Her Face
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Well it was a landslide. Fugaku and Mikoto will only have Itachi and Sasuke. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: This is set four months after the last one. Since most people wanted only two Uchiha Siblings, I found another way to eventually resolve Gaara's demonic issues. It will be mentioned only in passing from here on out, unless people seem interested in it.
Chapter 18
Four months. It had been four months since someone had tried to kidnap Uchiha children. Well at least that was what the Uchihas assumed had almost happened.
During that time, Fugaku's and Sasuke's plots to assassinate Danzo hadn't borne any fruit. Though they had enlisted the help of Hiashi Hyuga. Despite their best efforts, Mikoto and Emiko were now very much aware of what "the boys" were planning.
"I didn't tell them! I swear it!" Tsuki exclaims.
Fugaku sighs and pets the feline's head. He knew that the Ninja Cat hadn't told Mikoto. The cat valued her catnip, milk, and fish too much to do that. That and Ninja Cats were famous for being able to keep secrets. They weren't like Ninja Dogs in that respect.
"It's alright. I don't blame you. I should have known better. A man can't keep a secret from his wife." Fugaku says with a sigh.
"And he most certainly shouldn't try. I can't believe that you told me there should be no secrets between a husband and his wife when you proposed and then tried to keep this from me." Mikoto says as she crosses her arms over her chest.
Sasuke watches in amusement. They were currently in the Clan Heads' home and he was sitting on the couch. Mikoto was standing in the doorway and Tsuki was sitting upon a coffee table. His father at the moment was rather cornered because Mikoto was blocking the only exit.
"My Love, you're pregnant. I didn't want you to worry. That's all." Fugaku says.
"You want to assassinate one of the most politically powerful men in this village and you didn't want me to worry?" The dark beauty inquires incredulously.
Sasuke winces. Well when his mother put it that way, she had a point. Still he really didn't want to get her involved with this. Danzo was ruthless and his mother was nine months pregnant.
"Well yes. You should be sitting down or in bed, Kitten. You could go into labor at any time." The Uchiha Patriarch warns her.
"Don't you Kitten me! I can't believe you tried to do this behind my back and you drug Daisuke into it!" She exclaims.
"The boy was quite willing to assist me in this matter because he loves you as much as I do. Neither of us want that snake crawling around, while you are pregnant or the two of us are caring for a small child." Her husband reorts.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. Did all parents do this? Did they talk about their child as if they weren't sitting in the same room? They did realize that he could hear them, right?
"Mother, he's right. I went along with the plan of my own free will. I just don't want anything to happen to you, father, or the rest of our family. You need to take it easy. You're not in any condition to make another pair of snake skinned boots." Sasuke tells her.
Mikoto sighs. She loved them both. The Uchiha Matriarch loved her boys dearly. More than anything really, but that didn't mean that she wasn't fighting the impulse to shake them at the moment.
What they had tried to do had been sweet, but it had also been extremely reckless. Mikoto sighs and crosses her arms more over her very pregnant belly. She felt her baby kick and chuckles. It seemed that her eldest agreed with her.
"The two of you had best cease these attempts to scheme together behind my back on important matters. I know that you did it for the right reasons. If trouble comes though, I have a right to know why. So does Emiko.'" Mikoto points out.
" Yes, you're right." Fugaku says with a sigh as he kisses her cheek.
He had only been trying to protect the woman, but she was an Uchiha. That meant that she was naturally stubborn. The woman couldn't help it to a certain extent. It was quite literally in her genes.
"Things will be so much easier for all of us, once you realize that from the beginning. I'm always right. Unless it comes to household repairs. That's your job. I am positively awful with such things." She admits.
"You may not be the best at household repairs, but you are very good with your hands in other ways. Far more important ways, My Love." Fugaku says slyly.
"I really did not need to hear that. I'm happy that you two are happy and that I'm most likely going to be born, but I really didn't need to hear that. I think that I'll go check on Obito." Sasuke says.
Fugaku raises an eyebrow. He wasn't sure why Daisuke was constantly checking on Obito and to a lesser extent Shisui. He could only assume that it was for a good reason. Clearly, something had happened to them in the future. Something bad.
"Alright. Stay safe. I don't like the fact that Danzo and his followers are likely still lurking around. I've informed everyone that they have to have someone else with them at all times, but you know how children are." The Uchiha Patriarch says with a sigh.
"Damn it!" Mikoto grumbles as she gives her husband a dirty look.
"What's wrong?" He asks as he rushes to his wife's side in concern.
Mikoto sighs. She knew Fugaku. He was likely going to panic. She needed to keep a level head about this. He obviously wasn't going to.
"Contractions started. I need to get to the hospital." The woman explains and all thoughts of checking on Obito, immediately left Sasuke's mind!
