So here we go again. In this chapter Naruto and Deidara meet Sasuke and Itachi. Also Mikoto plays matchmaker for her boys and brother while attempting to bring some spice into her marriage. Iruka sets Kakashi's kids straight and Kakashi flirts with Iruka! I accidentally erased this fic when I was going to edit a chapter; it was my finest duh moment. Ahyhoo, I hope you all like the story thus far. Thanks to all of you who reviewed, and are following this story. I'm starting work on chapter twenty now, yay! I've finally broken my twelve chapter limit. This chappie is a little long, but I hope you like it. Happy reading.
Chapter Four
Naruto leaned up against the counter as he smiled dreamily remembering the ramen he had for lunch. Ichiraku really did make the best stuff. He, Deidara, and Iruka were in the bakery and the others were scattered doing whatever they were doing next door. He was trying to figure out a way to get his family to all eat ramen at Ichiraku's when he heard the bell chime. Looking up, he saw the kids from yesterday as they filed into the shop.
"Oi, school's out already?" he asked as Koyuki approached the counter.
"We have private tutors," Fuyuki said. "We don't go to school."
Naruto nodded as he studied the group of kids. They were all dressed like little businessmen and women which confused Naruto. Usually kids were dressed in trendy popular fashions not like they were going to a board meeting. As he continued to look at the children he noticed that they were almost unnaturally clean. It was supernatural. The girl he could understand, but the boys baffled him. He remembered that Chiyo used to complain that he and his brothers all had a permanent layer of dirt that remained on them until they were at least fifteen. They all looked healthy in spite of their pale complexions but the thing he noticed the most was that they didn't look happy.
"That must be nice," Naruto offered. To which Fuyuki shrugged indifferently. "Who is this?" he asked as he smiled at the shy child.
"This is my littlest cousin Daisuke, he's four," Koyuki said as the child put two fingers in his mouth. "Is Iruka-san around… uh, I'm sorry, I can't remember your name," Koyuki said in a small voice she held the hand of a small boy who looked like a clone of the twins. He peeked up at the blond cautiously.
"Naruto," he offered his hand and the girl shook it as she blushed. He raised his voice to be heard in the kitchen, "Nii-chan, those kids from yesterday want you."
Deidara and Iruka came out of the kitchen and smiled at the group causing Koyuki to blush deeper. "How are you guys today?" he asked kindly.
She looked around. "Where's Kankuro-san?" she asked with a dreamy look on her face.
"He's not here right now, Koyuki-chan. Is something wrong?" Deidara asked as he looked at her flaming face. He groaned when he put two and two together. She had a crush on Kankuro.
"We have a thank you presents for our rescuers," Koyuki said shyly. She handed Iruka a card as she bowed in front of him. Fuyuki gave a card to Deidara while the twins fumed silently. "Can you give Kankuro-san his gift?" Koyuki asked as she handed it to Iruka.
"Uh, sure," he replied and opened up his envelope to take the card out. As he opened the card, a slip of paper fell out of it and fluttered to the ground. Bending to pick it up, he saw that it was a personal check from Koyuki and the amount written on it was staggering. He sputtered as he looked at the girl in front of him. "Koyuki-chan, I can't accept this from you. I know you appreciate that we saved you but we would have done it for anyone and we certainly don't expect payment. Anyway, where would you get this much money?" he asked.
Koyuki's face crumpled and she looked as though she was getting ready to cry. "I'm sorry, Iruka-san. I thought we could be special to you…" she trailed off.
Iruka's body went still for just a moment before he gathered himself. He noticed that the children were headed for the door as he looked around for them. He looked over to Deidara and Naruto who both shrugged their shoulders. Nothing like this had ever happened to them before. He stepped from behind the counter and caught the girl's elbow and steered her and her brother to the couch.
Naruto and Deidara saw the uncomfortable looks on the three raven children's faces as they stood by the door. They looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there. Then Naruto got a brilliant idea. "Nii-chan, Dei and I are gonna teach these guys how to bake a cake," he said as he pointed to the three boys. When he motioned them forward the twins grabbed Daisuke's hand and pulled him along as they ran over to the blonds.
"We are?" Deidara asked. The twins beamed and they each grabbed one of his hands.
"Our lovely bride's going to bake for us Kei!" Kai said excitedly.
"I know Kai, I could die happy!" Kei said as he looked up at Deidara with hearts in his eyes.
