Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Itachi, Mikoto, Tani," the older Uchiha said, gaining his nieces' attention. "Come with me." He walked off and they followed him into a dark area of the surrounding forest.

Chapter 20 – Secrets of the Uchiha

"What is it, Uncle?" Mikoto asked when they finally stopped in a small clearing. The older Uchiha sat down on a stump and gestured for them to do the same. Warily, they did so.

"I need to talk to you three in private," Itachi told his brother's children. "First of all… well done, Itachi." His nephew shrugged.

"What else did you want to tell us?" Mikoto asked. Her uncle grinned.

"I think it's time you three learnt about the clan," he said.

"But Daddy…" Tani said. Her uncle held up a hand to stop her.

"Sasuke doesn't know much about the clan, really," he said. "He was too young to learn about these things before everyone… died." His nieces and nephew nodded to show that they knew what he was talking about.

"Anyway," he continued. "There are many jutsus that are used mainly by the Uchiha clan. You already know some, such as Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. All our jutsus are Katon."

"Why?" Tani asked. He looked at her inquiringly.

"Why…" he said.

"Why are they all Katon?" she asked.

"All members of the Uchiha clan have Katon chakra," her uncle explained. "I'm not going to teach you any of our jutsu now – we don't have enough time-" he chuckled at their downcast faces. "… But I am going to tell you something just as important." He fell silent.

"What?" his nephew asked.

"Have you ever wondered where our clan symbol comes from?" he asked.

"I just accepted it," Mikoto admitted. Her uncle laughed.

"Because no-one ever mentioned it – am I right?" he asked. She nodded. "Well I can tell you it's not just a pretty picture that someone came up with," he told them. "It's a picture of an uchiwa – a fan designed to help flames burn." Tani's eyes widened.

"Does that represent the fact that we all have Katon Chakra?" she asked. Her uncle grinned.

"You're pretty smart. Yes, that's partially what it shows. It also shows our determination and ambition that burns within each member of the clan," he explained. His brother's children watched him intently, waiting for him to continue. He stood up. "OK, that's all for now. We'd better head back before they start searching for us." The young Uchihas looked disappointed, but followed him back to the arena.

"There you are, Itachi," Sasuke said, walking over to his son. "Where have you been?" Itachi glanced at his uncle who put a hand on his shoulder.

"I needed to talk to him and his sisters in private," the older Uchiha said. Itachi, Mikoto and Tani nodded in agreement. Sasuke sighed.

"Just don't disappear like that. At least tell me before you go."

"Da-ad!" Itachi said. "I'm not a little kid anymore." His uncle laughed. Sasuke glared at them for as long as he could before he too grinned.

"Fine. You win." He saw a trio of academy students interviewing the new Jounins. "Let's go." His family quickly caught onto his meaning and dispersed. Itachi meandered towards the exit, being careful to avoid the twelve year olds that were looking for him. As soon as he escaped the crowd, he transformed into an older Jounin and walked home.

Once he was safely in his house, he undid the Henge no Jutsu. No-one else had arrived so he sank down onto the sofa. I'll just have a short nap, he thought, surprised at how tired he was. After all, it wasn't as though it had been a long day – had it? Thinking about it, Itachi realised that he'd hardly had any sleep the previous night because of nerves. That morning he'd trained like crazy (the ceremony had been at 4:00pm, but the announcements hadn't started until 5:00pm). It was now 6:00pm. Not to mention the fact that he still wasn't fully recovered from his fight a week previously. So you couldn't blame him for wanting a short sleep…

When the rest of the Uchiha family arrived home ten minutes later, they were amused to find him on the sofa, asleep. Sasuke smirked.

"Someone's tired," he commented. "He may as well sleep in his own bed though, not here." He picked his son up and carried him to his bedroom.

"We may as well have something to eat," Sakura said before going into the kitchen.

"Not omusubi!" Tani called after her. "And no tomatoes!" Her mother's tinkling laugh could be heard as she prepared a meal for the five of them (she would get Itachi something when he woke up). Not long afterwards, the Uchiha family minus Itachi were sitting around the table, enjoying a meal that didn't contain omubusi or tomatoes.

"Do you have any missions tomorrow?" Itachi asked his eldest niece, who shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't think so, but sometimes missions get sprung on us," she said.

"OK. How about you, Tani?" he asked the younger girl.

"We don't get told in advance 'cause we're Genin. It depends if Tomoko-sensei decides to accept a mission or not," she said.

"Well, if neither of you have a mission tomorrow, would you like to train with me?" their uncle asked. They both nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, please!"

Sasuke looked intrigued.

"You can come too, Sasuke," Itachi said, seeing his brother's interest. Sasuke declined.

"I think I'll let the kids train without me," he said. "Anyway, I've got a mission tomorrow." His family looked at him, interested.

"You never said that!" Sakura accused her husband, who shrugged.

"I was going to…" he muttered. "… At some point."

"What is it?" Mikoto asked.

"I'm not quite sure – I'll get the details tomorrow morning – but it involves the Akatsuki," her father replied, looking at his brother. The atmosphere changed instantly.

"Akatsuki? Isn't that a criminal organisation?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke nodded.

"As far as I'm aware, it's just a reconnaissance mission," he said. "They've been getting rather active as of late." His brother nodded.

"They're renewing their plans to get the Kyuubi," he said. Tani looked puzzled as her elder sister and parents gasped.

"I thought the Kyuubi was dead," she said. The four adults looked at her.

"Just forget you heard that for now," Mikoto told her sister. "And remember it when you turn eighteen." Tani scowled.