His mother was going into labor! She was going to have a baby! He'd check on Obito later! For now, they had to get to the hospital as quickly as possible!
Back in the present, things were getting more and more tense. Unfortunately, Kakashi didn't think that he could hide things from everyone for much longer. Too many people had seen things or someone.
People or sights that hadn't been seen for years. Hiashi, Hinata, and Naruto were far from the only ones who had firsthand experience with the timeline changes. There was just no getting around it now.
"So what did you see?" Hiashi asks Gaara.
His own daughter wouldn't tell him what she had seen, but Hiashi knew that Hinata had seen something. At the very least, the Kazekage might be willing to open up to him. The man was essentially a stranger. Sometimes it was easier to open up to strangers.
"It wasn't what I saw, but what I felt. It was brief at first. I thought that it was merely a dream. I know that it wasn't now though. I have memories that I never lived. I know that I never lived them, but yet the proof too obvious to be denied." The red head whispers.
"I know the feeling. It's unsettling. I saw my wife, but she's been dead for years." Hiashi offers.
Gaara pauses. He hadn't wanted to tell anyone what he saw. Well more specifically, who he had saw.
The Kazekage figured his caution was justified though. He had seen an Uchiha woman. She looked different enough from Sasuke and Itachi that he assumed she was a more distant relative. Not a sister. Perhaps a cousin or something of that nature.
"I saw an Uchiha woman." He informs him.
"How do you know that she was an Uchiha?" The lavender eyed man inquires curiously.
"She had the Sharingan." Gaara replies as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Hiashi rubs the back of his head sheepishly. Well that would do it. The Sharingan was one surefire way to identify an Uchiha.
"Fair enough. Perhaps you saw Mikoto." He offers, hoping that would spook the Kazekage less than believing he saw some random Uchiha woman.
"Who is Mikoto?" The red head replies in confusion.
Oh right. The Kazekage wouldn't know who Mikoto was. That was only natural. Oh well. That was easily remedied.
"Mikoto Uchiha was Sasuke's mother." Hiashi explains.
"Oh no. I doubt it was her. This woman was too young. At least I think she is too young. I'm not really sure how concepts such as age work when time travel is involved." He says.
That was a fair point. Hiashi didn't understand either. Sadly, everyone had been forced to roll with the punches. No one really knew what was going to happen next.
"Most likely not Mikoto then. What happened?" The Hyuga patriarch inquires.
"Instead of fighting Sasuke at the Chunin Exams, I fought her. It felt so real. I guess it was actually real. I still have a scar. She's fortunate to be alive. I didn't have control of the demon at that time." The other man confesses.
Hiashi blinks and nods in understanding. Well that explained why the Kazekage was keeping his cards close to his vest. The man felt guilty.
"Did you catch her name?" He asks softly.
"No. I imagine I will soon though. I feel as though Sasuke's timeline is getting very close to colliding with ours." The Kage states bluntly.
He wasn't sure if that was a good thing. From the flashes that he had seen here and there, he still had demon in the new timeline. That wasn't exactly something that Gaara relished, but he knew that he shouldn't be selfish.
Many people were so close to getting their loved ones back. In exchange for that, he could handle having the demon back. He had managed to control himself once before. Gaara could do it again, if he had to.
Meanwhile back in the past, Mikoto was now at the hospital. She shakes her head at Fugaku's panicked expression as Tsunade helps her get set up in the delivery room. Honestly, you would think that he was the one who was about to go into labor instead of the other way around.
"Do you need anything, Kitten?" He asks.
"Fugaku, I'm fine. I have Tsunade here. She'll take very good care of me. Don't worry so much. I'm hardly the first woman to go through childbirth." She tells him with a sassy wink.
"Well she's certainly in bright spirits." Minato observes as he enters the room.
Mikoto smiles and tilts head in confusion. What was Minato doing here? Oh and it looked like Kushina was following him inside the room. Actually, what were both of them doing here?
"Minato, it's always a pleasure to see you. I confess myself confused. What are the two of you doing here? How did you know that I was going into labor?" The dark beauty asks.
"We didn't. We had to go in for our annual physicals and saw you heading into this room. You're nine months pregnant and in a hospital. I didn't really take a genius to figure out what was going on." Kushina observes with a giggle.
The Uchiha Matriarch could only nod her head in agreement. Well that was most certainly true. A nine month pregnant woman in a hospital generally could only mean one thing. The baby was coming.
"Isn't it getting a little crowded in here?" Sasuke asks.
"You're right. Everyone besides Mikoto and Fugaku out. This is a private moment and it's really not a good idea to have this many people inside, when I'm in the middle of trying to deliver a baby." The busty medic insists.
