didn't like the feeling of a lack of control. Damn his foolish cousin for trying to make him look stupid in front of his teammate.

"I'll be right back!" Iruka, the one wearing the scarf, said as he nimbly hopped off the roof and apparently made his way from a tree into the apartment.

"Want to play me, Shisui?" Iruka offered, smiling. He took a sip of his sake, and then set down his cup.

"Sure, Iruka-san." Shisui said.

Itachi sat down nearby on a small tatami mat that Iruka must have brought up.

"So…Shisui, may I call you Shisui? Care to make this interesting?" Iruka said with a wink. "If I can win in less than 10 moves, how about…say 1,000 Ryō?" Itachi thought about warning his cousin about Iruka, but he was still angry at his cousin for the 'young' comment, and so he sat and kept his mouth shut. Let him learn about Iruka for himself. Shisui smiled broadly. Iruka looked pretty young and innocent and harmless sitting there. "Sure, Iruka!"

Below they could hear the Bescarfed-Iruka-clone having an argument with some unknown male voice inside Iruka's apartment.

"Damnit, Ryuu!" The other Iruka shrieked from the apartment below. "You ate ALL my damn strawberries!"

"You're such a fag!" A booming male voice said. "I said I was sorry!"

"Asshole!"

"Bitch!"

There was silence for a few minutes and then the clattering of dishes.

"Can I come up and talk to your friends?" The voice attempted to wheedle.

"No, you can't. Because you're going to get a stomach ache from eating a case of fucking strawberries, you pig! You know they always make you puke and I refuse to clean it up again! Do you know how much money they cost? I'm not made of money, you jerk!"

"Fine, I don't want to anyways. He's probably stupid anyways. What kind of name is 'Weasel' anyways?"

There was laughter. The male voice and Iruka's laughter.

"You're so gay."

"You're trying my patience, Ryuu. Do you want me to stop subscribing to cable? Because I'll do it. I'm not the one addicted to reality TV! I prefer reading books!" Iruka threatened forcefully.

"No, fine, fine. Send me back. I was getting bored anyways." The voice huffed. "And I might have a stomach ache."

"I told you so!" Iruka said triumphantly.

"Can I have some Pepto?" The voice asked meekly.

"Sure, it's in the bathroom. I'll get it for you before I send you back." Iruka said nicely. "I love you too, you bitchy little monster."

"Have fun with your friends." There was a pause. "And congratulations, Dolphin."

"Thank-you!" And then there was a loud popping noise.

Suddenly the second Iruka, the one with the scarf, popped up from below holding the sake and a few extra cups. "Got the sake!"

Everyone turned and looked at him. The other Iruka was blushing horribly.

"Who's Ryuu?" Itachi asked arching an elegant eyebrow.

Bescarfed-Iruka sighed and poured a cup of sake for Shisui and Itachi. Then he sighed and said, "Well, no reason for me to be here anymore!" He handed his scarf to Itachi and was gone with a poof.

"Well, he's my summon." The real Iruka said and gestured about as if that explained everything.

Shisui laughed merrily. "I like you! You certainly have an interesting relationship with your summon creature. What kind of animal is it?"

Iruka bit his lip and hesitated, then smiled wickedly. "A chihuahua."

Itachi frowned. "That did not sound like any chihuahua I've heard."

"Yes, because Pakkun sounds like what you'd expect a Pug to sound like." Iruka replied sourly.

Itachi nodded. He supposed that was true. He was still thinking back on the conversation between Iruka and his summon. Was Iruka really gay? Or was it something the creature just said to Iruka to rile him up? And had Iruka really talked about him to his summon. What did he say? What did he think about him?

"Why isn't your summon listed in your file?" Itachi said.

"Oh, because everything about you is in your file, Itachi." Iruka said, waggling his finger at him.

"So you know Hatake-san?" Shisui interrupted, staring down at the board.

Iruka smiled a little and nodded.

"Really? It's not like he has friends." Shisui said. "And he is a bit of a pervert."

