A/N: I swear that this story is writing itself, but I absolutely love how it's turning out. Through I needed to add another chapter, because apparently seven is not nearly enough to contain what was supposed to be a long one-shot. Yeah, a one-shot. Crazy, right?

Thank you to all who had left a review, followed and added this story to favourites. You've all made me very happy :)

To any itasaku fans among the readers of this story - I've recently published one of many one-shots to come. They will all be published under the same title, "and the shots were fired", through all of them will have separate ratings and genres, as well as their own titles. Please check it out :)

Lastly, you can expect chapter 3 sometime this week, probably around the weekend. I'm slightly busy with my other stories (mainly 3 one-shot I'm currently working on and the third chapter of my Avengers fic), so bear with me.

Enjoy the story and please leave a review – they are always greatly appreciated! ;)

Chapter 2: Appraisal

(n) an assessment or estimation of the worth, value, or quality of a person or thing

Even though Sakura's medicine made her more lucid, she still had needed to stay indoors for three more days.

It gave her opportunity to meet her hosts, who turned out to be Itachi's and Sasuke's parents (because luck was not on her side this time around). Sasuke himself had arrived home on the second day of her recovery, greatly amused by her predicament, but cautious enough not to voice it. After her little run-in with the Uchiha heir on her first day, she had yet to see him again. Not that she missed the man by any means. She was still too mortified by her scandalous behaviour during their first meeting. She was also sure she had made herself look like an idiot during the second one, so any sort of confrontation with him was absolutely out of the question.

That didn't mean she wasn't constantly hearing about said man, because apparently he was the family's favourite and Mikoto simply wouldn't shut up about him, which in turn granted on Hanae's nerves.

When her fourth day at the Uchiha main house rolled around, she was about ready to start walking on the walls. Without chakra. Just to see if she could actually do it.

She was not used to doing nothing and when she had mentioned it to Mikoto, the woman showed some mercy and agreed to take her grocery shopping. While it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, Hanae was reaching the point where even scrubbing the floors seemed entertaining, so she eagerly nodded her head and waited semi-patiently until Mikoto was done with preparing lunch.

Sakura had thoughtfully lend Hanae one of her heavy winter cloaks, since it didn't make sense to buy one this late in the season. They were quite expensive too. Besides the weather was supposed to get much warmer in the upcoming weeks. It was February, after all, not the middle of December. The canopies of snow and harsh blizzards were uncommon in the Fire country's rather winter-less climate, so most people didn't believe it would last. Hanae could only hope they were right.

They departed from the house in comfortable silence. From what she could see, the district was very well-kept. The children's laughter, people's voices and the crunching of fresh snow underneath her boots were enough to make her feel at home in this strange place far away from the comfort of her own village. Maybe a year in Konoha wouldn't be too bad.

As they reached the gates, Hanae sensed a familiar chakra signature. Her face almost split in two in a wide smile when Naruto walked slowly from around the corner.

"Naruto!" She called probably loudly enough to wake up the dead. He grinned and flash-stepped, materializing next her and Mikoto in an instant.

"My, Hanae-chan. You sure don't look ill to me," he teased in greeting before giving her one of his famous bear hugs.

"Well, what can I say? Sakura and Mikoto-san are taking very good care of me."

"Damn. And here I thought that one of the ever-charming Uchiha men was behind your good mood!"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation as she shoved him away playfully.

It was hard to believe that the witty man standing in front of her was simply an older and more mature version of the annoying brat she had encountered for the first time four years ago. Naruto had probably changed the most over the years out of all the people she knew and Kagehood suited him well. Dressed in the traditional white and red Kage robes, he looked every inch the serious political figure that he was, through the goofy grin he was currently sporting as well kind of dispelled it a little.

"Ah, Naruto-chan. How have you been? I haven't seen you in forever!" Mikoto said as she stepped closer to the man to give him a hug and then a kiss on the cheek. As amused as she was by the honorific, Hanae could swear that the Uchiha matriarch was the only person who could call the blond shinobi 'Naruto-chan' and live long enough to tell the tale. "You should come by more often."