Sasuke blinks. He hadn't expected to be kicked out. He was their son! Well it wasn't like Tsunade knew that, but still!
"It'll be alright, Daisuke. I'll be fine." Mikoto assures him with a smile.
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of your cousin and Tsunade is the best in her field." Fugaku promises Sasuke.
"Well I don't know about THE best in my field, but I do know what I'm doing." Tsunade confirms with a grin.
Sasuke sighs and nods. He couldn't exactly tell Tsunade the real reason why he wanted to stay. For now, discretion was the better part of valor.
"Don't worry. If you like, we can keep you company in the waiting room." Minato offers.
"That'd be great. Thank you." The raven haired Uchiha says, before following the happy couple off.
He couldn't believe it. His mother was alive, pregnant, and about to give birth. Mikoto Uchiha was likely about to bring his brother back into this world.
The reality of the situation was finally dawning on Sasuke. In this time, Itachi had never died. Itachi was going to be an innocent baby. An innocent baby with no blood on his hands. An innocent baby that hadn't been forced to make an impossible choice.
"It's going to stay that way." He mutters.
Sasuke wouldn't let it happen again. He wasn't going to allow the Leaf Village to turn his beloved older brother into a Clan Slayer. No. He was going to find a way to prevent that.
The most obvious way to do so was to assassinate Danzo. That man had caused his family an almost impossibly high amount of misery. While he might not necessarily be evil, Danzo was willing to do horrific things to achieve his goals.
"What's going to stay that way?" Kushina asks in an utterly baffled voice.
That was one ninja who truly believed that the ends justified the means. How ironic would it be, if Sasuke used his own logic against him. He'd kill Danzo to achieve a brighter future.
"Oh nothing. I was just thinking out loud." Sasuke lies.
It was really disturbing how easily he could lie now. Sasuke was a ninja, but lying hadn't been something that he did often in his own timeline. Here he was forced to.
Thanks to that, he had become quite the skilled liar. The young Uchiha couldn't help, but wonder what his parents thought about that development. Were they proud of him for doing anything that was necessary to complete his mission or just as disturbed as he was about the whole affair?
"WAHHH!" What seemed like an eternity later, an infant's cry could be heard from across the hall.
"I have to go! Thanks for keeping me company! Oh I guess you can come as well!" Sasuke says as he darts off towards the room.
Kushina and Minato chuckle and look at each other, before chasing off after the wayward Uchiha. They couldn't blame him though. The birth of a baby was always a very exciting thing.
"Congratulations, it's a boy and he's perfectly healthy." Tsunade says to Mikoto before gently placing the infant in her arms.
"Oh thank God." Sasuke whispers, once he was inside.
"Can we have a look too?"" The red head inquires hopefully.
Mikoto smiles and holds her son in her arms. She already knew his name. Well at least she thought that she did. She would have to check with Daisuke to see if this was Daisuke, his older brother, or someone else. Surely, he would now.
"Of course." She says with a smile as the three of them make their way over.
Sasuke looks down at the infant in Mikoto's arms. Today was Itachi's birthday. While it was hard to reconcile this tiny newborn with the image that he had of his fully grown brother, Sasuke knew the truth. This was Itachi!
"It's him!" Sasuke whispers into the young mother's ears.
"He's perfect, My Love." Fugaku says proudly as he kisses her cheek.
Today had been the scariest day of his life. To say the least, it hadn't been pleasant until five minutes ago. He hated seeing his lover in pain and childbirth was apparently even more excruciating than he had been lead to believe.
Mikoto had threatened to castrate him or take away his intimacy privileges more than once. Those contractions had been completely brutal. When he offered her his hand to squeeze for comfort, his Kitten had nearly broken it. To say the least, it had been a rather intense experience.
"Mhm. He's our little Itachi." She says proudly as she smiles down at her eldest son in an exhausted, but content fashion.
"Oh Mikoto! He's so cute!" Kushina gushes as she rushes over and looks down at him.
Sasuke snorts in amusement. He couldn't believe that someone had just describe Itachi as cute. Ha. He should tease him about that without mercy later on.
"Yes, he is. He does have rather adorable bubble eyes." Minato comments as he glances down at the infant.
Bubble eyes? Oh yeah. Sasuke was never going to let Itachi live that down. That much was for damn sure.
"Have any of you seen my parents?" Fugaku asks warily.
He knew his parents. They never did anything halfway. That was especially true in Kenji's case. The man was likely going to come charging into the room, any second now.
"Hmm no. I don't think that I've seen Kenji or Aiya today." Minato says.
Fugaku raises an eyebrow. He didn't believe it for a moment. His mother had a sixth sense about important things like this. He knew that she would be here. It was just a matter of time really.
Almost as if he summoned them, the ecstatic grandparents quickly charge in. Nothing was going to keep them from seeing their firstborn grandchild. Aiya and Kenji were like a man and woman possessed.
