Ch. 29

"Thank you for your help," Moriko said as they sat on the veranda with tea and snacks, courtesy of one of her clones having run off to get them refreshments. Hizashi hummed in pleasure as he took another sip of the excellent tea.

"It was my pleasure," he said as she grinned, looking around the compound with bright eyes.

"That was a huge help. We got so much done today," she said relishing the accomplishment as his eyes scanned her, seeing the beginning of fatigue on her features. She had just gotten back from a mission and had decided to do this work today if only to excuse him from his clan's meddling. She must have already been tired before now, he realized suddenly, and he used his eyes to check her large chakra reserves. She was sitting at half, but she must still be feeling fatigued from the trip, he surmised.

"Will you allow me to escort you back to the Sarutobi compound?" he asked, and she paused mid-sip to shoot him a bemused smile.

"It would be appreciated but is there a reason?" she asked as he sipped his own tea. He shot her a rueful smile.

"You just got back from a mission and were already tired before you decided to help me escape from my clan. It is the least I can do," he said as she smiled ruefully.

"That is very thoughtful of you Hizashi-san, thank you," she said as he nodded in gratitude. The walk back was quiet, both of them were tired from the long day of work. When they reached the threshold of the Sarutobi compound they paused.

"Will you stay for dinner? Feeding you after a long day of work is the least I can do," she said as her eyes darted to where a group of Hyuga stood further down the street, chattering quietly. Hizashi engaged his eyes to see what she was looking at behind him before sighing as he took in his excitable clansmen.

"It would be greatly appreciated," he said dryly before following her in, trying to ignore the quiet cheers that came from down the street.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to go freshen up. You are welcome to do the same, there is another bath that way," she said pointing down another hallway as her clones prepared dinner in the kitchen. Hizashi nodded in thanks before going the way she suggested.

He opened a few doors, only finding adjoining rooms or closets. He sighed, letting his eyes engage, looking for the bathroom she had pointed to. He scanned the house with his eyes before freezing eyes wide as he realized that Moriko was taking off her clothes in the other room.

While he had seen her without clothing before, this was entirely different. For one she was far closer, the goosebumps on her skin visible. She wasn't hurt this time and the sudden exposure of perk breasts and stiffening nipples had him freezing. He was too stunned to look away as she disrobed swiftly, exposing smooth curves and the intricate details of her body that he hadn't been able to spot at such a distance previously.

He could see the pebbling of her skin and the stiffening of her nipples when exposed to the cool evening air, the way her hips flared, the trim thatch of dark red curls between her thighs. Next thing he knew she was sitting and turning on the spray of the handheld water sprayer. She was working it all over her body before she picked up a bar of soap and began to lather her enticing curves, the water making her porcelain skin glisten, the heat causing it to flush enticingly.

When someone stepped into Hizashi's field of vision, he nearly leaped a foot in the air. Asuma shot him a confused look and Hizashi realized his nose was dripping blood.

"Where's the shower room?!" he demanded as the young man's bafflement grew. He pointed over his shoulder to where Moriko had gone.

"No! Not that one! Where is the other one this way!" Hizashi bit out as the young man's eyebrows rose towards his hairline, clearly baffled why this man was in his house snapping at him.

"End of the hall," he said, clearly not sure what to do in this situation. Hizashi gave a quick bow before dashing away as the young man shook his head in bewilderment. There was a knock at the door, and he went to open it, only to find a couple of Hyuga Oba stifling laughter.

"We figured the Clan Head would need a change of clothes," they said as they passed him a bundle of clothes before turning to leave.

"Maybe a new change of underwear," one whispered to the other as they departed down the walk. Asuma's eyebrows rose at the words as the two old women began to cackle like hens, trying to shush themselves as they departed. Suddenly Hizashi's reaction made sense and the young man chuckled as he reentered the house.

So, he had been looking for the bathroom and had gotten an eyeful? Asuma could forgive the man's behavior, he had been so flustered. That didn't mean he would go easy on him. He knocked on the bath Hizashi was in before cracking the door and putting the clothes on the floor inside.

"Courtesy of your clan," he said as he shut the door, hearing a muffled thank you come from inside.

...

Hizashi exited refreshed after a cold shower to find Moriko chatting with Asuma at the kitchen table as clones began putting out plates of food in the kitchen. The conversation died off naturally as Hizashi sat and the two at the table sent him a grin, though Asuma's had an edge of teasing.

"Thank you again for your help today. It expedited the process greatly," Moriko said as Hizashi nodded in thanks.

