A/N: Next chapter! Yes, I'm slacking on the updates. I won't lie, I got a new cord for my xbox and I've spent the last two days playing my dragon age:inquisition, ha. But here it is. I got the next three chapters done though so please review. Also, this should answer a few more questions. And I'm playing with some facts simply because as far as I know there isn't any actual info on who Sasuke's parents were teamed with as children.
Warnings: None really.
Disclaimer: Don't own it
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Chapter Eleven
The smell of baking fish had taken care of the scent of mold that had greeted them. Sasuke didn't want to admit out loud that his mouth was close to watering the longer he was made to sit and inhale the aroma of cooking food. His stomach was tired of bread and dried beef. He and Itachi had taken the chore of organizing the office area to allow the girls to continue cleaning up the rest of the place. The couch had already been cleaned off along with the removal of all the dust from the room. How they had managed to get it all done in so little time was astounding. It did however explain the exhausted faces that could be seen behind the hanging linen. Where had they found rope for a line? The wobbly twin stands that housed the line had to be Ino's doing. "Hungry?"
"I am," Itachi wanted to separate the tomes by content but he was too tired to concern himself with that tonight. For now they could just pick them up from the floor and place them on the shelf. Trying to find the prophecy in the tomes could wait for another day. The place should be safe for now and they needed to catch up on their rest. His stomach wanted to make up for the loss of food as well. There had been plenty of fish for them to bring back. They had taken the extra time to clean and scale their catch before bringing it back.
"I'll finish up if you want to get your shower," Hinata's voice came from behind the counter where the top of her head could be seen. The clanging of dishes meant the two were putting away the things they had cleaned and dried already.
Itachi watched the blonde head pop up, to reveal a dirt covered face. There was a large
smudge over her right cheek and there were dingy chunks in the blonde hair. The two looked a mess but hadn't complained once about being left to clean the place.
"You can go ahead, I want to get the room finished." Ino made the offer to allow the other to go first.
"Okay, thank you." Hinata was the one to stand and walk into the bathroom.
Sasuke watched her, wondering why she hadn't bothered to take any clothes inside with her. It wasn't a bathhouse but she would have to stroll by them without anything on but a towel if she didn't have anything. Was that the plan?
"There is a robe inside, Ino stole it from the Inn." Itachi commented to keep the blood inside his brother's head. Such hentai thoughts were ill placed when there was four of them cooped up in such a small space. If his brother thought he'd be forced to share a bed with the blonde so he could attempt seduction, Sasuke would be informed otherwise. He wasn't dealing with the shrew so his sibling could get laid. "Besides, she isn't the type you leave."
"I'm well aware of that, thank you." Sasuke knew she wasn't the type to do casual sex but that didn't prevent the erection from springing to life. "Your dick might not work properly now but mine works just fine. Not like you hadn't thought about it yourself since you knew where my thoughts strayed."
"True," but he hadn't been picturing the half-Uchiha female at the time. His manhood worked just fine, it had been happy to remind him of its existence when the blonde had bent over and mentioned getting in the shower. Seeing the blonde bring out the robe had crushed his hopes of her coming back out in a towel later this evening. "Don't worry, I have no impure thoughts about your girl. My tastes run more to the ill-mannered."
"Fuck a whore!" Ino tossed the pot onto the floor and proceeded to nurse her poor finger. They should throw the damn thing out, they didn't need to make stew while they were here. It had pinched the skin and it stung like she had been bit. She should have taken the shower first but Hinata had been the one to lay on the floor earlier to clean out from underneath the bed. Why was it so hot in here?
"Sit down, I will finish putting them away." Itachi didn't repeat himself when she continued to stand in the kitchen but she had moved aside for him to get to the cabinet. Both had to be exhausted and ready to get some sleep, but were insisting on finishing. "Don't worry about the room tonight, you two can take the couch bed. We can use the floor for one night."
"Thanks," Ino leaned over to remove the rice from the heat. They could eat at any time, but she wanted to get clean first. "The food is done if you two want to eat. I'm going to wait until I wash up."
"AHHHHHH! GET OFF!"
Ino barely had her head lifted at the feminine cry and the flash of white caught her eye. Without knocking Sasuke was yanking the bathroom door open and stepping inside. The next outcry was in outrage, and Itachi had to dodge to the side to keep the towel from striking him in the face. It hit the floor in a sopping heap, and someone was laughing. "What is it?"
Itachi pointed at the tiny, blue and black snake that was slithering its way out of the bunched up linen. What he found to be humorous was the expression of the two standing in shock in the bathroom. He politely turned his head to keep from staring at the nude female inside. It was enough that his brother was getting an eyeful, just a glance and he had seen enough to know why the blood was rushing from Sasuke's face.
"Is that a snake? Get rid of it," Ino jumped onto the counter seeing it slither in her direction. Not her favorite thing to play with and it might be poisonous. Where had it come from? "Don't just stand there, kill it."
"I'm not killing it, it is a baby, and it isn't poisonous." Itachi scooped the snake up with his hand and held it up for inspection. It was beautiful, the scales smooth, and healthy. It most likely came through the air vents, turning it on probably disturbed it. It is possible it smelt the water from the shower and came seeking out the source. "Sasuke, are you done?"
"Get out, please." Hinata reached for the only thing left in the bathroom to cover up her nakedness. The robe was yanked from the wall to drape in front to hide what was important. She hadn't meant to scream but she'd been washing her hair and had felt something sliding down her chest, along her nipple. The thing had come down from her hair and into her cleavage, her first reaction had been to get it away from her. The towel had come along when she had closed her fingers around whatever was touching her. The towel and the thing had been tossed, right at the intruder.
The robe did nothing to hide the hips, or the fact that her waist curved inwards to promote a very feminine figure. The baggy clothes she normally wore definitely did her no justice. Sasuke allowed his eyes to boldly roam over what she had failed to hide in time. She had light pink nipples, and the junction between her legs had been free of any hair. Either she was a female that didn't have to worry about having an excess of pubic hair or she kept herself well-groomed. His guess; it was both. "I'll have Ino bring you another towel."
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"Watch his head," Ino glared at the idiot, the tip of the knife coming very close to removing the tiny head. It was one thing to give it room to roam but she was trying to work here. She also didn't want him on the cutting board, he wouldn't make much of a meal. The overgrown worm was cute in its own way and she wouldn't insist that they boil it alive.
"The water is boiling," Itachi let the snake coil around his hand to keep it out of the way. Not his fault it seemed to care more for the female presence than his own. Sasuke had looked at it once and had nothing to do with it, probably jealous that it had managed to touch the other girl's breast before him. Currently Hinata was sitting next to a dozing Sasuke reading and trying to pretend that she wasn't constantly inspecting his brother's sleeping face. "How much longer will that stuff keep him out?"
"I'd say another twelve hours or so, then he should start to stir." Ino dropped the chopped garlic into the water. She had known something was up when she had been pulled to the side when Sasuke had woken up to head straight into the shower. Itachi had complained that Sasuke was insisting on staying up to help them finish cleaning and start searching for clues. They both had agreed that what the other male needed was more rest and not to help. Itachi had asked what she could do about that, giving his permission to dose his brother on the sly. It had been too easy to get him to drink the laced tea, Hinata had handed it over and it had been downed without a single hint that he was aware of what had been done. It probably helped that she hadn't told Hinata what had been done until after Sasuke was snoring. If she had looked nervous, it would have given it away. "You were right, he didn't suspect a thing."
"Of course not, because she didn't look guilty when handing it to him so he didn't suspect a thing was wrong with it. Your friend looks innocent and isn't good at deception, while any sane man would question something you hand him." Itachi had made sure to watch her make the tea, just to be safe.