"You just might right after I kill my beloved otouto," Deidara mumbled as he walked awkwardly to the kitchen as the little brats clung to his waist.
"Just look at how happy they are, Dei. How many people can you say you've made really happy," Naruto joked. He laughed loudly when Deidara flipped him off. He felt a little tug on his hand and he looked down at the solemn little boy in front of him and smiled.
Daisuke looked worriedly up at Naruto, "Are you my bride?" he asked quietly.
"No baka," Naruto said lightly to take the sting off of the insult. "I will be your friend though," he said as he stroked the silken head.
Daisuke smiled brightly up at Naruto. "You're my first friend," he said.
Naruto's chest tightened and he blinked back a tear. "Come on baka, let's go make a cake."
Iruka was glad that Naruto was a genius. He sat in a chair in front of the kids who refused to meet his eyes. He knew the look on their faces because he and his siblings once had it. The desire to be loved, to be special, to be a part of something was so present in their eyes it was overwhelming.
Fuyuki looked uncomfortable as he tried to avoid Iruka's gaze. He wished the older man would have accepted their offer of friendship but it looked like they had failed. He loved his family, but everyone and everything was so sterile and emotionless save for oba-san. He watched as kids in the park played with their big brothers or friends and jealousy ate through his veins. He was rich and privileged, but he wanted the warmth and security of a friend.
Iruka placed his hands on the shoulders of the siblings and smiled gently as he began. "I'm sorry I hurt you with my words just now," he said. "I didn't mean them the way they sounded. It's true that my brothers and I would save anyone that was in danger, but that doesn't mean that you guys aren't special to us because you are." Iruka smiled as the children finally looked at him. "I didn't sleep much last night because I was worried about you guys. I knew you were safe, but I still worried. You guys are special and you don't have to give us money to buy our friendship. You are a great group of kids and we would be happy to be a part of your lives." Iruka moved his soft brown eyes over each child.
"You guys will be our friend?" Fuyuki asked.
"Absolutely," Iruka said firmly.
"Kankuro-san will be just friends too?" Koyuki asked in a small voice.
Iruka looked baffled for a moment before he caught on. "You know, Koyuki, a lot of girls your age would confuse friendship for a crush and it causes them a lot of pain. You're smarter than that though. You know that we want to love you like a friend, right?" he asked gently giving her an out.
Koyuki nodded and gave a tenuous smile, "Guys my age are much better," she said teasingly but slightly nervous. Iruka threw his head back and laughed and pulled the kids into his warm embrace.
"If we're going to be friends then you guys have to call me Iruka-chan like my family does," he said to the kids.
"Can I call you Ruru?" Fuyuki asked as he snorted.
"Only if you want to be minus a few teeth," Iruka threatened.
"'Ruka-chan then," Koyuki asked.
"That one's okay," Iruka agreed.
"Is there nothing you can't do, Iruka-chan?" a voice asked form the doorway.
"Oba-san!" Fuyuki said as Mikoto moved to stand behind Iruka.
Iruka got out of his chair and smiled warmly at the woman. "There are too many things I can't do," he said.
Mikoto looked around nervously, "Koyuki where are the boys?"
"Obaa-san!" the ravens yelled from the kitchen, "We're in here but don't come in."
Iruka watched the tension drain out of Mikoto's face. "They're with Dei and Naruto."
"Is Dei one of the bodyguards?" Mikoto asked.
"We gave them the slip, oba-san. We didn't want to worry Iruka-sa…'Ruka-chan," Koyuki said.
Iruka furrowed his brow and said, "Deidara is one of my brothers, the one with the long blond hair." He turned to the kids and asked, "Bodyguards?"
"Umm, yeah oba-san gave us bodyguards to protect us when we go out because of yesterday," Fuyuki explained.
"And you guys are just walking around without them?" Iruka raised his voice and the kids winced. Mikoto watched with interest. "Do you know how dangerous that is?"
"You won't let anything happen to us, 'Ruka-chan," Fuyuki said quietly taking all of the wind out of Iruka's sails.
"True," he conceded, "But you guys are not to walk around anymore without your bodyguards especially with small children. If you want to come here they must drop you off. We can't be friends if you put your lives in danger, do you understand?"
"Yes 'Ruka-chan," they said together.
He turned to a highly amused Mikoto and said, "Sorry I didn't realize… but who are you people that you need bodyguards for your kids?"
