Chapter 3: Uchihas
"Itachi-nii!" Naruto called, running as fast as her three year-old legs would allow towards the older boy. "Sas'ke being mean again!" she whined.
"Was not!" Sasuke argued back, who had been quick to follow behind the running blond.
"Was too!" she asserted childishly, her arms crossed, displaying her displeasure to maximum effect.
Sasuke bristled indignantly at the accusation, but Itachi opened his mouth to forestall further arguments. "What did he do?" he asked the girl whom he thinks of as his little sister.
"He pulled my hair!" Naruto pouted, touching her pigtails as she did so.
At that, Itachi turned a sharp look at his younger brother and found him shifting guiltily on his feet. Still, he felt a need to ask. "Is it true?"
"Her hair hits me when she runs about," he defended, only to shrink back again at the look on his brother's face. Even at this young age, Itachi means the world to him and revered his older brother to the ends of the world. Well, him and Naruto both.
"Apologise," Itachi ordered sternly. "You should not be pulling Naru-chan's hair."
Sasuke scrunched up his face in displeasure but did as he was told. "I'm sorry for pulling your hair, Naruto," he said sulkily. "But you still shouldn't tie your hair in silly pigtails!" he added quickly, before running away from the two.
Naruto looked affronted at the last line, though Itachi could see that she had been hurt by Sasuke's childish mean remarks. Not wishing his sister figure to be upset, he comforted her gently. "I don't think your hair is silly, Naru-chan."
Said girl looked surprised for a moment before beaming at him, and Itachi was glad that she had reverted back to normal at least. "Thanks Itachi-nii!" she chimed, before stopping to think of something. "When I grow up," she said in all seriousness of a three year-old, "I'm going to marry someone nice like Itachi-nii. And not a meanie like Sasuke-teme!" she shouted the last part in the direction of Sasuke.
Itachi for his part chuckled quietly at the girl, and merely patted her head, being careful not to mess up her hairstyle.
From the side, their mothers watched amusedly at the children and laughed out loud at Naruto's declaration. "You know, I wouldn't mind if Naru-chan marry Tachi-kun," Kushina commented jokingly.
Mikoto shook her head at her close friend, though she still had a grin on her face. "They're still young. Though if Itachi-chan don't grow out of his fear for girls in the future, that might become true."
"And then we're going to be family for real!" Kushina exclaimed, bursting with typical energy, and Mikoto laughed alongside her as they jokingly discussed how their future grandchildren will look like.
When it is time for the Namikazes to leave, Naruto had already gotten over the hair pulling episode and warmly hugged the Uchihas goodbye.
Had they known that it would be years for them to even see Naruto again, they might have hugged her a little longer, a little tighter.
...
"Itachi, you can't keep firing the maids that attend to you!" Mikoto scolded resignedly. That made it the third maid that Itachi had fired this year, not counting the seven that Sasuke fired. Idly she wondered if she had spoilt her boys a little too much after the Naruto Accident, causing them to have such short tempers and tolerance. Though it could also be a case of Madara's genes being strong in them, giving them the famous Uchiha temper.
"I'll stop firing the maids if they stop stealing my things as souvenirs, Mother," Itachi retorted dryly. "Especially if it's my underwear that they are stealing."
Mikoto's breath hitched a little, choking back a laugh as she was reminded of the accident. It was undoubtedly funny to know that her son's underwear were sought after amongst the maids, though it was of course, highly inappropriate. Itachi and Sasuke, unsurprisingly did not find it amusing at all, and were horrified by the discovery.
Itachi raised his eyebrows knowingly at his mother. "Or you could just remove the rule that only maids around our age can attend to us," Itachi continued hopefully.
Mikoto levelled an unimpressed look onto her oldest son. "I'll start doing that only when you start paying attention to girls, Itachi. Honestly Itachi! Even Sasuke has a few female friends his age but you, none, none!" Mikoto grumbled unhappily. "You're eighteen, Itachi. It's about time you start paying attention to girls." She pinned him with a look. "I want grandchildren someday you know!"
Itachi stifled an exasperated groan, though he very much wanted to roll his eyes at his mother - but that would be too impolite. "Fine," he acquiesced. "But I get to pick the next maid."
At that, Mikoto stopped her theatrics and eyed Itachi with an excited glint in her eyes. "Oh? Who are you thinking of?"
"I would like Natsumi-san to attend to us," he replied, squashing down the small nervousness that he's feeling. He was sure he mother would not disagree, since it's the first time he had handpicked a maid, but he can't help, nor understand the feelings of nervousness he's feeling right now.
At that, Mikoto looked surprised for a moment before she went blank as she eyed him closely, seemingly trying to find something from him. "Okaa-san?" Itachi questioned uncertainly.
Mikoto pursed her lips, but didn't immediately respond. "I'll see what I can do about it," she said at last. She threw one last sad look at him, before sweeping away and leaving Itachi confused. He noted that his mother had not agreed to it and wondered what it is about Natsumi that has her acting this way. Itachi doesn't usually poke his nose into other people's business, but this time, he feels an overwhelming curiosity to find out all he could about the mysterious girl that has caught his attention and has his mother acting this way.
Kisame will laugh at him again for "pining after his maid", but this is one puzzle that he is determined to solve.
...
"Any updates?" Danzo asked as he regarded the scout kneeling on the floor before him.
"It appears that the Uchiha heirs has fired our last agent. The method of blending in does not seem to yield much success," the scout reported, and Danzo hissed in displeasure.
"However, there appears to be some delay this time in replacing the position. Uncertain on what the issue or concern is but it will give us some time to rectify the situation," the scout reported.
Danzo narrowed his eyes at the news, pondering over the possibilities. "Send in our agents again to apply for a position as maids. There would no doubt be vacancies with all the staff changes. I want as many spies as possible inside their manor. Make it their priority to be attached to the Uchiha heirs or to the Head of House."
"Hai, Danzo-sama," the scout bowed before dismissing himself.
"And you?" Danzo asked the other man in the room.
"Initial beginnings of the operation successful, Danzo-sama. Hatake Kakashi trusts me and has taken me under his wings in the Military Police. However, I have not managed to move our relationship beyond that of a professional level. It will take some time before I can get him to trust me with his personal life as well."
"Good, keep it up. You have not disappoint me. Dismissed."
Kinoe bowed and left the room, his face carefully blank like every other agent in the building. Once he has reached his personal quarters, he sighed a breathe of relief and allowed himself to let down his guards just a little bit.
'Being a spy is such a tough job,' he thought woefully. Nonetheless, he's glad that Danzou-sama trusts him with such an important job. It has been years in the making but he's determined to complete the mission and not let the ones who matter down.
Story notes:
(1) Poor Mikoto is both worried and hopeful that Itachi is regaining memory of Naruto.
A/N:
I'm back? Sorry it took so long to update, but life has been busy and I've been trying to get used to new schedules, juggling my limited free time between humans and personal time. I felt that the storytelling for this story was rather stilted and I wasn't very happy about it. And I'm kinda at a lost of how to change that. For now, I'm trying to link the chapters as much as I can to show the progression, in terms of plot and time, so hopefully that makes it more like a story than a collection of scenes. Constructive comments are welcomed and will be greatly appreciated!
This was supposed to be chapter 4, but as I was editing the original chapter 3 it felt better to have the chapter orders reversed instead, so we get another does of Itachi before we move off elsewhere. To the new followers, welcome, and I hope you enjoy your time here (: