"Remind me why we have to buy pickles again." Mutters Sasuke.
Itachi's face remains stoic. "Naruto wants pickles." He says.
Sasuke sighs quietly. "Naruto doesn't even like pickles!" He protests.
Itachi looks down slightly at his little brother. "Do you want to tell her she can't have them?" He asks. Sasuke remains silent. "That's what I thought." He says, somewhat smugly.
Everyone stops and stares at the brothers pass through the busy market. Whispers follow them as they walk.
"Did you just see?"
"I thought it was a rumor!"
"The last of the Uchihas..."
"It's Itachi."
"Is Hokage-sama crazy? Letting them back into our village."
"I heard they let Naruto back in too."
"He's alive?"
"According to the lady Hokage, he is."
"Two traitors and a demon fox are three outsiders too many."
"I heard Itachi was on a mission."
"Yeah, and poor Sasuke wanted to avenge his clan but went after the wrong person."
"I agree. The Uchiha's are a major asset to Konoha."
"Naruto though..."
"He saved the village!"
"That was more luck than skill."
"You didn't do anything to help."
"..."
"He's the reason they were here in the first place though. Without him..."
By that point in the villagers conversation, Sasuke decides that he's heard enough of their useless gossip. Itachi walks rigidly at his side, the only proof of how much their words affect him. He quickly turns to face them. "If you don't know what you are talking about then I suggest you not speak at all." He growls. "I left to train with Orochimaru to learn how to deal with pests like you!" Sasuke's voice doesn't rise, but the menacing quality alone warns the crowd just how serious he is.
Itachi places a hand on his little brother's shoulder. Sasuke glares at the villagers for a moment before he turns and looks at the taller man. Itachi shakes his head. Sasuke scowls but follows him into a small store to buy the pickles. At the cash register the girl eyes the two of them from foot to head and licks her lips. "What can I do for you today?" She asks with an over exaggerated flutter of her eyelashes. Great another fangirl.
Itachi places the jar in front of her. "I'm here to pick up some pickles for my pregnant wife." He says, catching onto the girl's attempt at flirting. The girl frowns and quickly rings them out. She then turns to Sasuke.
"Now what about you?" She asks. Sasuke nearly gags in disgust as her thick perfume assaults his sensitive sense of smell.
"I'm afraid our lover is all tied up with the two of us." Says Itachi, placing his arms around Sasuke's waist and drawing him closer to his side. Sasuke's so stunned, he doesn't react.
The girl looks between the two of them with wide eyes. "It's that kind of relationship, then." She says dejectedly.
Itachi nods and releases Sasuke. He grabs the ever important jar of pickles and walks back outside, with Sasuke in tow. "What the hell was that?" Asks Sasuke when the fresh air washes across his face, and the door swings shut.
Itachi looks at him with a chilling smirk. "That's for all twenty-one of my children."
Sasuke stops in his tracks. Itachi was after revenge? "Arrogant sadistic prick."
Itachi turns his head over his shoulder. "I heard that."
Did Sasuke actually say that out loud?
Itachi trips over a rock, but catches himself. Sasuke stares. Itachi just tripped. "What's wrong with you?" He asks.
Itachi's eyes find him. "Didn't we tell you?" He asks after a moment.
Sasuke shakes his head. "Tell me what?" What else does he need to know about his family?
Itachi sighs and continues walking. "I lost my sight that day when we fought."
Sasuke stops him and spins him around so that they are directly facing each other. Itachi's eyes meet his, but the slightly glazed look proves that he doesn't actually see Sasuke. "I don't understand." Whispers Sasuke. "You don't seem like you can't see."
The corners of Itachi's mouth turns up in an almost smile. "You have my eyes, little brother." He reminds him.
Sasuke freezes. He's right. "I thought you said it was a shadow clone." He says. "How is that possible?"
Itachi shrugs. "Even I don't understand all of it. Naru created a seal that switched my eyes with those of my clone. The pain wasn't extreme, and then Kyuubi healed me. He wasn't able to heal the damage already done, but he was able to give me back my eyes. Then through our bond I was able to get my Sharingan back."
"What do you mean by bond?" Asks Sasuke as Itachi pulls away, and continues walking once again.
"Did you ever wonder why Uchiha's are so picky about their life partners?" Asks Itachi. "Why there are never divorces, and why our children all have the sharingan?" He asks.
Sasuke shakes his head. Itachi smiles ruefully. "It's because, dear brother, the first person we bed, sleep with, or whatever you choose to call it, willingly is forever bound to us." He explains.
"But how?" Asks Sasuke, feeling like a small child.
"That is a story for another time, when there are aren't quite so many ears to hear yet another Uchiha secret." Says Itachi. "Do you smell smoke?" He asks suddenly, and extremely randomly.
Sasuke shrugs. "No."
Itachi stiffens, and then leaps suddenly to the top of one house. Sasuke quickly follows, and meets him on the roof. Shit. "There is smoke over there." He tells Itachi as worry worms its way through him. "It looks like a house fire." His own words send a jolt of fear down his spine. "It looks like it's near the compound."
Without a word, the brothers leap from one roof to another. Their worry for a certain blonde has them both going faster than usual. When they finally reach the main gate, horror sweeps through them both. The fire isn't near the compound. It's in the compound.
Itachi runs past the gate and through a crowd. Though Sasuke doesn't know how, considering the fact that he can't see. Then straight into his burning house. Sasuke is about to follow him when Tsunade stops him. "I already have enough people to worry about in there without adding you to the list. You need to stay out here and tell me what happened." She orders. Sasuke shoots a worried glance at the house, but does as his Hokage says.