Mikoto waved her hand, "Not important right now," she dismissed as she pulled out her phone and sent a text message. Smiling at her phone she set a timer and turned to Iruka, "What does a girl gotta do to get a cup of coffee around here?" she asked.
Iruka pulled out a chair and offered it to Mikoto. He moved to make her a cup of coffee and grabbed some cookies for the kids. "Busy day?" she asked as he took the chair opposite her.
"Umm," Iruka agreed, "Good though. The boys have almost enough students for two capoeira classes and Temari still needs to fill a mixed dance class."
"Mixed dance?" Mikoto asked as she sipped her coffee.
"Uh-huh, ballroom and Latin," Iruka said.
"Sounds interesting," she said. "Sign me and my husband Fugaku up for the mixed classes," Mikoto said as her eyes sparkled at the thought of her stoic husband dancing Latin dances. "Also sign my grandchildren and these guys for your capoeira classes."
"Really? Cool!" Fuyuki asked excitedly.
"Oba-san, I don't want to learn how to fight," Koyuki said quietly. She hated violence.
"You can take dance classes from Temari then," Mikoto said. "Who will be helping her teach?"
"Gaara and I will help her out with ballroom and Dei and Naruto will help her out with Latin. Kankuro will help out under dire circumstances," Iruka chuckled.
"I didn't know you danced, Iruka," Mikoto said as she raised an eyebrow.
"Are you kidding, I'm a five time world champ," he teased. He stood up and held out a hand to her, "Would you like a tour of my family's business?" he asked.
"I'd love it," she said.
Inside the kitchen, Naruto and the kids were having the time of their lives. So was Dei, but he refused to acknowledge it. He was seeing exactly what Naruto had seen earlier about the kids and it didn't sit right with him either. Kids should be kids, not forced to be grown at the ages of four and five. It never failed to piss him off when parents forced their children to act grown up when they were growing up and meanwhile, the parents themselves acted like petulant teens. He and his brothers and sister were so lucky to have had Chiyo as their mother. Besides, the kids were adorable when they weren't annoying him.
The boys had taken their suit jackets off and had large aprons tied over their clothes that offered no protection for them. The twins cooed over how cute Deidara was in is apron saying again how lucky they were to have such a beautiful bride causing Dei to grumble.
Daisuke paid close attention to everything Naruto told him to do while the twins cooed over their bride. His little brow creased in concentration as he tried to get all of the measurements right and stay clean. Naruto's heart clenched at the sight of the little boy trying to be so perfect. "It doesn't have to be perfect, ya know?" he said gently.
Daisuke looked into Naruto's shining blue eyes and said, "But I'm making it for my otou-san. If I do a good job, maybe he'll smile at me," he said as he turned back to his work.
Naruto felt his heart twist painfully at the child's words. It wasn't right that such a small child had such a large burden to carry. Wanting to help the kid lighten up a little, he picked up a handful of flour and tossed it at Deidara and his suitors causing Deidara to sputter and the others to shriek. Iruka and a dark haired woman ran into the kitchen in time to see Deidara pick up a handful of flour and throw it into Naruto's face making a muted 'poof' as it splattered.
"What are you two doing?" Iruka yelled.
"I'm showing Daisuke how to make a cake," Naruto said as he wiped his eyes. He winked at the little boy who stood speechless next to him as his blue eyes sparkled.
"Part of making a cake is getting the ingredients into a bowl," Iruka said shaking his head. Deidara's eyes glittered with malice towards his brother. "Mikoto-san, you met Dei yesterday," he nodded his head toward the man wiping the flour from his clothes with a towel.
"Oh yes I remember." She said playfully, "My magomusuko's bride to be. How are you?"
Deidara smiled, "Never better."
"This is my otouto Naruto; Naruto this is Daisuke's obaa-san," Iruka introduced them.
Naruto wiped the flour from his face and turned towards the woman and smiled warmly, "I refuse to believe someone as beautiful as you could be anybody's obaa-san!" he said charmingly as he took her hand and kissed it.
Mikoto blushed lightly as she accepted his attention. This one was certainly a charmer. She watched as Naruto looked at Daisuke and winked as the child watched in wide eyed fascination.
Iruka smiled at his brother and said, "I'm going to give Mikoto-san a tour. Can you guys stay out of trouble or do you need a timeout?"
"Che, whatever," Deidara grumbled. "I'm teaching these little nerds how to bake!" he said with a toss of his head. The brothers knew this was Deidara speak for 'I'm getting attached to these little ones, leave me alone!'
Iruka smiled knowingly at his brothers and led Mikoto to the studio door as Kakashi's kids followed behind. Mikoto was impressed as she looked over the trophies. She smiled as Temari blushed and sputtered when she found out Mikoto wanted to learn ballroom dancing from her. Temari gave Mikoto a dance list and tips for classes as well as a schedule. Iruka then took her up to the art studio where Gaara and Kankuro were working. Mikoto wandered around looking at the projects the boys were working on. She was very impressed by what she saw. An almost finished statue caught her eye. "Is that…" she trailed off.
"Daphne turning into a laurel tree to escape Apollo," Iruka finished for her. "It's Naruto's. He is the sculptor of the family," Iruka said proudly.
Mikoto marveled at the detail in the sculpture. It was right on par with master sculptors from the renaissance. She ran her hand over the finish feeling the smoothness of the surface. She stepped back, "How much?" she asked.
"Mikoto-san, the boys do this for fun," Iruka explained causing her to snort in disbelief. "I don't know if they would actually sell anything."
As Mikoto moved around the room again she stopped in front of Kankuro greeting him which he returned. Koyuki was already standing there watching Kankuro put the finishing touches on a doll he was making. "So pretty," she said. It was a geisha doll with an elaborate kimono, hand painted fan, and upswept hairstyle complete with hairpins. The doll was exquisite to say the least with moveable joints and another dress was hanging on a tiny dressing screen.
Kankuro saw the look in the girl's eyes and wondered if she had ever seen a doll. "Don't you have one of these?" he asked.
"No. Okaa-san always said they were a waste of time, and otou-san is a man so he never thinks of those things," Koyuki explained.
Kankuro's eyes hardened for a moment before he sighed deeply. "Well this doll is headed for the trash. It didn't turn out right," he said as he placed it in a box with its outfit and screen.
"No, please! Don't throw it away!" She begged with tears in her eyes.
"Do you want it?" Kankuro asked looking at the girl. She launched herself at Kankuro, hugged him tightly, and nodded against his neck. He pushed the box into her arms so she would detach herself from his neck. "Here, take it." Koyuki took the doll and hugged it close to her but continued to cling to him.
Mikoto smiled knowingly at Kankuro making him feel uneasy. As she turned to greet Gaara who was sitting twenty feet away, her attention was caught by an impressionist type painting that sat on an easel opposite of Gaara. She moved in to get a closer look at it. It was of a couple in the local park sitting under a tree. "Beautiful," she said.
"That is Deidara nii-chan's painting," Gaara said in his low voice.
Mikoto looked over to Gaara's painting and gasped. The painting was of the death of Adonis and it was breath taking. Done in the classic style, the detail that was put into the painting was astonishing and lifelike. The colors were so rich they looked like they were going to pop right off of the canvas. Again Mikoto said, "How much?"
"Do you like Greek mythology, Mikoto-san?" Iruka asked.
"I love it as well as Japanese mythology and art. They are both my favorites," she said.
"You're in luck, Mikoto-san, those are Naruto and Gaara's favorite subjects too," Kankuro said as he continued to try to pry Koyuki off of him.
"There's more?" she asked.
The boys began to look more uncomfortable and Iruka stepped in to take control. "Maybe we should go see about the others now," he suggested lightly. He led Mikoto out of the room as his brothers breathed a sigh of relief.
Once they were back downstairs again they headed for the bakery. When they went inside, the three children were sitting at one of the tables swinging their legs and eating a brownie each. Naruto smiled as they entered the room, "Did you enjoy your tour?" he asked as he pulled out the remaining chair for her.
"Very much, you are all very talented. Deidara, how much do you want for your painting and Naruto, how much for your sculpture?" she asked.
Naruto's face burned with embarrassment and he turned away. "The boys made two cakes by themselves," he said as he cleared his throat.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the brothers holding a private conversation with one another and again she got the sense that each of these artistic and gentle souls had deep scars. They looked over to the couch where Koyuki sat cradling her new doll like it was more precious than anything in the world. Deidara raised an eyebrow and Iruka nodded.
Naruto twisted his upper body causing his back to crack then turned to the boys at the table. "If you guys are done, we can go decorate your cakes now. They should be cool enough."