"I have already thanked your sensei and the Hokage with appropriate gifts for what you three did for my Clan, but you were on a mission when I dropped by to deliver yours," said Hizashi as he straightened before holding out the storage scroll in a bow of thanks.

"Oh, Hizashi-san, that wasn't needed, but thank you," she said as she bowed back to receive the gift. Again, Hizashi was reminded of Jiraiya's firm face at her humble response.

"May I open it?" she asked, and the man nodded. She unsealed it on the table and gasped at the volume of items. There were five large boxes stacked to the side, several containers of tea, a fine calligraphy set, an erhu, hair products, and a fine katana.

"Oh this is too much, thank you," she said before gently inspecting the boxes that were in front of her. She gasped when she opened it, finding an elaborate obi, exquisitely crafted with gold thread and great detail. She touched her finger to it, placing a small silvery seal to protect it from grime and make the material impervious before lifting the fabric to find a beautiful kimono underneath in rich shades of blue with beautiful detail woven in or painted on the silk.

"These are exquisite," she breathed as she found obijime and all the other pieces needed to wear a kimono, placing seals inside the material as she went to make them impervious to stains or tearing. She blinked, realizing that there were five boxes. She closed the first and went through the others, finding them all with finely crafted kimonos and their hand-picked counterparts in shades of pretty blue, soft pink, beautiful burnt orange, or lovely shades of red. After applying her seals to all of them, she murmured her thanks and delight with the gift before inspecting the brushes, placing seals as she went to keep them from wear and tear.

"Your clan's tea," she said with delight as she sniffed the tea and Hizashi smiled, pleased that she could already identify it by scent. Asuma shot the other man an incredulous look at the riches before him.

"Oh, these are lovely," Moriko murmured as she sniffed the shampoo and conditioner, the scent pleasant but not overbearing. Hizashi couldn't help but smile again. It was what his clan used, he was pleased she liked it.

"I didn't know you play," Asuma said with interest as Moriko eagerly tuned the exquisite quality erhu, placing a few seals on it to get the slight echo she wanted to make the instrument sound even better. It was rosewood with inlaid mother of pearl and beautifully engraved, the quality exquisite.

"I play a few instruments. Before I was a ninja I played a lot in my spare time. I would sometimes perform on the roadside when Sensei and I traveled. My old erhu met its untimely demise a while ago though, and I haven't had the opportunity to get back into practice," she murmured before pulling the bow.

To be truthful in her old world she had played the violin, not the erhu, but there was a reason the erhu was often called 'the lap violin' and the crossover of her skills hadn't been difficult. She played best by ear anyway. As she moved the bow, the instrument made a hauntingly lovely note and she tinkered with the seals for a moment more testing the sound to get it where she wanted it, the sound getting better with every seal.

She made a pleased noise of triumph before she began to play, seeming to warm to it the longer she went as she went through scales. Hizashi was captivated by her slim wrist as it slid up and down the erhu, the grace in the movement drawing his eye.

She already sounded professional, and he found himself wondering what she would sound like at the top of her skill.

As she refined her skill four children entered the compound only to halt at the noise. They removed their shoes soundlessly before creeping closer so as to not interrupt. Hizashi grinned. There was a head of Uchiha black hair, pink, red, and the purplish-black of his niece's hair. She sent him an uncertain look but he merely smiled widely and tapped his finger to his lips.

She relaxed as Hizashi noticed how Naisho's stance in front of his niece had turned protective. The Uchiha boy and the pinkette had noticed and followed wordlessly but the group seemed to relax when they realized he meant Hinata no harm, and Hizashi found his heart warming seeing his niece surrounded by such supportive friends. That child was the catalyst for the changes that had come and the freedom that had come to the branch family.

The scales suddenly changed, before it became an old classic that had the two men and children perking up in surprised recognition. She was too focused on the music to notice the look of awe the men and children shared. Ninjas were usually too busy to be musical, so such skill was uncommon among their kind.

She played a few more songs and the group sat riveted as they listened, enjoying the impromptu performance. When she finished, they began to clap excitedly. Her eye widened spotting the kids before she grinned happily and gave a little bow.

"That was amazing Moriko-nee!" Naisho cheered as she laughed, accepting a hug from the boy.

"Thank you! Just wait till I get back into it! There are so many instruments I want to relearn," she said cheerily as the children perked up.

"You know more?" Sakura asked excitedly as Moriko chuckled and gently placed the instrument back on the table. Sakura gasped seeing the fine fabric of the kimono before going to inspect them.

"I can play flute, Koto, shamisen, kokyu, guzheng…" she paused as she thought it over, "well if it has strings, I can probably play it," she finished with a grin as Sakura squealed before grabbing one of the beautiful kimonos and handing it to her. Hizashi was concerned for a moment seeing the grime on the girl's hands but was surprised when the kimono remained untouched and pristine. He swiftly realized why Moriko had been adding seals to every item in the boxes before listening to the pinkette's happy chatter.

"We've got to get you those instruments, and you've got to wear this and play for us!" she cried excitedly as the excitement seemed to spread to the other children.

"I will ask my father when I get home. It's been a long time since the Uchiha and Uzumaki have put on a performance," Sasuke said, lips quirking in a fond smile as he remembered the production he had been a part of. The thrum of the Koto drums had reverberated in his chest, and he had felt such a thrill as they danced and performed in the streets of Konoha. It had been such a lively atmosphere.

Hizashi nodded as he thought over what instruments they had lying in storage collecting dust. There had to be a few flutes and string instruments in there.

"Oh, it's a performance now? Not just me entertaining you all for the night?" Moriko teased. The kids immediately hit her with puppy eyes except Hinata who was looking uncertain. Sakura nudged the girl, and Hizashi had to stifle a laugh as the girl attempted to do the same though hers was a pitiful attempt. Moriko giggled as she saw the by-play before laughing as she took in Hinata's attempt. She reached forward, cupping the girl's face in her hands as she kissed the blushing girl's forehead.

"Hina-chan has convinced me," she teased as she hugged the girl to her side fondly. The children cheered and her smile turned soft, the love in her eyes undeniable. It felt like a kick in the gut to Hizashi, seeing her dote on a Hyuga child like that. That could one day be his child in her arms, pressed into her side. Something hot coiled in his gut for a moment before he swiftly cleared his mind, not wanting his body to react to his thoughts.

"You got a sword?" Sasuke exclaimed as he broke from the other children to examine the weapon, not touching it, and thankfully distracting Hizashi from his thoughts. Moriko placed the kimono in her lap back into the box before reaching for the weapon as the children gathered around. When she opened the katana she gasped.

"This is chakra conductive chakra metal," she breathed, already placing seals to protect the blade as the children gasped and began chattering excitedly, asking questions a mile a minute. Asuma whistled knowing that such materials were very costly. He shot the clan head an uncertain look, his eyes darting to the multiple expensive kimonos, and other costly items. Hizashi decided to elaborate for the young man. The children shot the men curious looks as they spotted the by-play.

"Moriko-san, by the verdict of the Hokage and with assistance by Jiraiya-sama in crafting the seals, removed the caged bird seal from the Branch family. To ensure that the seal did not have a hidden aspect like the Caged bird seal, I… offered to be the first to be sealed. After she administered the new seal, I attacked Moriko-san, trying to force her into using a subversive element if there was one hidden in the seal. There wasn't," he said, as his eyes turned to the children who were now frowning at him, even little Hinata.

"Of course, there wasn't! She and Raiya-oji made that seal to protect Hina-chan!" Naisho said firmly as he touched his friend's shoulder and the girl blushed, shooting the woman a thankful glance. Moriko grinned and placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder before speaking up.

"Hinata was released from the Clan on the condition she be sealed. The Hokage put a stipulation in there that she could only be sealed once. Your clan couldn't comprehend that we would create a seal ourselves, instead of using the Caged bird seal." Moriko said quietly as Hizashi's eyes widened before they hardened.

"I see... My brother has a lot to answer for Hinata-sama. I... I know that I did not help the situation either. You have my deepest gratitude for the change you have brought to the clan and my sincerest apologies for the pressure I added to the situation," He said as he stood to bow deeply before the stunned girl. She blushed as she shuffled into Moriko's side.

"I-I forgive you, uncle. Everything worked out for the b-best," she said quietly as Hizashi straightened, expression uncertain. It didn't feel like enough. He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before he sighed, deciding to think on this situation and how to resolve it later.

"We will speak more on this later, with your guardian's approval and presence," he said and watched the girl relax before nodding. He relaxed before sitting to continue his story.

"As I was saying, I wanted to make sure there wasn't a subversive aspect to the seal so I did everything I could to force Moriko-san to trigger it. I did not realize… how badly I had wounded her before I realized that there was no subversive aspect to the seal," he said quietly as Asuma nodded in understanding while the children stared at him in horror.