Iruka laughed. "Who isn't a pervert behind closed doors, Shisui? He just happens to walk around with his in his hands." Then Iruka realized what he said and blushed. "Ahh…hahaha!" Shisui and Iruka laughed and drank their sake.

"Kampai!" Shisui and Iruka clinked their glasses together.

Itachi frowned a little. Did Iruka have some mysterious ability to just charm everyone so quickly? He did have to admit the man was charismatic. Good thing it didn't work on him.

"Check!" Iruka said suddenly.

"Nani?" Shisui said, peering down at the board.

"Hey, does he ever smile?" Iruka whispered conspiratorially.

"Who?" Shisui asked, not paying much attention. Shisui seemed to realize how completely outmatched he was with the shogi match. He was probably in about three or four different checking positions. He would love to blame the sake but he had really only had about three sips. Damn, Iruka was probably almost as smart as Itachi.

"You know, Itachi." Iruka whispered.

"You know, I can hear you." Itachi said. "I'm right here. Like, five feet away. And I haven't had any of the sake."

"Yes, he does smile occasionally." Shisui said, smiling at Iruka. The man's cheerful disposition was infectious. "I have caught it once in a while when he isn't paying attention. Usually when he is with his little brother."

Iruka nodded to himself, as if confirming some sort of suspicion. Which was ridiculous, he didn't really know anything about Itachi and he couldn't even know Sasuke.

"Hey, would you like to invite your Sasuke-kun over some training that I'm doing later for my little brother later today?" Iruka offered with a bright smile. "Well, I call it a game to make it fun for him but in truth its training. They are the same age you know. I think they could even be good friends. Shisui, you're welcome to come as well, too! Trust me; we always have a great time. And I already made a bunch of food for afterwards. So it's no trouble!"

Itachi wanted to argue that he had something to do, but he knew that he didn't have anything to do and frankly he actually wanted to go. He also wanted to glare at Shisui because didn't the man have a mission to rest up for? Hadn't he blown him off earlier? It galled him a little to think that his cousin was having more fun with Iruka than him. But Iruka was pretty fun to be around. Iruka was…a conundrum and he admitted he wanted to know more. It was like a book that kept genre every chapter. He kept surprising him. It was unnerving him. Itachi couldn't figure out if he liked it or hated it.

Shisui looked over at Itachi and gave him an inscrutable look. Then Shisui smiled broadly and turned back to Iruka. "I think it sounds like fun. We'll be there!"

"Yatta!" Iruka smiled in this way that Itachi had a feeling as if this was what he had wanted the whole time. Iruka took a sip of sake, moved his shogi piece and smiled again. "Checkmate!"

"Damnit!" Shisui groaned, and pulled out his wallet, handing over the 1,000 Ryō.

Iruka chuckled happily and pocketed it. "Now I can buy more strawberries and find out a way to trap them so Ryuu can't eat them."

"I think it's funny that he made fun of my name when a chihuahua is named after a dragon." Itachi said suddenly.

Iruka blushed and scratched at the scar on his nose. "Well, that's irony for you. And I think it's…ahh…representative of the spirit of his will or something. Besides, I didn't name him."

"What are you celebrating anyways? You never said?" Itachi asked.

Iruka started picking up the shogi board and sake glasses. "Oh, you haven't heard? I thought…well, I guess I thought Fugaku-sama would have told you…"

Itachi's eyebrow shot up at the mention of his father's name so casually from Iruka. Really, sometimes he said the strangest things. Shisui looked at him and he shrugged.

"Well, Danzō Shimura is dead." Iruka said, sipping on his sake.

Both Itachi and Shisui stood up suddenly and looked at Iruka intently. "What!" Itachi said.

"Well, apparently he had a heart attack last night. Fell asleep and died peacefully in his sleep." Iruka said, watching them intently.

"I…well…" Shisui said, then took up his abandoned cup of sake and downed it in a gulp.

"He was a respected elder…" Iruka said cautiously, but then looked at them carefully. His voice was very soft. So soft that Itachi was pretty sure that only the three of them could hear the next words out of his mouth. "But Konoha is better for his passing."