"If it was only that easy, Mikoto-kaa-san," he sighed. "Chunin Exams are next months, ANBU try-outs are in a week, then the Kage summit is going to be held in Konoha in three month on top of it all... I think I'm sooner going to drown in paperwork than find time to do anything I really want to do." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Which reminds me! Are Fugaku-san and Sasuke-teme home? I need to borrow them for a moment."

"I'm afraid not. All of my boys decided to train together for a change. They've left very early in the morning and are yet to come back."

"Damn it," Naruto cursed under his breath. "Do you know which training grounds are they on?"

"Fugaku mentioned something about fourteen, but I can't be sure."

"That's certainly helpful enough." He grinned at her. "So where you two going?"

"Grocery shopping," Hanae answered with a small frown. "I'm getting restless. You know how much I hate sitting around and being unproductive."

He nodded.

"True that."

"Hanae-chan, maybe you should go with Naruto-chan here?" Hanae turned to look at Mikoto, both of her eyebrows lifted in question. "I only need to by some tea leaves and rice. I can do it on my own. Maybe after Naruto-chan is done talking with my husband and son, he will give you a tour around the village?"

There was something strange about the glimmer in Mikoto's eyes. It reminded her strongly of Temari and she didn't like it one bit, but before she had time to think about it some more, Naruto put his arm around her shoulders to pull her against his side, squeezing all the air out of her lungs in the process.

"That's a very good idea!" He looked down at Hanae with a grin. "What do you say?"

"Let me go and then we will talk," she grunted in response and thankfully he did just that.

However skilled she was, there was no doubt in her mind that Naruto was a way better ninja, not to mention definitely stronger. No wonder, really, since she barely reached his shoulders and her training had been severely lacking in all but taijutsu for years now. If he hadn't decided to let her go, she would have stayed were she had been (meaning almost flattened to his side), and it made her angry for some reason, mostly at herself. Some ninja she was. How did she even manage to become a jounin if she couldn't escape from a simple embrace?

She noted to herself that she should ask around for someone to train her, preferably a good Fire user. Her ninjutsu, elemental or not, could use some work.

Naruto apparently took her silence for a 'yes', because he was already dragging her away. Mikoto waved at them with a smile before taking a turn to the left, the same direction Naruto came from, and disappearing from view shortly afterwards.

Resigned to her fate, she quickened her pace so it matched Naruto's and then tried in vain to keep up with what he was saying.

-o-o-o-

When they finally made it to the training grounds half an hour later, Hanae had been filled in on everything there was to know – and then some – about all the people Naruto interacted with on a daily basis.

She was happy to learn that Hinata, Naruto's lovely wife, was well into the second trimester of pregnancy and they were expecting a boy.

Then there was this hilarious bet that Naruto had made with Sasuke and a few others. Apparently Kakashi-san was still a bachelor, through there were rumours circulating around the village that he was in a secret relationship with someone. The whole scenario had 'Sakura The Matchmaker' written all over it in bold and Naruto probably realized it too, because he was betting on Kurenai-san as the mysterious lady friend. A very good pick, if anyone asked her.

So while his position as the Hokage didn't technically allow him to participate in a bet like this, he was apparently far from caring, if it meant that he could get his hands on Sasuke's money.

There were others, of course, but Hanae didn't know three quarters of these people. It was completely pointless to try and remember whatever he had been saying about them, since she wasn't going to need it anyway.

The ground shook suddenly, taking her mind off Naruto's babbling.

She closed her eyes. With her hands in the Hitsuji seal, she pushed her chakra out in gentle waves to cast Kagura Shingan. Within seconds the technique was completed and she could see what was going on.

As far as she could tell there were four other people nearby. Their chakras were simply blazing and so impossibly bright it was almost painful to look at them. They were obviously engaged in combat. If it wasn't for her chakra sensing abilities, she doubted she would have been able to follow their movements. It's easier to keep track of chakra than a moving human being, especially at the insane level of speed they were displaying.

Of course she had been aware that Sasuke was very fast. Out of the four members of Team 7, he had been the one she had sparred with the most over the years. He had been in and out of Suna almost constantly in the first two years after the Fourth Shinobi War and the two of them had often engaged in combat.