"Look," Sakura told her. "If it makes you any happier, Itachi doesn't know either." Tani brightened when she heard that. "But for now, why don't you go to bed. I know it's early, but if you have a mission tomorrow then it's good for you, and even if you don't, your uncle's 'training' tomorrow will be tough." Tani scowled but did as she was told.

Once she was out of earshot, the adults continued their conversation.

"Does Naruto know?" Sasuke asked. Itachi nodded.

"I told him as soon as I could," he said.

"So are the Akatsuki really a threat, with so few members left?" Mikoto asked her uncle. To her surprise, it was her father who answered.

"None of the Akatsuki are pushovers," he told her. "Your uncle may have been one of the strongest members, but the three that are left are all formidable shinobi."

"How do you know?" Mikoto asked, curious. Sasuke looked down.

"Briefly, I was a member," he said quietly. "So were Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo." Mikoto looked shocked. So did Sakura.

"You never told me that!" she said. Sasuke shrugged.

"It wasn't for very long," he muttered. "And it wasn't as if we had a choice. Madara dragged us in because they were short on numbers."

"Who's left?" Mikoto asked.

"Hoshigaki Kisame no Kirigakure, Zetsu no Kusagakure and their leader, Uchiha Madara no Konohagakure," her uncle said. "And they're all trouble." Sakura was still seething.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" she said. Sasuke shrugged.

"If you don't believe me, look in my wardrobe. My cloak's in there."

Sakura scowled.

"Cloak?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Every member of Akatsuki wears an identical cloak," he said.

"You've seen mine," her uncle chipped in. "I was wearing it when Itachi and his teammates brought me back." Mikoto nodded.

"I remember."

"I'm going to bed," Sakura announced, standing up. The others watched her walk up the stairs and into the bedroom that she shared with Sasuke.

"You'd better go, too," Itachi told his brother, who nodded and followed his wife upstairs. When he entered their bedroom, he saw her standing in front of his wardrobe, holding that cloak with red clouds decorating the otherwise black fabric. He walked up to her and put his arms around her, burying his face in her hair.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into her pink locks. "I should have told you." He regretted not telling her, and it showed in the form of tears that rolled down his cheeks. Sakura felt her hair dampen and turned with difficulty, putting her arms around her husband.

"It's okay," she said, burying her hand in his hair. "I was just a bit shocked, that's all." She pulled him close and kissed him passionately. Gratefully, Sasuke kissed her back.

"Thank you."

Downstairs, Mikoto looked at the dirty bowls and sighed.

"I suppose I'm the one that's going to have to wash up," she said. Before her uncle could say anything, she stacked the crockery and took it out to the kitchen, where she proceeded to clean them.

"You seem to look after your parents more than they seem to look after you," her uncle commented, following her. She shrugged.

"I'm old enough to look after myself," she said. "But sometimes I wonder if they are." Itachi chuckled.

"Well they don't act like it," he said. Mikoto smiled in return.

"I know." They fell silent. The only sound was the splashing of water as Mikoto washed up the dirty crockery. She had just finished when someone yawned behind her uncle. Spinning round, they saw Itachi, who looked very tired.

"Want something to eat?" Mikoto asked her half-asleep brother, who nodded. "Go sit down; there won't be too long a wait." He obeyed; making his way to the table and watching his sister prepare some food. "Here you go," she said, placing a bowl of miso ramen in front of him. He picked up his chopsticks and tiredly began to eat.

"I'd say that someone's very tired," his uncle commented. Itachi shrugged and ate his food in silence. As soon as he was finished, Mikoto whisked away the bowl and washed it up.

"Bed," she said. Itachi glared at her but stood and made his way upstairs. His uncle noticed that he was swaying and moved to support him, catching him as he collapsed.

"Forget your parents – your brother doesn't look after himself," he commented as he carried his sleeping nephew upstairs to bed. Mikoto laughed.

"I know. Sometimes I think he takes me for granted, expecting me to always be there to tell him when he's reached his limit." She sighed. "I don't think he realises I'm not immortal – one day I'll die. After all, isn't that the one fate we all share equally?" She shook her head. "For a Jounin, he's very naïve." Her uncle paused and turned, his nephew in his arms.

"He knows that at some point you'll go – just like everyone else he knows," he said. "He just doesn't want to come to terms with it yet; it's a hard thing to accept – it took me years."

Everyone says that emotion is a shinobi's greatest weakness," Mikoto said. "But most people don't know just how true that is. It drives us to our ruin; I know many people who have died because they cared for someone too much." Her uncle nodded.

"So have I," he said solemnly before continuing upstairs. "We may as well have an early night," he added. Mikoto nodded and followed him upstairs. She peered into her parents' room and smiled, pleased to see that they were both asleep. She then checked that Tani was asleep. She was. Finally, she entered her brother's room. Her uncle was still there, covering the teen up.

"It's hard, growing up," he said when he noticed her. She nodded.

"It's a part of life that everyone goes through," she said. "Losing your naivety and being introduced to the real world – it happens to everyone." Her uncle nodded.

"I had to grow up earlier than most," he said. "That's because there was a war raging for the first few years of my life." Mikoto nodded.

"Itachi and Tani are lucky that they're not in the position that we are – they still have some of their innocence. But I fear it won't be for much longer. With the Akatsuki being more active than usual, we might be involved in another war sooner than most people think."

"It's too late to discuss such things," her uncle said. "Let's go to bed." Mikoto nodded and bade her uncle goodnight, making her way to her bedroom.

"I hope you enjoyed your childhood," Itachi murmured to his nephew. "Because it'll end soon."

Thanks for reading!

Tsari