The boys scrambled out of their chairs and followed Naruto back into the kitchen. Deidara sighed loudly and brought up the rear. Iruka sat down next to Mikoto at the table. "Please don't be offended. They just don't know how to react," Iruka explained.
The bell above the shop rang again as Kakashi stepped through the door followed by three clones. Mikoto smiled up from her chair as Iruka stood and went to the trio on the couch. "Fugaku, my love, I expected you sooner," she said as she turned off the timer she had set. He was actually ten minutes earlier than she had expected.
"I would have been here sooner if not for your brother preening like he was going on a date," Fugaku said. The man was six feet tall with medium length black hair and black eyes. His face was very stern.
"I was coming to see my honey," Kakashi said as he leered at Iruka who was at that time bent over wiping dust off of Fuyuki's nose and not paying any attention to him at all.
"Humph!" Fugaku snorted.
Naruto stepped out of the kitchen to see if Iruka needed help with the newcomers. He gasped when he saw them and suddenly he believed what Deidara had said about moving to a city full of vampires was true. Three of the men were all dressed in black, with black hair, and black eyes, porcelain skin, and perfect faces. The other newcomer was the bastard who tried to hit his nii-chan yesterday. He saw the pervert leering at Iruka as he was bent over talking to his children.
Naruto was about to say something when he felt a tug on his hand and he looked down to see Daisuke. He picked the little one up and rubbed the tip of his turned up nose with his own causing Daisuke to giggle. Hearing the laughter, Naruto began to tickle his captive. Suddenly a dark cloud stepped into their light.
"Naru-chan…" Daisuke squealed as Naruto tickled him. His laughter trailed off and his eyes widened with shock. "Otou-san," he whispered.
Sasuke stepped in front of the blond whom his son was now firmly plastered against. "Okaa-san who is this man?" he asked in his deep baritone never taking his eyes off of his prey in front of him. He was around five feet eight inches to Sasuke's five feet eleven inch frame and dressed horrendously. His body was slim but muscular and his skin was sinfully creamy and smooth looking, caramel in color. His eyes were the color of the deepest purest ocean in creation; his hair was as bright as the sun. His face was rounded slightly with beautiful features and three scars on each side of it that gave him an almost animalistic exotic quality.
Naruto was sickened by the look on the boy's face. He put Daisuke on the ground and stepped protectively in front of him assuming a fighting stance.
Sasuke blinked a few times as he watched the man in front of him step in front of his child to protect him from him. It was unbelievable. "Dobe," Sasuke said lowly causing Mikoto to gasp at his rudeness.
Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you call me, teme?" he spat at the man whose facial expression had not changed from the bored mask he wore when he came in.
"Sasuke, this is Naruto-chan, Iruka-chan's otouto. He and Daisuke are very good friends. They've been working on a surprise for you," Mikoto interceded in a tone that informed Sasuke he was going too far and he was scaring his son.
Sasuke gave his son a slight nod as Daisuke peeked from around Naruto's waist glancing nervously at his father. Daisuke put a hand on the straining blond to get his attention. With pleading eyes he asked, "Can we get the surprise now?"
Naruto relaxed. "Can you ask Dei to help you bring it in?" he asked gently smoothing a hand over the child's head. He refused to give up the staring contest between himself and the bastard.
Daisuke smiled brightly at the blond and dashed into the kitchen leaving his inwardly stunned father behind. Sasuke had never seen his son smile like that. He glared at the blond before turning to look at his brother Itachi but he was taken aback by the look on his brother's face.
Itachi watched as his twins came from the back of the shop with his nephew. They were covered in flour and icing from head to toe carrying their suit jackets and dressed in ridiculously large aprons. They were followed by a beautiful woman with long blond hair who was carrying two cakes. She put them on top of the counter and smiled at the group in front of her.
Itachi was livid but his face showed nothing to the casual observer. He was shocked by the desire that streaked through his body when he saw the woman leaving him bewildered. He had never been attracted to women. His boys were the result of surrogacy and not a relationship with a woman. He preferred pretty, slim boys fresh out of college who needed a 'big brother' to help them out. "What the hell did you do to my children?" he said in a low voice. "They're a fucking mess!" he lashed out in a momentary lapse of character to cover his desire.
Deidara saw the disappointment on the faces of the twins just before a cold expressionless mask descended on their features and his restraint snapped. "They were baking a cake for their prick of a father and got a little messy like kids tend to when they have fun. They thought it would make the asshole happy but I guess they were wrong!" he snarled.