Now it was quite easy to see that he had been holding back on her during all their training sessions.

But the thing that truly surprised her was the fact that the people he was sparring with seemed to be even faster, if such a thing was even possible.

"Oi! Time out!"

It wasn't exactly a command, but the tone of Naruto's voice was still stern and left no room for argument.

She opened her eyes and realised the seal when the four shinobi were close enough for her to see them. Even without the help of her little jutsu, she could still feel their chakras.

A smile appeared on her face at the familiarity and warmth of Sasuke's signature. Fugaku-san's chakra was similar to his younger son's, but much calmer. He had more control over it, which wasn't really surprising – an experienced shinobi of his calibre surely knew all of his limits very well. A man with curly hair, who was walking next to Sasuke, had a very chaotic aura about him, but his chakra too was warm and, dare she say, friendly.

Itachi's chakra was a different story.

A feeling of safety and home, for the lack of better word, had washed over her so suddenly it had almost knocked her to the ground. It was overwhelming and she had never felt something like this before.

Blinking to rid herself of those unwelcomed feelings, she noticed that Naruto had already taken Fugaku-san and Sasuke to the side to talk with them. And as embarrassing as it was, she could feel Itachi's eyes on her. He was standing very close to her too. She dared a hesitant glance in his direction.

He smirked at her, through she could almost call in a smile.

"Hi, Itachi-san," she said in a surprisingly calm voice, which was quite an accomplishment, considering her inner turmoil.

"Good afternoon, Hanae-san."

They stared at each other for a while, neither of them willing to extend more than a polite greeting. Hanae knew that she should actually say something, but she could still feel his chakra humming quietly next to her and it was very distracting. So distracting, in fact, that she could barely hear her own thoughts over her erratic heartbeat. His unwavering eyes locked with hers weren't helping the case as well.

"Don't be rude, little Tachi, and introduce me to the pretty lady," said someone to her left and only then did she realize that they weren't alone.

She turned slightly to look at the man. He was tall, much like both Itachi and Sasuke, and he also shared their colouring – dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin. His smile was nice and welcoming, and his eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief, which set him apart for the other men with whom he was probably related. H e was quite handsome too.

"Sabaku no Hanae, the oldest sibling of the Godaime Kazekage," Itachi responded to the inquiry. "Hanae-san, this is my cousin, Uchiha Shisui. Please excuse his behaviour, he tends to be more... enthusiastic about females than is strictly necessary."

"It's okay," she snorted as Shisui glared at his cousin. "It's nice to meet you, Shisui-san."

"The pleasure is all mine!" He seemed to recover from his anger rather fast. "What brings you to Konoha?"

"Sakura's wedding and my duties."

"What the wedding of my baby cousin and Pinky has to do with anything?" He asked, clearly puzzled.

"I'm her maid of honour."

"Really?" She couldn't understand why he was glancing between her and Itachi as he said that, dragging the word out a little. "And what duties?"

"I'm Suna's ambassador. My siblings decided that I need to do something 'fun'." She made quote marks with her fingers and rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "I don't see how attending meetings, fighting with paperwork and trying to keep Suna's shinobi from doing something completely moronic qualifies as fun, but that's what I've been told. Through it's not much different from what I'm doing when I'm at home. I guess they think that the new environment will make it more entertaining."

When she finished speaking, two things happened at once – Itachi snorted quietly and Shisui started laughing like a madman. It took some time, but after a few minutes the very un-Uchiha-like Uchiha was finally able to say something that wasn't interrupted by feats of hysterical giggles every other second.

"Oh, I like you, Flower-chan! You got spunk!" He patted her on the back with a wide grin on his face. "We should all go out sometime, ne?" He glanced at his wrist watch and then whistled. "I need to go. The little lady is probably already waiting for me. I'll see you around, Flower-chan!"

And with that he simply disappeared. Not in a puff of smoke like most shinobi tended to do, but just simply disappeared into thin air. As versed as Hanae was in chakra reading, she couldn't for the life of her explain this phenomenon. He just flickered out of existence!