"This is as much of an apology as a gift of thanks. If anything, it isn't enough. She would have been well within her rights to refuse to unseal and seal the rest of us. Jiraiya-sama could have done it, but he would not have been able to complete the clan in a day nor as delicately from what he said. However, after attacking his student, he almost walked away from the whole affair, as angry as he was with me and the Hokage," Hizashi continued as Asuma nodded while most of the children tensed or glared, Hinata still too meek to do so.

"You hurt Moriko-nee that badly?!" Naisho demanded. At a warning look from Moriko, he turned away still glaring as the other children regarded Hizashi with pursed lips or uncertainty. Asuma spoke up quickly to try to alleviate the sudden tension.

"That makes sense. I had heard your clan had been resealed and most of the Hyuga I have seen seem a lot happier. Moriko is a lot heartier than a lot of us and takes damage well, so while it's not ok, she will survive when others won't." Asuma said with a grin as he gently jostled the young woman's shoulder as she shot him a grin.

Still seeing the children's angry or meek looks, she drew them before her so she could look them in the eye. Seeing the stubbornness in Sasuke, Sakura and Naisho's faces Moriko sighed before creating a clone. It left before returning with a block of wood and a towel.

"I'm going to show you all why Hizashi-san attacked me to make sure there was nothing hidden in the seal. Do you all know what the caged bird seal is?" she asked. The kids shared a look before nodding. She put the towel in her lap then the wood block before she placed the caged bird seal on it. Her hand suddenly snapped up in the position to trigger the seal and Hizashi gave an instinctive flinch that all four children caught. The smell of burning filled the air for a minute before the square of wood seemed to collapse in on itself. With her hands she broke it open, revealing the scorched insides of the wood.

"This seal begins destroying everything inside a certain radius. The fact that it destroys the eyes after death is only a coincidence. If someone were to trigger the seal while the target is alive, they can draw out the destruction of the brain and use it as a form of torture. Technically there are no pain signals for brain tissue, yet this seal was engineered to trigger the pain centers of the brain as the damage is occurring," she said clinically cold, the children nearly flinching at the tone, their eyes darting over to the now tense man as they looked at him with new understanding, Naisho and Sakura more horrified then the rest.

"So don't judge Hizashi-san too harshly," she said mildly as she suddenly covered the remains of the block with the towel handing it off to the clone before she grinned trying to lighten the heavy mood, "Now he owes me a spar or two. Hell, maybe I'll call him in for one of Gai's famous spar sessions," she teased causing the kids and Asuma to crack up while Hizashi slowly began to relax. She picked up the Katana once more.

"Moriko-nee, we never get to see you use your sword, show us some kenjutsu," Naisho whined as the other kids started getting excited again. Hizashi frowned in realization, remembering something he had seen earlier that day.

"Your other katana… I just realized that it's not chakra conductive. How do you use wind chakra with it then?" he asked as Asuma blinked in realization.

"You can do it with enough chakra and concentration," she murmured offhandedly as Asuma chuckled ruffling her hair.

"You can't wait to try it out, can you?" he chuckled as Moriko grinned widely nodding as she seemed to come back to herself.

"Well, I can't wait either! Let's go," he said excitedly as he stood pulling the young woman with him and heading for the gardens out back as Hizashi and the children followed, the kids chattering excitedly once more now the tension had been alleviated. The young man tapped a spot with his foot and the backyard glowed with a barrier that covered the grass, trees, and flowers.

Moriko created a couple of shadow clones that dashed off before returning as the children settled down on the back porch, speaking of their recent mission to wave with Hinata. Hizashi listened in shamelessly as he took in the details. A second mission, rebuilding the village, healing them, and setting up trade agreement talks for the future. He could see she had business acumen, as well as the kindness and cunning her sensei had warned him of.

The clones returned and unsealed one of the logs Hizashi said would not be usable propping it upright and sticking it in place with a few seals.

Moriko stepped forward as the two men and the children remained on the veranda. There was a brief flare as a barrier went up covering the back of the house and protecting the men and children inside the veranda.

They could hear the wind start to whistle over the blade in a high whirring noise that had the group flinching. She stopped to place another seal on the blade before starting over, the weapon now silent. Hizashi had seen what damage wind chakra could do. The fact that it was now silent was going to make the young woman deadlier than ever. Hizashi's eye activated in time to see the chakra on a seal on her sternum decrease greatly.

"She released her gravitational seal," Hizashi noted as Asuma gave a low whistle.

