I do not own Naruto~

Ayano repressed the urge to groan again as she set the table. She had helped her mother cook since she got back from the store, not mentioning her little run in with Itachi. Lord, Mari even made her get dressed up for the occasion. She was actually considering running out the back door and across Konoha to her friend Ayame's dad's restaurant to hide out. She glanced at the door longingly before her mother asked for help. She was praying to every god she had ever heard of that it would snow or hail or something....

Oh, who was she kidding, she lived in Konoha, land of snows-once-a-millennium.

Just as she gave the dish to her mom, there was a knock at the door that made her stomach sink.

Looks like they're still coming...

"Get that, would you?" her mom asked, sticking a pan in the oven. Ayano held back another sigh and went to answer the door.

When she opened it, she was greeted by two familiar faces and one unfamiliar one. Her eyebrows rose at the uncomfortable-looking seven year old, that looked similar to Itachi, standing next to Mikoto.

"Hello, Ayano-chan," Mikoto greeted, smiling. Ayano smiled back and invited them in the house to be polite, pointedly not looking at Itachi. Mari came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel, and they greeted each other.

"My husband couldn't make it," Mikoto apologized. "He was too busy with work."

"Oh, that's fine," Mari waved it off. She smiled down at the seven year old. "And who is this?"

"This is my youngest son, Sasuke," said person's mother stated, patting Sasuke on the shoulder. Ayano couldn't help but think that his parents favored him in some way, to name him after a samurai and name his brother 'weasel'. But then that would be ridiculous, because they would have made the names up before they were born.

Ayano didn't notice Mikoto talking to her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, you were saying?" She flushed in embarrassment. Mikoto grinned.

"I was asking if you are liking the compound," she repeated. Sasuke, standing beside Itachi, was looking around curiously.

"Oh, I still get lost a little, but it's nice," Ayano flushed again. Mikoto smiled at her.

"You'll get used to it," she assured her.

"Well," Mari clapped her hands together and grinned at Mikoto. "We should eat before the food gets cold. How 'bout it?" Mikoto grinned back.

"Do you still make you're otherworldly dishes?" Mikoto asked, following Mari to the dining room. Mari laughed.

"I've experimented a few times, but never on guests," she told them. Ayano tried to drown all of them out. She followed Mikoto and Itachi, Sasuke hot on his heels, followed her.

The guest's of course had perfect manners, even Sasuke. It still unnerved her how silent Itachi was, but she was glad she could have started up a conversation with his brother, who was chatting animatedly. He was telling her about how he started school recently, and the teachers he did and didn't like. Mari and Mikoto were talking amongst themselves at first, but then secretly shifted their attention to Ayano's and Sasuke's conversation.

"Do you like children, Ayano-chan?" Mikoto asked her suddenly. Ayano new she was walking into dangerous territory, and even saw Itachi on the opposite side of the table tense. Just as she was about to reply, her mother beat her to it.

"She's taking on a summer job at the orphanage," Mari stated proudly. Ayano inwardly cursed, and Itachi sighed quietly. Mikoto's eyes glinted.

Perfect Wife for Itachi Checklist:

Likes children---check.

"Is that so?" she asked, trying to glance from her eldest son to Ayano briefly, probably wondering what possible children would look like. Ayano nearly blanched at the thought.

Instead, she smiled politely.

"Yea, I needed something to do over the summer, so..." she trailed off, grateful that Sasuke decided to pull her attention back to him. Mikoto was grinning again, and Ayano sighed.

Sasuke likes her, she likes Sasuke---check.

Soon, but longer than she had hoped for, supper was over. Mari and Mikoto were going to do some more 'catching up-' coughplottingcough, and Ayano excused herself to the backyard. Itachi looked fully content to survive through the mother's odd glances and whisperings, but Sasuke followed Ayano and he was told to keep an eye on his brother.

Ayano was sitting on the deck outside and Sasuke was playing with Aki, Ayano's pet turtle. Itachi walked over to her, and with a sigh, sat down in the last available spot- the one beside her. She was feeling a little skeptical after he did that, and she instantly felt wary. She half expected him to insult her in some way, but he never did, keeping his eyes on Sasuke.