"Did he just...? How is it...? But... What?" She looked at Itachi with a facial expression that clearly read help-me-I'm-majorly-confused, but his only reaction were an arched eyebrow and a smirk.

"He's always like this?" She asked after calming down a bit, referring to both Shisui's behaviour and his character.

"Yes," Itachi responded after a moment as his smirk widened to a small smile. "Unfortunately."

She nodded.

"The disappear-from-the-face-of-Earth thingy he did... Is it a jutsu of some sort?" At his questioning look, she added: "I felt his chakra go hyper for a moment."

"'Go hyper'?" He repeated slowly. "And you felt his chakra?"

"Yeah, I'm a chakra sensor. Useful ability, if you ask me. I can feel yours too. Anyway! A jutsu, right?"

In her quest for the truth, she completely missed the look he gave her or the ones the rest of the people present were giving them.

-o-o-o-

"I'm not going crazy, am I?"

"Hn."

"You sure about that, teme?"

"Hn."

"Like, sure sure or just sure?"

"Hn. You are an idiot."

"Have some respect for your Hokage, Sasuke."

The Uchiha in question glanced at his father who, for all intents and purposes, appeared highly amused by the scene he was witnessing. Sasuke couldn't quite blame him.

His older brother was conversing with someone. Without being forced to do so. And not just with any someone, but with a female someone.

The world as they knew it was ending.

Through he would be the last person to admit it, over the years Sasuke had suspected that his beloved sibling was either asexual or gay and so he had resigned himself to the possibility of becoming the head of the clan as a consequence of Itachi's unattached status. After all it was a well known fact that the heir needed to be married before taking over the responsibilities of the patriarch. And Itachi had never before shown even an ounce of interest in any girl – not to anyone's knowledge, at least.

Now, through, it was painfully obvious that his brother was straight and obviously enamoured with the redhead Suna jounin if the flirting and playful banter he was an unwilling witness to were anything to go by.

"She would make a fine matriarch."

Sasuke's head had turned so fast at his father's words that he was kind of amazed he didn't give himself a whiplash.

"Totally agreed," said Naruto with a shit-eating grin that made him feel slightly uneasy. "Sakura-chan thinks so too."

"Is that so?" His father's expression was alarmingly similar to his best friend's and Sasuke didn't like it one bit.

"Yeah." The Hokage nodded. "To her credit, I think Sakura-chan is rather good at setting people up. Plus I can see why she would think that Itachi and Hanae-chan would make a decent couple. Honest to Kami, I've never seen our favourite weasel so entertained in my entire life!"

Which was actually true, because Sasuke hadn't seen his brother in such a good mood in a very long time either.

Through Hanae was a loudmouth, much like her sister, and had a temper to match Sakura's, she was also a good person. He liked her company and their sparring sessions were always something he secretly looked forward to whenever he was being sent to Suna. Having her permanently stay in Konoha – if she actually decided to pursue a relationship with his brother – would be more that acceptable. Not only because he would have a good sparring partner besides Naruto and occasionally his brother, but also because it would mean that the threat of becoming the head of the Uchiha clan would permanently disappear if Itachi and Hanae actually got married.

A vision of the two kissing and doing other things made him briefly reconsider his decision to maybe-possibly-probably help them along, but after a short debacle he came to the conclusion that he could live with them being all lovey-dovey as long as it meant that he would never be named the heir in Itachi's place. Everything – literally everything – was better than dealing with those old meddling geezers that liked to call themselves their clan elders.

"I was supposed to give Hanae-chan a tour around the village, but damn, I don't know if I want to interrupt them," Naruto said and a metaphorical light bulb lit up over Sasuke's head.

"We can always force nii-san to do it instead," he murmured with a smirk.

Two pairs of eyes – one black and almost glowing with interest , the other blue and as wide as saucers in a mixture of disbelief and unholy glee (which was such a Naruto thing, Sasuke had to suppress a snort) – were locked on him almost immediately.

His smirk only grew wider. He could actually see now why his dear fiancée enjoyed meddling in other people's businesses so much – it was more entertaining than anything should be allowed to be.