As Sasuke finishes his report, Itachi emerges a few moments later carrying Naruto in his arms. He runs quickly to Tsunade, and sets Naruto on her feet. "Are you ok?" Asks Tsunade, even as she begins checking the younger blonde's pulse.
Naruto rolls her eyes and smiles reassuringly. "I'm a little singed, but I'm not hurt." She tells her, gesturing to her ash covered clothes.
"What happened?" Asks Tsunade.
Naruto shrugs. "I was upstairs when I smelled smoke. I ignored it because the window was open, and thought it was from outside. Soon I noticed it coming up the stairs, and got up to leave. That's right about when Itachi found me." She explains.
Tsunade nods and moves away from the blonde, satisfied that she isn't hurt. She smiles. "I'm glad."
The faint whir of a blade sailing through the air has the four of them scattering as fast as their highly trained ninja instinct allows. Naruto gasps, and falls to he knees. Tsunade looks over at her and curses. Her water just broke. Another kunai catches Naruto on the arm, as she dodges just enough to avoid a fatal injury. Sasuke immediately goes on the offensive, and draws a couple kunai of his own.
Itachi runs back to Naruto and picks her up.
"Take her to the hospital." Tsunade orders him. Itachi nods. She looks at Sasuke. "Keep an eye on our backs." She tells him. The three of them run as fast as possible, without letting down their guard, to the infirmary.
Luckily there aren't any other attacks, and all four of them make it there quickly. Tsunade enters a room, allows Itachi to set Naruto on the bed, and then shoos him back out. Seconds later, a small team of doctors, nurses, and seal specialists enter the room and lock the door behind them.
Itachi immediately begins pacing the length of the small waiting room. No sounds emerge from Naruto's room, so Sasuke focuses on the shadows he can see floating by from underneath the door. Hours pass like this. Itachi finally sits and wearily places his head into his hands.
Thinking quickly, Sasuke asks the first question that he can think of to help distract both he and his brother for their worry. "You said before that you couldn't see, but you always manage to look right at me when I talk to you." He says. Itachi nods. "How?" He asks.
Itachi sighs and picks his head up. "The more chakra a person has, the more they can give off. I use the chakra of the people around me to sense where they are and what they are doing. I can 'see' the best around Naruto, because I am able to fuse my chakra with hers. It's actually very similar to how sage chakra works. If Naru had not been standing so close to me, there is a small chance that I would not have detected it in time, but my hearing is much more advanced now than it was before I lost my sight. My sharingan actually only improves this ability, and allows me to 'see' 360 degrees around myself." He explains slowly.
"How does the bond work exactly? What does it have to do with the fact that everyone in our family has sharingan?" He asks next, before Itachi can worry himself even more.
"The bond," Starts Itachi. "Is a two-way door. If Naru wants me to feel her emotions, she can 'knock', and then I am able to choose if I want to 'answer'. It works the same way in reverse. We usually leave the bond open, but right now she is shielding me. I suspect it's because she doesn't want me in pain. It's also the reason I was able to smell smoke so soon. To answer your other question, the bond is also the reason we all have Sharingan. Through the bond, our partner develops their own Sharingan. The stronger the bond is, is the stronger the Sharingan is. Sharingan is actually a recessive trait, so in order for it to develop in our children, it imbeds itself into the DNA of our partner as a type of defense mechanism."
"Why have I never been told about this before?" Asks Sasuke. "I think I would have at least noticed it at home."
Itachi shrugs. "None of our family members had a bond as strong as Naruto's and mine. Most marriages that happened in the clan were arranged. There is a small chance that I would have been paired up with Naruto because of the possible strength that our children would inherit." Says Itachi.
"The elders always based marriages off how strong the children could be?" Asks Sasuke, disgustedly.
Itachi nods. "Mother was chosen from a village and family who was well known for their academic prowess. Father, who was physically strong, was paired up with her in hopes that their heir, me and eventually you, would have both qualities. Obviously I got more of both."
Sasuke rolls his eyes. His brother's sense of humor is obviously severely lacking if he thinks he is the better of the two of them. The doors open with a soft swoosh, and both men jump to their feet.
"Everything went well." Says Tsunade. That's all Itachi needs to hear. He quickly walks into the delivery room, completely ignoring whatever else Tsunade has to say. Tsunade rolls her eyes, and turns her attention to Sasuke. "Since you appear to be the only one willing to listen, then I'll tell you, and then you can tell everyone else. Naruto's seal was greatly weakened by her birth. If Kyuubi had wanted to break free, than he very well could have. Luckily for us, the brat has won him over and he aided us in keeping it intact, otherwise we could have lost all four of them. Naruto needs to take it easy for a couple weeks to allow the seal time to strengthen itself again." She orders.
Sasuke fidgets slightly, wondering if she's done talking yet. Tsunade grabs his chin and pulls his face toward her so their gazes are even. "This is your second and only other chance, Sasuke. I know how much a family means to the three of you, so don't allow yourself to miss a moment of any of this. Be a part of those kids' lives. You owe it to them, and to yourself." Sasuke blinks. Tsunade releases his chin and pats his cheek. "Go see your niece and nephew." She tells him. Then she sweeps past him and down the hallway. Sasuke catches a glimpse of an odd smile on her youthful looking face before she turns a corner and disappears. He doesn't waste time thinking about it, and instead chooses to take her well given advice. He can't wait to see his family.
=D =D =D =D =D =D =D
I'm not very good at keeping track of my Mondays. -.- ~sigh~ Sorry about that. On the brighter side (for you all) Hokage's Shadows has been updated a lot more recently than Unexpected. ~again ~sigh~~ I've kinda gotten stuck on it. Hopefully I can get back to it here soon though.
Reviews are welcome!