"Oh Fugaku, Mikoto, he's beautiful." Aiya says, positively beaming down at Itachi.
"He's a handsome boy. I guess that means he takes more after Mikoto." Kenji teases his son.
Fugauk rolls his eyes good-naturedly. He hadn't expected anything elss from his father really. The man took very few things, completely seriously. He was mischievous to the bone.
"Very funny." He states as he smiles and kisses Itachi's forehead.
This child definitely wasn't Sasuke. The skin was too dark. He was wondrous though. This was Itachi, Fugaku decides.
Elsewhere in the Leaf Village, Danzo sighs. So far he wasn't having much luck bringing down the Uchiha Clan. Ever since that failed attempt, the Uchihas had been traveling in groups. They clearly knew what he was planning or at least suspected it.
"What are your orders, Lord Danzo?" One of the members of ROOT inquires.
"Continue your efforts. Try to grab a child or an adult Uchiha, if you must. These people are a danger to our village." The elderly ninja says.
Unbeknownst to Danzo, he was being watched. He was being watched by a Ninja Cat. Tsuki knew that the last things the medics really wanted was a cat in the delivery room. With that in mind, she had slipped off during the chaos.
At the moment, the feline was watching Danzo and his minions like a hawk. It was as they had suspected. That viper was trying to capture at least one Uchiha. He wanted to take out their Clan and that was a surefire way to do it.
"If a kitten gets kidnapped, the parents will defend them." She mutters.
It was an evil move, but a smart one. There were few things that would incense a Clan more than having a child kidnapped. Danzo wanted nothing short of a war. She was sure of it.
"Yes, Lord Danzo. I'll inform the others of your instructions." The ROOT Member assures him, before flitting off.
Tsuki saw Danzo sigh as he sips his sake. Oh how she would like to tear him to shreds with her bare claws. This cretin had attacked her family. That was just unforgivable.
Unfortunately, she knew that she couldn't not now at least. She would have to bid her time. She knew one thing though. She was definitely going to tell the other Uchihas about this.
A short while later, Sasuke smiles as he watches his mother sleep. He couldn't blame the woman, childbirth sounded like an exhausting progress. His father was currently sitting by her bedside with Itach in his arms.
"Were the two of you close?" He inquires as he rocks the cooing infant.
It was a strange sight. Gentle was the last thing that he associated with his father, but here he was. He was rocking a baby to sleep.
"It's a long story. That and I don't know if it's really a good idea for me to tell you that." Sasuke replies honestly.
How could he possibly summarize his relationship with his brother? Itachi was his everything. He had been his loving brother. His hero. His demon and his guilt. There were very few roles that Itachi didn't fulfill for Sasuke at one time or another.
"Are you at least going to tell us your real name?" Fugaku asks.
Sasuke shakes his head and smiles. As much as he wanted to, he knew that wasn't' a good idea. Really, he shouldn't have even told them Itachi's name. That had just slipped though.
His name was different. Sasuke was having a hard enough time keeping up with all these different threads. There were so many people that he was trying to save. The best way to do that was by keeping as much to himself as he possibly could.
"I'm sorry. I can't." He whispers.
"It's alright. We understand. You do understand that we have to try though, right?" The Uchiha Patriarch asks with a sly smile.
"Yeah. I understand. The Hyugas are going to help us with our problem. Maybe eventually we should to solidify our new alliance more." Sasuke suggests.
Fugaku raises an eyebrow. He wasn't entirely certain where Daisuke was going with this, but he had a pretty good guess. The fastest way to forge a permanent alliance with another Clan was through a marriage.
"I'm listening. Go on." Fugaku encourages him.
"If Hiashi has a daughter, maybe she'd be a good match for Itachi. Only if it's a love match though." Sasuke says.
He wasn't going to force his brother to marry a woman he had no interest in. Besides, he sorta knew Hinata. She was shy and kind. Itachi might like her. Granted, Hinata was a bit younger than Itachi. Despite that, Sasuke didn't really think that his brother would protest over a mild age difference.
"It's a possibility, but only if it's a love match. Your mother would kill me, if I suggested otherwise and I think that we both know that." Fugaku says with a chuckle.
Sasuke nods in agreement. He had no way of knowing it at the time, but he had just sealed his own fate. The seeds of the arranged marriage between an Uchiha and Hyuga had just been planted.
The only thing that he didn't see coming is that it wouldn't be Itachi who married Hinata. One day it would be him. Meddling with time could produce rather unexpected results, after all.
"That's true. She would. Mother is very protective." Sasuke observes.
"Oh yes, yes she is. The woman has the snaked skinned boots to prove it too." Fugaku reminds him with a laugh.