"I wouldn't poison you," Ino hoped he didn't think she was that cruel or that big of a bitch. "I might be tempted to put in a laxative, or something to make your rectum itch, but I wouldn't poison you."
"And you just explained why I watched you fix my tea. Your knowledge of herbs and poultices has to surpass my own," it was a compliment. He had loved to read when he was younger and loved to study what he could. History had always been a passion of his. "I think my brother is having lustful thoughts towards your friend."
"How did you go from tea to lust?" She wasn't ignorant or blind, she was aware of the watching, even if Hinata wasn't. Hinata was a beautiful girl and she'd make a good wife to someone. "She'd probably make a better girlfriend than Sakura anyways."
"The other girl, why do you think that?" Itachi didn't know much about the other one, all of his information had come from Sasuke. The most his brother saw were the things that annoyed him, or what pertained to being a shinobi. There was more to a female than those things and he was curious about what kind of female had sought his brother's attention. "What exactly was she like and why is Hinata better?"
"Besides she isn't as annoying?" Ino leaned against the counter after putting the water on simmer. "Well, for starters, Hinata is a very gentle person and I think that is what your brother needs. She's not weak, just soft. He has a bit of a temper, plus competitive, and he would be ill matched with someone with the same qualities. Sakura has a horrible temper, worse than mine, and she is competitive to the point where she thinks of nothing else."
"I am hearing a bit of anger in your voice, Ino. Was she once your competition for my brother's affections?" Itachi knew she had been but wanted her to say it. Was she still hoping for a chance?
"Yes and no," Ino didn't want him anymore and Hinata or whoever was welcome to him. "I liked him when I was a lot younger. Yes, I felt some competitiveness when it came to him, I'm a girl. However, I'm not the one that decided to end years of friendship over a boy that hadn't so much as spoken three words to me before. To point out the difference in personalities between Hinata and Sakura, they both reacted differently. Sakura ended our friendship, boldly told me we were no longer friends so she could pursue Sasuke, who made it more than obvious he wasn't interested in any of us. Yet, Hinata not only continued be friends with Sakura, when she knew that Naruto claimed to love her. Sure, she still wanted him for herself but she never turned on Sakura. In my opinion, Hinata had more of a reason to turn on Sakura because Naruto made sure everyone know that he had feelings for Sakura but she didn't. Sakura turned on me and your brother had done nothing but glare at her at that point."
"Perhaps it had something to do with Hinata actually have true feelings for Naruto and not an obsession. If you love someone, you want them to be happy. Didn't you two become friends again?"
"Yes," Ino didn't raise her voice, Hinata had to be aware of their conversing but couldn't hear them clearly. "I admit I'm still sore about it because it stung. I liked him but it had never crossed my mind to end our friendship for him, he isn't that cute."
"So, if you had a thing for me and so did Hinata, you would still want to be friends with her?" Itachi knew what it felt like to lose a best friend over something so stupid, different, but it was all pointless and stupid. The things people did, it never ceased to amaze him.
"That question implicates that you are cute enough to fight over and cuter than your brother." Ino reached for the closest fish and placed it on the cutting board. "It all depends, if you didn't seem to like either of us, then of course. If you made it clear that you wanted her instead of me, then I'm good as long as she is happy. If you picked me and she couldn't deal with it, then the friendship might end but I would try to make it work until I knew it was a lost cause."
"So you agree I'm better looking and worth fighting over?" The blade stopped mid-slice and the blue eyes landed on his face. He was fishing for her opinion, he already knew that she thought his brother to be worth pursuing.
"I found something!" Hinata called out from her spot. She waved a hand, calling them both over since she didn't want to get up. Sasuke had the top of his head resting against her hip and if she stood, he might wake up. The two left the kitchen to come over to see what she had found. "The book so far is just information about the ancestry of the villages but this picture was shoved in between two pages. I think it was being used as some kind of marker, but who do you think it is?"