"You know," she mused out loud after a few minutes, experimenting something. "Maybe if I act insane, our parents would just forget about this crap and send me to an official loony-bin." Itachi replied with a 'hn' but otherwise showed no reaction to her existence. Itachi shifted and his arm brushed against his pants, and the sound of fabric against fabric flew to her ears.

"Okay," she stated, turning to him. "Who are you?" He looked slightly surprised by her outburst, but only raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" She scowled at him and crossed her arms.

"You're not Itachi." She raised her chin defiantly and he looked at her like she was stupid.

"I obviously am," he replied, glancing at Sasuke, who's attention was still on the turtle.

"No," she objected. "You're not making me pissed just by being within twenty feet of you, and Itachi is creepily quiet. You just made a noise." Itachi rolled his eyes.

"It's called talking." It sounded like there should be a 'dumbass' at the end of it, and she felt her anger rise.

"I remember you now," she said, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're that guy I ran into today. Shusei or something." Itachi blinked, and his stoic mask fell off, leaving a stunned one.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked, shocked. "And it's 'Shisui.'"

"Well, the reason's I named earlier, and that you didn't get pissed when I down-talked this place." She turned back to the yard, a scowl on her face. "And you're aura is completely different." He blinked.

"My aura?" Her scowl was replaced by a skeptical look.

"I don't know how to describe it." She looked down at her hands. "It's just some weird feeling I get around people. Mostly it's ninjas. Most of the time, it's..." She frowned, at loss for the right word. "Cold, I guess. Itachi and his dad's are both cold and threatening, but Itachi's is scarier. Yours is threatening but less cold." Shisui frowned, and had the idea to flare his chakra.

When he did, she jumped and turned to him with a shocked expression. "What was that?"

"What was what?" he replied, feigning innocence.

"It..." she frowned at him. "You're aura...it like expanded or something." Shisui couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. This girl was good at detecting chakra. Not to mention that Itachi masked his chakra 99.9% of the time and she still felt it.

"You're delusional," he lied, turning back to Sasuke. She sat up straight, still frowning, and switched topics.

"Why are you here instead of him?" she demanded. Shisui glanced back at her.

"Itachi practically begged me to come instead of him," he explained. "If it wasn't for the fact that Sasuke was coming, he wouldn't have bothered and would probably just have disappeared. He made me come instead because he really didn't want to. He wanted me to..." he trailed off. "What did he say? 'Make sure you didn't corrupt his little brother.'" Ayano felt her mouth fall open in disbelief.

"God, he pisses me off!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice, not wanting to cuss in front of Sasuke. Shisui surprised her by laughing.

"Hey, whatever it is you're doing, keep doing it. Itachi's showing more emotion in two days than he has in the past month." She frowned at him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Aniki," a tired voice called. Sasuke walked up to them, rubbing an eye. Shisui shifted back to Itachi mode and ushered his brother inside with Ayano following, holding Aki.

"Oh, we've overstayed our welcome!" Mikoto exclaimed, apologetic. Sasuke was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"It's fine, it's fine," Mari objected. "Come over whenever you want." She giggled at Sasuke. "And I think the little one is ready for bed." Sasuke puffed up and stubbornly forced his eyes open. Ayano grinned and Shisui rolled his eyes, then leaned towards her.

"Hey," he whispered to her. "About Itachi, don't be too hard on him. There's a reason he's the way he is." Ayano bit her lip and didn't reply.

"Well, thank-you for the meal, it was delicious," Mikoto thanked, smiling. Shisui shot a good-bye glance to Ayano, who said a quick bye to Sasuke and went to put Aki back in her tank while Mari let the guests out. She fell on her bed and took out a random book, flipping to a page and starting to read. A few seconds after the front door shut she heard her mom walking up the stairs and put away her book with a sigh, ready to endure her mother's torment. Mari appeared and leaned against her door frame.

"You and Itachi-san got along better today," she noted, grinning. Ayano was about to complain before her mother cut her off. "What was that he whispered in your ear before he left?" Her grin turned mischievous, and Ayano grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at her mom.

"Mom!" she objected. Mari laughed.

She should have fought with him more.

Review? Plz? I give you cookie?