"You're not a woman?" Itachi asked surprise evident in his voice. He looked at the enraged beauty in front of him noting the lack of breasts and the lean muscular five feet ten body and he was speechless. It was not possible that a man could be this beautiful. The sky blue almond shaped eyes darkened to homicidal levels as they glared daggers at him.
"Itachi," his mother began a warning tone in her voice, "Deidara-chan is Iruka-chan's otouto too and you're insulting him."
Itachi's mind was reeling. He heard the vision's voice, saw the lack of womanly attributes, but he still couldn't believe this was a man. He didn't think anything could have stunned him more until his son spoke.
"He's our bride, otou-san," Kei said in a flat voice almost causing his father's perfect self-discipline to shatter.
Deidara looked at the dark man in front of him. His flawless features were devoid of any emotion; his dark eyes blank. Long black hair was tied at the neck and hung down his left shoulder. His lean six foot two frame was willowy not scrawny and dressed impeccably with nothing out of place just like his other clones. For lack of a better description he was perfect. Perfect and cold. Without realizing what he had done, Deidara had placed a hand on each twin and drew them close.
Any other day, Sasuke would have loved this. His perfect brother's perfect self-control in tatters, it was almost too good. Yes if it had been any other day he would have relished it, but he was having troubles of his own that mirrored his brother's he thought sourly as he looked at the other blond.
Itachi finally regained enough control to say, "When you are old enough, I will choose a bride for you. An appropriate bride," he said tersely.
Dei was now well past his boiling point. He gazed at the smug asshole in front of him intent on doing bodily harm. This ass was way too controlling which to Dei, the definition of chaos, was too much. He picked up a tart from the counter and sauntered towards the living statue. "You can't control everything, ya know. There's always something that will be a factor, un," he purred as he got closer.
Itachi swallowed thickly, "Like what?" he asked in an indulgent tone.
Deidara stopped in front of the statue and ran a hand up his suit jacket, "Like this," he whispered just before he smashed the tart into Itachi's face ignoring his name being called out by Iruka. He tossed his golden mane and stalked away from Itachi while the living statue pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket appalled that someone had assaulted him with a tart.
Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. Maybe he could enjoy this. He watched as his brother wiped his face and gave the Uchiha death glare to the blond.
Iruka had hurried off to the kitchen to retrieve a wet cloth while the others in the room choked back laughter at the scene that just played out in front of them. He gave the cloth to Itachi while he apologized for Deidara's behavior. He shot a quelling look at his brother.
Deidara was going to apologize for his brother's sake if it had not been for the look of superiority on the statue's face. He again tossed his head refusing to look at the asshole. He glanced at the twins to make sure they were alright and was happy to see that they were smiling again and looking at him adoringly, the masks gone.
Naruto fully approved of what Deidara did. He had seen the twin's response to their father and it pissed him off just as much as it had when it happened to Daisuke. "He deserved it," he said in support of his brother.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed a bit. Sure, he enjoyed his brother's discomfort, but he'd be damned if someone other than him would be allowed to say anything about his family. "Dobe," he warned.
Naruto's eyes flashed in response. Mikoto sat back in her chair and raised her eyebrow at her husband in silent communication. She swept the room with her dark eyes looking pointedly at their grandchildren clinging to the golden boys like they were lifelines, their son's response to the golden duo, and Kakashi's refusal to look at anything other than Iruka while Iruka tended Kakashi's children, and then turned her eyes on him again. Fugaku shrugged his shoulders and Mikoto beamed. She stood and brushed a kiss across his cheek. "I love you," she whispered.
"…behaving disgracefully in front of the children…" Iruka was saying to his brothers as he rubbed his forehead. He jumped as Mikoto put her hand on his right shoulder.
"Did I hurt you, Iruka-chan?" she asked quietly.
"No, Mikoto-san, I was startled," Iruka replied.
Mikoto smiled. "I think this went well, don't you?" she asked the men as they looked at her as though she had lost her mind. "It did! All this," she laughed and swept her hand over the entire scene, "was just nerves. Now that this is all out of the way, we can all be friends," she said as she ignored the incredulous looks that were directed at her.