The picture was older, tinged yellow around the edges. It had been taken by an older camera, not in good condition. Itachi leaned over her shoulder from behind to see who was in it. There was a large group of people smiling back at the photographer. His guess was that it was three teams with their sensei.
"This is Mahan," Ino pointed to one of the grown men in the picture. The man was younger than what she had seen him but there was no mistaking that face. There was also a very pretty female in the middle, centered by all of the children.
"Three teams, with their sensei, so this is Mahan's team. The other man, he kind of looks familiar." Hinata tried to figure out where she'd seen him before. The man had hair so blonde it was almost platinum, dark blue eyes were bright in the picture, and he had soft features.
"I'm willing to bet that is Senju Kirurama, and the woman would be the Rena woman that was their teammate. It is a picture of their first teams," Itachi thought the blonde looked a lot like the man in the picture. The mother hadn't been that pretty, so she had to get her looks from somewhere. "That boy there, I know who he is."
"How can you see his face? He is the only one not looking at the camera," Ino took a good look at the man that had sired her. He was hot in a disturbing way because she knew he had nutted to make her but she could see why her mother had messed around with him. In the picture was the type of man that never lost his good looks no matter the age. Some men just got unattractive as they aged, like the Nara men.
"Because I know that profile and look at Mihan's neck." Itachi placed a hand over his own, feeling the weight of the adornment that he had never taken off. "My father gave me this when I graduated from the academy at such a young age. He told me that I carry the future and hope of all the Uchiha on my shoulders. He said that the necklace was special because his sensei had given it to him. That boy is my father, Fugaku and the girl on the other team is my mother, Mikoto."
"So your mother was Rena's pupil too? Look at her coat," Ino thought the older female in the picture was very beautiful with large eyes. The sensei had her hands on the only girl on her team, Mikoto. The symbol on the arm represented the Uchiha clan. "That explains why he didn't mind if we let Sasuke use that jutsu on you."
"He knew both of your parents, he taught your father and your mother seemed to be very close to this Rena. Instead of coming back himself, he was okay with giving their child another chance." Hinata hadn't known the man that had sired her but it had been a very thoughtful thing to do.
"It's still kind of creepy knowing that our mothers liked old men." Ino leaned over the other shoulder, putting herself hovering over Sasuke's sleeping form. "You said it was wedged in the pages? Maybe it was put there on purpose, what page are you on?"
"Here, but it is just about the ancestry of some family in Suna. There is nothing special about it, except it has some letters underlined."Hinata allowed Itachi to take the book from her grasp. "What is it?"
"I think the page was marked on purpose for you to find and the letters are underlined for a reason. Ino, can you find me some paper and pen, I think it is a code." He took a seat on the floor and put the book on the table. The requested items were handed over, "Thank you."
"Maybe this word on the back has something to do with it too." Hinata picked up the fallen picture that had been forgotten in his haste. The print was small, with sloppy handwriting, "I think this is his handwriting and it says family."
"Family," Itachi wrote the word down at the top of the page. If it was a clue, they were meant to figure it out. His eyes swayed to the only family he had left. While Sasuke slept they had already figured out a vital piece of information thanks to Hianta. They now knew Mahan's connection to them, and it wasn't through the two girls. His mother had never spoken much about her own training or her days as a shinobi. She had been happy to be a mother and wife. He had always wondered why his mother, who was a gentle person, would support the idea of open war with the village. Was it because she had also blamed the council for the disappearance of her beloved sensei? Both their sensei had been Uchiha, one had disappeared and labeled a rogue, the other sentenced to death and then turned rogue. "There is five T, six E, one A, three N, two L, one F, one S, two I, one X, two D, one O, two W, one V, two R, one G, two H, one U, and one P."
"Good luck with that," Ino didn't care for riddles, she would take care of the food. "I'm going to finish the stew, you can help him with that Hinata."
