Chapter 17: The Night Sky Lovers

Itachi was sitting on the stairs on their house's front porch, slowly putting on their shoes, ready to leave for work. Sasuke walked aimlessly in circles behind him.

'Big brother, teach me to throw shuriken' he finally asked, hoping that he would be able to train with his brother today.

'I'm busy. Learn it from Father.' Itachi replied.

'Yeah right… You always say you're busy this, busy that. You always have the time for Akira though!' grunted the boy with offence in his voice, pacing the room with a disappointed attitude. 'You don't like me, do you?' He pulled his chin high and from the corner of his eye followed the reaction of his older brother by asking him this question. 'I knew it. You just don't like me.'

'Don't say it Sasuke. I really don't have the time today. Go practice with Izumi.'

'Izumi doesn't know how to throw shurikens, she only dances and plays the flute! Sasuke frowned 'Today this, today that… When will tomorrow ever come?'

Itachi stretched out his hand to summon his younger brother with his characteristic gesture. Sasuke beamed running up.

'I'm sorry, Sasuke.' The elder brother reached out two fingers and tapped the younger one on the forehead. The boy smiled. 'Ah one more… The next time Father and Mother go somewhere… I may be able to take some time off.'

'Huh? really? When is that?!'

'Ask Father. See you.' after these words Itachi stood up and left the house.

X

The parents planned a trip to Mikoto's family, leaving the boys and girls alone. That day, Sasuke finally managed to train again with his older brother. Itachi was showing him how to throw a kunai at a target effectively. Thanks to his abilities, the boy was able to deftly throw several at once, hitting several distant targets at the same time.

'You're terrific, Big Brother. How did you do that?'

'You'll start throwing like that very soon. You're a lot like me.' Itachi added with a smile. Every compliment and word of encouragement from his older brother gave Sasuke a wave of euphoria. Itachi was everything to him. An idol he wanted to follow every step of the way.

Akira and Izumi came back from their own training, Izumi all wet but with flushed face.

'I can walk on water like a ninja!' she announced enthusiastically running into the house.

'Ga-chan! Straight to the bathroom and take off your dirty clothes, please!' Akira ordered the younger sister, hastily wiping off the traces of mud and water that she had left behind on the tatami. 'Apologies!' With a repentant face, she greeted the brothers. The boys were sitting on the porch of the house, resting after training, watching the sun go down.

'Big Brother, can you teach me again sometime, like today?'

'Sure, when I have the time.'

'Promise?'

'Promise.'

After a moment of silence, Itachi decided to break it with a story. The Nanusake sisters disappeared into the back of the house, leaving the boys alone again. 'Do you know how the Uchiha Clan came about?'

'What? I haven't really learned about it in-depth yet.'

'The Uchiha crest is the symbol and proof of our prestigious clan.'

'An image of a fan… is prestigious?'

'You need wind to start a fire, right? You produce wind with a fan.'

'Is that… a great thing?'

'Well, you'll understand in time' Itachi laughed sincerely.

'Big Brother… Do you fight for the sake of the clan?'

'I wonder… I'm not sure about either of that just yet.'

The silence was broken by the rumbling in Sasuke's tummy, which made Itachi laugh wholeheartedly.

'All right!' Akira reappeared holding a wooden spoon, already dressed in an apron. 'Itachi and I are gonna make us a feast tonight!' Giving a nudge to her companion, who also laughed and nodded. The brothers didn't even hear when she appeared, but one thing was for sure, she came back at the perfect time. Itachi stood up, offering to help with dinner.

Soon after, the children were sitting at the table, politely waiting for their older siblings, who definitely went overboard with cooking. The dishes served by the older siblings exceeded kids' all expectations.

'You made all of this…' Sasuke muttered blushing.

'Maybe we went a little overboard…' Akira laughed nervously. Itachi took the last hot pot from her and put it on the table in front of the younger siblings.

'A little huh?' The kids blushed and attacked the dishes with excitement.

X

'I'm stuffed!' Izumi and Sasuke were lying on the porch belching and laughing in turn. A moment later, a pile of quilts and mats landed beside them. They lifted their heads - Itachi and Akira brought bedding and suggested sleeping in the open air that evening.

'Are you sure it's going to be okay?' Sasuke hesitantly asked, having in mind the restrictive father, who certainly would not share this idea. Itachi nodded warmly, to which the boy suddenly regained his strength and ran inside for pillows.