Itachi reached for his untouched sake cup and downed his as well. Iruka refilled their glasses. The three of them clinked glasses.

"Kampai!" Iruka said with a smile. And the three of them drank once again silently. Each of them with their own thoughts.

After a moment, Iruka broke the silence. "And now I'm 1,000 Ryō richer. I can actually afford food this week. Thanks Shisui!"

"I was getting fleeced from the start, wasn't I, Itachi?" Shisui asked Itachi with a laugh.

"Yes."

A little later they met up down in the training ground by the Forest of Death. Shisui, Itachi and Sasuke were early. Itachi looked down at Sasuke who was sulking. He had wanted to come when he heard Itachi was going to train with him. Then when he heard that not only Shisui would be there, but other friends of Itachi's he started sulking. Itachi sighed. His mother, Mikoto, had coddled the boy too much. He got whatever he wanted. It really wasn't good for his character. He was such a brat.

"Be nice." Itachi ordered, leaning over and poking him on the forehead

"Hn." Sasuke pouted, face scrunched up and turning away.

Iruka came into view, with Naruto in tow. He was holding a large bulging duffle bag of kami knew what. How many kunai did they actually need?

"Hey everyone!" Iruka said cheerfully. He looked down at Naruto and ruffled his blond hair affectionately. Naruto looked embarrassed. "This Uzumaki Naruto, my little brother."

"You don't look like brothers." Sasuke said disagreeably.

"That's because we were orphans, Sasuke-kun. We met and grew up in an orphanage." Iruka answered.

"Oh." Sasuke said standing on one leg and scratching the back of his calf with the foot of his other leg. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"Nice to meet you!" Naruto said loudly. Then he proclaimed happily: "I'm going to be Hokage one day!"

Sasuke laughed. "Dobe."

"Teme, don't call me that!" Naruto argued.

Iruka busted out laughing so hard, Itachi and Shisui looked at him a little strangely. "Some things will never change, I suppose." Iruka murmured, and pulled out a small box out of his pocket.

"I brought some pocky if everyone would like a treat before we start." Iruka smiled. "I can also explain the rules while you eat."

Itachi loved pocky, how funny that he had bought that treat. He munched happily on about half the box. Shisui took a few sticks as did Sasuke and Naruto. Soon the box was gone and they were licking the chocolate from their fingers.

"Ano… we'll be in playing individually. No teams today since we've got an odd number. Every man for himself." Iruka opened his duffle bag and started handing out his arsenal. Everyone was handed ten explosive tags. "These are stunning tags. They won't hurt you but they will probably knock you down and make you dizzy for a little bit. No kunai or shuriken, we're not trying to make each other bleed, people. And no genjutsu, and when I say that I'm talking to you Itachi. No freaking crow's man! We've gotta give the kids a chance. No katanas or swords. So, let's see…no Taijutsu, no Ninjutsu, and no Genjutsu…I think that covers it."

Itachi, Shisui and Sasuke were just looking at him as if he had grown a third head.

Shisui spoke first. "Wait, I thought you said we were going to train…? What else are we going to do then?"

Iruka laughed. No, it was more of an evil cackle. "We're going to use stealth, my friends! Are we not ninja? What if you were in a situation where you had no chakra left and no weapons and no teammates? How would you defend yourself?"

"That is a very unlikely situation!" Sasuke said, unable to keep the sulk off his childish face.

"Nani, Sasuke-kun? Just wait, I didn't tell you the best part…" Iruka smiled.

Itachi tensed himself for Sasuke's temper tantrum.

Iruka reached into the duffle back and picked up a very large gun and handed it to Sasuke.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked, not sounding so unhappy anymore. Actually, he was looking at Iruka with something akin to wonder. Wait, he's never looked at me that way, Itachi thought.

"That is a paint ball gun." Iruka smiled at Sasuke and Itachi realized that the man must have been a very, very good teacher. In a span of minutes he was winning over his little brat of a brother. "We're going to play ninja in the forest. Mask our chakra, find each other if possible and shoot each other with paint. And we've got the stunning tags for fun, too. Gotta mix it up. Keep it exciting. Spice it up." Iruka smiled. "How does that sound?"