Kakashi stepped to stand very close to Iruka's left side and inhaled his heavenly cinnamon scent. He put his hand on Iruka's bare shoulder and traced the delicate curve surreptitiously, "Great friends," he murmured as his hand settled on the silken skin that contrasted with his own so well. He smirked when he saw Iruka's skin flush and a shudder wracked his lithe frame.
"Pervert," Naruto grumbled to himself.
Mikoto smiled gently at her friend. "Would you introduce the rest of your family to mine, Iruka-chan?" she asked.
Iruka stepped away from Kakashi as relief washed over his features. He smiled to Mikoto and slid through the door to the studio to retrieve his family.
Naruto, who had been whispering to Iruka before he left the room, looked at the clock and then to Deidara. "Don't you think it's strange we haven't had any customers for well over an hour now?" he asked.
Mikoto flushed guiltily as she looked at her feet. When she had arrived at the shop, she had left three bodyguards outside with instructions to not let anyone in except her family. She wanted this meeting to take place and she didn't want any interruptions. She was excited that her husband agreed to her matchmaking scheme especially after seeing life return to Sasuke's dead eyes and seeing life in Itachi at all. "Yes, that is strange," she said. She moved to the counter and purchased what was left in the cases while her husband watched, eyebrow raised.
Iruka returned with his brothers and sister in tow. None of them looked particularly happy about this, but they did it for their brother's sake. Iruka proudly presented each of his family to the stoic people in front of them.
Daisuke walked up to Gaara with a dreamy expression on his face. "You will be my bride," he whispered to the redhead. He lifted Gaara's hand to kiss it while the redhead gazed down at the child with an astonished look on his face.
When the child lifted his face to Gaara, he saw the hope in the child's face and was unable to do anything other than give him a half smile and cup his cheek. Daisuke smiled beatifically and Gaara nodded. The happiness he gave the child filled him with warmth.
Sasuke was about to say something when he caught a murderous look from the blond duo standing ten feet away. He folded his arms across his chest and joined his brother in a death glare directed at them.
Mikoto was so happy she felt like there was a perma-smile on her face. "Fu, Temari-chan will be teaching us how to ballroom and Latin dance. She is a five time World Champion Ballroom dancer with Iruka-chan and she is a five time Latin Ballroom National Champion with Deidara-chan and Naruto-chan," Mikoto explained as he lifted his eyebrows to his hairline.
"You dance Iruka-chan?" Kakashi asked seductively. Iruka, Temari, Deidara, and Naruto's faces were fire engine red.
"He sure does and he'll be teaching as well as Dei-chan. I signed Koyuki up for the dance classes too," she informed Kakashi to which he mouthed a silent thank you.
"I also signed the boys up for capoeira classes. Gaara-chan, Naruto-chan and Kankuro-chan will be leading those classes," the afore mentioned men's faces flamed as well as Fugaku looked impressed.
"Koyuki, where did you get that?" he asked as he pointed to the doll he just noticed in her hands.
"Kan-chan made it for me," she said as she hugged the doll to her.
Kakashi pinned the tattooed man with a hard glare to which Kankuro shrugged. "Every little girl deserves a doll," he said disinterestedly.
Kakashi relaxed when he realized the meaning behind Kankuro's words knowing his daughter was safe. "Kankuro is a doll maker," Fuyuki explained to his father.
Naruto had stepped away to the studio and came back carrying a small statue and a canvas in his hands. He gave the canvas to Gaara. Giving his own present was embarrassing enough, he'd be damned if he'd heap more embarrassment on himself. He thrust the statue to Mikoto, "Sorry about before. Please accept this," he said with his head bowed.
Mikoto took the statuette in her hands and looked at it lovingly, "It's…"
"Apollo," he finished for her. "You can have the other sculpture too." He looked away uncomfortable.
Mikoto stared at him, mouth agape when Gaara came to stand in front of her. He turned the canvas around and presented it to Mikoto silently. It was a painting of the Japanese mythological story of Amaterasu and Susanoo depicting their eternal struggle and it was breathtaking. Fugaku took the present from the silent man and returned his bow his eyes were drawn back to the painting as the young man walked away patting Daisuke's head as he passed.
Mikoto wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. Fugaku put an arm around her for support. Mikoto was always emotional, which is why he loved her so much. She could show what he couldn't. "Thank you," she said. She looked up at her husband and said, "We should get going."
Fugaku nodded his head and told Sasuke and Itachi they could take a car together alone. Two sets of blank eyes stared at him for tense minutes before the pair of ravens shrugged and walked outside.