When the sisters and brothers settled on cushions and mats on the porch, they lit colourful lanterns and turned their heads towards the night sky to contemplate the beauty of the stars. They felt exceptionally lucky, that night there wasn't a single cloud to block the view. With other lights off, the eyes gradually got used to the darkness and longer staring allowed them to discover deeper and deeper layers of constellations.

'I love this view… the night sky is something so extraordinary, a beautiful gift that we so often ignore.' Akira remarked with dreamy eyes. Itachi smiled slightly upon hearing her words. It felt so good to spend time with her in long silence, contemplating the beauty of the surrounding world and relaxing in her company. Akira's stable and luminous energy made his thoughts slow down.

Sasuke and Izumi did not miss the opportunity for a pillow fight, but they quickly felt sick and had to take a break overwhelmed by their previous overeating. Little Moth belched suddenly like an old lad which suddenly made the young Uchiha burst out laughing uncontrollably. The older siblings joined them, unable to keep their faces straight, recognising how cute and funny these kids actually were. When everyone finally wound down, they resumed counting the shooting stars.

'Nee-chan, tell us a story! After all, you know so many. Yes, it's a perfect evening for a story! Izumi excitedly encouraged her sister.

'Hmm, I actually happen to have something nice for today… see that constellation?' The blonde girl pointed to the four stars at the top of their viewpoint and moved her finger down, showing a slightly larger cluster of stars. Seeing the confusion of the others, she got up and went down to the sand where she sketched specific constellations with a stick.

'Once upon a time, there was a celestial princess named Tanabata. She was the goddess of the sky. Immortal, she may have been, yet the eternal life of loneliness was making her weary. One time she descends from the heavens, and her eye catches a beautiful mortal, his name was -'

'Kengyu' Izumi interrupted quietly. It seemed she already knew the story by heart and loved to hear it over and over again gazing in the distance with dreamy eyes.

'That's right. She greeted him and soon their friendship turned into a deep love. Despite their differences, Tanabata promised Kengyu that no matter what, they will be together in the heavens.

A tragedy happens soon after though… the princess' father finds out about the romance. His fury has no limits, after all, there is no way a mortal would ever be worthy of his goddess daughter, especially after he learns that Tanabata promised to bring Kengyu up to the heavens with her.

In the cruellest of fashions, her father grants the promise that she has made. The two lovers end up in the sky turned into stars. Yet, despite both being in heavens, the great Celestial River separates them for eternity.

Each year, on the 7th night of the 7th moon, a bridge of magpies forms across that river, some would call it the Milky Way. This way the two lovers reunite, even though it is only for one night, Kengyu takes the journey to meet his goddess.

Sometimes, however, the trip is too dangerous, the bridge doesn't appear and he can't make it through. In those dark years, Tanabata's tears fall from heaven as raindrops all over the world.'

'Bleh... another love story' Sasuke muttered, breaking the contemplative silence that followed the end of the story.

'Sasuke!' His older brother scolded him, giving him a nudge.

'Exactly, Sasuke, you know nothing!' Hissed Izumi. 'It's a story about me and you, I'm telling you.' The girl knew best how to tease him.

'Not true, disgusting!'

'The last one to the gate cleans all dishes!' Izumi suddenly burst out from under the covers, seeming fully recharged, and ran down the porch steps, challenging her friend to race around the garden. The kids soon ran laughing towards the gate, leaving the older siblings on their own.

'Beautiful story' Itachi looked at Akira with a sheepish smile. The girl stared back at him, looking away after a few seconds, embarrassed when realising how handsome she found him that evening. They sat close to each other, contemplating the story of two lovers in silence.

The kids finally returned to their beds and settled down among the older siblings. The girls fell asleep quickly while the boys continued to stare at the night sky.

'I want to become a skilled shinobi like you and win Father's approval.' Sasuke said quietly, writhing under the covers.

'You mean like me? You will surpass me.'

'Impossible. no way. I mean, you're gifted. Everyone says so.'

'Hahaha… you're a lot like me.'

'Okay then, I'll surpass you!'

'Sasuke…' After a long silence, Itachi spoke again. 'Sasuke?' He turned to look at his younger brother, but he already seemed to be snoring deeply. He smiled returning back to his pleasant thoughts.

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Author's Notes:

Some dialogues in this chapter were taken from the anime episode 481.