"She must be really excited. She doesn't release her seal much except for the good spars," Asuma said and Hizashi felt a touch of pride, knowing that she had released it to fight him. He might ask her to help him start getting back into shape. As the Head of the Branch Clan, he hadn't been keeping up with his exercise like he used to. She turned the blade, letting the wind chakra elongate along its tip and the group watched it grow to almost triple the length of the blade, the kids cheering.

She tried a few experimental swings to get the feel of the blade, placing a few seals on the sheath. She sheathed it before testing a few more things. She took a starting position, weapon sheathed before unsheathing it in a flash, a blade of wind flying with extreme speed off the sword. The log seemed to explode where it had been struck. She resheathed before unsheathing at startling speeds sending a flurry of wind blades at the log causing it to explode. The kids howled their approval.

At the sound of cheers and wanton destruction, a few people poked their heads out of their homes before going back to their business, used to the shenanigans of next door, a couple passerby's pausing on the fence line to watching on in interest. The clones cleaned up the mess, bringing Moriko more logs to practice on as the sun continued to set. As the sky began to light up like fire, Moriko's clones placed the final log in place before dissipating.

Asuma gave a chuckle as Moriko shortened the length to the length of the blade as she crouched.

"Here we go, the finale," he breathed, giddy to watch his friend cut loose. The children went quiet, eyes riveted on her. She was a blur as she ricocheted off the walls of the barrier, slicing at the upright log as she went. She landed and began to sheath her sword. When the hilt clicked into its sheath the log collapsed into a flurry of chunks. Hizashi's eyes were wide as he took in the carnage of what remained of the log. He thought back on her words from earlier, 'When I finally do step into the light, I will make sure that the rest of the world is too scared to ever attack my family directly.'

Asuma and the children whooped gleefully at the show she had put on at their request before they began clapping loudly. Moriko gave a bow with a flourish as the barrier around the backyard fell.

The Hokage stepped onto the back porch along with Jiraiya as Asuma raced forward to pick up the young woman and continued cheering as she laughed at her friends antics as the kids crowded them. Hizashi gave the two men a nod of greeting before returning his eyes to the scene with a smile on his lips. She gave a delighted shriek as Asuma dipped her before setting her on her feet, the two of them talking excitedly over the sword as the children asked questions and celebrated. The Hokage's eyes twinkled with mirth as Jiraiya grinned.

"I take it she liked it then?" the Sage asked as Hizashi nodded.

"Your recommendations were perfect, thank you," said Hizashi as the old Hokage chuckled. Seeing Moriko showing Asuma how to add wind chakra to the blade and talking over swordplay, a new interest of Asuma's Hiruzen shook his head knowing that if he didn't stop them now they would be out into the late evening practicing sword fighting and wind chakra training in the back yard.

"Come on in youngsters! I'm hungry and Moriko-chan's cooking smells delicious as always," called the old Hokage. Asuma slung Moriko on his back like when they had first met all those years ago and he bounded up to the house and through the door while the children chased them. The others followed chuckling at the younger people's antics. Asuma slung her gently into her seat as a couple of clones moved her gifts into another room and put the plates out, releasing the stasis seals on the meals that were keeping them warm.

"You could make a killing with your sealed plates alone," said Asuma cheerfully as Moriko chuckled, pulling her plate closer.

"I plan to eventually," she said with cheer before digging into her food, the others following. Halfway through the meal, Asuma got a mischievous look in his eye as he glanced sideways at Hizashi. He waited till the man had food in his mouth.

"So Hizashi-san, did you find the bath?" he asked. The man made a choked sound before he started turning blue.

"Fuck," Asuma cursed before dashing around the table to do the Himelick pulling a choking Hizashi from his seat as Moriko jumped to her feet to join him, the two working to save the poor man. Asuma had to give it three tries before the food was ejected from Hizashi's throat and he gasped for air, face turning bright red.

The kids watched in alarm as Jiraiya shot Asuma and Hizashi a suspicious look as Moriko patted the gasping man on the back. She paused as Asuma's words suddenly registered, and the man stiffened when she looked at him sharply as she picked up on the implications and Hizashi's reaction. Hizashi began to glow red from his blush and he refused to look at her. The Hokage began to chuckle loudly as he got an inkling of what had happened.

"Hizashi-san, you could have just asked me," she pointed out far too mildly for Hizashi's taste as the man's blush increased, sweat starting to dot his brow as he looked away, not liking this mild tone.