"Um, I can try but I don't think I can move." Hinata frowned when the older sibling chuckled at her predicament. She wasn't a pillow and soon enough she would have to use the bathroom. Sasuke had turned to his side at the sound of Ino's voice and had snuggled his face into her leg. His palm was resting above her knee, she couldn't stand up without waking him up.
"Twist your bottom to the side and slide out from under him, it shouldn't wake him." Itachi instructed and waited for the girl to ease out from under the head. There was a grumble of annoyance but Sasuke didn't wake.
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What was so damn funny? The pleasant sound of gentle laughter continued to stir him. Sasuke focused on the noise, it was very close. The smell of food lingered in the air, bringing him closer to being awake. His stomach gurgled that it was way past time to eat. His bladder needed to be relieved as well. The soothing sound of Hinata's voice was close, he pried his eyes open to take a look around. He didn't remember falling asleep, he recalled drinking some tea last night after dinner and then that was it. What time was it? And why the hell was she so damn cozy with his brother? The two were sitting on the floor, both with the heads bent together. All Itachi would have to do would be to turn his head to kiss her. What shocked him was that she didn't seem to mind how close they were. "Need you be so loud?"
"Oh," Hinata turned at his voice, and immediately felt horrible about speaking so loud. She hadn't thought about it. After hours of trying to figure it out, she had noticed something and had gotten excited. Itachi wasn't like most men, he didn't get aggravated the longer they stared at the many letters. They had come up with so many possible combinations but none of it made any sense. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"If that were the case you wouldn't have been so loud. How could I not wake when you practically screech next to me? I'm sure whatever he said wasn't that amusing and if you feel the need to flirt, do so elsewhere." Sasuke tossed the cover from his legs, seeing just how close the two were sitting. They were practically pressed against each other, "You're becoming more obnoxious than Sakura. No wonder the dobe left you if that is the way you act when shown a little bit of attention."
"I…I a..am so sorry, I really didn't mean to be so loud." Hinata felt herself withering under the glare. She wasn't really afraid but it made her want to apologize again and get away from it. She hadn't been that loud, had she? Her voice hadn't disturbed Ino who was laying down in the bedroom. "Excuse me, I'm going to go check the wash."
"Sasuke!" Itachi growled out seeing the girl flee the room. She hadn't been that loud and he had most likely woken up because it was way past time for the drug to have worn off. Without a word, his sibling stormed into the bathroom to take a piss. He couldn't believe the attitude he was getting, Sasuke hadn't even bothered to completely close the door. What gave? The discovery was forgotten for now, he waited patiently for the toilet to flush and the sink to be turned off. "Do you care to explain yourself?"
"I thought I said what was on my mind. I'm tired and I don't care to be woken up because you two can't keep it down." Where had she gone? Sasuke noticed that the line had been taken down at some point and placed elsewhere.
"She wasn't that loud and you still had no right to be so rude. If Ino's screeching didn't wake you up earlier then I seriously doubt Hinata's voice did so." Itachi glowered at the heated look, Sasuke was pissed at him as well but he wasn't an easy target, the girl was. "Your eyes give you away, you're angry with me as well, why?"
"Because you defend her and I'm your brother. You went on about me needing rest but don't care enough to tell her to shut up when she starts giggling like an idiot. If you want to flirt, do it elsewhere." Because he didn't want to see it.
"You're jealous?" Itachi ran a hand through his hair. The denial was on Sasuke's face, "Don't bother, brother. She wasn't that loud and we weren't flirting, she was merely happy because she figured something out. Don't glare at me, I was not flirting with your girl."
"She isn't my girl and I could care less if you were." Sasuke didn't care what they did, as long as they were quiet about it. "How long have I been asleep, I feel like shit."
"You've been asleep for almost two days, so you've had plenty of rest." Itachi sighed when his brother took the spot Hinata had vacated. "We found this picture; that is mom and dad with their sensei. The two men are Mahan and Kirurama, the female is Rena. It was used to mark this page and we've been trying to decipher the message that was left behind. Hinata has sharp eyes and just said something about the way the letters are underlined are different."