"Oh, and you two! No freaking Sharingan!" Iruka said sternly to Itachi and Shisui. "That's not exactly fair to Naruto, Sasuke and I since we don't have that extra capability…"

"What's a Sharingan, Nii-san?" Naruto asked, looking up at Iruka.

Iruka smiled at him. "It's a bloodline limit or kekkei genkai that the Uchiha's have."

"Do I have a kekkei genkai?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Dobe." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"No, Naruto you don't. But you're special in your own way." Iruka said smiling, the handed him a paint gun. "And we all know you've got the portal to the never-ending ramen dimension in your stomach!" He leaned over and tickled Naruto's stomach.

Naruto burst out laughing, "Stop! Ha! No tickling!" Then Naruto settled down and tilted his head looking at Sasuke. "Why doesn't Sasuke-kun have it?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, he doesn't have it yet. He will in a few years." Iruka said absently handing paint ball guns up to Itachi, and Shisui, who looked surprised.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. "Teme! We're even then!"

"Wait until I do get it." Sasuke snorted while looking over the paintball gun with interest.

Naruto stepped over and showed him how to load it. Sasuke even accepted the assistance and was soon playing with the gun and loading it himself and aiming it in the air and even, oh my, was that a smile?

Itachi was surprised at his younger brother. He looked like he was actually having fun. It wasn't usually like him to interact and tease…and well, be a child. He pocketed the stunning tags and looked down at the paintball gun in his hands. He had heard of playing paintball but frankly he had never played before in his life. Honestly he couldn't remember the last time had 'played' anything in his life. Not since…well, since he was probably five or six.

"Okay, everyone say the words: 'I promise no Taijutsu, no Ninjutsu, no Sharingan and no Genjutsu. Today were are only stealthy ninjas. And if we break our promise we are liars!'…"

Iruka waited a moment, tapped his foot and then put his hand a hand on his hip. "No seriously, you have to say it with me. All together now!" Itachi felt a little silly but they all said it, Iruka leading, Shisui laughing, Sasuke pouting a little, Naruto grinning and Itachi frowning. Afterwards he felt a little tingle across his spine and he looked at Iruka who was grinning like a loon.

"Hn." Itachi said, eyes narrowing. Actually, now that he thought about it…how did Iruka know that Shisui was ANBU earlier? He hadn't told him. And how had he just known that Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan yet? Did he read his entire family's files or something? The young man was entirely too smart and devious for his own good, Iruka was definitely worth watching. Not stalking. Watching.

"Well, everyone now better keep their promises, okay! Very important!" Iruka said holding his gun up, as he expertly loaded it and pumped it. Naruto and he knocked guns a few times signaling they've obviously done this a few times too many.

"You're the best, Nii-san!" Naruto said to Iruka.

Itachi grunted, wondering if Sasuke had ever thought that about him or ever looked up to him with such adoration. He looked over at his younger brother who was now actually glaring at him again. Ah, no, no adoration there. He arched an eyebrow at him and glared back. Would he ever understand the mercurial moods of his younger sibling?

Shisui laughed, "So what is this game called, Iruka?"

"Some people call it 'hide and seek', but when I added guns and exploding things I changed the name to 'Search and Destroy'. Sounds more, you know…ninja-y." Iruka said with a smile.

Iruka consulted his watch. "Okay, game ends at 5pm, because that's when I want to have dinner! Or if we're done earlier I suppose. We hide; try to find each other, and the last ninja standing wins. If there is more than one of us left without a paint ball strike on us, we will dual for it I suppose although that's never come up yet. Okay, everyone synchronize your watches. Let's give ourselves ten minutes to find our first hiding spot. So game officially kicks off in ten minutes. And, remember the promise!"

Shisui smiled at Iruka who was grinning happily and flushed with excitement. "You take this very seriously, don't you?"

"Well, Shisui," Iruka laughed wickedly. "I like games, ne?"

...

A/N: Please Review ^_^