"By the time I thought of that it was already too late. It was habit that had me checking and then shock. You have my sincerest apologies," he said giving her a deep bow and holding it. She huffed as her face flushed red.

"How much did you see?" she demanded. He didn't say anything as he remained in his bow. When blood began to hit the floor from his nosebleed, she made an aggravated noise before socking him in the head with her fist. He went face-first onto the floor, but she was already helping him to his feet.

"Do it again and you won't be 'sparring' sensei, but me. Are we understood?" she demanded, arms crossed but face rosy. He nodded, clearly contrite as the adults of the table chortled heartily, the children looking confused. When Hizashi sat back down at the table a chortling Jiraiya clapped him hard enough on the shoulder to nearly send him into his food.

"What did he mean Moriko-nee?" Naisho asked as the young woman turned red and refused to answer. The kids shot each other looks before returning to their meal.

"I can't complain because that would be hypocritical, but what the lady says goes," he said before giving the other man's shoulder a threatening squeeze that had Hizashi wincing as he nodded. Moriko shot Hizashi a rueful smile as she shook her head, clearly seeing the humor in the situation and Hizashi relaxed knowing that he was forgiven, at least a little bit.

…

OMAKE

Itachi frowned as he entered the house later that evening to find his parents laughing uproariously with a group of confused children in front of them.

"But what did it mean?" Naisho demanded as Sakura and Sasuke traded confused glances. Hinata started to blush as she fiddled with her fingers.

"A-ano, the Byakugan can see through walls. If he and Moriko-san were freshening up before dinner and he couldn't find the bath while she was in the bath…" she trailed off, remembering the damp feel of Moriko's skin that had indicated recent bathing. The kid's jaws dropped with shock as Itachi's parents burst into another round of uproarious laughter. Itachi could feel a blood vessel in his temple start to throb. The shock turned into outrage in an instant as the kids sputtered.

"That filthy peeping tom! Do you remember when she asked him how much he saw?! His nose started bleeding!" Naisho screeched setting Itachi's parents off again

"Yeah! And he gave her all those gifts and ate dinner with us! Maybe he's trying to marry her!" yelled Sakura as the two boys gasped in horror, Itachi's parents wheezing.

"Oh, he definitely is. Our Oba Hana said Naomi-chan saw him getting attacked by his clan all last week to try to get him back into shape. A few more of the clan have seen the same when going past the new compound with him doing sit-ups and complaining loudly about his diet being restricted. An old Oba whacked him on the head with a fan and told him he has to get in shape if he wants to win his future bride. Our clan's been in a tizzy for the past two weeks trying to figure out who it was. When we asked Jiraiya-sama if he knew anything about what had happened today, he began cackling before he told us a secret. Jiraiya-sama apparently told the Hyuga oba that she likes hot, fit, sweaty men with windswept long hair to sic the clan on him," Mikoto laughed as the children's horror turned more concrete.

"When a few clan members spotted him getting attacked and running out of his clan compound this afternoon they followed to get more clues. The Hyuga must have gotten news that Moriko-san was back in the village and started attacking him to get him all hot and sweaty. Apparently, one of the Hyuga even cut Hizashi's sash off before running away so his shirt would be open," Fugaku wheezed as Mikoto giggled and the kids began to chuckle.

"When our clan's men saw him stop running and start talking with Moriko-san they used the Sharingan to read their lips. When he went off with her and his clan started to leave him alone, they came and got us. We've been watching him awkwardly try to win her favor and put his foot in his mouth all day," Mikoto cackled as the other kids laughed though Naisho's face had turned thunderous.

"He's trying to woo my sister?!" he yelped as a snickering Mikoto and Fugaku nodded. Itachi could feel the mission scroll he was holding finally snap and they looked at him.

Their eyes went wide, seeing his murderous expression and blazing red eyes. He drew his ninjato as he turned to leave without a word.

"What's his deal?" Naisho demanded from his friends, Fugaku and Mikoto already out the door and chasing after Itachi as Itachi suddenly found himself strung up in his parents' ninja wire. He snarled wildly in the courtyard, his cousins already suspecting what was happening and chipping into the effort to restrain him as he tried to get free. His howl of fury could be heard from inside by the children.

"I think Itachi-nii is in love with your sister," said Sakura sagely as the boys gaped in shocked realization.

"Him too?" Naisho cried in despair as Itachi's parents skillfully restrained him.

AN: Who doesn't enjoy a bit of humor sprinkled into their work? I love me some good old-fashioned drama every now and then, the funnier the better lol.