"Let me see," Sasuke eyed the markings, not really seeing a difference. It looked like someone had quickly underlined each letter. "Wait, these two are different, this T's line has more of a curve to it than the O that is marked next."
"It does, and the A has the same one-sided slant as the U. One W has a bold underline and the other has a normal line. There are four distinct types of marks for the letters, try grouping the letters that way." Sasuke watched the hand quickly jot the letters down in the correct groups. "Lets start with the smallest group, see what it says."
"Sow, sin, six and that leaves d, o, w, n, it means six down." Itachi wrote the words down and moved onto the next. There was ten left, twelve right, and up three. "These are directions but directions to what and where would we start? Not to mention we need
to figure out the order. Give me that picture, please."
Sasuke took a good look at the picture, staring at a younger version of his parents. His father was almost pathetic in the snapshot. The adoration he saw, it wasn't something he thought to ever see on the man's face.
"Got it, it is the way they are lined up. Dad was in squad ten as a genin, mom said she was in squad six, but that leaves the other two numbers. I think we can assume that this is team twelve since the AND states that the three comes last." Itachi scribbled the directions down but there was simply nothing to state where to begin. It was telling them where to look for something but where to start or perhaps they already had the answer, "The office area was the only part that was in disarray when we arrived. To a common intruder it was meant to look like the office had been ransacked but it wasn't. Where was this book placed? Where did we pick it up from?"
"Which is it?" Sasuke looked at the cover, he recalled it. "I picked it up, I remember thinking that it was probably boring as hell but you'd probably want to read it. It was laying by itself in this corner over here."
The two stared at the section of floor, Itachi went back to the table to fetch the table lantern. It was hard to make out but there were distinct sections carved into the wood paneling. He counted in his head, following the instructions left for them to decipher. His fingers touched the area they had been led to, "How to get it open."
"Want me to try cutting out the floor?" Sasuke didn't see any other way to get into the floor. What was his brother doing? "I don't think that will work even if it is sealed away. The last few things needed their blood, since they are his kids."
"No, don't you get it, Brother? Ino is not his child but she was able to unseal the scroll. It wasn't because she was blood-related or an Uchiha, because she isn't. She was able to do it because of how Mahan saw her. He sealed these things away and they can only be unsealed by those he considers family. That is what the message on the back of the picture means, it is those he thought of as family. That is why he still considered Ino his daughter after he discovered he hadn't sired her, she was special to him. She was the daughter of his former teammate and rival, someone he loved despite their differences. Just as our parents were special to them, he considered them to be family."
"That doesn't mean he considered you or I his family. We have never met the man," Sasuke pointed out. Sure, the man considered Ino to be family but that didn't mean it extended to them. Hinata was a given since she was technically his daughter, this wasn't going to work. That didn't stop his brother from drawing blood and writing the kanji for the word on the indicated spot.
The blood glowed for a few seconds and the floor disappeared. Itachi reached inside to retrieve a folded piece of parchment, "When I was four, I went off on my own because I heard our parents discussing having another child. I think I was upset at the time because I didn't understand it fully. I just remember my friends saying that I was being replaced, so I was going to run away since they didn't need me any longer. I didn't make it far before I sat down to wait and started to cry. I was found by a man, he did nothing but pick me up and carted me home. It never occurred to me until now how the stranger knew who I was or why mother didn't question him. She simply smiled and thanked him for bringing me back. All I can remember about him was that he had dark hair, large hands, and he told me family is who you love. I think we have met him, but we were never allowed to know him."
"Well, you got it open because the man was sentimental, so what is it?" Sasuke didn't recall any such man, not that he could remember. He watched his brother unfold the paper, just as curious as to what had been left behind. The writing was horrible but there was no mistake about what they were both reading, "It's the prophecy."
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Next chapter: The prophecy..