"It appears otou-san and okaa-san are quiet taken with that band of ragamuffins in there," Itachi observed lightly as though he were commenting on the weather.
"Hn, nothing to be impressed about," Sasuke returned.
"I agree. Perhaps we should show otou-san and okaa-san just how unimpressive they are, starting with that blond!" Itachi bit out.
"Which one?" Sasuke asked.
"The bitch," Itachi replied.
"Which one?" Sasuke asked again.
Itachi sighed in exasperation. "You handle your bitch and I'll handle mine, agreed?" he asked.
Sasuke nodded and a dark smirk spread across his lips as he thought of Naruto begging him for mercy. Itachi's eyes sparkled demonically as he dreamed of ways to torture the bewitching blond bitch that would surely haunt his dreams tonight.
Back at the bakery…
"Thank you all for the gifts," Mikoto said. "Please don't judge Sasuke and Itachi too harshly. They're going through a rough patch," she explained lamely.
"They're going through an asshole patch," Deidara harrumphed.
"Seriously, Mikoto-san you are great and your husband seems okay too, but those guys are dicks and they could use more than a few pointers on parenting!" Naruto said.
Daisuke, Kai, and Kei came out of the kitchen carrying their cakes in boxes and ran to their grandparents. They bowed to Naruto and Deidara, "Thank you!" they said together. Two large men were waved in to get the boxes of pastries and cakes Mikoto bought to be distributed to their staff.
As Mikoto was getting ready to leave with her family, Kakashi had once again slid behind Iruka. "I think Mikoto's right, we should try to be friends," he ran his palms up Iruka's arms careful not to hurt his bandaged right arm in the process and he leaned forward and pressed into Iruka's body.
Iruka suppressed a whimper at the contact. "Please don't play with me," he whispered as he tried to pull away.
"Who's playing?" Kakashi asked as he bucked his hips forward allowing Iruka to feel the hardness there. "I want to dance the mattress mambo with you," he whispered.
Iruka wrenched out of his grasp and hissed, "There are kids present."
"Which means you'd let me do this if we were alone?" he teased.
Iruka turned on the balls of his feet and stalked away to the doorway of the shop. He gave an embarrassed smile as Mikoto pulled him into a hug before she said goodbye. She stuck her tongue out at her fuming brother childishly. "We'll see you soon, 'Ruka-chan," she said to piss her brother off more.
Iruka hugged each child as they threw themselves at him one at a time as they filed out the door. Kakashi swaggered up to Iruka giving him no chance to escape. He looked left then right before leaning in and stealing a quick kiss from Iruka. "See you soon, 'Ruka-chan," he promised as he licked his lips.
Iruka closed the door and leaned against it. "Someone tell me why we moved here?" he asked forlornly.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I think I miss Suna!" Temari said.
"One thing's for sure, there are as many assholes and dicks in this place as there were in Suna the only difference is we knew who they were in Suna," Kankuro said.
"Perverts too; I saw that guy groping nii-chan!" Naruto said.
Deidara shook his head. "One thing's for sure; I never want to see that asshole again."
"Amen to that," Naruto said.
Gaara smirked. "Methinks the ladies doth protest too much." He took off running when Dei and Naruto screamed "Get him!" and the whole family gave pursuit.
In the car with Fugaku and Mikoto:
"Well what do you think?" Mikoto asked excitedly the moment she and her husband were alone with their grandchildren.
"I think they're talented fine young men and woman, Miko, but dance classes?" he said as close to a moan as he will ever get.
"What? It'll give us a chance to observe and guide without being noticed and it'll be fun," she promised.
"Hn," Fugaku grunted. "Why are some of their faces tattooed?"
"I don't know dear, why does it matter?" she asked.
Fugaku sat in silence pondering the facial tattoos and scars the others had. Only the girl Temari and Deidara didn't have tattoos and scars. "I'm going to run a background check on them just to be safe," he declared knowing it wouldn't make his wife happy in the least.
Mikoto gave him a hard stare for a moment. She knew Fugaku was just being cautious as always, but her gut told her that this family was the best thing that had ever happened to hers. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly, "but if you mess this up for me, you'll regret it."
Okay only one more chapter of introductions and we're set. Next chapter, Kankuro and Ino. Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite, and are following this story. I hope you like it so far and feedback is always appreciated. Now, review!